Our Life Out Loud

Bulletin boards

2011-06-05T22:18:00.001-05:00

I am posting some of my favorite boards I created this year. As my first year as a teacher and being a late hire, I had to create things quickly with little thought. I hope to put more thought into things next year! I am linking up to Teaching Happily Ever After.http://teachinghappilyeverafter.blogspot.com/2011/06/bulletin-board-ideas-linky-party.html

My Word Chunk Wall (each flag represented a vowel and we listed the word chunks under each flag)

After Weeks of studying the ocean, we read the story The Nonopus. Here is our board to display them:

Another ocean theme set up with a quote from Rainbow Fish. Our kiddos did a retell on each part of the fish. They loved this!

Go check out Teaching Happily Ever After for more board ideas!

http://teachinghappilyeverafter.blogspot.com/2011/06/bulletin-board-ideas-linky-party.html

Little Kicks

2011-03-03T22:42:00.000-06:00

(trying out his new "soccerteam" field)

Believe it or not (and I'm still not sure I can) we have signed Cohen up for his first soccer team. Seems a bit early doesn't it! After our good friends, The Pyles, talked us in to joining the 3U team we knew we wanted in. Surely this will teach our spirited child how to work well with others and how to follow directions, right!? We shall see. In the meantime, We are giddy about The Buddy's new adventure and especially his tiny cleats and jersey shirt. Our first practice is this Saturday and the games will start next week. GOOOOOO Tiny Kicks Blue Team!

Votes Needed!

2011-02-21T14:37:00.000-06:00

Cohen's new room was featured with 20 others on The Shopping Mamma blog and is now in the running for a gift certificate to Land of Nod!!

Cast Your Vote HERE: http://theshoppingmama.com/2011/02/vote-for-your-favorite-real-reader-room/

Ours is the Vintage Surf Todder Room! Thanks!!

Time Flies

2011-02-21T00:26:00.000-06:00

I have been blessed with the task of teaching a great group of spirited six year olds in the next chapter in my life. With that, my life has turned upside down. I truly never, ever fully understood the demands of being a first year teacher until I was in the trenches. Due to this, my precious blog took a waaaay back seat. The night before Cohen's second birthday I received a call from my now principal to join them for an interview the next morning. I had already taken a half day to celebrate The Buddy's birthday at his school, so I was in the clear to make the interview. I never dreamed I would receive a call during his birthday dinner that night offering me the job. I was immediately panicking! I thought I would be elated, overjoyed, ecstatic that all my hard work over the last two years was finally paying off. Sadly I was now 6 measely days from Meet the Teacher night and have an empty classroom. (sigh). I can still feel the anxiety. If it weren't for my Mother, Ceebee, Mother-in-Law, sister and completely supportive husband I could NEVER had made that deadline.

But alas, I did and was catapulted into the craziest Fall I have ever experienced. Here is the Fall in review!!

Cohen's Birthday Dinner (daddy was working )

My first Classroom: BEFORE

AFTER:

Halloween:

THANKSGIVING:

Spent in O.K at Grandaddy's work

Second Annual Deck the Dolls:

The Crew

Cousins :o)

Check out last year's Deck the Dolls HERE

CHRISTMAS:

Cohen's new ball pit/bounce house!

SNOW DAYS:

Loving the sled from Lala

Making shapes in the snow

Firsts:

First skinned knees :o(

First 3D movie

NEW BEDROOM: Vintage Surf

Whew! That was a quick look at the last 6 months. Cohen is amazing us daily with his vocabulary and abilities. He is a guy that definitely knows exactly what he wants (or doesn't want). His favorite word is "NO" and he currently prefers daddy, but we recently tried our first preschool gymnastics class which is dear to my heart after teaching it for years. He had a lot of fun, but I am not sure he is quite ready for it yet. We will wait a few months and try again.

I hope that you have enjoyed this quick look at our lives the last 6 months and I hope to update on a more regular basis now. Thanks for waiting!

Cohen is sliding down Chutes and climbing the Birthday Ladder

2010-08-11T23:50:00.000-05:00

Head to From Pedicures to Puddles to check out all the Birthday Party details! Let me know what you think :o)

The Buddy

2010-08-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

Our Little Buddy is turning 2! Our hearts expand daily with the awesome gift from God that is Cohen Eric Nelson. Here are a few things that you should know about our buddy:

He LOVES to dance. This kid has some rhythm :o) The cutest part of this is that he dances all the time...to any tune. If it is slow he slows it down...if it is fast he speeds it up. I can't wait to see how this fits in to his future. I was known to dance a jig or two in my day and I guess he gets this from me.

Delays, shmelays...Although Cohen was diagnosed with a 10 month speech delay back in May, he has made leaps and bounds in the verbal department. He is currently enrolled in ECI (early Childhood Intervention) and loves his therapists. We are so pleased with the progress he has made. Our current favorite sayings include: "no, no kenzi" "help...please...I stuck" "whoa" "yehaw" "hi cool" (hi, school) and "I uh ooo" (I love you)

He has no fear..he loves to climb and loves to slide (thus the Chutes and Ladders theme for his 2nd bday party)
He is a tough kid...(for memory purposes I am recording this here) Cohen has received 7 (seven!) bites in a matter of 7 (seven!) weeks from other kids at daycare. There is obviously an epidemic of biters (3 culprits so far) running rampent at his school. OTHERWISE he loooooooves going to school and is learning so much. Other than this incident; which I promise you I am dealing with (if you know me you know I am not passive with these kinds of things) we are very pleased with his school.

He weighs roughly 24 pounds (by our calculations) and is growing like a weed. We should know more at his appt in a couple of weeks.

We had a fabulous weekend celebrating this guy and can't wait to show you all the festivities! As soon as I receive the professional pics back...

A Despicable, Fire Fightin, Roughridin, swimming lesson filled, circus watchin kind of weekend

2010-08-02T21:28:00.001-05:00

Whew! What a weekend! Baseball season is still in full swing, so Steven had to work. That meant it was Date Night for the buddy and I! We started off at the movies on Friday night. We saw Despicable Me. We really enjoyed it!

The buddy totally into the movie

The next morning we headed to the Frisco Fire Station for a bday party!

He was ready for cake!

Waiting for our turn in the firetruck!! He was SO excited!

Once we got out of the fire truck he wanted nothing more than to get back in the fire truck! He kept telling us, "Help" and "Stuck"

The tires were bigger than him!

The next stop was Saturday evening. We joined the Pyle's at the Frisco Roughriders game to see daddy!

Cohen's baseball snack of choice: raisons

We then headed to the Circus on Sunday evening! No joke...this was the craziest weekend!

The Elephants were our favorite!

The fabulous world wind weekend ended tonight with The Buddy's first swim lessons. I was nervous because I didn't know what to expect or how Cohen would react.

Practicing jumping in

Popping mommy's "bubble"

He loved swim lessons!! He should sleep well tonight because we are totally pooped!

NOW that has ended we are T minus 5 days until The Buddy's Chutes and Ladders party! We are getting excited, praying for cloud coverage and have looooooots still to do! Hope your week is going well and we will see you with party details next week!!

Thirty-One

2010-07-26T14:35:00.000-05:00

No...I didn't have a birthday again...I was introduced to the Thirty-One company this past weekend and wanted to share it with you. I had never seen it before, but you may have. If you have, please let me know your experience because I plan on ordering a few...er....lots of things!

I am always up for a cute new bag and I like all of the options that the catalog has. You can also embroider for only $6! No matter what you have embroidered it is only six bucks! I love it!

I am thinking Back to School bags, diaper bags filled with personalized bibs as gifts AND the flat iron case (only $20!) for Christmas gifts!!

If you're interested in participating in my online party, Click HERE for the Catalog and HERE to shop until August 31st! Don't worry if you don't live near me...I will get it to ya!

Loving this backpack for The Buddy! You can insert anything you like in the clear front packet!

My absolute fav product is their personalized stationary :o)

Happy Shopping!

Sneak Peek

2010-07-18T22:43:00.000-05:00

We are still a few weeks away from The Buddy's 2nd birthday, but party planning is in full swing at the Nelson house. And it is all hands on deck! So unless you want a party job, don't come visit anytime soon. Just kidding. We will feed you first..heehee :o)

Here is a sneak peek of what we have been working on. Who is excited!?!?

Sorry, I can't give away much...you will just have to wait :o)

A Festive 4th

2010-07-05T12:54:00.001-05:00

We had a really great 4th of July weekend...even in the rain :o) We planned to go to the Roughriders Game on Friday night with the Pyle's, but rain cancelled the game. We ended up having dinner and then going to the kid section of Barnes and Noble so the kids could play with the thomas the train table. It was David's first late night experience...we felt honored!

We met up with the Pyle's again on Saturday night for Frisco Freedom Fest, but again....rain! So we headed to dinner to wail it out. I think that the boys were a little stir crazy from all the rain!

David is trying to escape and Cohen is about to put out a fire...it was definitely time to head outside!

These poor guys totally braved the rain and enjoyed watching the olympic trampolinists (??)

The actual 4th brought on some pool time at Scott and Marianna's and bbq at the Pyle's

Super easy Marshmallow pops I made :o)

R enjoying a mpop

And because of a lost bet at work, Steven got to be the Bat Boy for last nights game. He had fun and they even created a website about it: http://www.batboysteve.com/

I hope that your 4th was just as festive!!

Countdown to Kylin

2010-07-01T22:12:00.000-05:00

Today we hosted a shower for a good friend and coworker, Tasha. She is expecting her second child and first boy, Kylin. His bedding is THIS very cute black, white and green rocket print. We used it to create our theme:

I made some cupcake toppers, stickers for cups and napkin rings to complete the theme. It was a lot of fun to do and the new mommy was pleased :o)

Reeeeaaaallly yummy cupcakes from Sams Club! Who knew?? We got 30 cupcakes for $12!! You can't beat that!

I found a Martha Stewart rocket punch a few months ago in the clearance section...I knew it would come in handy one day!

Cups!

Chocolate Cigars to celebrate

Napkin rings

Playing the Baby Word Scramble game

Kylin's first little brother shirt

We also served milky way candy bars and delicious punch. I love what you can do with a couple of punches (circle and rocket) and some dollar tree party supplies! I also love a creative theme for boys. Blue is overrated..hehe...

Happy Daddy Day!

2010-06-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

The Buddy and I have been sneaky lately! We met with our favorite photographer, Travis of Fragile Works Gallery, last week while Steven was working a game and took some pictures in the park with wooden letters. Here is what we created:

(The Buddy decorated the Frame)

Steven loved it! Hope your Daddy day is going as well!

Spectator Sport

2010-06-14T11:50:00.000-05:00

I don't know about your house, but at our house mowing the lawn is a spectator sport. The Buddy sat there forever watching daddy mow the grass. Hope he is still this excited about it when he is 14 and it is him doing the cutting..hehe...

My 15 minutes starts......NOW!

2010-06-08T14:41:00.000-05:00

One of my Faaaaavorite party blogs, P is for Party, emailed me yesterday about my Cupcakes + Cocktails party!! She was interested in featuring my Chocolate T cupcake toppers!! I am so giddy about it!! Here is the feature: P is for Party!

Second FIRST Day of School

2010-06-08T12:14:00.000-05:00

As I was dropping off The Buddy at school on his 10th day, I was told that they would be closing their doors...for good...in just 2 short weeks! I was shocked, panicking about where we were going to move him because we had just finished the search and were happy with what we found! On a side note daycares in Frisco, TX are outrageously expen$ive! I had been quoted anywhere between $215 to $330 a week!

Well, you have heard it before, but I whole heartedly believe that EVERYTHING happens for a reason and is God's way of keeping us on track with his plan for us. Well, God is good because we were able to get into a great school with a state of the art facility and they matched our tuition! I mean, that never happens!

This is his second week and he is already flourishing! Although not mentioned here before, Most of you know that Cohen is delayed by 10 months in his speech and about 4 months developmentally. We went as far as having him evaluated for Autism a few weeks ago. Autism is a hereditary disorder and Cohen happens to have a first cousin and second cousin diagnosed with Autism. His delays warranted us looking into things further. We were greatful to learn that he is not autistic! We have started Therapy once a week with ECI and obviously a new school. Both are proving to be a great asset in working against Cohen's delays.

The Buddy is such a bright guy and is learning new things every day. Our hearts swell with pride daily. So, in a nut shell, that is why we have a 2nd First day of school in the books :o)

Memorial Weekend

2010-05-31T19:13:00.000-05:00

Our weekend started with the best trip to the Zoo on Friday.

The meerkats were a big hit!

We then spent Saturday hanging out and at the RoughRiders baseball game with some old friends of ours, The Clements!

Cohen really enjoyed the game and all the music they played.

He spent most of the night dancing.

Sunday was spent with Cohen's cousins! Brian and Caleb went to the RoughRiders game with Steven while the rest of us headed to the splash park. Cohen was a BIG fan!! We then came back to the house to order pizza and play in the backyard. The kids played well together and had a ton of fun.

The Buddy and T

Tug of war

Racing

Today we were so excited that Steven was off the entire day and evening; unfortunately for him I dragged him around shopping :) We are finally home now to relax...just in time to get Cohen ready for his next FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL....More about that tomorrow....

Zoo Day!

2010-05-29T00:33:00.002-05:00

Today was The Buddy's first experience with the Fort Worth Zoo and I have to say it was a big success! He loved the giraffes and the penguins best. Continually called the Kangaroos...horse...no matter how many times he was corrected, got to feed birdseed to parakeets, and even got to have some gorilla juice!

The Buddy and D, US, Rockin the shades, and having some Gorilla juice

He was SO excited to see a penguin up close

The Buddy and D had so much fun together

We are so thankful that our best buds, The Pyle Family, invited us and we truly had a blast!! Plus, the Fort Worth Zoo totally rocked. We will definitely be back!

A perfect ending to the day included The Buddy's first ever popsicle experience! He is definitely a fan. If you are wondering what he is holding, it is called a Dripstick ( you can see more about it here) Basically it catches all the popsicle or ice cream drips so you don't end up all sticky! Isn't that brilliant!?

Giveaway on PtoP!

2010-05-24T09:26:00.000-05:00

http://www.pedicurestopuddles.blogspot.com/

Just wanted to let you know I am hosting my first giveaway on the Pedicures to Puddles blog! Go check it out for up to 15 chances to win!!

Splish Splash

2010-05-22T21:21:00.001-05:00

We took advantage of the nice weather outside this morning and played in the new sprinkler. Cohen loved it! Please don't judge his outfit...his poor bathing suit wouldn't stay on!

The buddy ran, slide, worked on his car and hit a few balls!

Time to Celebrate!

2010-05-09T15:49:00.001-05:00

We spent this past weekend celebrating 2 great accomplishments. My cousin graduating from college and my aunt becoming a registered nurse! After the pinning ceremony for my aunt, we headed out to Tonkawa Falls in Crawford, TX for a party. It was a beautiful place and we had a lot of fun. If you are in or around Waco and need a great spot for an outdoor party it is worth it to look into Tonkawa Falls. There was a room with a kitchen, a patio, sand volleyball, trails for hiking, fishing and washers! We had a lot of fun!

our view from the cabin

Cohen riding in style

On a hike with Grandaddy

Another First

2010-05-03T14:57:00.000-05:00

{20 months, 4 weeks old}

Today was Cohen's first day at preschool. We were blessed to have him at an in home daycare since he was 8 weeks old, but knew it was time for him to move on. We have been so excited getting ready for today. New outfit...check, new backpack...check, new napmat....check....cool haircut...yep! We all slept a little light in anticipation for Cohen's first day...er, well mommy did anyway...heehee.

Cohen did great this morning posing for one (and only one!) picture before we headed out. It has changed my route to work drastically as I am not able to take the HOV lane, but that is ok. He was so excited to run in the room and start playing, that he certainly didn't have time to say goodbye. But that is ok too....we paid for the serveillance camera access and have been checking in on him most the day online. He is having a blast and we are excited for him!

Too heavy, mom!

This is the last one I was allowed to take...he said, "nooooo" after that. haha

Fun Friends

2010-05-02T23:31:00.000-05:00

More than I love seeing my college friend's family grow, I love that our kids can be friends. Little D is about 5 months younger than The Buddy, but they enjoy each other a lot. The P's were kind enough to invite us over to try out their new inflatable water slide (so fun!) and to cook out. It was a beautiful night full of sweet giggles and relaxing fun.

The Buddy didn't know what to do with grass this good!

Sweetest face!

We had a great time! Can't wait to do it again :o)

I was featured!

2010-04-26T15:08:00.000-05:00

Remember my Cupcake + Cocktails party last month!? It was a magical day and what a great way to remember it than to be catching up on blogs I love to read and see it featured! That is how I came across my party on The Small Town Soiree. I am so excited to hear that people liked what we did. Yay! Thanks, Nicki!

Branching out

2010-04-19T21:20:00.000-05:00

My blog world is expanding! I really love being the mom of a boy and find that the majority of my friends have boys too. Somehow the consumer world is behind on this fact. It seems like everytime I am shopping, planning a party, buying boy birthday gifts, etc it is a task to find cool boy stuff. All the good stuff is in the girl's section AND their section is so big! Well anytime I come across a good 'boy find' I always bookmark it. Now I have a place to keep it all and share it with my friends. Introducing my new blog:

http://www.pedicurestopuddles.blogspot.com/

I am excited about the new blog and promise not to neglect this one. Please feel free to follow the blog and know that I love comments!

Anniversary Staycation

2010-04-18T23:08:00.000-05:00

I just enjoyed the best weekend in my own town of Dallas. Steven surpised me for my birthday/anniversary gift by completely planning a staycation (...a vacation where you stay in your own city). It was so nice to just go with the flow and not have to plan a thing. We started out at the Rosewood Mansion at Turtle Creek. Fancy, FANCY!

The evening started off with complimentary chocolate covered strawberries! We then headed to dinner at Preston's Steakhouse at Preston and Northwest Highway. I have never noticed this place, but we will definitely be back. It was delicious. We then headed to see Date Night with Tina Fey and Steve Carrell.
IT. Was. Hilarious! We really enjoyed the movie.

We got to sleep in on Saturday morning, then headed to brunch at my favorite spot: Taverna.

We met up with my sister, Michelle, for shopping at Northpark. Checked in to our new hotel: Hotel ZaZa only to find we had been upgraded to a concept suite! Yipee! The cool think about Hotel ZaZa is that they have 25 suites, each with a different theme. We were excited to see what theme we ended up with.

Out of Africa! It was a really neat room with animal heads, cool art and a rain shower!

We took a nice nap, then headed out for dinner again. The fabulous weekend was topped off with a massage at the hotel then off to lunch to see The Buddy.

It was all heavenly and much appreciated! I need to give a big shout out to Mimi and Pop for keeping the Buddy. Thanks, guys! All in all it was a fabulous way to celebrate 5 fabulous years!

Pinwheels!

2010-04-10T22:07:00.005-05:00

While perusing a few blogs I love a couple of weeks ago, I came across the easiest pinwheel tutorial. After seeing Kate Spade's Spring line and all the pinwheels in their ads and store fronts, I have been loving pinwheels lately and was excited to find the tutorial!

Kate Spade Ad

Kate Spade store in New York SoHo district

If you have a daughter this would be a perfect addition to a perfect girls party. I decided they would be a nice addition to my mom's spring set up in Canton this last month.

Here are how mine turned out:

I wanted mine to have 2 patterns so I made sure that my scrapbook paper was decorated on the front and the back. I chose paper sized 8 X 8. 12X12 would be really cute too! I then secured the center with pearls, jewels, a button...you could use anything! How neat would old sheet music cut into a pinwheel and secured with a small broach be?? So shabby Chic!

Although I made them for decoration, my mom actually sold 2 of them!

Hoppy Easter

2010-04-05T12:14:00.007-05:00

We really enjoyed our Easter festivities this year. We went to our church Sunday morning, Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church; which we love. Then traveled to Arlington to be with Steven's family. We had a large group at 28 and Cohen had such a great time with his cousins. After a delicious lunch, we headed out for the egg hunt. Cohen enjoyed stomping on flowers more than he did searching for eggs at first. Later he came around to pick up about 5 eggs. I then found him and his cousin (6 weeks younger than Cohen) going through their stash. I hope that your easter was filled with the Lord's word, delicious food and fun fellowship too!

Crazy Boy

2010-03-30T15:12:00.007-05:00

The Buddy is now 19 months old and sooo busy! He is into everything, independent and loves to talk...now if we could just figure out what he is saying. It has been about 6 months since we have had his picture taken, so we decided to take advantage of a great coupon at the Studio One to One in our mall. I was pleasantly surprised with the level of service and pictures that we received!

The Buddy was not an easy target as he was literally running in circles, jumping and yelling the entire shoot. I am amazed that we got a single picture, let alone so many good ones.

Air Guitar

Sweet bunny picture

Soon after the last picture. The bunny hopped, which scared The buddy, which resulted in this. Too funny!

Cupcakes + Cocktails

2010-03-23T10:18:00.022-05:00

After seeing this party, I knew that I wanted to put my touch on this theme. I figured my 30th was the best time. I rented a boutique on Main St in Frisco, TX called the Blue Door Boutique. If you have ever driven by this store and not stopped by, you really should because they have a big variety of really great stuff. They are reasonably priced too! The ladies that run this store were fabulous to work with and made everything so easy. They were nice enough to clear a few of their display tables for us to decorate.

Here are some party details:

Invite made by my good friend and photographer, Travis Fragile Works Gallery

Cupcake base: made by my mother

Floral arrangements/Vases: Hobby Lobby arranged by my Mother (excuse my dad in the background..heehee)

Frames: Marshalls. Large frame telling cupcake flavors, small frames for each cocktail. The Tif-tini (martini) and the Sparkling diamond (champagne and pomegranate juice with a floating plastic diamond: Hobby Lobby)

This is how we chose to display the tags to sign up for the giveaways. Each glitter clothes pin had a tag attached. Guests unclipped a tag, added their name and dropped the tag in a bowl. We then pulled names for the giveaways...so fun!

Giveaways: bags/tissue from Hobby Lobby. I used my Xyron (new favorite toy) to create stickers for the front...very easy

Water Bottle wrappers: Made by my Sister. Look for her Etsy store soon for The cutest water bottle wrappers!

Cupcakes from Dimples Cupcakes in Frisco. They are good sized cupcakes and are really delicious! We went with Wedding cake, strawberry and Chocolate cream. The Chocolate T's were handmand by us and as well as the cupcake wrappers. Want to know how?? comment and I can let you know. Both were super easy!

Personalized petals: My mom and cousin surprised me with these! Aren't they adorable! They are packaged rose petals stamped with my name, cupcakes, and crowns. What a fabulous idea instead of confetti!

Mini cupcakes were ordered in Waco at What about Cupcakes and picked up by a sweet friend that drove them to Dallas! The edible diamonds were added by me. I found them on ebay: naturallygiftedny. We displayed them in blue and green chocolate covered sunflower seeds (marshalls)

Favors were hand towels rolled to look like cupcakes! I ordered these on Ebay: armani1031. They even matched the "wrapper" to my napkins

Drink flags (for the mocktail: Flirty 30 punch) were made by me. A skewer, fabulous cricket cut outs and hand written "Sips". All glassware was rented from Docky Bob's in Dallas.

Frame from Ikea. Idea from P is for Party! Isn't that the cutest photo booth!?

I had the best time planning this party. It turned out exactly how I wanted. If you would like to see the party pics, check them out here: Cupcakes + Cocktails.

30...the new black

2010-03-22T10:27:00.005-05:00

It's official! I am now 30 and I kinda like it! Sounds way more sophisticated than the 20's and I had a blast turning 30, so that always helps. Yesterday was the craziest day. I woke up to 6 inches of snow...snowmaggedon, as the weather man called it. I can truly say that I have never had snow on my birthday and thought that maybe my party wasn't going to happen.

Churches were delayed, some services canceled and I wasn't sure the place we were holding the party was going to open for us, but they were beyond amazing to work with. I had the perfect party!

I can't wait to share pictures with you all. I was surrounded by love, compliments, laughter and just a great time. I felt pretty, had a blast and didn't want it to end. As soon as I receive pics back from my aaaaamazing photographer I will share them with you.

I need to thank some peeps:

Mom and Dad, Thank you, thank you, thank you! Mom, You have been so patient with me and my vision. You never cease to amaze me and helped make my party exactly what was in my head. Dad, between cooking, cleaning and babysitting you were a Godsend the past few weeks. The Buddy loves having yall around...Your daughter loves ya!

Steven, I truly appreciate you "going with it" over the last couple of months. I know I can be a monster when it comes to party planning and all the details I must have. Thank you for ALL you do ALL the time. You are precious to me!

Chelle, Thanks for keeping me straight and all your help this last weekend. I covet your opinion and love your help. Thanks, Dude!

Sandy, Amy, Kaylie and Sadie....my party crew....I always know that you guys are willing and ready for a project. I have such a blast with each one of you and know that no matter what the occasion or the project you guys will be there! Thank you for that and I love yall bunches!!

I also want to thank ALL of my family and friends that joined me on my special day. Rain or snow you guys were there and I appreciated that. I received so many well wishes via text message, facebook, in the mail, etc. It was a perfect day!

Note: Accountability Update
In 8 weeks I officially lost 11.2 pounds and couldn't be more pleased. I went from a size 8 to a size 4! What next you ask...My next goal is to lose the last 9.8 pounds to hit my ultimate goal of 20 pounds lost. Just in time for bathing suit season (yikes!). I will keep you posted!

March Madness

2010-03-03T10:36:00.005-06:00

And not the basketball kind. I LOVE March. Partly because it is my birthday month, but mostly because it starts to look more like spring. Days are longer, brighter and more productive. Ok fine, because it's my Birthday month!!

I have so many friends and family with March birthdays and with this being the year that a lot of us are turning 30 it has become one big party. Which I love. My favorite past time (besides shopping) is party planning and I am now a busy bee getting ready for my 30th!

Someone asked me the other day if I was embarrassed to be throwing myself a birthday party and I thought....you must not know me. haha. I enjoy every single step to party planning and know it will be the way that I envision if I do it myself...you know...Oprah style...

I am currently planning a Cupcakes + Cocktails party. I was inspired by this Party (fabulous blog by the way if you love party planning) and was eager to start planning. I won't tell you much, you will just have to wait for the post, but I will leave you with a preview.

Happy March Everyone!!

Update Accountability

2010-02-22T20:56:00.005-06:00

The week after I wrote this post I was talked into trying weight watchers (rather than just counting calories) by my very fit college roommate. She was so confident that it would be just what I needed to jump start my weight loss, she paid for the online version of weight watchers for me and she was right!!

I have now been doing weight watchers for 3 weeks and have lost 4 pounds! so add that to the 1 pound I lost counting calories and I am up to 5 pounds in total weight lost!! I continue to workout for 30 to 60 minutes every night and I have really enjoyed it. I generally choose a Turbo Jam dvd (love em!) or the elliptical and I can feel my body changing. I am so excited to see how the rest of this journey goes. I will keep you updated!

On another note, I just finished working our largest event: NCA/NDA All Star Nationals. (think 15,000 cheerleaders + dancers and 30,000 spectators) It is a lot of hours, a lot of fun and a little bit of madness. The first day of the event we host a dance convention. Last year's lead teachers were Tabitha and Napolean of So You Think You Can Dance and this year it was Twitch from a couple of seasons ago. I was so excited to meet him and he was very, very nice and really funny. The dancers really enjoyed his choreography and personality. Wonder who I will meet next year??

NDA Unleashed 2009: Tabitha and Napoleon

NDA Unleashed 2010: Twitch

Snow Swimming

2010-02-12T23:41:00.005-06:00

By now I am sure that you are aware that we have had record setting snow in Dallas the last couple of days. It was interesting to me that in The Buddy's short life and my *gasp* almost 30 yr old life we are seeing the most snow in our lifetimes. We wasted no time once getting home from work yesterday to get out in it! The Buddy wasn't sure what to think...he just kept looking at it and laughing...too cute.

Today we decided to switch it up a bit and joined some friends at the heated indoor kids pool at the Frisco Athletic Center. The Buddy had a blast with his friend and slept well later.

Hope your weekend has started out as well as ours!

The Deep End

2010-02-04T11:57:00.005-06:00

UPDATE: Looks like it wasn't the right episode...Hopefully next week!
Have you seen the show yet?? This past summer my little cousin was cast as an extra in the show that airs tonight! If you haven't seen it yet, it can best be described as the legal version of Greys Anatomy. I don't looooove the show, but am proud that our Bman is going to be a part of it.

He is set to be in a scene with his ipod on, drawing a picture in the conference room while the lawyers are talking about him. Let me know if you see it!!

Accountability

2010-01-31T18:26:00.009-06:00

It has been a week now and I have decided that I need to fess up to the world in order to be accountable for my goal. You see, my 30th birthday is 7 weeks from today and I am overweight. I don't want to be overweight on my 30th birthday. So I am doing something about it! Here is my story:

I was this girl for most of my childhood:

A thin, scrawny, quirky little girl. As a child I took gymnastics and dance classes for years. I was always the little one. short, and boney.

The next phase was high school. I was on company at my dance studio, the high school dance team and then a varsity cheerleader my senior year; which brings us to this picture:

This picture makes me laugh out loud! The socks...the cap....the stance...oh my! But I was the girl that never worried about my weight. I had a load of other insecurities but my weight definitely wasn't one of them.

Next was College:

That is me in the middle. My legs don't even touch for cryin out loud! Again, at this point in my life the most excercise I got was coaching cheerleading, cheering games, and dance practice. Bush's chicken was my favorite meal and I lived off of Dr. pepper. If I only knew then that I wouldn't have that body forever. I honestly at the time thought it would always stick around.

My next phase was my internship at Walt Disney World. This came after college and 5 months after major jaw surgery. I was the smallest I had been my entire adult life. As you can see...

The biggest thing on me were my shoes! My shorts are Abercrombie size double ZERO! That just blows my mind.

After a desk job, lots of nights home lounging with my honey and THIS: Things started to change.

Well, All of this to say that I haven't been equiped with the tools that I need to get back into shape because well...I had always been in shape. I mean, I have heard the schpeal...eat right and excercise. But the truth is I have had to reeeaaallly think about what that means. Sipping on 1 bottle of water all day (rather than the 8 glasses I should have) and eating one pop tart instead of both in the package is not exactly eating right. And unfortunately shopping is not the best cardio (man how I wish it was).

But when 130 pounds settled on my small 4 foot 10 inch body (thats the height of a 4th grader, yall!) I knew it was time to think about a real change. I can't use the excuse, "Maybe I like being fat" any longer because the truth is I don't!

SO here is my goal. By my 30th Birthday, March 21st, 2010 I will be 16 pounds (or so) lighter. I have set a reasonable daily calorie goal for myself and have vowed to workout 30 minutes every single day in hopes to shed 2 pounds a week.

I started last Sunday, exactly 8 weeks prior to my birthday. I am proud to say that I have enjoyed all of my activities this week and even some new foods! I currently weigh 129 and am pumped for the next 15!

Now I have said it...and it is out there for all to see...now I am accountable. Anyone want to join me!?

My little man

2010-01-13T22:45:00.003-06:00

Happy 17 months to The Buddy!

I can not tell you how much of a joy it is to have this guy in our lives. We are truly blessed!

Honorable Mention and RIP 20's

2010-01-04T15:47:00.006-06:00

As you are probably aware, I love planning a party. I mean I truly looooooove it. It is such an exciting process to me.

I thought I was burned out after my mom's giant 50th celebration and The Buddy's first, but somehow I keep finding ways to be involved in parties. I am currently helping a friend at work plan her daughter's third birthday and hit up a few websites that I like to frequent for ideas. I stumbled upon this: Join The Swarm Party: Honorable Mention

I totally forgot that I had submitted my party details to http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/ back in August. They actually picked mine as an honorable mention party!! How fun is that!?

On that note....I haven't even told you about Steven's 30th Birthday party! We celebrated it with our college roommates (Steven's college roommate married my college roommate. Isn't that fun!)

The theme was a Black Out Bash as we were "mourning our 20's". It was a lot of fun. Here are some pics:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Another Year (By Grandaddy)

2009-12-25T20:52:00.002-06:00

It has been a very exciting year since the last blog. I have really grown a lot and I am learning new things every day. Just after I wrote last year, I got to go to Daddy’s work. They were having a Caravan there. I got my picture taken with the mascots. Mommy and I stood in line to have some Texas Rangers sign my bat. They were laughing at how small my Louisville Slugger was. I keep the bat in my room. Daddy showed us all around the ballpark where he works. It looks like a fun job.

My job is to go to Miss Gladys’s house. She takes care of me and teaches me things. She loves me even when I’m cranky, I love her too. Mommy and Daddy took me to have 6 month pictures taken. I got new clothes and new toys to have my picture taken with. It was fun and everyone tells me how much they like them. I make those pictures look good. Every once in a while Mommy and Daddy takes me to the Doctor’s office. It started out OK, but then he started giving me shots. He seems nice and then he just sneaks up on me and then WOW, THAT HURT. They keep bringing me to see him. He seems nice and then he does it again. What is up with that? I’ve been getting new teeth along the way. It really hurts. It makes me cranky and feel bad, but they help me eat. I like to eat. My teething frustrates Mommy and Daddy, but hey, I’m frustrated too. My Mommy had a birthday and she had a great time. All the girls went to lunch and had a tea party. LaLa made a cake and everyone said it was very good. When do I get cake? Mommy was very happy. I love when Mommy is happy.

We went to church with MeMe and Pops. My Mommy and Daddy dedicated me. My Daddy stood up in front of a lot of people and made a promise to God that they would raise me in the Lord. It sounded pretty important. My Uncle Brian dedicated my cousin Trinity also. Everyone was there, Aunt Cheri, cousins Caleb and Luke, MeMe and Pops, and aunty Chelle. LaLa and Granddaddy even had to drive thru and ice storm, but they made it. It is always so much fun to have all my family together and to feel all the extra love. I love everyone. I like Easter, there were new clothes and rabbits and ducks and fun. There was also a story about Jesus. He loves me so much, he was sacrificed for me. It sounds like that dedication stuff. I don’t completely understand, but someday I will. I just know that I love Jesus too.

We got to go back to Daddy’s ballpark, and this time there was a game going on. There was so much excitement and people were everywhere. Daddy took us to the club area. Everyone had a good lunch and I had a bottle. He showed us all around. Everyone was happy and LaLa bought me my first Roughrider’s hat. What a great day.
Everyone seemed to worry because I wasn’t crawling. They were saying that I might even learn to walk first. I was just taking my time. Once I was ready, I just took off. Then Mommy and Daddy had to “childproof” the house, whatever that means. I love to watch TV shows and movies. I like to watch football on TV too. I learn a lot from TV, especially from those Einstein guys and penguins. I love to watch penguins. Those penguins are smart and funny. I’m going to be smart and funny.

During the summer, it was LaLa’s birthday. I don’t know how much 50 is, but LaLa can’t be much older than Aunty Chelle. We went to dinner at a Japanese steakhouse. They ran out of room in the kitchen, because the cook guy had to do the cooking at our table. LaLa was happy and everyone gave her gifts. Mommy and Aunt Michelle gave her a cake and I found out that LaLa loves her some cake. We had a very good time. The next day we were going to have our family pictures taken. I was going to get to share my photographer with the whole family. When we walked into the door at the place, everyone yelled SURPRISE. It sure surprised me and it made LaLa cry. Everyone was there and I mean everyone. There were people that I was meeting for the first time. There was candy and everything was decorated so nice. There was even a bigger cake. LaLa had a great time. It was like some kind of fairytale. I guess that was the theme or something. Good thing Uncle John was there because I think my photographer got lost. Later I got to go to the pool and swim with LaLa. I thought LaLa had the best birthday ever.

I’ve been learning to walk. I get better every day. When you can walk good, then you can learn to kick a ball and dance. I’m going to keep practicing my walking everyday because I want to learn to play soccer and to dance. I can dance in a shopping cart and in my seat at the restaurant, but I want to dance on my feet like Mommy and Daddy.

My birthday was the best. LaLa worked hard on a table that looked like my baby Einstein caterpillar. She painted a wall for people to put their faces thru and take a picture. Mommy and Daddy and everyone decorated the room like bugs with grass and flower balloons. It just goes on and on. Who thinks of this stuff? I finally got to eat cake. It was sooo good. My friend David was there and he brought his parents. There were aunts and uncles and cousins and Me Me and Pops, and LaLa and Granddaddy and more friends with their Mommy’s and Daddy’s. There were presents and everything. What a day!!! I just want to give everyone big hugs and kisses. I think my birthday was even better than Mommy’s and LaLa’s.

I got to go camping. MeMe and Pops were there with lots of aunts and Uncles and Cousins. There were new ones that I had not met before. I got to play with Caleb and Luke and Trinity. It was fun to spend time with family. I love family. My photographer finally showed up. 1 year pictures they said. I got new clothes and this time I was able to show off my walking. Mommy said I was cranky and that none of the pictures would turn out good. I will let you decide. Have I ever taken a picture that didn’t turn out good? I think Mommy just needed a nap.

I’ve been trying to work on self improvement areas. Like walking better and eating better and sleeping thru the night. I’ve been trying hard and making good progress. I just want to know what happen to my bottle. I used to get 6 or 7 a day and then it went to 4. Now I am down to 1 and Mommy and Daddy are trying to take that away. Am I to try and only drink from a sippy cup? I know Mommy and Daddy only want what is best for me, but I’m a little concerned over the pace that some of these changes are taking place. I try to talk to them about it but they don’t understand. I will clearly state my case and the will look at me and say “HUH”? I will repeat myself exactly and they will say “What”? I’m going to be patient with them while they try and improve their communication skills. Next thing you know they are going to try and get me to go number 1 and 2 in that potty in the bathroom.I got to go to a parade. It was Baylor’s Homecoming. There were bands and floats and pretty girls in cars waving at me. Everyone was throwing candy and I got to show off some of my dancing moves. Mommy, Daddy, LaLa, Granddaddy, Aunt Sandy, and Cousins Amy, Kaylie, Brandon, and Sadie were there. Granny and Pops showed up later. Where was Aunty Chelle? We go to visit the bear on campus and then my parents brought me to my first live football game. I liked the music and the crowd was cheering. What a great day.

Halloween was fun. Mommy and Daddy dressed up silly to go to a party. I dressed up like a lion. We went to the fall festival at our church. My friend David was there and everyone had fun. My favorite things were riding in the little train and standing in line to show off my soccer skills. Since I started walking, mommy and Daddy put up my activity center seat. After I play for a while, I like to sit down. There was nowhere to sit. I finally got the idea to sit in Kenzi’s bed. It worked OK, but Kenzi didn’t like it. One day my Daddy brought home a chair just for me. It works great; I just hope Kenzi stays out of it. I’m starting to notice that there are always visitors at my house. I never know who I’m going to see next. What fun and I get to play with them all. There is LaLa and Granddaddy and Aunty Chelle. I’ve seen MeMe and Pops. Cousin Amy and Jason with Kaylie, Brandon. and Sadie come by too. Aunt Sandy and Uncle John are there sometimes. Boy we have a good time and there are people sleeping everywhere. Fun, fun, fun. Pictures again. This time it was Mommy, Daddy, LaLa, Granddaddy, and Aunty Chelle. We went to downtown McKinney and took pictures in different places. I loved them all. Everyone looked great. Then we went and had dinner at a fancy restaurant and celebrated Granddaddy’s and Aunt Michelle’s and Daddy’s birthdays. They got presents and everything. Aunty Chelle was really happy with her Coffee maker, yippee.

What a great holiday Thanksgiving is. We loaded up and went to MeMe’s house. Everyone was there and there was so much food. Mommy and Daddy let me try some new things. I didn’t feel very will but I had a good time playing with my cousins. Everyone said what they were thankful for and I was mentioned a couple of times. Everyone was thankful for family and friends and Jesus of course. We went back home and everybody else showed up. There was more food and playing with cousins. The girls had a Deck the Dolls day. They went to eat and see the Nutcracker. They were all excited. There was shopping and football and food and movies and lights. I was thankful for everyone and the good time we had, and for Jesus of course.

Sometimes Mommy and Daddy are busy and Aunty Chelle has to come pick me up from Miss Gladys’s house. I am sooo excited to see her. Sometimes I run around or I yell and raise up my hands or I just show how I can bark like a dog. I’m just glad that she is nice enough to help Mommy and Daddy. I love me some Aunty Chelle.

Christmas is coming. Mommy and Daddy take me around to see lights. I get to listen to Christmas music and dance around. Mommy took me to see Santa and he wanted to have his picture taken with me. Everyone is getting so excited that it makes me excited too. I can’t wait until family show up again. LaLa, Granddaddy and Aunty Chelle are coming to my house. There will be presents everywhere. Then I get to go to MeMe’s and Pops. Uncle Brian and Aunt Cherri with Cousins Caleb, Luke and of course Trinity will be there. We will all celebrate together. A few nights ago Mommy was watching the Rockettes’ Christmas Show on TV. There were so many pretty girls. Daddy was watching the pretty girls too, but he was trying to not let Mommy notice. I was having a good time. At the end they showed baby Jesus in a manger. An angel appeared to some shepherds. The angel said “Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord”. He said a savior has been born. Baby Jesus grows up to be the Easter Jesus that sacrifices himself for us. I don’t know how all that happens yet but Daddy promised to teach me and I know everyone else will help too. How special do you have to be that everyone celebrates your birthday? I want to learn all about that and I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

2009-12-25T16:07:00.006-06:00

I looooooooooove Christmas and am sad that it is coming to an end. I love everything about it. Like shopping for loved ones, parties, lights on the house, making Christmas cards, reading about the birth of Jesus to The Buddy, gingerbread Latte's, and Christmas music!

This Christmas has been no different. Steven is probably glad that it is here so that I can finally stop shopping. I always shop early (black friday) but seem to find reasons to shop all the way up to Christmas anyway. I really enjoy buying for people and getting them just the right thing that they may not have even known they wanted. This sometimes backfires though, haha. Most of our presents were even wrapped in personalized wrapping paper with Cohen's face on it. (Steven just shakes his head at me). I also take Christmas cards very seriously. We always take pics by thanksgiving and have Christmas cards out by December 1st. I get made fun of often for this, but I don't care.

This year I was excited that The Buddy would enjoy it so much more at 16 months than he did at 4 months and boy was I right! He loved opening things at his Mimi's house last night and this morning was great too. Santa got Cohen a miniature 4 wheeler and he is still trying to figure out how to work it.

Next up was to go outside and tryout the new 4 wheeler. The boys went outside quickly, so I bundled up in my new uggs (yipee) and a sweatshirt and ran outside to catch them in action. Well, needless to say it snowed all day yesterday and I eat it as I hit the ice on the drive way! I didn't even see it coming; however it made a hilarious video. We keep watching it over and over and over again (on my new flip...too cool!). Too funny!

On a serious note. I am so thankful for time with my family during the holidays and am reminded of how truly blessed I really am. I have such peace knowing that Jesus died for me and enjoy celebrating this day for him. As Cohen grows older, I look forward to him feeling the same peace, blessings and love. Merry Christmas everyone!

Who is ready for Santa??

2009-12-24T23:40:00.002-06:00

THIS guy is!!

The Jonas Brothers Open This Year's Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade!

2009-12-23T14:06:00.001-06:00

Yep! That is me in the Hot Pink Sweater (clapping) on the promo for the Christmas Day parade. I am at :10-:12 seconds in the video. Check me out on Christmas day at 9AM central for the full performance. I just might make the show too. Haha.

Christmas' Past and Christmas' Present

2009-12-07T22:48:00.009-06:00

Christmas 2006

(I love how Kenzi has her red sweater too)

Christmas 2007
(worst idea for a Christmas card...take an outside picture and make it look like you are sitting inside! Also the last year that Kenzi joined us. She is still with us, but doesn't seem to make the picture anymore. Poor thang!)

Christmas 2008

(My personal favorite! This was an impromptu photo shoot that a friend of ours did for us. Cohen looks soooooo itty bitty)

AND......

Christmas 2009!

(our sweet little family! Taken by our amazing friend that also did our pictures in 2008)

Happy Holidays!!

Disney's Christmas Extravaganza

2009-12-07T21:45:00.008-06:00

At our (NCA/NDA) summer camps every year we reward our top teams and All-American cheerleaders with the choice of one of our Special Events. These are the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Thanksgiving in Paradise (Hawaii), and Disney's Christmas Extravaganza, Orange Bowl Half time, etc. I was lucky enough to attend out Disney event this year and really enjoyed it. We spent 5 days at the happiest place on earth. Our performance will be part of the Disney parks Christmas Day Parade on Christmas Morning.

Tiana, the newest princess, from The Princess and the Frog

Our group at the Christmas Light show...very cool!

Our participants were lucky enough to perform with the Jonas Brothers during the parade in addition to their performance. We even had a small meet and greet with 15 of the biggest Jonas Brothers fans. It was a lot of fun to see them get so excited. I on the other hand was still trying to figure out which brother was who.

Showing our Jonas Brothers crendentials. We had them for the meet and greet.

My favorite girl, Nichole, and the middle Jonas

My favorite part of the trip as riding Tower of Terror as much as possible (also my favorite ride when I interned with Disney 6 years ago) and performing the flash mob with the Jo Bros. The concept was that the Jonas Brothers would be performing in the parade, then the crowd would break out into a choreographed dance. We taped for 4 hours and saw the Jo Bros perform 9 times. At one point the camera man put a step ladder directly in front of me and filmed me doing the choreography twice. Soooooooo there is a chance I will get some air time! Check it out on Christmas morning on ABC. It is hosted by Regis and Kelly. Let me know if you see it! The girls (all 322 of them) did a fabulous job putting together a great performance in only 2 practices. I am excited to see it on Christmas day. Here are some pics...

Tasha and I during rehearsal for the flash mob.

During taping of the flash mob. I was really close!

Deck the Dolls 2009

2009-12-07T20:30:00.003-06:00

I don't mean to skip Thanksgiving. It was a great time with family. We celebrated on Wednesday with Steven's family in Arlington. Then came back home on Thursday to hang out with my family (minus michelle as she was in Hawaii again for our Thanksgiving in Paradise event at work) and of course start our Christmas shopping bright and early at 4:30 am. This time we started at Sams of all places. We walked straight in, got a new tv for our bedroom and we our very quickly. We enjoyed about 5 hours of shopping and headed back to the house to start decorating for Christmas.

Then it was time for the first annual Deck the Dolls party. My aunt was interested in having a girls day and possibly seeing the nutcracker. Well if you know me at all, you know that I am always game to plan a party!! Thus began the 1st annual Deck the Dolls party. There were 14 of us, including my grandmother who we kidnapped and surprised with the event. We met for brunch at a great place called Taverna. Then headed to the brand new Winspear Opera House in Dallas to see the Nutcracker. It was beautiful. At the end of act one, while it was snowing on stage, it suddenly started snowing over the audience. It was very very cool! Everyone enjoyed themselves and we are looking forward to Deck the Dolls 2010 and the Rockette Spectacular show....my personal favorite!!

The big 15

2009-11-15T21:43:00.005-06:00

I truly CAN NOT believe that our little buddy is 15 months old! He has grown (sort of) and changed so much since his birthday it amazes me. Here are some quick stats on the little guy:

* He is really starting to talk more. His current words are: Bye, Dog, Book, Duck, boot, Hi, Mama, Dada, uh oh, and ball. He said his first sort of sentence on November 9. I told him it was time to go and he turned to Steven and said, "Bye. Bye Dada" Steven melted.

* He is getting more michevious and starting to get into EVERYTHING. Tonight he started climbing which makes me super nervous.

* He is stubborn and has a major temper. He knows what he wants and he is gonna fight for it.

* He likes to kick the soccer ball, watch Penquings of Madagascar, and dance (he actually loves to dance)

Stats:

Weight 21 pds 12%

Height 31 inches 45%

Head Circumference 17 5/8 2%

SYTYCD Tour

2009-11-01T08:03:00.001-06:00

I LOVE this show but not as much as I love the tour. I could watch performances like this all day and was super excited to go with my mom and sister this year. Philip's solo was the best performance of the night and he wasn't technically supposed to be on the tour. He was kicked off of the show before he made it to the top 10. If you get a chance to see this tour you should check it out.

Rooaarr!

2009-11-01T00:41:00.006-05:00

We have had so much fun this weekend with Halloween. Steven and I attended the 6th Annual Brew Ha Ha at our friends, The Acheson's, new house. It was a lot of fun (always is) and there were some great costumes this year. I decided to be Ugly Betty (which odly looked like my 7th grade school picture); while Steven settled on Billy Mays of Oxyclean fame.

We really had a lot of fun with it! Then it was on to the Fall Festival. Our church puts on THE best Fall Festival around and we were so excited to go again this year. We met our good friends, The Pyle's for dinner then headed over for some fun.

We worked with Cohen on his Roar all day, but he would just look at us like we are crazy. We figure he will probably start roaring next week when it won't matter anymore. Isn't he the cutest lion you've ever seen?
The boys are so cute together! I can't help but wonder if these pictures will one day be in their senior picture page in the yearbook.

(my favorite part is how Cohen crossed his ankles)

Once in the church, we started through all of the classrooms where they have a different activity in each one. The Soccer Kick room was Cohen's favorite. He clapped for everyone while waiting his turn. He was by far the youngest in the room, but had two great kicks when it was his turn.

And that was our Halloween weekend. I hope yours was as fun!

Homecoming

2009-10-31T23:58:00.004-05:00

We love going home for Baylor Homecoming and it was Cohen's first Homecoming experience. I was so excited to take him to his first homecoming parade because I have so many memories of attending every year growing up. I used to stare in awe at the Baylor Cheerleaders and how I knew I wanted to be one, only to get to walk in the parade two years at Baylor as a Baylor Spirit Squad member!

(I am on the far left. circa 2002)

This year my parents, cousins, aunt and grandparents joined us, which made it extra special. We started out at Shipley's donuts ( my fav) then headed to our usual spot downtown.

We then headed over to campus so Cohen could see the bears in the bear pit. Then off to the game. Cohen's first football game was a big hit. Every time the crowd would get loud he would yell, "YAY" while clapping..so cute!

We left at halftime because Cohen fell asleep, but drove over to the suspension bridge for an impromptu picnic of Bush's Chicken (man I miss that place!). We ended the day at Spice Shop, another fav of mine and then headed home. It was a fabulous day!

Fridge Inspector

2009-10-11T20:07:00.004-05:00

The minute I turn my back on the open fridge, this is what I find.

Once he is finished trying to knock the eggs off the shelf and reach for something to drink I watched as he grunted while closing the door.

Then got this sweet face as if to say, "what mom!?"

This age is so funny!

Happy Fall Yall!

2009-10-07T15:05:00.003-05:00

This is a crazy month at the Nelson house, so I will post again when possible. In the meantime, hope your Fall is starting off nicely!

Super Hero

2009-09-13T17:25:00.003-05:00

We have been wondering what The Buddy should be for Halloween this year. He makes it clear that he doesn't like things on his face (sunglasses, masks) or his head (baylor caps, hoods). But apparently a cape is just fine!

Isn't this a cute cape! We just left a Super Heroes party for The Buddy's friend Cooper. They had pillow cases with velco strips to connect around the neck and fabric markers to create your own super hero cape. The parents had a great time with it. They also gave lime green rock candy sticks for favors labeled Kryptonite. Isn't that cute! We had a good time!

Fling your Green and Gold

2009-09-05T10:27:00.005-05:00

Steven and I love Baylor! Ultimately it is where we met and the place of some of our fondest memories. This year we decided to get Baylor Football season tickets in order to ensure we make it to alot of games.

We are so excited about taking Cohen and enjoying some great football. The excitment at the Nelson house for the beginning of another Baylor football season and all the possibilities that holds, is high!

So to get ready, we have been scouring DFW and the internet for new baylor gear and have been so frustrated with our options. I spent Thursday night roaming the mall looking for a girls sized Baylor T-shirt; which is apparently impossible to come by.

Frustrated at this point, I asked the sales guy if he knew of anywhere for me to go. He replied, "Have you tried Rally House?" I'm like, What the heck is Rally House? After a short conversation about a new store in Plano, TX called The Rally House of Texas, Steven and I decide to go at lunch the next day and check it out.

I was so giddy to walk into this store and see this:

We were like kids in a candy store, snatching up everything in site!

The coolest thing about this store is that it has great gear for all your Texas teams, including: Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, Stars, UT, TTECH, A&M, etc.

My favorite find was the kids section. I enjoy giving baylor gifts to our friends that are having kids, but have to stock up in Waco in order to do it. Rally House had a substantial kids section with BU baby blankets, crib mobiles, tshirts, booties, little cheer outfits, tiny ball caps, etc.

SO, if you are a Bayor Bear fan or any team in Texas for that matter, you NEED to check out Rally House! They are in the shopping center at Preston and Park in Plano Texas, and are planning to open a second location in Arlington soon. We spent a small fortune yesterday, and plan to go back soon. Let me know if you check it out.

So you think you can glee the amazing ugly mentalist...Mercy!

2009-09-04T00:27:00.006-05:00

I love television...I mean LOVE it! And I can not wait for all the new seasons to start. Even if you aren't tv junkies like we are at the Nelson house, I bet you are still looking foward to something on tv this fall. SO....drum roll please...DDDDDDDDD - Here is a listing of some good ones.

On your mark...Get set......Start your TIVO! (Please note these are central standard times)

Melrose Place Tuesday, September 8 CW 8PM
SYTYCD Wednesday, September 9 FOX 7PM
Glee Wednesday, September 9 FOX 8PM
The Biggest Loser Tuesday, September 15 NBC 7PM
Fringe Thursday, September 17 FOX 8PM
The Office Thursday, September 17 NBC 8PM
Mercy Wednesday, September 23 NBC 7PM
Greys Anatomy Thursday, September 24 ABC 8PM
The Mentalist Thursday, September 24 CBS 9PM
Extreme HMO Sunday, September 27 ABC 6PM
The Amazing Race Sunday, September 27 CBS 7PM
Desperate HW Sunday, September 27 ABC 8PM
Private Practice Thursday, October 1 ABC 9PM
Ugly Betty Friday, October 9 ABC 7PM
30 Rock Thursday, October 15 NBC 8:30PM

If you are looking for any others...Here is a great list. Happy Watching!

Disclaimer: We do not watch all of these shows, but thought this would be a good collective list.

How bout dem Cowboys!?

2009-08-30T14:27:00.006-05:00

My dad and I went to the Dallas Cowboys new stadium for the first time last night and all I can say is...Holy Moley! That place was A-mazing! It almost looks like we are standing in front of a green screen in this picture!

We were able to park just a few blocks away from the stadium for a measley $20. I use the word measley because as you can see on this sign on a lot about a block away, we could have paid a lot more!

We laughed because the surrounding neighbors were absolutely taking advantage of their prime property. This family even decided to have a yard sale while droves of people walked by to get to the stadium. I Wonder if they sold anything?

We had endzone seats and thought it was a good spot. We also thought that our video board was Ginormous....that is until we noticed the one facing each side of the field. There are no words for the Ginormity of that screen. You may have heard that it runs from 20 yard line to 20 yard line, but to see it in person is so different. A video board that big makes it so that you could have tickets on the 4th deck and still feel like you are in on the action.

picture from our seats

Video Board....ours is the one facing towards the left.

My favorite part of the stadium was the pro shop. I can literally shop anywhere. I was excited to find that Victorias Secret PINK brand has a line of pro team stuff, so I scored a really really soft VS PINK shirt to wear to watching parties later this season and a soft cowboys football for The Buddy.

SO, I would definitely recommend that you find a time to visit this stadium. It is truly an experience. Plus there are ample opportunities over the next season. Everything from $29 party pass tickets which are standing room only: as you can see here. To tickets that starts at $59.

They are offering these at each cowboys game and even some of the collegiate games happening at the stadium. Or choose any concert or event they have booked there. They even have tours every day starting at 9am where you will see the stadium, go on the field AND even go in the locker room. I recommend that you find a time to make it out there. The traffic was not bad AT ALL either, so what is your excuse...Go check it out!

I really enjoyed going with my dad and look forward to going back with Steven and Cohen sometime soon!!

The Next Beckham

2009-08-24T13:02:00.001-05:00

Mr. Nelson is pretty pleased that his 12 month old son can kick the soccer ball. We practiced about 6 times, then he had it down...even the celebrating part. Pretty funny! Hopefully this is just the beginning of his soccer career!

Dear Future Me,

2009-08-20T15:28:00.003-05:00

Now this is cool! I stumbled upon a unique website today that allows you to email yourself in the future. Just visit http://www.futureme.org/ to send your future self an email to be delivered on your specified date in the future. You can write whatever you want, then choose the date that you want to receive it. Clear up to the year 2037!

I mostly just wrote about how life is today, and the hopes I have for the future. Then I emailed it to myself on my birthday in 2014. How cool would it be to create emails for your child to read at a later date? You could really be creative with this. Go check it out and let me know what you think.

Rush Hour

2009-08-17T21:26:00.002-05:00

Just a glimpse into my hour long commute...each way...Daily...ugh!

The stats

2009-08-17T21:13:00.004-05:00

We had Cohen's 1yr pics this morning and had fun taking them at the Dallas Arboretum. I will be sure and share the link once I get them in a week or so. Then it was on to the Doc. Poor Cohen is gonna be a little guy. Not that that is surprising necessarily...heck his momma is 4'10 1/2" and his daddy is 5'10! There isn't a lot of hope there. Here are his stats:

Weight: 20lbs 2 ounces (same as mommy at this age) 12%
Height: 29 inches 38%
Head circumference: 17 inches 1%:(

Now on to the good stuff:
waves bye bye
walking for 3 weeks now
speaks great gibberish
says mamma, dadda, num num (food), Da (dog)
claps
dances
can throw a righteous fit
loves story time at night
still enjoys bath time
hates to be laid down or dressed
loves Ms. Gladys (his in home daycare keeper)
still hates peas, and all stage 3 foods
loves chicken, rice, green beans, and his gerber star snacks

Thats the latest on the buddy!

Birthday Boy!

2009-08-13T21:35:00.011-05:00

Today is the day! I can't believe that Cohen is a year old. We have truly enjoyed every minute of our lives with The Buddy and were excited to celebrate today. My plan is to get a picture of Cohen when he first wakes up on each birthday morning. I figure once he is 16 or so, the pictures will be hilarious. So here is the first one:

Birthday boy first thing this morning. Love those eyelashes!

We made sure that Cohen got to wear his Birthday shirt to "School" today and once he was dressed, he seemed to pose for the camera. So funny!

At lunch I went to the store and picked up a balloon for him. I tied it to his new carseat so when I picked him up this afternoon he could see it. He was mesmerized by it!

So mesmerized in fact that he wouldn't even let go once he had fallen asleep. Too sweet!

Next up was a trip to Chick Fil A for his first kids meal. For some reason, Cohen refuses to eat stage 3 foods. He does do really well with whatever we are having for dinner that night though, so we expected him to take to the chicken and french fries well, and he did!

Once we were home, we gave him his sprinkles cupcake and a sippy with milk. He did great with both. Then we skyped Gdaddy and Lala so they could sing Happy Birthday, and talked with Mimi too. It was such a great day full of lots of memories. We head to the Doc Monday, so we will have stats soon!

Come Join the Swarm

2009-08-09T21:31:00.028-05:00

Whew! What a weekend! We celebrated Cohen's first birthday this past Saturday and it went so well! I went through a couple of themes before deciding on Bugs and I really enjoyed what we landed on. We absolutely couldn't have pulled it off without my parents, sister, and cousins help. THANK YOU GUYS!

Before I forget every detail, I plan to document them here. My theme came upon me when I found some adorable bug catcher nets at the dollar store. they also had really cute sand shovels with bug handles and gummy bug animals. This is where I started with the favors. I also had stickers made that stated, "I joined the Swarm" August 8, 2009 because the bottom of the invitation said, "Come join the Swarm." I then added some sidewalk chalk and pop up bugs. I put everything into a bag, sealed it with a sticker and put a bag in each bug catcher net. Isn't that fun!

Then when it came to food, I had a lot of fun with it. We had Ants on a log, a cheese/cracker/grape tray, 7 layer dip, bug bark (puppy chow snack), and planned to have Fly traps. Fly traps were to replicate the red sticky tape you hang outside and all the bugs get stuck to. We used strawberry fruit by the foot and stuck raisins to it to make flys. I used a piece of turf that I bought from lowes as a table runner and added large bugs I found at the dollar store. The main cake we served was a dirt cake recipe that was so yummy! It was made in a flower pot with oreo dirt, gummy worms and fake flowers. It made a great centerpiece. I also found a super cute bug cake at a Kroger downtown. We used that one for Cohen's smash cake. For the entrance table I really wanted the look of some colored m&ms, but something different. So I went with colored Jelly beans and got the exact look I was looking for. Then threw in some fake flowers to make a colorful arrangement.

Now for decorations! My favorite part! My mom and I really wanted to try and create a "Bugs Life" or "Honey I shrunk the kids" atmosphere. But how do we seat 20 children at one table when they range in age from 3 months to 8 years old? My mother is amazing and created a 9 foot baby einstein catapillar table. It. Was. Amazing! She then went on to create a wood cut out sign where we could get a picture of each kid "joining the swarm" It turned out perfectly and captured exactly what we were trying to accomplish. I also came across a fabulous mom that creates banners on one of my favorite sites, Tip Junkie. She has a link to Mompreneurs there and I ordered this adorable banner from Emmie Cakes.

Once we were all decorated, the kids started to arrive. We used a Dr Suess book called the Bug that went Ka-Choooo as a guest book. We had everyone sign the inside of the book and plan to door this for every Birthday party he has. That way we will have a nice collection of signed birthday books in his library. We also gave a sticker and a pair of bee antennas to wear. The kids were so cute!

In the days before the party, it quickly became clear that our "swarm" was growing to a number that would no longer fit in our house. Luckily we were able to secure a room at our church quickly and what a blessing that was! It was the perfect amount of room and included access to the indoor play gym that the older kids really enjoyed!

Then it was time for cake and presents!

I truly enjoyed creating this party and Cohen was in such a great mood and had such a fun time. Steven was very gracious throughout all of the planning process and went along with all of my crazy ideas. I appreciate him so much for that and did not protest when he suggested that I be banned from party planning for at least a year.....that is just fine with me...I'm pooped!

The Fray, A road trip, major milestone, and a hole punch

2009-07-31T22:37:00.008-05:00

Last Friday night my sister, Steven and I went to see The Fray in concert. It was a good show with great singing. I have been a fan of the Fray for 4 years now and last time we saw them they were opening for Hootie and The Blowfish. I loved their first album, while my sister loved the second one. We were both pleased as they equally played songs from each. It was really hot, but a fun night!

We then set out for Oklahoma first thing Saturday morning in order to see Lala and Grandaddy and to celebrate our little cousin's 5th birthday. Somehow after all of the stops we made, it took us a full 7 hours! HA.

Our first stop, once we made it into town, was my mother's antique mall. She has an entire craft room behind her register area that is so fun to create in. It is literally like being inside of a craft store. Mom and I had fun planning out some things for Cohen's bug party, while Dad played with Cohen.

Later that afternoon, we were visiting some friends and their cute maltese next door to my mom's store. Cohen was so excited and was trying to take some steps. You see he has been standing on his own and walking along things for weeks, but he just wouldn't take a step. Saturday, July 25th, he decided it was time! The funny thing is that he walks like frankenstein. Arms straight out and locked legs. He is getting more brave now that we are home and he has had some practice. At first it was more of a step as he was falling. Here is some video of him.

My little cousin turned 5 on Sunday with a My Little Pony party at the local gymnastics gym. Boy did that bring back memories! Even the smell was exactly as I remembered it. Cohen loved it because he could fall all over the mats and it didn't hurt.

From the moment that I took my shoes off and stepped foot onto the blue mats I was itching to tumble. You see to me tumbling is like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget. I wasn't sure that my body would remember though. So I quietly attempted a backhandspring on the trampoline and thought I ripped my insides out! I landed and quickly said a prayer of thanks for not breaking my neck! After that initial try, it felt like I was 12 again. I went on to do a standing back on the tumble track and some more round off backhandsprings. It was so much fun!

Until Monday morning. My stomach muscles were so sore, I almost couldn't use the table top hole punch at work! HAHA! No wonder I was in such good shape as a kid! Tumbling is the best full body workout. I used muscles I have literally not seen in 10 years! By monday afternoon, I was moving a long alot better.

Bargain Hunter

2009-07-27T12:06:00.003-05:00

I loooooove to shop. I can find something to buy anywhere. For example, Today I am sporting an awesome rock necklace that I found at an Indian Trading post shop connected to a yummy truck stop kind of restaurant in Clinton, OK for $9.95!

I am a SUCKER for a sale. When I see one, my heart starts beating faster and I become anxious! It is like an addiction. Poor Steven hears "but it was on sale" a lot from me. hehe.

SO in the spirit of sharing things that I find exciting, I want to pass along some AMAZING deals I have taken advantage of recently!

#1
Weight Watchers Magazine
I for one have never seen this magazine; however Steven and I are trying to make "better choices" in our daily food selection and I hope this magazine will help! PLUS I got a years subscription for $6.73!!!

Want your own!?
Best Deals Magazine Coupon Code: WW55

#2
Restaurant Gift Certificate
Normally you can visit www.restaurant.com and purchase a $25 gift certificate for $10 BUT now you can have one for just $2! TWO dollars! Are you anxious to check it out yet!? I got mine this morning! Do know that it requires a minimum $35 purchase at the resaurant you choose. Great for date night!

Here you go:
www.Restaurant.com Coupon Cide: NAPKIN

#3
Cool Website
If you are familiar with www.woot.com this is the same idea. There is only one item for sale each day and once it is gone, it is gone! Input major anxiety here! It is specific to mom kinda products and a fun way to shop. I have also noticed recently that once the item has sold out they put up a new item.

Have fun and check back every day!
www.mamabargains.com

As I come across more good deals I will pass them along. If you know of any, please share!

Just braggin

2009-07-22T12:18:00.006-05:00

If you have followed this blog long or know my family, then you know that I have 3 of the cutest little cousins who all have multiple modeling contracts (agents in OK and TX). If you don't know them, then that statement at least tells you that these kids are cute. They are also so funny, giving, and love The Buddy to pieces. Plus, I love to brag about them!

Because of the said modeling contracts, they are in Dallas often for photo shoots. It is always fun to hear about them, but to see them makes all the difference! Here are a few recent ones.

This one is THIS weeks JCpenney ad that came out today.

This guy has some great commercials running in Oklahoma City and has plans to be the next True Religion kids model for Neimans!

This is the oldest and most experienced of the 3. She is THE burberry girl for Neiman Marcus kids. This dress sold out in 2 days after hitting stores!

Just wanted to brag!! NOW....should I send in Cohen's pics...I can't decide. I FULLY understand that I will always think he is cuter than anyone else thinks he is, AND he does not resemeble his contracted cousins, but I still wonder if he would get work. What are your thoughts??

Buzz Words

2009-07-14T15:07:00.003-05:00

Around here, we are gearing up for Cohen's first birthday. After 4 theme ideas that I passed on, we have finally landed on a bug theme. I am a firm believer that your invitation sets the tone for your party and take it seriously when choosing one. I had a hard time finding a cute bug themed invite that wasn't 1) a ladybug with pink and red or 2)spiders or scary bugs. I finally found a really great site called The Party Starts Here. They allow you to write your own information however you like then send you a proof to ok. Once I gave the thumbs up, we received our invites very quickly!

We have had a string of sickness at my house so badly and it hit me for the second time Sunday night. So when the box came yesterday when I was laid up in bed it was the highlight of my day. I opened the box to find turqoise crinkled confetti, a blow horn, and a hand written note. The note said that they were happy to be a part of Cohen's first birthday and that they thought my wording was so cute they featured it on their blog! How neat is that!!

Go check it out at www.thepartystartshereinvitations.blogspot.com.

"Little Red corvette"

2009-07-07T21:56:00.003-05:00

Not quite a corvette, but this little guy looooves his red car. This video is the night he received his new car from Lala and Grandaddy. If you stop pushing him, he lets you know to get going again!

The buddy lately

2009-07-07T21:21:00.004-05:00

Between my mother's 50th birthday party, lots of baseball games and planning the buddy's first birthday, my blogging has been lagging. I'm sorry for that and will try to stay on top things. So here we go.

The buddy is growing and learning every day. It is so amazing how much he has learned in such a small amount of time. We are slowly creeping towards his first birthday and couldn't be more proud to see the little guy he is becoming.

Stats:

Has 4 total teeth (3 on the bottom, one on the top)

Waves goodbye

Can walk when you hold one of his hands. Creeps along everything.

Is now crawling when he can't reach to walk along something

Can say his D's, B's, G's and now his M's!

Started saying: "yeah" as if he is answering you...its too funny

Looooves his red car, his swing, little puffs

Hates getting his diaper changed and stage 3 foods

Not interested in a sippy cup (could actually use some advice for this if anyone knows things to try)

Enjoying a teething biscuit for the first time

Happy 4th!

Playing at the Museum of Nature and Science

Lala's Birthday

2009-06-22T11:52:00.004-05:00

My Mother turned 50 on Friday and we were excited about it. My sister came up with a great gift idea for my mom and we enjoyed putting it all together.

We mailed 45 blank scrapbook pages to all of mom's friends and family in order to put together a book for her. We ordered a beautiful scrabook on Joann's.com that was titled "Once upon a time". Surprisingly we received almost 35 pages back and it truly made an amazing book to give her.

Seeing the book for the first time

Mom awoke to presents on the morning of her birthday, then headed off for the day of shopping, movies and a really yummy dinner at Benihana's.

The family at dinner. Poor Steven had to work and missed it.

The Girls

On the way home from a delicious dinner Mom claimed it to be a perfect day.

Little did she know...

Fairy Tales

2009-06-22T10:57:00.013-05:00

Really DO come true!

The Fairy Tale Manor 10865 Preston Rd. Frisco, TX

For approximately 6 weeks now we have been secretly planning my mother's Surprise 50th Birthday party. My dad insisted that it be a Cinderella theme for the princess that my mother is. Our challenge was then to create the perfect party for 50 of our closest family and friends. We were going for more of a: glass slipper, dreams come true, fairytale party. Rather than a pumpkin, mice and fairy Godmother party. I am pleased to say that I think we succeeded!

The Cake table complete with mom's personal cake on the left and the two tiered cake (so good) from Market Street Grocery Store. The Metal Crown was created by someone my dad works with.

After agonizing over where to hold it, we received an invitation for a wedding in July to be held at The Fairy Tale Manor here in Frisco. It sounded like the perfect place for out party. I looked it up online and found a beautiful one stop shop wedding venue. It just seemed to be too much for a party...or...is it!? Not for my mother! This place was perfect. I called and was pleasantly surprised to find that they were hosting 8 weddings in 7 days surrounding my Mother's birthday, but not on the day we wanted! Next thing you know it was ours, and I was EXCITED!

The next several weeks were diligently spent working on invites, gathering candy for the candy buffet, keeping the surprise quiet and using my mom's tax ID number all over town.

Candy buffet complete with only silver, blue and white candy. Metal frames read "How Sweet it is". Everyone received a take out box with a sticket on it that said, "Sweet of you to come" to take their candy home in.

I am so glad to finally share with you all the most magical day we had this past Saturday. Here is the plot. Mom was convinced we were to have a family portrait done on Saturday afternoon at 2pm. I left earlier in the day and was to meet them later. Mom was to get The Buddy ready for pics. She was all set. Meanwhile all of our friends and family started trickling into the venue ready to complete the surprise.

All of Mom's neices and nephews! We are actually missing 4 others who couldn't make it...We missed you guys!

My Sister with Granny and Pops. My Mother's parents

It was 3 minutes before they were to arrive. Dad was texting us with strict orders not to text him back. Mom was annoyed that the boys seemed to be dragging their feet and that they were going to be late to pictures. We were all standing together, anxiety thick and the anticipation was high!

One side of the room anxiously waiting

They got out of the car and Mom was holding The Buddy. Now, if you remember anything about my mother's reaction to surprises....Refer to this post....then you know she shouldn't be holding The Buddy for this!

So then we see Steven take The Buddy from her. She charges right up to the glass door (which we figure she will notice see us through) and marches right in.

We yell SURPRISE! She jumped! Yelped! Threw her hands over her face and started backing out of the room. We did it! We pulled it off and it was perfect!

We did it!

She started recognizing faces and running around the room to hug everyone's neck. She was so excited to see everyone. But we weren't finished! We hadn't even taken her into the ballroom yet...she is gonna be blown away I was thinking.

The Fairy Tale Manor ballroom

Delicious fruit and cookies brought by my Mother in law...yum!

We played vintage Price is Right for scratch-off card prizes, sang Happy Birthday, ate lots of candy, and visited with family and friends. It was perfect!

Everyone headed back to our tiny house to visit some more. A big group went on to the Roughriders game, while the girls stayed back to finally get to tell Mom all the times we had to lie to her to pull this off.

Fairy Tales really do come true. I witnessed it!

The Princess and her Prince

Here is mom the day after at the pool. STILL wearing her tiara!

When life hands you lemons...

2009-06-03T19:15:00.003-05:00

Don't eat 'em!

Memorial Weekend

2009-05-26T21:48:00.005-05:00

We had such a great holiday weekend full of shopping, family, baseball and fun! Cohen learned how to stand in his crib, so we quickly learned how to lower the mattress. He was so excited to have learned this that he literally stood in the dark smiling in his crib until he was so tired he couldn't stand straight anymore. It is so neat to see your kids learn new things.

Next up was my first Frisco Roughriders game. The roughriders are a minor league baseball team. Steven has worked for them for 6 months now and really enjoys it. The game was a lot of fun and we had great seats.

Monday was spent with family just hanging out at the house. The boys grilled some steak while the girls went shopping. Then Cohen tried out his new swing! He LOVES it!

Thanks Cousin Amy for the swing!!

Sombreros for your hamster

2009-05-18T20:05:00.004-05:00

I receive emails from Daily Candy and usually just glance at the contents, but a couple of weeks ago we got one about a neat antique mall in Dallas called Junkadoodle. It was an eclectic place full of neat finds. Well and some odd finds too. I had to look twice before I read the sign for the product being sold below. It was so funny to me, I had to take a picture.

So, if your hamster is in need of a sombrero, this is your place! Our next stop was also sent to us through Daily Candy last week. Etsy Dallas was a really neat fair of lots of local Etsy businesses. I bought a couple of necklaces and it was a great excuse to keep us out of the rain. How did you spend your weekend?

Mother's Day

2009-05-13T22:34:00.003-05:00

My first Mother's day was one to remember! It started with pancakes in bed..mm...mmm. A nap, and an hour and a half massage. It was fabulous.

We also spent part of our day with our friends, Cher and Jimmy at Jace's room dedication. It was a bitter sweet moment to see this family's dream of "Jace's room" come together on his birthday. We were very thankful to be a part of that moment in the McDougals life when they dedicated the hospital room in their sons name. Here are some pictures from the room. They have done a great job making the room feel inviting. I pray that this room brings a sense of comfort and encouragement for the families that will spend time in it.

Yep...He's a genius...Just watch!

2009-05-03T12:12:00.003-05:00

One of these things is not like the other

2009-05-02T22:10:00.008-05:00

sitting.............STANDING...........sitting

Thats right! Cohen pulled himself up and stood for a long time at his favorite toy tonight. He is still not interested in crawling and now I'm thinking he might skip it! Either way, we are very proud!

My Buddy Lately

2009-05-02T21:50:00.007-05:00

He is this happy most of the time. Wonder what was so funny?

Just reading

Now I am probably the only one that thinks the above picture is funny, but his shirt got stuck on his head and he was making the funniest faces!

haha....See...

Jace's Room UPDATE

2009-04-28T13:52:00.023-05:00

As of today, Jimmy and Cher met their goal for Jace's room! I will still be collecting until May 7th in order for them to have any extra's they might need for the room. If your still interested, just click DONATE to the right and join us!

For those of you who have been reading this blog a while, you may have heard of our friends Jimmy and Cher. They were blessed with a sweet little boy on May 10th, 2008 at only 24 weeks and 1 day in pregnancy! In their trials and tribulations they continue to be so strong in their faith and continue to find strength in each other. They have committed to preparing a room in Jace's name at the hospital where they spent so much time, for parents that may be on the journey they went through just a year ago.

The room is to be dedicated on Jace's birthday, and Mother's Day May 10, 2009. They have raised a good amount of money in order to make this dream room a reality; however it doesn't seem as though they will meet their goal. I hate this for them. I want so badly for them to be able to see this dream through.

This is where you come in. I plan to give our donation next week with a Mother's Day card and wondered if you would like to join me. Many of you have mentioned wanting to give, well here is your chance. I will be accepting donations through Thursday, May 7th at my paypal.

Any amount is helpful and I should be able to get a tax form back to you afterwards. Thanks in advance for your help! Jace and Cohen were set to be only 1 week apart; therefore this family is so close to our hearts.

Word Cloud

2009-04-23T18:33:00.007-05:00

Ok....Im addicted. I stumbled upon this really great blog named Mix Mingle Glow where a wedding/party planner dishes on all her ideas. Im totally ready to plan a party now! I have been inspired!

While being engulfed in the blog I came across a post she had written about a website called "wordle". Ever heard of it!? Me either. The site takes words and creates "word clouds". I think it is such a neat way to create interesting things like the front of personal note cards or a neat print for a babies room, or an invitation to a party that really sets the tone for the event.

The coolest part is they have a place to enter your blog address and it creates a word cloud for you! It was so neat to see a very individualized word cloud.

SO..go check it out...put your blog in and see what it creates for you! Then come back here and tell me what you think. How would you use this tool for something creative....fishing for comments here!!

HERE IS MY WORD CLOUD

Busted!

2009-04-18T17:38:00.004-05:00

(picture 1 shows me in the far left lane...it is clearly red.

Picture 2 shows me through the intersection and it is still red!)

And I deserve it! Plano has those tricky cameras at all of their stoplights and dang it if I didn't get a $75 ticket in the mail a couple of months ago! I failed to come to a complete stop before turning right on red. That's fine...I am bad at completely stopping when I see that nobody is coming.

Now it gets worse....I got ANOTHER ticket in the mail.....oops! This time I was appalled to see the video online. I CLEARLY ran a red light. I am ashamed because I hate red light runners! They....er...I make driving so unsafe when you do that!

I have always been skeptical of these cameras. Like that they cause more accidents than safety, but because of this ticket I am looking at the way I drive in a whole new light. Last week the buddy was out of town for the week (so he wasnt with me) and I was taking a new way to work (because I couldnt take the HOV lane without him). Well I got lost and apparently also ran a red light.

So this $75 is money well spent and lesson is learned!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T20:31:00.005-05:00

Sorry about the drought! I was in Daytona for our College Nationals for 5 days and got home just in time for Cohen's first Easter. Cohen received a really great Childrens Bible from some friends of ours and we made sure that we read the story of Jesus resurection. He seemed to enjoy it and I hope that we started an Easter tradition by doing that. On Sunday, we enjoyed our church service and then joined some friends for Brunch....Thanks, April and Will for adding us, it was yummy! Here is Cohen seeing what the Easter bunny brought him.

(Excuse the hair...God love him, he has crazy hair)

The Easter bunny brought bubbles!

And yummy books!

Parent Commitment

2009-03-31T12:13:00.005-05:00

Sunday was a big day for our family. Cohen was dedicated to our Lord in a Parent Commitment service at Fielder Road Baptist Church. We were blessed to have my parents (surprise appearance after being snowed in), sister, Steven' parents and cousins in attendence. Cohen was dedicated along with his 6 week younger cousin, Trinity. It was a great little ceremony and Steven gave some wonderful words about what this meant for our family.

We decided to do it at the church that we were married in and the same church that Steven was dedicated at about 30 years ago. They presented us with a flower, a bible for Cohen and a letter for him to read on the day that he decides to invite Jesus into his heart. What a neat day that will be. I often day dream about how it will be for a parent to see their child making that decision.

After the ceremony we all met up at Steven's parents house where his mother made THE YUMMIEST lunch I think I have ever had. I am still full. It was so good we were still talking about it yesterday! You can't beat Myrna's deviled eggs! mmm hmmm!

March Baldness

2009-03-25T10:07:00.002-05:00

My Boss is currently in the running for DFW's "Best Chrome Dome", and needs your help. He has made it to the final four. Please click the link below and vote for #72 Mike! Thanks for your help!

http://jackontheweb.com/pages/4071382.php

1st tooth, 2nd haircut

2009-03-23T20:07:00.006-05:00

It is very difficult to get a 7 month old to show you his new tooth; however I snuck a picture. It is very hard to see, but here it is! Sort of..if you squint..

Here is the Buddy's 2nd haircut. I can't get over how big he looks. My, my...time is flying!

The Buddy at 7 months old

2009-03-22T14:41:00.012-05:00

Boy time is running by before my eyes! The Buddy is getting so big, so smart, and so cute (if I may say so myself!) Here is an update!

1) He has had his first hair cut! On his 6 month birthday we decided it was time. He did so good in the chair by himself and didn't make a peep.

2) March 10th! That is when Tony Toofer arrived (Cohen's first tooth) and 10 days later his cousin has started to come through. I truly didn't know the first one had popped. He was showing no signs of teething. Thank goodness Lala found it.

(this silly face cracks me up)

3) Cohen is THE best baby I have ever been around. If he is ever upset, he is probably hungry and that is an easy fix. He eats really well (loves squash, carrots and bananas), sleeps really well (currently puts himself down with no crying and sleeps 9 hours!), and loves to "talk". Once he starts putting real words together, we decided he may never stop talking.

4) He LOVES his raspberry, his Sophie, and his rocking horse...Rocky.

5)This week he had his first major fall. Right off the side of our very high bed. I felt AWFUL! He cried for a moment...hard...then smiled so big I could see Tony. I still felt bad all day.

6) He has no desire to crawl. He would rather stand and try to walk. We are working on this. I am hoping he is more interested soon.

(although it looks like he is standing on his own...he isnt. Lala has him by the shirt)

7)He loves to watch basketball; but his bracket has already blown up

(Notice he has his head turned completely to the tv)

And that is The Buddy at 7 months!

A Happy Day

2009-03-22T14:15:00.005-05:00

So my birthday was fabulous after all! My sister, Michelle, planned a lunch at Bistro N in Nordstrom (soooooo yummy). With shopping to follow. It was so much fun. I got to spend the day with old friends, and lots of family. It was a great way to start 29!

My Mom made the best tasting cake I have had in a loooong time. I love strawberry cake and she makes the best. See below! It doesn't even look homemade!

After lunch it was time for shopping. First stop was the mac counter at Northpark. After a new makeover and bag full of new makeup we were on our way!

We then made an appearance at Sam Moon, Shoe Mart(the BEST place for shoes), Coach and the outlet mall...we were exhausted! This morning brought more goodies with a fresh made breakfast including french toast from Uncle John. It was a truly great weekend! Thank you everyone for the thoughts, gifts and fun!

29...and holding

2009-03-19T12:33:00.004-05:00

So this Saturday is my 29th birthday. I am not quite sure what to think about that. Seems like 30 would be cooler... a sort of right of passage. 29 is boring. I sure don't feel 29....29 year olds are grown ups. I am not sure that I qualify as a grown up yet. I mean I have responsibilities like a grown up, yet I still don't feel like a grown up.

This Birthday has truly been different. If you know me and my family, we LOVE Birthdays. They are like holidays, productions, an event for sure! I generally have a detailed wish list with pictures and links. Tell everyone my birthday is coming, and even count down until the day, but somehow this time is different. It is like I am fighting it, but it is coming anyway.

I have plans and I am really, really excited and looking forward to spend the day the way I have planned (and sad it takes a birthday to get together with friends), but I just can't believe it is time to be 29. Has anyone else had this weird 29 birthday syndrome I seem to be suffering from?

Fling our Green and Gold Afar

2009-03-13T23:07:00.003-05:00

Well it's about time! Steven has been saying for years (at least 3 now) that Baylor Men's basketball is going to be good. Well he grinned from ear to ear tonight when the Baylor vs Texas game came to an end while texting my Dad (a UT grad) to start the trash talking. I proudly wore my green and gold today and it was so fun to watch the boys win when it counts! We can't wait to see how the tournament is going to end up. All I know is our house is Sic Em Bears all the way!

The Buddy

2009-03-11T21:15:00.003-05:00

This cute guy got his first tooth last night! Lala dressed the buddy this morning and I thought she did a good job..isn't he cute!

Change of Heart

2009-03-11T15:27:00.002-05:00

So, it seems to be more difficult for my close friends and family to read the blog when it is private and that defeats my purpose of having one! So consider youselves all with VIP access and I am going to continue as a public blog.

Now that that is over with, I need to apologize as I have been traveling for work (2 National competitions in 2 weeks), plus I have 3 of my own events over the next 3 weekends, so it will be a little longer before I post anything of substance. Please hang in there and I will be back on track soon.

Thanks for reading!

The End

2009-02-17T12:15:00.003-06:00

Well Sort of.....I have decided to make my blog private, which means you must be invited to read it. I plan to go "live" with the invite only blog on Monday, March 2, 2009. So, if you are interested in keeping up with the Nelson's please email me at tiffer8@yahoo.com and I will add you to the invite list. It looks as though you will need a google account in order to sign into my blog after this date. I created one just to use blogger and have never used it for anything else, if this is too much of a hassle for you, I apologize for making it difficult. I just feel that I would like to have a little discretion in who can see information about my family.

SO...If you do drive by's and never comment, but would still like to keep in touch with us, just email me and I will add you. I appreciate your understanding. Thanks everyone!!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T00:00:00.000-06:00

From our little Cupid

Two hundred sixty two thousand, eight hundred minutes

2009-02-13T12:39:00.005-06:00

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Cohen!

Oh Buddy! We are so proud of all the things you are learning, and love every piece of you. We can't wait to see what the next 6 months have in store.

Cooties

2009-02-12T19:40:00.003-06:00

So I think Cohen has decided that girls have cooties. How can I tell? Well, what else would a little boy do to ward off the ladies...........fart noises. Yep you read that right. My son is one day shy of his half birthday and he already knows how to make fart noises with his mouth!

See for yourself

While perusing the card aisle today, Cohen was sitting in the stroller....making fart noises....and this man just looked at me. Then smiled and said...."I'm impressed he can already make that noise" So Cohen is officially all boy and I'm convinced that his daddy must have taught him this.

Not quite puppy love

2009-02-10T21:09:00.004-06:00

Our furbaby Kenzi was our first child. I received her for my 24th birthday and we were immediately smitten. Kenzi however is not enjoying our newest addition! She flat out ignores him and has since day one. We really thought she would have warmed up to Cohen by now...but if this picture is any indication....she hasnt!

I was hoping to get Kenzi to love Cohen, be intrigued by him...at least smell him! Instead, she lifted her front paws, leaned back in order to get as far away from Cohen as possible. Resulting in this.....

We truly didn't place her like this! She wouldn't move until we took Cohen away! They will be friends one day....right!?!?

BabyMatch.com

2009-02-09T19:25:00.004-06:00

Young Stud looking for a cutie for a hair raising Valentines date!

Peas be my Valentine!

2009-02-09T19:03:00.004-06:00

It is official...Cohen is definitely like his daddy....he hates his veggies!

Here is Cohen and his first taste of Sweet Peas.

Party Boy!

2009-02-03T12:22:00.006-06:00

This is Cohen at his very first Birthday party for our good friend Kiara.

Kiara turned two and had her monkey themed party at the local Boomerang which is an indoor bounce house place. It was a lot of fun and although Cohen was too little to jump, he still had a blast. He even got his own wrist band...hehe.

Still too small to play...

High on Clive

2009-02-01T22:37:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I got my hair cut at this fancy salon by the Galleria. It was so fancy I was nervous to go in. Well, I am glad I did! My friend Marianna got her hair cut there on her Birthday and I knew I needed to go next!

It seems that short hair is the best hair for me and a couple of years ago I was one of the first to jump on the "posh" cut. About a month ago I realized that every girl I knew or passed in the mall had the same cut. It was now time to move on....I mean Posh doesn't even have the cut anymore! Marianna was nice enough to give me the info for her lady at Clive and Co.

This top of the line salon has been voted the top salon in Dallas, 5 years running! One wall in Clive and Co. is covered in magazine covers that they were featured in! Marianna and I had Robin who is fabulous at short cuts. Robin explained to me that even though she had been doing hair for several years before coming to Clive and Co. she was required to go through an apprenticeship before being a head stylist. Wow. I also loved that they do not use flat irons or round brushes. They don't do anything that would damage your hair. I got a head massage during my shampoo, a great cut, and perfect style for $50. I was pleased!

Plus! They have a couple of people still finishing their apprenticeships in the color department. If you choose them, you can get your hair colored for $25 - $30! Not bad, huh.

The even better part is that Marianna's next cut will be FREE! Since she referred me and I got my hair cut before her next appointment, her next cut is FREE. You can't beat FREE! So If any of you are interested in leaving a salon feeling like a celebrity, then you need to see Robin. AND... if you go in February, MY next cut is FREE! So treat yourself this Valentines....I promise it is worth it.

If your interested in Robin's contact info, just message me and I will hook you up.

Our new family

2009-01-25T11:37:00.006-06:00

This post is WAY overdue! This week marks the 3 month anniversary for Steven and his new job! Although at the time it was a difficult decision on whether to move on from FC DALLAS, God is great, and has shown us time and time again that this was indeed a blessing from him.

Steven is now the Director of Corporate Partnerships for the Frisco Roughriders. Who are the AA affiliates for the Texas Rangers. He is really enjoying the atmosphere there and the people he works with.

Even in the difficult economy, he is finding a way to be succesful. We are very proud!

Congrats Steven!

PS....

My favorite part of the ballpark.

There is actually a pool in the outfield! Anyone can rent the pool area for parties during the game. What a seat that would be! It includes food and drinks for 25 people. How fun!

Season opener is April 16th! If you want to join us on opening day, just let us know.

This Week

2009-01-25T11:28:00.004-06:00

I hope your week ahead is so fun, that you jump right out of your socks!

And that the cold weather in your area puts a smile on your face!

The Nelson visitors guide

2009-01-25T10:24:00.006-06:00

We spent Saturday in Waco with the fam and had a great time. We always love going "home" and I already miss it. Every ride back from Waco we talk about how we should move back and how we would love it. Maybe one day...

As soon as we got into town we met my parents and grandparents at their furniture booth at a local antique mall. If you have not paid a visit to the Cameron Trading Co on Austin Ave in downtown Waco, then you are missing out on some neat finds! My favorite thing to shop for at the trading co is furniture (old and new), antique jewelry, and Baylor sports memorabilia. There really is something for everyone.

One of the trading company's newest booth holders are my grandparents (Collectors Cabin). They make great furniture (tables and chairs, benches, etc). Go check them out!

These pails make great coolers for talgating or house parties. The picket fence wall hanging with hooks would be so cute in a childs room with a country theme.

This furniture is handmade by my granparents and truly one of a kind.

Then we were off to lunch and were joined by my Aunt Missy and cousins, Bradley and Ashley. We chose our favorite sandwich shop, Schmaltz. MMMM...it is so yummy!

Next, we were off for some shopping! First stop was the Baylor Bookstore which is a must for us everytime we are in town.

Cohen in Baylor flip flops

We ended our trip with stops at Amelia's fashion exchange, where there are always goodies to find and my personal favorite, The Spice Shops. THE best place for one of a kind gifts (for anyone you know and yourself!) in Waco.

Our next trip will include a Baylor Basketball game as it was always my favorite baylor sport to cheer for and we have not been to a game in years! Hope this little visitors guide from the Nelson family has been helpful!

Our Life Out Loud

Bulletin boards

Little Kicks

Votes Needed!

Time Flies

Cohen is sliding down Chutes and climbing the Birthday Ladder

The Buddy

A Despicable, Fire Fightin, Roughridin, swimming lesson filled, circus watchin kind of weekend

Thirty-One

Sneak Peek

A Festive 4th

Countdown to Kylin

Happy Daddy Day!

Spectator Sport

My 15 minutes starts......NOW!

Second FIRST Day of School

Memorial Weekend

Zoo Day!

Giveaway on PtoP!

Splish Splash

Time to Celebrate!

Another First

Fun Friends

I was featured!

Branching out

Anniversary Staycation

Pinwheels!

Hoppy Easter

Crazy Boy

Cupcakes + Cocktails

30...the new black

March Madness

**Update Accountability**

Snow Swimming

The Deep End

Accountability

My little man

Honorable Mention and RIP 20's

Another Year (By Grandaddy)

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Who is ready for Santa??

The Jonas Brothers Open This Year's Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade!

Christmas' Past and Christmas' Present

Disney's Christmas Extravaganza

Deck the Dolls 2009

The big 15

SYTYCD Tour

Rooaarr!

Homecoming

Fridge Inspector

Happy Fall Yall!

Super Hero

Fling your Green and Gold

So you think you can glee the amazing ugly mentalist...Mercy!

How bout dem Cowboys!?

The Next Beckham

Dear Future Me,

Rush Hour

The stats

Birthday Boy!

Come Join the Swarm

The Fray, A road trip, major milestone, and a hole punch

Bargain Hunter

Just braggin

Buzz Words

"Little Red corvette"

The buddy lately

Lala's Birthday

Fairy Tales

When life hands you lemons...

Memorial Weekend

Sombreros for your hamster

Mother's Day

Yep...He's a genius...Just watch!

One of these things is not like the other

My Buddy Lately

Jace's Room UPDATE

Word Cloud

Busted!

Happy Easter!

Update Accountability