Rain is a good thing

Things have completely dried out around here and we've been longing for rain.  We finally got our wish last night as the clouds opened up over us.

This morning, I went out to check our rain gauge and it was a pleasant surprise!

 

The inner tube was full and had overflowed to the outer tube.  This was a great start considering the inner tube is 1 inch of rain.  I used the funnel to measure the rest and got our grand total ~ 1.54".  After several weeks without [as the color of the grass can attest], it was much needed.

As I drove home from dropping Natalie off at school, I saw this above my neighbor's house.  A great start to my morning:

But then reality set in.  I had to go do chores in the aftermath.

And trust me, I very much would have preferred to just leave the calves outside, but I couldn't leave them like this:

"Puppy" Sig didn't seem to mind as he was tearing all around!

I can only say this ~ I know that rain is a good thing, but the chores in it certainly aren't "my thing".  It's amazing how life takes funny turns and you end up places you never thought you would .... including ankle deep in mud for animals I don't even especially like!

Vacation is calling my name!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hampton Hotels. All opinions are 100% mine.


It's the season where Summer is coming to an end, but I'm not ready to get out of Vacation Mode.  I'm so ready to just pack my bags and have a little getaway for fun!  But alas, the same issues keep coming up - time and money. 

However, Hampton Hotels has an amazing Sweepstakes offer out there that would take care of the money issue.  I know that I tend to shy from entering things like this because I never win.  And I mean never.  But someone has to, right?  And this one looks so fun.  The Grand Prize is an entire hotel for you and your friends for a weekend.  That's 100 rooms for 2 nights!!  Oh, and $5,000 to pay for the room taxes for the weekend

This would be so fun!!  I can only imagine the craziness that would ensue with some of our friends all in a hotel together for the weekend!  And even if you don't win the Grand Prize, there are 100 First Prizes being awarded as well -- 4 rooms for a weekend which would still make a really fun getaway.  So all of you go enter the Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes ~ And make sure you remember who sent you, so you can take me along!!

This sweepstakes is open to all of you - not just Hilton Rewards members or those who are loyal to Hampton ... so go, enter, and WIN!

Starbucks: 1 - Diet: 0

I was out running some errands yesterday afternoon and psyched myself up to go to Starbucks (something I never do) to get a latte.  I justified it.

I'll just get a Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte.  I can manage those calories, plus it won't be too much caffeine so I can sleep tonight.

And that was really the plan until I pulled into the Drive-Thru.  I quickly found the Skinny Vanilla Latte - but they tricked me because it only said Grande or Venti.  Now, I'm sure they still sell Tall drinks (right???), but I didn't want to sound stupid ordering something they don't even still sell, so now I've been up-sold to a Grande from my Tall.

And then ..... I see a picture like this:

And these little words underneath it:

Pumpkin Spice Latte

And that's basically all it took because by this time, the lady has already said "Welcome to Starbucks, what can I get started for you?"

And I just blurted out, "I'll take a Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte"

Just like that.  My well-thought-out plan to get a Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte went to hell ... just like that.

There's always next time to try out this willpower thing again, I guess!!

** And to make matters worse, Natalie Grace and I just had a discussion about this where she was seeming very confused "I don't get how they tricked you."  I explained how they had things on the sign that got me to get something I didn't plan on getting.  And she says "Isn't that more like talking you into it than tricking you?"

"Yes, yes it is.  I was weak."

And she nodded her head in agreement "Oh, okay."

8 Years of this Crazy Life

Eight years ago today, Zane and I were on our way to Seattle to get married.  We were so excited and full of anticipation - of the day, of actually getting married, of our life .... together!

The 8 years have flown by and been filled with changes, growth, dreams, and a lot of fun.  No, it's not always perfect, but it's perfectly "ours" ... the life we are slowly building.  It reminds me of a Brooks & Dunn Song "The House We Built" ~ We are slowly, with the sticks and stones of life, building this beautiful "house."

I couldn't have chosen a better person to be in this crazy world with ~ Zane is patient, helpful, passionate, driven -- all things that are so conducive to a lifetime of "building".  So here's to the next year of adventure .... together!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We spent our Saturday just having a nice day out-and-about.  We went to Olive Garden for lunch (always a treat!), then on a little road trip .... We stopped at a rustic furniture place and got this sofa table - for half off!.  I love it!

Then, we went to our favorite German market and got some goodies for a Dallas Cowboys party that night - let's not discuss the game because it certainly put a damper on our mood!

Regardless, it was a great weekend .... with an even better husband!

Sunday Bath Day

You know the saying - bathe once a week whether you need it or not! 

Our calves get rinsed daily, but today was actual scrub-bath-day.  Natalie showed me her little hand print on Sandy Bay and I had to go get my camera.  I love that she loves the animals so much and is an incredible help with them!  

Perfect way to wrap up a warm day of work --- with a cool dip in the pool!

Bedtime ~ What's it to you?

We have always been pretty adamant about trying to ensure Natalie gets enough sleep.  She was born a sleeper - the infant that would sleep almost all day and night.  The toddler that still took a 3 hour nap + 12 hours of sleep at night.  The Kindergartener who would still take naps after school occasionally.  And now she's 7.  While she doesn't need the naps anymore, she does still need enough sleep so that she can cope and be pleasant to be around.

Now with the mix of public school back in the mix, some of my leeway is gone in bedtime/time we get up.  While homeschooling, we maintained a general "schedule" and most days, Natalie was up by 7am, but it wasn't quite the same.  She had down time during the day, etc.  Now that we're back in the bustle of school, I am working on a bed routine a bit more.

We've now had 3 school nights and I've done 7:00 bedtime each night.  The first 2, she read until 7:30 and the 3rd, until 8:00.  She seems happy, excited, and ready for her day come morning [First 2 days, she got up at 7, 3rd, 6a].

And while bedtime is something to ensure the child's sleep needs are met - allowing them to be the most successful in school and after-school activities, I think it has to be weighed out against their need for time with their family.  I found that the 7pm bedtime has me feeling like everything is rush-rush to get through the afternoon/evening ... and then *bam*, she's in bed.  Just like that.

I took a little poll on my Facebook asking what bedtimes are and we're definitely on the very early end of it, so I'm considering a little bit of flexibility to try out a little later and see how she does.  My worry is that as the week wears on, she gets progressively more "behind" on sleep and the behavior carries over from that.

Who am I kidding?  The reality is that as soon as sports are back in the mix [diving practice starts next week], we are going to be merely just surviving.  By the time we get homework, sports, dinner, showers, bags packed for the next day, and reading done ... bedtime will come when we get to it!  But I'd sure like to have a starting point to aim for!

Finally a break

Currently:

76°F

Feels Like: 76°

Today:

85°

High    

66°

Low

This is following:
Monday:

23

OBSERVED

Hi	109°F
Lo	78°F

Tuesday:

24

OBSERVED

Hi	91°F
Lo	79°F

What a nice reprieve from the sweltering August we have had here in North Central Texas.  This means my house is open, my air conditioner is off, calves were able to stay in their pens for the morning without fans running in the barn, and I'm not a sweaty mess while I clean house!

A pretty nice day and a welcome break from the heat!

Where I've been ...

I took a week away to go see some family last week.  Natalie had a great visit with her cousins (okay, so my mom's cousin's kid's kids - whatever that makes them!) and her great grandparents!  I'm so glad we took the time to go down and see everyone ... and was glad to get home too!

Jake, Carlee, and Trae
My little pals for a few days!  I love them!

Natalie with Great Grandma Alice & James
Beaumont, TX

With Great Grandpa "Honey" & Great Grandma Edith
Lumberton, TX

Dino Dig @ the Fort Worth Museum of Science & History

Waiting for our 4-D "Energy Blast" attraction @ FWMSH

Horizontal Gas Drilling @ FWMSH

More FWMSH

A perfect "last hurrah" ~ Even if we didn't know that was what it was!

About Face

Ironically, my last post was about continuing homeschooling, and today's shows Natalie's picture with her new teacher.  It has been a whirlwind around here since I was last on my blog, but that's for another post.

Natalie & her 2nd Grade Teacher on the First Day of School

I am still in shock how this has all played out.  I can't even really pinpoint what made us flip to take her back to school.  To some respect, I think I got wrapped up in the "Back to School" hype.  Obviously we had considered the option of her going back to school, but couldn't make the jump.  There are just too many compelling reasons for H/S.  

But ultimately, it being a new year, a new teacher, a new class, even a new wing of the school won out.  She was homeschooled for 6 months of 1st grade - there is nothing saying we can give 2nd grade a try.  Natalie loved Kindergarten, 1st grade had a lot of bumps and tears, but by a law of averages, 2nd grade should be just dandy!

So we rushed out and got what supplies were left at Wal-Mart on the Sunday night of tax-free weekend (Mental picture:  Walmart in New Orleans post-Katrina).  Yikes!!  We got her registered and met the teacher ... and today is the first day.  

While Natalie would rather be homeschooled, I'm proud of her attitude.  She will make the best of it ... and enjoy what school does have to offer her.  We've done the majority of the material they will cover, but as we explained to her, they will have different ways of doing things and it's never a bad thing to know multiple ways to do things.  I anticipate that she will get a lot more automatic at her math facts, spelling, more consistent with her "Razzle Dazzle" in her writing, etc. etc.  

So today starts this new phase ... I know she'll be fine, and I suspect she will grow personally over the next few weeks more than I can even fathom.  Something about "You didn't know what you had until it's gone" type scenario.  Her general attitude of taking me for granted has to come to an end -- even it means doing something so drastic and unexpected!