Liebster Award!

My friend Chelsea @The Life We Love tagged me in the Liebster Awards and I have to answer the following 11 questions about myself.  I'm a little fuzzy on the details but I love the concept!  Chelsea is one of my best friends from A&M and my inspiration to blog.  She is such a good writer, and freaking hilarious too!

Questions:
1. What is something you've always wanted to do but never have? Why not?
My husband is a man of a million hobbies.  I'm always trying to find mine.  I suppose at the moment my hobbies would be cooking and drinking wine with friends (um, yes, that counts!) but I'm really passionate about music.  In high school I was in musicals and choir and loved to dance.  Something I've always wanted to do would be to somehow morph that into an hobby.  Adult tap dancing class? Hmmm...

2. Fill in the blanks. People sometimes think I'm ___ but really, I'm ___.
This is a tough one for me.  I think I'm a pretty easy person to read?  You tell me!!

3. What are your favorite kinds of gifts to receive?
My favorite gifts these days are gifts of time.  Like when Kyle does the grocery store run so I can relax or watches Cooper while I clean my closet.  I know its lame, but my time is a scarce resource and when someone helps me produce more of it that is a huge gift!

4. What is something someone has done for you that really touched you?
This just happened yesterday...good timing!  I was standing down the street talking with my two neighbor mom friends and watching four kids run around.  There is another little girl just Cooper's age and between the two of them some mom is always scrambling to keep kids out of the street and within sight. Yesterday, Cooper was pushing his toy up and down the sidewalk and I was running after him, calling for him to turn around.  About the 10th time, he turned around and came back on his own and before I knew it all three of the moms were cheering for him and telling him what a good boy he was for listening.  I could really tell that my friends were proud of Cooper too and that touched me!

5. What are three things you really like about yourself?
Sheesh! Um... 1) I like my willingness to try new things 2) I like my ability to make decisions, not a lot of gray area going on over here! 3) I like my eyelashes.  They always say boys get the best eyelashes but I think mine are pretty OK!

6. If you have kids, what are three attributes you hope to instill in them?
Kindness, tolerance of people that are different than you and ambition to go after what they want in life.

7. What is something you struggle with?
Easy.  I struggle every day with balancing my time, energy and focus between work and home.  Oh, mother's guilt!

8. What are you really good at?
I'm really good at listening.  Sometimes I think I missed my calling as a therapist.  Other times I think I missed my calling as a veterinarian, go figure.

9. What do you wish you could be better at?
I wish I could be better at getting more involved in things outside of work and home.  My friends Lyndsey and Whitney are always going going going.  I really admire their energy!

10. Tell a funny joke.
I tell the worst jokes, ask Kyle.  Here goes!
Q: How do you make Lady Ga Ga cry?
A: Poke her face.

11. How many hours do you sleep per night, on average?
Probably 7.  Sometimes 4 sometimes 9 but 7 is a good goal!

There you have it!  I'm nominating the following bloggers to answer the same questions (sorry, I'm too tired to be original!):

Lyndsey @ high heels and handlebars
Allison @ Tidbits and Snippets
Lauren @ Davis Does Dallas

Tricks and Treats

OK, so maybe we're not there yet on Halloween.  According to Cooper, there were way too many tricks this year.  Costume was not a hit, he didn't know quite what to do for the trick or treating and all of the kids knocking on the door were seriously disturbing his Little Einsteins episode.  M&Ms were a huge hit though!

Trick: Iguana costume, not happy

 He stood motionless and sobbing in the front yard.  Bad parents snapping pics?!

Treat: Mama gave up and went with the monster tee (Compliments of Cita!)

Trick: Trick or treating, you want me to say what?

I love his little bag slung over his shoulder!

 Not so sure what to do...

 Going for the candy before we had even left the premises!

Treat: Back for more!  We have really sweet neighbors!

Mama's treat?  His costume is a size 2-3.  Since it was worn all of 2 minutes, it may make a reappearance!!!

Happy Halloween!

Festivities

Ahhh, Halloween.  The time of year when it's perfectly acceptable to eat your weight in candy! I love Halloween because I feel like its the kick-off to the holiday season. Stretching it? Believe me, Kyle and I did 90% of our Christmas shopping this weekend. Now if only I can remember where I put everything when its time to get everything wrapped!

We took Cooper to a pumpkin patch on Saturday...not a fan!  There were balloons, cookies and kids galore and he wanted no part of it!  Poor guy.

We had much better luck at the park.  Mr. Independent on the slide!

Saturday night we had two Halloween parties!  We were originally going to be Gangham style (hence most of my outfit) but Kyle's jacket came in about 8 sizes too small.  Think Chris Farley in Tommy Boy!  So, we called an audible and went with a much more fitting (in both senses of the word) costume.  My halo is even just a little tilted!

More to come on Wednesday if Cooper allows me to put his Halloween costume on him!

Little Pumpkin Head

I'm baaaaaack!  One broken phone, two cases of the stomach bug, one ear infection, a hellish week at work, Kyle's birthday party and an Aggie loss to LSU and I am oh so glad to be signed on again!  Whew!

We spent the better part of Sunday afternoon carving pumpkins with Papa.  This held Cooper's attention for a good 15 minutes which is quite impressive if your name is not Mickey Mouse!

I love watching Cooper make memories like this.  Flipping through Kyle's old photo albums there is a picture every year of him doing this with his Dad.  And, nobody loves a tradition more than a family full of Aggies, ha!  Here are the pics from the weekend:

Great pumpkin artistry going on here!

Admiring his masterpiece!

Not exactly the face they had planned, but Papa is a good interpreter!

We drew a crowd.

The finished product!

Pumpkin carving crew!

Vino for my Amigos, part Fall

Kyle and I are currently on the hunt for a house wine (under $20, of course!) for the Fall! Kyle came home with this little gem the other day for a taste test:

2006 Galante Vineyards Rancho Galante Cabernet Sauvignon

I'm not going to call it "the one", but I'd definitely go out on another date!  It's a fun cab that is bright but with dark fruit flavors.  We had our friend Abigail over to taste test with us during the A&M game last weekend.  While the Aggies nearly gave us all a heart attack (as they always do), we pulled out a win and I suppose I was wrong to hide all sharp objects from Kyle.  Fittingly, Ab concluded that this wine tasted like "winning".  I'll take it!

And speaking of wine, or no more whine to be exact...

After 20 months and Cooper being indifferent to about 20 different "loveys", he has decided on a favorite...the "Angel Dear" bunny.  In my attempt to stock the house, diaper bag and school backpack in the case of an emergency, I stumbled upon this niftily little kit: "A Pair and a Spare".  That is 3 of the "chosen ones" packaged in one box.  Perfect for the emergency spare or stocking your gift closet for baby showers!  Ok, Angel Dear, you win.  You can have my $35 for your clever marketing trickery!  Must. Have. [The Correct.] Lovey.

The happy boy!

Happy [almost] weekend, y'all!

Chili Time!

The best part about fall is most definitely the food.  First up on my fav fall food list?  Kyle's chili.  The minute the thermometer dips below 60° I am begging for him to make it.  At around bowl number two I am thankful for the second best part of fall...sweaters to hide my chili belly!

Here is Kyle's "secret" recipe.  I say secret because he doesn't measure when he cooks so getting this down on paper took some doing!  His recipe is both spicy and sweet and definitely Texas style with jalepenos and black beans!  I think its best washed down with a cold Shiner.  Enjoy!

Kyle's Chili

1 sweet onion

3 garlic cloves

1 yellow bell pepper

2 jalepenos

1 can black beans

1 can sweet corn

2 small cans tomato paste
3lbs chili meat

1 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp cayenne

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp seasoned salt

1.5 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp black pepper

Olive Oil

Garnish: Cilantro, avocado, green onions, sour cream, sharp cheddar and Fritos!

1. Chop garlic, onions and peppers and sweat in a dutch oven with olive oil.  (If you're a crock pot fan, do this in a pan on the stove first and then transfer to your crock pot.)
2. Add in meat and seasoning and simmer on low for about 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. About 30 minutes before it is done, add in the corn and beans.
4. Garnish and serve!

Yes, this makes enough for a small army but it freezes well!

The Farmer's Market

No trip ever goes as planned with a 20 month old.  

Today, we decided to take Cooper to the farmer's market to get breakfast.  I had pictured the three of us strolling around, visiting booths, sampling fruit and eating fresh pastries while watching a live band.  What was I thinking?!  What I got instead was "Hold my coffee while I make sure Cooper doesn't run in the street" and "Please, for the love Cooper, put down that man's tomatoes!  Don't you put that in your mouth! Don't you do it!"  There was more chasing than strolling and more stealing sampling than buying but such is life right now.  Hectic, but fun!

We almost got out unscathed, and Mama got some flowers!

Afterwards, all smiles on the slide!

Thank God for Daddies who are willing to touch bugs!