High Five for Friday (2.8.19)

One
Last week I mentioned the Variety Show in the context of an event to which Hallie and her friends wore their new baker costumes, and this week I mention the Variety Show to send out a gigantic high five that it has wrapped. I have loved and am tremendously grateful for the many opportunities - five, to be exact - I've had to help our elementary school's 4th graders find their talents and bring their acts to life, but with a "graduating" 4th grader myself, the time has come for me step down. The show must go on, but next year it will be with someone else at the helm.

Two
Let's keep the performance theme going, shall we?

On Friday, Hallie and her Mini Company performed at one of my favorite events of the year, Night of Worship. We rushed to Bryan as soon as possible after school so the kids could enjoy an ice cream treat, then turned the girls over to their director so the moms could enjoy a grown-up treat. Finally we settled into our seats (thank goodness for the nicest weather we've ever had for this outdoor event) and enjoyed our dancers.

These two manned the hot chocolate table prior to the show.

That's my girl!

Three
Another weekend, another soccer tournament! We travel for every regular season game, so the opportunity to play two tournaments in a row just 15 minutes from our house felt like such a treat! The weekend didn't end exactly how the boys would have liked, but they played as hard as they could for as long as they could and I'm proud of them!

Will has an awesome coach. I have no idea what he
says to the boys when they sub out, but he always sits
 down next to them and from the sidelines it looks like
he legitimately cares about making sure they understand
his corrections and feel encouraged going forward.  

Four
Tom and I have always told Will that he could play football...until the day the style of play switched from flag to tackle. Because he knew he would never make it as a high school football player (taking into account both his size and our rule about not playing the tackle version of the game), Will focused his energies on different athletic activities. But with middle school sports on the horizon, Will has suddenly developed an interest in taking the football field and a work-around to our no-tackle rule: he wants to become a kicker.

Will bought a football and a tee, and has made multiple trips to the middle school football field to see if his soccer kick might possibly translate to a football kick. He has also assured me that he's "pretty sure" kickers hardly ever get tackled, so I wouldn't need to worry about his brain.

I expect this interest in football will be short-lived and Will will soon go back to his original plan to run cross country, but in the meantime, I'm proud of how hard he's working toward this new goal.

Five
Happiness Highlights

While Will kicked field goals, I walked the track and
marveled at this gorgeous rainbow. It appeared one minute
and was gone the next, making me all the more grateful I
was in the right place at the right time to see it. 

Hallie worked diligently on this tiny Etch-A-Sketch
project (rather than watch her brother play soccer)
for almost an hour. I love it when old school toys
make a comeback!

Will left these "finished" Rubik's Cubes on the
windowsill in Hallie's room. Can you see it?
"I...LOVE..."

"...YOU!"
Sometimes they're AWFUL to each other, but sometimes they
do things like this and all is once again right with the world.

#Texan

Just because. 

Hallie and I bought matching "Love Rules" shirts
for Valentine's Day in the kids section at Target. 

For Christmas we bought my sister, BIL, niece,
and nephew tickets to see Finding Neverland.
Isn't Carter adorable in his pirate get-up?!

Grand Station birthday party for Paloma!

Paloma was so sweet to include
these three littles in the party fun!

Happy Friday, friends!

Linking up with High Five for Friday here.

Eight Years of Grump

My little Packer fans spent yet another Super Bowl Sunday protesting Green Bay's absence from the big game.

Hallie has never had any trouble flashing a turned-down mouth and furrowed brow, but Will struggles with each round of Grumpy Packer Backer photos. Angry faces just don't come as naturally to him as they do to her.

The emotion in the first picture of this series - see below - was captured accidentally. On Super Bowl Sunday I brought out all of the kids' Green Bay gear for one more wear. As Will pulled on his Packer shirt, he asked excitedly if the Packers had made it to the Super Bowl. When I explained that no, the Packers weren't playing that day, the authentically forlorn expression you see above passed slowly across his face. Hallie, on the other hand, just didn't feel like smiling for the camera.

This tradition of Will and Hallie wearing their disappointment on both their faces and torsos began in 2012 will continue as long as is necessary…hopefully 2020 will see our Green Bay Packers rise to the top once more.

2018

This is our "official" 2017 photo...

...but this one - in which Hallie somehow looks even scarier
with a unilaterally flared nostril - is worth sharing as well.

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

Monthly Medley: January 2019

Writing
I don't have anything new in print this month, but that doesn't mean I didn't spend quite a bit of time at my computer throughout the month of January. I cranked out quite a few words for my PTO volunteer positions, and I'm about to take on a pretty hefty editing job for my school district volunteer position. In between those projects and thanks to taking a small step back from Chasing Roots (making the slight adjustment from three posts a week to two posts a week), I felt able to tackle some new assignments I might have otherwise turned down. More to come!

Reading
I finished - and LOVED - The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn. I often share that while I enjoyed the middle and ending of a particular book, it started off rather slowly. That wasn't the case here, though - this mystery started off with a figurative bang and kept me hooked for every one of its 400 pages.

A loosely related thought... Doesn't it seem odd that we are required to renew library cards in person and every year, but can renew driver's licenses online and every six years? I'm already SO over having to drive to another city to take care of my library needs.

Watching
On the big screen, Hallie and I adored Mary Poppins Returns and both kids and I laughed our way through Small Foot. On the small screen, Tom and I watched Birdbox on Netflix and I fell in love with Marie Kondo's new show, also on Netflix. I knew about Marie Kondo previously - I haven't read her books but have been enjoying her YouTube videos for years - but watching her "live" has been delightful and inspiring.

Listening To
After a month of searching for a podcast that could keep me distracted while chugging away on the elliptical machine, I finally found one: Up and Vanished by Tenderfoot TV. The subject matter is engaging, and I enjoy the creator/host's style and the voice of the creator/host's best friend, Rob, who pops on every now and again to tell the most dramatic parts of the story. If you like Serial or Criminal, give Up and Vanished a try!

Trying/Using
After a couple of weeks of watching - somewhat helplessly - Hallie struggle with bedtime and separation anxiety, I brought in the big guns: my 40-year-old Winnie the Pooh. I slept with Winnie the Pooh tucked under my left arm from the time I received him as a gift (when I was a baby and in the hospital after my parents and I were in a car accident) until the eve of my wedding, and he never let me down. I can only hope he gives Hallie the same peace of mind he gave me on the nights I struggled.

Even though he has taken at least one dose of peanuts every single day for nearly a year, Will still has trouble remembering that he has to take at least one dose of peanuts every single day. What I wouldn't give to better understand how the brain of a 12-year-old boy works... The "peanut alarm" on my phone goes off once every afternoon and then again every evening as a back-up, but this system puts the "burden" of maintaining Will's peanut desensitization on me, rather than on him. And while it makes sense that this responsibility and commitment to Will's health fall on both of us now, eventually we need to transition to it falling on him with me as a back-up and then falling solely on him. That process began with a brightly-colored, labeled-with-the-days-of-the-week, peanut (pill) container. Will fills each compartment with 12 peanuts on Sunday, and then we leave the container on an otherwise clear counter so it can remind him to take his peanuts. This "tool" didn't immediately solve Will's memory problems, but it is certainly a step in the right direction! Oh, and I highly recommend the container - it's fun, sturdy, and easy to use.

Wearing
I LOVE these new earrings my parents gave me for Christmas - gorgeous, right? The yellow stone on the bottom is my November birthstone, topaz. As a little girl I hated my birthstone, but as I've grown up it's grown on me.

Also on a jewelry note... Back in November I lost a bag in which I had tucked away a few of my favorite jewelry pieces, I believe for travel. I searched my house from top to bottom, checked in with the lost and found at my gym, asked my mom and sister to check their houses...but I couldn't find the bag anywhere and was heartbroken.

Well. Earlier this month and while putting away our luggage, I slid my hand down into an outside pocket of Hallie's suitcase and bumped into a bulge. There was nothing in the pocket itself, but I discovered a tear in the pocket's lining and when I shoved my hand through and behind the tear, I found my jewelry bag. I have absolutely no idea how it ended up in that hidden spot, but I am so grateful it turned up and that I can wear all of those pieces again!

Eating/Drinking

• Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes For a friend's birthday I made - for the first time ever - pineapple upside down cupcakes. I followed the recipe linked here for the topping (butter, sugar, pineapple, and cherries), but then I used my own pineapple upside down cake recipe for the cupcake portion. I have no doubt the linked recipe tastes delicious, but if you'd mine, let me know and I'll type it up in a way that makes sense. 😉
• Gingerbread Cake When I was a little girl, my mom and I used to regularly bake gingerbread cake using a boxed mix. When Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker or Pillsbury stopped making the mix, we stopped making gingerbread cake, and it didn't occur to me until this past Christmas that I could make gingerbread cake without a mix. Over winter break I started searching for a winning recipe and eventually gave this one a try; I actually followed the recipe exactly (I usually cut the sugar, sometimes by almost half) and I'm glad I did, because this gingerbread cake was perfect. It took me back to my childhood and reminded me of how much fun I used to have baking with my mom.
• Beer Can Chicken I didn't actually cook beer can chicken, but Tom did, after receiving a beer can chicken roasting rack for Christmas. I can't find the exact apparatus Tom used, but I linked to a simple, affordable, and well-rated one here. Give it a try - easy process, delicious result!

Feeling Good About

• These are all pretty good ways to start the day.
• I need to step up my Little Free Library game...
• Watch him listen to her.
• Thank you, Gillette

How was your January? Anything new or fun to share?

High Five for Friday (2.1.19)

One

Over the weekend, Tom and Will spent a Christmas gift card on a new smoker. Hallie helped Tom assemble the smoker, and then Tom whipped - and by whipped, I mean smoked low and slow - a few racks of ribs. Our Sunday evening dinner game has certainly been taken up a notch!

Two

The two littles on the right danced in their 4th grade Variety Show yesterday. (The third little goes to a different school, which is why she didn't perform with the other two.) They nailed their performance, and I promise to share more pics next week.

But this high five isn't about their dance...this high five is for my mom, who made these gorgeous costumes. I originally asked her to make two, for the Variety Show, but when Hallie and I realized we just couldn't imagine only two of the three musketeers dressing up as Nutcracker bakers, she understood and made a third. Thank you, Mom - you're the absolute best!

Three

On Saturday afternoon and in between Will's soccer games, Hallie and I saw A&M Consolidated High School's production of The Wizard of Oz. I attended a high school with spectacular music and theatre programs, and therefore have (probably unreasonably) high standards when it comes to high school musicals. Unlike most high school musicals I've seen, The Wizard of Oz lived up to my expectations. As we are currently zoned for this high school, I couldn't help but dream about one day watching Hallie on that same stage.

Four

Speaking of soccer games, Will had quite a few this weekend and ended up with a couple of wins and a tie. We're back in the soccer saddle again, and I love it!

Five
Sunday brought two lovely fine arts experiences. First up, Carnival of the Animals, performed as a partnership between Ballet Brazos and the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra. After Carnival of the Animals wrapped, we headed home to watch the long-anticipated Rent: Live. After the debacle that was A Christmas Story: Live a year or so ago, Rent: Live was a breath of fresh air. (Can you describe Rent as a breath of fresh air? I'm not sure, given that its story revolves around HIV/AIDS, addiction, poverty, and homelessness...but I love Rent - and have loved the show for decades - for its focus on tolerance, acceptance, and hope.) I know a few people who thought the show fell short, but I loved it, and appreciated how the cast and crew truly embraced the age-old mantra, "the show must go on".

I'm not allowed to share photos from Carnival of the Animals,
so here's a photo of these two - enjoying their vending machine
Hostess cupcakes - while waiting for the show to start.

Happy Friday, friends!

Linking up with High Five for Friday here.