Babysitters Club

You know you used to read those books, and if you didn’t you are too young for this blog. I started babysitting from a very young age, but have been out of the business since college. This past weekend I babysat for the first time in 6+ years. Our friends Heather and Chris had twins on Valentine’s Day, and haven’t really had a moment off in months. They both work, and take care of the kids with little to no help at all. So when My Chris proposed we give them an afternoon off, I happily agreed. He took the new parents golfing for the afternoon, and I took the 2 babies. Who do you think got the better end of that deal?

I HAVE NEVER WORKED HARDER IN MY LIFE. They are wonderful babies, really, not a problem at all, but babies are hard. Multiply that by 2 and it was an endless cycle of feeding, burping, rocking, diaper changing…then repeat with the other…then repeat again. And no naps! I had totally forgotten the amount of energy that goes in to properly caring for infants. I am sure they felt reassured when they walked back in the door and I yelled "look I didn't kill them" as if that were a surprise to everyone including myself.

When the golfers returned relaxed and refreshed from 18 holes of adult conversation, and a few beers on the course I knew that it had been totally worth it. I have never felt more appreciated for giving someone an afternoon to do something for themselves. It’s what friends do, and I will do it again soon, but I am now in a holding pattern about when I will be ready for the baby step. It takes selflessness, and super human bicep strength, along with the acceptance that life as you knew it is really gone. Not that a new life adventure is bad, it’s just very different. I am in awe of the baby mama’s I know, but I will savor until the last moment many things about not having a baby yet.

Shayne Won!!

I love it. I do. I never wanted to like her, but I couldn’t help it.

Of course I am talking about the Bachelor finale last night. Matt picked Shayne, and I have wanted him to since episode 6. Really, she is pretty hilarious. When she got out of the limo the 1st night I rolled my eyes and said...”oh no”. She seemed young and dumb and I was sure she was using the bachelor to move her career out of a guest role on a daytime soap and into at least a lifetime movie. Gotta love first impressions. However, each week she grew on me, and each week I have been rooting for her. She is young, and an actress, and Lorenzo Lammas's Daughter,but she was totally herself. When she whipped out her makeup kit on the ski slopes I thought…she is my kind of girl. It was a classic moment and I laughed as hard as Matt did.

So he picked her. Honestly, this is the first couple in the last few seasons that I am rooting for.

Hat Day

Otherwise known as Kentucky Derby Day…I think unless one is in England it’s the only day in America where huge, ornate, colorful hats are not seen as a sign of a mental illness in a woman.

Texas is as close to the "South" as I plan on getting, and here we have a version of the event at Lone Star Park. I happened to be shopping for something completely different a few weeks prior and came upon a hat that I had to have for the hat contest on Derby Day. It fit the bill completely, and it was black and white with crazy feathers coming off of it, but in an elegant way. I felt like a larger, older version of Kate Middleton.

So the hat: I saw, I purchased, I wore…but alas I did not win. I know this will be hard to believe but there were at least 75 hats in the contest, and they varied from homemade, to theme hats, and hats with real roses with every possible option in between. It was something to see. So I did not win, but I felt I represented the spirit of a true derby hat.

Chris turned 31

Chris turned 31 last week, and I am so thankful that I don’t have to hear him tell everyone that he's the younger man…by 3 months. It’s been hectic the past month and extremely busy at work so he really didn’t want to do anything for his birthday. I can understand that, so we had dinner, just the 2 of us, and called it a day. We went to Bob’s in Plano and it was delicious. I’m still thinking about the vanilla ice cream.
This was the 4th birthday of his that I have had the pleasure of helping celebrate. Looking back I can’t believe that we met when we were 27 and that all this time has passed. It feels like yesterday that I was planning his surprise 28th birthday at the pub where we shared our first drink.
I tease about him on this blog regularly, and he is a great sport about it, but in truth he is my person. I don’t like saying “my other half” because I’m quite whole on my own thank you, but he is irreplaceable and invaluable to me.
When you meet him, he seems very different from who I have found him to be. He would hate if I gave all his secrets, but false bravado covers some of my favorite things about him. He is kind, hard working, extremely generous, supportive, encouraging, and funny. You heard me right…he is funny. I swear. When I look at him with his grandma, or with the baby of a friend, on the phone to my mom, or even sending an email to one of my friends that had a bad day I understand that he is one in a million.
So Happy 31st birthday to the best maker of eggs, mower of lawns, and creator of budgets, dancer of NKOTB, orderer of my complex starbucks drink, lets me have the window on all flights, never interrupts important TiVo, and always walks the dog at night fiancé. You are so much more than that, but I don’t have room, and Worley would gag if I go on.

Apple Bottom Jeans

A few weekends back I went to visit my friend Celeste in Houston. (Above photo on the far right) I like to call her the Rajun Cajun and this weekend was no exception. She moved from Dallas to Houston in February. I had never been to Houston. I decided it was time for a visit. It would have been a perfect weekend, but getting out of Dallas took forever. Thanks to the weather in our state my 3:30 flight ended up being a 7:30 flight. We got a late start Friday night, but that didn’t stop us. We made up for it of course. A few bottles of wine and some cheese fries later we stayed up till 5 am chatting and catching up.

She lives in this amazing part of town called The Village, near Rice University. It is bustling with people, fun pubs, and restaurants. The weekend was filled crawfish, cold beer, horoscopes, starbucks and movies. The funny stories are usually due to Celeste’s over-sharing and friendly with stranger's disposition. I swear that girl never meets someone she doesn’t like. We managed to drink plenty, eat a ton, and see more bachelorette parties at a piano bar than should ever be allowed.

**Random Side Note: I’m not kidding; I think there were 7 brides at Howl at the Moon. I decided right then that I don’t want one…well none like that. One of them was wearing this hideous baseball cap/veil combination that we couldn’t handle. Her poor friends had these headbands with gigantic hearts off the top that looked like alien nubs. Awful. No matter how much I drink, that never looks cool. I hereby promise that you will never see me out with any fake veil, shirt with a spinner, or fake member items (suckers, necklaces, blow ups), or flashing lights around my head. Oops, I forgot the “Bride to be” beauty pageant sash and tiara will also never see the light of day with me.

We decided the song by t-pain “Low” was our theme song for the weekend. It literally came on the radio every time we got into the car, and everywhere we went. Luckily it brings a smile to my face every time I hear it. I mean "Reeboks with the straps"…poetry in motion.