Our First Weekend Getaway

Here I go again, trying to catch up on all the craziness that is happening with the Williams family!
John and I had a fantastic time on our first parents only weekend getaway to San Antonio to celebrate out 10th anniversary. I admit, I cried when we dropped Lindsey off. At least I didn't let her see my cry. She was happy as a lark, playing with cousin Robin and Aunt Ro-Ro. The first few miles of the quiet were very weird, we just sat there, looked at each other and sighed. A few more miles into it we decided, hey we can listen to loud music, roll the windows down without fear of getting too much wind or just have conversation without spelling out words.

The Marriott was fantastic, right on the Riverwalk. We looked out onto the river from the 28th floor, what a view! That night we had dinner at The Chart House on top of the Tower of the Americas. If you are in San Antonio, eat here! The food, service and view from the top of the second tallest freestanding tower in America are amazing. We bought Lindsey a cute stuffed tower.

We woke up early to maximize the day. Had a delicious breakfast at the hotel (part of our amazing package), visited the Buckhorn Museum, ate lunch at Taco Haven, visited the Alamo, the Marketplace, cathedrals, hat shops, the mall and toured the Riverwalk by boat. Needless to say we were pooped! We walked over six miles, not including what we did at the actual attractions, so we simply relaxed on our balcony with an adult beverage and enjoyed a beautiful evening.

Sunday, we were up early again, ate breakfast and took the boat ride during the daytime for a different view (again, part of our package). We actually headed out pretty early to pick up Lindsey. It is so weird being without your little one. We would see something and both say "Oh, Lindsey would love that," What do you think she is doing now?" or simply stare at another child about the same age. It was odd not hearing the quiet sssshhhhh of the monitor, not hearing "Mama" first thing in the morning. Although it was difficult and there was part of me that didn't want to go, if you are a parent and you haven't had some alone time with your spouse, GO! It is amazing what a few days alone can do for your relationship with your spouse and with your child, I think it makes you appreciate them both a little bit more.

Lastly, a big Thank You to Rosemary, Robert Sr., Robert Jr., Richard and Robin. This would not have been possible without them. Not only did they surprise us with this fantastic weekend getaway, they took care of Lindsey. There is nowhere that Lindsey would have been more well cared for or would have had as much fun! So thanks for everything guys, we love you and appreciate what you did! :)

Teaching Conservation

It is true that with motherhood all hopes of privacy seem to fly out the window. We have begun to potty train in the Williams' house. Not hardcore training, but let's just say I don't spend much time in the bathroom alone. With that being said, I will go ahead with my story.

Although Lindsey is young, we are trying to teach her simple things like turning off the water when brushing her teeth, putting recyclables in the blue bin and to take only the amount of paper she needs when going to the bathroom or drying her hands. Since she really doesn't potty in the big potty yet, I only give her one square of paper for her to "wipe with." I am happy to report that she has she paper thing down. I just wish she hadn't figured it out after she managed to pull the toilet paper dispenser off the wall and was holding the paper hostage. After I pleaded for some paper, she conceded...and handed me one square of paper. "Here go Mommy!" Thanks!!!

The Best Mom Ever

Tomorrow will be the fourth anniversary of my Mom's passing, although it feels as if its been a million years since I heard her reassuring voice and felt her sweet hug. Those who really know me, know that my mom was my best friend. She is the woman that I admire most in this world. She practically raised me alone since we lost my Dad so young and I can only strive to be half of the terrific Mom that she was.

I always feel a little blue as we approach tomorrow (happy and sad as it is my wedding anniversary too). I got a little pick me up when I got home today though. My mom had beautiful amaryllis plants in her front yard. She transplanted them when she moved from Houston to Rosenberg. These spectacular plants always bloomed for Easter. It didn't matter when Easter was, they just always bloomed. My mom passed away on Palm Sunday that year and it was the first year that I can remember the amaryllis plants didn't bloom. After she passed we dug them up in hopes of replanting them again. These poor little bulbs have been shifted from pot to pot, moved from city to city. A few weeks ago they finally arrived here to our home. I put them out on the back patio. The glorious rain last week really helped these little guys and to my surprise today I saw two of the plants getting ready to bloom! Now I imagine they will bloom before Easter, but I am so happy that it looks like they will bloom. The first time in over four years! John said they knew they were home now and that all was well. I like that idea. I kind of like to think that it is my Mom looking down on me and smiling.

Anyway, I just wanted to pay a little tribute to her today... the best Mom in the world!





PS - The two photos were favorites on my Mom's. Otherwise, the giganto hair of the 80's picture would not be posted. Check out the height of the hair.

Daddy Daughter Dance 2009

What is sweeter than seeing the man you love and the daughter you are head over heals for all dressed up and ready to dance the night away? Not much!

On Friday, John and Lindsey attended their first Daddy Daughter Dance. John was decked out in his suit and Lindsey was sporting her new red velvety dress with a little bow in front. John's best friend Blair and his daugther Bailey were also attending. We all met up at the Childrens Museum around 5:45 for pictures. Several moms were lingering outside ohhhing and ahhhing at every little girl and daddy that went in.

John said it was very well organized and amazingly not too crazy inside given that there were probably 50 - 75 little girls under the age of 6! They had a catered dinner, dancing, crafts, t-shirts and door prizes. Lindsey was a little young for most of the activities, but she seemed to have a great time and even made me (with some help from Dad of course) a pretty little picture holder. She fell in love with this one room with a large tree house in it and even started to go down slides!

We picked up our loved ones at 9 pm. They were still full of energy and not ready to go home. As Lindsey made a break for it to get back inside, John informed me she was tough to keep up with. I couldn't help myself, I had to say it, "You know I do that everyday, all day, right?"

After a quick detour to visit MiMi Betty and a quick change into our PJ's (note to all Moms out there, if you are not already packing PJ's and toothbrush in a bag in your car, start now. Thanks to Brandi for teaching me that!) Lindsey was out before we made it to the first stoplight and slept until 10 am the next morning.

At first there was a part of me that was sad that I couldn't go in and watch them. Looking back now, it was good for us. It gave John and Lindsey some quality time together, gave John a better appreciation of what I do on a daily basis (I hope anyway) and gave me a much needed opportunity to go to dinner, have adult conversation and drink a real soda without having to worry about someone wanting a sip!

My Favorite Handy Man

When I married John, it was for many reasons, far too many to list :) Never did I imagine in my wildest dreams that he was such a handy man!

We both knew when we bought a house built in 1969 there would be a lot to do. I hate to admit it but the majority, well pretty much all of it has fallen on John's shoulders. He has worked tirelessly to make our house more of a home, a home that doesn't look like it was built in 1969. He has:

1. Revamped our interior doors (door work is tricky, don't let anyone fool you, anytime you take something that has been on a hinge for almost 40 years you are bound to have problems)
2. Stripped, sanded, primed and painted almost half of the exterior trim (thanks to our understanding neighbors who are kind enough to put up with a half and half house)
3. Textured and painted our guest bathroom, as well as hung a mirror. Yeah we can see ourselves. (Here is one of the few places I helped, I stripped the wallpaper off! Uggg)
4. Worked to get our yard back in shape. It was pretty neglected for a long period of time and has needed some TLC. He recently trimmed back the holly bushes in front of the house and it looks so different. Why do people plant holly bushes anyway?
5. Organized our office, complete with hanging pictures and connecting all of my docking station components. It looks amazing and was such a sweet surprise.

There is more that he has done, but these are the big highlights. There is still more to do, but I just wanted to say thank you to my favorite handy man for being so sweet and doing so much for me and Lindsey.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Things here have been completely crazy. I guess everyone has a different feeling about family. Despite all of the craziness we are having a good time. Christmas dinner is in the oven and the guys are heading out to play a game of horseshoes. After a strong fight against falling asleep, Lindsey is taking a much needed nap. This year was so much fun with her. She really enjoyed opening up her presents. How sweet kids are!

I hope that each and everyone of you has a very Merry Christmas and a safe, happy and healthy 2008!

45 Hours... Continued

It is now 10:25 am in beautiful Martha's Vineyard. We are all safe, warm and ready to spend some fun family time together. It is obvious that we are here so if things didn't continue to just spin out of control, I would leave my post from yesterday as our story. I just think you need to hear how fun our day really was.

After sitting on the plane for several hours with no food or water we departed at 1:30 pm and arrived in Boston at 2:15 pm . Continental decided to compensate us for the past two days with a generous $8 meal voucher. After learning that we would have to wait three hours for our van service we decided to enjoy a delicious Fuddruckers hamburger. After that we claimed our many pieces of luggage and enjoyed an hour of hilarious people watching in the baggage claim. One bright spot in the day was that our 15 passenger van turned into a stretch limo. So at 5:45 pm we loaded up, turned on Starsky and Hutch and headed to the ferry. We arrived at 8 pm just in time to make the last boat of the evening. After placing our luggage on the cart, we walked on the ferry. Another bright spot in our day was the ferry ticket taker only taking three tickets and handing them back to us and telling us to have a nice day. We enjoyed a nice cup of hot chocolate on the way to the island.

Michael and JoAnne arrive at 9:30 pm to pick us up and hugs and kisses are exchanged. JoAnne sees she has a headlight out, but there is nothing that can be done we must get home. We drive roughly two miles and we see the lights of the State Trooper who is pulling us over. Our caravan stops. At this point Lindsey is thoroughly unhappy and frankly screaming her head off. Her shaw is in the other car. At this point though I am hoping that the screaming will help the officer make his decision to just let us go. We sit patiently trying to calm Lindsey. The officer returns five minutes later to give us a warning (Whew) and I run to the other car to retrieve the much needed security item. We get "home" to the nice house Michael and JoAnne have arranged, drop our bags and head over to their house for a few snacks and some much needed adult beverages. At 11:45 pm we head back to "our" house for the evening. My sister needs her glasses and contact stuff which had been put in my pretty Java Blue Vera Bradley bag. John reaches in and pulls out some nice snowflake blankets and some Vitamin water. Ummm, guys, I didn't have Vitamin Water. There is no way this can be happening to me. This is not my bag. All of the stockings my Mom made by hand for each of us was in that bag. Uggggg!!!! After composing myself, I look for something with a name. Her wallet is there! (Seriously, why would you put your wallet with cash and a checkbook on a cart for anyone to handle? I mean thank you for doing it, but I wouldn't do it myself. I am guessing she was just tired like we were.) The cell phone on her check is off. We look them up in the phonebook and I make the call at 12:15 am. She answers and is happy to hear we have her bag. We agree to exchange bags at 8 am. I sleep through the knock at 8 am, but thankfully my sister makes the exchange and accepts the homemade cookies the nice lady brings us.

So, now it is 11:15 am and I am sitting here enjoying a cup of coffee with Rosemary and Robert. Everyone else is still asleep. Yes, even Lindsey is asleep.

Although this trip has been full of craziness I am thankful to be here. I am thankful to be with my family, thankful to God that he helped us get through here safely. I will end with a quote from my oldest nephew Robert, "This is the best trip ever!"