Christmas Magic on Rodeo Drive

I'm absolutely ashamed of my brief blogging hiatus, but between blogging here and keeping up with my other load of responsibilites, this one has ended up on the back burner.  Of course, there is a ton that I could retro post, but I'm true to myself and know that won't happen, so I'm just going to pick up in the here and now.

From the title of this post, you might be thinking we recently took a trip to Beverly Hills.  Well, as much as I would have loved to afford to do my Christmas shopping in the great LA burb, I'm simply speaking of the good 'ole ATX here, which to me is just as good (if not better)!

I'm referring specifically to the magic our Elf on the Shelf has brought to our home.  Reese's Godparents gifted it to her this year, and she has embraced it all....the book, the movie, "An Elf's Story" (that we watch about every other day, thank goodness for DVR) and of course the elf himself.

His name is Chippey, since we watched the movie just before he made his initial appearance here on Rodeo Drive.  And being an almost 2 year old, I'm not sure she could think quite beyond her now favorite movie to come up with a more original name, so Chippey it is....this year anyway.  I decided to not write his name in the book just yet, because I have a feeling next year he might have a new name....or not...we'll see.

Even to a 22 month old, Chippey has quite the hold on her.  We have recently taken on a more high maintenance bedtime routine which includes me singing Reese to sleep.  (insert laugh here, because we all know how glorious my voice is).  And, sometimes after many songs sung multiple times, her eyes still beam wide open and as soon as I leave the room, she gets up, stands at the door and the crying begins.  At one point last week, I said (through the door) "Chippey wants you to go get in your bed and close your eyes".  There was immediate silence, and she obeyed exactly Chippey's wishes.   Dang, I love this elf!  I'm happy to report that we are finally back to a less high maitenance bedtime routine!

Chippey's hangout today.  Maybe this means we will see his magic this evening, too as he whips up dinner for us.

JP and I have really had a lot of fun beginning this tradition in our home.  We have decided, however, to save a lot of the creative Chippey antics for years to come, when they will be fully appreciated.  It really is magical, though to see the gleam in her eyes and smile on her face when she wakes up, looks around the house, and finds Chippey in a new place each morning.  And coming home from school to find him in the same place is just as good.  When we're out and about, she asks about him and completely understands that he talks to Santa every night.

Oh, and speaking of Santa, I have to include our trip to see him.  Reese was so excited, but of course as soon as she sat on his lap, she fussed a bit.  But it wasn't for long and I feel like I could read exactly what was going through her mind by the look on her face: "I'm a bit scared of this guy in the red suit and beard, but his clothing and hat look a lot like Chippey's.  And Mommy and Daddy say Santa and Chippey are friends and he brings presents to good girls like me, so I better not pout and I better quit crying".

Oh the magic of Christmas...it is beautiful!

From Our Little Cupcake to Yours...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN WEEKEND!

Hoping I Can Handle It

If you know me, you know I run quite a bit.  I really like to run...it's quite theraputic for me.  One of the few gear purchases I made before baby was a really good jogger, because I knew I wanted to run with Reese, too.  But, I very rarely run more than a 5k or so.

Well, I'm now training for a half marathon in Jan/Feb (haven't decided which one yet) thanks to my friend Shell.  She has run a couple of fulls, and a few halfs, so I feel like I'm in good hands, but there definitely is that worry, of, "can I handle this?".

Honestly, I know I can run it because running comes quite easy for me and I enjoy it, but I'm a little worried about getting bored and actually having the patience for my body to do the same exact action for 13.1 miles.  I'm praying that adrenaline will be running so rampant that patience and boredom won't even come into play, but I still worry.

I'm really excited about this new challenge, though, and completing it before the big 3-0.  I have a feeling this will be a 1 and DONE kind of thing, but I still want to mark it off the list.

So, I'm in the midst of training now with my trusty new Asics (fitted just right by the awesome peeps at RunTex) and my training calendar from Shell.

So wish me luck....and patience!!!

We are pet-free and in the minority, it seems.

I picked Little Miss up from school yesterday and her teacher asked us to bring in a picture of our pet(s).  I guess they are doing some type of activity with it today.  I mentioned that we don't have any pets, to which she responded in pure amazement at the fact that we didn't have any.  She then asked Reese, "it's all about you, isn't it".  To which she responded with a head nod and a very clear "YES".  All the while I'm pondering, "are we the only family out of her class who doesn't have any pets".  So, on the way home, I debated sending a pic of a friends dog (that we often dog-sit), but then I had a better idea.  I'll just send a picture of Pink Bear and Horsey (her lovies), because they are loved a lot and in a sense her pets (that sleep with her).

Of course, I then got busy cooking supper, playing chase, and reading books and completely forgot about the picture until JP called this morning after he dropped her off with the words, "we forgot the picture".

Well, it's just another reason I love my work situation and location, because I could still make it happen.  So I grabbed Pink Bear and Horsey, propped them up on the chair, took a few snaps, uploaded, printed and VIOLA!

Now, I can hardly wait to hear what her reaction was during their "activity" when all of her friends probably had pictures of dogs, cats, birds and such and she had Pink Bear and Horsey.  But, I couldn't let her feel left out just because we are currently pet-free, right!?

It's all a Balancing Act

So much to do and not enough time to blog...for myself anyway.  Which, btw, I really hate because this is my scrapbook, if you will.  I have so many topics and recaps spiralling through my head as subjects to write about, but lately I've found myself blogging more for clients than for myself.  Well, it does pay the bills, so I'll be keeping with that, but hopefully finding time here, too.  I'm doing social media work for two different juvenile brands at the moment (whom I will talk more about later) as well as my committment to get Graco ready for the upcoming ABC show and my other juvenile industry sales work.  Needless to say, things are super duper busy over here, but I thrive on it!

With all of the back-to-school posts I saw this morning along with the a few changes of our own when it comes to Reese's school, has got me thinking how wonderful a balance I feel like we have right now in our household.  Yes, I know we always scream from the rooftops how busy we are, but honestly, I wouldn't want it any other way.  Reese has been at her school full-time now for just shy of 4 months and part-time there for almost 6.  She is quick to say bye-bye and blow a kiss to me in the mornings because she just can't wait to get there.  And, in the afternoons, she is excited to see us and ready to come home (and EAT, of course)!  It's the perfect mix for both of us.  I've been quite overloaded with work the past month or so, but I have a very strong "this is how it's suppossed to be" feeling of challenge and accomplishment everyday--and I really like it that way. 

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the time I was able to spend at home with Reese before I got back into the full-time swing of things, but at the end of the day, I'm a working mom, it's just who I am, and I'm pretty sure our little family (and bank account) are all better off because of it.

So, back to the changes with Reese.  Well first off, I can't believe we are at the 19 month mark and I see a little more "kid" in my little lady everyday.  Today she starts a new class with (kinda, sorta) new teachers.  Well, most of the kids are the same, just swapping with the teachers from the other toddler class, since they changed the curriculum for the toddlers a bit and her class is now 19-24 months.  Her old teachers (who I absolutely adore) moved to the younger toddler class.  I don't think they were too happy about it, but at least they are just across the hall.

They celebrated on Friday with an "end of summer" pajama picnic complete with crust-less sandwiches, ChickFilA nuggets, cheesy puffs, fruit and cupcakes.  I only wish this heat partied with them and was ready for an end, too!

MORE!

Of course when I tried getting a pic, Reese was already geared up to leave with me and didn't want anything to do with having someone else hold her for a pic---but I'm sharing it anyway!

Ms. Gracie & Ms. Vida--they say Reese was the most well-behaved of the class--
I'm not sure what changes on the short 3 minute drive home.

So here's to a great first day in her new class.  She said she was ready and I know she'll take it like a champ because that's who she is.  And cheers to balance...we all need it and are better off because of it!

Have a great school year, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday: She Hearts Her Mommy

and I HEART her, A LOT!  I'm usually the one behind the camera, so I'm excited to post these shots the hubs recently captured...thanks, babe!

Channeling our Inner Kid

The 4th of July weekend usually means fun in the sun for us, and this year was no different.  With the exception of a trip out to a local winery and lunch on the lake, we decided to take it to the backyard this year vs. the lake or pool, and boy did we had fun!  Just like little kids! (oh and I think they enjoyed it, too)

Maybe she could be the talent for the next packaging photo shoot?



It all started out on Saturday with a quick trip to WalMart for a Slip N Slide.  We had fun with it even though we are too big for it, but the real fun came on Monday when we combined our friend's Slip N Slide with ours to form a bit of an obstacle course--and that it was!  There were only a couple of us that actually made it to the end, and that was still a feat.  I've only posted the pics of my husband and me here, because I'm not sure I have permission to post to the public all of the mishaps that went on.  Let me put it this way, it was a true WIPEOUT ZONE, just like the show on TV with bodies trying to master something that didn't even support our body weight. 

I think there is a reason these things are made for kids because I was quite sore the next day...and the next!  But the entertainment factor for the 15 or so of us that were there was beyond words.  The amount of laughter could have also been a culprit for my sore body.

What really got me, was how funny little Miss thought we all were trying to conquer something that was really made for her.  She would get down right giddy watching us throw our bodies into the air, just hoping to make it to the end.  But, in most cases didn't make it past the first pool.  And, of course she loved playing with her friend, Mia and eating lots of holiday treats!

What a fun time it was, but for now all of the air has been removed from the paraphernalia and loaded up for storage...until next time.

What kind of games and activities do you take part in to ensure your inner kid is still alive?

Summatime...

...and the livin's easy! 

This week has been CRAZY busy for Team Parker, so I haven't had time to craft up any good content on our lives, but wanted to share this awesome pic my oh-so-talented bro-in-law took over Memorial Day weekend.

It's that time of year for living in swimsuits...especially in this Texas heat!  Little Miss was enjoying the morning in the backyard frolicking in her pool and sand box.  Uncle Matt captured some awesome images in her summer outfit of choice, so I just had to share her cuteness and his skillz.

What Twitter did for me Tonight

We had a really yummy (and super simple) dinner tonight.  I just think this is really worthy of sharing because just today, one of my Facebook friends had posted a question as her status stating, "who can give me twitter lessons?".  There are a million ways to use this fine tool, but a couple of weeks ago, The Pioneer Woman had tweeted this:

Step 1. Get thyself some basil. Step 2. Make this:http://tinyurl.com/3vuw7sb

(for those of you who are too lazy to click the link, it's a recipe for a yummy pasta with pesto cream sauce)
PASTA + CREAM + BUTTER + FRESH BASIL + PARMIGIANNO REGGIANO =  
A W E S O M E N E S S !

mine is a bit creamier than Pioneer Woman's, but in my book, that's better!

Well, given the fact that I have fresh basil growing on my patio, love pasta (and everything else that's in this tasty recipe), this was a no-brainer.  So, I printed it out directly from her blog, bought the ingredients last week (besides the fresh basil, of course, that I picked 5 minutes before chopping it up) and finally got around to fixing it tonight.  The only change I made was using whole wheat penne that I boiled in chicken broth, rather than simply water, to give it a bit more flavor.  If you need a simple, and quick, but incredibly tasty meal, fix this one!  I've had a sick child all day who really wanted nothing more than to be held every waking hour, and I was still able to accomplish this one (even holding her with one arm a majority of the time).  Oh and I can't forget to mention how much she LOVED it too!

So part of what I'm trying to get at here (besides the recipe), is depending on what your likes and interests are, twitter has it.  Market with it, have fun with it, get great ideas from it, stalk your fave celebrities and brands with it, and so on and so on and so on.  Oh, and if I'm not already following you on twitter, comment with your handle and we can tweet away! (mine is @heidi_n_parker)

Roadtrippin' It.

We took a roadtrip Memorial Day weekend. 

Are you surprised that it was centered around a UT sport? 

Well anyway, it all started the weekend before when Texas was playing their final series against the Aggies and our friends Shell and Matt said, "hey, let's go to Oklahoma City next weekend for the Big 12 tournament".  My first thought was NO.  And the thoughts that ran through my head were of an uncomfortable and bored toddler riding in the car, not wanting to be at the games we wanted to be at, in the end having to spend more time in the hotel room than I wanted and screwing up our friend's (who don't have kids yet) weekend.  But, by the end of the weekend, I was totally gung-ho and brought myself to remember to just have low expecations about the whole trip and go with the flow.  It also helps to have great friends that are go-with-the-flow people, too (and entertain my child)!

Well, I think know little Miss likes going as much as we do!  It's the times when she's in the house for too long that she gets whiny and not fun to be around.  So this roadtrip was just her style and let me tell you, she is my little trooper!

After a 6 hour drive (all 5 of us comfortably in Shell's company sedan), we arrived on Friday afternoon just in time for the game.  We went straight to the stadium, and Reese was thrilled to be out of the car and giddy to soak it all in. (especially the Cracker Jacks that she flagged down the vendor for...not sure how she even knew what they were, but she sure does now and LOVES them)

 

proud Daddy!

We were able to enjoy an adult dinner that evening til 10:30 or so as she slept peacefully in her orange chariot.

 it bubbled like a volcano...yummy!

Friends! (Disclaimer: Reese is right by the camera sleeping soundly)



Saturday brought two games, perfectly spaced to catch a nap in between, and it was refreshing for all of us to get a little mid-day shut eye.

the restaurant overlooking the ball field was a nice break from the heat 

our crew



Post (2nd) game we found a great wine bar with live music and a fairly empty patio for Reese to run around on.  You know it's all about finding the right venues that make Mama, Daddy, and Reese (and Matt and Shell) happy.  We did learn though, that Oklahoma does have a law against kids in a bar, so we had to enjoy our evening cocktail in the hotel lobby vs. the hotel bar.  But, we enjoyed it all the same!

The trip home on Sunday was even smoother than Friday.  Two little naps and a stop for lunch at Joe T's in Ft. Worth was all she needed.

So, this toddler continues to be a great at adapting to whatever environment we put her in--especially hotel rooms and practicing her favorite pastime.