My Hammock

I got my birthday present from Chris early this year - a hammock! Not just any hammock, a really pretty one that isn't multicolored striped cloth and isn't thick rope that digs into you. It even has beautiful scalloped crocheted looking edging and pretty tassles at both ends. I love it and I got to use it for the first time this Saturday when we went out to Hilltop for part of the evening. We took the girls to the Wildseed farm earlier that day - I'll try to post those pictures/stories soon.

For as long as I can remember I've always wanted a hammock. Mostly I imagine myself just laying in the sun reading a good book...falling asleep and napping only to wake up again and read a little more. As I got older I imagined I'd also use it to lounge in with my hubby and we could talk and talk as the clouds roll through the sky. Of course, my kiddos would love hanging out in the hammock with me too. They could be running through sprinklers or playing on a swingset on a hot summer day and then when they are exhausted they'd ask me to come lay with them in the hammock and we'd sing songs as we rocked back and forth (eating ice cream hopefully). I mean really, who doesn't love a hammock?

And then this weekend, as I laid in my hammock for the first time - sipping a drink and reading a book - I realized that my hammock will probably never live up to be what I'd imagined. While I was enjoying relaxing and reading (two of my absolute most favorite things) my husband found it necessary to continue to chop weeds. I had chopped some thistles when he and Misty were hanging the hammock, but I was chopping just to get rid of the ones that would soon be under my feet otherwise. For some reason, now that my hammock was hung and we were all certain my rear end wouldn't go crashing to the ground, it was Chris' mission to rid our yard of weeds:-) I know this totally sounds selfish because he was just doing one of the many things that needed to get done out at Hilltop, but he was ruining my moment! How could I possibly relax when he was working on his callouses? Eventually I flat out asked him to stop and made him sit with me for a few minutes. We did chat and did look up at the clear blue sky - for a moment. Then I was off to take pictures that would hopefully help sell the place (it's for sale now that we've fixed it up - anyone interested?!) and I'm pretty sure he was back to the weeds. My only hope for his not chopping weeds until midnight lay in the fact that almost the entire front yard was covered in blue bonnetts. A while later, the immediate tasks accomplished and Chris and I getting ready to depart, I announced that I was going to enjoy my hammock a little more. This time I really thought I could relax because Chris was cooling off with a beer inside so no "I'm not working and he is" guilt would set in. Unfortunately, the wind had decided to start blowing, the temperature dropped a little, and my sleeveless shirt with my slightly red shoulders weren't doing much to keep me warm. I contemplated getting a blanket but knew we were leaving in a few minutes so I watched as much of the not-quite sunset that I could, listened to the cows, read some of my book, and stared up through the pecan tree branches realizing that this ideal hammock hanging spot was ours until we sell the place (again, anyone interested?). Eventually Chris walked out and Misty reminded me of the still wrapped fruit roll-up she had tossed from the balcony, and I had missed, earlier. Nothing like a fruit roll-up to motivate me to move:-) Misty and my mom stayed the night at Hilltop (apparently the wind didn't really die down so not sure how much relaxing they did either) and my hammock is going to reside there for the time being.

I guess when you build something up for so long you are bound to be a little disappointed - not in the hammock itself, but in how the scenes actually play out. A busy life with responsibilities, bills, kids and a schedule will certainly limit the hammock time. All those things also make whatever hammock time I get even sweeter. There's always hope for me and my girls with ice cream swinging in the sun! And when Addie runs off searching for her Daddy and Nora starts throwing a fit because her ice cream is all gone, I'll just sit back and smile and think of the next place my hammock is going to hang. I'm sure it will be just the perfect amount of sun and shade with a tidy yard and house that aren't demanding attention. Maybe it will hang not too far from a pool that the kids are playing in? Chris will have one too and we'll enjoy our hammocks frequently. You never know, it could happen! After all, what's the point in having everything you've ever wanted if you can't take the time to enjoy it!

I love you Chris - thank you for the present. Promise I'll post a better picture soon (notice he is on the upper left side of the hammock chopping weeds in the top one though).

Easter

This was the first Easter that both of our girls could really hunt for eggs and it was so much fun to watch. On Friday morning when the girls hunted eggs at home Nora quickly discovered that there was candy inside the eggs. From that moment of discovery on Nora would pick up an egg, open it, take the candy and put it in her basket or occasionally her mouth, and then deposit the egg in the basket. She certainly has my sweet tooth! Don't get me wrong, Addie loves her candy too but little Nora was totally motivated by the sweet stuff.



Addie was fully expecting Easter chicks and ducks at Grandma and Grandpa's house but an added surprise this year was a bunny. Addison absolutely LOVED her bunny - and just ask her, this was HER bunny. For some reason though, Daddy wouldn't let us bring it home (Mommy was all for that).



Nora got a huge kick out of the chicks and ducks. On Saturday when the big kids were napping Nora helped Grandpa move them outside to their pen. She literally picked up every one of the eight chicks out of their box, placed them in my lap and then proceeded to take them back from me and put them back in the box. I was trying to take video and pictures the whole time. Unfortunately that resulted in some "just ok" pics. Much to my delight she was still absolutely amazed at the chicks once they were outside and I did manage to snap a few great pics. Her reaction was just so precious - it was either constant jabbering or a look of pure excitement and joy!





Addison loved the "baby chicks and baby ducklings" (this is said in a tiny sweet higher pitched voice).




All the cousins had so much fun playing together - so much fun in fact that Addie didn't notice that she had sprained her ankle somewhere along the way. Her poor little bruised ankle isn't swollen anymore and she never did complain about it but it was super puffy as we headed home on Sunday evening. Hope everyone had a happy Easter!

Saying Hello to some Old Friends

Earlier this month Daddy, Opa, Oma, and Aunt Cassy took the girls to see the horses out at Luckenbach. Addie was thrilled to see her old friends and loved petting them and feeding them some hay. Nora apparently got pretty excited about them too. Bad-Mommy guilt set in as I realized how few times Nora has seen the horses (and how many times Addie had seen them by this age), and we won't even talk about the last time I actually rode (pregnancy is my excuse - don't remind me that my "baby" is almost 14 months old). Hopefully we'll get out there more when the weather turns (and stays) pretty.

Valentines Day Sweethearts!

This is how love grows...

Addie 9 mo.



Nora 2 weeks (BAD camera angle mommy), Addie 21 months


Addie 2 years 9 mo, Nora 12 1/2 months

Nora's Party

We had a birthday party for Nora last weekend (eventhough the real birthday is this Sunday)and all of our immediate families came. It was a fun time for everyone. We've had an amazing year with her and are really enjoying watching her grow into such a sweet little lady. It warms my heart every time she and Addie play together - even when it devolves into rolling around on the carpet body slamming each other! Nora is really discovering the world around her and learns more and more each day. She was moved up into the 12 to 18 month old room two weeks ago and is LOVING running around the large play area. She says "Ma ma" "Da da" "Addie" "Arf" (barks at Gauge when she sees him) and "Dut" (duck). We're still waiting for her 2 front teeth to come in. It's been three months since her last teeth were cut. Her smile is classic snaggle tooth - three teeth bottom center, two teeth on top not in the center but one on either side of where her front teeth will one day be! Despite the fact that they don't line up, she manages to chew table food fairly well. Nora has an unusual love for brushing her teeth. Everytime she is in our bathroom she wants her toothbrush and loves to use it too!

When you have your first child you wonder if you could ever love another child as much. Then you have your second child and quickly discover that you can love two little girls with all your heart. Of course, loving a little girl as happy and sweet as Nora is hardly difficult. She is my angel baby!

The Best $100 I Ever Spent = Rudy

Today was extremely hard and painful for me because the dog I've had for almost half of my life got to the point where he needed to be put down. His mind was still great but his body just gave out on him, the back part of it did anyway. I had a lot of time to think today. I woke up a little before Chris and after I got the girls started on breakfast I went outside to give Rudy his pain pills, which have been part of our routine for a while now. Today was different though because while he wanted to move around, his hind end just wasn't cooperating. When I gave him a little lift (which often was just what he needed to get going) he didn't even really try to stand up and my heart broke. I watched him for the next hour to see if maybe it was just some extra stiffness and hoping that he'd get up on his own when he felt like it. Needless to say it didn't happen. We've known this day was coming but it didn't make it any easier. I told Chris that instaed of taking down Christmas decorations like we'd planned that we were going to say goodbye to Rudy today. He was so sweet giving me time to give Rudy a bath in our big tub and knew just when to take the girls out of the room to give me some time alone (to cry) with one of my oldest friends. He kept the girls busy while I dried Rudy's hair, still crying off and on the whole time. We put him in front of the Christmas tree, gave him treats, took pictures, let the girls tell him goodbye, and when I couldn't think of any other reason to continue to delay the inevitable we loaded him up on his bed in the back of my Expedition and took our dog to our vet - which thankfully is Chris' friend he grew up with - his nextdoor neighbor in fact.

Rudy was my dog. He was my gift for my 16th birthday, although I got him a few weeks early (6-1-1995). He cost my parents $100, which at the time was RIDICULOUS for a cross breed cow dog (a/k/a mutt) and I'm pretty sure we didn't tell my dad that we paid anything at all (you could get a free dog from the co-op afterall). I named him based on the movie Rudy because while he didn't seem like much to most other people, I knew from the beginnig what an amazing heart he had. He totally lived up to his name. This dog was with me when I was showing calves in highschool, he lived with me all through college, had a few years stay in El Campo without me when I was in law school, and has lived more than 5 years in San Antonio with us. He was always with me and definitely loved me best of all! He was never mean to other dogs or people. He would ride in the back of my truck when we went to the pasture in highschool and would help nip at the heels of my showsteers if they didn't want to walk for me when I was working with them at home. In college we always went running in Wolf Pen Creek park. After several trips to the animal shelter on Finfeather (when he was picked up after escaping our yard) he got microchipped and neutered!! It was hard to not have him around when I was in Waco but every time I went home he'd greet me with the same enthusiasm and sweetness he always had for me. I was so happy when we got our house in San Antonio because he could be with me again. He was with me as I grew into the person I am now - there during every major event in my life; my joys, my heartaches, graduations, marriage, children... He always loved trips back to El Campo and out to the ranch. I could (and did) trust him completely with my daughters. I hope that one day they have a dog as good as he was.

I had a lot of time to think on the road today. My parents met me 1/2 way between El Campo and San Antonio so he could be buried by the calf pens at my parents house. He and my horse, Dandy, used to run the fence back and forth with Rudy barking excitedly and Dandy throwing his head and tearing around the pasture. Anytime I went to the calf pens (which was every day several times a day in highschool) Rudy was always right on my heels. He was happy there.

I thought about how long I'd had him and how many wonderful memories I have with this dog. I thought of about a million pictures of him that I have and love and was trying to think about which ones to post. I decided to post only one picture of just him because I just couldn't decide on all the others. And so the best $100 I ever spent (actually my parents spent- and humor me by excluding food, vet bills etc...) was Rudy because for the 5371 days he was alive (4/18/1995 - 1/3/2010), he was mine for 5327 days, which means the price of happiness for me was $0.0187 / day. When my girls are older, if they ask for their own dog I'll be sure to get them one. No matter how ridiculous the price seems at the time, the return on my investment will be priceless.

Christmas 2009

Nora's first Christmas ever and Addie's first Christmas where we were able to bribe her into good behavior with threats of Santa Claus watching - what a Christmas!! I was excited to be able to celebrate Chrismas Eve at home with the girls, so excited that it seems we totally forgot to take any pictures until after all the gifts were opened!! At least we got some video. We took "present opening" photos of the girls with both sides of our families but I thought it'd be fun to share a few non-traditional photos from the holiday.

At the Schoessow's Nora was like the pit boss ruling over the card table while Addie napped. She had a blast!

Addie received her princess dress up clothes from Oma and Opa and literally had on every piece of jewelry with her gown, heels, wand, crown and purse. We'll work on matching and dressing with taste later - for now this girl just wants to have fun:-)

At Grandma and Grandpa's the glass ornaments once again proved to be too tempting for all grandchildren and Nora was no exception. I love to snap a few pictures of the little ones staring in wonder at the pretty pieces before telling them to let go.

Addie was thrilled about the fact that there was a baby girl calf in their barn. She went seveal times with Grandpa to feed the calf its milk and would talk to it so sweet while petting on it.

We started the new year right too - at home doing random things around the house like laundry, cleaning out the garage, fixing a spot on the fence and cleaning out my car. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!!