Build-a-Bear

Josie has been such a trooper throughout all the changes our family is experiencing lately. Before we put our house on the market, we hired a professional stager to help get the house ready. She took out a LOT of Josie's toys, which are already boxed up in the garage. Almost every day Josie asks me where something is and I have to remind her that it's already packed and she can have it back after we move. Our schedule has been crazy with the house showings and packing. She just hasn't gotten a lot of attention or even much "normal" lately. So, tonight Lane and I decided to treat her with a special trip to Build-a-Bear. This was her first Build-a-Bear experience and I think she was the perfect age for it. She loved it! She picked a puppy and named him Tex (so we'll always remember our time and special friends in Texas!).

Filling him up with fluff!

Picking a heart and giving it a kiss!

He feels jusssst right!

Bath time!

Registering and picking a name

Checking to make sure he's okay in his box!

He's all mine and I'm taking him home!

The Little People are now living in the Build-a-Bear box.

Tex, Josie and Baby make a happy family!

A Haircut for Josie

The "Before" Picture

Today I took Josie to get her haircut at a place called "Cool Cuts" (we've also been to Snip-Its...same concept). Whoever thought of this place is brilliant! Josie got to pick out what movie she wanted to watch (she picked The Wonder Pets), and then sit in a red Radio Flyer fire engine as her "chair". She sat absolutely perfectly still the ENTIRE time the girl was cutting her hair. There was no whining or crying. She was totally happy and cooperative. I'm amazed because the worse part of my day, every day, is when I have to fix Josie's hair. She usually reacts like I am purposely torturing her out of spite. So.....I guess the answer is to install a fire engine barber chair in the corner of her room with a TV in front of it. It works!!
Now if there was only a place like this for adults.....

The "After" picture. She was not cooperative in looking at the camera.

Oyster Creek

There's a park here in Sugar Land called Oyster Creek Park. It has a fantastic running trail that weaves in and out of wooded areas along the creek for about 4 1/2 miles. I used to run over there all the time, but now I've gotten lazy and just run in our neighborhood. It had been a while since we'd been over to the park, so this morning Josie and I loaded up on the bicycle and rode over there to play on the playground and see the turtles. We played on the playground for a while and ate a snack, then got back on the bicycle to go a little further down the trail to the bridge where the turtles swim. I was shocked as we got close enough to see that the creek was COMPLETELY dried up. We haven't had significantly measurable rain in the Houston area in over 250 days, so I don't know why I didn't expect this. It was really sad. There used to be hundreds of turtles swimming around in the water. We did see one turtle out in the middle of the trail, obviously looking for water. If I'd known somewhere to take him, I would have. The whole place smelled like death and there was a big group of vultures in the middle of the dried-up creek bed.
But at least it presented a "teaching moment" for Josie. I told her we needed to pray and ask God to send some rain so the turtles can swim again. She said "Okay, tonight when I go to bed and we say our prayer, I'll ask God to send rain for the turtles." So, then I got to teach her that we don't have to pray just at mealtimes or at night before we go to bed. I told her that God can hear our prayers anywhere at anytime. So, we said a prayer right there while riding on a bicycle together. Then she asked me "Where is God?" and I was relieved when she accepted the answer, "God is everywhere! He's all around us!". Not sure if I'm ready for deep, theological questions yet!

Majority of the state of Texas is in a severe drought. The city of Houston is starting to regulate water usage. People can only water their lawns on certain days and at certain times. We're encouraged to take 5 minute (or less) showers, which I'd be happy to do if they could increase the water pressure so I can rinse the soap off faster! Unfortunately, meteorologists don't see an end in sight unless we get a tropical storm this direction. So, please pray that God will send some rain (even in the form of a tropical storm!) to Texas!

The Life of a Stay-at-Home-Mom: Day 1

Friday was my last day keeping the twins. So, today was my first official day as a "stay-at-home" mom! Josie and I celebrated with a mommy/daughter date to see the"Winnie the Pooh" movie. This was Josie's first trip to the movie theater. She ended up sitting in my lap for most of it, and I'm not sure she really followed the storyline of the movie. But she told me she had a good time. When the movie went off, she said, "I want to watch it again!" She said her favorites were "Piglet" and "Tiger" (not Tigger). I thought the movie was super-cute! We both had a great time! Now that it's just the two of us we won't do special stuff like this every day. But it's nice to know that we can!