I apologize this has taken me this long to put together.


Thanks to Raegan at http://hansonsdallas.blogspot.com/ for nominating me for this award. Sorry it took so long, I couldn't think of anything say about myself.

Here are the rules for the award:

1) You must thank the person who gave the award and list their blog and link it.
2) You must share "10 Honest Things" about yourself.
3) You have to present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.
4) Last, you must tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

"10 Honest Things"
1) I love to design and decorate. You would never have guessed it by the piles of projects that I have all over my house. Just ask my husband what my favorite thing to do when he is out of town, I guarantee he will tell you she's painting the walls again.

2) I am very OCD and ADD. What a combination!!! There are some things that drive my husband crazy about how attention to detail I am, such as ironing the sheets before I put them on the bed, making sure all the clothes are hung on white plastic hangers, the blinds all have to hanging at the same height, etc. I could go on and on about the tiny little things that I am obessed about. But then you turn the corner and I've become the ADD girl that can carry on a conversation in multiple directions it would make your head spin. I seriously can start a conversation off on the topic of the Economic crisis we are in and somehow end up on the discussion of pureed dog food, a do or don't. It's just the way my brain connects things.

3) Same as Raegan, I love shoes. I pretty much have about 90-100 pairs in my closet. I did finally get rid of few so there aren't as many. And yes, they are all in clear boxes, stacked on top of each other and divided up into categories, color, season, and style. I told ya OCD!!!

4) I love the smell of the bathroom after we give Jacob a bath. It smells so fresh and clean from all the baby soap. If only I could get my whole house to smell like that all the time.

5) I secretly want to be Martha Stewart. Okay maybe not actually be her, but somehow build an empire like hers with crafts, designs, and cooking. I just need all those people that work for her to come help me build my empire. Of course it would be for free. Sounds like a deal to me.

6) I can stop whatever I am doing and always sit down and watch a chick flick. Even if I really don't like the movie. That's the ADD in me because it means that I was probably in the middle something that wasn't very interesting, like filing the bills and I wanted to procrastinate.

7) I really like to watch Reality TV. A lot of it is because I like competition and I want to see who would win, but I guess you can't consider The Real Housewives... a competition unless it's a race to determine who is going to use up their last brain cell first. And yes I still watch them all.

8) I love to read other people's blog. Regardless of whether they are happy or sad. I mainly read blogs about people that write about their children. I love reading about other people's perspective on their little ones. It is so cute and funny to see how we all look at our children and try to figure out who they will become based on different character traits and funny situations that encounter each and every day. Some days, it would seem as if Jacob is going down the path of a WWE ring fighter and then other days because he is so whiney I think he might become a politician.

9) I have the worst diet in the world. It amazes my husband that I will go a whole day only eating junk food and that I consider it to be normal. I am trying to get better at cutting back on the sweets and adding in more nutritional food, but it does creep in there every once in awhile. OMG I was horrible during my pregnancy. I am surprised I didn't gain over 60 lbs. I lived on KFC mashed potatoes, sour patch kids, smarties, and Arizona lemon tea in a can. Empty calories!!!

10) Becoming a mother has changed my life more than I will ever know. Jacob has been one of the most wonderful little boys I will ever have the pleasure of getting to know. I feel guilty sometimes about being a working mother because I don't get to see him as much as I use too. But then I realize I am a better mother for doing what I have to do for my family. Right now at this age he doesn't understand why mommy and daddy have to leave every day, but one day I hope he recognizes the sacrifices we've had to go through for him. While Vince and I enjoy both working, if we had a choice or of course won the lottery we would much rather be with Jacob.

These are the other peoples' blogs that I read and find inspirational in some sort.

1) MckMama from http://www.mycharmingkids.net/

2) Kelly from http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/

3) Patrice from http://patriceandmattwilliams.blogspot.com/

4) Joy from http://threecalhouns.blogspot.com/

5) Sue from http://thelifeofsuz.blogspot.com/

6) http://mysweetsavannah.blogspot.com/

7) http://roomtoinspire.blogspot.com/

Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch 2009

Here's a few photos of our trip out the the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch 2009!!!

Pumpkin Painting 2009

We hosted our annual Pumpkin Painting at our house this year. We invited all of our friends and their kids to come on over and join in the festivities. We had such a great time. I guess I didn't really plan the timing all that great because it was in the middle of the UT vs. OU game. So that basically meant all the dads were pre-occupied with football. Oh well we all still had a great time. I think the kids really enjoyed themselves and the clean-up was not that bad. Basically you take the regular kind of paint and mix it with dish soap so that it washes out better.

I put down tons of newspaper in the rotunda and basically let the kids go at it.

Jacob even got to paint his own pumpkin. I think he paint more on his hands and face.

Austin was the master of the painting the pumpkin. He covered the whole thing.

"Jason say cheese!"

McKinnely looking at another pumpkin.

Mia was just content being the little artist that she is. She was the last one done and took her time. I see a gallery opening in her future.

Mia was so tired afterward she decided to take a little cat nap with Aunt Marisa.

We lined up all the kiddos with their pumpkins. McKinnely, Jason and Austin.

We had to take seperate pictures of Jacob because there was no way he would sit still with all the other pumpkins lined up.

He was so tired by the end of it he kept laying his head on Big Daddy's shoulder to take a little nap. Too bad it didn't last long because he kept getting interested in everyone around him.


I am so glad that we decided to keep the tradition going. I think painting pumpkins is a much better idea than carving when it comes to kids. I know I didn't want a trip to the ER that day.

TCU 56, Tx State 21, Vince Negative $300

On the 19th our Alma maters met on the football field for the first time, Tx State traveled to TCU. We have had this date circled on the calender for a couple of years ever since I first started hearing of the possible match up. This was going to be an all out civil war in The PorterHouse. Of course my Bobcats play in the FCS (Football Champion Subdivision formerly known as Division IAA) and TCU is a FBS school (Football Bowl Subdivisions formerly referred to as Division IA). The difference between the divisions in football is fairly apparent as FCS schools rarely knock off a FBS school on the football field , therefore going into this game I knew my Bobcats stood a tall task. In fact before the game I found a website that had TCU favored by 35 points which is a huge spread in football. However with me being the homer for Bobcat Football I was willing to challenge Rebecca to a wager on the outcome of the game, not straight up but with points. With that said Rebecca would give Tx State 28 points and the winner got their bragging rights and a little something extra. For those of you that don't quite get point spreads, basically TCU would have to win by more than 28 points for her bet to win or else I would win (essentially the game was 28-0 Tx State before it even kicked off with my point spread). Anyway I threw this wager out at the last minute thinking it would be for bragging rights and maybe a massage or a something to pamper the other spouse. Well Rebecca's idea of being pampered was a Coach Purse. Not quite what I had in mind but I thought my Bobcats can keep it close and I get a new shotgun out of this deal so my win was a new 12 Gauge. Now I did not really need a new shotgun so I am fairly sure had my team won that I would not have pushed for this new gun. Rebecca on the other hand damn sure did not need another purse as she already has a few. Well as the game wore on it was 28-14 at the half and I could care less about this wager as I am hoping my Bobcats can pull off this miracle and win straight up. In the 3rd Quarter we get it to 35-21 and we have the ball on the 10 yd line about to push it in for a 35-28 game when our QB throws an interception and the wheels shoot off from there and TCU and Patterson proceed to run up the score in the 4th Qtr to make it a 56-21 final , as you can see the Horned Frogs covered the Rebecca/Vince 28 point wager so she wins. Of course she pokes and prods and enjoys her bragging rights as they won but the ensuing week she would not shutup about this purse. Every chance she got to rub it in she would, I would be sitting at my desk working hard on tax returns and get an email from Rebecca with a subject line of "Look at What I found at Coach.com" as she would send me the exact purse she had wanted. So yesterday I finally owned up to my part of the wager and we went to the Coach store in Southlake and she picked out the one she wanted, here it is with TCU Purple Lining and all to make sure I never forget to the score of the PorterHouse Civil War:

All in all this game was a lot of fun. We had a big 20-30 person tailgate with a lot of folks we went to school with and really enjoyed ourselves. I absolutely love football season and getting a chance to go out and tailgate and mingle for a few hours with our friends, it was a lot of fun. However , the next time we face off on the football field I might take more points or knock down the prize as Coach is certainer proud of their handbags.

The week before last was also our 4th wedding anniversary and we got my mom to come to the house to watch Jacob and we went to Trulucks in Southlake for a anniversary dinner (Now that I think of it Southlake is taking all of my paychecks here recently). We had a great time going out as Rebecca has never gone before and gotten to indulge in their famous chocolate cake, wow that some good stuff. Here is a picture we coaxed the waiter into taking of us :

Good Times!

Birthday Photos

Hey everyone. We got the proofs back from the photographer from Jacob's birthday party. I love the pictures. Take a look yourselves. Go to

Jacob's 1st Birthday Party

Click on client proofs and then you will see Jacob's gallery. These aren't all the photos, there are more to come. Enjoy!!!.

I promise to write a whole blog about the birthday party later once I have a little bit more time.

Goodbye Brodie Bear

I am going to use this blog as therapy today to eulogize our beloved dog. On Thursday we lost Brodie, a big part of the family. He was the sweetest , most gentle, easy going dog I have ever been around and I have had my share of good puppy dogs through my days. Brodie was Rebecca's dog from her TCU days that she adopted at 6 months from an neighbor in an apartment . Being the dog person that Rebecca is she took him in and gave him all the love he could handle for the better part of 9 years. Seven and I came along back in '03 and the four of us could not have gotten along any better. In fact we always had to get onto Seven because he would always want to show Brodie how much they got along and Brodie was never the wiling recipient of Seven's affectionate ways , if you get my drift.

I could dive off into a thousand different stories of our dogs and how much they are a part of our day to day lives, but the remarkable part of Brodie was his disposition. The best example I could give is how he was around Hurricane Jacob. Jake is all over the place moving 600 miles a minute and when he approaches Seven he either completely leaves the room or gives a snarl before his exit. Not Brodie though. Brodie would let Jake climb all over him, hug him , kiss him, let Jake pull his ears all while just looking up at Rebecca or I as if to say "No big deal guys but this does deserve an extra scoop of Dog Food or perhaps a Rawhide would not be out of the question!". Brodie's disposition was cool , calm, and collected. The only thing that would get him out of his nonchalant ways would be the occasional thunderstorm. He was the most low maintenance dog you could ask for in that way.

What Brodie did have was Canine Epilepsy. For the past four years we have dealt with seizures with Brodie that were unsettling no matter how many times before you had gone through it. We were able manage most of his seizures with medication from the vet but the seizures never went away. In fact Brodie was my alarm clock 7 days a week at 6am as he would sit next to my side of the bed and grunt until I got up to give him & 7 their morning cheese with his medication. He would have a seizure about once every 3-4 months it would seem like. The seizures themselves were about 1 minute long in length but nonetheless a traumatic event to the guys health and to witness. This Thursday he happened to have a seizure while we were at work and he could not quite snap out of on his own. I actually came home early that day out of the blue at 4:30 since I had a client appt that ended in the afternoon and decided to come back to the house. I found the grumpy bear in the mist of his last seizure and felt absolutely helpless as I held him and said goodbye before he drifted into a peaceful sleep.

The house feels so eerily different and lonely without him. Seven deeply misses his brother as do Rebecca , Jacob and I. We love you Brodie, we miss you so much!

Big Boy Room!!!

Okay as promised I have finally finished Jacob's big boy room. It has taken me forever. One reason is because I am way to picky and couldn't quite narrow down exactly what I wanted to do. Secondly, have you ever tried to paint a room with a wild child running all around your feet and legs. Sometimes I could only paint to a certain height on the wall because I could go too low or someone would have their fingers all in it. What a mess. So here it is! Tell me what you think? I did all the painting by myself free-hand and that is probably what took the most time.

In the Jungle,
the mighty jungle
the lion sleeps tonight...

Another Milestone Checked off the List !

We have been waiting a while to get little mans hair cut. We finally broke down today and checked his first haircut off that milestone list. He was getting the early signs of a full on Billy Ray Cyrus mullet going on in the back so we needed to get it trimmed. So here are the pictures from our trip to Cool Cuts 4 Kids in Keller today.

Photographer Needed!!!

Okay everyone I need your help. Jacob's first birthday is just around the corner and I am getting all the preparations out of the way. So expect to see your invitations in the mail next week and keep your calendar open for Sept. 5th @ 5pm open for cake and a party. What I need help on is a photographer. I really want pictures of his first birthday party and everyone that came along to join the fun, but I am a horrible photographer. I also didn't want to worry about taking pictures the entire time because I think I will have my hands full enough with a 1 year old running around and entire house filled with about 50 peopple. So if any of you have photography experience and a good camera or know of someone that I could hire for a really cheap price I would really appreciate it. Hey I will throw in some cake as a bribe! Just send me an email with their contact information.

11 Months

I can't believe it Jacob is already 11 months old. He has changed so much in just the few months that we have known him. Trying to get a chair picture is harder than ever now that he is completely on the move and there is no stopping him anymore.

Music

So I was playing around on the computer tonight and I figured that I really needed to add some music to my blog. I found a couple of my favorites songs, old and new. Tell me what you think? Half of them make me tear up thinking of my little boy and how much I love them. And a few are just because I love the melody and music. So for any of you readers out there are there any new or old songs that any of you really love, let me know. I would love to add some to my list. I always look at music as an escape or a way to capture a feeling that I just can't quit describe in words myself. I always use music as way to remember a time or moment in my life and it seems to help me get back to that feeling.

Daycare

Okay I am a little stressed right now because it is finally going to happen on Monday. I am going to be dropping Jacob off for his first day of school. I am so happy to be going back to work, but also have the stomach pains about leaving my child all day with someone else. I know they are going to be great with him and he will do really well. I am just so use to being around him all day long, just the two of us. No matter what kind of day we would both have and how often I thought to myself I just want to back to work and be a human again and not have to listen to you whine and cry. I would always sneek into his room and cradle him at night. I really do love him so much and I am going to miss all the time we have been able to spend with each other. He is now 11 months old and I wouldn't change a thing about him. It has been a hard 11 months, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything. It was actually a blessing in disguise that I got laid-off at the time and looking back on it, it was the best thing that could have happened. Now I just need to get the courage to actually drop him on Monday morning and not pack him away in my work gear to bring him to the office. I don't think my new boss would appreciate me bringing my child to work on my first day. Or maybe she would? Just look at that face, how dare I go back to work?

Sneek Preview

Here is a sneak preview of Jacob's new big boy room!!! I have been working on it for the past couple of weeks and I am almost complete.

Hurricane Season is Upon Us

It's been a while since we have updated our blog so thought I would grace you with a post. We have started to affectionately refer to Jacob as "Hurricane Jake" as he can transform any room from organized to chaos in a matter of seconds. Dictionary.com defines Hurricane as anything suggesting a violent storm. I think anyone who has had the opportunity to watch after Jake now that he is upright and walking would attest to the fact that the nickname is appropriate in a good way (we love and thank you Nana, Mimi & Big Daddy).

Just last night we spent the evening at our good friends house for an adult birthday party. These days adult birthday parties are few and far between but they are a much needed break. All of the adults there had kids of there own , I guess the point is that anyone out there with a child could nickname their child "Hurricane" as no clean room is safe with an infant/toddler on the loose.

To offer up some photographic evidence I give you the before picture of our living room or the calm before the storm back when Jacob was merely a newborn:

Fast Foward 11 months and take a look at the living room:

This is only one of his play areas as the majority of the house seems to mimic this look. Our friends parents were at the bday party and offered up some good advice for those of us who are now parents ourselves. They said that we need to take advantage of all the fads/craze/in things that your kid is involved with and cherish all the moments we have because when you look back on it , it will have gone by so fast. This is so very true as a year ago our lives were so very different that I can hardly remember a time without Jake. So I guess I will try not to fret over the living room or house being a complete disaster after a "Category 5 Hurricane Jake" play session sweeps through because soon enough he will be able to pick up after himself. Until then we are going to have to batten down the hatches and board up the windows and doors because this Hurricane does not appear to be letting up anytime soon.

Our first steps

We took our first steps today, what a milestone!!