A Mini Dreamy Adventure

I think our kids will one day love Party Down as much as I do.

  

How do I know?  

Well Party Down was created by Rob Thomas (the writer and Uni TX, Austin grad - not the singer) and he created Veronica Mars, 

starring the lovely Kristen Bell and she's the voice of Anna, the lead in Frozen 

and they cannot get enough of that movie.  

Like most of America, I guess.

So, it goes . . .

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Thank you Rob Thomas. 

But how does all this relate to these kiddies?

Because it always relates to them these days . . .

     

Hubbo was working one Saturday so it was the kiddies and me and I was determined to have an adventure and Rob Thomas (it's such a shame his name is the name as that one singer) was the reason.  Well, that's what I was telling myself.  

Frozen had come out on DVD and we had a copy waiting at Walmart ready for pick up and I was going to take the kids as part of a 'fun' outing. 

Before we left I told them we were going to Walmart to get Frozen and that was IT - we were not going to buy anything else.  But when we got there they asked for a drink.  I normally don't let them drink soda but, I thought as part of the adventure it could involve soft drinks.  So I agreed, 'OK, everyone can have one soda - but that's IT.'  I told them we'd get lunch and then go to a park and eat.  But then they pointed out that two of our girlies were wearing ballet flats.  'OK, we'll buy flip flops for the park, drinks, the movie and that's IT.'  

And  . . . Walmart was a breeze (thank goodness!).

Next stop, the Chinatown Center, to pick up lunch.  

But first they wanted to say 'Hi' to the statues.

Bee insisted on wearing her nehru-collared dress from cousin Aarica before I told her we were going to Chinatown.  Of course once we got there, she was thrilled by the coincidence.    

 We ordered banh mi (I told them it was bbq) from Lily's Sandwich and CC kept speaking Spanish to the cashier (I told them no one spoke English but she really wanted to communicate).  

The plan was to drive down the street to Walnut Creek Park and eat by the playground but it started to rain so we headed home.  Plus, they were dying to watch Frozen for the 100th time.   

Do you know the crazy thing?  We did all this before noon and, I'll be honest, I was a little sad it wasn't later in the day.  We even went swimming for 30 minutes and it was still mid-day.

That's where my trusted Spotify came in.  No backyard for kids to run around in so we dance in the apartment and pray it wears them out.   I only filmed my music, but rest assured it was also a mix of Disney and classic rock (so Hubbo wouldn't go crazy).   

You know, maybe Rob Thomas (not from Matchbox 20) should make a show of our lives.  Then we'd really all be tied together in Austin.  

Ahhh, Apartment Life. Tres Dreamy...Sort Of

 When we first moved in the apartment looked like this for a while.  

But now it looks like this:

Just kidding.  It usually looks like this:

I have a bad habit of subscribing to a newspaper and not reading them right away, then letting them pile up and eventually binge reading all of them.  Hubbo once walked in and saw the giant pile on the floor and said 'Worst $20 I've ever spent.'   

I bought this table and rug when I was single the rug I wasn't crazy about but it was cheap and I needed one STAT.  Now I'm glad we have it because it's the dining room rug and if it gets drawn on with purple marker or stained with juice I'm like, 'eh, no big deal.'  Now the purple marker on the table made me a little sad but I got over it.  At least we are getting good craft-use out of it.

 We DO have two nice patios that we try to use anytime the weather is nice.  

It's like a little Mississippi (we had bonfires weekly there) - only illegal.

So what does the apartment look like when THIS guy has a birthday? 

Well, like this:

 We had: 2 twin brothers + 1 perfect mom-in-law + 1 sister-in-law and 1 husband + 3 kids stay with us 2 in a 2 bed/2 bath apt for 7 days. 

I think most people would say that might be a bit much but I happen to have amazing in-laws who WANT to spent as much time together as possible.   

Magic Man's Birthday was a week-long celebration.   

I love this because he really IS saying 'let me open my own gift.'

Hubbo and his girls.

And where was Lil'Dude?

  

Protecting his precious toys.

My Dreamy Mother-in-law

I am a sucker for generational photos (as you can see from Magic Man's bday present this year):  

When I saw this photo of my Mom-in-Law I could not believe how much it looked like Annie.

I tried to capture her with a similar expression but she does Not like to hold still so the closest I got was a shot of Annie with chocolate lips but you can see the resemblance, right?

How about now?

Even Lil' Dude has his beautiful Grandma's . . . everything.   

Back to my Perfect Mother-in-Law. . .

From the moment I met her I knew she was someone I wanted to emulate and let me tell you why:

She always finds time to have fun. Example: She'll hide out in the woods near their MS. home and when you're walking back home at night she'll pop out and scare the heck out of you.

She is a refined lady, who is also a sharp shooter (her dad taught her how to shoot birds when she was 7).

She nailed the stone cold fox look in the 80s.

She is the epitome of class and will not say anything negative about ANYONE.

She effortlessly keeps a super clean house and can whip up a delicious meal at a moment's notice.

She has boundless energy and always has time to play with her grandkiddies:

(P.S. I love it when C.C. does cartwheels.)

She welcomes anyone into her house at anytime and makes them feel  at home. 

She learned to drive when she was 8.  No lie.

She is a grandma and looks like this:

Plus, she's responsible for this guy.

My Dream Happens to be Hubbo's Nightmare

My Nana was a formal lady.  My mom said that she would change herself, my uncle and mom into their dinner clothes and re-do everyone's hair before my Tata would come home from work, so he would be greeted by a beautiful family.

Needles to say my mom grew up to be very proper and she had strict rules for Sunday church attire: which fabrics were appropriate, the amount of embellishments allowed and don't even get me started on shoes.

My little sister and I knew that after church we had to change from our Sunday clothes ASAP and the choices were a casual dress or a casual dress.  

(This might actually be us in our casual dresses - it's seriously hard to tell now.)

When I was single, getting dressed for church was something I respectfully put thought into and I'd always wear make-up (even though weekdays were spent bare faced with messy hair).  The greatest compliment I ever received was someone said that I 'didn't get dressed for church but that I dress for church.' 

This is something all my sisters adhere to.  (Mom is in the A1st necklace, in case you can't tell).

That's all changed now.  There are some Sunday's when we'll be driving to the chapel and I realize my hair is still in the messy bun I slept in.  

I struggle with getting 4 kids fed, hair brushed, dressed and ready for church by 9AM (ideally even earlier because the chapel fills up so fast).  I know, I know, not impossible, more like  super easy, but I'm new at this!  And, it's not so much getting them ready as it is getting them out the door that we struggle with.  There's always something - a fight - a forgotten item - a bathroom stop - Something!

We usually arrive flustered, speed walking in, BUT that does't stop me from snapping photos (Magic Man's nightmare).  I can't help it - they're 90% of the time in matching dresses with their hair done and I even match Lil' Dude's outfit to his sisters. 

As Hubbo does not like to stop walking once we get out of the car  (for obvious reasons), I've gotten better at the 'quickly pose while still heading to the chapel' shot. 

(P.S. My mom would be mortified at Lil' Dude's sneakers but Hubbo promised those were the only ones he'd wear without screaming. I think they're cute, though.) 

And yes, if we have to sit outside in the overflow area I continue to snap a photo or two.  What!? It's for Grandma!

And they're getting better at staying dressed for the drive home just in case I need to get one more shot.  Or three.

Note: CC and Binky are wearing their hair in the same style I did for my 1st Grade portrait in 1983.  Thank goodness my mom was more into 1960s hair for kids than 1980s.