May 2013

Are you there blog?  It's me, Megan.  Haha!  I thought that was appropriate considering it's been a year since I updated this blog.  Even then, I only did monthly updates to get ready for our trip to Texas.  My plan was catch up so I could talk about our wonderful trip and then start updating regularly again.  You can see how that turned out.  

There are a million reasons I haven't been blogging.  Life happened.  I lost some photos.  My phone broke.  I switched to a new laptop.  School is busy.  I am on leadership committees.  Ruby started Kindergarten.  I volunteer in her classroom.  I am her head room parent.  Auntie had a baby.  I started a Girl Scout troop.  I am involved in the PTO.  Ruby and Ella both have activities to drive to and from.  I meal plan.  I grocery shop.  I cook.  I clean.  I make Valentine's Day cards.  I buy supplies for 100th Day vests.  I sell Girl Scout cookies.  I supervise leprechaun traps for St. Patrick's Day.  But, the two biggest reasons I haven't been blogging are right here:

Ruby and Ella happened.  From the minute they wake up to the minute they go to bed, I am busy. Even after they go to bed, I am busy.  I think about blog entries all the time but I just don't do them.  Oh well.  I wouldn't change any of the past year.  In addition to keeping me busy, they make my heart happy.  From the minute they wake up to the minute they go to bed, my heart is happy.  They smile.  They laugh.  They fight.  They yell.  They tattle-tale.  They hug.  They snuggle.  They drive me bananas.  But, my heart is happy and the blog is out of date.

We're on Spring Break this week.  Ella is asleep.  Adam and Ruby are at the store.  Auntie, Kevin and Baby Andrew are on a walk.  I'm binge watching a show on Netflix so I though I'd attempt to catch up.  I'm too type A just to skip a year.  Plus, I only have one week.  My plan was catch up so I can talk about our wonderful trip and then start updating regularly again.  We'll see how that turns out =)

For Mother's Day 2013, I thought it would be nice to get everyone together for brunch.  Unfortunately, I waited too long to make a reservation.  I finally found a spot but didn't do much research.  It turns out it was expensive, all you can eat, really hot (as in no A/C on a hot day) and not very kid friendly.  At least we got a nice picture.

Ruby's pre school is called Footsteps.  They have a bear mascot called Footsie.  Even though it rained the entire weekend, bringing Footsie home for the weekend was hands down Ruby's favorite memory of preschool.  At the end of the year, all the kids go to Build A Bear to make their own bear.  Ruby loves Pinkie Pie and it's a great memory of a great two years.

We had a wonderful trip to Texas.  My friends are better bloggers than I am so you can read about it here and here.  I had a ton of my own photos but lost most of them in a random iPhone mishap. Lesson learned.  We've only done the trip twice but this one was fantastic!  Three things were different from last year: 1) Ruby and I went alone, 2) the weather was mild and 3) Aileen and Lucas joined us.

I love Ella more than the world but after the flight home from Kauai, I didn't want to fly with her...especially on my own.  Grandma O'Brien offered to hang with her while Adam was at work.  Thank you!  She had some fun of her own and didn't really know enough to know we were gone.

 (In case you can't tell, this picture is a joke.  It's Adam's sense of humor.  We laughed more at the scissors on the counter than the beer bottle in her hand.)

Our first trip to Texas was HOT.  Ella was only six months old and in a car seat or stroller most of the time.  It was gross.  I spent a lot of the trip wondering how people actually raise kids in Texas.  I wasn't so worried this year since she stayed home but was pleasantly surprised when it was a very mild and pleasant weather weekend. It even rained a few times.  Oh, and there is a backyard pool now =)

Aileen and Lucas joined us this year and it was perfect.  Norah and Ruby were joined at the hip.  Lucas loved them to death and followed them everywhere.  They didn't mind because he wasn't their own little sibling.  Lou could take or leave all of them but was on his own turf so he was fine.

All of that meant the kids pretty much entertained themselves while Janet, Aileen and I hung out together.  We rarely got to do that in California so it was a special treat to do it in Texas.  Good times and good drinks were happening all weekend.

Like I said, I lost most of my photos from the trip.  In summary, these two girls were together morning to night and more.  We love visiting Texas and will be back again next year.

And now on to June 2013.  Ha!