Thursday, June 30, 2011

This "bytes"...

We try to do the right thing around here when it comes to parenting.

You know what I mean...have our kids eat healthy, do physical activity, read books, and stay away from too much technology.

I want to talk about technology today.  On my blog.  Oh, the irony.

Anyway, we have tried to limit the role technology plays in the lives of our kids.  Sure, we watch some Nick Jr. around here.  And yes, perhaps for longer than the recommended 30 minutes.  There are times I like to shower and make dinner in peace.

I just reread that.  I don't make dinner while showering at the same time.  Just so you know.

Anyway, they don't own video gaming devices, we don't have kid games on our iPhones, etc.  I know those things will come, but for right now they are only 4 and 15 months old.  We can color, read books, or play "I Spy" when we have to wait somewhere.  They love this, and so I feel like we are doing a good job. 

And then I saw this...


My daughter thinks she's an Apple product.

Steve Jobs-1/ Shene'-0

Friday, June 24, 2011

Family and Friends

Whew.  It's been too long since I last blogged.

I have been busy doing two things:  sweating and checking things off of our summer list.

One of those things is a lot more fun than the other.

We really started our summer by visiting Corpus Christi, our hometown.  It is also the hometown of Whataburger.  I felt like I needed to mention that because that is CC's claim to fame.  And Whataburger is delicious.

We went down for the weekend to celebrate our mothers, who are both now unemployed and fancy free!  After 30+ years in education as a Speech-Language Pathologist, my mother-in-law, Lynda, retired. 

Her fellow SLP's threw a wonderful luncheon to honor her (and three other ladies that were retiring).

  
Hayes was clearly worn out from all of the excitement. 

My mom, Glenetta, also retired from teaching for 21 years at an Early Childhood Center.  Both families celebrated at the famous King's Inn in Kingsville, TX that night. 

 My dad and mom
 I was brave and tried a frog leg.  I definitely prefer shrimp.

Andy and I are very proud of our moms.  We are excited that they can be ladies of leisure and enjoy late lunches and pedicures whenever they desire. We are also excited about having free baby sitters, which explains our expressions in the picture above. 

The next morning, the kids and I got up to have breakfast with my friend, Krystal.  I met Krystal in the 7th grade.  We were friends all through school.  We took Driver's Ed. together.  As Juniors, we skipped 7th period to go get Chinese food together on a Friday (which my parents found out and they took away my car and my precious 17 year old self had to ride the school bus for two horrible weeks). Krys and I were roomies at Baylor.  We were in each other's weddings.  We have known each other for seventeen years.

SEVENTEEN years.

We. are. old. 

I wish I had a picture of us from back in the day, but the technology department here at Not Before My Coffee does not own a scanner.  Remember, we are old and our growing up pictures were taken on cameras with, gasp, film. 

The best part of our breakfast was meeting this beauty:


Emory was born in November and this was my first time to meet her.  I was in love.  You better believe I spent a lot of time kissing those sweet cheeks. 

Krystal also got to meet Hayes for the first time. 




He was a bit too busy checking his email on my iPhone to pose for pictures.



Bella was more than happy to pose and hug on Krystal.

Bella also couldn't wait to get her hands on Emory.  She knows cute when she sees it. 


My daughter, holding her daughter.  It makes me get all sappy and emotional.

It was a great breakfast and a special treat to get to see Krys and Em.  As she put it, it was the kind of thing that we don't do often, but it feels like we've been doing it every Saturday for years.

I hope we have many more times like that.  Maybe we will drink our Ensure together after we go to the beauty shop to get our hair curled.  Then we'll really be old.