Cheap Wine of the Week

Ok, I didn't post a cheap wine last week because the wine we tried was yucka. I guess that will happen when buying cheap wine. But, I did find a good one this week. This one was a whopping $6.29! Hold on to your wallets! It's Night Harvest Merlot. It was very smooth (again, for a cheap wine, we gotta keep this in perspective) and it has some berry undertones, which I like. It's a great "drink while you cook" wine. I liked it so much that I want to try the Shiraz next. Here's the website, just cause it's a cute one: http://www.nightharvest.com/wines/

And, for extra coolness, the cork is black. Let me know what you think if you try it!

Celebrating the wedding of our great friends

I jsut wanted to do a quick post in honor of our good friends Michael and Brandy Yeargan who got married last night. It was a great wedding here in Austin and we are so happy for them. Michael is one of Ben's oldest friends, his roomate in college, a fellow Marine, the Best Man for our wedding and a GREAT guy. We are so happy he found his perfect match in Brandy. We are excited to be in the same city together, after all these years, and we wish them all the wonderful things in life they deserve. Here's a picture of them and a picture of Ben and I, we were so excited to be out without the kids (for the first time in months and months!!)

Pictures

Things have been relatively quiet here this past week (i.e. no Brannon mis-adventures) mostly due to me being very sick (fever, chills, migraines, etc) and so we've all been trapped in the house (Ben is traveling more than he is home these days.) Anyway.... I haven't emptied pictures off my camera in awhile so I am doing that now. I thought I would post a few cute ones.

The 1st picture is Wesley at school last week on Pioneer Day. The kids and teachers dressed up as pioneers and went through the entire day as a pioneer school. They made candles, ate pioneer food, wrote with a quill and ink, played pioneer games, learned to square dance, made things with yarn, etc. He had a blast and it really gave him an idea what it was like be a child in the 18oo's. We love Wesley's new school and teacher, she is so creative. And, of course Wes has adjusted well. He's so social and outgoing this move hasn't really slowed him down!

The 2nd picture is Brannon digging in the dirt with...you guessed it... his dinosaurs. I know we have a ton of pictures of him doing that but that really is all he does (besides get into trouble.) And with that grin on his face, who could ever guess what that little boy is capable of! He always has at least one dinosaur, if not 5 in his hands so we don't have any pictures of him without them!

The 3rd picture is Tierney in our Octopus Chair. She loves that chair and loves to sit in it and "pretend" to read or just suck her thumb. She making progress towards walking now- she's almost got it! Just in time for her 18 month milestone! (The orthopedist said last week that she is hyper flexible and she's having a hard time training her muscles to get them to do what they are supposed to. She said that she will get it very soon and then to put her in gymnastics!) She loves to toddle across the room just to get over to the octopus and sit on it!

Cheap Wine of the week that is really 2

So, I have been meaning to blog about my cheap wine of the week, ever since last week when I discovered a really good cheap wine. But then, I have been so busy this past week I didn't have time to blog. Then, I found my cheap wine of this week. So, now I am doing the cheap wine of the week, but this week also has last week's recommendation.

Last Week: Rex Goliath Merlot. This wine has a picture of a rooster on it but most importantly it only set me back $6. It's quite smooth for a cheap wine and after drinking a couple glasses Ben found it amusing to talk about the wine with a cock on it.

This Week: S.O.B. (Sun of a Beach) Chardonnay. I was making Mushroom and Goat Cheese stuffed Chicken Breasts tonight with sauteed red potatoes and grilled zucchini and portobello mushrooms. Notice I said "was." That's because I bought a cheap white wine to go with my meal. Like any good cook, I opened it before I started cooking and now I am not cooking anymore. Drinking this good cheap wine (again only $6) made me have no desire but to do anything but sit on my patio and drink my wine enjoying the beautiful breeze and 70 degree weather on my back porch. So now the kids are eating the good 'ole chicken nugget standby (they are shaped like dinosaurs so that means extra points for mommy) and then Ben and I will continue to sit on the porch because we are lazy wine drinkers.

Have a great weekend!

Brannon is now officially a Holy Terror!

For those of you that know Brannon, you know he can be described as my "spirited" child. While Wesley walks the straight and narrow path, Brannon prefers to RUN down every crooked one he can find! Never mind the minor incident this week when I took him to Chick Fil-A and he walked by someone's table, grabbed a chicken nugget, popped it in his mouth and continued on to the playroom. And no, I am not talking about the incident this week where he found a cactus bush, grabbed it with both hands and tried to pull it out of the ground (amazing he did not get a single needle in him.) No, I am referring to a few days ago when Wes was at first communion class at our new church. When we went to pick him up, he was in the church listening to the priest, so I, along with about 30 other moms were waiting in the lobby just outside the sanctuary doors. Brannon of course brought with him a couple of dinosaurs (we don't leave home without them) and I have Tierney on my hip. I walked over to the doors that lead to the sanctuary (they are glass) to see if I could locate Wes. Brannon was looking through the doors with me. Then, I spot Wes and lean down to point him out to Brannon. Brannon's gone. I look to my right and left, he couldn't have gone far, I only had my eyes off him for 10 seconds. I spin around and dart my eyes across the lobby. When I finally locate him, I wanted to disappear. In the center of the lobby area is a big white stone pedestal about 4.5 ft high. On top of the pedestal is a glass bowl containing the Holy Water. Somehow Brannon had hoisted himself up, stomach propped on the pedestal edge, feet dangling in the air, DRINKING the Holy Water like a dog. Oh, and for good measure the dinosaurs were in the bowl too, looking like 2 birds taking a bath. Words cannot describe the heat in my face, the embarrassment I felt and all those moms were watching him. I run over and pulled him down and he tells me that he was thirsty and his dinosaurs wanted a bath "puz dey were dirty." His little curls framing his face are wet, as is the front of his shirt. Being that no one in this church yet know us by name, I am sure I will now be known as "the mother who let her child drink Holy Water."

Here's a picture of my little Angel, playing with his dinosaurs in my mom's garden.

Hello? Hellooooo? Anyone there?

Is anyone out there? In know someone must be. I have gotten over 1200 hits on my blog since I started it 3 months ago. That's over 400 hits a month. Yet, I only have about 4 posted comments (thanks Holly!) Hey all you readers! Please don't be afraid to say something and make yourself known! It helps me feels like I am not talking to a wall/computer screen.

Ok, next topic: The Tudors!!! For those of you that know me well, you know I am only slightly obsessed with history, specifically English history (hey there again Holly!) Yes, I was the DORK in college with the major in biomedical science and I almost had a minor (9 hours short) in history. I took history classes for fun. Stop laughing. Even now, one of my greatest relaxation techniques is to read history books ie: historical biographies, historical fiction, etc. My favorite period of history is Tudor England. The drama that occurred in about a 40 year time period is like Desperate Housewives on steroids. And, even better, it changed the face of the world at the time and the course of history. It truly is a part of the world we live in today. But, I digress......
The Tudors was on last night and the first episode of the second season did not disappoint. It took me the whole first season to get over the fact that Jonathon Reese Myers was cast as Henry- he doesn't even have the classic Tudor red hair! But now, I am so into his portrayal of this famous King, I don't care about the rest. He really nails Henry's volatile temper, the self doubt and the mental instability that starts to show itself during this time. Of course, the costume designer takes many liberties, trying to make things look fabulous and grand, but some of the designs she puts Anne in are just crazy. I wish she would stick to making it a little more authentic, but Showtime wants all the flashiness and flesh it can get. I will wait until the second episode to make more comments I have about the relationship between Henry and Anne because I think some of the things they may show next week will be important. If you have not seen this series, the first season is on DVD and it's awesome. Let me know if you watch it, or you have seen it. That would require you to make a comment though! ;)

"Austin, we have landed"

Does life's roller coaster ever slow down, even for a brief rest? I thought I would have been used to this by now. This was our 8th move since we've been married. Too bad we're not getting frequent mover miles we can cash in! It seems to get harder each time though, I think mostly because of the kids. It's not even getting them readjusted that's the worst- it's hauling all their CRAP! Where did we get all this stuff, seriously? With each child I've birthed, our household load has doubled. I am not sure how that works. You should have seen us traveling to Austin, each of us in a car (Ben in the company car with the cat and me in the mom-mobile with the kids and the dog.) Yes, a mini van can be a low-rider! No sooner had we started out when Tierney decided to start screaming. Loudly. So I am leaned back in my seat trying to pat her leg to get her to slow down and I was hyper-extending myself. Which caused me to push down harder with my right foot on the gas pedal. Which caused me to get my FIRST speeding ticket!! (And Ben was behind me, and did he pull over with me? Nooooo, the nitwit KEPT GOING! Yes, that's right, he left me on the side of the highway with the loaded down minivan (including the opened bottle of half drunk Kahlua - we didn't want to throw that away!) The officer comes over, I tell him my story, as the dog is barking her head off and Tierney is sucking in vast amount of air trying to stop crying. He tells me that from now on, I need to pull over to calm my kids down and not do it while I was driving. Are you kidding me?? He must not have kids. By the way, I was only going 77 mph. (And no, he never saw my Kahlua.)
We arrived Monday night and dealt with the typical things, things in the apartment that needed to get done (that should have been fixed before we ever checked in), dealing with all the incompetent people at AT&T because they couldn't get us a dial tone on our phone, the mounds of boxes and packing paper all over the apartment, trying to find a grocery store so I could get some milk for the kids, the crying and temper tantrums from a 3 year old, the whining and complaining of a 7 year old, the clingyness of a 1 year old who has no idea where she is, and the needing a glass (or 5) of wine by a 32 year old. Some lines we've heard over the past days: *Mommy, I want to go home - Brannon
*Mom, I want to go home- Wesley
*MOMMYYYYY, MOMMYYYYY, AHHHHH- Tierney
*Mommy- dis partment not our house- Brannon
*Mommy, I can't sleep in dis room puz it's a dragon factry- Brannon
*Kara, can you find me the finger nail clippers- Ben
*Mom, I think there at least a million trees on all these hills- Wes
*I gotta get my bb gun to shoot the deer- Wes (When he saw dear tracks on our property)
*Kara, did you find those finger nail clippers yet- Ben (yes, that's exactly what I am trying to find in the 20+ boxes stacked up all over this apartment!!!)
*Mommy, can I kick Tierney- Brannon.
*No, Brannon, you may not kick your sister!!!- Me
*Why not mom, I want to- Brannon
*Because that would hurt Tierney and it's not nice to kick people.- Me
*Awwwwwwwww.... dat stinks- Brannon


Everyone has asked about our house. They are starting the actual building process in about 8-10 days. During the last 3 months they have been getting all the permitting, digging up the many many cedar trees on our lot (they left the oaks) and finalizing all our design stuff. We are still on track, if the weather doesn't do anything too strange to have a completed house and be out of this apartment in August! The apartment is on the opposite side of the golf course than our neighborhood so it's very very close. In fact, Ben took the kids and dog to the park in our neighborhood today while I unpacked boxes. Hopefully if we do this enough we will start to meet some people before we move in.
In closing, Happy Birthday to our friends Mary Alice Kaspar, Amy Taylor and Michael Yeargan (forgive me if I forgot anyone else!) Oddly enough, you are all here! Hopefully we will see you soon!
Also, season 2 of The Tudors is on tomorrow night (Sunday) and I am so stoked I can hardly stand it. I love love love this show so look for my commentary because I have to talk about each episode after I watch it.