Its Birthday Week!

Its birthday week around here!! Woo-hoo! Lots of fun and mom and dad don't have to get any older. Here is our agenda for the week:

Sunday - pretty much a normal day, I did some present shopping, but obviously Quinn didn't get to enjoy in that yet. And I got my February purple pedicure, since Quinn's birthstone is amethyst.

Monday - pretty much a normal day

Tuesday - my parents arrive from Tennessee, so we'll probably go somewhere for dinner, nothing too exciting.

Wednesday - I don't have to work! My mom and I will probably do some shopping/party prep, and that night we may go out with my cousins. Fun times.

Thursday - Magic Kingdom! We'll be hanging at the Mouse House, eating lunch at the Crystal Palace, you know, all that good stuff. We are all really looking forward to it. And keep your fingers crossed that Ross can make it.

Friday - more shopping/party prep, taking treats to Quinn's class, and then back to the Mouse House. This time to the Downtown Disney area to see the Cirque du Soleil show, La Nouba. Ross bought the tickets as a Christmas present for everyone, and I'm quite excited. I've never seen a Cirque show, just clips and bits and stuff, and since I love a good show, it should be an awesome time. Lets just hope Quinn likes it.



Saturday - Its the DAY!!!!! Since Quinn's birthday is on a Saturday this year, his party is falling on his actual birthday. We're having a Dinosaur theme (Roar, I'm 4...get it?) at a local park and it should be fun. I've done quite a bit this year, so I hope it turns out ok. I'm not the most creative person (I'm sure I've mentioned this in the past), and my creative juices have really been flowing. I'm also super thankful I have awesome creative friends/family like Jenn Star and Joy to help me make it even more awesome.


Saturday night we'll be going to dinner at Ross' favorite restaurant (and why are we going to Ross favorite restaurant? Such a good question) for dinner. Ok, its his mom's birthday too and she likes the place too, plus she gets a free steak. Yay Texas Cattle. That reminds me, I need to make that reservation tomorrow.


So here's to an awesomely fun week to celebrate one awesomely fun (almost) 4 year old!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ahhh, the day of love. Or something like it. Here is my adorable little Valentine this morning on the way to school. I had the hardest time finding a cute Valentine's shirt for Quinn, so a lovely pink polo it was.

Ross and I had a great, late lunch today at Cafe Viejo...yummy chicken. Then he went and picked Quinn up and they went and got haircuts. He also picked up some tasty treats at Moreno Bakery for us, he knows the way to my heart...and my waistline, ha!

We all know I'm not the most creative person in the world, but I can surely follow basic directions and cut and punch and whatnot, right? Well, thank you to Pinterest for proving me right! Aren't these adorable?

Yay to me! And these pictures prove one more thing...I need a big girl camera.

So happy Valentine's Day to Ross and Quinn and all the people I love out there. I love you today and every day.

Working Moms Unite

Its another Show Us Your Life Friday over at Kelly's Korner and today she is focusing on working moms. It is still hard for me to realize I'm in that category, but I guess I totally am.

I started "working" for Ross when I left Big Brothers Big Sisters in 2008 after Quinn was born. It was not a lot at first, since at the time his business wasn't exactly bustling. But as time grew, a-bustlin' we have become and now I can say I do a lot of actual work. I'm mostly considered his office manager, but there is a lot that goes into that, and in all reality, he's not the best at job delineation. We're working on that.

On top of all that, I also work about 30 hours a week for Ross' cousin Pamela. She and her husband own their own business(es) and I am the office adminstrator there as well. Its very different from anything I've ever done, but its a good job with great flexibility, and in this economy, I can't complain!

Being a working mom is so much harder than I ever thought. By the end of the day I'm practically running into Quinn's school to get him, but I also know that he is being taken care of well, has friends, learns a lot, and (usually) is having fun. I also get the luxury of keeping him home some Thursdays when I don't work. So I get a bit of Stay-at-Homeness too!

And I will admit, there are some days that dropping him off at school causes me undue joy. One perk of being a working mom, right?

Well...hmmm

I did so well posting last month...maybe I need to do some sort of challenge all the time. I'll just give a little rundown of our month and hopefully get to some more interesting topics (Quinn's upcoming 4th birthday, the Oscars, my learning of Quickbooks...ok, that's not interesting) in the very near future.

I've recently started watching Downton Abbey, and much to my surprise, am enjoying it very much. I'm not usually a Victorian era enjoyer, but this is a bit more spunky and plush, if that makes sense. I'm only on the 4th episode of the first season, but I'll definitely be carrying it forward. The first season is currently on Netflix Instant and I'm recording Season 2 on PBS so I can enjoy it when I finish Season 1. That's one great thing about British programming, very short seasons.


I just finished reading Divergent, and it was a really good book. I won't go as far as great or revolutionary, but definitely enjoyable. Plus I have a 1-degree of separation from the author, which is always fun. Its a YA sci-fi dystopian thriller, definitely in the same vein as The Hunger Games, but different enough to make it worth checking out. It is a planned 3-parter, which part 2 coming out in May of this year, and I will for sure be adding it to my list.

Ross and I celebrated our 7 (!) year anniversary a few weeks ago. We were able to get away for one night to Sarasota. We stayed at a fairly nice hotel (good deal on Travelocity anyway) on the beach (which we didn't go to). We were able to go to St. Armand's Circle, which is a very charming shopping/dining area of Sarasota. If you are ever there, give it a whirl. We had an excellent anniversary dinner at the Crab and Fin, where I would put on my return-to list for sure. All in all, it was a wonderful way to celebrate 7 years of wedded bliss. Ok, that was a bit schmaltzy, but you know what I mean.

So that's us for the month. Quinn is doing fine, and hopefully I'll be taking more pictures and posting more of his stuff in the next few days. I don't think I've taken a picture of him since the beginning of the month. Don't worry, he looks the same, just in desparate need of a haircut.

Kim's 4 Word Book Review

It's hilarious. Read it.

One More Good Idea

I recently realized I forgot one of my Good Ideas, and its probably one of the most important. I need to try every day during the week that I work to leave the house by 8:40. This is definitely a challenge for me, and I don't know why. Quinn is supposed to be in class by 9, but he's not considered late until 9:10 and that's probably something I fall back on too much. Another reason I am late is because in many ways, my son is his father's child. Getting up in the morning is one of those ways. Those who know Ross know that he is a night owl to an extreme. Quinn isn't quite as bad, but he's probably on his way. He also tends to move (and don't let my next phrase fool you, I'm not an 85 year old man) slower than molasses in January. I try and motivate him to move, but it doesn't work a lot and sadly, it often leads to my frustration. So I guess this is really 2 Good Ideas in 1 - get out the door by 8:40 and ease up on my frustration levels.

Hello 2012

A new year is upon us once again. It just keeps coming faster and faster. As I've been thinking about the year ahead, I've decided to make a "Good Idea" list. Not really resolutions, just, you know, good ideas. That way, if they don't get achieved, they were just good ideas, not anything set in stone. So here's my list....but first, the first picture of Quinn in 2012. Not the best, but still cute (which, ironically, is similar to what he said when I put these new pj's on him..."I'm cute now!" Modest, huh?)

Good Ideas

1. Strive everyday to find God's peace and joy in the world that really are there.

2. Find my passion. This may sound weird to some, but if you know someone who has a passion, well, you definitely know it.

3. Lose 5 lbs (ok, really 10-15 might be better ideas).

4. Get better with my camera.

5. Organize something, anything.

6. Read at least 15 books (I have a super secret goal of 20, but I'm sticking with 15 as my public goal).

7. Be more active in my community.

8. Be the best wife, mom, friend, daughter, sister, etc I can be. And that does include blogger.

A lot of these are just generalities, but you know, things to focus on. I have some other private things too, so it comes out to quite a bit. But what would life be if not for the challenges.

PS - Oh, and I did reach my goal for last year, which was read 15 books. Completed 12/30/11. Woo-Hoo.