Was just about to get mad about kids being up late...

But when I got to the room, found both kids reading. It may have been the Christmas music that softened my heart (yes, MCF loves Frosty the Snowman so we still have that CD out and play it during his bedtime) but I didn't have the heart to punish them tonite. Instead I took this video, even though it's not to best quality, to remember the moment.

My Neglected Garden

I started the summer with good intentions of having a bountiful garden. But having my first attempt at a garden occur during one of the hottest, driest summers on Austin was a big downfall for me. About the only successful plant was basil, which so far has yielded 2 dinners of pesto pasta. Today I finally ventured out to the garden, ready to pull out the tomato plants that didn't produce one tomato over the summer. I was surprised to find that there are a bunch of flowers and 3 little green tomatoes. So I decided to let them go and see what I can get before the cooler weather strikes.

Update

My apologies to those that haven't heard from us recently--either via e-mail or phone. We've been adjusting to new schedules because I got a job! I'd been looking for about a month but hadn't found anything.

While I was waiting for things to happen on the job front, I decided to participate in a production that our church was doing called "Savior of the World". It was mainly for the teenage youth, but they had a full orchestra and needed some adults to fill in. So I got to play viola in the orchestra. The rehearsal schedule was pretty intense the week of the performances (Fri-Sat, Aug 1-2) and I realized how long it had been since I'd played on a regular basis. Especially after my left pinky cramped up and my fingertips felt like they had little cuts inside. The production was awesome, though I really didn't get to see much of it in the pit. Several of you were able to make it, but I should be getting a DVD copy if anyone still wants to see it.

So just as things started ramping up with rehersals, I got a phone call from a company indicating that they had my resume passed along to them and they wanted to interview me for a position that had opened up. I was a little worried that we would be able to coordinate schedules, but within 48 hours of that first phone call I had the interview and was offered the job. I obviously accepted and now am working at ThinkStreet. It's a much smaller company than my last venture--there's only about 12 employees here--but I'm excited about the opportunities to work on more media outlets and learn more things. Most of their media is for various state of Texas campaigns. Check out some of their work at www.thinkstreet.net.

And as if that wasn't great, the kids were able to get back into the UT Child Development Center immediately. I've never known of a time that they didn't have a wait. I was amazed and very grateful for everything working out so well.

So if you are looking for me during the day here is my work contact info:
ph: 512.444.7900
tara@thinkstreet.net
Google chat: tfviola

All Things Old Are New Again

Today was the first day for Mikhael & Kathryn back at daycare. Why's that, you ask? After looking for work over the last month or so with no solid leads, an opportunity came up last week where I talked to a company and accepted a job within 48 hours! So I am working at ThinkStreet now, managing their media team. It's a small company, but a great group of people to work with so far.





Here are pictures of the kids from their first day at "school".

They are back at the UT Child Development Center, however this time at the San Jacinto location. Kathryn is in the Sea Turtle classroom and Mikhael is in the Rainbows classroom. There is normally a wait list, so I feel very lucky that they had immediate openings for both children.

It's got to be right, with everything falling into place so well??? Regardless, Chris and I feel very blessed with how everything has been working out. And I am very grateful for all those who have kept us in their thoughts and prayers.

New Bikes

So Mikhael wore out his first bike a few months ago. We finally got him a new bike yesterday. It's in his favorite color--green. And of course Kathryn had to get a Disney Princess tricycle to keep up with her brother. They rode around on the driveway a little bit this afternoon. As soon as mom and dad get their own bikes we'll start touring the neighborhood, so watch out!!

Some nerve

I'll start this out by saying that I know a 2-hour trip to Sam's Club with a 3 year-old and 1 year-old is entirely too long, so something was bound to go bad.

For the most part, the shopping trip was fine. Chris and I would tag-team: one person getting things off the shelf while the other kept children in check. The kids even had a break playing in a little wooden playhouse that was on display. But when it came to checkout time, that's when the meltdown happened. Mikhael was running around and ended up plowing over Kathryn knocking her to the floor. As Chris was paying I was trying to get screaming children back into the cart so we could get out as fast as possible.

Then we come up to the receipt check at the door. Fortunately there was only one person in front of us who was finishing up so I thought we'd be okay. All of a sudden this old man comes pushing his way to the front saying he only has one item. The checker takes his receipt and marks it and he starts walking out. At this point I lost it--throwing up my hands and commenting something along the lines of, "We have 2 screaming children and you think that your one item gets you to the front of the line???" I don't even know if he heard me or Chris in our disbelief, but I know the checker and customer service desk did.

Since I've had a chance to cool down, I realize that it probably took only an extra 30 seconds for us to get through the door and I shouldn't have gotten upset. But I'm still annoyed about how some people feel they are entitled to do whatever is for their convenience, without any regard to other's circumstances.