Happy Halloween!

For Halloween, I tried to plan a lot of different activities for Zoie. I found the cutest peacock costume and found a matching headband on Etsy (she hadn't even seen the costume and it matched perfectly-- sooo crazy!) I found matching leggings and tights and some sparkly glitter ballet flats-- I was pretty gosh darn excited. Her costume was by far the cutest I had come up with. I was pretty impressed with myself. :)

However, plans changed and mother nature decided to get miserably cold and rainy, so we didn't get to go crazy with my week-long planned out festivities. (probably a good thing though.)
Saturday I took Z to Haunt the Zoo at the OKC Zoo. It was from 6:30-8:30, and we got there at 6:30 on the dot, only to find a line so long that you'd think Justin Bieber was in town. The line stretched out the park and all the way in front of the Science Museum. Which doesn't sound too bad, right? Nope, this was just the line to BUY tickets. There was an adjacent line for those who already had tickets that was even longer. I really wanted to get in the car and say "forget it", but we didn't. We sucked it up and waited for the HOUR AND A HALF to get inside. It was very cold outside. I'm not gonna lie-- very cold. But... It was fun. I have never seen that many people in one place in my life, and that's including the Maroon5 and Train concert I went to in September. For awhile it was shoulder-to-shoulder, barely moving-- but after a bit it thinned out and we were able to enjoy it. The kids got some great candy, as well as mini cans of coke and 3 bags of chips, which were zoie's favorite. We finally left the park at 9:30 and didn't get home til after 10. It was fun, but not quite sure I'd do it again.
On Sunday, we went and had brunch at the golf club and then zoie and I headed to the pumpkin patch. I had bought a groupon for the Chester's Pumpkin Patch in Piedmont. It was for a group of 4, but i just took Missy by myself. We walked around and she played on some toys, took a hayride, and she slid down a gynormous slide. Her favorite part? Petting the donkeys. Yep, that's my kiddo!

Afterwards, we ran home and changed into her costume, and went to a local church that had an outdoor trunk-or-treat. The kids got to paint and color, play games and they gave tickets to get hot dogs, caramel apples (my fave!), popcorn and drinks.

Little did we know, but there were judges walking around looking at all of the costumes. There was a surprise costume contest. Out of the hundreds of kids there, wanna guess who won first prize? ZOIE!! We were shocked! She even was given a little prize. She was embarassed, but proud at the same time. Love her!
I hope you all had a happy halloween! :)

Day Out With Thomas...

I heard that Thomas the Tank Engine was coming to town, so I decided to take Zoie. We had seen him before in Texas when Zoie was two--and since she still has a love for all things with engines--I thought it would be perfect.
We arrived at the Oklahoma Railway Museum around 1:45 p.m., just in time to catch the 2 o'clock departure. We jumped on the train and shortly after it took off. And in saying "took off", that term should be taken very lightly. We slowly chugged about a mile down the track. Nonetheless, Zoie loved every second. (That's all that matters, right?)

Afterwards, we had our picture taken in front of "Thomas". There were also little activities like rub-on tattoos, trains to play with, sing-alongs and a moon bounce.

Less than two hours later (and over $100 spent), we were done for the day. Zoie was happy, and therefore, so was I.

One of THOSE moms...

Yes, I am one of THOSE moms. You know, the annoying ones. The ones that drive you crazy around back-to-school time, making you pray for the following summer to get here soon enough.

I am one that will take a "holiday" day off of work on her first day so that I can keep her at my side for as long as possible. I will spend the extra 10 minutes fixing her hair in curls, because that's what she wants. I will dress her in the blue and orange and white dress because that is what she feels "the boys will think I'm pretty in..." we won't wear the shoes that match her outfit because they "hurt her feet", but will compromise to the next best (and closest-matching) thing.

I am one that leave cheesy little notes in the backpack or lunch box. These typically always include mushiness like "I {heart} you" or "xoxo" in some form or another. They are a fine line between showing affection and pure humiliation among their friends.

One that uses food as a means of art by "decorating" their breakfast or lunch. This could include shaping the peanut butter on someone's waffle into an evenly spread heart, making sure all the squares are proportionately filled. Not naming any names or anything.

I am one who spends wayyyy too much money on school clothes, even if I do shop clearance and sales and use coupons and online promo codes. One that has my child all set for fall-- five pair of jeans, seven pair of leggings, long-sleeved shirts, two new pair of boots, scarves and 3 new pair of tennis shoes.... Only to realize the night before school starting that, "hey! It's still 105 degrees outside and my kiddo only has two pair of shorts." Guess where we are going this weekend?

One of the ones who takes 176 photos of the first day of school-- before school even starts. Enough photos are taken at different angles, you would swear that you were starting her modeling career at a very early age.

One of the ones that takes enough above mention photographs that one could complete an entire 20-page hard-cover shutterfly book and still need excess room for additional photos "if I have to take any when I pick her up from school..." And the stated photo book is in the works--and completed-- by the time school is out.

I am one of the crazy moms that counts down the hours until I get to see my sweet face again, and can't wait to hear play-by-play details of her every move throughout the day, including "did you make any friends? What were their names? What did you have do snack? Do you like your teacher? Did you eat all of your lunch? Who did you sit by? Did you play on the playground? Did you get to see Kaylee? Did you two play? How did they call you in from recess? Did you get in a line? Did they give you a potty break? How was p.e.? Did you sit together as a class? What did you do? So do you know any of the kids names that sit at your table? Did you learn any letters today? Are you reading yet? Did you color a picture? Do you have homework? Are you tired? Did you rest? You didn't drink milk today did you? Do you need a snack? ....
And 90% of the responses include "I don't know", "I don't remember" or "I forgot".

I am one of the insane parents who waits in the "pick-up" line for about 45 minutes, just so I can see that sweet face come out of that building and fill my heart with love all over again.

And yes, I am THAT mom who bought her daughter a present for surviving her first day of "big school". And she loved her present and she loved me for it.

So if me loving my daughter with my whole heart and caring about her more than anything in this world, and would put her life before mine in a heartbeat, then I must say-- yes. I am one of THOSE moms.

And I love every second of it.
But all-in-all... I am proud to be THAT mom and wouldn't trade it for the world.

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testing, testing... is this mike on?

i know i keep saying that i will update my blog more regularly, but time has been getting the best of me. life has been busy, busy, busy, and it is hard to juggle everything. i've learned that time is very important, and there are not enough hours in the day. with working and taking care of zoie, it is hard to find time for anything else.
i feel so far behind, i don't know where to begin. i will try to begin where i left off, which would be the most important day of the year-- my birthday! for my birthday, the family took me to red lobster. zoie even had a cookie cake made (my fave!) with a big rainbow heart on it because "she loved me". it was a great dinner with great company.

my mom's birthday is the day after mine. we were supposed to go out and celebrate, but instead we got devastating news. my dad's brother (my uncle), was found in his house and he had passed away. and unfortunately, the worst part was that he was there for about 6 weeks before they found him. his death was very, very hard. it really makes you put life in perspective and consider what matters the most in life.
here is a little of what has been going on in our lives...
i surprised zoie with tickets to sesame street live! i got a "mother-of-the-year" award for buying 2nd row tickets. we had FLOOR seats! and we were so close that the characters would walk down and even hug zoie and shook her hand! she was so excited. i was so happy that i could give that experience to her.

in april i took zoie to the oklahoma city zoo. we had fun walking around and looking at the animals. this was one of my favorite photos from the trip. she was nervous to be in the room with the laurakeets, but she eventually let one land on her. you can see a little fear in her eyes, but she really did enjoy it.

through it all, i have tried to keep my sanity. i have been so busy with zoie and summer. i sort of got "lost" from the blogging world. i haven't kept up with following my favorite bloggers, and i obviously haven't posted in months. hopefully i can get back into the swing of things. we will see. :)
thanks for looking, L

i can ride my bike with no handlebars...

can you believe that it it already spring! im excited for the warmer weather. i've been a bad, bad blogger lately. things have been hectic with work and planning my sister's wedding/shower. there's also a new boy in my life, and he takes up a lot of my time. :) let's see... where do i begin? we celebrated my dad's birthday at texas roadhouse, one of zoie's favorite restaurants. he's still "on the mend" and isn't healing as well as we had hoped, but he's hanging in there. he now has to go to physical therapy, and he will be happy when he can get back into his archery.

zoie is the queen of riding her bike and her "cow-and-sake" aka kawasaki. it is so cute. she just takes off like she owns the road (helmet on her head, of course!) dad hopes to have her riding without training wheels this summer. dad also wants us all to get bikes and go for a family bike trip, so we are in the process of finding bicycles for all of us.

we spent a saturday with my grandparents and aunt and took zoie to chuck e. cheese's. it was so much fun. zoie had a blast-- can you tell??

thanks for looking!!! more posts coming soon... xoxo, L

snow day.

last week was crazy, to say the least. monday my dad had a serious procedure done to try and fix a herniated disc in his neck. the disc was protruding into his spine, blocking his spinal fluid. the doctor said he had no other option-- the surgery was required as soon as possible, because any sudden movement could paralyze him. after fighting with the insurance company, the had the surgery scheduled for monday.

i took off work early. the surgery was supposed to be at 2:30, but got pushed back until 3:15. it was a 2-hour procedure that took a little longer. the doctor came out to talk to us afterward, and said it went well. he couldn't believe my dad was able to feel his fingers and had full function of his hands from how bad the disc was. but he said he did good and we could see him after recovery.

recovery lasted a lot longer than they said. he didn't want to wake up. we were finally able to see him around 8pm. he was in a lot of pain, but they gave him some morphine to help. he can't eat solid foods for a few weeks. they put a metal plate in his spine and fused it together. from the x-rays, it almost looks like those metal things on the back of picture frames to hang them on the wall.

zoie was supposed to spend the night with my grandparents and aunt that night, but we were getting a horrible ice and snow storm and i didn't want us to be snowed-in at two different places. so i opted to get her and bring her home. i am so glad i did.

that night we got freezing rain, and once it started snowing, we had a 'white-out'. so i was "snowed in" with my little lovely. we were stuck inside for a couple of days. it was nice spending time with her and not having to go to work!! (although i did take work home...)

once the snow started melting, we were able to leave the house. we had fun at my parents' house sledding and playing in the snow. oh, to be four again!! she had so much energy and spirit--i loved it. i had to make her come inside. but it was awesome and i will cherish it forever.

thanks for looking,

L

NYE in OKC, baby.

For New Year's Eve, my parents asked us to go to one of our favorite japanese steakhouse and hibatchi grill. We have only been a handful of times and typically go for special occasions, but still, to this day, zoie remembers going "to that place where there is fire on the table and they cook your food right in front of you." We went for my dad's birthday last February and if you ask her where she wants to go eat, it is either there, mcdonalds, or the 'place where you throw your peanuts on the floor'-- otherwise known as texas roadhouse.

We made reservations for six earlier that day, and had to take the only opening of 8 pm. That was pretty late, so we were all starving by the time we were seated. My sister and her fiance met us there.

We love the whole experience-- from the funny jokes by the waiter, him doing tricks and throwing food, to the fire on the table and the massive amounts of food. it's wonderful. We all had an amazing night. I can't wait for the next "special occasion". :)