Alice In Wonderland Photoshoot

Today was Rose Bailey's Alice In Wonderland Photoshoot. Because Noah has an extra-wide foot, we have one pair of tennis shoes that we wear always. We actually have 4 pair of the same shoe right now. The problem with that is when I attempt to put on another shoe, he freaks out, screams, "No! No! No!" and then proceeds to break out into wretching, flailing, and tears...just what you want before a photoshoot, right? It was a struggle, but we got the shoes on...they are adorable, not that it even mattered. Noah was the rabbit for the shoot, and he became very upset when I introduced the bowtie and ears for the picture. Nevermind that there were about 25 children ages a few months to about 8 years old in the photoshoot...tutus everywhere! Rose apologized that Noah's ears were pink. I said, "He's 2. It doesn't matter. It'll be a miracle if he wears them anyway." Surprisingly enough, I eventually got the bowtie and ears on...but my son, MR. SOCIAL, was clinging to me for dear life & wouldn't let me set him anywhere! I even brought my portable iPod & had music playing...no dice. So for the big shoot, I don't think he was even in the picture! Oh well. I'm pretty sure that we were streaming live on the internet, though...and the camera guy was looking right at my child clinging to me, screaming, "Mama, NO!" while I tried to duck behind a chair and hold him up!
As luck would have it, after some of the children left because they were screaming themselves, I set Noah up next to the cupcake stand and let him just tear in! He had a blast, and I even captured a few pics. I can't wait to see how great Rose will make them all look, even if Noah isn't in the main spread. My red-headed pink-eared rabbit...bow-tie and all!

Look at those curls! I still refuse to cut his hair.

The queen, madhatter, Alice, & Noah rabbit

Alice sips tea and Noah Rabbit eats his cupcake

The things I do to get a picture. When I came home, Michael said, "Was it worth it?" Of course it was. These pics are priceless...and good blackmail material for the teenage years if I need them!

I can already hear myself saying, "Watch your mouth young man...or I'll be pulling out the bunny pictures!"

Waiting room time

Michael just went back for knee surgery. He wasn't nervous at all. "It's no big deal," he said. It's a big deal to me. Saying a prayer now to guide the surgeon's hands & for a healthy recovery.
This is the only picture he'd let me take.

Brenda Joy McBride

Fun Day With My Noah

Noah & I had such a wonderful day together. It started snuggling on the couch watching a beautiful sunrise...
Then we played & danced, napped (well he, did anyway). I took him to the Brookshire's Wildlife Park and he had a marvelous time. He is my joy.

Noah's 1st time on a merry-go-round. He liked it.

When we got home, we played outside, and he found a spot of gathered leaves. I love how the simplest things bring a smile to his face. I love to see him happy.

My Little Leprechaun

This is one of the pics that Rose Bailey posted from the St. Patrick's day mini-session. I know I'm totally biased, but isn't he the cutest little thing ever?!? Love, love, love my boy!
Noah was picked to be part of an Alice In Wonderland photo shoot that Rose is doing this Saturday. He's cast as the rabbit. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed!

Moments of Perfection

I don't have a perfect life. But I am conscious to stop & take notice of moments of perfection...those moments that make memories. Today I had a moment of perfection....snuggling with Noah on the couch, watching the sun come up. He was especially snuggly which I love. I know this won't always be the case so I really stayed present in the moment & soaked it right up. Here's a couple pictures of our sunrise view.


My dear friend, Mary Beth, lost her sweet Mee Maw this past Monday. She is going to be burying her today. They were so very close. I sent her this picture & reminded her that the sun will shine again. It's important to have gratitude for our moments of perfection when we have them. Life is so short.

An emotionally intensive day

Well, today was an emotionally intensive day. That's not a bad thing, just an important thing to recognize. A dear, dear friend that attends my cancer support group has been hospitalized for some time...not this time with cancer, but the H1N1 Virus. Unfortunately, because her system is so frail, she's been in and out of a coma and doctors were speaking gravely to her husband and daughter. It took everything they had...but her husband and daughter came to support group. It was a risky move on my part (clinically speaking) but I stopped group and got up and hugged them, and asked support group members to do the same. Most of us know each other, and have for years, but I could sense their vulnerability the minute they walked in the room, and I just wanted to surround them with a physical presence. Hospitals and doctors are so clinical, sterile, and often detached...there's something so healing about genuine connecting between people. I apologized after the fact if it was the wrong call, but the family said, "That's just what we needed." The ice was broken. As I listened to this man tearfully account his wife's decline in health, I was profoundly touched by his faith in God and his undying love for his wife. He said, "I don't know if she can hear me or not, but I think she can. I told her I was going to group. She loved this group, every person in this room. And I knew this is where we were supposed to be. And I'm going to start coming, no matter what happens." I was so humbled and honored by their presence and participation. At the end of group, I asked all that were comfortable (again, I know these folks well, they all believe in God) to join hands, and I led a prayer for our dear friend and her loved ones. There wasn't a dry eye in the house, but tears can be healing, too.
After group, I spoke with the husband about his dear wife. He told me that they've been married "49 years and 8 months." He pulled out a ziploc bag which contained his wife's wedding ring and a cross from a necklace he gave her. He stated with tears in his eyes, "I carry these around with me everywhere I go. I just want to put them back on her and tell her how much I love her." He held the ziploc bag with the most tenderness and care in the world. As if that wasn't enough, he told me that they were going to renew their vows on their 50th anniversary, only 4 months away. "I already bought her the ring. She doesn't know it yet, but I've even put it on her precious finger while she's been in a coma. I just want to put her wedding ring back on and give her this new one." I pray he gets a chance.
Dear Lord, please give him this chance.

Dear Ones~
How blessed I am to have the opportunity to witness such amazing acts of faith, hope, and love.
How blessed I was to witness this type of love between my parents.
How blessed I am to have this day, this moment, this life. How blessed I am to know to the depths of my being that each day of life is to be savored.

Technical difficulties..but best run time

I have been having technical difficulties....to say the LEAST. Although you might not guess it from looking at me...I love my technology...well, "i" technology, technically. iPhone, iPod, iTunes, and the Nike running system that keeps up with your pace, distance, everything. Technical difficulty #1....2 weeks ago a virus got into my computer. Lonnnnnnnnnnnnng story, but Michael got it fixed. Technical difficulty #2. I left my iPod in the hotel room where I went to "relax." Well, that caused me more anxiety than anything, because I can't run without my iPod. Seriously. I've got a half marathon in a few weeks and I have it all synced so it keeps up with my pace, my distance, everything. SO, I end up shelling out another $225 for ANOTHER iPod Nano. Why Nano? Why just not buy the Shuffle? Because the Shuffle doesn't have the fun Nike program. I know, I'm beginning to sound clinically bizarre. But, I couldn't just buy the Nano. I had to buy the smaller earphones, the sport band...you know...what it takes to run. At LEAST I didn't lose my little Nike Chip/program that is a little chip that goes in my shoe and an attachment to the Nano that tracks my run. Well. PART of that statement was right. Technically, I didn't lose the chip. I have it right here. But SOMEHOW, when I FINALLY got all hooked up to run, my Nike Chip wasn't working. HMMMMm. Technical Difficulty #3. I look in my shoe. THE CHIP IS GONE!!!! My only hunch is that my favorite shoe-obsessed red-head somehow got the chip out from under the shoe pad and now it's forever lost. SO, I went to Academy to shell out another $30 to get another one.
ALL OF THIS....and I had THE BEST RUN of my life yesterday. Well, technically it didn't feel good, but I ran 10.02 miles in 1 hour 25 minutes and 2 seconds, with a pace of 8 minutes 29 seconds per mile. I have to write that in bold and italics because it's a personal best and i may never beat that. That's very fast for me. ESPECIALLY for running that long of a distance. Especially after not running outside because of the snow/cold we've had.
So, go me, right? Wrong. ANOTHER problem. Technical difficulty #4. Nike has a whole site that syncs your run with your iPod & then posts your run to Facebook. You can even challenge/monitor your running friends, which several of mine are doing, so they told me to get hooked up. Herein lies the next problem. My iPod wouldn't post to Facebook. Later I realized that Facebook had problems. But the Nike site wasn't working for me either. I spent HOURS racking my brain, trying to figure out where the glitch was. AND HAVE YET to figure it out...even with Michael's help. He became so frustrated he just gave up. I'm getting ERROR 1302...which is about the number of headaches I've had since getting on the NikePlus Site. Could it possibly be an iTunes problem? I look that up. Yes, they have a 1302 error, also. We couldn't fix it, so, Technical problem #5... I RESET my new Nano...AND LOST MY RUN. I'm so glad I wrote the time down or it would be forever lost. Technology can be great, but right now...it's giving me fits. At least I can use my blog technology to vent my woes!

A Perfect Day!

Today was a perfect day! It was a beautiful 60 degrees with sunshine. Noah & I spent the morning going up and down the stairs, into and out of the attic, getting out Spring decorations. I'm pretty sure I have more Easter decorations than most people have Christmas decorations. I just love spring. I love the freshness, the newness, and FINALLY getting to dig in the dirt after a cold winter. We unpacked about 500 Easter eggs, which Noah has scattered all over the house, but I didn't care. Watching his face light up with joy when we opened the boxes was priceless. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOhh, Wooooooo!" he'd say as we opened each box.
After nap time, we went outside and I planted flowers and let him play in the waterhose, even though technically it was too cold for that, but he was having a blast, so I let it go! Michael wondered why Noah was all wet then he came home!
I planted 50 tulips today, along with some red Gerbera daisies and Cyclomen. Michael came home early & kept Noah so I could have a full hour-long outdoor run....perfection.
I hurt already, but it's a good hurt! Michael took Noah for a walk & then played with him for another hour outside. Needless to say, our son was in hog heaven. Michael cooked us a healthy dinner & Noah went down in a snap. Today was a perfect day.

Another Half Marathon in March

Today I officially registered for the Dallas Rock N' Roll Half Marathon that benefits Susan G. Komen For The Cure. That's a little less than a month away. Time to get into serious run mode!!

Happy Valentine's Day 2010

Valentine's Day 2010-
Noah, Michael, & I spent a lovely Valentine's Day at home. Michael & I went out Saturday night so we spent Sunday at home as a family. I made chocolate covered strawberries and my mom's homemade sugar cookies. Noah had so much fun eating the frosting. We took a drive, played, and just enjoyed our time together. We got Noah plenty of prizes, all of which he hasn't even opened yet, because he was fascinated by 2 plastic eggs that came with an Elmo Easter basket. We danced of course and just had lots of good loving! Happy Valentine's Day! My red-headed Valentine!

My Mommy is my Valentine! I had to buy it while he'd still wear it!

Opening Prizes...fun Elmo pj's

Valentine Balloons...always a hit

Some of our Valentine Treats at the table

Mommy's cookies made with love for Noah & Daddy. I hope my boys always remember that I tried to make our holidays extra-special.

Daddy loves a cookie cake

A homemade card for Daddy from Noah complete with his handprints 2/14/10

Noah & Mommy opening prizes

Happy 40th Birthday Rebekah

Today is Rebekah's 40th Birthday and she got a wonderful present...snow! (And lots of it!) She kept the kids home and they played in the snow, made a snowman, and even got out the sled! Brian brought her home a huge Sublime Bakery birthday cake as a special treat. Noah called Aunt Rebekah and actually got out, "appy hirday.....BEKAH!" It was so sweet. He loves his Bekah. We all do. Happy 40th, Rebekah! 40 & Fabulous!

Noah's 1st Pee Pee on the Potty!

BIG NEWS!!!! Today, Noah made his first pee pee on the potty! His Elmo potty has been on hiatus, stored in the pantry because it got put in there December 31st when we were getting ready for company. Today Noah looked in the pantry and said, "potty," so I got it out. He proceeded to take it apart and then a few minutes later began tugging at his clothes, saying, "off. Potty." I took his clothes off, he sat on the potty and he looked down at the potty bin while I'm cheering him on. "Make some pee pee, Angel. Put your pee pee in the potty! You can do it!" Nothing came out. He got off the potty a couple times and I sat him back on and tried to explain that sometimes we have to wait a little for the pee pee to come out. Noah kept looking into the empty potty and then spit in it, in an effort to get something wet down there! I couldn't help but laughing. Then a little pee pee came out...mostly on me and the floor, but technically, a spray went in the potty. We cheered some more and then the pee pee came out in the potty. Mommy was cheering, "Yeah, Noah! You made pee pee on the potty!" Noah said, "Pee pee." We tried to call Daddy, but we got his answering machine, so we left a message. Big news!
Good job Noah! I never thought I'd see the day that I'd be cheering for pee pee, but motherhood sure changes things!

Mommy's 24-hour respite

I took a 24 hour respite to Dallas. Shopped at Northpark and the Galleria. It was sooooo refreshing to be in a mall that was not the hood like Tyler's mall. Not only was the Dallas mall not infested with gangsta wanna-be's, the Dallas String Quartet was playing in the mall. I heard the music, saw the rows of white chairs, sat down for a couple hours and just took in the beautiful music. They played everything from classical pieces to the Beatles, Guns-N-Roses, and ColdPlay. Very refreshing.
The bad thing about this shopping excursion...WARNING: DESIGNERS ARE TRYING TO BRING BACK THE 1980's! The colors that were everywhere consisted of A) Neons or B) Nautical. GROSS! Let's see what else was horrible....how about stretch pants, leg warmers, skinny jeans, and HORIZONTAL STRIPES! That's a what not to wear DON'T! The colors that were cute, unfortunately, were usually in some long-tunic tent looking shirt that would come down to my knees making me look like a frump with sausage legs. So, I'm choosing NOT to participate in those trends and keep with the classic stuff. I only bought one pencil skirt and a pair of black pants. Wild. Luckily, shoes didn't let me down. Got some fabulous shoes from DSW. Although I even saw some neon shoes, as well. The 80's are dead for a reason people!
Beautiful music...right in the Northpark Mall!

Boys Weekend

Daddy kept Noah & I went to Dallas for 24 whole hours. Boys day! Daddy & Noah

Daddy bought Noah MORE track, so when I came home, our ENTIRE living room was train and "the HUT...." (to follow)

Michael told me, "Oh, I bought him a little tunnel." I had no idea what he was talking about. This is the "little" tunnel, aka, "The Hut." Boys will be boys.

Noah's 2nd Birthday Celebration 2/4/10

February 4, 2010
Today is Noah's 2nd Birthday. Time flies, and I'm infinitely blessed to have had the best 2 years of my life with my darling angel. It was a big day! The Carliles sent Noah these fun balloons which was a special treat. Grammie also sent a prize for his birthday. Daddy came home and we had cake and opened Noah's birthday present from Mommy & Daddy (An electric train!) with Paw Paw, Granny Meg, & Sarah. It was a fun, busy day! Happy 2nd Birthday, Noah! Mommy loves you! Noah checks out his balloons from the Aunt Rebekah, Bryyy, Sam, Luke, & Alice

Noah samples his birthday cake.....he loved the icing!

Happy Birthday to you!

Daddy always cleaning hands....

Noah plays with his new train

Granny & Sarah watch Noah be the train conductor

Cake Face!

Isn't he yummy?

Paw Paw gives Noah his icing...look at Noah tear into that cake!

Noah & Mommy

Noah's Birthday Cake #2: Daddy loves a Brookshire's cake so we got this one for him

Noah really liked the inflatable cake

Grammie sent a special package to Noah. This cute little hat was in it. He ran around the house with the hat on!

2nd Birthay Boy

Happy 2nd Birthday Noah

At exactly this time, 3:33 pm, February 4, 2008, God gave me the greatest gift...the gift of my dear son, Noah Michael McBride. At exactly 3:33 pm February 4, 2010, Mommy is remembering with a big smile and a happy heart how VERY SPECIAL the day of your birth is in my life. Happy Birthday Darling Angel Noah.
Mommy & Daddy love you!

Noah Michael ~ 23 Months Old

My Darling Noah Michael~ 23 Months

Pictures of my Noah~ 23 months old

Pink Glazed Sugar Cookies

Pink Ribbon glazed sugar cookies....they taste as delicious as they look!(But I only had a couple bites out of a double batch, so that's really good!)

Pink Heart Glazed Sugar Cookies for my 2 favorite Valentines, Michael & Noah

Tonight was the Komen for the Cure Kickoff meeting, so I decided to make some homemade pink ribbon cookies and heart cookies for my boys. (Michael has a torn Meniscus, is in lots of pain, and will see the MD next week....and he loves my cookies so I just wanted to do something nice.) Turns out, the glaze is much easier than frosting the cookies and looks just as good if not better. The ladies at Komen loved the cookies and my boys loved them, too. It feels good to see my boys smile.