Despite my best intentions, I didn't ruin my 16-year-old's birthday

Yesterday, my firstborn turned 16-years-old. (How did that happen?!)

In Texas, this means you can finally apply for a driver's license.

Last summer, he took a driver's education course and a written test to receive his learner's permit. (Did I mention the 4 hours we spent at the DPS trying to get it? The DPS office in our smallish town is packed like that EVERY DAY!!)

Since receiving his learner's permit, he's been driving with me or his dad in the passenger seat ever since. (at first his little brother refused to ride in the car if his older brother was driving) 

It was stressful at first.

There were some near misses. (I stopped counting) 
With time and practice, he got better. 
He's a pretty good driver ... 

And then along comes his birthday, yesterday, when he was scheduled for the big driving test at the Texas DPS.***

***Side note - In North Texas, you have to schedule the driving test more than a month in advance in order to get the date you want. It's CRAZY. We called a month in advance and ended up having to schedule our appointment at a DPS on the other side of Dallas to make it on my son's birthday.  

The weekend before the test, he spent several hours practicing parallel parking in my grandmother's car, because it's smaller than my big ole boat-of-a-car.  (He took the test in her car also)

 The day before his test, I realized we needed a current VOE (Verification of Enrollment) from the high school. The one we had on file was from the summer and not valid anymore. That took some last minute calling and stressing.

And then the night before his test, I realized I didn't have the certificate of completion from his driver's training class.  and the driving school was only open specific hours. So, that induced more stress and calling and emailing and stalking the owner ...

Needless to say, we ended up making more than one trip to the DPS in Garland (almost two hours round trip) and a trip to the driving school as well, where we sat outside for a good thirty minutes in hopes they'd open early ...

(Waiting at the DPS, irritated with me for taking a photo)

You get the idea.

But, somehow, despite my intentions, we made it to the DPS with all our paperwork,
he was able to take the test 
and 
he PASSED!





(outside the DPS with his temporary license)

So, Texas, my firstborn is now on your roads.  

Please, please, please be gentle with him.

He wore his clothes backwards for a year.

This little guy turns 8 years old today.

He entered life with a bang and hasn't stopped.

His delivery was so fast and furious that the doctor didn't make it.

When he was three years old he decided he wanted to wear his clothes backwards...for an entire year.

His shirts and his pants.  He was adamant about it.

He's smart, sensitive and hilarious.

He's my Remy.

Happy Birthday, Remy!!

Chitti Chitti Bang Bang

This is me at 10 years old.

in my Little Shop of Horrors sweatshirt
(I had seen the musical on Broadway in New York),
and I'm on my grandmother's porch in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.


Today I'm celebrating.


Celebrating that I'm 32 years old.
Celebrating that the same grandmother,
who has lived in Baton Rouge my entire life,
is moving this week to come live in Texas!
Moving just minutes from me.


I'm beyond happy.


And, I woke up this morning to the sweetest birthday message from Shannon.
Thanks, Shannon, you made my day!

Space-Age Birthday Ants

What's the best way to capture ants without killing them?



This was the dilemma we pondered last night.

Because today is Remy's birthday.
He's 7 years old!

And we let him open a early gift last night, from family who lives in Alabama.

It was a space-age ant habitat.



In 2003 NASA came up with an experiment to study animal life in space and test how ants successfully tunnel in microgravity.

They came up with this cool gel that is complete with nutrients and supplements to promote a healthy ant colony. A gel that wouldn't collapse upon shuttle lift-off.



However, with this awesome kit, ants were not included.



Luckily (or not) we have a big ant pile in our front yard.

And the boys have a healthy fear respect of ants, so they suckered talked their dad into helping.

Our magnificent space-age, ant-catching tool ended up being a...butter knife.

The boys had no problem kicking the ant pile and then running.

Leaving their father to capture angry ants.

Our neighbors must think we're strange. In our front yard, me with my camera, my husband with a knife.

It was big excitement, let me tell ya.

As of last night, only a few ants escaped and died trying.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks, G'Dad, Debra & Kate!!

Awesome gift and great blog material!!

Grab a camera and a critter and join Camera Critters weekend meme!

The winner of my New Year Giveaway is Miss Anne!

A Special Message

I had a dream last night that was so bizarre.


Ok, maybe I should admit that all my dreams are bizarre.
My mind works in weird ways, my dreams are vivid and weird.
But you already knew I was little strange.

Anyway, in this dream, I knew I had to find this sand castle to rescue two princesses.




I found this castle easily, because the two princesses were really smart
and left a trail of lemon drops for me to follow.

Inside the sand castle were a bunch of weird alien frogs,
and they asked me,

To which I answered, "Of course, don't you?"

And they replied that they did not.

So, I sat down on a giant toadstool and shared my dreams with them.

And in return, they gave me the two princesses,
which was a good thing, because it was both of the princesses' BIRTHDAYS TODAY!!

Princess Jen has a handsome Prince Jeff Charming who let me know today was her special day.
So, it's a good thing I was able to rescue her and return her to her four little ones.

And, I figured out it was also Princess Shannon's birthday also!!
Thank goodness her two little ones didn't know she was missing!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Shannon!!

So, do me a favor and go leave them some birthday comment love.

Jen is at Buried with Children
and
Shannon is at The Nut House

Have any of you had any special birthday events you'll never forget?

My most memorable would be my 30th birthday (only a year and a half ago)
where my mom took me to California.
We stayed in Monterey, explored Carmel & Big Sur.
Saw mommy and baby seals,
and made me fall in love with that area.

My family knows me so well.

I really had a great birthday yesterday, and I got gifts from my family that were perfect for me! It all started with these simple, casual shoes I bought for myself (blush). They're Dr. Scholl's, super comfy and really cheap! $28 at Walmart. Thanks, Carrie the Gremlin Wrangler, for telling me about them.

Then, my mother-in-law gave me this fun beach/overnight bag below with matching towel. It also had a matching make-up bag and wallet and hat! I liked the colors...not something I would have bought myself, but very fun to receive!

Then there is this beautiful bag from L.L. Bean with my name on it! (Ok, I ordered it for myself and had the kids give it to me) I have a little bit of a tote bag addiction...and I love all the pockets on this one.

My mother-in-law knows how much I love to read, so she gave me this wonderful gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for an exorbitant amount! And, she knows how much I love Harry Potter, so the card theme is obviously...you got it, Harry Potter!

My mother, my stepfather, and my father all chipped in together and bought me...drum roll please...a new camera and Photoshop Elements!!! I am beyond excited. I am estatic!! I am high on life and ready to take some REAL photos. I can't wait to get started!!! The new camera is an updated version of one I have and love, but the newer, improved model. I've never had Photoshop before, and I think it's high time I start cleaning up and having fun with my photos. My mom is a photography nut as well and has all the software...so she understands my obsession with it as well. I'm working on converting my children over to the shutterbug side now as well.

My parents are so wonderful, all three of 'em. My mother also cooked a yummy dinner and cake, feeding my whole fam, which is no small feat.

And, then, my hubby and boys gave me the final gift right before bed tonight...a new all-in-one photo pinter, scanner and copier. Yippee!! I've never had one of these babies before. Can't wait to start scanning in lots of fun, older pictures!!

I am beyond happy, can't wait to start playing with my new toys. It's been a great birthday! I also made it back into the fitness center (which I somehow avoided for the last month or so). It felt great to work out again. Those endorphins really kick in!

Giggle from Giggles (formerly known as VBF from Motivationless) gave me this sweet, adorable award recently, and I wanted to thank her!! She's my new awesome friend from Australia, a real live wire with lots of fun energy. We discovered our shared passion for the TV show LOST. Here is my award:

And, I want to pass this award along to everyone who took the time to stop and say Happy Birthday to me yesterday in the comment section. You guys were all so sweet to stop and say hello and help make my day even more special! Thanks!! And, enjoy this award...you know who you are.

This day in history

April 21st is such an important day in history, and here's why:

Rome was founded 1, 255 years ago on this day.

The twin brothers Romulus and Remus, became the founders of Rome. However, they quarreled resulting in the murder of Remus, leaving Romulus as the first King of Rome. The traditional date of Romulus' sole reign and the subsequent founding of the city, April 21, 753 BC, is still celebrated with festivals and parades today. Here are Romulus and Remus being suckled by the She-wolf...


According to the roman mythology, the twin-brothers were the supposed sons of the god Mars and the priestess Rhea Silvia, who was made a Vestal Virgin against her will - which meant that she was made a priestess of the godess Vesta and therefore forbidden to marry. However, the god Mars came to her in her temple and of him she conceived her two sons, Romulus and Remus. Here are Rhea Silvia and the god Mars.

On this day 172 years ago (April 21, 1836), there was the battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution where the Republic of Texas defeated Mexican General Santa Anna. A very important day in Texas history!!! Here is some Republic of Texas currency.

And, finally, 31 years ago, on April 21, 1977, Rhea was born in Texas! This silly, goofy girl!

And, you do not say my name "rhee-ah." I say it "Ray" or "Ray-ah." Listen to the short clip below...

China Cove

If I could jump into this photo, I would! When I turned 30 last April, my mom took me on a special birthday trip to California, to share the beauty of the Monterey Bay/Carmel/Big Sur area since I had never been there before. It was an AMAZING trip, and I took zillions of photos. This picture is from our hike at Point Lobos State Preserve in Carmel. I'm sure I'll be posting pictures from this trip on and off all the time because the scenery was just so photographic!

I plan on decorating the walls in my home with framed pictures from this trip...one of those projects I plan but haven't managed to complete yet. I've got lots of those...projects planned but uncompleted, I mean. My To Do list is a mile long, I swear. Do you keep a To DO list? I can't imagine life without one. I keep a notebook full of them, crossing them off as I complete them, adding more as I go.

Anyway, back to the picture. I wish I was hiking through Point Lobos right now with my family. The weather was wonderful, the scenery gorgeous and I'm so jealous of people who live there...although I'm not wild about the thought of earthquakes. That's a huge deterrant actually. My younger sister just moved to this area, and I can't wait to go visit her. She's having the time of her life exploring the area. I miss her!!!

Everyone needs to have a China Grove picture (or wherever appeals to you) posted near their computer or on their desk to remind them of the beauty of nature and to escape into just for a few moments. It's refreshing, it brings back memories, and has me planning my next vacation! I am using this photo as my desktop background on my computer right now.