Happy Holidays!

My Favorite Things: November

1. Thanksgiving! How can this not be on my list. I loved having family in town. Having so many people around to watch Ben meant lots of lovely breaks for me! We ate delicious food- my favorite is pumpkin bread made by moi, we watched movies and football, we talked. I remembered back to last Thanksgiving spent with best friends and me on the couch. While I miss Christine and Rob so much, Thanksgiving is definitely made to spend with family!

2. Nate got a job! He's working hard and doing well however I must say that Ben and I miss having him around!

3. Pictures, pictures and more pictures. I had a great time taking lots of pictures this month. Ben's 9 month pictures, sweet baby Riley, and a family Christmas shoot for a friend. Such great practice and I feel like I'm getting better each time.

4. Ben found out he's getting a new cousin! We can't wait to meet little baby Geis this summer!

5. Duck football. I'm pretty sure that nothing more needs to be said.

6. Christmas decor. Yes, Christmas should probably be saved for December but I love to stretch the holidays as long as possible. I use to be all about beautiful white lights and classy Christmas decor but this year I say bring on the tacky! I love seeing the look on Ben's face when he sees sparkly and colorful Christmas decor. This season will definitely been seen through the eyes of a child and I can't wait!

Healthy as a Horse

With all the craziness going on it's easy to forget it's the little things to be thankful for. This year I'm remembering back to a little over a year ago when I was knocked up and not allowed off the couch. It's actually sounding pretty good right about now.

There was a time our family use to have surgery wars. I had knee surgery so Nate had to one up me by getting surgery on his spine. Cooper's the really hard core one though. He went and had his toe amputated. That's commitment.

This year we are all healthy (despite the occasional runny nose by Ben). Nate and I have lost over 40 pounds combined since we moved back to Oregon (one of us more than the other but I'm not naming names). My blood pressure is awesome. We both have realized how scary this time last year really was (luckily we realize it more after the fact or my blood pressure might have been even higher than it was). We have a sweet and healthy baby boy and all the pregnancy health problems in the world would be worth it for him.

Deep in the Heart.

If you are a regular reader of this blog (all 3 of you) you probably wouldn't be surprised to hear I love Oregon. However, despite my love for my home state I am thankful for the 2 brief years we lived in Texas.

Texas is a pretty bada** state. It's one of the only states you can recognize from it's outline. There's also Florida and California. Maybe Alaska and Hawaii- it's the only island. I guess also Louisiana because it's shaped like an L but all those states could fit inside Texas (besides Alaska of course but put the people of Alaska in a battle against the people of Texas and I guarantee the Texas people will win every time).

Jordan and I at the Alamo

Nate and I definitely lived deep in the heart of Texas and while I love Oregon (in case you forgot) there is no place I would choose over Texas for second place. Nate and I wanted an experience as far from Oregon as we could find and I think we found it in Texas (it was a little like living in Mexico if you're curious). I am thankful that Nate and I had those two years to live on our own. We relied only on each other. We made new friends (with the help of a little something I like to call the internets). I for one become much more outgoing and independent.

The Texas friends

Though we are no longer "doing it Texas style" (though we did do it Texas style and got a Texas baby out of it) I will forever be thankful for those two years. Nate, Cooper and I (and Ben) will never be the same! You can take the Lyons out of Texas but you can't take Texas out of the Lyons.

Heroes

Happy Veterans Day to my husband. Happy Veterans Day to my husband who spent 14 months overseas. Happy Veterans Day to my husband who I married on March 11, 2003- the day the war started. Happy Veterans Day to my husband who sported a Tom Selleck style moustache.

Happy Veterans Day to my husband who wrote me hundreds of letters. Happy Veterans Day to my husband who toted home loads of Iraqi soil (we are still finding it hiding in books to this day). Happy Veterans Day to my husband who never complained about living in a tent in miserable heat for over 365 days.

Happy Veterans Day to my husband who broke his neck overseas and is now the proud owner of a piece of metal in his neck. Happy Veterans Day to my husband who was man enough to sport a Henna tattoo (with the Tom Selleck no less).

Happy Veterans Day to my husband who was (and is) so respected by the men he helped lead.

Happy Veterans Day to my husband who was only 22 years old overseas (and was one of the older kids there).

Happy Veterans Day to my husband who is proud of his service and the good he (and everyone) did overseas.

Happy Veterans Day to all the Veterans who help these little kids smile!
Happy Veterans to my husband who is my hero (and a hero to many).

And Happy Veterans Day to my other hero, my dad, who also sported a Tom Selleck style moustache in Vietnam (though that was the style in the 70's). I love you!

Pieces of Me (or us)

Slacker.

That is the only word that can describe me and this blog lately. Nate, Ben and I are still getting use to having so much to do with family and friends around. Here are a few quick updates with us and I promise you won't hear that 7 letter word around here again.

• Possibly the only thing I am good at keeping up on are Ben's monthly updates so you should all remember that little Ben is slowly turning into Big Ben. He's 8 and 1/2 months old and still has no teeth and is just about to take off with his crawling.
• I have a job! I am getting paid in experience rather than money but I am so excited! I am working once a week (so I'm not sure I can really call it a job) at Kate Kelly Photography. I am working as an assistant in the office and on shoots. Hopefully soon I will get to be a 2nd shooter on portrait sessions. Kate is an amazing photographer! If anyone needs photos taken definitely check her out!
• Nate has been to every home Duck game this year and Ben and I have been faithfully watching on TV.
  
  
  
  
• We are enjoying everything Fall in Oregon. We've been walking in the cool weather, gone to The Pumpkin Patch, and taken many driving "naps" through the country. Have I said how much I love Oregon?
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• We are looking forward to a ton of changes this year (and no, I'm not pregnant). It's like 70% fun and 30% scary not knowing where we'll be a year from now. Stay tuned because who knows where life might take us!

My Favorite Things: June

The month of June consisted of packing, packing and more packing. In between the packing we were able to squeeze in a few more things. My favorites were:

1. Taking Ben to the zoo for the first time. It was obviously more enjoyable for us than him, but we have to try to be educational every once in awhile.
2. We celebrated Nate's first Father's Day. Unfortunately we decided to take Nate out for a celebratory breakfast were Ben decided to scream. Nate and I both took turns eating alone or walking Ben outside the restaurant. Fun Father's Day for Nate.
3. A farewell dinner with Rob and Christine! We will miss our Texas friends so much but it was so much fun to spend one last day with them. The theme of our party was "clean out the pantry" and we ate whatever after a fun day at the pool. Ben and Rob bonded over grilled chicken.
   
   
4. Moving back to Oregon. This is also on the worst of the month list as I hate moving but I'm so glad it's over and we are here!

Farewell Texas

Tomorrow is the big day. The day Ben, Cooper and I (with the help of my parents) get onto the plane and fly back to Oregon. The day Nate begins the long drive back home in the Uhaul.

I never doubted for a second that I am truly an Oregonian but I have to say that I am definitely sad to leave. Texas has been good to us. We have met some of the best friends ever. We have eaten tons (literally tons) of delicious Mexican food. We have enjoyed more hot weather days than I've probably experienced in my whole Oregon life combined. Texas also gave us our very own little Texan.

For this baby of the family, living on our own has taught me a lot. I've learned a ton about myself and Nate. I value my family and the time we have together more than ever before. I hope I never have to live away from them again. I've learned a little more Spanish and how to make queso. Nate and I have raised an almost 5 month old baby mostly on our own. I've learned to never assume something doesn't have meat in it just because it's not listed on the menu. I've learned a ton about the Alamo.

I now know what a real rainstorm looks like and I've lived through many thunderstorms. I was never bitten by a rattlesnake (nor did I ever even see one). I've tried on cowboy boots and been about a foot from a longhorn.

Here are some things I adore about Texas.

• The weather in the winter.
• The HEB sells Texas shaped crackers.
• Seriously, everything is bigger in Texas.
• Sonic (specifically Sonic Happy Hour).
• Super Target
• Christine, Lauren and Shae (as well as Beckham and Elise).
  
  
• Bunco
• Bennett was born here. We can take Ben out of Texas, but we can't take the Texas out of Ben.
• Taco Cabana
• Our neighborhood pool
• It stills feels like I'm on a perma-vacation with all the gorgeous flowers and palm trees.
• Our home.

I know we will be back to visit but it will never be quite the same. I know Nate will miss Texas more than I'll ever know. I know Ben will wonder about the place he was born. We will have many stories to tell him.

Thanks Texas. We will miss you!

July 30, 2007

Here is one more adventure that I had as a new Texan. I laugh at my naivete now.

A Vegetarian in Texas

Texas has to have AT LEAST one BBQ place per square mile. I'm not sure the people here have ever heard the word "vegetarian". Nate and I ventured to an awesome Mexican restaurant (which will remain nameless). I was informed that the enchiladas were "amazing" and decided to give them a go. As the only vegetarian in Texas, I ordered the cheese version (I also ordered the cheapest, most awesome margarita, but that's a whole other story).

Nate and I waited very patiently for our food (not only aren't people in Texas vegetarians, but they also aren't in a hurry to do anything). Finally or food arrives. I'm so excited for my first bite of delicious cheese enchilada! I look down and what do I see? My beautiful cheese enchilada covered in ground beef. Who puts beef on a cheese enchilada?

I calmly walk my nasty enchilada to the lady at the counter and explain my problem. "I ordered CHEESE enchiladas," I say.

She replies (in broken English), "Yes, cheese."

"But these have beef on them. I'm a vegetarian." The lady continues to inform me that it's "just a leetle beet of beef."

"But I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat meat!"

"Yes, but just a leetle beet of beef." We continue arguing this point for a while longer (me: that I'm a vegetarian, she: that it's just a little bit of beef). Finally she dumps the plate to give it another try.

I go back to the table where I can see her flinging food about (no doubt trying to hide beef somewhere in my food). She walks towards me, throws my food on the table and walks away. I look down at plate number 2 of cheese enchiladas to find them...covered in beef. Hmm.

This time I make it up to the counter where I just ask for the cheese quesadilla. I figure you can't mess that up. I'm informed the lady I spoke with doesn't speak English. I want to say, "She sure knows how to say 'leetle beet of beef'."

Needless to say, the quesadilla had no beef and the margarita was good.

About one week later, we go to Mexican restaurant number two and go for cheese enchiladas again. After I order I ask the waitress if there is any beef on the cheese enchiladas. She looks at me like I'm the stupidest gringo in Texas. "No," she says.

Cut to 15 minutes later. Our food arrives, and yes, cheese enchiladas covered in beef! This time I just scrapped it off and dealt with it (however cheese enchiladas with all the sauce scrapped off aren't the greatest).

Moral of the story: If you are a vegetarian and you find yourself in Texas, do not order the cheese enchiladas (unless maybe you've had so many margaritas you won't even notice).

July 18, 2007

Two years ago Nate and I were busy unpacking in our new house. Today we are packing that same new house back up.

Here were some of our discoveries of Texas and our new house.

Scorpions, Red Ants and Crickets (oh my!)

**Disclaimer** Do not read if you are an animal rights activist.

Scorpions:
Fact 1: Scorpions are not as big as my hand. In fact they are more closely compared to my baby finger.

Fact 2: Scorpions do not chase you.

Fact 3: Any scorpion that chooses to come into my house will die.

Advice: When buying new carpet for your home, opt for a non-scorpion color. Those suckers blend in well.

Red Ants:
Fact 1: Red Ants are not actually red nor do they have flames painted on them to warn of the painful bite that is to come.

Fact 1 part 2: If you look carefully, you can see a tiny red head (more like maroon really). Unfortunately, by that time it's usually too late.

Fact 2: Pouring boiling water on a red ant hill also kills the grass.

Fact 3: Just like their sugary cousins, red ants do not like windex.

Crickets (by far my favorite of the 3):
Fact 1: Crickets come in a variety of sizes. Some are quite large in fact.

Fact 2: They like to hang above the doors at stores and drop on unsuspecting shoppers at any time.

Fact 3: Crickets are not very bright. They jump into any open door where you find large piles of their dead friends. The poor people at Blockbuster must have to sweep the floor every half hour.

2 years ago

It was almost 2 years ago that I was packing up and getting ready to make the big move to Texas (actually, exactly 2 years ago we were enjoying a family vacation in Hawaii- thanks Dad!). It's funny to think back to 2 years ago and what was going on. There was so much uncertainty with the big move to Texas. Would I like it? Would I survive away from my family? How long would we live there? Would we make any friends?

In honor of this last week here in Texas I thought I'd wander back through BlogLand to see what my first month here was like.

Here is my first post from the Lonestar State back on July 17th, 2007.

The Plane Ride

Who would ever choose to fly anywhere at 6 o'clock in the morning (unless it's a trip to Hawaii or something)? Cooper and I decided it would be a great idea, so we got up at 3:30 and lugged all our stuff and ourselves (with the help of mom and dad) to the PDX airport.

Cooper was a little nervous for his first time traveling and, needless to say, so was I. We said a quick and sad goodbye to mom and dad and jumped through security. Mom and I had been joking about the security putting Cooper through the "puffer". You know, that's the booth you stand in and it puffs huge gusts of wind at you. As I gave the lady my ticket, she informed me that (because I had a dog with me) Cooper and I would be entering the puffer. I had to hold Cooper, a nervous dog by nature, to my chest and walk into the booth where I was told we would hear a loud noise and feel a "light breeze." We walked in and waited for awhile. All of a sudden there was a deafening roar causing Cooper to try and leap from my arms. I used my man strength to hold him tightly, planted my feet, and prepared for the gusts. As the noise died down, Cooper and I were blown back, Cooper's lips flapping in the "breeze." It was a good thing I had my feet planted.

Cooper and I made it safely through security and down to our gate. As it was time to board, I shoved Cooper, unwillingly, into his small carrier. It was a struggle, but I felt better knowing I was providing half my cabin mates with entertainment. I flipped Cooper over my shoulder and headed onto the plane.

As luck would have it, we were seated in practically the final row where the airline is so generous as to give you approximately 5 inches from the edge of your seat to the back of the seat in front of you. I tipped Coops on his side and shoved him down between the seats until I could jimmy him under the seat. He did well for about 30 seconds. Then he started to cry. Now Cooper is not a noisy dog, so I knew he was totally freaked. Luckily the nice flight attendant (and the even nicer man in the middle seat next to me) let me put Cooper's carrier on my lap. I got as much of my body as possible in the carrier with him (which either calmed him down or left him with so little oxygen he couldn't waste any on crying). The rest of the flight went smoothly until it was time to shove the poor dog back under the seat for the landing.

In Denver I decided I had a mission, and one mission only (besides dragging Cooper into the bathroom stall, but that's a whole other story). My mission was to fly Economy Plus. I got to the gate just as the lady was calling people to board. She obviously sensed my need for that extra 5 inches because she upgraded me at no charge. Cooper and I were living large. Not only did he fit under the seat (no shoving needed), we also had the entire three seats to ourselves. Those two hours were heaven.

All in all, the whole experience wasn't too bad. We made it alive (and one of us a little braver). Next time I will definitely be booking those extra five inches from the beginning.

Ben's Hero

Ben loves his daddy. He has been so blessed to have his daddy home (since being laid off). He looks like his daddy. He loves napping with daddy. Yesterday daddy took Ben swimming. Ben may only be 4 and a 1/2 months old but you can already see that look in his eyes that says his daddy is the best and someday he wants to be just like him. Ben's daddy is his hero.

Happy Father's Day Nate!

Chicken Fried

Last Thursday Nate, Ben and I took a trip to the San Antonio Zoo (wanting to get in some tourist attractions before the big move). Ben loved watching all the animals and hearing about where they came from and what they ate. He was intrigued by the variety of rare birds and the warthogs. 

Seriously he slept pretty much the whole time. He did however love the fish in the Hippo exhibit. Next time we're going to take our $20 and get dinner at the Thai place with the aquarium in the back. 

Sadly this picture of Ben and Nate enjoying the fish is a bit blurry!

My favorite part of the zoo was definitely the rhino. Not because I'm fascinated with this great beast but because of the rhino habitat. The rhino at the San Antonio Zoo resides in a giant bowl. Nate and I were quite interested to see the large animal (it seems like most of the animals at the SA Zoo are quite small). We walked up to the wall that overlooked the rhino and searched for his massive-ness and horn. I finally leaned over the wall (which barely passed my knees) to see this approximately 10 feet below me.

Um, hello San Antonio Zoo people? Does this seem a reasonably safe choice for a rhino habitat? Seriously, take one crazy mom at the zoo (and she probably wouldn't have to be that crazy) and one whinny kid in the Africa exhibit and the rhino could be eating something besides hay. Here is another view of the great animal.

The top of the wall is just outside the picture. You can kind of tell in the top right corner. 

Just as I'm sure many people have accidently walked straight off the Riverwalk and into the river, I would not be at all surprised if some curious little rugrat took a tumble onto the rhino. I'm just glad it wasn't my little rugrat.

After our trip to the zoo, Nate forced us to eat at Lulu's. I didn't take any pictures because I wasn't sure if people would think I was reaching for my gun and shoot us. 

Lulu's will soon be on the show Man vs. Food. The star of the show, Adam Richman, chose Lulu's due to it's incredibly huge chicken fried steak and 3 lb. cinnamon rolls. Seriously, this thing was bigger than Ben! 

Please excuse the picture. It was taken with Nate's iphone.

While I may not claim Lulu's to be in the top 100 restaurants (and that's being generous) the cinnamon roll was freaking good! Stay tuned to see it on TV soon!

While Nate and I are sad to be saying goodbye to San Antonio soon, we had an awesome day playing tourists with Ben. Only 18 days and we will be Oregonians once again!

My Favorite Things: May

1. My mom came to visit! Nate and I were having a little trouble (understatement) getting the house ready to sell with Ben hanging around (which he tends to do). Mama Wolcott flew out to help clean the house and spend some time with her newest grandson. Even with all the work we had a bunch of fun!

Sadly this is the only picture I took of Ben and his Gigi.

2. Nate and Cooper celebrated birthdays (their 29th and 4th respectively) and Ben celebrated his 3 month birthday! We celebrated by putting our house on the market and eating out at Nate's favorite birthday spot, Red Robin.

3. We put our house on the market. This is actually quite sad but we are really looking forward to actually selling it! 

4. I celebrated my first Mother's Day. We had a low key day but it was great to celebrate being a mom. A lot of things are uncertain right now but I know for sure that I was meant to be a mom. There is nothing better!

4. We drove up to Dallas (the real Texas). Ben was awesome in the car and we had a great time with our friends, Shay, Tomas, and Beckham. We were attacked by mosquitos the size of humming birds and spent some serious time in the heat. Ben learned a lot from Beckham (he's bilingual and sucks his feet at just 7 months). 

5. The Bachelorette and SYTYCD (So You Think Your Can Dance for all you non-fans out there) started! Nothing like some good trashy reality TV to get you through the summer!

Tip Toe Through the Tulips

I'm not sure I've ever mentioned but one of my first "Nate" experiences was him singing and dancing to this song (Tip Toe Through the Tulips) in an adult diaper. Yes ladies, he's taken.

I digress. Two weekends ago, Beth from Tip Toe Photography came out to shoot Ben's 3 month pictures. We love them all! Ben seems to have inherited a little of his dad's photo abilities. Hopefully you won't see him on stage in a diaper any time soon.

Here he is in all his adorableness...

And for your additional viewing pleasure.

Our Friday.

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day for us. In the future we may refer to it as Craptastic May Day or possibly the Lost Debacle.

We started off having 4, count 'um, 4 showings of our house. That is pretty much awesome in this day and age. This instilled a false sense of hope and an overall optimistic outlook on our day. We should have known when Ben spit up all over Nate's face during a rousing game of airplane that something wasn't quite right (clue #1).

***Disclaimer: Continue reading only if you want to hear about poop.***

Friday night is bath night in our house (for Ben and occasionally for me too). Ben loves having a bath. He lounges in the warm water, all smiles and coos. Last night some of his smiles may have been due to the fact that he sharted (I'll let you figure that one out) in the water. We had to drain and wash the tub while a soapy and cold Ben waited patiently. This should have been clue #2.

The rest of the bath went off without a hitch. Ben was clean, in his manjamas and warm and cozy. He and daddy were having a cuddle on the bed when shart #2 occurred (have you figured it out yet?). Nate got up to change Ben's diaper. 

Now Nate can get kind of annoyed with me (or really annoyed with me) when I tell him what to do when it comes to Ben (I'm sure all you mommies hear me on this one). Las night I decided not to pass on my invaluable advice to wait to change Ben. Nate got the diapering supplies and set to work. Just as he has about to wrap up the diapering, shart #3 blessed us. It blessed us all over the carpet (thank goodness we're selling the house), all over the manjamas, all over the diaper and all over clean Ben. This had now turned into a 2 person job. Ben thinking he was funny decided that now would also be a good time to throw some pee into the mix, hitting dad all down his shirt and the soon to be sold carpet. Luckily for Ben, dad thought he was pretty funny and cleaned up with a smile on his face. I think Nate may have learned his lesson!

As the night lingered on, Nate and I decided to watch the season finale of Lost online. I hooked up the computer to the TV and Nate got it all ready to watch. Now Lost is normally a confusing show (at least to us), but last night Nate and I were especially confused (how did they get off the sub? what happened to Sayid? have we ever seen that Jacob guy before?). We watched intently as Kate, Jack, Sawyer and company tried to blow up the island. We figured our confusion was due to our earlier poop episode and the general confusion the show creates. 

The show ended (and it was a pretty good ending) and the screen flashed back to the episode list where it came to our attention that Nate and I had just sat through part 2 of the season finale. Nice work by us. The show made a lot more sense after watching part 1! I think Ben may be sucking my intelligence out through my boobs (Nate has no excuse though).

 

The male future of Texas

Nate and I are lucky. We have spent a good part of our lives around babies and children (me being a 1st grade teacher in my past life). For the most part we know what to expect when it comes to Ben.

This is not the case for everyone.

Example Number One:

Ben and I were weary from a long day of travel. We had finally arrived in the Houston airport around 6 pm. I was in serious need of some frozen yogurt. Ben and I wandered the terminal in search of something tasty when we happened upon Wendy's.

I decided a Frosty would suffice and, with Ben strapped to my chest, walked up to the counter. Being as there were no other customers anywhere near the store, there were a ton of employees. The majority of the workers were young men who looked like working at Wendy's may not be there first choice. 

The young man (who informed me he was in high school) behind the counter took my order and proceeded to talk to Ben. Ben really liked the tall, skinny boy and smiled and laughed at him. He asked if he could keep Ben (to which I replied maybe). The cashier called over his buddies to look at Ben. The boys were LOUD and there were a lot of them. Tall, skinny boy's friend (shorter and not so skinny) informed me that Ben was "freakin me ow. He look like a bobbie dahl (Barbie doll). He too good lookin. He freakin me ow."

Apparently Ben didn't like this and his lip started to hang and the tears began to flow. This made not so tall and skinny guy feel bad. To make up for his he offered Ben a large amount of crackers ("Here gib him sum crackas"). 

Sweet? Yes. Logical? Maybe. I guess to some people a small 10 pound baby may look like he eats Saltines. It must be all his chins.

Example Number Two:

Last night Nate, Ben and I went to Red Robin for Nate's free birthday burger (hey, when your unemployed nothing beats free). The young man seating us looked down at sleeping Ben in his infant carrier and asked if we needed a children's menu. Seriously? 

It looks like the young men of the world (or just Texas) need a little more baby experience. Either that or my baby needs to go on a diet.

Ben showing off his svelte body obtained by eating Saltines and Red Robin burgers.