Our New Backyard!!

Work on our backyard is finally complete! It took a bit longer than Sean and I anticipated but it was most definitely worth the wait! Gone is the ugly deck and the dead grass and icky long back planting bed. In its place is a gorgeous new concrete patio with flagstone border, a revamped planting bed(s) along the fence and brand spankin' new grass!! We are so pleased. Oh...and we have the coolest sprinklers ever! I had so much fun last night watching them go off in the backyard. Guess being a grownup means getting excited about things like sod, sprinklers and concrete.

Here are some pics...

Before:

After:

New gravel/flagstone walkway along the side of the house:

Back planting bed has been reduced to corners only. Less maintenance!!

California Dreamin'

Sean and I just got back from a quick little get-away (just the 2 of us) to LA. We left last Friday and got back on Monday. The trip was FANTASTIC...until Monday. More on that in a bit...


The trip started off on a great note -- we ran into Ron Artest in the airport in LA and I was able to get his autograph (but alas, no picture!). He was trying unsuccessfully to be incognito, but a 7' tall guy with a huge Louis Vuitton bag and sunglasses is a bit conspicuous if you ask me! As if that wasn't enough excitement, when we got to Enterprise to pick up our rental car, we were able to get a super deal on a BMW! We got to drive in style on our weekend trip. Instead of a Corolla, we were cruising around town in a 328i. Woo-hoo! I felt like rockstars! (Here is a picture of our spiffy ride -- might be the only time we ever get to drive a BMW!!):

We arrived at the hotel and checked-in. The good news just kept coming...when we got to our room, we realized that they had upgraded us to a bigger room with a balcony/patio! This trip was turning out to be a lucky one for us!! Our room:

We headed down to the Santa Monica Pier and rode the Ferris Wheel and played some arcade games (and I got my "Banana Caramel" iced drink from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf -- YUM!!) We also spent a whopping $12 trying to win a stuffed bear for Bella but weren't successful. Stupid game! We spent a few hours just walking around the pier and the beach area, then headed back to the hotel. We were spent from the day and Sean's bum ankle was acting up. Instead of heading out for dinner, we picked up some food from Whole Foods and sat out on the patio and ate. It was quite nice!

Saturday was a super fun day -- DISNEYLAND!! We spent just about all day there and had a blast. Lots of pictures with the Disney characters and we even got to watch little kids become Jedi's. FUN!! I even rode Space Mountain...which I will never EVER do again (can you say SCARY!). We tried to make it to 9:30 PM so we could see the fireworks but decided to cut out early. After all, we'd spent a small fortune on souvenirs and food, so we figured it was best to head home. Of course, a trip to Disney isn't complete without losing your car in the parking garage, so we had to make sure that happened! Let me tell you...losing your car at Disney is not a fun time. Luckily Sean managed to track it down and we were headed back "home".

Sunday was DODGERS day! We had tickets to watch the Dodgers play the Angels at 1:10 PM, but needed to fill our morning with stuff to do, first. So...we drove aimlessly around Beverly Hills and Bel Air. We even drove onto the UCLA campus -- GORGEOUS! UCLA is directly across the street from Bel Air. I can't imagine going to school across the street from multi-million dollar homes! On our way to the stadium, we stopped off and bought a super-cheesy touristy "Star Map" ( you know...the map with the addresses of movie stars on it ). We decided we'd stalk some stars after the game.


So we head to Dodger Stadium. After sitting in the car waiting for the darn gates to open, we finally make it to the parking area. Then we get to walk miles before we get to the gate to get in. Turns out, their website is a big fat liar when it said gates open 2-hours prior to game time. Apparently, it's 1-hour before game time. So we got to mill around outside until the security gurus decide to let us in. Once the gates opened, we find out that Sean's backpack is apparently too large to come into the stadium (?!). So...he has to check it at the gate. They give him a very stylish plastic bag (think grocery bag) to put whatever he can fit into it. Obviously, we are not having a good time by this point.


We finally make it into the stadium and scout out the food choices. We settle on Dodger dogs, then try to find our seats. We walk over to where we think our seats are (right by the gate where we checked Sean's backpack) only to find out that the brainiacs at Dodger Stadium decided to make one side even-numbered rows and the completely opposite side odd-numbered rows. Go figure...our seats were on the odd-numbered side so we got to walk all the way around the stadium (with our food/drinks!) to find our seats. UGH!

We finally got to our seats and settle in for the game. It took about 5 minutes for me to be thankful that we brought sunblock with us. Dodger Stadium = open air stadium = HOT! My Lord were we hot. At this point I was thanking God that Minute Maid Park is a closed-roof stadium WITH AC (and escalators!). Anywho...the game starts and it didn't take long for us to realize that games in LA are very, VERY different than games in H-town? Here is my little top-10 list of the differences:


Top 10 Ways a Game at Dodger Stadium Differs from a Game at Minute Maid Park:
10. No escalators (this point was driven home on the way out of the stadium)
9. Skinny concourses = much difficulty getting through crowds when you have an arm full of food!
8. BEACH BALLS!
7. Palm trees in the outfield
6. SUNSHINE
5. No chili or cheese on hotdogs
4. Snowcones (with hair in them...ask Sean about this)
3. Lots and lots of profanity (apparently Dodger fans hate Angels' fans)
2. Chance to catch a game ball after every inning (home team outfielder tosses ball to crowd after every inning)
1. BLOODS AND CRIPS FOUR ROWS BACK!!


We left the game in the 8th inning. The Dodgers were losing and did I mention we were sweating buckets? It was a long walk back to the car (see #10 above!). Since we had to check Sean's backpack upon entering, we couldn't just exit the stadium right outside our seats (oh no...that would have been far too convenient). No...we had to walk all the way to the other side, grab his packpack, then walk back to where we just came from. Good times, I tell ya!


After the game, we drove around Bel Air and stalked celebrities' homes! We found Aaron Spelling's house, the Playboy Mansion, and Debra Messing's house. I know we drove by dozens more but it's hard to drive really slowly without worrying about the law coming after you.


After scouting houses, we happened upon a lovely little park smack dab in the middle of Bel Air. As we are stopped at a traffic light, we see 2 really pretty girls about to get into their cars. Sean jokingly says, "I bet those are celebrities". Then, a second later, he says, "Oh my God...I think that's Jessica Alba." Sure 'nuff, there was Jessica Alba hugging her friend goodbye and getting into her white Toyota Prius. I'm not a huge Jessica Alba fan but I must say that she looked AMAZING! Super skinny, chic black outfit, and gorgeous long brunette hair with the perfect waves on the end. We were both in shock! We drove around the park and Jessica passed us in her little white eco-car! Unbelievable!! We parked the car and got out, hoping to see other celebs, but no such luck. We did, however, enjoy our walk through this adorably cozy park! Lots of people with cute doggies, people laying in the grass enjoying the nice weather...just a scene out of a Norman Rockwell painting!!


Monday morning, we headed to the airport for our flight back home. We got to the airport, checked in, and waited patiently for our boarding to begin. About an hour before our scheduled depature, we notice that our flight time had changed from 9AM to 10:30 AM. Little did we know that this would be the start of a very LONG day! Long story short...our 9AM flight ended up leaving LA at 6:15 in the evening - 9 HOURS LATE! We didn't pull into our driveway until a bit past midnight on Tuesday morning. What a day! Had our flight not left when it did, we would have been stuck in LA until mid-day on Tuesday! Our 3 nights away from Bella turned into four since we weren't going to wake her up at midnight when we landed. God bless my mom for being a trooper and ensuring us that all was well in Houston. She took such good care of Bella that Bella had no idea what her mommy and daddy were going through. And as if a 9 hour delay isn't bad enough, we hit some pretty nasty turbulence about an hour from home that left me in hysterics (crying, hyperventilating on the plane) and that was capped off with a guy in the back of the plane who had a seizure 30 minutes from landing. So when we finally reached our gate in Houston, we all had to stay put so medics could come on board and get him off the plane. Needless to say we were very, VERY happy to pull into our driveway on early Tuesday morning.


So there you have it...our little mini-vacation/adventure. Sean and I really did have a great time. We were able to have fun and relax a bit, which was much needed. Best of all, Bella had a great time with her grammie. Not sure we'll be visiting LA again anytime soon (or any airport for that matter!) but it was a nice break.

Being Sick...While Being a Mommy

I'm sick...like REALLY sick. Well...really sick as far as I'm concerned (since I never get sick). I've got the sore throat that feels thick and swollen. It hurts BAD. I've got the body aches (you know...where your skin actually hurts!), the chills (except at night...that's when the full-on SWEATS come), ear aches in both ears, oh...and lovely drainage. But no fever?!

Anyway...this is the first time I've been sick since becoming a mommy and my, oh my, how things are different. Yesterday, it was all I could do to stay awake at work. I felt that bad! I wanted to stay home but knew that my boss really needed me in the office. And since I wasn't running a fever, I figured why not. So I make it through the work day and head home. I really, really wanted to hit the sack as soon as I got home, but now that I'm a mommy, that was/is no longer an option. Once Bella and Sean got home, it was feed Bella, bathe Bella (plus time to splash in the water!), then get her dressed for bed, then bottle, then nighty night. THEN...I had to finish fooling with dinner. *sigh*

I have no complaints, as I wouldn't trade being a mommy for anything in the world. Just really made me realize how much life is different post-Bella! :-)

Oh...and as a side-note...to anyone reading this. DO NOT...I repeat...DO NOT ever got to CVS' Minute Clinic (or at least don't go to the one at Westheimer and St. James Place). AWFUL, I tell ya. The crazy NP did a strep test on me and my God! It was the absolute worst strep test I've ever had. I had to get up and head to the sink because I was *this close* to throwing up. I can whole-heartedly tell you that a Mocha from Starbucks is none too pleasant when it comes back up! The strep test came back as negative, to which the NP explained to me: "This just means I'll have to do another one on you and send it off for further testing" (since apparently the "quick strep" test isn't 100% accurate?!). I promptly told him, "I don't THINK so!" No way was I going to go through that again. And all of this begs the question -- if the "quick strep" test isn't always accurate, why do it? If all negative results will be done again and sent off for further testing, shouldn't you just send all of the tests off instead of trying to test the culture in your lil' clinic? Waste of time if you ask me. Either way...I wasn't going to let him near my throat again.

So tomorrow I've got an appt. at Kelsey-Seybold. Figured if a REAL doctor told me I was fine, then I'd believe her. Until then, I will just keep drugging myself with Sudafed and Advil (which works awesome for my body aches, by the way). And I'll also say a prayer of gratitude for my mom who, undoubtedly, had many days where she felt awful but had to deal with her 2 littles ones all on her own. At least I have Sean to help! :-)

Bella's Stats

Bella had her belated 9 month check-up appt. this morning with Dr. Pielop (LOVE her doctor!). She is 9.5 months old and weighs in at a robust 19 pounds, 6 ounces and is 28 3/4" long! First thing her doctor said when he walked in? "She's going to be ttttaaaaallllllllll!" :-)

Bella is right where she should be developmentally. Unfortunately, during the exam we found out that Bella once again has an ear infection in both ears. So...back on the antibiotics we go. At least this time he didn't prescribe Amoxicillin (which doesn't really work on Bella). He gave us the good stuff!

A Weekend for a Wedding

Sean's cousin, Nichole, got married to her fiance', Art, this weekend. The wedding was on Saturday afternoon in Baytown, followed by a GORGEOUS reception at the Houstonian Hotel. What a day for a wedding! As Sean and I drove to Baytown on Saturday afternoon, I couldn't help but remark about what a beautiful day it was! The sky was clear, there was a nice breeze and we were dressed to impress!!

The wedding was very nice (and short considering it was a Catholic wedding!). Nichole looked STUNNING! She was one of the prettiest brides I've ever seen! The wedding ended at around 2PM and the reception didn't start until 4PM. This gave us time to run home and freshen up before hitting the Houstonian.

Nichole and Art had the entire ballroom area of the Houstonian rented out for their reception. It was HUGE! The festivities kicked off with an hour-long cocktail reception. The wine was delish (and free!) and the appetizers were yummy! We hung around and then the doors to the reception opened at 5PM. And when they opened, I was in awe: the ballroom was decorated so beautifully! Pink lights illuminated the walls, and the centerpieces...I could go on and on about them! And they even had a monogram in the middle of the dance floor. Oh...and a FANTASTIC 10-piece mariachi band (best I've ever seen/heard!).

The service at their reception was out of this world! We didn't have to wait long for anything. The meal started off with a cup of tortilla soup, followed by a tasty salad, and then our entree of chicken AND steak. Of course, a wedding just isn't a wedding without a few hiccups along the way. Nichole and Art's "hiccup" arrived in the form of an early evening storm that left a nice little wedding gift: a power outage! The power went out just as dinner was getting started. Turns out, a lightening strike hit the transformer of the hotel, knocking out power. They were able to kick in the emergency generator, but it only kept some of the lights on. That left about 200+ people packed into a ballroom with no A/C. Needless to say, it got a bit warm. But Nichole and Art took it all in stride! Had that been me, I'm pretty sure I would have been in tears! But everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in spite of the power outage.

Just as dinner ended, the power came back on and the wedding party was introduced. Nichole and Art did their first dance then Nichole and her dad had their dance. The song they danced to was apparently written (and sung!) by one of Nichole's cousins. The song was called "Daddy's Little Girl" and it brought tears to my eyes. I need to see if I can get a copy of it from Nichole because it was just awesome!

We...correction I...ate some cake (I had Sean's cake AND my cake!) then headed home for the night. The reception wasn't scheduled to shut down until 1AM...and Sean and I just couldn't hang! So, we headed home, put on our PJ's and reminisced about what a fantastic day and night we'd just had.

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Art Rincon! We wish you lots of love, happiness (and babies!) and are so happy for you!

And now some pics from the big event):

Nichole being walked down the aisle by her daddy (Uncle Louis)

The new Mr. and Mrs.!

Nichole's niece, Natalie -- the cutest flowergirl EVER!

The proud and gorgeous Mother of the Bride (Aunt Terri)

Nichole's sister, Lauren (and Natalie's mommy)

Nichole's sister, Allison -- the Maid of Honor

Nichole's sister, Sarah

Their custom monogram on the dancefloor!

The AWESOME mariachi band!

My little mariachi "crush" serenading Nichole's mom :-)

My handsome hubby with the blushing bride

The beautiful cake -- notice their monogram on the top layer!

The fireplace/mantle outside the ballroom -- with memorials of relatives Nichole and Art have lost.

Sean's granma Annie who passed away last year

The yummy Groom's cake!

Cutting the cake...

The gorgeous centerpieces!!

Another picture of the happy couple!!

First dance as Mr. and Mrs.

The crowd started chanting "beso, beso" (beso = kiss), so Art went for it. :-)

The bride dancing with her daddy!

Natalie watching Nichole dance with her dad...so sweet!

Just a sweet picture of Nichole with Natalie!

Believe it or not...this picture of me was taken by NATALIE (yeah...a 3 year old!).

Cheers!!

Our new patio

Our new patio has been poured and we are waiting on the installation of the flagstone border. We had about 5 choices for the flagstone and we decided to go with a neutral/tan (classic flagstone) stone. Hopefully work will start back up this weekend and we can have our new patio by June 1.

Here's the patio and our stone choice:

More Shameless Promotion...

And more pics of the Princess...
(do you see a theme??)

Can you tell we're a bit obsessed?? :-)