Oh grey!

Oh grey nail polish, I thought I was done with you!  But in Essie's new fall line you are more of a greige...and I dig that!  You TOTALLY redeemed yourself!

"Miss Fancy Pants" by Essie

I also picked up a Essie's "Skirting the Issue".  Such a pretty burgundy color.  Perfect for fall and perfect for this Aggie!

"Skirting the Issue" by Essie

Check out Essie's full fall line, Stylenomics, here!

Nudge! Nudge, baby bird!

Today was Cooper's first day of school.  Ok, so it's the "Young Toddlers" class and it's only 2 days a week but still!  It was...intense!

I got up this morning super early so he could have the "perfect" lunch packed in his cute little lunch box.

I made sure he was in a super cute outfit because, hey, even if he turned out to be a total terror, at least he might win his teachers over with his dashing looks!

(Of course, we had to get some front yard "bishing" in before school!)

We got to the school and everything seemed fine.  He one of the first kiddos there and immediately got distracted when the teacher let him go wash his hands and play in the sink.  Anyone who knows Cooper knows his affinity for "agua"!  So I decided to take the lead and make my exit.  I kissed him on the top of his head and snuck out.

I was so proud of myself all morning, thinking of my sweet little boy up at school, NOT CRYING, and doing something extraordinary like writing his name or learning to add and subtract.  Well, as it turns out, the not crying part would have been the extraordinary thing.

I walked into the classroom after lunch, and there he was...slumped over in his chair, binky in his mouth and lovey in his hand....sobbing.  Ouch.  I walked up to him and he reached out to me and between sobs told me "Mama, bye bye.  BYE BYE!"  It still hadn't sunk in yet so I asked the teacher about his day.  She told me that he didn't cry like this all day.  He was "quiet" during music class and didn't  cry most of the time outside.  Double ouch.

My friend Taryn told me it wan't like the "weeping" kind of sadness you felt when your baby first goes to school, more like the "nauseating" kind. She was so right. I had a knot in my stomach this afternoon so big you would have thought I just dropped him off at college.

I know it's for the best. I know that part of helping him grow is letting him struggle a bit.  I also know that he will get used to it and learn to love it.  But, man!!!  This mama bird got a little taste of why they call this the "hardest job in the world" today!

Football Widow

To all of my fellow football widows...

The time of year when your husband shuts down to the world and there is constantly football on from Thursday night college to NFL Mondays is rapidly approaching.  Ahhhh, football season.  I would be ok if I only had to watch my teams (Aggies, Cowboys and my new addition the Miami Dolphins!... J-Train!), but sadly this isn't the case.  When your husband stays up to watch a 10pm kickoff after he's followed all the games from the East coast to the West coast you know you have a problem.  Thank God A&M didn't move to the Pac-10!

This will be the 9th football season Kyle and I have spent together so at this point I consider myself a seasoned veteran football widow.  I've learned a few things and have come along way from my days of whining and tallying hours spent on football.  You see, after I embraced the passion, things started looking up around here.  The way I see it, season football tickets equate to season tickets to off-Broadway musicals.  Five months of football on TV equates to all the "junk TV" and Terms of Endearment you can possibly watch all spring long.

AND, when your husband comes home with this just in time for the new football season (How convenient...):

You don't get mad.  In fact, you smile imagining all of the wonderful gifts he surely is about to shower you with for no reason.  And no, I am not scared to remedy this situation on my own.  Be afraid, Kyle. Be very afraid! 

[Not a] Bad Hair Day

How do boys always get the best eyelashes and the best hair?! Cooper certainly takes the cake in the hair department.  Here is a pic of his sweet lettuce after running around sweating in the 150% humidity here in Houston.

So. Not. Fair.

I'm sure that if I ever have a little girl her hair will look nothing like this. [Sigh.]

"Bish"!

I've blogged before about how Cooper loves to do all things "boy".  (He May Look LIke His Mama)  His latest craze is anything and everything to do with fishing, which he calls "BISH"!  He has been walking around the house with his fly reel for the past week or so, letting out line and reeling it in.  He used to have his own rod that his Papa gave him, but Daddy accidentally ran it over in the driveway one night!  It was just about the highlight of his life when his Daddy took him to the new fishing store last weekend!

Here he is, "bishing" around the house!

There are multiple generations of men on both sides of the family who I'm sure are taking credit right now for Cooper's love of fishing.  But, for the record, Cooper caught his first fish with his Mama!  Here we are in Jackson when I was 5 months pregnant with Cooper and with our trophy trout!

More Funnies

Added one to the journal tonight...

Without fail, every time we take Cooper out of the bath he tells us that he is "WET"!  Just in case we forget to give him a towel?  Ha!

Confessions...

A friend from A&M has the cutest blog, Stories of a Stay at Home Mom, and she has a weekly posting for her "Wednesday Confessional".  It makes me smile every time I read it and and it's just so...refreshing!  I love Mom friends who tell it like it is!

So since this post is a tribute to hers, here are some of mine (a day late)!!!

• I steal food from my kid. Blue Box Mac n' Cheese? Fruit Bunnies? Goldfish? Yes, please!
• I have Kyle convinced that I don't know how to iron. I'm sorry, but it's $0.99 to launder and press a shirt at the dry cleaner; I can find a better use for my time.
• I truly believe that not eating all of your french fries is the equivalent of not eating any.
• I cried my eyes out the night before I had Cooper...over the dog! I was heartbroken about not being able to take her every morning for our walk. Things are different now but she seems to enjoy the extra food that Cooper "shares" with her and the extra "ball thrower" we now have at the house!
• Cooper LOVES the Swiffer. I actually put a cleaning cloth on for him and praise him when he gets a lot of dog hair. I mean, might as well!

Here is Courtney's most recent post:

Wednesday Confessional

Chapter 5

Last week Charley woke up EARLY and was super fussy. Jay was also really whiny that morning. I knew it was going to be a rough morning, so what did I do? Headed to the gym and dropped the kids at the nursery! I didn't even feel like working out that day, but the thought of having a break from my fussing kids sounded AMAZING! I handed the kids over, left a bottle for Charley, and took off. I spent ten minutes in the locker room just sitting there in silence. God bless those ladies!

We spent a week in Wisconsin and Chicago- without Anthony. We were with my family and they were super helpful of course. But being a single parent is NO JOKE! I am beyond exhausted!

Speaking of, I noticed my milk supply went up 100 jillion percent while we were there. I am 99% sure it was from the ridiculous high fat foods I consumed all week (brats, cheese, cheese, pizza, and cheese). Add that to no exercise and just call me a Holstein!

I had a random man at a Truck Stop tell me Jay was too old for a pacifier. So many insults went flying through my mind, but I just bit my tongue and muttered something like, "Thanks for the advice" under my breath. Really Mr. Trucker???

I ate so few fruits and vegetables this past week that I actually counted the bell peppers and onions in my deep dish pizza part of my veggies for the day. Sad? Very.

I stay up way too late every night. The feeling of freedom after the kids are down far outweighs the lack of sleep. But then I complain I'm tired. Another vicious cycle.

While we were traveling, I didn't want to buy (and then pack) a new package of diapers for Jay. So when we got down to the final TWO diapers to get us through the day, we had a choice- buy a new pack, or hope for the best. Let's just say, my bag was light- we traveled all day (car ride, airplane ride, and another car ride) with two diapers. THANKYOUJESUS for letting that one work out. What a mess that would have been!