Thanksgiving Weekend Report

This Thanksgiving I was off!!! And I was thankful!!! My first day off, Thursday, I got up early to make some chex mix and green bean casserole to take to my parents for turkey day. After Guen's morning nap we went over there and had a delicious meal. Ryan and I were not thinking because Guen ate the messiest meal of her life. Worse than her birthday cake smash-in-ur-face messy. We needed an entire new outfit after our thanksgiving meal. We even needed new socks if that tells you how messy she got. Instead, my sister Tootie had voluteered at a parade that morning and got a free t=shirt, so the family photos we took after thanksgiving you will see Guen in her LARGE t-shirt. After thanksgiving we went home, Guen took a nap and then we were off to Ryan's side of the family Thanksgiving. We caught the tale end of it but that was ok because we were still stuffed from lunch. We hung out the Ryan's family for a couple of hours before getting home around 730pm. Friday, my sister came over to take our family photo for our xmas cards. She shared her stories of Tootie and her continuing with the tradition of hitting the outlet malls at midnight (except now in Houston instead of San Marcos) and seeing the movie Burlesque. Unfortunately when taking the photos, Guen was not in the best mood and my idea of taking outdoor photos was shot due to it raining. But below is one that will not make the card, but was funny! After that my dad came over and we got everything down from the attic to put up the xmas tree. I had planned on doing the BEFORE the photoshoot but it did not happen. So our xmas photos are not very xmas-ee. Oh well. We went and had lunch at Victor's Deli and then came home to decorate the xmas tree while Guen napped. For some reason that afternoon she slept for 2.5 hours so we got everything done! After her nap we went over to a family friends house, the Estes. We got to see Allison and Brendan home from Minneapolis. It was good to see them and Mr and Mrs Estes. Guen was on her best behavior after that long nap. We were proud parents. Saturday we got up and had some family time and around lunch time we went down to see the Homers in there new house they just bought!!! It is gorgeous and huge!!! It even has a library. I love the library. It makes me want to smoke a cigar, drink brandy next to the fireplace with my ascot attire. Yes it even has a fireplace in the library-fancy. We walked to Cafe Benedict and had bunch with the Homer family. Of course baby Kate is an angel while our wild child Guen was loud. It was such a pretty day. That evening Ryan went to the grocery and we watched a weird movie that I could not even watch anymore, I was so bored, called I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With. I had to work on Sunday so that was my Thanksgiving weekend. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, let me know about your more interesting life.

Before the mess:

After the mess, the t-shirt:

I am falling onto Ryan with a mad baby on his lap:

Cute Allison and Brendan:

Family Day

This Saturday we went to Hockley, Texas! Don't know where that is? I did not either until I received an email from The Mother's Huntwick Group about a place in Hockley, TX where there is this: www.hals.org It is a free place to take your kiddos with a free train ride. It is by a park, so we took our lunch and then rode the train afterwards. It was a little overcast and windy today so we ate quickly and stood in line to ride the train. Luckily it was pretty fast moving, and we only stood in line for about 15-20 minutes. Anyone knows that can be a long time with a 1 year old. The train ride is about 10 minutes long. It winds through the woods and over little bridges. It is really cute. So, if ever you are on the northwest side of Houston, going toward Austin, stop by, it is half a mile off Hwy 290 and well worth the trip. Especially since it was free. Guen had a great time and had fun playing for a little while running around the area with all the other kids. Gotta go to work tomorrow, so I need to go. I hope you have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!

Eating at the park:

Guen's little pink engineer hat:

The train:

Daddy reading to Guen her bedtime story tonight:

My little ballerina

I had every attempt to make a homemade costume this year. Yeah right, that did not happen. Instead, when I was at Academy picking up some workout wear for me, I saw a 8 dollar ballerina outfit, already had some pink tights and BAM, that was Guen's Halloween costume. Saturday consisted of two parties for Guen. The first was Wyatt's, Barbie's son, 3rd birthday party at the park. You could not have asked for nicer weather. Can you tell that Guen liked the birthday cake. Saturday evening, consisted of Ryan, Guen and I going to the neighborhood Halloween party. We did not stay long because the witching hour, no pun intended, came for Guen around 7pm (her bedtime) and we had to go. On Sunday, I had to work, but Ryan took her around our cul-de-sac trick or treating and said she hated it. We think it was a little to close to her bedtime and that is why she was not a happy ballerina. Here are some pics to enjoy of the weekends festivities...

My little Pumpkin...

Guen's first trip to the pumpkin patch:

Guen's first trip to Chick fil A eating ice cream:

Guen's 1st Birthday!

I have six days off and have I been busy. Thursday, my first day off, I took Guen to Mother’s Day Out and started running my errands, That involved getting Ryan's car washed, going to Walmart, going to Target, and going to HEB. Then I went home to make Ryan and I some lunch before running to go get Guen. That afternoon we went to Kohl’s to get Guen her new outfit for her birthday pics.

Side note: I was doing all of this stuff for Ryan not just because I am a wonderful wife, but Ryan finally had back surgery and is currently on the mend. Recovery has been a bit rough for him, but changes in his meds have improved things. It looks promising.

This weather has been gorgeous, so on Friday Guen and I went for a walk. Then after Guen's nap we ate some lunch and got her ready for her photo session at JC Penny. We went to another place in the mall, then to Hobby Lobby and CVS. Guen was tired and took another nap, while I ran to the grocery store again for some things I forgot for the party.

Saturday we woke up and finished decorating (Katherine and Chad added some great balloons.) and had the Mears’ birthday party for Guen over at our house. We had some appetizers and put together her hand-me-down slide in the backyard. She had some piña colada cake that my mom made. She gobbled it up! But Guen was a princess and did not smash it in her face. Instead, she wanted someone to feed it to her.

Guen was a little more hands-on with the gift opening though and she got a bunch of great stuff, including a lunch bag and a stuffed dog. For those counting at home Guen officially tries to carry all of these things at one time around the house:

Doll
Teddy Bear
Stuffed Dog
Lunch Bag
Plastic Chair
Dora the Explorer Birthday Card
At Least One Pacifier

Sunday was the Fennell side of the family’s turn to celebrate with Guen. It was a full house with family and friends of family. Guen made out like a bandit. There were wagons and toys galore. And since we were having cupcakes she decided to get her hands and everything else messy.

Our StayCation

So these past 10 days were supposed to be Ryan and I's vacation to Portland, Oregon. But last month with Ryan's back getting worse and worse, we decided to not go. Good thing because....read on. My first day of vacation was last Tuesday. This was the first day of Mother's Day Out for Guen, see picture. She cried when I dropped her off, but I figured that would happen. I ran home and planted some flowers in some of my pots, cleaned the house for a visit from my cousin that evening and ran some errands. She was having a ball playing at Mother's Day Out when I went to pick her up and they said she did not cry long, ate well, and suprisingly took a nap too. I was a proud mama. I picked Guen up at 2pm and since it was still pouring, we did not do much but hang out in the house. So anywho my cousin Phillip, from Arkansas, was in town for business. Since this was the first time he has visited H-Town, we gave him the Mears tour. Because his flight was delayed due to all the rain, he had to skip seeing our house, darn, I cleaned for nothing. But instead Tootie picked him up at the airport and Ryan and I went over to my parents house were we had a huge dinner. Our niece, Jessica, babysat Guen that evening for the first time and they had a fun. Ryan and I could actually visit my cousin, instead of chasing after Guen. After dinner, Tootie took him to his hotel downtown and Ryan and I called it a night. Wednesday was a big day for Guen. It was her baby dedication up at our church. I had my wedding gown cut up to make her little dress, see pics. My sister, my parents, Ryan's mom, Ryan's brother and family came and even my friend Sarah. It was a nice ceremony with cake and punch afterward. Guen made mama proud and behaved considering it was way past her bedtime when the ceremony was held that evening. The rest of my vacation day consisted of running errands, visiting my friend Sarah and baby Kate and a trip to the ER. Yes, that is right, a trip to the emergency room on Sunday morning. Ryan's back pain was getting worse at the end of the week and by the time Sunday morning rolled around, he thought he was going to throwup/passout from the pain. We went to one of those ER's in a strip mall and got immediately seen. Nobody was there on a Sunday morning. They gave him ONE Vicodin, a steriod shot and pain shot and a prescription for meds. We already had an appointment that we made back in August to see a neurosurgeon this Thursday Sept 16th. So Ryan just needed something to get him to this date. I think Ryan is going to have to have back surgery. This is our second consult, and that is what the first doc said. After all the pain this weekend, Ryan thinks he cannot put it off anymore and he is ready to have surgery. We have heard this neurosurgeon is good, Dr Blacklock. I remember him vaguely from working at Methodist Hospital. I will have an update after todays appointment which is this late afternoon. Back to work tomorrow for me.

Baby Dedication Night:





First Day of Mother's Day Out, she looks thrilled!


Having fun with babysitter Cousin Jessica:

11 months old on September 3rd...

My sweet Guenie! To think you will be a year old soon. Goodness, time flies when you are having fun!