step by step

Oh baby! Gonna get to you girl! I was at dinner for a friends birthday when Sheri asked if I wanted to go to the Boyz II Men, 98', New Kids on the Block concert in Houston. It took me about 2 seconds to realize I had to be there, no matter the cost. I mean, come on! I have always loved Boyz II Men. I remember listening to Yesterday, One Sweet Day, and Motownphilly all the time. And New Kids on the Block?! I was in LOVE with Donnie and convinced I would marry him and his bad boy self. (Don't let the Cosby sweater and mullet fool you. He is all bad boy)

I was counting down the days, and on our drive into Houston we were listening to the Boy Band station on Pandora to get us hyped up. Not really needed for me. I mean, I was about to go see my 1st/2nd grade love and his 4 friends sing to me! 

Boyz II Men and 98' were both on for about an hour. The Boyz were awesome, although I was sad when Mariah Carey didn't show up to sing One Sweet Day. I never listened to 98' so I didn't know any of their songs, but they were still entertaining. 

 Nick Lachey breaking it down.

There was no break between the two bands, but there was a quick one before New Kids came on. We expected them to be on for about the same amount of time, but were super excited when a video came on getting us excited for NKOTB and it said they would be on for 2 hours!! I know it sounds ridiculous, but it was like an awesome party for 2 hours. They hand a balloon drop, multiple confetti cannons, streamers, pyrotechnics, etc. Even when they played their newer songs (and by newer, I mean anything recorded after 1994) we were having a blast and dancing along. But let's get real. There was nothing better when a little You've Got It (The Right Stuff), or Hanging Tough came on. They even did their old dance moves to both of the songs! I was dying.

Sheri and I waiting for NKOTB

 a little pre stage circle moment

 Donnie breaking it down

Jordan singing his girly high notes

 You've Got It line up, just before their leg kick dance move.

 You can't see them, but they're singing/dancing behind the lit up mics on the ground.

It started to get a little strippery interesting towards the end when Donnie started making out with a girl in the audience, and Jordan and the others started dancing around like strippers. I don't even remember what song it was they were doing this to, I just know I couldn't stop laughing. And in case you were wondering, yes, Donnie does this in every city. You might be thinking, it's probably his wife or girlfriend on tour with them. You would be wrong. We saw different videos with a different girl in each one. I don't care, I know Donnie is just doing what he needs to do in order to provide for me when he realizes he loves me and we get married. 

If you want to see some of the tour, search The Package Tour on youtube. I may or may not have done that for an hour before writing this post. It was an almost 30 year old girls dream night!

rip google reader

First, let me say thanks to Rebecca for reminding me to make this announcement. For those of you that use google reader, July 1st is the last day. Wah wah. So, why do you care? Why am I wasting your time reading this when you could be pinning things or laying out. (For those of you that are teachers and do this basically every day now.)

I'm telling you because you won't know when I post something hilariously funny or overload you with pictures of Miles! So, you can go old school like me and start making favorites folders. It works, but as I was doing this I was thinking, "Hello year 2000, I haven't really missed your sad technology." Or figure out another way to keep up with my awesome life. 

You better. Or you'll regret it. I'm warning you now.

chicago: part 2

We started the rest of our week off by playing with this insane bubble maker. This video I was able to get makes me so happy!

The next day we went to the beach! Apparently Miles could have cared less last year going to the beach. But this time he loved it! At one point he started jumping up and down saying, "It's fun at the beach!"

 Miles and I

 We stomped on castles we made.

 Dug holes and sat in them.

 And checked out the ladies that passed by.

 After we went home and Miles napped, he and I played in the backyard together.

He said he was done so we changed him into regular clothes. I guess he wasn't done after all. I think he did this one more time as well. Lesson learned? Dump out the pool when he says he's done. Or just don't ever change him out of his swim diaper.

I got to babysit him a few times while I was there, and we had a blast every time! We went to several different parks, chased after birds, chased each other up and down hills, played with the water fountain, and of course looked for cool sticks to take home. The first time we did this, I started laughing when we got home because he immediately opened the garage door and put his stick in a basket full of his sticks. I wonder what he does with them after collecting them?

Oh yeah, we also took pictures together. Duh.

The last night I babysat him we were playing in the basement, and he started doing this:

I laughed so hard he kept doing it, so I took a video. The last day I was there we headed to Little Gym for awards day, or show off your kid day, who the hell knows what it was called. It was bonkers in there! Tons of parents, and nannies, grandparents, and yes, an aunt. Miles and his best friend Jack couldn't care less about the class. They ran around doing their own thing the whole time. When it was time for the awards ceremony, Miles wanted nothing to do with the medal or standing on the "podium." We finally got him up there with Jack, and I took this funny picture of Jack telling Miles what he was supposed to be doing.

That afternoon Kelly and her little one, Annie, came for a visit! She was so cute, and it was great seeing Kelly! We got Miles' old bouncer thing out for Annie, and after awhile we decided to go for a walk to help her get to sleep.

When I came back from my walk Miles was awake and found a new spot to hang out. 

That thing looked like it was going to break under his weight! Rebecca and I were cracking up, and he was pretty pleased with himself. It was definitely sad to say goodbye to this kid!

Miles' (and my) favorite thing I taught him to say?


That's right kid. You stick around me, and I'll teach you what you need to learn.

sugar circus

Today was stop #2 on my sweet treat quest! I was really excited heading there, because if I like it they have a different flavor every week. (only one flavor a week is GF/DF) This place was really far east, in a ghetto neighborhood. The outside of the shop is super cute, but looked really out of place between run down buildings. Walking in the loud metal music threw me off. I guess I was expecting circus music, and kids skipping around in a circle holding hands. 

When I got the cupcake the lady helping me, one of the owners/bakers, and I started talking about how hard it is to find good food that's both gluten and dairy free. She was super nice and even asked if I had a request for next week because she hadn't decided what she was going to make. How awesome?! A baker, who bakes (hopefully good) stuff I can eat, willing to make whatever flavor I want! I paid the $2.98 and merrily went on my way.

It was refrigerated so I had to wait awhile for it to get to room temp like she said I should. When I took it out of it's travel case, I immediately was surprised of the color. I've had (and made) strawberry cupcakes and they're usually bright pink with some strawberry chunks. This one had a few chunks, but the color was as if the cake had barely any strawberry in it. The icing was sweet, with a slightly strange after taste. Not bad, just...I couldn't place what it was. The cake tasted a little overcooked, and I couldn't taste any strawberry. Boo.

I'm willing to try again when they have a different flavor, and will buy at the beginning of the week when it's at its freshest instead of the last day of their baking week. Oh well. On to the next!

Grade: B+

chicago: part 1

My sister has been in love with Veronica Mars for years now, and has been trying to get me to watch it. I finally took her advice and watched the entire series in about 2 weeks. I know, that is redonk. But when I get hooked, I find myself doing nothing but whatever it is I'm hooked on. It's probably a good thing I've never done drugs. Otherwise I would probably be on that show Intervention instead of watching it. 

ANYWAYS, I recently found out a friend/parent at my school is the wife of the creator of that show, and when I told her how much I/we loved it, she hooked my sister and I up with some coozies. Koozies? However you spell it, we got them. I was so excited to give it to Rebecca, and she started using it immediately.

Meghan and I flew into Chicago together and it was fun spending the first weekend there together! We went on lots of walks, played at all the parks in walking distance, and generally had a blast.

In between walks Meghan and I enjoyed the deck.

Miles decided he wanted to join us.

It's wild having months go by between seeing Miles. He was talking so much more than the last time I saw him. What was even more exciting? You could actually understand everything he was saying and wanting from you! We had a lot of fun drawing with chalk. He told me what to draw, and it was so cute having him get so excited when I would draw whatever it was he requested.

On Saturday we went to Rib Fest. I love that once the nice weather hits, there is a festival every weekend, usually in walking distance. We ate a ton of food, and then headed over to the kids area. Who even knew there were kids areas at these fests? Apparently there are. One of the many things you learn when a little nugget is part of the crew.

He wasn't very good at milking the cow. I think he needs to spend more time in Texas getting back to his roots.

We finished the day with some deep fried chocolate covered bacon. And by we, I mean everyone but me. I'm sure it was disgusting with all that gluten in it.

It was such a fun weekend with Meghan there! It was sad when she left, but I was glad I was going to be there for another 5 days!

"Check back later for part 2 ladies." (That was Miles saying that, in case you weren't sure)

summer quest

Angie decided this summer that she was going on a donut quest. She was going to find the best donut in Austin, and she has been recording her quest on Vine. (an app where you can make 6 second videos) I've been watching her videos everyday, and everyday am jealous I couldn't invite myself along. So I decided yesterday that I was going to go on my own summer quest. I started googling bakeries that have gluten free & dairy free cupcakes. Sadly, most places that do that make you order at least a half dozen cupcakes, instead of just 1. So, I changed the parameters to the best sweet treat I could find. I started a list of places to visit, and decided I would start with the Wheatsville Coop.

Although I have driven by it probably a hundred times (it's on the drag by campus), I had never actually gone inside. It's just like any small grocery store like Sprouts. I headed to their baked goods case to see what was available for me. There were brownies (boring), rice crispie treats (peanut butter inside? no thanks), and pumpkin chocolate chip whoopie pies (don't mind if I do). I mean come on, which would you choose?

Look at this delicious looking little morsel!

At $2 a pop, it's a pretty good deal for a gluten free, vegan treat, even if it is pretty small. I grabbed it and brought it home to eat. On my first initial bite, it was delicious and light! I ate a bite of just the cream and it was really good and not too sweet. The pie part was not overly sweet either in part, I'm guessing, to the pumpkin. Although I couldn't taste the pumpkin very much because of the chocolate chips and cream flavors taking over. It was really moist and not crumbly which was awesome! (Those of you that eat gluten free know that this can be a problem.) I don't eat sweets very much anymore because they're so hard to find for me with my crazy allergies, so it started to get a little too sweet for me at the end. 

Overall it was delicious! Next time I will just eat half and save the rest for later....if I can.

Grade: A

fancy furniture

As you know, I was in Chicago last week enjoying the cool weather and hanging out with Miles. Their house is incredible! Yes, I know, I've been there before. But I mean, for real, it's pretty awesome. Their kitchen is my favorite, and their fancy big couch and tv downstairs aren't too bad either. The fanciest of their furniture?

That would be their bed side tables! They are especially fancy in their guest bedroom in the basement with their matching tables.

Nothing says fancier than extra protection. Maybe they aren't empty and this was their little way to show they were wanting me to wear them so I wouldn't have an accident in the bed?

end of year

Man, I have been MIA for longer than I meant to be, sorry about that! Things got crazy with the end of the year, and then I was gone the last week celebrating the beginning of summer with a trip to Chicago! (Check back for my trip recap.) We always have our kids write something (usually a letter) to their next years teacher telling them a little about ourselves. Here are my favorites.

True story. We all hate them.

What about a mean teacher, teaching fractions? I probably just blew her mind with that one.

I am going to miss this kid! (He is responsible for most of the kid quotes this year.) And he is correct, he is not blind. But come on kid, even my nephew Miles is a wiz at 2D shapes.

So stinkin cute!

So the last 2 weeks of school I blow up balloons and inside I put a little piece of paper with something fun we will do. We had a water balloon and water fun fight one day, had a movie and game day, had a bubble gum bubble blowing contest (no one spit out their gum trying to make a bubble this year!), etc. Obviously every day was a blast! 

The best day? That would be our movie and popcorn day. We read the Origami Yoda books the last few weeks of the year, and my kids became obsessed! We were even the Origami Yoda Ewings for our book themed track and field day, complete with our own origami Yodas. Note to self, never do origami with 18 eight year olds at the same time. It will be torture. Anyways, back to our day. We had a pajama day, watched the original Star Wars, ate popcorn, and then at the end of the day came the best part. 

Light saber fight!!!

2 on one, and I totally beat them.

 Winning, as Darth Vader, in pajamas!

I had made pool noodle light sabers (Thank you Pinterest!) and we went outside and spent the last 10 minutes of the day having a blast! The kids were taking it really seriously, and were acting like their light saber person. It was hilarious! They even made noises every time they hit someone with their light saber. One of the kids would actually act like that part of their body was cut off until he was totally laying on the ground and someone had gone in for the kill. Then he would jump back up and start all over again. I know, it sounds a little bonkers, but it was awesome!

Sadly I don't have any more pictures of our last 2 weeks together. Let me just tell you they were awesome days, and I loved every minute of it! 

Now, it's SUMMER! You suckers with non-teaching jobs should check back during your lunch breaks to read about all the awesome things I'm doing this summer. You can live vicariously through me. You're welcome.