Butt-Scootching happy dance.

As you can see, I have a totally new look and a totally new address! If you already link to my blog, please update your links with my new address or copy the html over there on the right sidebar for a totally awesome button link to display on your site. They're all the rage, I promise. hehe

I'm still working on updating my blogroll, so don't freak if you don't see your blog linked yet.

Darcy from Graphically Designing and Life with My 3 Boybarians designed my site. She's totally awesome.

When I first started blogging I found that all the blogs I was most impressed with, design-wise, were done by her! So, I kept waiting to get on her list...and waiting...and then her queue opened up and I got in it! I was beyond excited. So, now, after being online and blogging for five months, I have my day in the sun, my beautiful new blog!

Now, I admit, I don't have legs that go on forever and I'm not that skinny, but I love my cowgirl up top. And, of course Annie the lab, my attorney hubby who's losing his hair and my two boys.

So, instead of showing you all MY happy dance that I've been doing ALL DAY, I'm going to share with you Annie's happy dance. I've been trying to catch her doing the butt scootch on camera for months and months, and I finally caught her. Just in time for my new blog premiere!! ENJOY!! Watch her funny face over and over.

Attention!! Important announcement

I have a blog makeover in the works today, so hang in there with me while we work this out.

I'm getting a new address as well. So, you can find me at texaswordtangle.blogspot.com from now on.

Here's a link directly to Texas Word Tangle and my new look.

I'm so excited!!

Darcy from Graphically Designing is my superwonderful blog guru!!

Decrapified

I have a new word.

Decrapified.

I think it speaks for itself, no need to define it, right?

I spent pretty much the whole weekend decrapifying my home.

I found all my shoes and put them in the closet. I also found the bag of new shoes I bought a whlie back and forgot to put away.

You wanna see? You may not get as excited about them as I am...

And here they are on my feet. That pedicure is still hangin' in there,

but may need a redo soon, before we go on our family reunion later in July.

And, here are my new boots.

Sigh.

I'm in love.

They are really sooo comfortable. Have you ever worn cowboy boots? They can be the most comfortable thing you've ever put on.

And, they make you feel like stompin'.

Like you can take on the world and handle whatever comes your way.

They help when you have to decrapify your home.

During my decrapifying, I also re-discovered some jewelry I hadn't seen since we moved up here. So, I put it on my display thingy. I think it's called an earring tree...but I use it for everything: earrings, bracelets, necklaces, hairclips, etc.

My youngest sister, The Bug, gave it to me for my birthday!

(ok, I had it on my Amazon wish list, and she got it off there.)

Now, back to my closet.

These are the shoes I've been wearing most of the summer...

because they're so comfortable, they slip on easy, and my feet like em.

This is the nicer pair I've been wearing all summer. They match EVERYTHING.

But, now I'm going to be wearing my new flip flops and my new boots.

SO, after we spent some time decrapifying and before we started with the Rug Doctor,

the boys had a little fun with Annie.

(Notice, the furniture has been moved out for the carpet cleaning,

but the counter has not been decrapified yet.)

As Annie leaps magnificently into the air, see the rug doctor (only $26 a day at Tom Thumb).

Also, Donny has on his UT Longhorn shirt. Go Longhorns!

On the left, you can see some of the boys' artwork matted and framed.

We have one wall devoted to some of their best work.

I'm not sure who wants the dog toy more, Annie (the dog) or Remy (my 6yr old).

That dog can jump!!

(and, I wonder what plans Donny has for the ball behind his back? hmmmm...)

It's Monday, we survived the weekend. My house is clean.

Coming up this week...I finally caught the BUTT SCOOTCH on video!

And, a blog makerover is in the works.

Y'all come back now, ya hear?!

This Critter Crashed a Bachelorette Party - Camera Critters

Two years ago, my sister, The Bug, had a bachelorette party that ended up being a little unusual.

We went out to her finance's family's land in the hill country to spend the weekend and have fun.

It was the Bug and I and a handful of her close friends.

We had a blast, drank alcohol, played charades, and then discovered a critter under the porch.

Can you tell what that is?

Oh, yes, joy of all joys, a group of girls discovered a diamond back rattle snake under the house.

We were in the middle of nowhere.

And totally freaked out.

And drinking mimosas.

Helped arrived and pulled out a fire exstinguisher,

which apparently freezes the snake...or in our case, just slows it down a little.

Slowed it down enough for us to behead it.

I wish I could show you the rest of the pictures (which include the bride-to-be, Bug, dancing around in a veil, cowboy boots, and holding a mimosa while also holding a dead snake) but I'd have to get my sister's permission first. Maybe if you guys ask her nicely...

If you want to join Camera Critters on Sunday, grab a camera,

take a picture of any animal and post it online.

You don't have to tell a story, and one picture will do just fine.

I'm just wordy and have to tell a story.

Queen of Random Drivel; Blogging without a Purpose

I have a very special award to give out today. It's for a blogger who surpasses all others in her inability to craft, her tendancy to poke fun at herself, her enjoyment of smutty books, and her lack of fear in blogging about it, and who manages hilarious posts without purpose.

Without further ado, I award this special award to a one-of-a-kind friend, KAT, from Sunshine and Lemonade.

She doesn't get offended by a certain Texas gal's dirty comments about Johnny Depp. She isn't afraid to say what she thinks. Most of the time she has great music rocking on her site. She has great advice and isn't afraid to use the word tostitutes. Watch out world, she's comin' for YOU!

Arte y Pico & an embarrassing moment

Angie at Angie's Spot has awarded me a wonderfully gorgeous award called Arte y Pico.




This is Arte y Pico award originated in Uruguay from a fabulous blogger who can test your Spanish comprehension skills if you pay her a visit. Here are the rules that accompany this esteemed award.


1. Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community.


2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog.


3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name of and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award.


4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize has to show the link of Arte Y Pico blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.


5. Show these rules.

So, I'm going to pass this along, but I like to break rules, so I may not give it to five bloggers. I'll give it to:

Sarah at Brit' Gal in the USA

Tressa at American in Norway

Tranny Head at Law School Sucks...and so do Lawyers

Jennifer at The Cotton Wife

And, just so this post isn't all about awards or leaving anyone out...let me share my embarrassing story of the week.

My house is a mess. Seriously. The kids have gotten every toy out and left it lying around. The dishes got a little backed up. Things were just horrible. So, I was finally sick of it, pulled out a trash bag, got the kids to listen and said, "It's time. Today we're cleaning." And, as I opened the trash bag to start pickin up trash...the door bell rang. OMG, who was it?!!

It was my employer. She had stopped by with her 4yr old to give me a gift certificate to a restaurant, to thank me for my hard work. Beyond sweet. However, the 4yr old Princess Dorothy, took off into my house and mom had to go in after her. INTO MY HOUSE. INTO THE MESS. I was mortified.

Needless to say, this house is getting cleaned up fast now. Just in case others stop by...so I can sleep easy at night. OMG, how embarrassing!!!!

Please tell me this has happened to you. I'm not the only one?!

I have plans.

I need to have plans. I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed with the kids home for summer. I love our free time together, but more often than not, I'm hearing, "I'm bored."

They haven't been interested in any of the summer camps I've mentioned.

We try to do something active each day, whether it's swimming, roller skating, laser tag or riding bikes.

But, I'm feeling the pressure to be a good mom and expose them to new things and to do exciting adventures. Does anyone else feel this pressure?!

Here are my plans for the next few days. Today we're going to a natatorium in a nearby town. I've never been, although the kids have. My goal is to get their energy out and take pictures.

Tomorrow morning we're going to go to our small town farmer's market. I've been wanting to go since we moved here and have yet to, so tomorrow's the DAY to do it. Gosh darnit.

I want to start geocaching. If you don't know what this is, look it up or click on my link, because it looks like treasure hunting and nature hiking all in one. My kids will LOVE it. We're going to start that tomorrow or Sunday.

I have books to start teaching them Latin and Spanish. I've started but then forgot about it for a few weeks. Sad. I want them to know foreign languages...their minds are like sponges right now and they can soak up new vocabulary.

I also have summer workbooks for kids going from kindergarten to 1st grade and 5th grade to 5th grade. Those are full of exercises to keep the kids' minds sharp.

These are my plans....I'm determined to stick to them. If I don't, I might loose my mind... I'm sick of their bickering and fighting and boredness.

The house has gone to hell right now because the kids have tornadoed through it. Hurricaned through it. It's a danger zone.

I'm spending night and day with these little buggers...and parts of it are very enjoyable. Other times I'm too busy worrying about what I should be doing or what I could be doing or what would be best for them. How do I turn this worrying off?!

What are you guys doing with your kids right now?!!

Conspicuously Creative

Sandy at I Beati gifted me a wonderful award!! I love being called creative. Thanks, Sandy!!








So, we were in the car the other day, and Remy pipes up from the backseat:


"Mama, give me your finger."


Now, if you have boys, you know this is dangerous. Who knows what he has planned. He has a slinky in his hand at the time, and I'm driving. So, my response is:

"No way, Remy. My fingers are precious right now." (I have a hurt thumb at the moment that was sliced open by a broken bowl and then burned with silver nitrate at the ER. To say it's sore is an UNDERSTATEMENT.)


Remy turns to Donny.


"Donny, let me see a finger."


And, Donny responds, "Nope. I have trust issues."


My jaw drops open. Excuse me?! What?!


I burst out laughing. Remy wants to know what's funny, so I have to explain.

Donny tells me he heard that somewhere and thought it was funny. Oh,yeah, it was funny alright.


I just never know what these guys are going to say, I swear.





Another enlightening conversation in the car:


Remy: I know what "dufus" means.

Donny: Oh, yeah? What does it mean?

Remy: It means "moron."

Donny: What does moron mean?

Remy: It means butthead.

Me: Remy!!

We had to drive into Dallas today to take my dad to the airport. We have two airports in Dallas, the huge one, DFW and a smaller one, Love Field. We went to Love Field, which is in the middle of the city, and since we live north of Dallas, with traffic and all, it's a good 45 minute or more drive one way.

Before we left, I reminded both boys to pee, grab books and/or things to keep them busy in the car for two hours. Donny grabbed a book and Remy said he'd read a book that was already in the car. I told him to grab something else as well, because I knew he'd fly through that book. It was a search and find book he'd done over and over again. He promised me it would take him an HOUR to get through the book.

Yep, fifteen minutes into our drive, Remy says, "Mama, I'm done with my book!" Unbelievable.

Luckily I had packed markers, colored pencils, drawing pages and an activity book as well as his Nintendo DS. I know how to be prepared, I've learned it's essential.

If we end up somewhere without books or toys with us, then we pull out our trusty friends I Spy, which I can only play for so long) or work on making up our own stories.

And, my boys love to draw. They prefer to play board games (we just got Trouble & Jenga) and our favorites are Monopoly, Sequence and Blokus. They love to play sports or swim. But, every now and then, a little down time is required, and I keep a blank book in my purse that they occasionally add to. I'm going to scan some of those drawings and add them to this post. They're a little freaky, but very creative...

These are pretty much all Donny's drawings:

And, this last colorful one is Remy's.

Swimming

It's summer. It's Texas. It's HOT. Melting hot. So, we survive with lots and lots of swimming.

Back before Christmas, I shopped fitness centers, trying to find the right place to leave my blood, sweat and tears. A huge factor in this decision was whether or not pools were on site. The place I ended up joining (thanks to help from my grandmother and mother!) has huge indoor and outdoor pools, both of which have amazing, two-story high, water slides. The kids LOVE it.


We grab a few chairs, lay out our towels and dump our stuff (including the heavy swim bag full of pool toys that they rarely use) and then we spend the new couple of hours swimming.

Here's a picture of the outdoor slide, and lo and behold, that's Remy coming out the chute!

I used disposable, water-prppf cameras to take all the pictures in this post. I wasn't sure how they'd turn out, having never used them before, and the resulting quality isn't great, but they have kind of a neat look to them...and I wasn't about to get my beautiful new camera near the water.

Here's the outside slide in all it's glory. At the top you can choose to go down the covered tube or the open tube...it's really two slides with two chutes. I have to know in advance which one Remy's coming down, so I can be near where he exits at the bottom. He can swim well, he just get's a little nervous in the deep end sometimes.

Most of the pictures I took of Donny, Remy and fun Uncle Chris who was visiting from Austin were coming out of the slide...but often I only ended up with photos of big splashes! This is Uncle Chris's splash and that's a life guard to the right. They have one life guard at the top of the slide and one at the bottom, making sure one kid at a time goes down, everyone's safe, etc. There are usually six life guards in all at this pool. I'm impressed with their safety.

Here's Remy with fun Uncle Chris. Uncle Chris came to stay with us for about five days. He's one of my hubby's younger brothers. Bless his heart, he spent almost the entire visit playing with my boys. He's such a good sport. Donny and Remy look up to him and have such a great time hanging out with him. And, he gets extra points for being willing to have photos of him thrown on my blog. I usually ask family members before posting them. And see if they want nicknames, that sort of thing. :o)

Donny is threatening me with his super water shooter thingy. I got hit more times than I can remember that day at the pool until I threatened to kick him out of the pool if he hit me one more time. He stopped.

Both my boys have to have goggles on while swimming, and they have both taken to wearing rashguards (those water shirts that provide UV protection).

Then we went crazy and started taking underwater photos. I can't believe I'm posting a picture of me in my bathing suit. Thank goodness this is a blurry, fuzzy photo and not a close-up. Not super flattering, but we were having fun. It's me and Remy.

Here Donny being fun and nutty.


Donny has flippers on. He loves how much faster he can swim with them.

So, now you've seen where and how we spend most of our summer days.

Do you have a regular pool you go swimming in?

Poor puppy

Every time I leave the house and can't take along sweet Annie, this is what I see as we drive away. Look closely at the left side of the door, in the window.

Here's a closer look...Poor puppy. Poor, poor puppy.
She usually gets to go run errands with me at least once or twice a day, so don't go feeling all sorry for her. She's spoiled.

And, after playing laster tag yesterday, the boys won dinky toy rewards at the arcade place and got those baseball sticker thingies that stick to your car. So, in this next picture, gasp and pretend I didn't already tell you....ok, ready?

Oh my gosh, Rhea, did someone hit a baseball into your car window?!! Holy smokes!!!

(that white thing on the window, sorry not the best photo)

As we drove down the street, it flew off. Cheap, dinky arcade toy.

Your Mama made you do What?!

When I get the photo bug, there's just no helping it. I have to take pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. For some reason, I've been dying to take photos of the corn fields near our home.

The area we live in is partly rural but also growing and developing in leaps and bounds, so the acres of corn fields have numbered days left, I'm sure. I love the rows and rows of corn and other crops growing alongside the highway and backroads. I made the kids come with me, pulled over along the side of the road and got out with my camera.

The boys were suprisingly game after they were bribed realized how important it was to me.

I used them to show how tall this corn was. Taller than them, as you can see. Donny's about 5 feet tall (and only inches from being taller than I am!!).

Let me take a moment to apologize for something. In my last few posts Remy has been wearing the same shirt...over and over and over again. I'd like to say he has several of the same shirt or I am washing it nightly, but no, this child hates to change clothes and has been wearing this shirt for like a week straight. Bad, I know. He really likes that gold shiny team shirt.

Ok, back to the corn. I went into the towering corn and crouched down to get a picture down the row.

Well, it doesn't really look like corn yet...more like cute little stringy pompoms, actually.

I made the kids come in with me. We went so far in we couldn't see the road or our car anymore. I think they enjoyed venturing into the wild corn forest with me. They're such good sports and still smiling, although Donny started to mention snakes at this point and Remy began to freak out a little!!

Now I'm crouching down even lower. It's like a corn tunnel!! Very cool.

I don't see any snakes.

Now, this is me sitting on the ground, looking up into the sky. I'm a little person, living in the corn field. Look how tall they are!! I'm lost in my own little corn world.

No freakin' way. Look at the bottom of these stalks! They are like little feet or pedestals. Have you ever seen this before? I had no idea it looked like this on the bottom. I'm totally fascinated.

I think I've gone corn crazy. We never grew it on our ranch when I was growing up. But, I do remember playing in a corn field once with my little sister, pretending we were lost in a maze of corn. It was fun. I wanted my boys to feel a little bit of that...and I needed to get in touch with nature again. I love living so close to the country...yet having the convenience of the big city so close by.

I'd really love to own more land. If we weren't so concerned about being in a good school district, I'd be tempted to go for it. Grow plants or animals. I think I could be very content this way.

The sun flowers (or are they black eyed susans?) grow wilda round the corn. So photogenic.

Then, get ready for this, as I'm taking a picture of this thistle...

a butterfly flies into the frame just as I take my photograph. My miracle moment, the money shot!!! I was so excited!! The magic of nature and photography coming together serendipitously.

At this point, I was content. I'd gotten pictures of the corn and nature, and I was happy again.

So, yes, I went a little crazy, but weren't these fun pictures? Did you enjoyed our little field trip?