I Learned To Sew!

As you can see, my repertoire is limited, but I'm making progress! These are the first ones I did. I'm now using coordinating fabric to make the ribbon instead of using grossgrain, and just making a bow on one shoulder. They are just so stinking cute! The girls now have a huge wardrobe of sundresses for the summer. I really like these dresses because they can wear them with leggings and long sleeves underneath in the cold months, with t-shirts and short leggings in the spring and early fall and with bloomers all summer! Genius! I also have this thing about little girls looking like little girls - sweet, feminine and perfectly whismsical.

Easter Fun!

As Palm Sunday weekend snuck up on us, Jenny and I realized that we had been depriving the girls of spring crafts and excitement, so we decided to make Saturday a little bit of a project day. As I sought out crafts to do with toddlers, not much was jumping out at me. So I excluded the toddlers. Obviously.
I found this amazing and very clean (yay!) project on Martha Stewart.com and was thrilled to pieces. I ran out to Goodwill and bought ties. As soon as we got home, I set Jenny to tie-cutting and got everything ready. Let me add, you do NOT need a glass or enamel pot for this. (Who has those!?) You do, however, need a high-quality coated pot. Not just a metal pot. I have one that's coated with Teflon and it worked just fine. You just don't want a plain metal pot because the vinegar and the aluminum...oh I don't know. Just trust Martha and myself. Also, you can just do whatever you'd do to hard-boil an egg.
One final note. All ties are not silk. I know. I'm baffled too. We had to make Andrew touch them all and tell us what was what after our test egg came out...white. It turns out you really do need 100% silk fabric. Or a husband who knows more about fabric than you do. Whatever.

And the final product....

We also did a more kid-friendly craft. It was really a no-brainer. I saw a picture of these little bird's nests somewhere....sometime...I don't know. How hard is it to remember chow mein noodles, chocolate and candy eggs? The girls thought this was lots of fun, and they only lost a few chubby little egg-snatching fingers in the process.

Lucy and Daddy got the seeds going for Lucy's tomato plants. She was so excited! We did her peppers last week and she asks me several times a day to "check my pants." This can get confusing when you're potty training AND growing "pants."

Sigh.

I am tired. Andrew is already snoozing beside me. We had a fun and productive day, but boy are we tired!
Andrew has a big week coming up and for me, that means I'll be available to him at all times and will try my hardest to anticipate his needs this week. I mean, I always try. That's why I married him; i like to make him happy. But this week he has not one, not two, not three, but FOUR major events happening. Possibly five, but let's not count our chickens. So yeah, he's busy and a tad stressed. Event One is something that happens every year - the End of the year for the company. Blech. Event Two is the launch of a major project he's been working on for two years. Since he's the lead on this company-wide project, his Blackberry is going to be blowing up. Event Three is the continued job search, which may reach astounding feats this week. Event Four is the reason for the job search. Event (possibly) Five is confidential, but the most likely to have permanent effects.
Thank goodness he mowed the lawn-mowing out of the way over the weekend!
So what do I do in the midst of Andrew's eventual head explosion? I anticipate. I pack lunches, keep dinner warm, make the bed diligently, (it calms him-I get it) stop asking so many questions and try to act like I'm cool as a cucumber. Easy peasy!
No. I'm a terrible faker and this week is going to make me a crazy(ier) person. Ah well, fake it til you make it, right?
Will you please pray? Pray for peaceful and constuctive family time when we can get it. Pray that Andrew survives the week with an effortless feel and a smile. Pray that my Wednesday night burnout stays away til Friday. Pray that we can find the time to sneak away and figure ourselves out rationally and with a deep regard for our marriage and our girls. And pray that as we always do, we'll come out on the other side laughig together.
Goodnight, wonderful world. I love you.

Sweet Surprise!

We're in the middle of a lot of decisions right now. Deciding whether to stay in Fort Worth is a nightly discussion just because we love this town, but we do miss our family and friends.
When Andrew visited Maryland, Em & Josh gave him this very thoughtful Maryland care package. He ended up having to leave some things at his parents' house, so it all just came today. Fisher's Popcorn, Berger cookies, Mary Sue eggs, Old Bay, Ravens and Orioles pennants and a Maryland flag.
(I put the cookies in the freezer- I swear I didn't eat them all!)
In the midst of all of this job talk, these sweet gifts meant so much. It's hard to miss our friends and their lives as we anonymously live our very quiet life. We miss entertaining and visiting so much. I think that's the hardest part of being in Texas. No dinner parties, cookie bakes, Sunday dinners or drop-in visits. No impromptu Saturday breakfasts or Thursday night poker, and that's hard. We're so used to a huge social circle and down here we're kind of flying solo. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE the friends we do have, but Andrew and I are so used to being busy and having plans. It's just different.
I can't decide if this little care package made me miss MD more or helped me feel satisfied enough to make a big decision. It's not the stuff IN the box, the the love and sentiment behind it. We do miss our friends, so much more than I can describe in a blog post. But the kind of friends we have are never very far away, are they? Simply the Becks!

Thursday PM.

I'm all snuggled into my bed with my linen candle lit while andrew is out in the living room listening to Ben Folds and googling bigger cars. No, we're not expecting, but as with any fertile young couple, you can go ahead and hold your breath. Our current car is getting a bit cramped and once #3 is on the way we'll need a plan B. So, we google.
Let's see...my day improved. Andrew came home a little early and we had dinner at Taco Cabana and then went to Lowes and Albertsons for the essentials. When we got home, Lucy watched Caillou and we parents hit the couch HARD for some tv and a nap for Daddy. Perfection. Now it's 11 and we have a full day ahead of us tomorrow. The girls and I are going to hit the gym early and then take a little trip to Petsmart to see the animals. We missed half price day at the zoo, so I'm improvising. If that doesn't happen, we may head to the Children's Museum in the afternoon for some fun. Then again, naps today were awesome so we might do better with Petsmart and a trip to the playground. I could probably use the time around here in the afternoon anyway...I'll certainly need a hammock nap by then.

Thursday.

Today I totally forgot a meeting. I never do that. My mind is in about 12 different places and I'm just feeling so scattered. And you know what'll happen next...I'll give away half of our stuff to Goodwill. To clear my head, I give away most of our belongings and scrub things I don't usually scrub. I blame my mother.
I am such an organized and prepared person. Flux is a bad, bad thing.

• The next two weeks are going to be super big for us. Andrew's in-person interview went well and we expect to hear from them in the next 48 hours. Additionally, he's working really hard to help with things at work and keep a clear head. I think it would be so hard to know that the work you're doing will all be gone within a couple of weeks and still try to give 100%.
• It sounds like we'll become more semi-permanent to the Fort Worth area as we make decisions about where to go next. Barring any HUGE offers from his current company, Andrew will most likely take a good position with a HUGE company down here. We like the area, and we have about 15 months before we'd need to decide if we wanted to buy in the area. I'm a little nervous about the summer weather, but we really, really like Texas and are having a really good experience.
  
• My car died at Kohl's this morning. It's actually a terribly funny story. I took the girls to the "Boinksie Pwace" this morning to burn off some energy and when I got back in my car, I noticed it started slow. I thought, "Well, only one way to find out..." and I headed to Kohl's to return a bra. Why I would have picked up a 34C is beyond me. I ended up buying two cute shirts. When I returned to my car, it was NOT starting. I, of course, exercised all of my car know-how and checked the oil like any good woman. Whaaaaatever. It wasn't the oil. (Don't look so shocked.) So I called Andrew, who was like, "Woman! Now is not the time to snivel about a dead car! WORK. IT. OUT." Okay, he was really much kinder, but he definitely wasn't coming to get me on his motorcycle, and there was really no point in coming all the way to Keller when I had already checked the OIL. Ha! So I called Geico. The promised to send a stand-in husband (read: tow truck man) to rescue me. Of course, this didn't solve the transportation issue. I had two babies, two carseats and a mama to get back to Fort Worth. I called every single mode of transportation possible. No cabs in Keller. None. No rental cars in the metroplex. None. Enterprise will pick you up, but they very kindly told me to STUFF IT for asking for a rental car without a reservation. Apparently there's a shortage.
  The tow truck arrive and I burst into tears. I never cry. I really and truly thought I was stranded at Kohl's forever. The tow truck man, besides being terribly cute, was very nice and calmed me down. He jumped my car and informed me that my battery was beyond dead. After I collapsed my stroller on my thumb and bled profusely for several minutes, he followed me to AutoZone where he ran interference and got me all set up with a new battery and a dry face. Perfection. The girls and I are home now and I've never been so happy to see my very messy house.
  

Does it get any cuter?

Hammock Love!

We bought a hammock on the way home from Houston last week and the girls and I surprised Andrew with a stand so that we could get to lounging! It's been such a nice place to relax and enjoy the warm spring breezes!

Molly, Queen of Clean

Molly has a little problem. She's completely and utterly obsessed with dishwasher tablets. It's pretty cute seeing her navigate her way through all of her toys, distracted by the bliss of her dishwasher tablet. Little weirdo. As you can see in these pictures, any chance to get that green metallic box out of the cupboard is a moment for celebration!

Houston Bound!

So we took a little trip to Houston. Molly loved the Funnel Cake Sticks at Burger King. Looks like a cork, doesn't it?

Lucy and Daddy making silly faces.

Queen Molly the Benevolent.

I think she bears an uncanny resemblance to Popeye in this one.

Laughing at MaMa.

Loving the accommodations!

Reading books at the hotel.

Pictures By Lucy.

Andrew and his Beaver Nuggets!

Zonked.

The Passenger.

Lucy's Red Balloon at Chili's.

Lucy drew a ladybug for me! I totally see it.

Silly little stinker.

Out.

Molly also learned to climb the dining room chairs this week! Hooray!

I am fully aware that I really haven't posted anything too wordy lately. I've been BUSY, y'all. With Andrew's possible job change right around the corner, things here have been a little crazy, to say the least. We're managing, but we're trying to keep things pretty low key. Andrew has another interview tomorrow, so we'll keep you updated!