Making Banana Bread Today!

Mmmmm Banana Bread.
Not sure why Annabelle insists on putting flour on her nose!
Haha!

Today we went to story time at the library. The theme today was "A Dog's Colorful Day" and after the story we got to make this awesome spotted dog. Annabelle totally loved it. We had a good time listening to the music and learning about numbers (there weren't very many kids there today).


We met some nice little girls and went to the park with them after story time. The park is lots of fun (even though it doesn't have any swings!). We can't wait until we get our swingset in our backyard (hint, hint Daddy :)

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Yummy, we made peanut butter rice krispie treats. Too bad Annabelle refuses to even taste them (I think it's a weird texture thing). She loves cooking and helping Mommy make them though!

Shark!

Annabelle and I put up this new shark tent in her bedroom last week. I was hoping this would be another place for Annabelle to play...if you look inside you'll see Walter is enjoying the tent much more than Annabelle did!

Office Nap

I've been spending more time than usual in my office this week.

Annabelle decided she would take a nap under my desk!

Melly's 2nd Birthday

Melly's 2nd Birthday Party was lots of fun. I think she really enjoyed the cupcakes.

Tuesday

We took our usual trip to Target today, the only unusual thing was we saw a man on a horse all decked out in bright green (the horse I mean) and we also saw a man who looked very much like Santa Claus walking down the street wearing blue jeans, a tshirt and carrying an old suitcase - we think Santa Claus spends most his time here before Christmas.

Today is Melly's birthday (Annabelle's pink stuffed dog), Annabelle mentioned to me last week that Melly would be 2 today. We made pink heart shaped cupcakes for her birthday. Happy 2nd Birthday to Melly!

Swimming in the "Big Tub"

Annabelle wanted to go swimming so badly today, sadly I've already deflated her blow-up pool and retired it for the year so our only choice for "swimming" is the big garden tub in the master bathroom. Annabelle hadn't taken a bath in it yet so she was thrilled when she realized how much water can go in it and how much fun it can be. I have a feeling she'll be doing lots of "swimming" in it from now on. Haha!

It's still been in the 90's during the day here and only gets down into the 80's at night. Doesn't feel like Sept. at all since I've lived my whole life in places where it starts to get chilly this time of year. Justin and I did some yard work on Saturday, our lawn and flower beds are really getting away from us. I trimmed the hedges once again and tried to weed some of the flower beds. I can't wait to really get them cleaned out and get some new flowers/plants planted.

Annabelle is a constant source of entertainment. Last week she dropped a toy and said "well, dammit"...I told her this is not a good word to use and we should say "oh man" or "darn" instead of "dammit" (I should also say, of course, she picked up this word from her Father, not me) she seemed okay with my explanation and I didn't hear the "word" from her again until we were driving on Friday and she dropped "Melly" (her favorite stuffed pink dog)...she then said "darnit" I turned and looked at her and said "I'm glad you said darnit" and she started crying, when I asked her what was wrong she said "but Momma, I really, really wanted to say DAMMIT!"....I almost died laughing but controlled myself and explained to her again that we don't say that word.

Annabelle also mastered gum chewing today, in the past she has always swallowed the gum but today she chewed it for over an hour and then walked into the kitchen, opened the trash can and spit it out- I was amazed! We are no longer using pull-ups at night either, Annabelle told me one evening she wanted to wear panties at night and she has not had an accident in over a week! I am so proud! No more pull-ups around here!!

I have more work to do this week so should get to work now. Annabelle just brought me in an imaginary cup of limeaide (a small teacup with a plastic lime in it!) so guess I should enjoy my drink now! Can't pass up a refreshing drink from my little girl!

Thanks Nancy H.!

Today a package arrived for Annabelle from Nancy (my good friend I used to work with). Here's a video response from Annabelle.

Where's Annabelle?

Only in TexMexico...

Only in TexMexico will you find milk in a bright yellow gallon container...

Happy Grandparent's Day To All the Grandparents!

More Painting

Here are a few more pics from this weekends painting adventures. Annabelle is really excited about redecorating her room. I am so glad the person who put up the wallpaper in her bedroom did it incorrectly & it was so easy to remove! The bedroom looks so much nicer now!

Painting Annabelle's Room

Justin painted Annabelle's bedroom this weekend. He had to put two coats of primer and then two coats of paint because the walls weren't in the best shape. Now the walls look brand new and the paint job is perfect - of course! Here are the before picture (walls are beige), during picture (walls are white with primer) & the after picture - we painted the walls a really pretty light yellow called "sweet harmony".

"Toto"

Toto the toad has made a sort of "nest" in our backyard. She didn't even move when we were looking at her tonight. Wonder if she's starting a family?

Friday

Annabelle & I went to Learning Express this morning for story time. Learning Express is a really cool toy store here in McAllen, they have story time on Fridays & other special events throughout the month. There weren't very many kids there but we had a good time & got to make a cool sunflower on a popsicle stick. I thought Annabelle might want me to buy her a bunch of toys in the store but she was too excited about all the toys they had out to play with & the kids playing that I don't even think she noticed it was a store!

It's been raining on and off here for quite a few days now, we haven't been able to get outside much. We finally went out tonight to play with a giant beach ball in the driveway, the neighbor's two little kids came over to play with Annabelle & they had a great time...we had to drag them inside because it was getting dark outside. It's getting darker earlier & earlier...I'm wondering when the time will change? It must be coming soon?

I'm working on Annabelle's (& Justin's) Halloween costumes. I know it's a little early but I hate waiting until the last minute. I wonder if the kids here trick or treat as much as they did in OKC? Guess I'll have to ask around, I'm sure they do!

Justin & I have plans to prime the walls in Annabelle's room this weekend. Hopefully we will have it painted within the next couple weeks too. I'll post pics of our progress.

Rain!

We've finally been getting some rain here in South Texas. It rained most of yesterday afternoon & evening & then it really down poured this morning. It's supposed to rain this afternoon again and then tomorrow. It's great to finally have some rain after we went a month without any at all! The flowers, plants & trees are really taking off. Walter woke me up at 6 a.m. this morning meowing & scratching on the back patio door, there was a huge toad on the patio driving him crazy & he wanted out to get it. Of course I didn't let him out! I think the toads & lizards are enjoying the rain too.

Justin's classes are going well, he is adjusting to the different teaching style & getting his office arranged. His office still isn't complete, nothing moves quickly here in the Valley. Hopefully he will have a complete office by next year :)

Labor Day Weekend - Siti & Papa's

Siti sent us these pics of Labor Day weekend at her house. The Qualls & The Childers came to visit for the weekend. Looks like they had a fun time in Siti's backyard.

We're Insured!

Justin & I decided since his health insurance for our family doesn't start until Dec. 1 that we should go ahead and purchase some major medical insurance coverage just in case something major happens in the next few months. We couldn't afford complete coverage (for doctors visits etc.) so we just went with the major medical coverage. So, we should all celebrate because this is the first time Justin has had health insurance in over 5 years! Yaaaayyy! Our insurance through the college that starts in Dec. will be fabulous. It's hard to believe that working professionals cannot afford health insurance, but I think there are tons of people like us out there in the world. Maybe something needs to change?

Yo Gabba Gabba!

Annabelle LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba! & it's hard to find any t-shirts with the characters from the show on them so I decided to make some myself today. They turned out really good! I ordered the t-shirts off Hanes.com (the t-shirts are 3 for $7 and there's a 20% coupon code online plus free shipping if you buy 5 items, this makes the t-shirts about $1.86 Each!) & bought the transfer paper at Hobby Lobby using a 40% off coupon. What a great deal for some really cute t-shirts. Plus they made Annabelle happy since she has a stuffy nose today!

Tuesday, Tuesday

Nothing much new happening here. Justin is working hard getting the school year started. So far I think it hasn't been as bad as he thought it would be :)

Annabelle and I cleaned the house up a bit today. She's a great little helper & loves to do windows.

We still have a lot of lizards on the house, it rained quite a bit today so the lizards are enjoying the cool weather & spend the entire evening on the back of the house catching dinner...mmmmm....