Weezer left us this morning <sigh>. We were all sad to see her go, even Gabby who managed to sleep through her goodbye. Rocky misses sleeping under her car. I miss drinking coffee with her and our t.v. and table talks. Weezer and I kept really busy with running errands, keeping up with the kids, catering to Ms. Gabby, and just catching up. We did find some time to go watch one movie, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and have a nice La Madeleine Lunch, with Ms, Gabby in tow. Yes, it was nice to have Weezer around. She was able to get in a lot of Grandma time and bond with the wee baby. I even reintroduced Weezer to Houston traffic yesterday when I got turned around on highway 290. Yes, we both agree, that will be a moment to remember! We can hardly wait for Weezer to come again!
Unfortunately, no matter how hard we tried, we could not get Gabby to successfully take a pacifier or bottle. The battle wages on. We did however try out a new baby car seat carrier that suited Ms. Gabby to a “T” and will make Auntie Kari happy that I gave into using it (plus, it was free!).
I will leave you with pictures taken during Weezer’s trip and a candid video I took of them without them knowing. I also have included pictures taken today while Gabby and I fled the unsettling quiet of home to have lunch with my dear friend, Auntie Stella. We used the opportunity to use our Red Robin Free Birthday Burger Coupons! We had a $20 meal for only $6!!! Plus, we had great service and a wonderful time. Gabby also met some ex workers of mine, one with a special connection to me and Gabe. Gabby, of course, slept through it all. Once we got home back to the quiet, she became very fussy! That is my Gabby. Party girl. She also got to talk to her daddy on Skype. She had a lot of smiles and flatulent moments for him. Okay, well, I have to go meet the boys at the bus stop. Later.
So, the house is very quiet. Weezer left me to go hang with Wanda. The kids are in school (yay!). The baby is sleeping (double yay!). I am waiting for the exterminator to arrive to rid our house of those ugly ginormous wood roaches! It rained forever here in H town and we were over run by those suckers. We even saw them trying to move their furniture in. Not gonna have it.
I am taking this very foreign and still moment to catch you all up. First Weezer made it into town on Saturday afternoon. She was immediately drawn into her grandmotherly duties and also surprised with a famous Carolina’s Potluck Gathering. My COF’s (circle of friends) arrived to welcome her, all with good eats and treats in tow. We think we amused her. We also celebrated the August birthdays and had a mini tribute to fellow Leo, Rick Springfield, whose birthday did not go unnoticed by his faithful female fans.
Weezer and I have also been making the rounds in Houston. Don’t worry, Kari. We have not hit any of the cool stores, yet, but it is nice to have another grown up to shop with and spend all of Gabe’s money with. Weezer has also been helping me keep the boys entertained and the baby rocked and cuddled. She is quite the diva. She has many arms and little helpers who want to be at her beck and call, so she is very spoiled.
Since Weezer’s arrival, I have mysteriously become the proud owner of a beautiful new coffee maker (like Kari’s) and Gabby now owns a pacifier she will take (well sometimes). She slept with it for almost 3.5 hours! I felt like I slept an entire night.
I am including a slide show of an assortment of picture taken recently. Many are of the kids and some of the big shin dig the subdivision held for the Olympian Gymnast, Jonathan Horton, outside his home when he arrived from China. Savannah also made her first Cupcake Cake solo, without mom. I also would like to thank my amigos for coming over to welcome my M-I-L. Keith, Frank, Linda, Jorge, Nadine, Shannon you are awesome!
BTW, don’t forget to scroll down and read the other recent posts by my hubby!
Well, MBM is gallivanting around town with Weezer. She’s slacking on our “Little” site so I felt the need to provide you with some much needed entertainment.
Nigeria, is as always, the same as when I left last time. Nothing much changes. We did see some real-live captured militants a week or so ago. That was interesting. The militants are the bad boys of Nigeria. The ones that have big-bad weapons and like to kidnap expats for fun. However, these militants were not very scary. They had recently attacked the Nigerian Navy not far from our offices. Of course the Navy opened up a can of whup-ass on the bad boys and captured 20 or so of them. They apparently stripped them down to their skivvies, blindfolded them, and threw them in the back of some Navy pick-ups. The pick-ups then drove by us in traffic. Word on the street is those fellers will never be seen again. Pretty freaky huh?
Oh, and a truck cut us off in traffic on the way to work the other day. Our guards didn’t take kindly to the act because they thought it could have been the bad boys trying to get us. They jumped out of the chase car, pulled the driver out of his big rig and proceeded to beat him senseless. It was not pretty. Guess here they beat first and ask questions later. We always think they (the guards) have their heads up their wahoos. Guess they really do pay attention.
As for the running, it hasn’t been happening this trip. It’s the rainy season and has rained EVERY SINGLE DAY that I’ve been here so far. Not necessarily during the day, but it usually starts around 5:30 or 6:00pm, right around the time I get home and want to go run. It bites. I haven’t started my quest for 100 consecutive push ups yet either. Guess I’m just lazy this trip.
So, that’s all the stories I have so far. What do you think about our new website banner with all of our little pictures? Cool huh? I also added the trip countdown timer on the right-hand side, updated Carolina’s Latest Gallery (bottom right in the sidebar), and updated my latest reading list (also bottom right in the sidebar). If you’re bored give it a gander for something interesting to read. Oh yea, don’t forget about Gabby’s Virtual Baby Book. You all have been pretty quiet over there lately.
It has been a long few days! So much going on here. Most of our energy has been spent on baby sitting and traveling to Wichita Falls to pick up James from his summer vacation. We are now a full house, minus Dad. This was Gabby’s first road trip. She did really well. We only added an extra 30 minutes to our trip’s normal time. She must love being on the open road, even if that road leads to Wichita Falls. True to her nature, Gabby loved being around new people and was very calm and slept very well. It was not until we got home that she erupted like Mount Vesuvius! I can hardly wait for her teen years, she says sarcastically.
The kids are trying to make the most of their last week of freedom and I am trying to keep up with the house, take the kids shopping and to their intended destinations, and answer Gabby’s non stop summoning. All this madness and it will not stop raining, which makes us feel a little cabin feverish.
Here is a slide show of all of us during the trip. We made it in for my grandma’s 77th birthday celebration with some of our family. Her birthday is the same day as mine. However, she is respectfully older so it was all about her! We also had time to visit with my friends,Linda and Angie, who finally got to see the baby!
Notice in the family pictures all the dark headed people. Gabby never had a chance Also notice how many times Gabby changed hands. She was quite the hit!
So, I finally caved in. With the help of my big sis, Omega, we gave Gabby a much needed DO. I will share the “after” pics later. My camera is out of battery, so I will have to wait a while before I can take a picture. Here is one for now.
Well, it’s almost 6am here in PHC which means it’s almost 12am back home which means it’s almost MBM’s birthday. It will be by the time I finish this anyway. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLINA!!! I would love to say how old she is but since she’s a little peeved about the picture I put up yesterday on Gabby’s site I think it would be in my best interests to leave that part out. All I will say is that she is definitely older than me and that is something I can never take away from her.
So, happy birthday darling. I hope you have a great one. Wish I could be there to celebrate but someone in our family has to do something other than sit around all day watching TV & eating ice cream. Unfortunately that someone has to be me.
So here’s to the next 34 28 years. May they be as fun-filled & exciting as the last.
Since Gabe has been gone, I have been only on one gear,”Go”. That has been the only gear. With the kids registrations,never ending errands, and kids’ here and there’s, I have not had any time to myself. No life of leisure in sight. When Gabe goes back to work, my vacation ends. I have no one to talk me into sleeping late or deferring items on my always insane and infamous To-Do-List. So here I am, very sleep deprived and still needing to do 101 more things before I can catch a little shut eye before Ms. Diva wakes me up to attend to her needs. Yes, I will attempt to go grocery shopping-again!-at Wally World-again!-by myself for the first time. Wish me luck!
A quick note before I go. I finally got to do some bargain shopping yesterday. I went to Hobby Lobby (my equivalent to Gabe’s Best Buy) and went only to buy Wilton Products which were on sale with my 40% off coupon. I walked to a section I never knew about until Weezer (a.k.a my M-I-L) introduced me to it several months ago, the 66% off section. Well, yesterday it was all 80% off. I picked up a few items (and could have bought more if I had had a cart and did not run out of time). The decorative items alone would have originally cost over $50, if I had bought them before the sale. The Wilton products would have cost about $25 as well. But, I walked away with everything for only $25! What a victory. I walked out of the store beaming as I talked to Gabby about my victory. I know she understood and appreciated my glory. I have included a picture of my buys in the slide show.
Hope you all enjoy the pictures, especially my hubby.
It’s painful to look at, but the weight-loss button on the right-hand side is back up to where it was at the beginning of my last hitch, minus 1lb. I fell off the wagon when I got home last time and gained it all back in one fell swoop! Sucks to be me. Now I have to do it all over again. Guess that’s what happens when all you do is sit there and stare at a tiny baby for hours on end. This time it’s not MBM’s fault… It’s Gabby’s!
However, I did come more prepared this time. I have my trusty GPS watch to track my runs. I have my trusty iPod and Nike+ Sports kit for music motivation. I have plenty of water flavor packets to keep off the Diet Coke (not high in calories but bad for you nontheless.) and my cook has started right with no instruction. See picture below for what was cooking tonight. Doesn’t look too appetizing, but nothing a little salt, pepper, and Louisiana Hot Sauce couldn’t fix.
To top it all off, I’m going to try my hand and the newest exercise craze that has taken the internet by storm. It’s a training program designed to take you from 0 push ups to 100 push ups (consecutively) in 6 weeks. I’m going to do the initial test tomorrow night and get started on it on Saturday. Who wants to join me? You can check out the program at One Hundred Push Ups. If you’re lucky I’ll capture it on video for all you stalkers to see.
Finally, I do have pictures of the adventure Justin and I went on last weekend at the Houston Aquarium. Hopefully I’ll get those up sometime tomorrow.
Gabe and I moved into a subdivision with a true Olympian, Jonathan Horton, as a fellow neighbor. He lives a few streets away from us. Cool, huh? Read this link.
I have posted this above Gabe’s recent entry from the German airport. Look below.
Also notice how many times Gabby changed hands. She was quite the hit!
