Music City

I know it has been awhile since I have posted, but life has been crazy!

I was gone for 5 days on a trip with my 2 girlfriends, MJ and Melissa, to the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, along with 5000 other moms! It was awesome! MJ and I went in without a clue as to what would take place over the next week because Melissa planned the whole thing and we said, "sounds like fun!" And boy were we right! We are already planning our return trip next year!

Everything about the conference was top notch, including the topics, speakers, the resource fair and especially the musicians! Between Thursday and Saturday, we heard Matt Redman, Christy Nockels, Plumb, Matthew West and Natalie Grant live! It was incredible! We even got our picture with Matt Redman, as well as an autographed cd!

While there, we also ate great food, visited the Grand Ole Opry and its Opry Shop, as well as the Opry Mills Mall!

Anderson stayed home with Daddy so he could attend preschool, AWANA and church! He said another verse in AWANA and earned his 1st patch, yeah! He is on a roll! EJ spent the week in FW with Gigi and Granddaddy. Unfortunately, he got the stomach bug (which I had a taste of myself while in Nashville) so he mostly sat in Gigi's lap all week, however he did get to go to the Ranger game on Sunday! When we picked him up, he was all decked out in his Rangers gear, and looked so cute in his little ballcap! I sure did miss those boys while I was away!

Now we are home and trying to get back into the swing of things again! Anderson attended his 2nd Soccer Tots class this morning and did much better this time around! They do alot of structured drills in his class (maybe too structured for him), mostly without the ball... and of course Anderson just wants to run, dribble, kick and shoot the ball, so he gets bored and wanders off 1/2 the time doing his own thing! Last week he told his teacher while they were doing warm-up stretches, "I just wanna play soccer!" He's a great little player when he actually gets to use the ball! We'll see how it goes the next few weeks...

New Product

2 weeks from today, Worthy of the Prize will be debuting its hot new product for women...stay tuned for details!

Little Drummer Boy

This morning, EJ and I attended the Gymboree Open House with Melissa and Grant!!

It was so much fun. EJ got to participate in the play class for free and got free snacks, juice, a balloon and a noise maker toy like the ones they use in his music class. He also got a goodie bag of coupons and I was able to purchase some of their toys for 20% off, including the Melissa & Doug stackable train that I had been looking for to give the boys for Christmas! Melissa got a great discount on Grant's upcoming birthday party and lots of other moms got great discounts on class sign ups.

At the end of the play class, they did a 15 minute preview of the music class that EJ attends. For the last song, the teacher brought out the big drums and EJ was the star of the class! He stayed out in the middle by himself playing drums with the teacher the entire time. They were of course impressed with his talent, so we told them it is in his blood! :)

Our Little Man

We put them to work early around here!! Actually, this has become the favored toy around our house lately...when Grant and Grayson come over, the fights begin!

Today EJ started his Gymboree music class with his little buddy Grant and he loved it just as much as he did when we tried out the class and signed up last spring! It is so much fun to watch them smile and play along to the music! We found out that on Saturday, they are having another Open House so Grant and EJ will be attending the play class for free! Let us know if you would like to join us! Should be fun! Anderson will get to enjoy some Daddy-time while we are gone!

On the preschool front, Anderson is still adjusting to his new environment, but he did MUCH better this week! No tears at all! Yeah! The theme for this week was "All About Me" and they talked about how they are each special. When asked to complete the phrase, "I am special because..." Anderson answered "I ride fast on a bike!" Ha! What a trip, I don't know what we did for entertainment before he came along!

Road Trip

This past weekend the 4 of us pretty much took a tour of Texas in our car! We hit 3 of the major cities in 2 days!

We left Austin early Friday morning and drove to Houston with our good friends Scott, MJ, Grayson, Melissa, Bryan and Grant! We stopped for lunch at Chick-Fila (which seems to be our favorite hangout lately) as soon as we got to Houston and then we headed to the zoo, which is fabulous by the way!

I was very impressed with the SA Zoo but the Houston Zoo might even be better! It was completely shaded and landscaped, no hills or bees, and lots of great things to do and animals to see! It was like walking through a park!

Of course we saw the elephants and got to see Thailand (who is 44 years old) do tricks! I never knew that elephants were such smart and talented creatures! We could barely see Tucker (the little 4 year old toddler), he was busy swimming in the pool on the other side but I could tell he was a cutie (I just love the little ones).

This time we also got to ride the carousel, which is always a big hit, and then enjoyed the petting zoo again! Needless to say, the boys had a blast!



We left the zoo as soon as it was time to check into the hotel so that we could shower and rest before heading to the Astros game, where we saw them kill the Phillies! I must say that I just love Minute Maid Park! The shuttle system is so nice, they have great hot dogs and a great kids area and of course there is the train! Both experiences there have been wonderful! Anderson did not like the fireworks as usual, but EJ did!

We got to bed late that night and then woke up early the next morning to drive to DFW to see my Uncle Ray get married! Amazingly, the boys did well in the car both days and did great at the wedding too (thankfully it was a short ceremony)! We even got to hang around to enjoy Mike and Amanda's going away party at Bill's house! As always, it was great to see family, and friends who are like family! We did not get to stay long, pretty much had to head out after dinner but were simply glad to be there.

The boys slept all the way home and went right to bed. Sunday morning was church as usual, we were all tired as to be expected, but again the boys did well. The rest of Sunday and Monday we pretty much laid around, cleaned the house, unpacked, rested, etc. I think the only time we left was to go to Chick-Fila (yet again) because if you wore your sports team apparel, you got free sandwiches. So we decided to meet Melissa, Bryan and Grant for lunch on Monday to take advantage of the great deal!

Now we are busy getting back into the swing of things around here. Anderson did great at preschool this morning, he was a little clingy and whiny, but no tears! EJ and I had a great time at 'Stroller Mamas' again and then we ran some errands.

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend! Scott, MJ, Melissa and Bryan...we must do it again, we had a blast and the boys did excellent...I must admit I was expecting the worst with all the drving, but I was pleasantly surprised! Congrats to Uncle Ray and Barbara, we wish you the best, may God bless your life together! Mike and Amanda, we are praying for you as you make the move to Mississippi! We can't wait to see what God has in store for you...although I must admit that I am praying that His plan is to bring you back to the Great State very soon!

Preschool Teachers

Anderson did much better today. He was upbeat and happy this morning and only shed a few tears when it was time for me to leave. Miss Lori makes a special effort to read him a train book each day when he 1st gets there to help make the transition a little easier for him! He did fine the rest of the day and made it through his 1st official week of preschool! Here he is with his teachers:

Miss Debbie

Miss Lori

With Anderson at preschool, I have had alot of extra time to myself with little EJ. He has 2 more teeth now, for a total of 6...4 on top and 2 on bottom and it looks like he is about to get 2 more on the bottom as well. He is starting to make animal sounds and also airplane/train/car sounds when he plays with his toys, which is so cute. He is laughing and smiling more and more, so happy and still quite the ladies man!

Tomorrow we are headed to Houston with some friends to see the Astros play, we leave 1st thing in the morning. Saturday we will drive to Arlington to attend my uncle's wedding. It will be a busy weekend with lots of driving, at least Monday is Labor Day so we can recover.

Have a great weekend!

My Little Horned Frog

Today was Anderson's 1st official day in AWANA! It was school spirit night so he wore his TCU football jersey...it was very cute, he looked like a little athlete. I remember when he 1st got that little jersey, it swallowed him, and now it barely fits! He did very well and got a sticker for saying his verse. He also had fun playing games in the gym. It was parent night too but I chose not to go because when I am around, he clings to me. So I just peeked in through the windows of the gym while he was playing in there. It was so funny watching him run around without a clue as to what was going on. He would just watch the other kids and follow along, in his own world half the time. Aaron and I were bursting with laughter! Can you say flashback to my childhood?!!? He is such a good kid...so smart, listens well, does what he is supposed to and of course, bosses the other kids around like he does EJ all day long! Everything has to be done perfectly and he lets the other kids know when they are not doing it right! No one told us these things, rather they were seen by our own eyes through the glass doors of the gym!

Today was his 2nd day of preschool and he did well, although dropping him off was not nearly as easy, this time he screamed and cried but was fine as soon as I left, according to his teachers. The 2nd day is always worse for him because he realizes it was not a one-time thing but something new. Plus, he has had a lot of changes going on lately, which is hard for any kid but especially my 'slow to warm-up' child. Once he adjusts, he will love it! This 3 day in a row thing is new too so this morning he said, "no not today, I will go tomorrow" because he is used to T/TH. He did that when he changed SS classes as well. 1st day was wonderful and 2nd time he said "no I already went to that new class" thinking it was a one-time thing. Seriously, does promotion Sunday have to be the same week that preschool starts?!!? We went through this last year too! It takes him weeks to adjust to one change, but it is way worse when everything familiar changes all in the same week! It should be much easier the second-time around with EJ, he is my 'easy-going' child, at least as far as warming up to change, new people and new surroundings.

When we picked Anderson up from preschool today, he told his teachers, "this is my brother EJ." He was so proud! He gave him his little squirrel again too. His teachers said "he really loves his little brother, talks about him all day long." So sweet! He probably talks their ears off all day long about anything and everything, like he does mine at home. He even talks to himself and his toys. Can't imagine where he gets this stuff from!! EJ just laughs at whatever Anderson does or says, thinks he is the funniest thing in the world, which of course my little entertainer loves!

Well, tomorrow begins 'Stroller Mamas' and will be the 3rd day of preschool so I am sure that I will have something interesting to report! Until then, I am exhausted and need to get in bed!

It's Preschool Time!!

Today was Anderson's 1st official day at his new preschool and he did GREAT! He was very excited to go and his teachers said that the only time he cried was when another boy in his class started crying after being dropped off. As soon as the little boy quit crying, Anderson was fine! He didn't even cry when mommy left, he was too busy playing with the trains! What a big boy, he even carried his own backpack! Although he did run after me for one final hug...my sweet boy!

He will be going 3 days a week and we are very pleased with the people, the teachers, the program, the facilities...he will LOVE it there! Everyday he will learn through playing at centers, doing crafts, creative movement, praise and going outside! After he eats his lunch, he will come home for a nap.

When we picked him up today, his teachers (Miss Debbie and Miss Lori) told us that he carried around one of the stuffed squirrels all day long. I think it is a comfort thing for him because he had it when we went to the open house the other day. He gave EJ one of the tiny squirrels to carry around too, it was so sweet (his class is called the Squirrels by the way, so they have several stuffed ones in the room). Then he showed EJ how to play with the blocks. What a good big brother, he just loves telling him what to do!

Last Thursday, we finished out our summer with a 'Back to Preschool' water party in our backyard (the final one for the summer). We invited some of Anderson and EJ's friends over to play with the pools and water toys. Friday night, we had some of our friends over for a Mexican Fiesta because some good friends of ours were in town from Vegas (they used to go to our church here in Austin until they moved for a job). And you will be happy to know that I cooked an appetizer, main course and dessert all by myself...I am becoming quite the little homemaker! (Mom and dad, you would be so proud). We didn't even have to order pizza as a last resort!! (I did not pull a Monica....that's for all you Friends lovers out there). It was so good to see you Steve, Karen and Sam! We miss you and look foward to the holidays so we can see you again!

On Friday afternoon, we even got to go to Anderson's preschool for an open house/picnic, which was alot of fun. They gave him a little gift and had him do a scavenger hunt to get familiar with his classroom. The quicker he gets familiar with the place, the better he will do! Plus, we got to have a picnic lunch with the other families, sign up for the parents' group and check out their MOPS(Mothers of Preschoolers) group! I am very excited about the connections I am making with their MOPS group and the preschool moms. It is very good for my Fit Camp and 'Stroller Mamas' Fit Camp! They even invited me to speak at their MOPS meeting in October! So exciting!

Saturday night, Aaron and I attended the Agape Pregnancy Resource Center (ministry that helps women and families through unexpected pregnancies and introduces them to Christ) banquet dinner and auction, which is always a great time! Our MOPS group is going to do a baby shower for them next year, which we are really looking foward to!

Well, that is all for now...MOPS starts tonight, another round of Fit Camp starts tomorrow morning, AWANA starts tomorrow night and 'Stroller Mamas' starts Thursday! Anderson will be in Cubbies in AWANA this year, which means he will begin memorizing verses and also get to make a derby car! Anderson will also start Soccer Tots and EJ will start Gymboree music class in the next few weeks so I am sure that I will have more to report very soon! Although we are busy, it is nice to be back into a routine again!