Ode to the Outlet Mall

Well we have a new outlet mall in out midst and it happens to be down the road from me. I have mixed feelings about outlet malls. I always have these expectations when I go. I imagine walking into the Gap outlet and everything is going to be half the price in the store but not the case. I go into the Gap Kids outlet store and the prices don't seem to be that different. I see signs that say 20% and 30% off but the tags read the regular price. I mean isn't that just a sale and not even a good one at that. I would love to know what they mean when they say "Outlet". I really don't feel like I am saving that much money. I have the feeling that the people who setup these "outlet malls" are thinking that just by putting that on the sign that it will draw a bigger crowd. I think it is more marketing then it is anything else.

I got a call from my friend, Joy saying that her and my friend, Jamie were heading to my side of town to go to the outlet mall and to see if I wanted to join. I say my side of town because most of my friends from high school live on the south side of town (i.e. Pearland, Friendswood, Sagemont, League City, etc.). I don't miss an opportunity to hang with my girlfriends so I loaded up the Weasel wagon and headed to the outlet mall. The outlet mall is not what I consider a mall. My definition of a mall is a large structure that contains many stores and is connected by air conditioned hall ways. This place is more of a super large, open concept strip center. When I say open concept I mean no roof and no a/c. Needless to say it was hot unless you were in a store. Have I ever mentioned how HOT and HUMID it is in Texas? Well it felt today like it was 200 degrees. I had both Riley and Lane in tow. Joy brought her too cutie pie kids, Chase and Carson. Jamie brought her adorable son Jackson. We were loaded down with kids. They were having a good time running ahead of us and chasing each other. I asked Joy, "Do you think that some people look at us and we become their reason for birth control?" She said, "Absolutely!". We went into Gymboree and thank goodness they have a television with some sort of kids show on. That kept their attention for a while so we could shop. Whoever you are at Gymboree that thought of that little gem, you are a genius!!!! After subjecting our wild ones to many, many stores we decided to treat them to a cookie and a Cherry Icee. Another genius on my list of geniuses is the inventor of the Cherry Icee. It's cool, refreshing and oh so sweet. After what seemed like an eternity in line, the guy finally got to us. I ordered a chocolate chip cookie with M&Ms and 2 small Cherry Icees. We all decided that we would take the kids into the air conditioned food court to eat their cookies. Plus Riley was fusing because she had been patiently waiting for her bottle. I sat Lane in a chair with his cookie and Icee. He was so excited about the cookie but not so much enthusiasm for the Icee. I got Riley all settled and started feeding Riley her bottle. It wasn't 30 seconds into it that Lane squealed. He had dropped 75% of his cookie on the floor. Of course he did! He was acting like a money and climbing all over his chair. I was not about to let the 10 second rule go into effect in this germ infested outlet mall food court. I told him that I may possibly get him another one but that for now he would have to wait and eat the banana I brought. He pouted a little bit but got over it a lot quicker then I thought he would. After we were all done we went in a few more shops. I got Lane a pair of cool shoes from Stride Rite for school. He calls them his football shoes. I have no idea where he came up with that. Daddy I am most positive. I never mentioned the cookie and neither did he. I did however treat him with $5.00 worth of rides they have in the middle isle of the walkway. He loved it!!!

Seriously, how many times is too much, "Lane look at Mommy! Lane look at Mommy!" I finally just give up and take the dang picture.

Lane the bull rider!!!

This time I get a smile but still not looking at the camera!

We were exhausted by the time it was time to part ways. It had been a day of fun, many trips to the potty, many stores, many threats to behave or no cookie, much sweat and good times with my girlfriends. Overall it was worth it. Joy and Jamie, Thanks for coming and hanging out with us. It was fun!

Just A Little Something To Make You Smile

I thought that I would post a few pictures of the kids. I know that most of the people who read my blog are family members and they love them some kiddo pics. So here ya go.......Enjoy!

Riley - Isn't she so beautiful!!!!

Lane - What a great smile he has!!!

Riley - Showing off her 2 little tiny teeth!!

Lane loves to pretend cook with Mommy!!

Oh Where Oh Where Have The Weasels Gone

If you are wondering if we have been kidnapped by aliens or on a trip around the world. Well I hate to disappoint you. We have been here in Texas being washed away by parcipitation. Yes, it is again raining. Oh how I love rainy days....NOT! It is a week out from school starting and instead of doing fun stuff we are staying indoors frying our brains with television. Oh well, they're young they will bounce back. We did however go to Ruckus Room (a bounce house type of thing) yesterday. This was because I promised Lane that after I drug him and Riley out into the rain to go to Target and buy my book, that we could do something fun. Yes, I dragged my kids out into the rain for a book. My blogger friend at Lulaville got me hooked on this "Twilight" saga and now I can't put it down. There are 4 books in the series. It starts with "Twilight", then "New Moon", then "Eclipse" and ends with "Breaking Dawn". I am hooked! I can't put them down. I am only half way through "New Moon" but it has only been 2 days. Poor Craig came into the bedroom last night after the kids were in bed and said, "Can we just talk for a moment?". I thought he was trying to start an intervention but he wasn't. He just wanted to talk and spend some time with me since I have had my head in these books for 24 hours straight. Poor guy!!! Don't worry Honey I love still love you!!! So if you haven't heard from me in a while you know that I have not packed up my family and moved to Mexico, I am just mentally in Forks (the place the book is set in) with my imaginary boyfriend, Edward (one of the main characters).

Wii the People

I got a phone call tonight from my sister-in-law, Chelsae. She was telling me about her weekend and how Nolan's 4th birthday party went. (Sorry Nolan for not being able to come. I hope you had fun and we love you very much.) We were in mid conversation when my brother-in-law, Jeremy chimes in.

Jer: "Did she tell you what I did?"

Me: "No, and do I want to know?"

Jer: "Well I was playing to Wii and I was playing bowling. I was all into it and about to make a 3-10 split (now this I am not sure he actually said since I couldn't remember the bowling lingo he spouted off) when the controller flew out of my hand."

Me: "What!?!?!"

Jer: "Yeah, it flew right into the just recently paid off, 50" flat screen television and cracked it"

Me: "What a dork!"

Jer: "Can you believe it?"

Me: "No but Yes!"

After that the phone was passed back to Chelsae,

Chelsae: "I was so upset."

Me: "Understandably! You know something always happens when you pay something off"

Chelsae: "Yeah, but Jeremy and I had just had this conversation about the safety strap on the controller. He said that he didn't like wearing it, I guess he thought it was uncool"

Me: "How cool is he now?! Hahahahahahaha!!!

I pre-warned Jeremy that by telling me this story it would for sure be posted on my blog. I don't lie!!!!

This is a public service announcement.....Please use the safety straps that come with your Wii system because it's all fun and games until someone (and by someone I mean your paid-off, 50" flat screen television) gets hurt.

Me, Myself and I

I stole this from my blogger friend at Stretch Marks (aka Melissa Lee). It's okay she stole it from someone else and said I could. I normally blog about my family and friends but today it is all about me.

I AM........ addicted to sugar. I love me some sweets. I love everything about them. Any kind of candy, cake, pie, donut, ice cream and cookie. Why is this and is there a support group for sugar addicts? Maybe I can start one and call it SAA (Sugar Addicts Anonymous). You can find a meeting in your area by just following the trail of candy bar wrappers.

I WANT...... to live in Austin, Texas. Every time I visit this place I leave saying to myself that I want to live here. This past trip to Austin I came back and told my husband that I want to live in Austin and whatever it takes to do that then I am willing to do it. He is on board.

I HAVE......crooked pinkie fingers. My mother has them and I inherited them. I checked both of my children and they do not have them. Lucky for them.

I WISH I COULD.....have one more day with my brother. I would introduce him to his niece, for whom he never met. I would let him and Lane play catch together in the back yard. I would watch him and Craig have a beer while watching the kids run and play. I would hug him and kiss him and tell him how much I love him and how much he means to me. I would also ask him why he decided to leave us.

I HATE......to hear about the suffering that people have to endure everyday. I have had to stop watching the news.

I FEAR.......rats, mice and sharks. I know, what a weird mix of animals. I know that I fear rats & mice from a childhood incident. We lived in a new neighborhood where there was a lot of housing construction around. Next to our house was an empty lot that was being cleared so a house could be built. This caused us to get field mice in our house. One morning I went into the pantry to get some cereal. When I pulled the box of cereal down a mouse jumped on me and ran down my nightgown. Ever since then I have been deathly afraid of mice. Can you blame me? Well my fear of sharks comes from a little known movie called "Jaws". Seriously, doesn't this movie freak everyone out? To this day will not swim in the ocean.

I HEAR.......the story in a song. When I listen to music I listen to the words so intently that I can hear the story in it. This is why some of my favorite songs mean so much to me.

I SEARCH......for my talent. I think that everyone has a talent. The one thing they are good at. Some people sing, some dance, some draw, some cook, some play a sport but me, I am still looking. I will let you know as soon as I know.

I DON'T THINK.......clowns are funny. They are more scary then funny. I don't think I like them.

I REGRET....... not getting a college degree. I think that I am smart enough but I was and still am lacking the motivation.

I LOVE......my life. My husband and my kids have made my life better then I ever thought it could be. I never knew that I had this much love in me until they came along.

I ACHE FOR.......a vacation away from the good ole state of Texas. I need Hawaii or Jamaica or Costa Rica, just somewhere tropical that serves drinks with umbrellas, beach side. I want to watch the sunset and sunrise with my husband. I want us to take a nap in the middle of the day, alone. I want to swim and sunbath all day.

I ALWAYS CRY......when my husband cries. This is a rare thing and I always poke fun at him and tell him he is dead inside when he doesn't cry over things I do. He says I cry enough for both of us. I just tell him "I'm a girl, we cry!"

I AM NOT......a good speller. My husband makes fun of me all the time for pulling out my Webster's New Pocket Dictionary. Spell check is my life saver.

I DANCE.....when a good song comes on. Mostly if the song is hip-hop or rap. Also if I am alone or just with my kids cause I know they won't tell and they think it's funny. I will also dance if I am with a group of friends at a club (rare these days) and usually many drinks are involved.

I SING.....with every song on the radio. I can't help it. Something just comes over me and I feel that I must sing every word to every song I hear. Sometimes I don't even know all the words. When I do know all the words then look out, I will belt it out as loud as I can. This makes me happy.

I NEVER......want to skydive. I don't get why people want to do it and pay big money to do it. My luck my shoot would never open or I would just throw-up all over myself. Either way it wouldn't be pretty.

I RARELY........ look in the mirror and like what I see. People, including my husband, will give me a compliment about the way I look and I smile and say thank you. Inside I am thinking, "Oh they are just being nice".

I CRY WHEN I WATCH.....Hope Floats. You know the movie with Sandra Bullock, where her husband has an affair with her best friend and she finds out on national television. I cry from beginning to end every time I watch it. Especially the part when the husband comes back to ask Sandra for a divorce and the little girl thinks her daddy came back to get her. Rips my heart out. I have watched this movie probably 50 times and still cry.

I AM NOT ALWAYS......as truthful with people as I would like to be. Sometimes it is to spare someones feelings. I feel I am doing them a favor and I do appreciate it when people do it for me. Other times it is to cover my own a$$. If I do something wrong or that I am embarrassed about I will lie like nobodies business to get out of it. I think it might be human nature. Survival of the fittest or something like that.

I HATE THAT....my brother died at such a young age (23 years old). He will never have a wife, a family of his own or know his niece or nephew. He had so many things left to do in his life. I hate that!

I'M CONFUSED ABOUT.......religion, politics, the human mind, the legal system and many more things that I just can't think of right now.

I NEED......to loose 58 lbs. to be healthier for my family and myself. This would also make looking in the mirror and at pictures of myself a lot easier.

I SHOULD......end this whirl wind of information that I am throwing at you. You are probably thinking, "Hey Heather, T.M.I. (too much information)".

I hope this was helpful as well as informative.

Now We Are Off To The Lions Den

Wake -up call is again at 6:30 am for our next leg of the race. We are now heading to Austin to stay with our friend Holly. She is a dear friend that I have known since middle school. She has 3 kids, Jackson, Abigail and William. Jackson and Abi are 5 year old twins (or at least they will be next Thursday). William is 1 month younger than Lane and Will be 3 in October. We are so excited to see them because they are fun to hang out with and William and Lane get along so well.

We packed the car with all of the stuff we originally brought and now have added some souvenirs from Sea World. If we keep accumulating stuff one of these kids is going to have to ride on the roof of the Weasel wagon. I wish I had taken a picture of our car packed to the max. It was just a miracle that it all fit. Well maybe just pure talent that I could fit it. If I do say so myself. We call Holly to get the directions. We are all set now. All I need is a Starbucks and I can kick it into high gear. We are going along just great but not a Starbucks in sight. Seriously, what does San Antonio have against Starbucks? Okay never mind, we found one. We get our coffees and we are now back "on the road again". I don't know what it is but when I am on a road trip, and still awake, that song gets stuck in my head.

We start looking for the exit that Holly told us to take. Neither Chasity nor I see this exit 281. Then we notice that 1604 North has all the sudden become 1604 South. What in the world has just happened? We are both flabbergasted. We call Holly to find out what happened and now how do we get to her. She tells us that we have passed it long ago and now we will be traveling a new route. Where is a GPS when you need one? We finally get turned around and are on the right track. When we finally arrive and are happy to get out of the car. Holly and the kids are there to greet us with sandwiches, chips and drinks. Gotta love that Holly.

We decide to take a rest from the car for a while and let the kids play. They all get along so well. After our rest we all pile in 2 cars and head to The Hollows Beach Club. This place is fabulous. It is up on the side of a hill amongst an awesome neighborhood and marina. The beach club is what they call the pool area. The pool was nice and refreshing and it had a restaurant with waiters to serve you pool side. This is the life.

Chasity, Kylar (hiding) and Holly

Lane and Will were wearing matching bathing suits. (Which was not planned.) They played so well together and even got into a little trouble together. We were calling them Frick and Frack. We all had a great time relaxing, soaking in the awesome view and just letting the Austin winds blow through our hair. It was exactly what we needed. We headed back to the house for baths and bedtime. We had all the kids in an assembly line for the tub. We had Frick and Frack in one tub and the girls in another. When everyone was bathed and in bed Holly and I snuck off to pick up some snacks for our boat trip the next day and wine for the night. When we returned everyone was asleep. We opened the wine and the back door and started going back in time. We talked about the old times and everyone we knew back then. We laughed, maybe a little too loud because a few neighbors' lights started coming on. We wound down about midnight. It was fun and a much needed little trip back to the old days when we weren't known as mom but as Heather & Holly. It was fun.

Frick (aka Lane) & Frack (aka Will)

Riley lounging in a poolside chair
Kylar playing in the fountains
Holly & Will
Lane and his popsicle

Riley asleep in her poolside lounge chair

The next morning we got up and fed the kids. We packed our bags for the boat. Holly and John have a boat that is docked at The Hollows on Lake Travis. This would be Lane's and Riley's first ride on a boat. I think it might have been Kylar's too. They were so excited. We also brought the tube so they could take rides. I wasn't sure if Lane would do it but boy was I wrong. I couldn't get him out of it. I was so proud of my little boy. Riley fussed a little at the beginning when she had to wear a life vest but I gave her a pacifier and she just sat back and chilled out. She even at one point took a nap. That girl will sleep anywhere.

Kids and Holly on the boat
Heidi, Me & Riley sporting her most fashionable life vest

Kylar, Lane & Jackson

Kylar & Lane tubing

Chasity, Kylar & Heidi

Me, Riley, Lane, Will & Kylar

I think Lane was getting a little homesick because he turned to me at one point and said "Can we eat lunch and then go home and see Daddy?". What a cutie!

When we were all done boating and living the life of leisure we headed back to the Lion's Den. We packed and headed back home. We had a great vacation and what an adventure for 2 moms and 4 kids.

Watch Out Shamu....Cause The Weasels Are Coming To Visit!

Friday morning started at 6:30 am for me. I had to take a shower and get packed so that we would be ready to leave. We wanted to be at Sea World as soon as the gates opened. When you are taking 3 kids under the age of 5 anywhere, there is a lot of packing and preplanning. Riley was staying with Nana and Mema while me, Lane, Nolan, Chelsae, Heidi, Kylar and Chasity headed to the home of Shamu. We got packed and dressed and headed out. We got to Sea World just when it opened at 10am. We were a little shocked at how many people were already there. I guess we kinda thought we were the only ones with this grand idea to go on a Friday and get there early.

Let me tell you that within the first 10 minutes of being in the park I was already sweating like a pig. Texas heat will kill you....no lie! Our first stop, after the bathroom, was to the Shamu Express. It is a small kids roller coaster. They all loved it once we got on. They were a little confused on why we had to wait in line so long. I just told them to get used to it because obviously, someone told everyone in Texas our plan to go to the park Friday and get there early. We have a "mole" amongst us.

Kylar & Heidi

Nolan & Chelsae

The Shamu Express

We decided that our next stop on this fun train would be SHAMU! We headed 30 miles to the other side of the park to see the Shamu show "Believe". It was awesome! I just can't get over the fact that this is these peoples job. To hang out with whales. What a cool job to have. The kids were speechless the entire time. Not one peep was made from any of the 3 kids during the whole show. Amazing!

Nolan & Chelsae at Believe

Chasity, Heidi & Kylar

Me & Lane

All Lane could say was "WOW!"

We stopped to check out the flamingos or as Nolan said "Hedder come and see the pink mingos". Too cute! If you haven't noticed from the pictures, Kylar is a girly girl. She loves the camera and loves to pose. Isn't she adorable!

Lane, Nolan, Kylar and Heidi (up top)

After we watched Shamu consume arms full of fish we decided that we were a little hungry too. On the way we stopped to get the kids swords. Now who's brilliant idea was this......Chelsae. The kids loved them but I think that we may or may not have maimed a few innocent by standards along the way. We headed to the eatery to get some over priced kids meals, but hey it's all worth it since it came in a Shamu lunch box.

Nolan & Lane with swords

Kylar, Nolan & Lane with swords....Scary!!

$85.00 later we took a stroll to somewhere they had a/c. Have I mentioned how hot it was. I think the thermometer read 150 degrees or at least it felt like it. Chelsae said that the Anheuiser Busch brewery on site gives adults 2 free beers. That was all I had to hear and I took off. I don't even think that I noticed until we got there that our kids had fallen asleep. Fine with me since the brewery had a/c, tables and chairs, and did I mention 2 free beers........YIPEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Nolan & Lane are out cold

Poor Lane. He's gonna have a sore neck when he wakes up.

This is where I stopped taking pictures. It was too hot to think and I from this point on couldn't remember to take a picture. After mama had her beers we headed to the penguin exhibit. This was my favorite, well other then the free beers. It was so awesome to see the penguins swimming and the way they have the exhibit is so awesome. They have a moving sidewalk that you get on and it takes you for a ride passed the glass exhibit where there have to be 100+ penguins of all different kinds swimming and waddling around. Plus the whole place had a/c.

We decided that we had enough of the heat so we headed to the Lost Lagoon. This is the water park they have at Sea World. It has a lazy river, a wave pool, twisty slides and a play area for kids with a huge dumping bucket. Lane and Kylar loved the wave pool. We could barely get them to go on anything else. I love the twisty slide that I got to ride on with Heidi. The other kids were too small so they had to stay behind. It was so much fun and a little scary too. You get in a 2 person tube and slide down this pitch black slide and every once in a while you could see some light. It was a blast and so worth the wait. When we were ready to go I understood why they called the place the Lost Lagoon. We rented lockers for our stuff when we arrived and they gave us a key. When I went to open my locker my key was gone. I had lost it in the wave pool. Typical me!!!! Well it only took the entire teenage staff and 20 minutes to finally get it open. The funny thing was every time they sent a new person to help they always asked me, "Lost your key?" Like I did all this for attention or something. We all got dressed and headed to the car. It was a short ride home but long enough for all the kids to fall asleep. We all had a great time and can't wait to do it again next summer.