Baby Gray/Christmas/Christmasday/toddler

We Wish You a Toddler Christmas

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Christmasday is less than a week away! I can hardly stand it! This year, though, with Baby Gray into absolutely everything, I’m pretty sure our Christmas decor will look a little different.

We started our planning our decor placement yesterday afternoon, so hopefully by Sunday, we’ll have most of the kinks worked out. We’ll only cut down one tree this year (we only did one last year, but I like it better when we have two). It’ll go in the kitchen since Baby Gray doesn’t spend much time roaming around in there. Our two artificial trees are usually just accents, but they will be our main trees in the living and dining room area this year. They’re pretty sturdy, they don’t have ornaments, and I’m not concerned about him pulling them over on himself. It’ll be very different not having our big tree in the living room, but I don’t want the Christmas season to be filled with redirection. Baby Gray is in a phase where it is very funny to continue to do things when he’s asked not to, so I don’t feel like the temptation of the big tree is a very good idea. It’ll just end up being frustrating for both of us.


 
I have also seen ideas for felt trees with felt ornaments children can peel and stick. I may make him one to go on a blank wall in the living room area, which is where we spend most of our time during the day. That way Baby Gray has some “ornaments” and decorations he is allowed to play with. I want him to love celebrating the Christmas season as much as I do.

football/Small Town Texas

The Lights

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
Friday night. 
The lights. 
I hadn’t thought much about Friday night lights (aside from the TV show, but that’s a whole ‘nother story–man, I miss that show) until tonight. Our hometown was 11-0 playing in the second round of the playoffs. Our hometown isn’t historically a championship contender, but you’d never know it by the fans. 

I’ve been out of the Friday night lights circuit until tonight. I mean, I check the scores late Friday night or early Saturday morning to see how things went, but when T & L bowed out of the football scene, so did I. I think I’ve been to one Friday night game since Mr. Gray stopped playing. 
Tonight, though, it was different. The whole town was at the game, it seemed. Mr. Gray went. I refreshed my Facebook status repeatedly waiting for football scores. It makes me miss it. It makes me excited for Baby Gray to be in the Friday night lights.

There’s just something about the feel of it all. There’s just something about the lights.
fall/Texas/weather

Changes

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment
Texas is home for the Grays. We don’t know much about seasons here, you know. It’s hot, or it’s cool in the morning and hot by the afternoon. 
Earlier today, though, I looked outside and saw something a little different. 
Tree
This tree has orange leaves. This tree looks a little like fall has arrived. Just in time for Thanksgiving!
Baby Gray/play

Bait and Switch

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
Mint

Baby Gray loves to search for treasures on Mr. Gray’s nightstand. Recently, he traded his interlocking blocks for a mint. Mr. Gray’s nightstand, closet, and art projects are places I try hard to ignore when cleaning and straightening the house–that’s why these are such fun areas for Baby Gray.

Run

Baby Gray is very much to the point of knowing what he should and should not be doing around the house. You might notice from the blur of the photo that he was trying not to get caught. He thinks this is the funniest thing ever! He’s quite the button-pusher! 

Look

He finally slowed down enough to show off his treasure. Being the really cool mom that I am, I stole it and put it out of his reach. Luckily, I had already moved the one he left when he traded in his toys.
Baby Gray/eating/food

Look, Ma!

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
Banana

Oh, my! Baby Gray is finally taking bites of things instead of shoving the entire thing in his mouth. He has been doing great with crackers and crispy things for quite some while, but the softer stuff has thrown him off. 

Bites

He did a fabulous job with his banana earlier in the week; I hope it keeps up! My dishwasher will thank me if I can keep from overloading it with slicing tools. My floor is also pretty fond of the lack of mess this way. I hate to wish the time away, but this little step is more time playing, less time cleaning! That’s my kind of step.
Baby Gray/blessings/crib/family/sleep

Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

With Baby Gray increasingly more mobile, cuddle time has become limited, if not completely non-existent. He’ll barely sit in my lap unless I’m feeding him something! I had to get a little creative to get some quiet time with my boy.

To comp my time, each morning when Baby Gray first wakes up, I go into his room and climb into his crib with him. He’s still sleepy enough that he’ll let me give him a hug or two–or sometimes fall asleep on my chest–before we hit the ground running! Some mornings I get two minutes, others I get almost an hour. Either way, I treasure the time I get to spend with him in the mornings.

Mr. Gray thinks it’s hilarious on the weekend mornings when he can see me in there on the monitor, but I’ll do what it takes to get some quality quiet time with Baby Gray. Plus, on those unfortunate mornings when Baby Gray wakes up at some crazy hour, it allows me to rest another minute or two! It’s a win-win situation.

Aggies/Baby Gray/family day/farmer's market/football/play

The World is Your Oyster

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
Pearl

I have always wanted (well, since we went to Sand Bar when I was barely pregnant) to go to the Pearl Farmer’s Market in San Antonio. The Pearl Brewery area is so stinkin’ cool; they have some neat shops and a handful of restaurants. On Saturday mornings, they have a farmer’s market, too. I just couldn’t justify driving to San Antonio specifically for a farmer’s market. 

Luckily, my husband is an awesome person who donates platelets at the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center in San Antonio some Saturday mornings. We don’t usually go with him, but since we were headed to San Marcos Saturday afternoon, Baby Gray and I went with him this time. We dropped him off for his donation and headed to Pearl. 

Play

River

After we perused the market, Baby Gray and I headed to the grassy area overlooking the river to play. Many other children were on the grass, and Baby Gray went to each blanket and stroller checking out their snack supply. All the while, he was eating a ginormous piece of gingerbread I bought for myself from the market. 

Gingerbread

Snoopy

After he devoured the gingerbread, we loaded back up in the stroller to go check out the Gingerbread Design Challenge that was going on inside.

Sample

We checked out all the gingerbread creations until Baby Gray spotted a sample of the gingerbread they were using–then it was back to eating! 

Once Mr. Gray was finished with his donation, we headed back to get him so we could go to Dr. C’s to watch some football. Unfortunately, it took quadruple overtime to lose it this time. Hang in there, Ags!
birthday/blessings

Happiest, Happy Day

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
Today I wish my fabulous husband a happy, happy birthday! We have celebrated many birthdays together, and I hope to celebrate many more!
Hunt
This is one of my favorite photos. It obviously has very little to do with his birthday, but that’s just fine by me!

My husband is so much more than I could have ever asked for, and today I want to celebrate him. He is selfless, the embodiment of altruism. I am so grateful each day that I get to spend my life with such an amazing man! 

Happy birthday!
crock pot/Recipes/soup

Cloudy with a Chance of Soup

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
This is soup weather, my friends! One of our favorite cold-weather meals is taco soup. It’s super easy and absolutely delicious! 

You will need: 

Cans

1 pound ground beef 
1 can Rotel tomatoes (as you can see, I use generic) 
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Mexicorn
1 can beans (sometimes I use black beans, sometimes I use pinto beans, sometimes I use both) 
1 packet of dry Ranch dressing
1 packet of taco seasoning

Meat
  • Brown the ground meat and drain
  • Mix in both dry packets (they will get a little pasty; it’s much easier to break the paste down than to dissolve all the clumps once it’s got liquid)
  • Pour all the canned items into the beef mixture (do not drain the cans) 
Soup
  • Add water, if needed; the liquid just about cover all the ingredients
  • Cover and simmer until ready to serve
  • Garnish with chips, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, or anything else that floats your boat!
This soup can also be made in the crock pot; brown the meat, put it in the crock pot, add the rest, and go about your day.

It yields enough for Mr. Gray and I to eat for a couple of days. It does freeze well, though, so that’s an option, too.

Baby Gray/running/stroller

If At First You Don’t Succeed

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
If you’ve been reading long, you know I have tried, on several occasions, to get myself into a regular routine that includes running jogging. Technically, I’m training (I’m using that word quite loosely) to run a half marathon in January. Yes, a half. Me. All twelve-minutes per mile for 13.1 miles. Yeah. Now that I’ve said it out loud, does that make it real?

A while back, I started jogging pretty consistently each morning. I had a great little heart to heart with Honey, and off I went. I kept it up for fourteen days straight, weekends included. Then life happened. I was weaning Baby Gray, and our morning routine had to turn pretty much upside down. I didn’t do a very good job incorporating our morning run into the change. 

We overcame that, and I started again. This time, though, I wasn’t nearly as consistent; I got maybe three days a week in for a couple of weeks. It just wasn’t happening–well, I just wasn’t making it happen. 

A month or so ago, I started doing a training app on my phone that has been pretty helpful in keeping me accountable. I haven’t been as consistent as I’d like, but it’s better than nothing. With the time change, Baby Gray is up a little earlier (he was sleeping until 8:30 before the time changed), and I’m doing my best to get us out the door.

Mess

The technical side of it all gets a little tricky sometimes. You know, like the part where I have to take a shower with a toddler who’s wide awake running around in the bathroom after I’ve been out. Some things are worth the mess, though. Or, at least, that’s what I keep telling myself.