This and That

We've been busy! Let's see...a few weeks ago we went to Weatherford to celebrate Isabella's Wizard of Oz/costume party!

We went to Lubbock for a weekend and enjoyed our time with Grandad and Tommy. Brad and I got to go to the Tech/ATM football game too!

My parents came up last weekend and we all went to the State Fair! Claire rode a ton of rides...fearless! She wanted to go on the big rides but wasn't tall enough. I have no pictures :(

I saw this on Pinterest...glow sticks in the bathtub! Fun!

We visited a fire station and then went to lunch with friends!

We haven't been to a pumpkin patch yet! Yesterday we were kicked out of the house for a showing so I drove to a pumpkin patch but by the time I got there they were alseep. So I sat in the parking lot and stared at pumpkins for awhile, then drove home. I'll try again soon!

Those Eyes

I love the color of her eyes with her white skin...when did she get to be such a big girl?

Hot Air Balloon Festival

We had no plans for this weekend...so what did we do? Make plans! Brad wanted to take us to the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Plano on Sat. morning. We had to get up at 5:15 to get dressed, pack food and drinks and get the girls up. By 5:45 we were all in the car and ready to go. The girls were confused about why it was dark outside and they were a little grumpy (and Aubrey had a slight fever) but we were going darn it! I am so glad I brought the double stroller because it was quite a walk to where they inflated the balloons. We had great seats and watched as 40+ hot air balloons were blown up. Unfortunatley, there were some low clouds so they did not launch the balloons. It was still fun! They had a play area with blow up slides and fair food! We bought some breakfast tacos and tickets so that Claire could play and get her face painted. She is fearless... We were home by 10:30 and spent the rest of the day watching college football. Thanks Brad for a great day!

House for Sale

Our house has been on the market for FOUR months now. We listed it at the begining of the summer because Brad's commute is killing him (an hour each way up to Frisco) and we want to live somewhere with really good public schools. I didn't think it would sell immediately, but I didn't think it would take this long either. Since listing it we have had an open house, about 50 showings and have reduced the price by $10,000. The feedback is always frustratingly positive. Everyone seems to love the house, but not that it is on the corner of a busy street, or they don't like the sunken in family room, or the power lines in the back. A couple of times we were close to an offer, but the buyers would decide to go with another house. It is getting increasingly harder to keep the house spotless at every moment and I am running out of things to do with the girls while we are kicked out of the house for a showing. Claire is still trying to grasp the idea of strangers coming into her house and wants me to assure her that they will not touch her things in her room. I have mixed feelings about moving...I will miss my friends SO much and I love the preschool and dance class Claire is going to. But I would love to have brad home sooner and closer to home. The amount of $ we spend on gas and tolls a month is insane! And I admit, it is exciting to think of moving into a nice new home with a pool! We have decided to give it through October and if it still hasn't sold we will take it off the market and try again next spring..there is no way I am showing a house over the holidays! I have been in contact with the show "House Hunters" and there is a chance we will appear on the show...however the secret is you must be under contract with your new home before they will film you "looking" for a house and we of course must sell this one first before we make an offer on a new one. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

http://www.trulia.com/property/3053932816-2500-High-Oak-Dr-Arlington-TX-76012

Wedding

Brad's cousin Jessica got married here in Dallas this weekend. It was a beautiful wedding and she was a gorgeous bride. The ceremony was in a historic church and the reception was in Addison. There was dinner and dancing and we got to see all of Brad's cousins and relatives! Claire had a blast with her cousin Daniel. Brad's Dad and his wife Tommy stayed with us this weekend. It was fun!!!

1st Day of School

Claire started preschool today! She goes to the Discovery Center at Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church (where I go to church). She will go T/W/TH ...Wed. is an Enrichment class where she learns spanish, math, science, sign language and cooking! I have been attending this church for 6 years and I honestly didn't know they had a school...yeah I am really involved you can tell. We really liked the place she went to for Mother's Day Out but it was time to "upgrade". She now has two teachers in a classroom of about 14 kids. The actual room she is in is so much larger than her old one. We do really miss her friends Liberty and Gracie but they started new schools too and Claire called them today to ask how their day was and to tell them she had a good first day. Claire's friend Isabella is in her class so she already had a friend and was anxious to make new ones too! She ran right into her classroom and started playing. I'm not sure she even noticed I was leaving. I am so proud of her and I know she is going to learn so much this year!

My Hero

About a week ago I was watching the news and there was a story on the famine in Africa. Claire was walking through the room and it caught her attention too. Together we watched the story of how many people, so many of them just babies, are dying of disease and starvation. Claire asked me what was wrong with those babies and I told her some people are not as lucky as we are and they don't have enough to eat. She didn't understand and kept asking why they don't have food to eat. A tough topic to discuss with a three year old and as a mother I can't even imagine what it's like to watch your child starve and there is nothing you can do about it.

So today (a week later) Claire found a penny and I told her to put it in her piggy bank. I have told her many times that she can save her money to buy something fun like a book or toy. Then she said "Maybe we can buy those babies some food with my money". I was so proud of her. We dumped out her money, sorted it and counted it. $21.50. I told her she could help a lot of kids with her money and she said "Yeah because I am a super hero". Yes she is. I donated the amount to UNICEF.

When I worked I would get reviewed so I would know if I was doing a good job. There are days as a Mom when I wonder how I am doing. Today Claire showed me that I must be doing something right...