What's that noise?

Must be the sound of wild rejoicing emanating from my driver's seat....

If you'd told me a few years back I'd consider sub-$2.00 a gallon gas a bargain I would have laughed (or possibly thrown up.)

It's been a great week with The Engineer's parents. Unfortunately, they're headed home this morning, but we were able to go out for a delectable dinner on their last night here. (Those of you who live in the same unnamed metropolitan area as me--e-mail me and I'll tell you about our surprising new restaurant find.) Our server was not only incredibly nice; she also took a very cute picture of the six of us.

Have a great Friday, and I'll see you here tomorrow!

Chickie, you've got mail!

Yesterday Chickie was hanging out at Lowe's with Daddy, and on the way home they picked up the mail.

From the back seat, Chickie said, "Daddy, can I have a piece of mail?"

Daddy found a piece of junk mail and handed it to her. To his surprise, under that postcard was a card addressed to Chickie! He handed it to her, and she got to work opening her very first "just because" card from Grammy.



It was a hit! Grammy even included stickers. I guess Chickie's still in her stickers-as-body-art phase.





We don't live close to any relatives, so we're always wanting ways to help Chickie feel connected with her grandparents. Webcams are fabulous, but having a real envelope to open, with a card and stickers just for Chickie, was such a fun way for her to connect with someone special. Thank you, Grammy!

And thank you to JL from The Toby Show for the great idea. Grammy very quickly took my not-so-subtle hint when I sent her your link.

23,400 days

That's the number of days in 60 years. And that's the number of days my grandparents have been married, as of today.

I talked to Mamma and Papa this morning. I asked them both how she has put up with him this long. Mamma graciously said he's put up with her too! She also said that Papa learned really early on he wouldn't be able to change her even though there are a lot of things he'd probably want to change...hmm, that might be a good one for me to learn too.

They have 3 kids, 10 grandkids, and a slew of great-grandkids. (I've lost count.) The oldest great-grandchild is 20, so in the next few years they may be able to add great-great grandparents to their impressive list of titles.

Papa served in the Navy after World War II. He worked for the US Post Office until his retirement. He has incredible skills as a woodworker and I'm thrilled to have some of his pieces, such as Chickie's little rocking chair.

Mamma stayed at home with her kids, crafting gorgeous clothes for them without patterns, and working as an Avon Representative. (She's been doing that over 45 years now--yep, still going strong.)

On their wedding day they went to a drive-in (the food kind, not the movie kind), and while it's changed names, the place still exists. So they'll head out there today, sixty years later, to celebrate. A burger and fries never sounded so romantic.

Congratulations, Mamma and Papa!

The Battle

The Location: Grandma & Grandpa's House

The Fighters: Chickie's Good Side vs. Chickie's Bad--um, I Mean Curious--Side

The Casualties: A photograph of Grandpa's mother as a child (over 100 years old), a pretty painted duck figurine, and Mommy's sanity.

This trip has actually been really good so far, but I am definitely getting frustrated with the drawbacks of being in a place that has a lot of interesting objects and is not entirely childproofed. When she's not breaking things, she's often finding other ways to test the limits. I don't think Chickie's ever been in time out so much in the span of three days.

But the weather is pretty close to perfect; I've read 2 books; the food is delicious; and the company is great; so I guess I can put up with some toddler antics.

But, really, if she's going to break something, couldn't it be, like, a chipped freebie coffee mug or something? I guess she has an eye for quality. One day I'll appreciate that.

Another vacation

We head out in the morning to visit The Engineer's parents. We'll be gone about a week and a half. I will probably post occasionally, but not as often. I'll be too busy reading novels, sitting outside in the cool mountain air, and eating too much.

It's a rough life.

We're back!

Well, we survived the drive to and from Kansas, and the reunion was a blast.

The trip there was 14 1/2 hours including lots of stops. Less than a third of the way into it, we stopped at a rest stop and Chickie exclaimed, "We at Uncle Ray's house!!!" I had to explain to her that we had a LOT more driving to do. By the time we got there at about midnight we were a tired bunch.

The trip home was about an hour shorter thanks to being able to avoid some construction traffic we'd encountered on the way there.

The highlight of the car trip was that we got to go to Braum's three times. Braum's is a regional fast food and ice cream chain. I don't know where all of their locations are, but it seems every town in Oklahoma, and north Texas has a Braum's. Unfortunately they aren't in Austin. Boy, is Braum's AWESOME. The burgers easily beat Sonic in taste, and prices are fantastic. The ice cream is excellent and a huge scoop on a waffle cone is only $1.25. The Engineer fell in love with their chocolate malts. We may have to drive to Kansas again just for all the Braum's stops on the way there!

The reunion was at my Aunt Dironda and Uncle Ray's house. And "house" is a stretch; there should be a different word for a 12,000 square foot home. ("Mansion" sounds too uppity, and it's really a homey, livable place. Maybe "country estate"?) There was so much for everyone to do, from taking rides in the cart being pulled by drafthorses, to swimming in the indoor pool, to playing pool and ping pong. Ray's fireworks show rivaled those put on by many cities, and the food was awesome. Of course, I ended up spending as much time as possible playing pinochle since the only time I get to play is when I'm with my immediate family and my mom's side of the family. (Local readers, anyone interested in putting together a monthly pinochle game? It's great fun and I'll teach you how to play!)

As promised, here are pictures:

Greystone (the house) reflected in one of the ponds:


Chickie & Grammy in the pool:


Chickie (on the right) kissing Cutie Cousin (my sister's daughter):


Me with my parent's three grandkids--Cutie Cousin, Zoodle, & Chickie--on the 4th of July. Getting these three "Little Firecrackers" to sit for a picture was a feat in and of itself.


Chickie wiped out, napping:


And Zoodle snoozin' with Papa (my mom's dad):

10 important facts, and 10 interesting facts

Important facts:

1. My first initial is C., and my middle name is Beth ("C. Beth"). I've always gone by Beth, from Day One.
2. Day One was a late summer day in 1977.
3. That was also Day One for my identical twin sister, Becki.
4. My brother Sean was almost three years old when Becki and I were born.
5. My dad Sam is a Baptist pastor and a really cool guy (yep, possible to be both).
6. My mom Cathy is retired after spending many years as a stay at home mom and a few years as an administrative assistant at the church, and she is an amusingly "gushing" grandma.
7. I was born in Phoenix, AZ; moved to Yuma, AZ at age 8; moved back to Phoenix for college; and moved to our current location in Texas about a year after I graduated.
8. The Engineer and I were married in the winter of 2000.
9. Chickie was born in the winter of 2006.
10. Zoodle was born in the spring of 2008.

Interesting facts:
1. I'm currently a little bit obsessed with the TV series Star Trek Enterprise which The Engineer and I have been Netflixing for a few months. (We are anxiously awaiting Disk One of Season 4 and I'm on the edge of my seat!! The crew saved the Earth from destruction by the Xindi but then they time-traveled to the 1940s! How will they get out of this one?!)
2. I'm kind of a geek. (See #1.)
3. My college degree is in theatre. I got burned out by the time I graduated and decided I didn't want to pursue it as a career. It was an expensive way to cultivate a hobby--thank goodness for scholarships.
4. I am breastfeeding two kids right now (well, not right this instant; that would be awesome multitasking). My 2-year-old and my 6-week-old are both quite attached to their "mommy milk".
5. After having a great birth experience with #1, complete with Pitocin induction and epidural; I had an amazing, beautiful, life-changing birth experience with #2--unmedicated water birth at an out-of-hospital birthing center.
6. Yesterday, at 5 weeks 4 days post-partum, I discovered my tummy has a few stretch marks that I did not see while pregnant (?!?!?!?!). I'm trying to tell myself that this further links me to generation upon generation of women who have suffered from these special souvenirs of pregnancy. Proof of the amazing journey my body has taken...right?
7. I'm a little obsessed with babywearing so be on the lookout for future posts about slings, wraps, and other must-have accessories used to strap on a baby (or a toddler).
8. I had maternity photos taken when I was 8 months pregnant with Zoodle, and when I saw the result I'd never felt more beautiful.
9. Despite loving my pregnant body, I don't really love the feel of being pregnant--which I need to remind myself of if Baby Fever comes back, because we don't plan to have more kids.
10. Did you know "souvenir" is spelled that way? I couldn't get it right without using spell check (see #6 above). I'm not sure why spell check can't find "Netflixing" (see #1 above). Hmmm....