tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78542180906224144912024-03-18T01:03:29.129-05:00the sassy shackSarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.comBlogger1301125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-91449584199868972882016-07-26T17:40:00.001-05:002016-07-26T17:40:12.706-05:00solo swimSometimes following a mid-afternoon thunderstorm you find yourselves alone at the pool. Are we the crazy ones--or is everyone else who missed this opportunity?<div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHyWXcap3kNe8QWBAbzCD-WUgW0tbMQTWCREpj7RPdYKqU7PnRzFNJgpD7Wcv9S59CVT-K_dm1WcqVmWY_FsvJEwC43VDkFuT0zyIKyM7Srsf4EZNXC2TAliTomjg350hyAgH0j63T1Ry_/s640/blogger-image--700538669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHyWXcap3kNe8QWBAbzCD-WUgW0tbMQTWCREpj7RPdYKqU7PnRzFNJgpD7Wcv9S59CVT-K_dm1WcqVmWY_FsvJEwC43VDkFuT0zyIKyM7Srsf4EZNXC2TAliTomjg350hyAgH0j63T1Ry_/s640/blogger-image--700538669.jpg"></a></div></div>Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-88722869386041883712016-07-22T20:23:00.000-05:002016-07-22T20:23:06.599-05:00greetings from rio<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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This week Scout turned six and Alex took off to Rio for the 2016 Summer Olympics (we know--it's winter there). I've been slightly over-scheduling myself the past couple of weeks, and it wasn't until I sat down to write this post that I realized the first day of school is exactly one month away!!</div>
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I didn't realize how incredibly busy our summer would be as I took on more paid photography gigs and unpaid volunteer responsibilities. Since we've returned from Wisconsin, Catcher and Scout have finished two weeks of piano camp, and Scout and Tillie have completed the first of two weeks of swimming lessons. I've created countless spreadsheets for Vacation Bible School (one of my non-paying gigs) and completed a four-hour "board training" for my other non-paying endeavor with Inherit Austin. I've also had a trio of photo shoots, two meetings for my (paid) teaching job and a partridge in a pear tree. I'm not bragging or complaining...just laying out the reasons why my blog posts continue to be spotty at best.</div>
Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-10893463058677784002016-07-18T20:42:00.000-05:002016-07-18T20:42:38.523-05:00summer days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The house was quiet except for the little voices directing one another where to go and what to say. It was an elaborate game of imaginary play--the complexities of which I couldn't even begin to explain to you--which led these three goofballs onto their parents' bed for a king-sized wrestling match. The match was tame (by children wrestling on their parents' bed standards) and this time laughter only led to greater laughter (and not tears as is often the danger with children's wrestling matches).</div>
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These are the moments that I choose to remember from this summer; not the tears at the dinner table or the meltdown over Legos or the temper tantrum while leaving the pool. The children played so nicely this day, in fact, I forgot all about my "summer schedule" and realized that building lasting relationships with your siblings is more important than 30 minutes of XtraMath. Scout may not remember that she dressed up like a ballerina stuck in a 70s-era futuristic space film, but collectively I hope they remember that all those summer days weren't as <i>boring</i> as they thought at the time. And I'll have the picture to prove it...</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-55720423286615940432016-07-12T20:35:00.000-05:002016-07-12T20:35:48.742-05:00the safety nap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The biggest takeaway from the Wheat Family Lake Vacation also happens to be the favorite new buzz word(s) for Alex and me: safety nap. I'll back this up to let you know 1) the definition and 2) how we arrived there.</div>
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If there is one thing that transcends childhood; one thing that rings true across gender and socio-economic lines, it's this: kids love firemen (and fire trucks and fire engines--I now know the difference between those two--and fire stations). Lucky for the Wheat family, Alex has a cousin who is a firefighter in the suburbs of Chicago, IL. On our great midwestern adventure this summer, he invited us to spend the afternoon at the firehouse, where we got an insider's tour (complete with a lesson on how to attack, er <i>spray</i>, your siblings with the firehose. And I'm not sure who had more fun with the firehose--the kids or Alex.</div>
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We learned the difference between a fire <i>truck</i> and a fire <i>engine</i> (the former is the one you see with the giant ladder on top; the latter is what supplies the water). The kids got to honk the engine's ear-splitting horn while sitting in the driver's seat and took a short ride from the garage out into the driveway. We learned all about the fireman's uniform and what's inside the pockets as cousin Erik put on all 45 pounds of his gear for our enrichment. And we learned about the safety nap. Because firemen work a 24-hour shift (24 on, 48 off if you're curious), they're required to take a "safety nap" during the day in case they get a call in the middle of the night. Therefore, safety nap is forever embedded in our lexicon; however, don't tell Tillie it's time for a safety nap--when it is indeed <i>time for a safety nap</i>--because she might stomp her feet and scream "I hate safety naps!" at the top of her lungs.</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-38185787215120908612016-06-28T19:10:00.000-05:002016-06-28T19:10:31.439-05:00beach babes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The beaches on along the gulf shore in Texas may not be the most picturesque, but when you have three kids, a bunch of sand, a bucket, a boogie board and some waves, the possibilities are endless. Add to that an additional 24 adults and 24 children, and you have yourself one crazy beach party.</div>
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This past weekend our family, along with 12 others in which Catcher was <i>the oldest child present</i>, braved the town of Port Aransas, TX where the sea lice attacked the boogie boarders in the water and the sea gulls attacked any child with a kernel of popcorn on the shore. Why would we punish ourselves in such a way, you may ask? To be honest, the trip is more than just a social experiment. It's a social gathering of our Sunday school class that has evolved into this wild tradition; I would be bummed if we had to miss it.</div>
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Every year someone is pregnant or about to be pregnant or somebody's baby is having his/her first trip to the beach. We share laughter and tears (the tears mostly belong to the children, but sometimes the ladies get emotional after a couple bottles of wine). There's always some guy drinking butter on the guys night out, and the women have to wait an hour for a table at the only "decent" restaurant in town when they get their own night away from the madness. You return home sunburned and bloated--because someone insists on bringing a year's worth of Doritos along, which you <i>just can't resist </i>no matter how "healthy" you are on a day-to-day basis--and discover sand everywhere. But establishing tradition is great for the little ones, and you just can't beat the feeling of parental solidarity. Because we're all in this crazy thing together--let's try to make it fun while we can.</div>
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Next up for the Wheat family? A lake vacation in the great state of Wisconsin (I'm labeling our "vacations" this year as beach, lake, mountains). I'll be off the grid for the next 10 days, which means I'm not bringing my computer along, so you should expect to see something from me by the end of July with the way I've been keeping up (or not) with the blogging lately. In the meantime, enjoy these lovely pictures of the Texas gulf coast, and try not to judge if your own beach vacation includes waters that are slightly less brown in color:</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-57983188281647008492016-06-17T20:34:00.001-05:002016-06-17T20:34:40.672-05:00summer jobWhat's summer without a proper summer job? At the risk of becoming "bored" this summer while on a teaching hiatus (or perhaps in an attempt to escape my day job as a mom), I have taken on a new role as real estate photographer. Jill of many trades; master of none.<div><br></div><div>The opportunity to "expand my portfolio," if you will, came about as my realtor left her former company and started her own. She needs content for her new blog and asked if I would be interested in photographing some spaces for her. One thing led to another, and today I tackled my first "interiors" photography gig. It was a challenging one, in short, that required some staging on my part, but I think I worked it out. When I got home and showed the kids my proofs this afternoon, Scout wanted to know why this girl had "all the same stuff in her house that we have." I'm new here...limited resources.<br><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCDw7Joivkdz5N_5jAjNmjsdaVEABhu4mXvAFTc_9PHZxLuZdzgXcsQcn60mxi8k_0-sGBN9KpTVdAsr1ohbMibPLq6Xr1vRC2Uk4PRQjgkFpIMD-NrmCVhJMlfIbLKXAP8uhE3ZOKnbA/s640/blogger-image--1288476802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCDw7Joivkdz5N_5jAjNmjsdaVEABhu4mXvAFTc_9PHZxLuZdzgXcsQcn60mxi8k_0-sGBN9KpTVdAsr1ohbMibPLq6Xr1vRC2Uk4PRQjgkFpIMD-NrmCVhJMlfIbLKXAP8uhE3ZOKnbA/s640/blogger-image--1288476802.jpg"></a></div><br></div></div>Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-30180593226394196162016-06-13T19:56:00.000-05:002016-06-13T19:56:54.206-05:00quiet time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We made it! One week of summer break down. Only 10 to go! Ten sounds like a lot; I'm not sure why I exclamation-marked that sentence. Especially when I think about all that we did last week. <i>In one week</i>. Here's a short list just off the top of my head:</div>
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- 5 trips to the gym</div>
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- 1 trip to the pool</div>
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- 2 trips to the splash pad</div>
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- 1 kindergarten end-of-the-school-year/we-love-our-class-so-much-we-can't-say-goodbye party</div>
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- 2 sleepovers</div>
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- 1 mother-son date night to the Austin symphony (dessert included)</div>
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- 2 trips to the airport</div>
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- 1 visit from the rodent guy to seal up the holes in crawl space that he missed <b><i>the first nine times he came to our house</i></b></div>
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- 1 make-your-own pizza night</div>
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- 2 school work days (for me)</div>
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- 1 high school graduation</div>
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- 1 major house cleaning with 3 children actively participating (one gets the mop, one gets the duster and one gets the toilet brush)</div>
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- and a partridge in a pear tree</div>
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We also had our fair share of downtime, and I will humbly accept my award for <i>greatest idea ever</i> with our summer schedule that hangs proudly on the refrigerator. Don't think I'm kidding myself that things will always go this smoothly (in fact, not included in the tally above are the mini-tantrums suffered throughout the week because there are too many of those to count), but the schedule honestly keeps off the pressure of coming up with <i>something to do everyday</i>. Thus, I will allow myself to bask in my self-made glory until things come crashing down upon me and I find myself in tears rocking back in forth in some corner of the house during week 11...or perhaps week five.</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-68624600012359364402016-06-04T20:42:00.001-05:002016-06-04T20:42:43.351-05:00last day/first day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Thursday was the last day of school--and by the looks of Catcher's handmade sign, he could use a little summer "scoolh" to work on his spelling--which made yesterday the first day of summer break. By 10:00am I had changed all the beds and washed the sheets, the kids had eaten breakfast <i>and</i> a morning snack, we had played (but not finished) a game of Monopoly, the girls had played two rounds of dress up and three rounds of Go Fish and Catcher had started <i>and finished</i> the [chapter] book his second grade teachers gave him as an end-of-year gift.</div>
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By 2:00pm, after an hour trip out and back to the school where I teach along with a rambunctious lunch at Whole Foods, I had come up with what might be my greatest idea to date. We'll wait and see how the summer shakes out to confirm and/or deny this bold statement, but let me share a bit of my genius with you...</div>
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After the 12 zillion activities we got ourselves into and out of the morning of our first day of summer break, I realized that 1) I can't live like this and 2) I <i>really</i> can't live like this. I was thinking of all the "enrichment" we need to keep up with over the summer--reading, math, piano, etc.--and how we could work this into our regular day. Our "regular" day also has to included outdoor recreation and plenty of swimming because t<i>hese kids need to learn how to swim this summer</i>. Before I knew it, I was mapping out a schedule in my head, so I called in my bossy-rule-maker-organizer guy and asked him if he could help me make a summer schedule. [Hint: kids <i>love</i> to do stuff like this; it gives them ownership, and they think they're the ones who came up with the idea in the first place, which makes them much more likely to actually follow the schedule.]</div>
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Now...I'm not totally crazy and regimented (says the woman who came up with the idea of a planned summer schedule), so what we came up with has large blocks of time and plenty of wiggle room for improvising on the spot. It's also a M-F calendar like school because that's something the little ones can understand. Just to give you an idea of what our day looks like, in the morning there is breakfast followed by quiet reflection--i.e. Mom's coffee time--and then morning recreation. There's a weekly rotation of cooking, art, board games and errands. There are math, reading and music blocks every day and afternoon outdoor recess. We even made time for "entertainment" every day, which sounds fun and exciting but could simply mean turning on the TV.</div>
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More than anything, I think this plan will serve as a weapon when the kids come to me with a resounding chorus of "I'm bored!" I can simply point to the schedule and say, "Oh. It's 1:00 and you're bored? According to our schedule you should be practicing piano right now." There's no flaw in this, right? It's totally going to be smooth sailing this summer. And hopefully by the end of it all Catcher will be able to spell school.</div>
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The last day of school 2015-2016 (or "dress like your sibling day). It isn't <i>really</i> dress like your sibling day, but it is rainbow day. And it turns out that these siblings have matching tie dyed shirts, which they acquired during their respective stints in kindergarten. I'm hoping Catcher's will fit him all the way through the fifth grade.</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-70543628447297661082016-05-30T20:06:00.000-05:002016-05-30T20:06:29.553-05:00forty is the new forty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I gambled big, and I <i>won</i>. There were so many things that could have gone wrong in planning Alex's surprise 40th birthday party--starting with the guest of honor not being there himself--but everything went off without a hitch! Alex was genuinely surprised and never stumbled upon the liquor I had hidden in my closet or the tortilla chips in the back of our kitchen cabinet. Whenever the old guy ends up wearing gold Mardi Gras beads and a pink hat at the end of the night, you know you did a decent job. My only regret is not getting more photos of the action, but that just means I was too busy enjoying myself. Sometimes you need to put the camera down and have fun.</div>
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This is a list to remind my future self (in case she ever thinks of throwing a surprise party again) of the potentially disastrous hiccups that could have happened along the way:</div>
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1. Alex would not be here for his own party. Three weeks before the big event, I made the executive decision to move ahead with his party and have it the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. This was a weekend he was scheduled to work, and I had to gamble that he would be home by Saturday night. He did not get confirmation of his travel schedule until the Monday before the party. That's <i>five days before the party</i>. And if that wasn't stressful enough, I found out on Friday night at 11:00pm that if Oklahoma had lost its softball game, which it won by <i>one run</i>, there would have been a third game on Saturday at 5:00pm (in Oklahoma) that Alex would have had to work. If that's too confusing, the point is that he/we got lucky. </div>
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2. Alex would not have friends at his party. His birthday always falls on Memorial Day weekend. People travel that weekend, so the odds that our friends would be out of town were stacked against us. It turns out, however, that our friends must be just as boring as we are because most of them were here and made it to the party.</div>
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3. Alex would not have any food to eat at his party. Last minute RSVP's jacked up my numbers after I had ordered all the tacos. My mother-in-law came to the rescue, however, with a tamale run that saved the day. There was plenty to eat...and drink!</div>
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4. Alex would not have a decent margarita at his party. The bartender that I hired for the event told me she had never made a margarita before "except the frozen kind." Girl. This is Texas. If you're a bartender who doesn't know how to make a margarita, you're in the wrong business. I had it under control though. Because even though I don't make the margaritas in my house, I <i>know how</i> to make the margaritas in my house.</div>
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5. Alex would have to stay huddled in our tiny house with 35 of his closest friends at his party. It rained the day before the party. And the day before that. And the day before that. There were flash floods and tornado watches. But Saturday was hot and sunny--a little humid for my taste, but I couldn't complain because we were able to spread ourselves out in the back yard and order drinks from the bartender who didn't know balnco from reposado.</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-7703578674406472172016-05-26T20:47:00.000-05:002016-05-26T20:47:52.933-05:00it's a black (and white) thing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I wish I had taken more "before" pictures of what our house looked like when we bought it, because it was <i>so much uglier</i> than I remember in my mind. Take our hall bathroom, for example. What you can't see in this picture is how the top of the pedestal sink was precariously balanced on its pedestal (or perhaps you can see it...look at the gap). The toilet leaked and a warning scribbled in pencil on a piece of paper wrapped around it--look closely--told us not to flush. And the tile? Blech!</div>
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Alex got his demo on so quickly in this mess of a room that by the time I arrived with my camera it was stripped down to its stinky bones (uneven floor and all). I watch a lot of <i>Fixer Upper</i> on HGTV, so I was psyched to see the shiplap Alex had uncovered. I wanted to salvage it as an accent wall, but, alas, it was not meant to be. It only covered about 2/3 of the wall and didn't make its way all the way over to the shower tile. We were on a tight deadline--remember how we had to walk outdoors to use the restroom for a week or so?--so I let my dreams of shiplap flutter away.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2L7nK2yhyphenhyphen2svHHnc43fYE6nVsNLf3WMkPK50qnHHzYfZClO6V6LCypPY_tKy3dGNaKsb1OGJwKuKkigDYQv25dfxuyQiyhgYWM7qls5-tAUnuj4XwMsnpG_vLjpEVfWgk-7pY7RbfnYwZ/s1600/IMG_2132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2L7nK2yhyphenhyphen2svHHnc43fYE6nVsNLf3WMkPK50qnHHzYfZClO6V6LCypPY_tKy3dGNaKsb1OGJwKuKkigDYQv25dfxuyQiyhgYWM7qls5-tAUnuj4XwMsnpG_vLjpEVfWgk-7pY7RbfnYwZ/s640/IMG_2132.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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This is a photo I snapped on my phone the day the tile was laid. Happy. Happy. Joy. Joy. In the end, I took the black and white theme as far as I could starting with the black hexagon floor tile and white subway tile with black grout. You can't see it from the pictures here, but the white shower curtain has a thick black border at the bottom. The top 2/3 of the bathroom is painted white while the bottom 1/3 is black with an accent rugby stripe that wraps around the entire room. It wasn't until Alex uncovered our weird Elvis photograph while unpacking the casita, however, that the room really came together. I love it so much I would almost shower in there myself.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir851VvUvL3CaYiQhHuKjuELgmMho4SqiprtXS0tAIVk3tL645UjEAaYCr21vOnKjJ8xjigtPNeAUhKeTuaB5gaRjBLZwHEUqBJuTrHpPSdM06yuzmdVYIBWuKoYVfiBm-LvyAlZgYUM2P/s1600/DSC_0031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir851VvUvL3CaYiQhHuKjuELgmMho4SqiprtXS0tAIVk3tL645UjEAaYCr21vOnKjJ8xjigtPNeAUhKeTuaB5gaRjBLZwHEUqBJuTrHpPSdM06yuzmdVYIBWuKoYVfiBm-LvyAlZgYUM2P/s640/DSC_0031.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-37360898545540612882016-05-25T20:22:00.001-05:002016-05-25T20:22:56.736-05:00the butterfly effect<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm glad that I've been given the gift of having houses "speak" to me because, looking back, our tiny hallway had nothing going for it when we bought this place. Except that arch. It was the arch that spoke to me, and I knew I could glam it up with our antique chandelier and an accent wall. </div>
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I knew from the start the wall needed wallpaper. I also knew that after Alex and I "experimented" in hanging wallpaper ourselves when I was six months pregnant at our house in Charlotte, this time I would call in the experts. Factoring in the labor costs associated with my "vision," I had to do some thrifting to find the solution that would bring it to life. The result was a remnant roll of fancy Osborne & Little wallpaper that I found on eBay for about one-third of the retail price. You can find everything on eBay; I swear by it.</div>
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So once again, I give you a space that went from totally drab to totally fab. Actually...strike that for a moment. If our bar cart were completely stocked the hallway would be totally fab. Right now it's just so-so fab. </div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-29453448202913710522016-05-22T21:28:00.000-05:002016-05-22T21:28:11.917-05:00first splash of the season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's May in Texas, so that means the splash pads are open. This morning the Wheat children celebrated the beginning of another hot summer season at a birthday party for one of Scout's kinder buddies at the Pease Park splash pad. This was a party I was actually happy to attend (I've become very discriminating after dragging <i>three kids</i> to birthday parties for the last four years) because it was at 10:00am, and the party planners served coffee and breakfast tacos. The kids stayed busy ducking in and out of water shoots, blowing bubbles and drying off on the adjoining playground. The parents stayed busy drinking coffee and gossiping on the sideline (or was that just me?).</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-53928895025434862392016-05-21T21:29:00.000-05:002016-05-21T21:29:06.302-05:00my balls look better<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hey guys, guess what! I have a picture of our house to show you!</div>
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I think my contractor said it best when he asked me "Where do you get these ideas of yours?" I wish I had the answer--or maybe I don't because it makes me sound "artsy" and "creative" to design on the fly--but honestly sometimes things just pop into my head. When it comes to most things in life, I am not spontaneous, and I am <i>not</i> a "fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal" (even though that is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies).</div>
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In regular (non-decorating) life I like to make plans, and I don't mind if those plans change as long as someone gives me advanced notice of those plans changing. I <i>do not</i> fly by the seat of my pants. In decorating, however, I <i>do</i> fly by the seat of my pants. Except the phrase I like to use, which is arguably odder and perhaps sounds clairvoyant, is that something "spoke to me." I don't have a problem hearing these decorating voices, but they kind of drive Alex crazy when he doesn't get the memo that now we're painting the dining room ceiling black, for instance.</div>
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Me: I don't know. I'm into this black thing right now. I just want to paint the ceiling black.</div>
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Alex: You said everything in the house was going to be white.</div>
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Me: I know, but that was before.</div>
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Alex: Before what?</div>
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Me: I don't know. I'm just feeling the black right now. I'm into the whole contrast. Just don't ask me. Whatever. Paint it black.</div>
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Alex: [Eyes rolling behind my back. No words, but he's thinking "crazy bitch."]</div>
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So this is what happened that time I bought black paint for the interior doors (that was part of the original plan, by the way) and then we painted the fireplace (on the fly decision because it was speaking to me)...</div>
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The dining room went from drab:</div>
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To fab:</div>
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The balls are another story that involves one dropping from the ceiling and hitting Alex in the head before shattering on the dining room table. "At least it didn't happen to one of the children," is what I said. "That's what happens when you buy stuff from China on eBay," was Alex's take on the situation. Either way, we got a replacement (from China on eBay) and then blew out the socket when we hung it for the second time. "I really don't care. They look nicer than those other crap-ass lights," I said. "It would be nice if they worked," countered Alex. #formoverfunction</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-54545037885186229182016-05-13T21:11:00.001-05:002016-05-13T22:19:12.533-05:00some days you winand some days you lose. I'm pretty sure I lost today. I know that because I found this note left by Catcher on my beside table:<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBoNFay8eBFTpClqPhA2vRRKsDCNMsKAewVmdhvE4hmJgm7w8dkGsVaH1sTeNv7DoskdUrjh3HUWhWpwRkPx_h0AiXCgi_TueakHJL8wqkI2OIrzUNUE2eIi_J-rTqPQHjXG6kOl3WfAz/s640/blogger-image-748661470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBoNFay8eBFTpClqPhA2vRRKsDCNMsKAewVmdhvE4hmJgm7w8dkGsVaH1sTeNv7DoskdUrjh3HUWhWpwRkPx_h0AiXCgi_TueakHJL8wqkI2OIrzUNUE2eIi_J-rTqPQHjXG6kOl3WfAz/s640/blogger-image-748661470.jpg"></a></div><br></div>Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-1819416127934649342016-05-09T21:56:00.000-05:002016-05-09T21:56:39.900-05:00rainy day mom's day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfT2aG29Zx0rOrN8pi7NkC85VfeGKtWNrcuX8QVTNr7X8M3qYNGnPS9NlHjT5Zt5hydHwd4MpKgSVmLnZUVhUFKpFEgC-xR7Zin8uiKwiBayWHibBtwm4wGho315ufNPW8d8OFFi3o56P/s1600/DSC_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfT2aG29Zx0rOrN8pi7NkC85VfeGKtWNrcuX8QVTNr7X8M3qYNGnPS9NlHjT5Zt5hydHwd4MpKgSVmLnZUVhUFKpFEgC-xR7Zin8uiKwiBayWHibBtwm4wGho315ufNPW8d8OFFi3o56P/s640/DSC_0001.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
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Alex had big plans for Mother's Day this year. Or maybe he didn't, but he convinced me that he did. His plans, unfortunately, were derailed by the unexpected rain we experienced on that most blessed day for moms. So instead we had a taco brunch at our favorite neighborhood taco joint--they have $2 Bloody Marys on Sundays, so that's a win--and then we came home and watched the kids play in the gutter in their bathing suits.</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-25724675215769187682016-05-07T19:35:00.000-05:002016-05-07T19:35:12.626-05:00another season in the books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And just like that Scout's soccer season is over. This spring the Black Panthers (yes, that's the name Scout's U6 team picked out for itself) dominated on the field. I'm kidding; watching five year-olds play soccer is almost as amusing as watching four year-olds. However, the team was excited to be back together for its second straight season, and the little guys had fun out there.</div>
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The most exciting thing for the parents was our group decision <i>not</i> to provide after-game snacks. We opted instead for halftime oranges, and I have to tell you how much this improved my soccer Saturdays. Instead of having my two children--the two who did not participate in the game--screaming and whining about snacks, snacks, snacks and grabbing with their greedy little paws for players' snacks, we were able to exit the soccer field with little drama. And no one crashed from a post-8:00am game sugar rush at 9:00 in the morning. It's the little victories that count.</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-27891880053203938342016-05-04T20:52:00.001-05:002016-05-04T20:52:58.405-05:00i need the force<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-dS3Mii2WF-QpqUuWR-xZ8VSxqD_kV1l0MoEFuQm6-Ee6EqgZN6pitHvkhSGnC730B1S_AOTl9wAeR8wc8ncnDuMOYBR7x2nZParlz2DgsFOx9e930J-d71WKiKDh05iIVYbZ0SKO5CE/s640/blogger-image--814055085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-dS3Mii2WF-QpqUuWR-xZ8VSxqD_kV1l0MoEFuQm6-Ee6EqgZN6pitHvkhSGnC730B1S_AOTl9wAeR8wc8ncnDuMOYBR7x2nZParlz2DgsFOx9e930J-d71WKiKDh05iIVYbZ0SKO5CE/s640/blogger-image--814055085.jpg" /></a></div>
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Let me take you inside the journey of a mom who wanted to treat her nerdy Star Wars-crazed children to an afternoon of fun on May the 4th, which any respectable Star Wars fan (do they have a name for themselves, by the way, like Trekkies?) knows is national--or perhaps international--Star Wars day.</div>
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Immediately after picking up the children from school this afternoon, we headed over to our local vegan ice cream joint (because who doesn't love vegan ice cream when it's sunny and 84 in Austin?) and then on to the public library for its Star Wars Day celebration. While images of Star Wars-shaped cookies and a library filled with characters danced in the children's heads, the reality of a Star Wars party held at your local public library did not live up to the hype.</div>
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Instead of Chewbacca or some other equally charming character greeting us at the door, we were shuffled into a small, carpeted florescent-lit room where 50 other children, in various iterations of Star Wars garb, were already crowded around folding tables littered with the makings of do-it-yourself Star Wars crafts. There was a "Make Your Own Light Saber" table along with "Build a Droid." There was also a Darth Vader puzzle that, when complete, would reveal the secret hiding place of a secret prize. If all this sounds like fun, then I'm painting a picture that is too flattering.</div>
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This party was not fun. My children told me so. It was "boring" and there was "nothing to do." There weren't any of the cookies that Catcher had promised himself in his head. There weren't life-sized photographs of Star Wars characters lining the library walls, as Scout had imagined. There wasn't even a Star Wars character scavenger hunt like Tillie thought there would be. Instead there were a bunch of <i>other</i> children using up all the supplies for making your own light saber and taking up all the slots in the Jedi competition games. The horror!</div>
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All of this commotion brought each of my three children to tears--for his or her own reasons--as we were crowded in that little room with stinky kids and weird parents who had actually dressed <i>themselves</i> as Star Wars characters. After Catcher yelled at <i>me</i> because his name was allegedly skipped in the Jedi competition order, I made the executive decision that it was time to cut our losses and get the heck out of dodge. This did not go over well with my comrades. Now instead of being cramped inside a poorly lit room in the public library, I found myself walking through the library with three crying, screaming children and Scout throwing her light saber at the glass entry door (don't stress: it was made of foam; the organizers must have seen this type of resistance coming).</div>
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When we finally made it to the car, after cries of everything being my fault and a round or two of "You're the worst mom in the universe," Catcher ripped apart his own light saber with his bare hands (remember, just foam here) and proceeded to yell at the girls the entire way home because, ironically, they were crying and he wanted them to be quiet. I think this will go down as one of my most unpleasant car driving experiences ever. Honestly, I'm just happy we made it home without getting in an accident. It is <i>very distracting</i> having three children trying to out-scream one another in the car. And believe it or not, I don't think this story captures even half of the real-life turmoil. Don't let these sweet faces fool you.</div>
Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-88601935177368494072016-04-27T22:57:00.001-05:002016-05-04T19:41:17.222-05:00pic of the week<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVRrKewTNxclXAI4Zqyl_sHEwvhCwuoU1siaBHCfAJj7wwlG3jtdbVf_f0d-YBPL0Ll4WvSlmr5a2CamwcRR5xz_WdnPwGwHsSfmzjsPmUv8pJmHGUsf54tExj0V2F_R29GYZR1hWOYkg/s640/blogger-image-59906343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVRrKewTNxclXAI4Zqyl_sHEwvhCwuoU1siaBHCfAJj7wwlG3jtdbVf_f0d-YBPL0Ll4WvSlmr5a2CamwcRR5xz_WdnPwGwHsSfmzjsPmUv8pJmHGUsf54tExj0V2F_R29GYZR1hWOYkg/s640/blogger-image-59906343.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">When I happen upon a photo opportunity like the one above, I caption it "They're always like this."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">P.S. I just came across this draft and realized I never published it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">P.P.S. They are not always like this.</div>Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-85155962582431576472016-04-24T20:57:00.000-05:002016-04-24T20:57:25.221-05:00the wee olympics, part 2Meanwhile, in second grade...<br />
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Or--as it turns out to be the most exciting event I've photographed at Lee Olympics the past three years--the <i>Tug-of-War Files</i>. Put me on the sideline of a soccer or lacrosse game any day of the week, and I'll stand there quietly while my child and his/her teammates run up and down the field. Put me on the sideline of an intense tug-of-war match, however, and I'll be the loudest one out there. Unless Alex happens to be standing next to me...<br />
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P.S. Is it me, or does Catcher seem a little too relaxed for the level of intensity that's required in a serious game of tug-of-war?<br />
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-40337191430822942922016-04-23T21:17:00.000-05:002016-04-23T21:17:30.109-05:00the wee olympics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Friday, after a week of heavy downpours and thunderstorms, the sun shone brightly on the campus of Lee Elementary School for its annual Lee Olympics (you might remember such an event as "Field Day" when you were a wee one). In honor of Scout's inaugural year as a Lee Olympian, I give you the many faces of Scout (including excited face, game face, proud face and perhaps a couple other unique expressions):<br />
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And then we have our action shots...</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-53544005908377523332016-04-15T19:32:00.000-05:002016-04-15T19:32:10.641-05:00chalk it up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the better ideas I've had, in my humble opinion, was covering our hideous refrigerator (pictured above) in chalkboard paint. The fridge is old, loud, rusted and the doors stick. There's also a weird spill/stain covering the bottom shelf, which I try to ignore every time I'm in there reaching for something, but buying a refrigerator isn't in the plans right now. Part of the reason is I want to wait until "Phase 2" of our renovation, when we tackle the kitchen, because I will probably change my mind 100 times before we get there. Or rather, I will definitely change my mind 100 times. I simply can't make a commitment to a refrigerator that may or may not fit the design scheme of my future kitchen. In the meantime, I needed and inexpensive fix because starting at that beige box was driving me insane!</div>
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It turns out that a simple coat (two actually) of chalkboard paint and the imagination of your children is all you need to spruce up the ugliest appliance in the house. I no longer shudder when I walk into the kitchen, and the sticking doors don't bother me quite as much as they used to. The weird spill still grosses me out, but it's on the bottom shelf, which I never use anyway, and I figure staying the course of ignoring it will eventually make it go away...right?</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-86360266028947494392016-04-14T20:02:00.000-05:002016-04-14T20:02:05.079-05:00sporty sunday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Somehow we made it 2/3 of the way into lacrosse season without my having watched a game. By some crazy stroke of luck, Alex was home the <i>one</i> Sunday in March and the <i>one</i> Sunday in April that Catcher had games an hour outside of Austin. Alex took Scout along on the first outing, and I stayed home with Tillie who was sick at the time. The second time around, the boys bonded doing boy things (like hitting each other with sticks) while the girls and I stayed home and bonded doing girl things (like reading quietly and acting otherwise civilized). Last weekend, however, it was a family affair as we trudged out to hill country for a Sunday fun-day of mini lacrosse.</div>
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I gave the girls pedicures when they got bored, and then I gave them snacks (mom bribe) so I could actually observe some of the action on the field. Catcher isn't the smallest guy out there this year (he's close), but he does have bright pink shoes so I can always spot him from the sideline. </div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-27678840649113687292016-04-07T21:10:00.000-05:002016-04-07T21:10:20.817-05:00down on the farm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Last week when a fellow second-grade mom and I found ourselves with nothing better to do on a Monday morning, we decided to crash our sons' field trip to Crowe's Nest Farm just outside of Austin. It was the best of both worlds: we weren't official chaperones, so we didn't have to come and go within the scheduling confines of the field trip, and we got to surprise our children (Catcher was excited to see me, despite the look on his face in the picture below).</div>
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My friend and I ditched the field trip just before lunch in favor of raw oysters at an East side hipster joint over sacked lunches on the farm, but it was funny how the conversation over bloody Marys (it was her birthday--we had to celebrate!) turned to "what was your favorite thing about the farm?" A conversation that I'm sure was mirrored on the picnic tables at Crowe's Nest. For the record, watching the farmer milk a cow was my favorite part. And the baby pig. And the llamas. Llamas are cute. The giant pig was pretty cool, too. Oh...I almost forgot about the turkeys...</div>
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-62942510769366455802016-04-06T22:11:00.001-05:002016-04-06T22:11:52.854-05:00sometimes we're fancy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Before we reach the outer limit of time when it becomes inappropriately late to post Easter pictures, here's a few of the little ones and me all dressed up on Easter Sunday. Alex was on a plane returning to Austin when these photos were taken, so he missed our church's annual butterfly release on the Capitol grounds.<br />
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Our family's butterfly, which I'm pretty sure was a moth, was quite spritely this year and took off before I could get a decent photo. The little guys are usually stunned when they first come out of their envelopes (I'm still not clear on how that whole process works), but ours was ready to see the world.<br />
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854218090622414491.post-77269262152136907172016-04-05T22:55:00.001-05:002016-04-05T22:55:09.262-05:00always find a studDisclaimer: I started this blog post about a week ago. I don't know. I've lost track of time, but when you read "this morning" below, it wasn't actually <i>this morning</i>.<br />
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This morning I was feeling quite pleased with myself because it was the first time in my adult life that I had a true walk-in closet (and it happened before I turn 40!). I was so overjoyed and that I had one of those "I feel like a character from <i>Sex in the City"</i> moments, to which only girls of a certain age can relate, as I placed my first pair of shoes in my new closet. With great gusto--and alone with my dramatic devices--I anointed my favorite pair of shoes (white Birkenstocks, obviously) queen of the closet. It was a Carrie Bradshaw meets Austin wannabe hippie mom moment.<br />
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Several hours later; however, the moment came crashing down. Literally. But let me back up a for a second. I neglected to tell you that the night <i>before</i> I became a true adult with a closet, Alex and I stayed up until 3:00am assembling that closet. It was someone's brilliant idea to start the project around 10:00pm when the children were sound asleep and the wine was flowing because anyone who has ever tried to renovate a house will tell you you get <i>nothing</i> done with children around. And wine makes home projects more fun. Do you see what a great idea this was?<br />
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The only setbacks were 1) we don't have a functioning light in our bedroom, which made reading directions a little tricky and 2) it was 10:00pm and the wine was flowing when someone decided to embark upon this project. I'm that someone, by the way, and I stand by my decision.<br />
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Back to the crash the following day: some time around mid-afternoon I heard a suspicious noise from our bedroom. It sounded too loud to be any sort of rodent activity, so I checked it out without hesitation. When I looked in the closet I discovered one of our sturdy hanging units had separated itself from the wall. It could have been a disaster, but luckily the other screws were holding on for dear life and kept the shelves and hanging rod afloat. Apparently Alex and I had missed a stud--even after my big joke of the night where I referred to myself as the true "stud finder"--when we were screwing the hanging thing (that's what you call it at 2:00 in the morning) into the wall.<br />
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I should note that the endangered shelves and a hanging rod had already been meticulously organized by me. Even going off three hours of sleep, I can organize a closet; however, my spirit may not have recovered if I had had to witness my day's work strewn recklessly about. That would not have been a <i>Sex in the City</i> moment.<br />
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Sarah Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00947953233889712962noreply@blogger.com0