Houston

Over the last several months Anna and I have had the chance to travel with Jimmy to Houston for business. Originally he covered the Chicago branches but was blessed in January to get the Houston branches. (He's a financial planner CFP). At first I was not thrilled because I thought Houston sucked... then I realized that all I had ever seen of Houston were the run down awful parts of it... now I have discovered an entirely new city... I love that place! Jimmy's branches are down in the Highland Village/Memorial area... basically the areas surrounding the Houston Galleria. They have amazing shopping, amazing restaurants and a FANTASTIC childrens museum....all of which pale in comparison to their best feature, their trees. They have HUGE trees that remind you of being up north somewhere in the New Hampshire/Mass. area.

If you go to Houston and have a child between about 2-10 you must visit the Children's museum... it's in the museum district (novel), very near Rice. I also highly recommend the St. Regis Hotel on San Felipe and for a fun 12am adventure try House of Pies on Kirby Ln. It has been there since the 60's and it is the quintessential diner. Not the cheesy 50's juke box stuff either. You can get breakfast all day, great sandwhiches like the old school patty melt and of course FANTASTIC pies of any variety you can think of.... plus the reason Jimmy and I love it best, it's open 24 hours a day... we are late night people and of course so is our 2 1/2 year old!!

Also, while we are talking Houston, I guess I should give a shout out to The Woodlands area. Everyone raves about it and I like it as well... although in most ways it is just Southlake with much taller trees. They have a great mall with a huge carousel that of course Anna couldn't get enough of. It is only $1 a ride (moms ride free) and made a great memory for Anna.

Ok, so lest you think my ravings about Houston mean that I am going to pack up my family and move, think again! I love Dallas/Fort Worth.... I love being close to our my famiies, I love the friends we have here, I love my beautiful home and of course if a craving strikes a 2am there is always Cafe Brazil!


Pics: Anna on the carousel, Anna with her face painted from the museum

Why I love my Granna

First off, let's clarify... it is Granna..not Grandma. I couldn't seem to say Grandma when I was younger so it became Granna and it stuck. My brother called her that, Jimmy calls her that and now Anna calls her Great-Granna. I am a real trend setter! =)

It's funny now as you grow up you start appreciating the things in life that didn't mean as much to you when you were younger and more self-centered. Also, I think being a parent changes your perspective on things maybe more so than any other event in your life ever will. That is why as I have grown older I have come to love and appreciate my Granna more than I ever did as a child.

The things that impress me most about my Granna are the simplest things in life but the things that truly say 'I love you'! For instance when we were younger she always made us a homemade cake for our birthdays. Yes, the store bought one are fancier but the homemade ones are the ones I remember the most fondly and hope to continue as a special part of my childrens lives. What a special gesture... we take things like this for granted these days as we are all too busy doing anything that might resemble being a true homemaker. I thank my Granna for setting an example and for taking a few minutes to make those cakes for me that more than anything else said she cared!

Then there is this totally different side of my Granna. She is a grandmother mind you but, she is one of the most tech savvy ladies you could meet. She emails, surfs the net, orders things online and various other things that would SCARE most women her age. I love this about my Granna not because of how cool it makes her (although it does) but because of how much it shows her ability to adapt to change. It seems that the biggest problem most older people have is being stuck in their ways and afraid of change. For someone my grandmas age who made it through her whole childhood without the invention fo the TV to so willingly embrace the world wide web says so much about her.

I am proud of my Granna. She teaches me so much about life and how to live it graciously. She teaches me how to make meals for me family and actually sit around the table and eat and enjoy the company of each other. She teaches me how to make pies, host parties, give gifts and give of yourself. She teaches me how to be a be open-minded, how to take care of others and how to take care of yourself. She teaches me that it's not just about telling people you love them but about showing them.... in whatever way it may be!

I love you Granna! Thank you for teaching me and I hope to continue learning more from you everyday!

Here is a picture of my Granna with Anna just a few weeks ago! We love going to visit her!

Our little ballerina

Anna is a big fan of Angelina Ballerina. I think we have EVERY book and we read at least 3 - 4 a day. Apparently the adventures of a young British toe dancing mouse never get old to a 2 1/2 year old! =)

Finally, after reading these stories for over a year, just out of the blue Anna told me she wished she could have ballet shoes and a tutu like Angelina. Well I couldn't resist so we decided on the day and made a special trip and purchased her first ballet outfit. It was a fun day and made a certain future American ballerina VERY happy!

Other favorite pics from the past several weeks

14 weeks today

Today marks the beginning of the 14th week of this pregnancy. After many a morning, noon and night of being sick I am finally truly into the 2nd trimester. I pray that this marks the end of my continual trips to the nearest toilet. A few more weeks and we will be able to find out the sex of the baby. I actually thought for about a minute that we might not find out this time BUT, that was quickly overshadowed by my frantic need to plan. How could I make the perfect nursery out of yellow, green or some random neutral color.... ok, admittadly, I am a little anal. =) Anyway, stay tuned for that post. Oh and let me make my prediction early..... I think it's a boy....

Ok, I a posting a picture that has nothing to do with my 14th week of pregnancy but it's my fave pic this week. This was Friday night after dinner at Cowtown Sushi in Southlake... our favorite sushi place by far.

Being a mommy again

I really can't believe that I am going to be a mommy again. I feel like we were just bringing our Anna home from the hospital and now here we are doing it all again. It's funny how much you can forget about the actual process of being pregnant in three years time even though in some ways it feels like yesterday. Everyday I look at the info online to see what my baby looks like today, what new organs he/she has grown and what various other changes have occured. The thing that leaves me amazed each day is just how intricate and precise the human body is and what a miracle it is to be occuring inside of me!

With all that occurs on the inside of your body during the first stages of motherhood nothing prepared me for all the changes that would occur on the inside of my heart. The overwhelming love for a tiny being who looks more like a alien than a human. The worry for their safety. The constant thought about names and nursery colors. The dream of giving them a happy, meaningful life, full of hope and a love for their Creator. The moments spent imagining what their precious face will look like the first moment you see it. It's all about this journey called motherhood. It begins when the test shows two lines and ends, never!

(Here is a picture of my precious Anna the first time I held her!)

Memorial Weekend

I love these long weekends where we don't have any real plans. We sleep in and just let the day take us where it will. I live for these times!

Friday night Jimmy and I went to see BodyWorlds in Dallas and of course had to go to Cafe Brazil for dinner. We love that place at 3am, 3pm, dinner, lunch, breakfast, etc. etc....

BodyWorlds was interesting. I don't really know what I thought about it.

Cafe Brazil hazelnut coffee and just spending some time alone with my hubby was the highlight of the night for me!!


Saturday we randomly decided to take Anna to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. She had a blast and loved seeing the stars at the Plantarium. We had lunch at Fuzzy's Taco's which I highly recommend if you haven't been there. We love the one at the corner of Berry and University basically on the TCU campus! GO!

The rest of the weekend was slow, uneventful and WONDERFUL! We all needed the relaxation!