Happy Halloween

Me & my clan. If it weren't for Christine, I don't think I'd have hardly any pictures of me & Michael together! THANKS friend!:)

One of Christine's many talents...face painting!

My little tiger. He had to have the sucker in his mouth to not rip the costume off! Whatever works!

Mommy & Noah

Noah & I trick-or-treat at Gay Gay's house.

We knew that Halloween was going to be a little difficult due to the fact that Noah hates to wear clothes right now. Even when we just put on regular clothes, he immediately fusses, yanks at his clothes, and says," OFF!" So, add in a big costume with a hood, and we knew it would be a challenge. The Morales family had friends at their place and invited us to come by. Michael was moving some furniture until 5:30, and we were supposed to be at the Morales home by 6:00 pm. Of course, Noah wasn't dressed, we weren't packed, & Michael still needed to shower. And he then added in that he promised Gay Gay that we'd stop by her house AND we had to be home by 7:00 to watch the Texas game. I'm all for Texas. Go longhorns. BUT IT'S HALLOWEEN! It's ONCE A YEAR! Hello---isn't making memories with your child more important than a football game? The answer for me is an emphatic YES. Isn't that the reason God made DVR's? He explained to me that "it wouldn't be the same" if he taped it. We had to agree to disagree on that one. Noah did surprisingly well at the Morales house, but we had to leave early and that was disappointing to me. When we put on his full costume, he immediately began trying to rip it off, yelling, "OFF! OFF!" I managed to be hyper and distracting long enough to get him to the house so that Gay Gay could see him. We spent some time playing with Gay Gay & the dogs & even met the neighbors. Noah had a good time (after we took the costume off, of course) and was more-than-ready for bed. Happy 2nd Halloween to my favorite little tiger. LOVE YOU!

Pumpkin Carving

Our pumpkin-carving this year was short & sweet. Last year, Noah was very interested in the goo inside the pumpkin, but this year he had more fun picking up the pumpkins and bouncing them on the concrete like they were balls. I can't believe that they didn't splatter all over the place! Michael put a face on one side of the pumpkin, carved Noah's name on the other side (very sweet) and, of course, carved UT into another side. I didn't make the cut! Oh well, maybe next year!

Michael shows Noah the pumpkin guts. He's not impressed.

Noah's name carved in the pumpkin. Look closely.

Happy Halloween 2009!

Party Notes

Our Halloween party was lots of fun. I asked Michael what costume he wanted and all he cared about was that he didn't have to buy it and that it wasn't "too awful." Since my costume was red-riding hood, I thought the big bad wolf was the obvious choice for Michael. However, when I looked at all the wolf costumes, they had very high-maintenance/uncomfortable plastic masks with plastic hands/paws. I knew he'd be serving drinks because Michael fancies himself as the bartender, (and does a great job at that, by the way) so paws wouldn't do! I decided to get him a costume of Isaac, the bartender from The Love Boat. I even got him the afro, and he wore it without even the slightest bit of encouragement! True to form, he spent most of the night keeping the margaritas coming. He won the ribbon for best costume:)
We ate, drank, and danced the night away with some of our funnest friends. Happy Halloween!

Halloween Party 2009

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Cupcake Fun

Michael went to Sam's today after work to pick up some things for the Halloween party and came home with 30 cupcakes! (I think my stand holds 13). Noah was so excited to see the sugary bliss. He pointed at the sugar confection and said, "Ca- Kuh." And then he dug in. I love to watch him enjoy ANYTHING, and cupcakes are no exception. He is joy personified.

Fun with Elizabeth & the kids

Elizabeth and the kids came over today to help me decorate for our Halloween party. I love to watch her attack a project. She just jumps right in and starts going! She has a spirit that is undeniable. We had so much fun! Noah was smiling ear-to-ear. Now that I think about it, so was I! I must say, there are some people who are real, true-blue friends. That's Elizabeth. I don't know what I'd do without her.

Pics from Brian's 40th Surprise Party

Michael & Noah welcoming Bryyyyy to his party

Grammie & Michael

Noah did a LOT of climbing on the stairs!

Brian & Rebekah in front of his amazing cake!

Bryyyy reading his special 40th birthday book

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Brian's 40th Birthday Surprise Party

Despite the difficult drive to the party, as well as the 4:00 am drive home the following morning, we are very thankful that we were able to celebrate with Brian in his 40th birthday surprise party. We arrived about 10-15 minutes before Brian did, so we were able to witness the shock on his face when he drove up to his house and about 40 family & friends met him at the door, toasting his 40th birthday. There are some moments that are so special, you just have to be there. I'm glad we were.

Rebekah & Michael's mom worked sooooo hard to make the house extra beautiful. There were decorations everywhere. I tried to study them so I could remember how to incorporate aspects into my own house! Guests were dressed in their favorite collegiate sports clothes (mostly burnt orange, of course) and there was an alcoholic bar as well as a catered fajita bar, and it was just fabulous. My favorite decoration was the cake, which was a UT football helmet! Rebekah's friend owns a sublime bakery in Ft. Worth and did an incredible job on the cake! I spent hours making a photobook for Brian, which was from Noah, "40 things I love about BRYYYYY." I hope he liked the book. It seemed to generate a bit of interest, especially because one of the things Noah loved about BRYYYY was that his hair got better instead of worse as he aged. I scanned an OLD pic from the 1980's when Rebekah & Brian went to prom together. Brian looked like the lead singer of the cure and Rebekah had the 80's hair. I think it's cool they've been together so long. Of course, the wacky picture was what got most of the attention. Here's the pic below. That's Michael on the far left, and Rebekah & Brian in the black & white. Too cute!

Brian was genuinely surprised, which was a feat. I mean, he is a doctor, just brilliant. Nearing midnight, Brian looked at Rebekah and said, "I've known you since the 4th grade...and you still manage to surprise me." I got tears in my eyes. That's one of many reasons why we love him. He genuinely loves Rebekah so much. Happy 40th Birthday, dear Brian. We love you!

On the way home

Brian's surprise party was a success & we even arrived before the surprise so that was a treat. Noah had such a wonderful time running around with his cousins & seeing his family. He went up & down the stairs more times than I can count! We got Noah to bed and stayed up until about midnight. Noah woke up @ 3:00 am & was in Bryyyyyy's house & assumed it was time to play. He screamed & screamed when we tried to get him back to sleep. So, it's 4:00 am & we're driving back to Tyler. Traveling with him right now is such a challenge. I'm disappointed we didn't have time to visit, but my poor little angel is beyond sleep deprived, and so are we!


Brenda Joy McBride

The drive from hell

We are driving to Ft. Worth for a surprise 40th birthday party for our brother-in-law, Brian. This is officially going in the record books as the drive from hell. We left later than planned, which was no biggie. Then I-20 was at a standstill due to construction. Michael is cursing under his breath, & Noah desperately needs to rest but is refusing. He is over-tired, which, now that I think about it...I am too. He has been crying, screaming, hitting himself in the head, & just unplugged the DVD player(twice) with his foot & then got angry because his show went off. Oh wait...I had to get out after that last sentence because we're out of gas & the gas cap wouldn't come off. Michael is fuming. I had to somehow wedge a credit card into the gas thingy for it to open. Nice. The sun has been blaring, so Michael has been trying to hold up this blanket while driving, not that it has helped Noah to quiet down. Michael is in the road rage state -of- mind & is flipping people off & riding too close to cars. As I wrote that he slammed the brakes again & is stressing because we'll probably be late for the surprise party. We're in bumper -to - bumper traffic. At the rate we're going, I'm going to be happy if we get there at all!


Michael trying to drive while shielding Noah from the sun.


My unhappy traveler






Brenda Joy McBride

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I'm often amazed at how my child is like a little sponge. He soaks everything up. It's fascinating. We've danced every day since he was born, and now he will bust out in a dance at just about anytime he can. I've often told Michael that we need to be very careful of the verbal and nonverbal messages we send, because Noah sees and understands more than we realize. Here Noah is followng in Mommy's body language (minus the naked part) dancing it out.

Here Noah is modeling Michael's body language. Michael changed from having his arms crossed & closed (which I've often told him is a negative body language, as it appears defensive and closed off) to doing this after he saw Noah model him (as pictured below).

Noah modeling Daddy's crossed arms. Monkey see, Monkey do!

We'll pay closer attention to what body language messages we send out after seeing this!:)

Hooray for Elizabeth

I'm very happy right now because my best friend Elizabeth has officially set up her blog! I'm so excited to see what she writes. I've learned so much about my friends that blog. What a wonderful way to stay connected! Welcome, sweet Elizabeth!

Things To Remember

*** Noah loves to ride on the lawnmower with Daddy. They'll take a lawnmower ride all around the lake. He loves it. Noah calls the lawnmower, "trah-tuh," and then makes a motor sound.

***Right now, Noah loves french fries. Calls them "frice."***My son is already athletic. Here he is in a push-up position off a chair. He came up with this all by himself.

***Tonight, Michael called my name from Noah's room so that I'd get Noah's pillow from the living room. When I walked in th room, Noah said, "Bed-duh," and ran to me. I told him, "I'm Mommy!"

***Although Noah is quite independent, I've tried to teach him that it's o.k. to ask for help. And he does. It's the cutest thing. If something is too heavy, or he can't get something he needs, he'll say "help-p."

***Noah loves to be naked. He does a happy dance and runs around when he gets to take his clothes off. Yesterday, he ran up and down the driveway naked and my neighbors laughed & laughed.

***Right now Noah is a social butterfly. Again, he spends most of his time around me. He sees me strike up a conversation with everyone, and he does the same. He'll walk up to people and say, "Hi" continuously until the answer back. Going to the store is hilarious. It's fun to see people that were initially cranky get a sweet "hi" from my son and immediately soften their demeanor and smile. :)

***My son is a milk addict. When he starts getting tired, he'll say, "milk, milk, milk, milk." He'll say it until he gets his milk, which helps him sleep. He asks for "milk milk" first thing in the morning and before naps & bedtime. It's sweet.

***Oh, how I love my sweet Noah angel.

Happy 9th Birthday Connery

Noah watches Connery play his new guitar

Mommy's little longhorn!

Best friends

Longhorn boys!

Connery's 9th Birthday Party was this past Saturday, and was it ever a party! All I can say is that Elizabeth outdid herself! And that's saying a lot, as she is the queen of all things fabulous! Not only did she hand-make the invitations, she cut out orange pennants & then hand-stamped the pennants, made scrapbooks for kids to take home, and had her house decorated like a football stadium. I was in awe of her creativity and passion for making the day perfectly burnt orange for her favorite longhorn. Noah had the most fun at the party. He especially enjoyed watching Connery play his new guitar. You can see in the pictures, the gleam Noah gets in his eyes when he's looking at Connery. They have a special connection. Noah had so much fun playing with all his "cousins" and seeing his Aunt Elizabeth. The fact that UT beat OU was icing on the cake! Happy Birthday Connery! We love you!

Tyler Half Marathon

Kiss from my angel for luck

Just before the race

My finishing medal

Today was the Tyler 1/2 Marathon. It's always interesting to see the different folks that participate in these events. Some people drive from Dallas or farther to run. These are the hard core athletes. Then you see lots of college students that run cross country & are in great shape. You'll also see some older folks that have been running for decades. Then you'll see the people in my category: The Moms that just want to stay in shape & finish the race category. The goal for me is always to just finish without walking or suffering major injury! I was surprised with the frequency & severity of the hills (some more like mini-mountains in my opinion!) I literally saw several people throwing up, sitting down, and cramping up. I could feel my hamstrings tightening and tried to just push through to the end. Definitely tougher than the White Rock Half, which was a big surprise. My chip time was 2 hrs 13 seconds. I was very happy with this time. I went into the race thinking 2 hrs would make me quite happy, but was realistically hoping for less than 2 1/2 hours. So, I was pleasantly surprised all things considered. When I ran the White Rock Half I was in a much younger age category & only beat 2 hrs by a few seconds. That was a much easier course & was pre-baby so I'm pleased with my time. I ended up 9th in my age/gender category and 138th overall. I'm glad it's done & I'm glad I pushed myself. I'm more than ready to switch my training to get ready for my first mud run in 2 weeks!


Brenda Joy McBride