Vacation!

This past weekend my husband and I took a anniversary getaway to Galveston Island, south of Houston right on the Gulf of Mexico. We left Friday around noon and returned yesterday, kid-free. This was the most relaxing experience I have had in quite a while! We bonded so greatly that I have fallen deeper and am more in love with my husband than I ever have been! Isn't it crazy, that just a couple of days away from reality and the hustle and bustle of kids, work, home life and all that makes you feel young and like newlyweds again? We laughed, we snuggled, we were even quiet for awhile just enjoying each others presence!

Friday: We left around noon, dealt with Houston's nasty Friday traffic and arrived to the hotel around 5pm. That was a 5 hour trip when it was supposed to only be 3 if that tells you something! We then checked out the hotel and the area and decided to get some dinner, Papa's Pizza off the Seawall. Amazing! Then we went to Walmart and got some groceries since the hotel room had a kitchenette. Can you believe we went through 2 boxes of cereal in that small time frame?! It was so much fun, eating cereal like teenagers, of course the kind we never would keep at home: Reese's Puffs & Cookies & Creme cereal. Then we just hung out on the balcony all night and talked. Very relaxing!

Saturday: We swam alot.. and I mean a LOT. Went to the pool around 10ish, beach at 11am and back to the pool at 4pm. We then showered up and made reservations at a restaurant for 7:15pm. Arrived there, turned out to be one of those white cloth restaurants where everyone was drinking wine and the noise level was verrrry minimal, basically we couldn't hear each other talk because we had to whisper ever so quietly. Annoying. Nobody came around to serve us either, or even get us drinks so we ditched that place and went to a restaurant at the Pier called Bubba Gumps. This place was crazy! Based off of Forrest Gump, it was a mainly shrimp restaurant with lots of Forrest Gump references and pricey selection. We both ordered the same meal which came with shrimp, fish and crab legs. The meal was ehh.. I could've got better at Red Lobster. $21 for food that could be only worth $14. Plus the wait time was an hour an a half just to be seated! When we put our name down at the restaurant, we walked across the street and got ice cream cones. Who says you can't have dessert before dinner on vacation ;) We then went back to the room and just hung out, watched tv and sat on the balcony watching the ocean.

Sunday: We were going to go in the pool for awhile after we checked out, but when I opened the balcony door for my morning on the balcony coffee time (lol), it was pouring and thundering! Thank GOODNESS it didn't happen on Saturday! So we hung out inside until it was time to check out, and we packed up the car and headed home! The drive home was definitely much easier. Took us 3.5 hours to get home! So good to see the girls again :)

Two more days!

Two more days, I can't breathe I am too excited. My husband and I will be throwing the girls to the in laws Friday at the ass crack of dawn (more like 9am) and venturing off to Galveston Beach and going to have an us weekend. No phones, nothing. Well, maybe his for emergencies.. but no other electronics. Nothing to interrupt. Lots of yummy food: shrimp, crab, more shrimp, yummy drinks: beer for him, margaritas for me, and lots of lovin'.

I'm nervous because it's the first time my hubby and I have been away from the girls for more than 6-8 hours. I told him to not to talk about anything kid-related, nothing about Isabelle's therapy or anything at all about our girls. It's going to be difficult, to be honest, but we can do it!

We plan on visiting Pleasure Pier (dirty sounding) which is just a big boardwalk/pier with rides, carnival games and food. That is about it, since we don't want to spend too much money, but we want to spend a lot of time together so we may just veg out on the beach or in the pool.

Last time we took a beach trip was last summer with the girls. Olivia was 1 1/2 and Isabelle was 2 months old. We took a 4 hour drive south to North Padre Island off Corpus and that in itself was an adventure and not a good one. Him and I barely got any time together on the beach because I was worried about my newbornish infant not to get sand in her eyes or nursing her and him worried about chasing Olivia and making sure she doesn't drown. Plus the hotel lacked cribs so we had to buy a travel bed for babies that basically resembled a dog bed and Olivia hogged our bed. Let's just say it was an experience we will never forget.

Ah, the beach. My hubby and I. I am counting down the hours.

Parenting

Back when Olivia was a baby through to pre-toddler stage, I was that parent. You might wonder what I mean by "that" parent. "That" parent is one who, I think, swears up and down that they will make all of their own baby food, cloth diaper, give baths every night, co-sleep, babywear, all natural birth, create my own birthing plan and so on.. I could go on forever. Weeeell, let's just say none of this worked out. I did the bathe every night routine for about a month and a half and that got old quick especially since Olivia was only 1 month old and not being very active = not getting dirty. I promised myself no sugar, no television, read books all day everyday, abc's by 2 and 123's by 18 months. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

I was so attached to her and when my in-laws would want to take her for the day or baby her too much I always said no or slow your roll, people! I overwhelmed myself because I never wanted anyone else to raise her or even be around her (call me selfish) with the exception of my husband.

What is funny now is how I act when it comes to both girls is far different than how I was at the beginning! I am not a worry wart as I used to be. I think things change when you have multiple children!

Wedding Anniversary

It has been a wonderful and very short three years since I have said "I Do" to my hunky husband. In that three years we have moved to Texas and had two beautiful little girls. Life sure has kept us busy in those years but nonetheless we appreciate and are grateful for every second we have together!

Our wedding definitely was not one from a bridal magazine I can tell you that much! Basically we got pregnant January of 2010 and wanted to be one under God before I had Olivia! Dusten and I didn't like the fact that we would have Olivia out of wedlock so we got married August 14th, 2010! It was a simple wedding inside the church that Dusten grew up in, because having a wedding back where I'm from, Illinois, would be more of a hassle and more than what we could afford.

Being 7 months pregnant, I had to find a cheap maternity dress and by the Grace of God I found one on my first search! We had our wedding in Arkansas then a small reception over at Dusten's great-grandmother's house and then we were on our way back to Texas the next day to move in to our first place together. It was small and humble but perfect for our beginning family :)

I couldn't have asked for a better man to be my life-long partner. He makes me smile everyday and still gives me goosebumps & butterflies :)

We aren't really celebrating today. We'll be going on an anniversary beach getaway trip the weekend of the 23rd, kid free of course (yeehaw!), and we'll be celebrating then! Good food, sand between our toes and I'm sure a margarita or two (or three, four, five) <3

Friday!

Dontcha just love Fridays? For me, when I wake up on a Friday morning I am automatically happy. I don't know why, maybe it's because I know tomorrow is the weekend? Social media will most likely be fun to read because everyone is telling their plans for the weekend. It makes for a good morning read with my coffee instead of seeing a bunch of dumb meme's about how much they hate Monday-Thursday, old Throwback Thursday pictures and of course the infamous What Day Is It camel meme. As much as I dislike boring meme's, I've been getting into those e-cards as you posted on here. A few of my favorite are the sarcastic ones intended for moms talking about how our children have so much energy because they suck the energy out of us, or I tried vacuuming a bobypin up 5x and it won't come up so I'll kick it under the couch. Hilarious! Does not mean in any shape or form I am a fat, lazy mom who hates my kids and just wants a cocktail, it's just funny because we as moms all have those moments where we want to rip out our hair! If you disagree with me then you either have a live-in nanny or your husband is scared of you because you hold all of your emotions in and lash it out at him, joking of course!

All jokes aside, why I love Friday? Because my hubby is off the next two days :) Happy Friday, y'all!

Love All Around!

The other day, the hubs and I were chatting about our little vacation coming up in a couple of weeks. We're going to have a getaway trip to Galveston and staying right on the beach. Best of all, kid-free! Whoohoo! Our anniversary is coming up, August 14th, and it'll be three years for us. We thought it would be fun to go somewhere together for a weekend since we haven't done so since before Olivia was born so it was much needed! We are excited for some alone time and to recharge ourselves and get back to the roots that started this family, our love!

Personally, I believe that couples, regardless of if they have children or not, need to step away from the real world for a bit and get back to the fundamentals of which the family or relationship has started on. Couples, including us, forget sometimes that without each other, your children wouldn't be here.

I was reading via Happy Wives Club on Facebook about 6 ways to love your husband even moreso and number one was to adore him unconditionally and not when he is nicer, makes more money, etc. The key is to love and adore him even if he isn't adorable. And that is very important. Our husbands could have such a crappy attitude when he comes home from work or wakes up, but for us wives it is important to give him true admiration because in the end he is our only partner.



One of my favorite quotes is by Fawn Weaver and it says:

"Marriage: love is the reason. Lifelong friendship is the gift. Kindness is the cause. 'Til death do us part is the length."

I know of three couples who are around my age, 24-25, who married and are already divorced. Now, I am not the one to judge but it saddens me that couples get married so quickly and divorce so quickly. People nowadays just toss that "death do us part" phrase in their vows, I have even heard now that vows don't contain that verse because there might be a "chance" of divorce.

Here is the link to the 6 Ways to Love Your Husband More:
http://www.happywivesclub.com/6-ways-to-love-your-husband-even-better/

Keep Loving!!

Monday blues

Yep, it's Monday again. *Sigh* 

Weekends fly by too quickly I tell ya! This weekend went pretty good. Saturday we went to a birthday party for one of Olivia's friends and she had a blast. She got her face painted and two balloon animals! I think she was intimidated by the clown, Silly Sparkles, that was there. But as soon as Dusten picked her up and showed her that the clown was just for fun, it went alright! I think we discussed about possibly having her for Olivia's 3rd birthday in October!! We then grilled burgers outside and went swimming.

Then Sunday we went back to church where we haven't been in about a year. It's a small church, roughly 50 people per attendance, so everyone was surprised and happy to see us and especially the girls! Then afterwards we had a quick cheap lunch and headed over to a friends house to let the kids play and get tired and us adults to have some adult time to chit chat. It was definitely nice and much needed! Kids were worn out right after that! Passed out in the car even before we left the subdivision! It was a great weekend overall! :)

We had another round of physical therapy for Isabelle this morning. She is standing up on couches, coffee table, etc and started cruising! She has never done this for us so both the PT and myself were surprised! Isabelle is teething so it has been a rough day so far. 

Orange Creamsicle cake

This afternoon I was in the mood to bake a little something sweet but have it be easy, too. I looked through my bookmarks to find something I can do within 30 minutes and here is what I came up with:

3 Ingredients: 1/2 cup orange juice, 1 container of greek yogurt and a box of white cake mix.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl by hand or with a mixer (do not overmix!) and pour into a 9x9 pan. I didn't have one so I used a 13x9 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-33 minutes and check with a toothpick to make sure center is done! Voila!

 

Sorry for the sideways shot, haha. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and you are in for a treat! :)

At home today.

Usually my at home days consist of doing laundry, cleaning, baking something, etc. Today I have zero motivation. So what did I decide to do? Let the girls destroy the house, throw Goldfish at them whenever they're hungry and just lounge in our pj's. What's wrong with that? Don't tell hubby ;)

It is way too dang hot outside to even put the kids out the door. 103 with a heat index of almost 110?! That's nuts. I don't even want to go to the pool because I'm going to burn like it ain't nothing out there!

I decided to change the look of my blog and I definitely messed it all up. All of my sidebar items went missing and I was going to throw the computer at the wall because I JUST spent half an hour redoing it! Thankfully I figured it out!

Boring day, boring post. Blah blah zz.

Dinner tonight:

Philly cheesesteaks w/ potato wedges
http://www.food.com/recipe/philly-cheesesteak-sandwich-authentic-94031

Happy August!

It's August 1st! I cannot believe we're already halfway through summertime. I'm happy about that, because as much as I love everything related to summer (swimming, laying out, waterparks, etc) I am so looking forward to fall and winter! Cool air, the festivities and more!

This month is special to me because it's the month that Dusten and I got married! August 14th, 2010 was our special day. This year, we are taking a weekend trip to Galveston Beach which is right near Houston off the Gulf of Mexico. We are leaving Isabelle with my mother and Olivia with the in-laws and taking off Friday the 23rd and returning Sunday the 25th. I can not be any more excited!

We had a great day today! Us girls went to a good friends house and played and chatted for awhile then we tried this new restaurant over in Pflugerville that was delish! After awhile we headed on home after great conversations, yummy meal and a fun playdate!

This weekend we have a birthday party to go to, other than that we are just hanging out and doing yard work. I love lazy weekends! <3

Dinner for tonight:

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole w/ salad http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/11/baked-cream-cheese-spaghetti-casserole.html

Dinner Menu

I've been a big fan of planning ahead, whether it'd be grocery shopping, hanging out with friends, family, playdates and best of all.. chores & dinner! Ha, sarcasm inserted of course! :o)

Plus, no more of "what's for dinner, sweetie?" asked by my adorable husband. Our girls are still too little to ask that, so I guess he's making up for it!

Monday

Baked chili cheese dogs w/ mac & cheese

Tuesday

Baked fish, broccoli & garlic rice

Wednesday

Take out

Thursday

Big Mac Casserole w/ salad. (Yes, it's healthy! Under 350 calories per serving!!)

Friday

Chicken in a basil herb cream sauce. Mm!

Saturday

Dinner out

Sunday

Dinner w/ in laws.

Holy moly! Time flew by!

Wow! Time has really flown by since I have last posted. It's July of 2013 and our baby number 2 I have last posted about is already 13 months old! Meet little Isabelle Faith Henderson :) Born on June 18, 2012 weighing in at a whopping 8lbs 8oz!

Life has changed for the better since I have last posted. We finally moved out of our dinky apartment and into a nice 2 story home over in Manor. I LOVE living out in the country!

Dusten also found a different job since 2011. He works for a tech company over in N. Austin on their networks, mainly working with routers and such. Geek stuff, I tell ya! :)




I definitely promise to update more!

Olivia is going to be a big sister!

Yes, you read that right! We are pregnant! Currently 4w1d along! Super excited! Went to the doctor this morning to clarify and he even gave me an ultrasound! How exciting it was! Nothing much was there, but he said he can definitely see a sac and the gooey stuff forming around it where the placenta will be. I took a couple of HPT last week and the positive sign was very faint, then over the weekend I took 3 more and the positive line was darker than the completed line! Dusten is hoping for a boy as I am hoping for another girl! We cannot wait to share the news with friends and family! Here are some pictures!

Here is the positive test I took on Saturday morning!

And here is the ultrasound he took this morning!

They drew my blood to check for HCG levels and I will go back on Thurs to have them rechecked and then on the 25th I go back for the 6w exam that is mainly a pap smear and another ultrasound! We cannot wait! Olivia will be a big sister and a fantastic one at that!

It's Friday!

Wow.. what a week! So happy it is Friday and I'm sure most of you are, as well! This week went by so quick. Dustens 25th birthday is Monday and unfortunately, he has to work, so we are celebrating this weekend! I found a coupon on Groupon yesterday for a restaurant we never tried before, The Melting Pot. The Groupon is for 40 dollars worth of food for 20 dollars! What a steal! They have a 4-course option on their menu that comes with cheese fondue for app, a salad, entree for 2 and a chocolate fondue for dessert! Yum! We've never tried that restaurant mainly because it is so expensive. We're usually Chilis or Chuys type of people, inexpensive but good. I made reservations for 5:30 tomorrow evening which is rather a bit early than usual for dining out, but that means we get to take our time and won't feel rushed to do other things before time runs out. Who knows what is in store for the rest of the evening, it's all up to him! Luckily the restaurant is in downtown Austin so there is plenty to do!


I've also been preparing for Olivia's birthday which is in a couple of weeks. This morning, I purchased a couple of gifts online. A V-tech sit and ride train that has number block that shoots out the back and a full attached book with the A B C's on it. I read the reviews as always and surprisingly they were mainly 5 stars! I also watched a couple of Youtube videos on it and it looks like fun! I also purchased a personalized butterfly/dragonfly piggy bank with her name on it. I figured it's almost time to start teaching her the value of money, especially saving! She loves to crawl around on the floor and she's found a couple of pennies so if she keeps on finding loose change, she can put it in her piggy bank and it'll start adding up! This weekend I'm also going to shop for party decor. I'm making homemade candles. Her theme is Ladybug so the homemade candles should look pretty neat! Here is how to do it:

Take old jars of baby food. Gerber, Beechnut, etc.
Wash them out very good, or put them in a dishwasher. Remove the labels.
Have about 5 sheets of your choice of color tissue paper.
Pick up some tissue paper glue at your local craft store (Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Walmart, etc)
Cut the tissue paper to fit the baby jar food.
Make sure not to have any tissue paper be inside of the jar, you don't want to start a fire.
Put little tabs of the paper glue onto the jar itself or on the tissue paper.
Wrap the jar with tissue paper a couple of times so that it won't become see-through.
Whatever your theme is, decorate!
(Mine is Ladybugs, so I will be having red tissue paper and put black dots with a Sharpie on the paper)
Let it dry. When you are ready to light, put 1 tea light candle inside.
(You can find tea light candles at Walmart. $2.50 for a bag of 20.)
Fun little craft you can do yourself or even with your little one!

Here are the pictures of the gifts I bought for Olivia:

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!


S.H.

What a weekend!

I have been super duper busy these past couple of days! This weekend was wonderful. Thursday nights dinner (which was supposed to be that casserole) ended up being my first time making enchiladas! Wonderful! My husband really loved them! Then on Friday night we went out to dinner at this restaurant called Baby A's and we both had enchiladas again (LOL), he had the seafood one and I had the shrimp. Delicious! The queso was great as well! He had a blue mexican martini and I just had a coke (not in the mood for a drink).

Then on Saturday, we brought Olivia over to Dustens parents house for the day since Dusten had to fix the brakes on our car. He didn't want to end up spending $200 or more when he could do it himself for less. He ended up paying $100 for all of the parts and saved us about $150! Way to go! Super proud! Olivia wasn't having a good time, though. She did not want Mommy AND Daddy (not just one of us) to be out of her sight. It's understandable, she sees us everyday and she's home almost everyday. Plus, separation anxiety came to visit, too. All in all, it was a successful day!

Sunday was my mothers birthday.. 44 years young! ;) Dustens parents came over to watch O for a little bit while we went to get haircuts and pick up some groceries. We went to this really neat place for a haircut -- Byrd's -- where they gave beer to their customers! The lady who cut my hair did a fantastic job! They did a great job to Dusten, too! Then we went to get some groceries and bought my mother a birthday icecream cake! Yum. She then went out to dinner with Dustens parents. Very generous and thoughtful of them! She had a great time! It was overall a great weekend!

I have to go to the grocery store again tonight to pick up some groceries and hopefully try some new recipes! Olivia is still asleep and it's almost 9:45! Sleepy head :) I also have to look at some birthday party items for her since it is about 2 weeks away! Getting closer!


S.H.

 P.S. Above is a picture of my new hairdo! :o)

Job Interview..

Haven't had a job since the beginning of my pregnancy last year. I was just browsing the internet couple of days ago and came across of a job listing at a local hospital for a Registrar position. I thought "hey, why not?" and went for it. Received a call this morning from Megan, the supervisor, and told me details about the job, explaining the hours and so forth.

I'm torn. Torn about leaving LO for a couple of hours in someone elses care and working. I do not have to work. We live comfortably right now. I have the weekend to think it over. Discuss it with my husband and friends. We shall see!

Whoohoo!

First post from my Android app for blogger. Way cool! That is all. :-)

10:00 am and where is Olivia?!

As I tend to fix up my blog, I keep looking at the clock on the computer and listen to the baby monitor. I don't hear a single peep. It's 10:00 a.m. What is going on here?! So of course, being the mom I am, I check on her and she is still sound asleep. She's been asleep since 8:00pm last night! Is she sick?! Does she love her sleep like her mama and daddy?! Ahh..

*sips coffee*

Well, I guess I can enjoy this "me" time for a little while. Read up on some news, daily gossip, e-mails, freebies, facebook of course, just the usual until sleepy head decides to wake up.

Agenda today? I have laundry to do and am wanting to bake some cookies. Dusten has his technology club weekly meeting tonight so he'll be home later than usual. Dinner tonight will be my yummy chicken french fried casserole. Delicious! Recipe? Sure!

4 pieces of Chicken Breast, cooked and cut to bite size pieces
2 Cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup
3lbs of Crinkle French Fries
1 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of paprika
1 tablespoon of onion powder
1/2 can of French's French Fried Onion

Heat oven to 420 degrees
Mix Cream of Mushroom Soup and milk in large baking dish
Scatter chicken breast on top of mushroom soup/milk mixture
Scatter the french fries on top
Mix combo together well
Sprinkle the garlic, papreika and onion powder on top.
Cook for 1 hr and 15 minutes
Let cool for 5 minutes; Sprinkle french fried onions on top
Voila!

:o) Have a good morning, ya'll!

S. H.

We love mailtime!

We got a knock on the door from the postal man! He brought us a big brown box and on the top said "Pampers Gifts to Grow!" I was so excited knowing that Olivia's birthday present from "Pampers" came! I am bad at keeping gifts a secret so of course I had to open it, pop in batteries and let my little one enjoy it. I saved up 1850 points from Pampers products to get this gift. She absolutely loved it! Thing is, it is for 18 months + and on the package it said "not intended for under 18 monthers. I wonder why that is? Maybe because she could bang up on the keys and break it? Nonetheless, here is what she got!

The Henderson Family!

So I figured I should post a couple of pictures of us. Mainly of our beautiful girl :o)