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Happy Tuesday! And, St. Patrick's Day.
Who celebrates St. Patrick's Day? 
I would like to celebrate this day with Max. But, in 2018, he was a month old and, 2019, I wasn't doing so great. I had eye surgery a week before and I was VERY dependent on everyone else. This year, we are practicing social distancing and, we currently reside in an apartment (Airbnb) with about 1/15th of our stuff from home- I miss home. Really, really, really miss being home. In the future, some green pancakes, green eggs, some green toast (fairy toast). Lots of broccoli, we love broccoli. We will start a tradition next year.
Since we are avoiding public places we have been getting creative with what we have. Lots of coloring time, silly games, 2 year old version of tag. This morning I signed Max up for abcMouse. We did the 6 month plan. 
This morning he got to play on abcMouse for about 15 minutes. Then I had had enough. lol. 
It is a cute website. Our laptop folds back into a tablet type of situation which, works out so much better then having the keyboard out. He loved the balloon popping games the best. 
The reviews said that 2 is really young for this site. I agree, but might as well give him the exposure now. 

I plan on letting him play on this site after breakfast. Then we can go outside for a bit. There isn't much to do outside here. We walk the dog and look at the pool. A fun game for Max is to walk through the parking lot and name the color of the cars. He loves cars.
Overall, I feel like we are doing pretty well with social distancing. I don't like staying home all day, but since we don't want to get sick (or others sick), we are making the best of it.
Hope everyone else is surviving. Hopefully, this will be over soon. I pray it will be over soon.

Just remember: Philippians 4:6 " Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." 

xoxo 
Rebecca

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Howdy y'all!
Hope everyone is feeling well. 
For the last couple of days I have worn nothing but yoga pants and my hair has been up in a ponytail. This has really bothered me for some reason. I guess because for the majority of my life I had to jump out of bed and get dressed for work or school. No, I was never one of those to wear pajama's or work out gear to school.  No one wants to see that.
But, I am usually crawling around on the floor or chasing a toddler outside so it's easy to just throw something "easy" on. 
It's also easy to throw on a dress or, a cute pair of shorts or, pants, real pants. I have to keep reminding myself that it's okay to dress for myself. I'm sure my son would appreciate mom wearing normal nice clothes. 
Currently, I am trying to wear what I have. Since we are living in an apartment (week 6....grrr) I do not have all my clothes with me. I only brought 4 outfits for myself. But, my son has a ton of clothes. So, when we finally get to go home I plan on shopping my closest until I lose the extra weight. Then this girl is going shopping! 

I cannot wait to get home! My gardenia's are gone. So are my rose bushes. The palm tree survived. Out of everything in my yard, the palm tree is one that I wanted gone. It doesn't make sense. Just one very tall palm tree. We have a large oak tree, two pecan tree's and some "trash" tree's. And one stupid palm tree. The gardenia's smell wonderful though! Hopefully, those are replaced.
I also want to start my veggie garden again. The year we flooded I had a wonder little garden. It washed away. 
Good news is that we will probably never flood again! That is a huge relief.

xoxo
​Rebecca

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Today was another Monday. Rotten to the core.
First, I missed a doctors appointment. The appointment itself is not a big deal, but I didn't want to have to reschedule. It's for my thyroid, or lack of a working one, and I have to go every 6 months to have my levels checked.  Not a big deal.
Then, I had to get the glass on my phone replaced. Or, so I thought. When the apple guy took the case off, my phone fell apart. Now, I have to get a new one. Usually, this wouldn't be a big deal but, this would make my 3rd new phone in 2 years. 
Ugh.
What happened was..... attempting to get a dog (who needed to potty) and a toddler down a set of concrete stairs and not hurting the living creatures, something had to go. Phone, it was. The phone was in a pocket, but not good enough and I wasn't about to let go of my son to save a phone. So, now I'm looking at phones. I'm thinking a refurbished one is the way to go, since it will have a 6 to 9 month life span with me. But, I don't even know where to begin with that. 

The little man and I are really, really missing being home. We could hang out outside, go for long walks, play at the park and not be cooped up all day long.
However, there has been so much progress on the  house. They are almost finished with the skirting. After the skirting then they will work on stairs, the catwalk for the garage and (I'm sure) a dozen small things. 
We are hoping there will not be a week 6 in this apartment. But, we have until Friday to figure that out.

xoxo
​Rebecca

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Hey y'all!
​This is our last Saturday at an Airbnb! At least, it better be.
It occurred to me the other day, I have only lived in an apartment for two years out of my entire life. In college, I lived in a dorm but, only for one semester. That's a long story... The rest of my time in college I lived at my parents, my sisters and my Aunt's lake house. Let me tell you, I was not suffering. But, that is all for another day. 
At this time in my life, apartment living is not doable. A toddler, a dog and steep set of stairs do not mix well. My husband is usually working so, I am let to  navigate those stairs by myself. Usually the dog won't move and the toddler is bouncing down the steps, sometimes its the other way around. Then I end up carrying everyone and everything up and down.  It's a good little work out.
To be honest, I have no right to complain. This girl just wants to go home.

If I was in my 20's or single, I might enjoy living here. It is pretty and, the pool is amazing! Too bad it is not warmer outside. We would be in that pool in a heartbeat. There is hot tub that gets a lot of use. But, it doesn't look as clean.
Anyway, I have been keeping the boy busy by visiting different parks and going for walks. But, he has been getting way to much screen time. I hope this isn't a problem when we get home. I am not much of a TV watcher. It just never interested me. I would rather listen to a podcast, music or, read. We didn't own a TV for awhile. After we flooded in 2016, we gave our one TV away. When Disney+ came out, we gave in and got a TV. It's nice to be able to sit and watch something as a family. There are moments I regret getting a TV, but we do have the power to turn in off.
Our house is getting the skirting put on! My neighbor, who is the sweetest, has been texting me updates. Please keep my neighbors dad in your prayers. He was in ICU, but is out now. However, he is not out of the woods.
By the time we move home, the skirting should be finished, or close to it. That makes it a little safer for the dog and toddler. 
Next, will be working on the garage and small decks. In a couple of years we are going to replace the decks with bigger decks. I just hope every time it rains I don't get into a panic and start boxing things up.
PTSD is real, y'all.
For now, I need to rescue this child from the TV. 


xoxo
​Rebecca

Oh, did you know Erin Condren LifePlanner's are discounted now. I am kicking myself for not purchasing one this year. I have used them for the past 5 years. So, I will be ordering one soon! Click below to get a free sticker book with a $40 purchase. So worth it!

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Hi there!
We are still in disbelief that we have a 2 year old! I don't usually post about our infertility struggles. One day I might be ready to talk about what we went through. But, for now, know that it was hell. Eleven years of  awful.
But, we have a 2 year old!!

Can you guess our theme?

It's Chika Chika Boom Boom! I wonder how long Max will let me theme his birthday parties around books? We love to read at my house.
Since we are still not in our house (see post below); We had Max's birthday party at The Children's Museum of Houston. It was a great alternative to a home party. They cater the food and provide paper plates, plastic utensils, balloons and, disposable table cloths. They even help you pack and they clean up. Yay!

I made these silly little coconut trees for the tables. We spread out foam letters and "coconuts" (brown pompoms) on each table. The letters are stickers so, each child could decorate their own little party hat. It was cute. My brother-in-law did not like these trees. Haha! He taped them down to the tables and because the table cloths were disposable, the trees would lift up and fall over. It was funny. 
Have I mentioned how amazing my family members are? They came early to help set up and made sure we got everything packed up and in the car. I am blessed with my brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews and, my mom. My mom is the best!

Needless to say, based on the picture above, Max had a great time. He loves to listen to people sing and thought everyone singing Happy Birthday was great. He has the best smile. 
My husband and I went round and round about what to get Max for his birthday. We settled on a Cars Bicycle. He loves it. We are working on getting him to ride, a little a day. We decided to get him a bicycle because he is obsessed with them. Thankfully, the teenagers at our local park are so sweet. They let him touch their bikes and will play with him.
My mom got him an awesome wagon. We have used it so many times already. Among a bunch of other fun toys, Max was given this dog that sings and claps. It was hilarious watching the kids dance and laugh when the button was pushed.

We were told we could possibly go home this week. That would be amazing! But, it really isn't safe with a toddler and a tiny dog. 
Soon...so, soon. I can't wait to be home.

xoxo
​Rebecca

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Howdy friends! 
I have been a little stressed out over here.
In 2016, our house flooded. This was after several months of remodeling. The day we were getting new counter tops (and finally finishing out remodel) we had about 3 inches of yucky, gross, disgusting, filth water run completely through our house. 
Thankfully a friend sent me a text, that woke me up, to check on us. Otherwise, we might have slept through the event. That was the last sleep we got for about 3 days. I have never cleaned so much in my life! We bleached the heck out of things trying to save brand new cabinets and flooring. It's something I don't want to experience again.
Thankfully, our city doesn't want us to go through that again either. Plus, doing this just helps the city in general. 
The city hired an engineering firm to determine what needed to be done to prevent flooding. The firm gave the city suggestions, one of them was to apply for a FEMA grant to elevate about 60 homes that were pegged as continual loss no matter what fixes were done. 
To our shock, we were on that list. And, even more shocking we were picked for the first round!

We were given 3 companies to interview and decide which would work best for us. We had a total of 6 interviews (2 with each company) and we decided to go with a company that is run by architects. Then I had to clean out our garage....not an easy task.
First things first, there was a lot of digging. Lots and lots of digging. Then jack hammering. Lots and lots of jack hammering. All excess concrete had to be cut away. The center of our attached garage was cut out.
Our garage will stay usable. The floor stays on the ground and the walls are built up to meet the existing walls. Does that make sense?
Anyway, we are only a part of the way through this process. Currently, we are living in an airbnb in the Galleria area of Houston. We picked this area because my husband can walk to work if he wants. It is nice that he gets "home" really early now that we are so close. But, this will only last about a month. This girl is ready to be home already!

Our little house is now close to 4 feet in the air. Well over the 18 inches above the floodplain that is required. I did get a video of one of the "pushes". Each "push" is about 8 inches. It is quiet and quick! In fact, I didn't realize it was happening until a couple of bracing boards fell. 
Next up: new pipes and new concrete then build up the new "walls".
A part 2 will be coming. Soon....

xoxo
​Rebecca

Happy 2020! We are 15 days into the new year and I am finally getting on here. My goal this year is to blog a bit more, like once a week, hopefully. I love doing this, but time is not always on my side. Time to rearrange my priorities.  
Maybe I am late to this party but, have y'all seen where people are setting intentions rather than resolutions?
​I don't think I have heard of doing that before. If I have, I ignored it. The idea of setting an intention is so much less stressful. I LOVE IT! So, I intend to blog more in 2020. I also intend to do 5 - 5k's with Max. Let's see what happens...
​This year started off a little rough for our little family. We spent New Year's Eve at the animal hospital. Our sweet girl, Bianca, is in heart failure. She is on all kinds of medication and we are trying to keep her comfortable, but it's heartbreaking.
​

It's amazing how many people have asked if we are going to get another dog.
​Too soon. Way, too soon, people. However, at this point I would say no.
First, I am allergic to the majority of animals. I love them, but can't have them. Bianca is a maltese. They do not have an undercoat which, makes her perfect for people with allergies. Second....toddler. I have to potty train a little human. I don't want to add to that. Although, I would rather deal with poo than with snot. GROSS! 
On that note; If anyone has good potty training tips for a boy then I am all ears. We have had mixed results. 

xoxo
​Rebecca

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Happy Friday, Y'all!
I feel like I could have written a lot more in my last post. But,  we live on toddler time....
Today, I thought nap time was going to be a struggle. Nope. He sat on the couch next to me and passed out. Now I get to finish up a couple of Christmas gifts, bake some cookies and write. YAY!
Have y'all visited the blog Pinch of Yum? If not, you totally should.
A year or so ago, a friend sent me a recipe she thought I would like from that website. She was right. I have made several of her recipes. So good.
Last night I was craving one chocolate chip cookie. There are no cookies in my house, but I had the ingredients. Not enough of all the ingredients... Thankfully, there is a recipe for half-batch perfect chocolate chip cookies. Click here, the recipe is near the bottom but, read her tips. 

My Grandma Velma made the best cookies. She followed the recipe on the bag but, they were crisp. A super yummy crisp, not a almost burnt crisp. My attempts have ended in the burnt crisp category, yuck. However, this time I came really, really close to my grandma's crisp little cookies. Her's were always uniform and perfect little bites. Mine looks like a hungry teenager plopped them down on a cookie sheet. Still good though :)

Those darker ones....those are the bomb. 
I only changed one thing; for some reason I didn't need as much flour. Wish I had some fancy scientific explanation. But, I don't. Just didn't look like I need the last little bit. 
I still have work to do to get to my grandma's level of cookie goodness, but I'm in no rush. 
Now, to try to make mac and cheese as good my brothers....

xoxo
Rebecca

Blog posts contain affiliate links. When you click on these links I earn a small commission that could eventually buy Max  a jacket.  Brrr....

Hello, y'all!
It's been a while since I even looked at this website. To be honest, I was in a bit of a funk. July, August and September were very rough for me this year. October, was just busy.
In July of 2017, my oldest brother, Charles, passed away. We never lived under the same roof, he is much older than me. We would talk on the phone a couple of times a week. He was living in Tennessee and, I am in Texas. He would listen to the latest steps in our infertility process. He would cry with me.  He would check on me. He was the sweetest. Also, he had amazing eyes. They were always full of light and life. Charles' passing was unexpected and hit hard. He passed away two weeks before we were going to announce we were FINALLY pregnant.
Not being able to tell my brother about the baby hurt so bad. But, I believe he knows now.
Charles did have severe back issues. His first back surgery was in his late 20's, from what I'm told. I prayed for relief for him, but God needed him home. We do know he was in pain all the time. He walked with a cane and it looked painful. But, he never talked about it. He wanted to know about how you were doing. I celebrate the fact that he is no longer in pain.
August...what can I say about August.
In 2018 we knew things were getting worse with dad. We knew we needed to spend as much time as possible with him. We just didn't know what was going to happen, when it would happen or how, and who all was going to be there.This year, I was in a daze through August. We celebrated my dad's birthday and, a week later, mine.
September 2018, my dad passed away.
​My dad's passing is something I feel like I can't fully discuss, much like my infertility treatment. I do feel blessed that dad and Max got to meet. They had the opportunity to love on each other. I will forever be grateful for that. The look on my dad's face the moment he realized Max was his grandson is forever embedded in my mind. It was a look of pure joy. His eyes lit up and I knew he knew. My sweet daddy's hands began to shake and all he wanted was to hold and love on that baby. I am so grateful for that moment. 
It's been a year. A hard year. My Aunt Vickie said it best when she told me you don't get over them being gone, just use to them being gone. A short six months after dad passed her husband, my dad's brother, passed away. That felt surreal. He was a sweet man. But, dad and Uncle Donald are together again.

This year, on dad's birthday, we went to Libby to the annual Community Homecoming. Libby is a small community outside of Nacogdoches. The community building was also the school house and the church. My dad is buried there, as well as, my grandparents and many other family members. There is a lot of history for our family there. 

Growing up, in the summer time, we would take some awesome road trips. It was kind of a game, but when ever someone spotted a historical marker we had to stop and read the sign. We have come across places where battles have taken place, where a community had once stood, where babies were born and people have died. 
My love for history comes from my parents and those road trips. I feel blessed that I have such amazing memories of my childhood. I pray every child has memories similar to mine.


xoxo
​Rebecca

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Max loves books. Thank goodness!
On Tuesdays, we go to our library for Baby Bookworms. It's so cute. But, Max towers over the tiny ones. Soon he will go to Toddler Time. I think we are going to ease into that in the next week or so. 
Today, we picked up all of Max's goodies for finishing the summer reading program. He got a book, a rubber duck, a coupon to Whataburger, a magnet and, a certificate. So cute! 
The book we picked up was a coding book. I know nothing about coding. Not sure why I grabbed this book, there was a good selection to choose from. But, Max was off finding a cart to push around. So, I had to hurry. Crazy kid.

Baby Bookworms is set up as: songs, book and then playtime and bubbles. 
Max wonders around and plays during the songs and gives his full attention to the Librarian while she is reading. Then back to wondering around. A couple of moms said they notice he loves the books. That's my boy! 
I just hope it continues. 
Also, there is a bird, or birds, who keep ramming into our windows. It's the windows along the back of the house. We have had this issue before, but not this bad. Our windows are new-ish. There is a screen on them, but you really can't tell. They are awesome windows. The only thing I can think to do is tape a piece of paper in them so they know something is there. I hate that there could be an injured bird out there somewhere because of our windows. I know this happens all the time, everyday, but still...ugh.


xoxo
​Rebecca
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