Page 70

Phone it In

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

This weekend, we headed to Austin to celebrate Such and DD’s birthdays. While Baby Gray was exploring their home, he located an old flip phone they had been meaning to recycle.

Now, don’t ask me how he knew this was a “real” phone instead of one of the zillion toy cell phones he has laying around the house, but he knew. He took over the phone along with an old keyboard for the duration of our afternoon. He was workin on som-fin, he said.

Such and DD sent him home with the phone, and he’s been pretty glued to it ever since. The lesson learned: he’s watching everything we do. He has used this prehistoric flip phone to watch Thomas, take pictures, set his timer, and most convicting, put me off when I asked him to do something by telling me he is just finishing up work.

Wow. Yes, I work from home. I can quickly and efficiently do a lot of my work from my phone. I should never be putting my work in front of his needs, though. The reason I work from home is to put him first. I’ll be changing my work habits, I believe.

2012/Baby Gray/Fashion Friday/independent/toddler

Location, Location, Location

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Thank goodness Annie was ready with her camera, or I wouldn’t have had much to report on the fashion front this week. Baby Gray certainly wasn’t deterred by his location change.

Hats and mi’ins were available as usual.

Then he got to go on a bit of a shopping spree and pick out some items. New shoes (and a second pair for our house) and a pink cap to boot.

His Home Depot apron is a favorite around our house these days.

applesauce/banana/muffins/Recipes

Ooey-Gooey Breakfast

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

This kid of ours is a muffin eatin’ machine. This morning he asked for muffins again, and I decided to try to use up a few bananas that were on their last leg. He helped me bake, which was so fun–even if it was a little messy.

We mixed up a few things and then baked them up. They turned out more like a gooey, baked fruit-type bar than a muffin, but he loved them.

You will need:

2 bananas, mashed (just throw them in the Kitchen Aid before you get started)
1 cup quick oats
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour (play with this amount a little based on the size of your bananas to get a batter-like consistency)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mash bananas
Mix in quick oats and applesauce
Fold in brown sugar until well blended
Add flour
Grease a mini muffin tin
Pour batter into muffin tin and fill each cup about 3/4 full
Bake 10-13 minutes or until firm (toothpick will not be clean if inserted due to the gooey nature)

2012/dealing/death/faith/loss/prayer

Turn Him Up

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Sometimes my days blur together a little. I don’t always know the 14th from the 20th or Wednesday from Friday. On our trip this weekend, I was acutely aware of the day, but not the date. A little more than half-way home, I noticed it was the seventh. I was pretty glad it snuck up on me; that way it didn’t take over my day. A few miles down the road, I saw a city limit sign with a name that was no surprise for the seventh.

We made our way home, and I got in the car alone to get Baby Gray from Annie’s house. As I cranked my Jeep, without missing a beat, the speakers played loudly the song from the hospital. The song that is so full of God’s promise.

God is good, faithful, and completely wrapped up in the details. Sometimes He is in so tightly we don’t even notice it until much later. Sometimes it’s as blatant as the song on the radio. Open the sunroof, turn up the volume, and listen to Him speak into your life.

2012/Aggie/football/road trip/SEC

Hot Time in Oxford

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

(See what I did there? Hot time in Austin–hot time in Oxford? Yeah, I thought of it in the first quarter, and I sure hoped I’d get to use it.)

Before the ink was even dry on any agreements moving A&M to the SEC, Mr. Gray and I had pretty much already decided we’d be taking at least one trip a year to see some of the great football venues that make up SEC football. We kicked this year off with Ole Miss. Their football team might not be the most decorated, but they pride themselves on never losing a party.

We set off Friday to see what Ole Miss football and The Grove were all about.

We got to Memphis Friday evening with just enough time to eat and head to Midnight Yell. Aggies were all over the place! It’s always so fun to see Aggies come together like that.

We did a little walkin’ in Memphis

on our way to eat some barbecue in a basement in an alley. It definitely wasn’t Texas barbecue, but not too shabby.

I loved their slogan–great creative thinking!

It was a little cold and drizzly as we headed up Beale Street, but still a pretty neat scene. Think 6th Street, but toned down. Way down.

We headed to Silky O’Sullivans, the official Aggie hangout of the night, before walking over to Yell ~~to freeze our booties off~~.

It didn’t take us long to realize that we were way short on clothes for Saturday night’s game. It was much colder than any of us thought it would be based on the forecast. So, instead of hitting up Graceland Saturday morning, we did some cold-weather shopping. Huge shoutout to Grey for being patient while I was picky! I got a really cute sweater out of the deal, but I was bummed we didn’t make it to Graceland.

Also, huge shoutout to Grey for being patient while I was picky!

We had a 6:00 kick Saturday, so we headed to Oxford to tailgate a little about lunch time. Clouds were looming, but the radar kept showing it moving on through before the game. We figured we’d eat, check out the 12th Man tailgate, and then save The Grove for last.

We ate our prime rib Mr. Gray had cooked up and started packing our things. About the time we got ready to walk, it started to rain.

The guys were nice enough to wait while I headed for the car. It did rain hard enough that we all retreated to the car before it was all said and done. I was sure glad we hadn’t left yet.

Radar looked good, sky was clearing out, and off we went. We made it about 200 yards before the drizzle started again, and I decided it was time to don the rain suit.

Good-bye, cute sweater. Good-bye, cute pants.

Despite the weather, The Grove was tailgating in full force. Tents were up, chandeliers were hung, meals were elaborate. It was really cool to see. Tables were dressed in table cloths and centerpieces. No detail was too small. People were still dressed in suits and dresses, even with the rain. Many of them didn’t even have umbrellas or rain suits. I was disappointed we didn’t get to see a beautiful weather tailgate, but The Grove is definitely an experience to be had–if you’re into that sort of thing (yeah, no photos; my phone was tucked away in my layers of clothing).

Game time.

After a roller coaster of emotions, the Aggies brought home the win. It was hard-fought, and pretty impressive how they pulled it together in the last seven minutes. You would have thought we were playing a title game the way everyone lost it when Swope caught that last touchdown pass in the endzone. Hurd’s pick was the icing on the cake.

The players went nuts, the stands went crazy, and we came home with our first SEC road win.

It was a blast–once it was all said and done. We had great seats, as is evidenced in this photo, which actually makes us look farther back than we were.

I don’t have a clue who to credit for this photo; it was floating around Twitter. If it’s yours, please let me know so I can cite.

We had heard Oxford Square was the place to be after the game, so we headed there and happened upon a fun little cover band–they had a great mix.

We witnessed the worst proposal in the history of the world and had a fun time people watching.

Sunday morning, we headed home, and I finally caught a state sign (two road trips later).

Hello, Arkansas and your fried corn.

We made it home in record time, and I headed to get the boy. This was definitely a trip for the books.

2012/Aggie/Baby Gray/football/SEC

No Time Like The Present

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

What a great weekend! We had a blast, and the Ags came home with the win.

Plan for today: leave the suitcases, let Rover the Roomba do his thing, and just be present with this little guy.

2012/Baby Gray/Fashion Friday/independent/toddler

Over, Under, Just Right

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Sometimes I don’t even know what to think about this kid. He is so stinkin’ creative. Practically everything gets turned into something else.

Many times, it’s a bird-day-par-dee-hat, which is fine with me. I like bird-day-par-dees.

I miss photos of a lot of these. We have tons of bird-day-par-dees.

Although, what might appear as a bird-day-par-dee-hat is sometimes a he-met. You just can’t be too sure.

Sometimes he suits up for a hike around the yard. Gear and all.

And you can never be over dressed for HEB.

If you’re undressed, maybe you should head to WalMart.

Oh, this kid.

I loved his precious rain outfits this week. Sweet boy. We might get a little rain in Mississippi Saturday, but I won’t look this cute in rain gear.

Happy Friday, friends!

2012/Baby Gray/family day/pumpkin/pumpkin patch/tradition/wagon

Pumpkin Pilgrimage

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

For as long as we have lived here, Mr. Gray and I have made our way to the pumpkin patch a few blocks from our house the first week it opened. In fact, the year Baby Gray was born, that was one of the first places we took him.

This year, our fall schedule has been beyond crazy busy. We have something pretty much every week night, football and church on the weekends, and not much time in between. After driving by and seeing the pumpkins the last few days, I finally broke down and asked Mr. Gray if the boy and I could go get pumpkins without him and go back for our family outing later. He kindly obliged (I think it was because he knew I’d want to get my fall boxes out without him that way and save him a trip to the attic) and Baby Gray and I set out on a pumpkin pilgrimage.

Every time we have driven by, Baby Gray has said, “Whoa!” or something similar, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when we actually got there. He was happily overwhelmed by all the pumpkins, and kept looking for the tiny ones, which he remembered from a book we’ve read.

We got plenty of tiny pumpkins, a few small ones, and one bigger one for the front porch (I saw some giant ones at Sam’s that caught my eye, so I’ll probably grab one or two of those as well). He was so happy with his selections. He held them and talked about them all the way home.

He got another pumpkin patch sticker this year–that makes three–but I don’t think this year’s will make it to a scrapbook. He loved it pretty well this afternoon.

When we got home, I ventured into the attic for the fall boxes so Baby Gray could help me decorate. I let him pick where different things went; he thought it was the best thing! It gave us an opportunity to talk about which items he could touch and play with and which ones he couldn’t. I think I’ve found my Christmas strategy as well.

I love our little family tradition, and I can’t wait to go back with Mr. Gray!

2012/Aggies/Baby Gray/football/SEC

Rain, Rain, On Gameday

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 6 Comments

This is Baby Gray’s third football season, but I can already tell it’s going to be the most fun so far!

We were the ~~crazy~~ parents with their toddler at the rainy game, and he loved every second. He has talked about it all week. Even without tailgating or any of the extras, he had a blast!

We packed all the rain gear and headed to College Station. We put it to good use throughout the game, but mostly it was a pleasant day.

Baby Gray had a little room to roam at the game, as several seats next to us were empty. He snacked and played the entire game. He wasn’t bothered by the on-again-off-again rain and subsequent rain gear.

After the game, we took him down to the field. Little J was down there as well. They practiced their “gig ’ems” and watched everyone playing with footballs and running around.

Baby Gray decided he was ready for the fish pond with the yell leaders after our win.

We headed to drop off our stuff at the car and go see Rylynn.

Yes, Rylynn! She is doing great! Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of them together, but they were having a blast playing football and riding scooters.

Once the traffic died down, we headed to the house to pack up and put on dry clothes. We grabbed a little senior citizen style dinner on our way out of town. We thought with no nap we might lose Baby Gray to sleep somewhere along the trip, but the best we got was a little snuggling with his blanket and lovey and a bit of pretend closed eyes.

It didn’t take him long to crash once he hit his sheets, though.

2012/blessings/death/loss/memories

Use It

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

Sometimes I shield what I share and keep the vulnerable parts to myself. As I was praying through this last night, I realized my prayer was to use my heart break. Use the sadness. I want God to use what we have been through in the last 60 days to help others. I want God’s glory to shine on this story. I want Him to be all over it. When I’m not sharing the full story, I’m taking away from all that God is doing.

That’s not to say I’m going to spill my guts all over the internet when times get tough, that is to say that I will continue to write, pray, and share as I feel led. I will answer honestly when someone asks how I’m doing and truly wants to check on my heart.

We haven’t had enough time go by for me to find a true pattern, but so far, the beginnings of each month are hardest. Closer to the seventh, I think the days get tougher. Last month, this coincided with his birthday and a week of huge processing. This month, it’s been the post I wrote Friday that I didn’t realize would affect me as deeply as it did.

Those four letters were across another back, too.

That post had some finality to it for me. It shook me up when I wrote it, and I haven’t quite snapped out of it yet.