My little girl growing up

Just before bed last night Ava announced that she wanted holes in her ears like mine.

So this morning the anticipation was in full swing


Until the piercing was done and she was and she said "Ow it hurts"



And after a smoothie everything was better and she was loving her pretty blue sapphire earrings.



My little girl is growing up

They say that everything is bigger in Texas

But seriously beer in a glass so big I could fit my head in it.

They actually offered a small, medium and large beer... This being the large



and don't get me started on the hot dog that Alex ordered

No

Eddie has created a facebook page.  He said that he wanted to be able to follow my updates and tweets, but now that he has his own he is keeping up with friends and finding some degree of satisfaction in the number of friend requests he has. 

So this morning he is waxing poetic about his friends and how they are from so many socioeconomic groups.

I made (what I thought was) a particularly insightful comment about his ability to relate to many different types of people and the direct correlation between that and my views on the quality of his character and summed it up by asking "You know what I mean?"

He looks up at me and shakes his head.  "No"

Well okay then.

Obama's getting married

Ava is out of school today.

Ava is at my office generally destroying the place while I try to get some work done.

I have a set of Obama dress up magnets on the fridge at my office

Ava walked into my office with Obama dressed up in a suit and carrying flowers (with a powdered wig and black raybans) and proclaimed

"My man (holding up powdered wig Obama in a suit) is going to marry a princess tonight. "

Really...Maybe it was funnier if you were there.

Crazy Fan Girl

I don't generally watch the news (the internet gives me what I need), but I NEVER watch the awful Sunday morning fluff fests on the major networks. Sometime about 2years ago the TV had been left on and as I wandered around the house taking care of lord only knows what when I was assaulted with a hook that drug me back from the kitchen to find the source.

I wanna feel the car crash
I wanna feel the capsize
I wanna feel the bomb drop, the earth stop
till I'm satisfied

Crime of all crimes (I am pretty sure it was even on the FOX station, which is generally a punishable offense in my house). I was willing to forgive the crime because what I got for the offense was Matt Nathanson. I was really happy to have a DVR so I could back forward(as Ava calls it) and find out who this was that was responsible for the auditory feast I was enjoying. What I get was even better than the hook

I'm wide awake and so alive
I'm ringing like a bell.
Tell me this is paradise
and not some place I fell

If you haven't heard him you are missing out, if you have and you don't love his music, well...there is just no nice way to say it. You have certifiably poor taste. If you need verification of my wisdom you can check out the reviews here, here or here, but at the end of the day this is the world according to Shannon and what I think is what matters here.

So, last year I got word that egads Matt Nathanson was playing someplace on 6th street. Cue Fan Girl Crazy Dance! The babysitter was set and off I went with my lovely husb in tow. The bar he was playing in didn't open on regular people schedule (I called at 5 to find out what time he played) so we figured we'd get some dinner and head on over. 7:30 there is still no one at the door, but I manage to play the suburban idiot Mom card and get someone to find for me the what and when. He didn't start his set until 10. People who plan these things. I really like Matt Nathanson and I really want to hear him play. I also really like my children (except when they wake me up at 5am) and have a job to go to in the morning (that means I have to be up before noon). So the plans were scrapped and I found solace in some gelatto from whole foods. * sigh *

I promise the story gets better

So a few months ago I heard that Matt Nathanson was the special guest at a Jack's Mannequin show coming to Stubbs in May. On Mother's Day. Sweet, I can buy myself a present. Thankfully by the time the day rolled around I had learned many lessons courtesy of Blue October playing at Stubbs and while we looked awesome then(thank you very much) I went with my trusty chacos this time.

So we arrive and enjoy a few minutes of Erin McCarly (enough to decide to head over to concessions and buy one of her CD's) and grab a beer as they change up the stage.

And then there was Matt Nathanson. There are some bands that you like musically and then you see them live and are less than impressed. This was not one of those nights.



Let me ask you what do Barton Springs, Hannah Montana and her existential crisis, Dagobah (yes that Dagobah, Yoda's planet of exile) and Rick Springfield all have in common? They were all a part of the best set of the evening. It was truly hysterical and that doesn't even get into Nathanson's effort to avoid cursing after he realized there were kids on the VIP balcony, the panties that found their way on stage, the replacement for the word sex with ice cream and hand gestures and the Jessie's girl sing along (to which you were called out on from the stage if you didn't sing).

All of this and we haven't even talked about the music. Ahhh the music. I don't know what to say. I have a distinct lack of any musical skill, talent or ability but I am a fan and I love to listen. Good music makes my heart feel light or makes me cry and I was floating last night. Nathanson and his band of merry men (some of which were from Austin ~ and one from Massachusetts that I only mention because he was awesome too and I love Boston)were as great live as in the studio and so much fun that I will be sure to see them again every chance I get.

Oh yeah and then Jack's Mannequin played. They were good too. Is it all that obvious what band we came to hear?



Eddie does these things for a love of me ~ what a guy ~ but I hold on to the illusion that he might actually be having fun sometimes. I really think he had fun last night and don't tell him I told you, but I think I might have seen him singing too.



Side note for Stubbs event planners ~ for a venue with no fans (the blowing kind not the concert going kind) and no chairs you should really find a way to shorten the transition time. Holy crap it took 45 minutes for Jack's Mannequin to be ready to go.

Oh, and if you want the story on how Dagobah made it into the set you will have to comment and I will tell you all about it there.

Ovah & Out!

the maze

Eddie has been training for a trail series of races with Rogue for the last few months. He is really enjoying the group and we got to go and cheer for him as he ran the Maze. With a 6k loop we had pretty wide intervals between glimpses of him so the kids had to keep busy. They were on a secret mission in the woods.



Then back to waiting and watching for Daddy. Alex played the bongos for the runners as they trudged on by.





And then there he was rounding the corner for the finish.

Go Daddy!

The luckiest girl in the world

I was driving down South Lamar earlier this week when I spotted this sitting on the side of the road at a consignment shop



Instantly in love with it I called home and left a message for myself on the answering machine to call and find out how much it was being sold for.

I called the next morning and got the price...let's just say it was too much for an impulsive flight of fancy purchase, but the adventure of it all and just the possibility of having a telephone booth in my house was fun enough for me.

I sent it to Eddie in an email..."look at what I found. Wouldn't it look great in our living room?" He humored me and nodded as I gushed to my friends about it. You would be surprised who else thinks a phone booth in your living room is a cool idea.

I came home today tired from work but looking forward to a nice dinner with my favorite guy celebrating the 10th anniversary of the day he was late to our wedding (sorry honey! it is the only time you have ever been late and I can't help but remind you every now and then). Eddie and Alex were stuck in traffic on their way home so Ava and I began unloading the cargo of the day and kicking off our shoes. I came around the corner into the living room and this is what I found.



He wasn't home to see my reaction but suffice it to say I laughed, jumped up and down and teared up.

I am the luckiest girl in the world. Not because I came home to find a red phone booth in my living room (even though that is pretty awesome), but because the man that I wake up next to and walk side by side with each day, the partner that chooses me every day, the man I love... he knows my heart and delights in it. He loves the way I smile and he makes me laugh so he can see it more often.

We screw it up sometimes and we hurt each other but I know that hurting is a part of being known. He truly sees me and I trust that because we love each other we find a way to make it right when we do.

I am the luckiest girl in the world.

One last hurrah

Betty's time with us is almost over so before she catches her flight back to the Czech Republic we decided to take her to the coast for some fishing.

First cast of the day and this is what happens.





Apparently she has a knack for fishing.



Later that night we went to the island to see the gulf.

Alex's newest adventure

Over the years team sports have been a bit of a bust for Alex. One comment he has given pretty consistently is that he likes the running part, but not the batting, kicking etc. So we heard about Sport Speed, a program being run by our good friend Nathan Turner.

He looks forward to his own "running group" each week and is having a great time.

And of course I get some quality time with Ava.

Finding your own personal groove

Ava doesn't like the water. Rinsing her hair in the tub continues to be a battle that I wage night after night.

The summer before last she would sit on the back porch while I would swim and just scream at me. So not only did she not want to swim I couldn't.

Last summer she would get in the water but not without being in someone's arms or her floatie. Progress...right?

A few weeks ago we took a swim lesson with Coach Phillip from Aquatots. She loved it! It has taken a long time, but she is finding her own groove in the water. Yeah Ava!