West Texas Mama

Because we were feeling a little cliche, we decided to be resolved to commit to losing weight in the new year.  No small amount of consideration and planning went into this decision, in fact we began working up the gumption to make this decision back in September.  There were a lot of reasons (a.k.a. excuses) to not begin any sooner, however, as both of our children have recently informed us quite matter-of-factly that we were "fat", it was time to do something.  (Yes, I did briefly consider washing their mouths out with soap for using the f-word.) We decided we would do this "right" this time.  No fad diets, etc., etc.  Amend that - I decided and am pretty much forcing El Hubbo to do it too.  My doctor told me about this wonderful app to track calories called My Fitness Pal, and I downloaded it to both our phones.  Then I made El Hubbo set up his profile.  You must understand that El Hubbo hates anything having to do with tr...

It is a bad thing to be awaked by a scream in the middle of the night.  You are quietly minding your own business, sleeping soundly, dreaming sweet dreams of chocolate cake and Cal Ripken, Jr. (don't judge), when all of a sudden your husband rises screaming from the bed.  Why was El Hubbo screaming in the middle of the night?  My question, exactly.  As I tried in my muddled half-awake state to figure that out, while at the same time resisting the completely natural and primal reaction of eliminating the disturbance of my sleep from the face of the earth, I realized we were not alone in the bed.  Jake had apparently joined us.  And he was vomiting.  In the middle of our bed.  I was suddenly, very fully awake.  Awake enough to realize that I was entirely too close to the scene of the crime and that a vacancy of the premises was in order.   All men for themselves.  And if you are six years of age and of the male persuasion and...

I'm often asked why Jake receives so much attention in my blog and facebook posts, and that is a relatively easy question to answer:  He is the child that does everything early - walk, talk, etc.  He's highly social and given to absorbing vocabulary at an alarming rate.  We're often left dumbfounded by his questions and even more often by his responses.  In short, he gives me plenty of fodder to write about. Emma, however, is coming into her own.  Formerly known as "Little Miss Sunshine", she is evolving into "Little Miss Sassy Pants".  I have no idea where she gets this, but she started giving us clues that she is in no way convinced we, the parents, are in charge.  Before she could even talk, she had mastered "The Look".  I am famous for "The Look".  You know the one - the single arched eyebrow, the icy stare, the flared nostrils.  I've made grown men cry  and high school gang members duck under their desks with that look....

El Hubbo and I decided this year to check out the Black Friday sales.  Being as we were in Amarillo, and being as there were major outlet stores readily available (not the case at his parent's house in Floydada), and being as we were really wanting a Home Theater System with a Blu Ray player, we decided that we would brave the Black Friday crowd to shop the sales late Thursday night.  (We really should have caught on to the ridiculousness of this concept at that point.) We donned our tennis shoes and sweats - did some pre-shopping stretching and shadow boxing and prepared for battle. We figured we would be smart and slide on down to the Walmart just down the street.  You see, two years ago, we had similar bouts of insanity and had driven by the Toys R Us - we saw the line and that cured us of our mental illness.  But, we then drove by the Walmart only to see no one there.  We gleefully shopped to our heart's content and were able to hear our voices echoing o...

There are two weeks of the year one should really avoid the grocery store:  the week of TGiving and the week of Christmas.  I, however, forgot this golden rule until I pulled into the grocery store parking lot at 6:00 p.m. Monday night.  While I am sure I probably need to park in the space farthest from the door more often, I wasn't really in the mood for a hike that night. If I had missed that sign that I had picked the wrong day, the next was waiting on me when I went to grab a basket.....and all that were left were the ones with the squeaky, broken wheels.  You the ones - the ones that the wheels don't move and the more stuff you put in your basket, the harder it is to push down the aisle?  The only thing making me feel better about this basket is that it was leaving a black streak on the floors - that will teach the store to keep their baskets in good working order! I broke out the coupon binder and started to muscle my way down the aisles with all the o...

I know I have been a little remiss in my posting duties, please forgive me!  (As I am sure you can relate to how busy a time of year this becomes for us all!)  Here's a short, but sweet one: So, yesterday I pick up my offspring from the daycare, just as I do every day after work, whether I want to or not.  (Most of the time I do want to - MOST of the time.)  Jake crawls into the car, and we begin our daily ritual - How was your day?  Fine.  Did you learn anything good today?  No.  What did you eat for lunch?  I don't remember.  Did you get into trouble?  (sheepish look)  Well did you?  A little.  Define "A little." You get the drift. Jake then asks about having a snack when he gets home.  I respond, "Sure!  How about some slimy goat boogers with spider hair sprinkled on top?"  (We're all about nutrition and being open to trying new things.  Ok, not really.) "EWWWW!  Those are insects!"...

Yeah, before we get around to addressing my new-found career path, let's backtrack to how we got there.  Or here. In San Antonio.  Yep, West Texas Mama went east (and a little south) and found herself in San Antonio. On occasion I travel for work, and this was one of those times.  Nothing says fun like a conference for admissions and registrar officials.  Whoo!  Wild times ahead!  We'll discuss state legislative requirements for meningitis shots and Federal privacy requirements for educational records!  I know you are jealous, it's ok, you don't have to tell me.  I boarded the plane in good ol' Lubbock and headed southeast.  Everything was fine except for a little turbulence between Dallas and San Antonio.  Ok, maybe a lot of turbulence.  I had elected to sit in the emergency aisle and had informed the steward that there was nothing to worry about - I would make sure that door was open in an emergency.  I had deemed th...