New Years Resolution

My resolution for the New Year is simple. I'm making a personal pledge to the Uber-Blogging Seely Family that I'll update my blog at least 4, yes you read it FOUR, times a year! If my fingers are feeling particularly festive, I may even increase that to once a month. Amazeballs, I know. So go ahead Seely's, check back quarterly for the most unbelievable, stunning and all around marvelous blog-reading that you will ever encounter!

Farewell, Summer!

The summer is coming to an end and we are trying to squeeze every last bit out of the season! The boys have been on a boat-kick so we decided that if we were going to take them on a boat, it better be a Texas-size boat! We surprised them by taking them to the Battleship Texas and let them play with the machine guns, run around deck and go underneath to see how the crew lived and worked. I was gung ho about this little trip until I realized that there was no air conditioning on the ship!! Mind you, it is one of the hottest summers in Texas and the ship basically turned into a floating toaster oven! I was miserable but kept a smile on for the boys because they were having a blast.

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However, I managed to complain to Matt at any given chance and attempted to send numerous SOS texts to my sister but reception is sketchy in the underbelly of a ship!

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After our day at Battleship Texas (and unplanned stop at Bass Pro Shop) we spent the next couple days at my in-laws. We had a party for Jacobs 6th birthday and he decided that he wanted to decorate his cowboy cake.

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Jacob was determined to make a cowboy hat out of icing while Joshua was trying to find the fastest way to consume icing directly from the can. Needless to say, the boys were pretty hyper!!

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Thankfully the beach is only 20 minutes from their house so we spent some more fun in the sun before the boys (meaning Matt...) had the great idea to go fishing the next day. (Side note, I am deathly terrified of fish.) There was not turning back on this idea after he told the boys about surf fishing. So here I go again, doing something completely out of my comfort zone! Our 1st attempt in the surf yielded two small fish but the tide kept bringing the hooks back to shore. The kids weren't too concerned because they had more fun playing the the bait...Squid!!

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(Mind you, I was having a mild panic attack about the thought of squid chum in the water along with my kids. Jaws, anyone?) Matt then took us out to the jetties and it was n-o-t a relaxing experience! The boys are too small to go on the rocks which meant that Matt had to continuously cast out one rod, get the other rods hook that was stuck in the rocks, cast that one out and then repeat with the original rod that was now stuck on the rocks. Much to my delight, we didn't catch any fish but did see a bunch of dolphins and a sea turtle!

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Overconfidence

This is what happens to a 3 year old who is convinced he can fly on the swings.

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So just imagine me with my busted lip and Joshua with his scraped face walking into a store. Yup, we are getting lots of looks from strangers!!

Busted Stuff

Turns out that it really is all fun and games until somebody gets hurt! I was wrestling with Joshua and I ended up with a nasty busted lip! I always knew that with a household of boys that there would be cuts and scrapes but assumed that it would be the boys who would be bleeding...not me!

Update... I just tried taking a picture and didn't post it for two reasons. First, nobody is photogenic after a vigorous wrestling match with a 3 year old. Second, my lip looks far-less-mangled in a picture than in real life!

Double Duty

Some people use toilet paper for its intended purpose. In our house, it serves double duty as a snowball. I just found Joshua, who mind you was supposed to be in bed, making toilet paper snowballs in the bathroom. I'm not just talking one or two wadded up balls of Charmin, I'm talking the w-h-o-l-e roll is in crumpled little balls on my bathroom floor.

I only with I could make this stuff up...

Peanut Butter and Jamm

We spent the morning back at Market Street for the Peanut Butter and Jamm Festival. The highlight of Jacobs morning was his first yoga lesson! As usual, he took it very seriously while Joshua was more interested in tackling the yoga ball instead of mastering Downward Dog! Jacob completed his 30 minute lesson and asked to do it again!

After yoga, they made pins and then went on horse rides. Ironically, Joshua matched his horse and ended up petting it for a looong 15 minutes.

We were so excited to see lots of friends today. Cooper and Caleb were there as well as Faye. It was a little sad to think that this was the last weekend for the festival because that can only mean one thing... it's officially back to school time!

Salty Sea Kisses

The silver lining of this recession is that we are getting back to basics and spending more time with our families. In the past, if Matt had time off of work we would plan an impromptu vacation with the kids. Presently, our vacations are no longer about finding the best beaches, but instead, about spending time with our families and enjoying what we have around us. We were fortunate enough to spend 2 1/2 weeks with my family in Pennsylvania earlier in the summer and the kids still talk about going to Steamtown with Dar Dar, planting Chuchi's garden and "camping" at Pop Pops. We all had so much fun doing the simplest things and can't wait to do it all over again!We were planning on going back to Scranton this week but unfortunately we couldn't get a flight. Instead of moping around the house, Matt and I took the boys down his parents to spend some relaxing time at the beach. I love that the beach about 20 minutes from my in-laws so we get to visit with them while on our Staycation.

The boys enjoyed playing in the waves, building sand castles and attempting to boogie board while I park by dupa on the sand and try to steal the boys Salty Sea Kisses while Matt feverishly looks for sea shells and other Hurricane Ike swag. (Our best find so far was the red Radio Flyer wagon that was missing a wheel and had a rusted out bottom but the kids still played with it all day!)

During our latest trip, they boys and their Cowboy Grandma fed seagulls and ducks, played with all of Grandpa's toys (tractors, boat, 4-wheelers, etc!), looked after Grandma's animals of all shapes and sizes and helped Grandpa and Daddy fix Mommy's car.

We also made a stop at Sea Center where the boys played with the crabs in the touch tank before watching the big fish feed. As Jacob said, "It's more funner than a Yo-Yo!"

We had such a great time visiting with family and just enjoying each others company. Escaping to the beach for a couple days at a time has been a great way for us to unplug from the world and into each other. I wish that my PA family could also be down here to enjoy the time with us!!

A Subaru, a Pontiac and a Taurus

As some of you may know, I've been experiencing major car troubles this week which has left me totally stressed and at times, stranded! My sister wrote a little poem which I found hilarious and wanted to share with you! A little background information on my car history...

My first car was a Subaru which I successfully totaled by smashing it several times into a guard rail and concrete barrier. Ironically, the guard rail kept me from plunging into Leggetts creek. RIP Subaru (1999-1999)

Second up on the car list was my Pontiac that doubled as a boat because it carried me a good 2 miles down Will Clayton Parkway when I got caught up in a flash flood. By the grace of God, and with lots of TLC by my father-in-law and Matt, my floating Pontiac dried out and was completely fixed. The little Pontiac-that-could lasted a good couple years after that fateful swim.
(1999-2004)

Finally we are at my beloved Taurus which up until now, has been my trusty little car. But for whatever reason, she decided to need her alternator, battery, starter and brakes all replaced in the span of seven (yes, SEVEN) days!

Now that you are up to speed on my person CarFax report, here is Michelle's poem.

"Once upon a time there was a Subaru, a Pontiac, and a Taurus.One day, the Subaru ran to the creek to go for a swim, but he couldn't swim. Then, Pontiac went for a swim, so to show off he floated, but he couldn't run. Finally, the Taurus was a big 6V with a lot of power and could speed down the Sam Houston past..everyone..but needs to be jumped like Frankenstein to be brought back to life!"

I thought it was cute and really appreciated the laugh. Now that my car is up and running, I will be enjoying some much needed relaxation at the beach!

I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener

What was supposed to be a mundane morning of running errands turned into a fun filled day for the boys! We went to Market Street early this morning attempting to beat the Saturday crowds but much to the boys excitement, the Peanut Butter and Jamm festival was in full swing! Tents were set up throughout the entire Central Park with plenty a variety of activities for the kids. They made Rice Crispy Treats with the pastry chef from Jaspers, beaded fabulous earrings for their mama, petted a creepy albino bunny at the petting zoo, danced to the live band and learned about robot mechanics while blasting off huge bouncy balls into the crowd and topped off the event with new dinosaur sticker books from the bookstore.

There's only one thing that can top sugary rice crispy treats, petting zoos and dinosaurs stickers and that is the WIENERMOBILE!! We needed to stop at HEB for a newspaper and there it was in all it's bright orange and yellow glory patiently for Law boys! Joshua wanted to take about 15 different pictures with the massive hot dog while Jacob was trying to figure out how to get inside and drive it. I must say, I was a little disappointed that I couldn't buy a hot dog and the folks were singing the Oscar Myer wiener song in Spanish! To the Wienermobiles credit, a table was set up and the boys spun the wheel and were thrilled to win Kool Aid and a tattoo.

That's the thing I love about my boys, they are so simple to please and so thankful with whatever life hands them. They are just as happy to decorate Rice Crispy treats with the chef from Jaspers or listening to the Spanish version of the Oscar Mayer Wiener song!

Deseo que yo fui un weiner de oscar meyer ....

We're here!!

So here I am, doing exactly what I thought I wouldn't be...blogging! I'm new to this and not exactly sure where to begin. I have two fun-loving boys, Jacob who is 5 and Joshua is 3. Jacob is the smart, serious, hardworking one and Joshua is silly, energetic and truly believes that he can never have enough playtime! My husband, Matt, works for Continental Airlines which is a huge blessing because we are able to travel back home often. I'm Amy and try my best to make my three guys happy along with attempting to keep some sanity around this place! We live in Texas but I'm originally from Scranton, Pa and am oh-so-proud of my beloved hometown! The boys and I make it back every couple months and a key indicator of when it's time to visit is when Jacob starts to talk with a Texas-twang. That means we need to get north of the Mason Dixon line and remind him of his Yankee roots!

It's a sad day when you realize that the lazy days of summer are no more! This summer has been filled with trips to the beach, visits back to my beloved Scranton, Pa to spend time with family, karate and swim team! I'm having a hard time coming to grips that Jacob will be starting kindergarten in ONE MONTH and the only joy I've experienced through this transition has been shopping for lunchboxes and school clothes! Other than that, I'm not too excited about the thought of my little man venturing off to the world of 8-3 school days and all that time away form home. Couple in Joshua's preschool, Matt's hectic work schedule, and oh yeah, the 13 credits I'll be taking in the Fall and all that just equals Pure Insanity! I can pretty much guarantee that it was a working man who coined the term "Stay at Home Mom!" That being said, I'm off now to go pick up Jacob from Karate Camp!