Spring Break with the Girls...and 2 Little Boys

Such fun! We trekked to San Marcos, TX, to enjoy some rest and relaxation during our Spring Break 2010 week. I can't say that there was much R & R, but we sure managed to have a great time. The new San Marcos Embassy Suites was home base. It was such a nice hotel! The rooms were spacious and comfortable, the lobby was HUGE but inviting with a large fountain and lots of little lounge-y spaces, and the breakfast was a nice start for each morning of our stay. We visited the outlets with a vengeance. We found wineries along the way to Fredericksburg, then spent most of a day meandering through that darling town. A magazine around Christmas time had a heavenly cake on the cover--and it came from RATHER SWEET, a bakery in little old Fredericksburg. Sooo, I had to scope it out. Yes, the goodies were absolutely divine! I even got a t-shirt! Woo hoo! San Antonio is never a disappointment. It would've been better with about 1/4 of the people, but the crowds were expected for Spring Break.

Somewhere in all the fun, we managed to take side tours of playgrounds for the boys to play. We stuck our feet in a yummy, yummy river running through the middle of San Marcos. The water was so clear and cold. I have to hand it to the boys--they did much better than I had expected. Road trips are rough on kiddos, but I love to get out and see the world. Our tummies are full, our credit cards are well-exercised, and the laundry is clean and put away. Spending time together was great. No normally rigid schedules to contend with, nor usual busy-ness of everyday life. Now we jump back in for the last 1/4 of the school year and eagerly anticipate the upcoming summer!

Coach Leach interview with ESPN

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4788146

Here is a link to a lengthy, but telling, interview with Mike Leach. Ironically, it is from ESPN. Maybe this was a consolation prize so he doesn't legally go after them, too. Either way, it is a good interview. It is a crying shame that the regents had it in for Leach when his program was basically the face of the university. I am all for universities focusing on academics, but his program was the catalyst for the huge fan base, the expansion into the national spotlight, the notoriety, and the alumnal (is that a word?) pride. I question the regents' and the administration's wisdom, leadership, and loyalties. It is all such a scam.

Grieving for Tech

The face of Tech football, our quirky pirate coach, has been scammed. Here are some published comments because I don't even feel like coming up with my own words to express my thoughts about all of this. I am so depressed.

1. I will be adopting whatever school Leach ends up at. I encourage everyone else to follow.

2. Hello 3 -- 9 seasons, we missed you.

3. Bust out the All-American Bowl t-shirts...not even that. Maybe the Uncle Joe's Pizza Parlor Bowl shirts...at best.

4. I'm not only stunned, but a bit near teats. This is very upsetting.

5. I'm turning in my guns, and walking away from a program I've loved for forty plus years. Tech wrecked him!

6. Man, if this had happened during the semester I would expect the streets of Lubbock would look like those in Baghdad. It's gonna get ugly in West Texas.

7. It's official. I'm not getting any work done today.

8. Good Lord, we even have Aggies on our side!

9. Back to being a women's basketball school...and they're not even that great.

10. The highwater mark for Tech football will be visible somewhere in the empty stadium expansion.

11. Can Marsha Sharp coach football?

12. Just think, season ticket renewals are coming out in 6 weeks...Maybe they already printed Leach's face on them!

13. Coogs, lock up Sumlin now!

I'm just glad I didn't sign us up for the Alaskan "Cruise with the Coach" this coming summer. Maybe he'll still go! It would be a great trip. Wherever he ends up, sign me up as a fan! Looks like we'll be getting a new slew of t-shirts! Oh, I am so depressed.

Cockrell Butterfly trip with Michael

One of my favorite places in Houston is the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Nick wanted to take Nathan to the Planetarium, and I knew Michael would be more interested in watching plants grow than being in there...sooo, I took him down the hall to see the butterflies.

Nancy Grieg is one of those people who I'd like to befriend. I met her just a couple of times and I instantly liked her! She is head curator and entomologist at the Cockrell Butterfly Center. Back when the neighborhood around West 11th Street Park was trying to SAVE the park, she guided my students through the park on a walking tour. It's an easy walk to this park...so why do we not do that more often? Darn testing. She was so kind and kid-friendly, and really made the nature walk come alive for all of those urban kiddos--and ME! What a neat lady! Anyway, she was at the Cockrell Center yesterday. Except yesterday, she was patrolling the center carrying around a giant orange IGUANA! How cool! Michael stepped right up for his turn to see the iguana AND pet it! He had no reservations, no skiddishness, no fear. I am proud of that quality in Michael. The butterflies, by the way, were SUPER COOL too. I was so jealous of this woman sitting in the butterfly center just sketching little butterfly scenes in her sketch book. I'm going to put that on my bucket list...Sketch butterflies at the butterfly center instead of chasing after a preschooler! HA!

Big Boy Bed

I love that my Michael is growing and changing into a big boy. And, I hate it at the same time. Our house looks a little bit different than it did last month. We donated the high chair. We bought a full mattress. We converted Michael's crib into a full size big-boy bed. Gone is the crib. Well, some of the crib's skeletal remains are again tucked up in the attic. Today we packed up more baby clothes. They're up there too.
When we packed up all of these things when Nathan was growing up, it was sad for me. Yes, it was sad. But, there was more of a chance then that those things would eventually come out of their hibernation at some point than there is now. THAT is the sad part. Will I someday bring out these things again for a third go around? Or are they retiring for good? Why did my years with babies in the house go by so wickedly fast?
Right now, my sweet little boy is sleeping in a monster of a bed. I remember when his crib seemed huge compared to the itty bitty newborn swaddled inside.

Christmastime Brunch

Christmas Card Photo

If it were up to my boys, there would be no Christmas card photo. There probably wouldn't be any Christmas cards. Except for those on the store shelves waiting for someone else to buy them. Why do I feel like I am going into battle to get them to pose for a few snapshots? Smile. Be sweet to your brother. Just for a minute. OK, pretend to be sweet. Look here. No, not down there...or over there...don't poke him...or strangle him...AAAAAAH!

I think Nick is a double agent, secretly working for the enemy. He isn't all fired up over the process either. They sense his "excitement."

I remember, back in the day, when I could gently place Nathan under the Christmas tree. His eyes filled with wonder seeing all the lights and ornaments. He sat there while I snapped probably a hundred photos. He never complained, never fidgeted. We'd take some more on the brick hearth, and even more outside in the yard. He so patiently put up with this obsession.

Now, fast forward. I'm lucky to get 5 shots to choose from. "Lean together" translates into "who can leeeeean enough to knock the other off the step stool." "Hold this candy cane" becomes "wouldn't it be a jolly good time to WHACK my brother with this candy cane?"

Just when I was about to tear my hair out, they both smiled, AND looked at the camera, AND didn't do anything for one split second to annoy each other, ANNNND I caught it all on film...well, digital film, or digital whatever that captures those magical moments. They do love each other, and there are many moments when they are sweet as pie with each other. Until I want to take Christmas pictures. But now, I have one to smile about. But, ohhhh, the anguish that it took to get it! :)