Massive update

So, I have not been blogging much lately. Why, you ask? Because I have been too busy doing everything else in life!! Here is run-down of all we have been up to lately.

In September, Hurricane Ike messed up a lot of plans. We were supposed to have a baby shower for Sarah and baby Gracie, and after postponing two weeks, it just did not work out. Bummer. We're looking forward to having a meet-and-greet luncheon or something once Gracie has arrived and Sarah has an opportunity to bring her to Houston.

We were also supposed to have a wedding shower for Lindsey, which after being postponed and changing the venue, we did finally get to have! It was a fun afternoon, and I enjoyed seeing all the nice things that Thomas and Lindsey have picked out for their home. The following weekend, we were invited to a couple's shower for them, and it was a lot of fun hanging out with friends and playing silly games. Their wedding is coming soon (November) and I know they are both super excited, as are we.

I don't think I ever posted pictures of the destruction around our home...no need really. It is pretty self-explanatory that hurricane with strong winds leaves quite a mess. So yeah, we lost a few major limbs of our trees and one half of our backyard fence. But, my amazing husband was able to re-build our fence, so we did not have to go through insurance and pay the high deductible. Not to mention, with as many fences are down, it would have been awhile before we could have hired someone else to come and rebuild it for us. Is he talented, or what??

I don't think you realize how much you take the privacy of your home for granted until you can suddenly see right into your neighbors home...and vice versa. Makes you think twice about getting up for a drink of water in the middle of the night- never know who might be watching!! Weird. Also, since we had no fence, we had to leave Jersey at my in-laws, and I never realized how much I would miss her. We were super excited to bring her home again.

When the hurricane hit, the contractor who normally handles the Galleria Houston Container Store up and disappeared. Considering it is right in the middle of their huge Elfa sale, the timing was pretty crappy. They called Jesse in a panic, and he has picked up the extra installs from that store as well as the Champion's store. Needless to say, he has had at least one job a day, after his normal job, and has been driving all over Houston. Thank goodness for the gas prices decreasing, but man. I forgot how much it bugged me having him gone all the time. Our budget has been incredibly tight lately and we have been praying for change in our finances, so I cannot complain too much, but I will be thankful when life resumes some normalcy.

As many of your know, I had my birthday a few weeks back. Thank you all for the kind birthday wishes! No, it was not the greatest birthday ever (Jesse was sick and we did not get to celebrate), but it was still nice. My parents took me to dinner, my sisters all were very sweet and generous with their gifts, and my extended family all went out of their way to call, email, text, and send birthday cards. Jesse got me guitar lessons, and as soon as he is able to be home with Ryleigh again, I am anxious to schedule my lessons! I have already learned a few chords from the Internet and have been practicing a few scales. I sure think it would be cool to learn how to play and be able to 'jam' with people.

Work has been crazy. I know I always say that. But this time, I mean it. I honestly thought things were slowing down and I had started to get nervous, seeing nothing new on the horizon. I spoke out loud, and jinxed myself. We have several projects currently going- with product teams that don't have a clue what they want from us- two new projects I'm kicking off tomorrow, another new project kicking off in a few weeks, and oh yeah...my boss reminded me last week that I had forgotten to finish a project I started this summer. Yeah, that has never happened. Does that tell you how crazy busy we are?? My mind is all over the place.

That being said, I have been having a hard time getting much done during the day while Ryleigh is home and awake. Since she has cut out her second nap, I'm having a much harder time entertaining her. She loves to watch The Wiggles (yes- you read that right...please shoot me), but other than that, she considers me her favorite entertainment. I love it, but its not real easy to write data center documentation while singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider and playing Patty-Cake. SOOO, I put her in Mother's Day Out. Yea for me! I was nervous at first, but so far, so good! She cried the first two weeks I left her, but these last few weeks she does not even cry anymore. Her teacher says she does great and always says how sweet she is to the other kids, which I was worried about. Right now, she only attends one day a week (Thurs), but I might bump it up to two days (Tues/Thus) depending on how busy work continues to be. I'm playing it all by ear here, people. I have no idea what I'm doing anymore. I'm glad she is getting more interaction from other people besides me, so she will learn that Mommy is not the only person in the universe able to to love and take care of her. Right now, she only wants Mommy. All. The. Time. Mommy is tired, and Ryleigh gets frustrated easily. So, we're attempting to change it up a bit and see how she does in this new environment. Again, so far, so good.

This past weekend, Ryleigh and I went up to Dallas to celebrate the marriage of my cousin Audrey to her new husband, Zach. The wedding was last month in New Mexico, and none of us were able to go, so we had a shower for them Saturday. It was great to meet Zach and see how happy they are together. I also enjoyed getting to see the rest of my family as well, and wish the weekend had not flown by so quickly! I was literally there less than 24 hours...fast and furious as always, but worth the visit. Congrats Zach and Audrey! Prayers for many more years of happiness. Yes, we had the football game on during the shower. I took a picture while the Aggies were still ahead, just to remember that at least they put up a good fight! Jesse was at the game. We have season tickets, and we have enjoyed going up to watch the Aggies, even if the season has been pretty stinky so far. At least the band is good. =)
And last but not least, it is starting to feel more like Fall! We have had a few cool fronts, and I have enjoyed pulling out my hoodies and dressing Ryleigh in little jackets. I'm going tonight to try and find her a cute Halloween costume, and you can bet there will be pictures. I made Stacey's pumpkin cookies last week, so my whole house even smelled like Fall...you know the smell: cinnamon, spice, pumpkin...all incorporated into yummy cookies!

Well, how is THAT for an update?? I think you know it all now. I'm going to try to update more regularly, but please bear with me. You might get massive updates for awhile until life slows down a bit. =)