This picture may be saying the wrong 1000 words

She has begged to go to school since we moved here. Being on the wait list finally paid off a couple weeks ago. So why did she look like this when it was time to leave for her first day? You would never have known how excited she was.

At the happiest place on earth

I was riding the train with E from Space Mountain to Big Thunder Mountain when I heard the news that made that very moment the happiest moment EVER.  It wasn't the location, it was the overwhelming excitement that I was getting two long awaited nephews. 

It's just unfortunate he didn't attend

My little man turned 6 earlier this month.  I love the boy he is becoming.  I wish he played a little less Minecraft, but appreciate his passion.  I love to see his face light up when he performs.  He has such a huge heart.  It makes me happy when I see it full of kindness, and hurts me deeply when I can tell that it has been hurt.  He is a wonderful storyteller with an incredible imagination.  He is my buddy.  

 On the big day, Miss A and I met him at lunch and brought his classmates birthday doughnuts.  If you ever want to feel like a superstar, just enter an elementary school cafeteria with a doughnut box.  His party was planned for the following Saturday.  And when I say it was planned, I mean this kid had been planning his party since this summer.  After we moved to Houston I knew he felt like someone was his friend because he would invite them to his birthday party.  The invite list accumulated names for just about 6 months.  When the day came to actually send out invitations I tried to persuade E to invite only a few friends but he insisted the party be "crowded"...and crowded it was. 

E's original vision for his celebration was a huge Christmas party.  I don't mean a party for Christmas, but a Christmas party in February.  For fear that people would realize think we were a little crazy, I got him to go with a snow theme instead.  I realize the theme may not sound fun to everyone around the country that got dumped on with extreme winter weather that week, but it was kind of nice to pretend to have winter here.  We had penguins, snowmen, "snow" falling in the courtyard and a sprinkle of "snow" all over the lawn.  I prepared penguin bowling, snow-themed crafts, shaving cream Pictionary, and other games.  In the end, the kids just wanted to slip and slide in the snow while the parents munched on snow themed treats--cream cheese stuffed olive penguins, white cheese balls, white queso, snowman quesadillas, snowcaps, snowflake cookies, arctic circle powdered sugared doughnuts, snowman parts (carrot noses, pretzel arms, oreo buttons, pepperoni eyes, Twizzlers scarfs, etc.), blue iceberg jello, with arctic punch and glacial water to wash it down. 
 

 My sister gave me the idea to create shirts for the guests using contact paper and bleach to make a "print".  Thanks to my mom's help they actually got finished in time for the party.  It's a good thing I had a fresh shirt to offer the kids as they left because the kids were all covered in muddy fake snow yuck.

What I was most happy about was for the first time ever, E finally had a completed cake for his party.  Now that I think about it, his actual original idea for the party was to have people eat chocolate cake. It definitely would have been a shame if I'd forgotten to include that. Once we settled on a snow theme he requested "Pingu ice fishing catching the number 6", and despite staying up all night finishing a wedding cake, I managed to pull together his requested design by some minor miracle just in time for the start of the party.  

 The party was just about to begin as our guest of honor arrived after spending the night at Jojo's house.  Unfortunately, he had a fever and just wanted to go to bed.  It was so sad. His friends kept asking where he was, but every time I went in to check on him, he just asked to keep resting.  The party carried on without him and he did come out just long enough for us to sing to him.  Turns out the poor kid had strep throat... and I deserve mother of the year for waiting three days before finally figuring that out.

Once he was feeling better I asked him is he was sad that he missed his party or if he was happy that his friends had such a good time.  He said he was a little sad, but was glad they had fun.  Then he added, "I wasn't too sad because I still got presents."  I guess it wasn't a complete loss for him.  What I enjoyed most was both the kids getting so excited about everything we did to plan it.  It's always a little cringe-worthy to see some of your kids pick up your vices, but it is amazing when your passions rub off on them.  It makes me look forward to the next celebration here in the Melton pot.

On an unrealated note, this day was my first full blown panic attack where I had to breathe into a bag and everything.  On top of throwing this party, I agreed to make a wedding cake for a friend

as well as a cake for her nephew's Ethan's court of honor. 
I may need to work on saying "no".

The "crew"

I'm not even sure how it all began, but somehow I figured out that Disney was running a promotion where kids sailed free out of Galveston. It just happened that the cheapest day to sail corresponded with a day off of school and work, so we decided to throw caution to the wind and set sail.  It turned out to be the BEST FAMILY VACATION EVER!!!!!!!!!

Things I loved the most:

• The characters-- There is just something special about walking down the hall and seeing Cinderella.  It makes for a magical date when while playing shuffleboard on a quiet night with your husband and the Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey walks by.  We had an amazing breakfast with Mickey and his whole crew and seeing the smile on Miss A's face when all of the princesses were just standing there in the lobby ready to give her a hug was completely priceless.

• Dessert at every meal--  There was a joke onboard that you come on as a passenger and leave as luggage.  Unfortunately, that may have been true for me.  Miss A started every lunch by saying "If I eat all of my food, can I have ice cream?" and then ordered a Mickey ice cream bar with chocolate sauce and sprinkles every night at dinner.  Once we got home she was constantly asking at every meal, "but what's for zert?"
  

• The staff- We had a really good experience with all the staff. Our favorites were our stateroom host who left us little Sleepy chocolates every night on towel animals, 

• Our servers--Although we rotated through the different dining halls, we had the same serving team at all of our sit down meals--Nathan (aka Lobster Face-- what Miss A called him because "it's your girlfriend's fault I call you that") and Widi.  My personal favorite meal was probably the character breakfast where the two of them adorned each of us with napkin hats.  

• and the kid's club staff.  It was our server that helped up realize that our daughter was leaving an impression in the kid's club.  We figure it out when we told Nathan about how Miss A was being a diva in the kid's club when she decided her "arms were too tired to help clean up" and that she needed her mommy to pick her up.  Coincidentally she pulled that attitude on Nathan's girlfriend Teah who told him that story later that night.  The following night at dinner Teah came to the dining hall to pick the kids up to take them back to the kid's club while Br and I finished our meal.  She told Miss A that she lived in a room that was in the part of the boat underwater and asked Miss A if she would go clean it.  Miss A agreed.  When I picked the kids up later that night I asked Miss A if she cleaned Teah's room.  She said "No, I don't have my swimming soup.  I didn't want to ruin my dress...I can't hold my breath that long and I can't breathe underwater...And there are sharks in the ocean.  I don't want them to bit me." Oh, she couldn't clean it because it was underwater. That girl can always come up with a legit reason not to pick up.
  
  

• Formal night- I love that my kids like to dress up.  Miss A asked almost every night after that if we could have another fancy dinner.

• Ports of Call- Although the ship was fabulous, it was nice to see some sights on land. 
• Castaway Cay- Disney's private island in the Bahamas was an absolute paradise.  We spent almost the whole time watching the kids play on the pristine beach while Br and I took turns snorkeling.  Before heading back to the boat we sent the kids to play in the kid's area and the two of us went on a little bike riding date around the island. It was a PERFECT day.

• Disney World- We were too busy having fun to remember to take pictures.  It was momentous because, with the right shoes, Miss A was FINALLY tall enough to ride most of the rides with us.  Can I just tell you that I LOVE that my kids ride roller coasters with their arms up?  The best part of this day--by far-- was the news that my sister and her husband finally got matched with a birth mom to adopt not one but two baby boys. 

• Key West--Our kids made friends with some of the locals.  We took a nice little walk to Walgreens and saw an actual chicken crossing the road. 

• Pirate night- Despite the kids being a little tired that night, I'm glad we stayed up late enough that night to watch the fireworks at the end of the pirate party. E insisted on wearing parts of his costume the rest of the trip. 

 

• Kid's Club.  Although we ate meals, watched the shows, went on excursions, and swam as a family, whenever possible Miss A wanted to go play at the "book club".  I'm not really sure why she called it the book club, but I understand why she loved it.  There was always a princess dress to be worn, a craft to make, a party to boogie down at, lots of friends, and even a few famous ones that would pop in to spend some time with the kids.  The final night the kids even got to perform in the main theater with Mickey and Minnie.  Who could top an experience like that? I loved the kid's club as much as Miss A because it gave Br and I some amazing alone time.  It was like we were on one huge extended date.  

 

• But what I absolutely loved more than anything was the quality time we got to spend as a family making fabulous memories!!!!!! Br, E, and A, thanks for the good times!

Who said you can't have a snow day in Houston

The sun may shine all winter long and the average low rarely drops below 50, but get a truck full of ice, and a glorified chipper in the middle of a park and you have a snow day in Houston.

Coming and goings of December

As it was for most people, December was extremely busy here.  I was in charge of the Christmas party for our church congregation.  That ended up consuming the first half of the month.  The second half was spent playing catch up.  

In the hustle and bustle, I still managed to take a second or two to jot down a few notes about our comings and goings. 

E's fortune cookie said, "you'll make a name for yourself".  His response was, "I already have a name.  I need another fortune cookie."

While eating something crunchy E started singing out in "I'm crunchy and I know it".

We were approached by a woman and her daughter in the parking lot asking for money to get home.  Br gave the ladies enough money for bus fare.  As we turned away and started walking away, yet were still within earshot of the ladies, E exclaimed, "You should have given them the $10!"

I don't remember the story, but somehow the question was asked: "Why don't we get a goat?"

I asked E to tell me the Christmas story.  It turns out that the wise men brought Gold, Silver, and Frankenstein to the Christ child. King James really needs to recheck his translation.

Miss A and my usual Tuesday lunch activity going to Ikea for free lunch, free babysitting, and toddler time with the balloon lady. One afternoon Miss A was particularly rambunctious and more than once I looked over to find her swimming/diving in the huge bins of stuffed kitties.  It's pretty hard to subtly remove your child from that situation and pretend it didn't happen.  It's especially awful when you have to do it more than once.

I took Miss A to buy some new shoes.  She put one pair on, thrust out one of her little hips, popped her toe and then announced that those shoes wouldn't work because she "couldn't pose" in them. I was really sad because they were so cute.  The problem was they were just too big because they were wide.  I told her "they aren't going to work because your feet aren't wide".  Miss A quickly responded, "ya, my feet are brown".

We celebrate Christmas a day early which is possible when your kids don't have a calendar.

We decided to take a little road trip to Albuquerque for Christmas. The road trip itself was quite an adventure.  I made note of a few of the exciting elements on Facebook
" So it turns out that you get a really exciting reaction when you add a flavor packet to seltzer water. I wish I hadn't discovered that as we were zooming down the highway. It also turns out that rolling down the window and sticking the overflowing bottle outside when you are going 80 mph does not keep you from getting soaked. I'm wet and the hubby is mad most of his drink is gone and it is no longer carbonated."

" Christmas road trip misadventure number 2... insisting the boy pee in a bottle since he insisted he didn't need to go at our last pit stop. Wish he understood that I was handing him the bottle so he could take care of things not holding the bottle a couple inches away so he could aim into the small necked bottle. I really should have packed myself more clothes."

The fun continued as the snow began to fall in North Texas.  It got so bad that we stopped in Wichita Falls for the night.  The kids enjoyed having a white Christmas.  At the hotel, Miss A wanted to take a bath.  It was kind of an odd time of day so we told her "It's not late enough".  She waited for a second and asked if she could go outside and play in the snow.  We told her it was too late.  She immediately replied, "See, I told you it was late enough for me to take a bath".

 (if you look closely at the picture you will notice that neither of Miss A's shoes are appropriate for the winter weather)

We distracted her long enough to have a little Christmas dinner.  With the combination of a snowstorm and it being Christmas, there was only one option in town.  We had a very memorable evening at Denny's.  It was 2 hours, and lot's of Miss A's asking the manager "um, mam.  Where are my pancakes?  I'm really hungry" before we finally had our Christmas dinner.  3ish hours after leaving the hotel and we were finally in bed ready for a good night's sleep so we could finish our journey to ABQ.  

Overall it was worth it so our kids could spend some quality time with their cousins.

 

Thirty(-one) flirty and fabulous

So it only took me 3 months to edit photos so I could complete the post that was "coming soon".  As I mentioned previously, I took a little trip up to OKC for one last Fall celebration with my favorite co-hostess Candice...or should I say Miss Shapen.  Brace yourself for a whole lot of beautiful!

We kicked of the evening by feasting on Cafe Rio inspired salads.  

With our hunger satiated, the real fun began. A few just introduced us to the details of her inner beauty queen, while others outwardly expressed her "talents".

Let me introduce you to:

Ms. G4, Gwendolyn the Gorgeous Golden Gnome (who may or may not have locked her keys in the car and had to meet the AAA many looking this fabulous)

 

Ms. Far Far Away

Ms. Pink Slip

Ms. Corset (pronounced "core say")

 

Ms. Elusive Elf

Ms. High Fashion

Ms. Great Wall Buffet.  Her sticky rice snowman was better than any sticky rice winter decoration any of the rest of us could make.

 

Mrs. Peacock, who may or may not have been a murder suspect, but we forgot all about that CLUE when she amused us with her thumb hula.

Ms. Golden Girl who was forever traumatized by misinterpreting the role she auditioned for in 1985.  Turns out the show was about four older ladies living together in Miami, not all about a young woman adorned in gold.  She took the opportunity to redeem herself with a delightful rendition of Goldilocks and the 3 bears.

And who can forget Ms. Acaisa-coke with her delightful performance on the bells--that she may or may not have borrowed from her kids.

We couldn't help but stare at the "beauty" that Ms. Frst Clas Lade brought to the room.  I mean the sparkle from her paperclip earrings and almost pearly whites were nearly blinding...or was that the glare off the trash bag? I'm sure I'm not the only one who still has her rendition of Taylor Swift's "We are never ever getting back together" burned into their brain.

This is the kooky Miss Space Cadet.  Not only does she always have a wacky plan up her sleeve, but boy does she ever know how to dramatically and rapidly eat a fudge bar. 

The groovy Miss Flower Power bongoed (I'm not sure that is an actual verb) out a little Misses Robinson.

Miss Zena Warrior Princess showed off her strength, courage, and balance.  She's not the type of beauty queen you want to meet in a dark alley.

Miss Out of this World's dance and hula hoop moves were...well, out of this world.

Mrs. Cleaver showed us all up with her PERFECT hair, makeup and homemaking skills.  She even gave the rest of us tips on how to appropriately prepare ourselves and home for the return of our husbands each evening.  Sorry Br, I forgot to take notes.

The most unforgettable performance of the night came from Miss Linda Lou.  Look at those legs!  I'll just say that I want to be Miss Linda Lou when I grow up.

Lastly, I shouldn't fail to mention the real star of the evening...the birthday girl herself...Miss Shapen.  Her talent of stacking blocks on her wonderful "shelf" was unmatched.

Thank you Candice for giving us the excuse to have a fabulous fun filled night. And in the words of a few famous Golden Girls--

Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
Your heart is true your a pal and a confidant.

And if you through a party
Invited everyone you ever knew
You would see the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say thank you for being a friend.