greatest hits

i am blogging as a way to avoid the disaster that is my house.  in my super mad rush to get the children out of the door this morning, i managed to overturn everything in my path.

anyone want to come load my dishwasher?  no?  fine, then.

i did manage to make it to yoga this morning and get toddlers fed and entertained and down for a nap.  now i am avoiding cleaning and catching up on 'the voice' before the halloween madness begins.

now that's what i call a good use of time.

we are in full halloween mode around here.  wish us luck.  here's a sneak at our week, in no particular order.

1) well, my baby is the hulk for halloween.  and he managed to scare the bejeezus out of a few classmates on party day.  lord help.

2) my friend kelly had a baby last week.  eli is his name and isn't he delicious?

(his momma is a pro and joined us for her two-beer max at hh last night, like a responsible breast-feeding lady).

3) crosby is a weird eater.  he isn't crazy about meat, sometimes he eats two bites of a meal and other times he eats everything on his plate.  we discovered recently that he will eat anything in soup form.  soup for the win!

4) my baby is so bossy full of personality.  here's a taste of what we're dealing with over here.

5) this nugget loves picking up ben from school.

6) we halloween carnival-ed it up last weekend.

7) this is the only decent picture i have from the weekend papa visited (sans papa).  this is what boys look like patiently waiting for pie.

 8) i wanted to take the boys to a legit pumpkin patch this year, you know with hayrides, mazes, maybe on some acerage.  chris found one online that was free.  so we drove thirty minutes with two grumpy children in tow only to discover that the pumpkin "patch" was just some bootleg pumpkins piled in an abandoned brookshire's parking lot.  pumpkin patch FAIL.  here's chris trying to make the best of the unfortunate situation.

 9) sometimes intense concentration requires a tongue curl.

 10) you can pick you friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose.

 crosby wouldn't leave his teacher's side thoughout the entire festival.

 my boys with the newest big brother in our bunch.

 11) mummy dogs!  a halloween week tradition.

whew!

looking forward to running my first official half-marathon.  let's do this thing.

how was your week?  what are you looking forard to?

love,

coco

nineties country (oh yes i did)

yes, yes, i know.  my taste in music is completely schizophrenic and i own that.  judge if you must.

my sister and i are listening to my keith whitley pandora station (you heard me right) in the office today.  you should try it, if you are so inclined.

 

i have a soft spot for those songs i learned to two-step to long ago. 

 here are some of the best we've heard so far today.

(jami, these are for you!  xoxox)

 

 

 

 

the videos are so bad, they're good.

 

happy Monday,

love,

coco

 

 

when my babies were babies

one of my best friends had a baby on tuesday.  it's her second boy and it thrills me to no end that i have a two-boy mom in my wolfpack.

seeing her brand-new, precious baby makes me nostalgic.  no, i don't want another baby, i just want my babies back.

i came across these old videos.  they paint an accurate portrait of how nutty my oldest son is, and make me ache for days past.  i love my boys the age they are now, but man, they are only little for just a short time.  here are some good ones i found:

1) did you know you can buy a little brother for $14 at baby walmart?

2) he's a turtle.  a pooping turtle.

blackmail.

3) brothers meet for the first time.

4) ben was once obsessed with dancing with the stars.  he preferred only the blondest dancers (with the largest breasts).  i cannot tell you how many videos we have of ben dancing pantless.

5) oh those baby sounds just do me in.  sweet crosby.

6) he should be in theater.

happy thursday,

coco

links from chris

here they are, i've hoarded them for long enough.  please pardon the language in some of these.  i had to post anyway because a) they read my mind and b) they are so ding-dang funny.

oh, and clicking on the song/article/photo links will totally be worth it.

xoxo

Illuminated Wonder (@illuminatedwndr)

11/13/12, 12:17 AM

my son always tells me how much he wants to be like me. little does he know, just how much more I want to be like him

	NPR News (@nprnews)
10/20/13, 2:10 PM SEE: Banksy's Month (So Far) In New York City n.pr/1ay8S1R

Mental Floss (@mental_floss)

10/20/13, 8:12 AM

Guy Beringer invented brunch. His inspiration: the hangover — bit.ly/19k1Obl

Photographer Captures New Yorkers Kissing for Past 30 Years

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/matt-weber-urban-romance

	Rob ElliottBOT™ (@RobElliottComic)
10/1/13, 1:52 PM *Ross walks up to Rachel on her deathbed *Leans in close *Whispers We were on a break...

Casey. (@casey_csaszar)

8/31/13, 5:05 PM

My son just stopped mid meltdown to eat a Cheerio he found stuck to his leg.

Don't trust them, guys. They're just fucking with you.

Dallas Observer (@Dallas_Observer)

9/30/13, 9:23 AM

Finally, we've reached number 1 in the 50 Most Interesting Restaurants in Dallas. The full list is contained within. blogs.dallasobserver.com/cityofate/2013…

	JamBase (@JamBase)
9/26/13, 9:06 AM Start Your Day With A Smile: Watch @jimmyfallon @theroots and members of Sesame Street cast perform Sesame St. theme bit.ly/15vCOdp

	KungPow Turkey (@MacAnnabella)
9/17/13, 7:42 PM How did a pretty girl like you get such a FILTHY mouth? Wanna be friends?!?

Jen McSugarLips (@J_Dazzle76)

1/29/13, 5:33 PM I’m such a dirty, dirty girl sounds better than too lazy to shower.

	bubble girl (@JessObsess)
9/8/13, 8:59 PM Do I like football? Well if you mean drinking beer and playing on my phone while the game is on, then yes, I like football.

Steve Suckington (@SteveSackington)

6/26/13, 8:47 AM

To me, sharing a plate of nachos is just a race to see who can eat the most nachos.

	Floyd (@dafloydsta)
9/7/13, 2:49 PM *Goes to grocery store with 2 small children. *Says "No" 3,217 times. *Dies a slow death and has "No" written on tombstone.

Aristotles (@AristotlesNZ)

9/20/12, 5:06 PM

Me: Your shoes are on the wrong feet.

4yo: ..

Me: ..

4yo: ..

Me: ..

4yo: I don't have any other feet..

Me: Fair enough.

Babies Daddy (@dshack8)

8/31/13, 4:35 PM

Not sayin I'm lazy, but if I drop somethin & can't pick it up w/ my feet it'll stay there til 1 of my kids walks by & I can have them get it

	prontopup (@prontopup)
8/27/13, 7:57 AM Glaciers Continents Giant Galapagos Tortoises -Things that move faster than my 5YO in the morning

	Shades of Sarcasm (@SortaSarcastic)
7/16/13, 6:50 AM I sketch... you paint. I splatter... you flow. I write... you compose. I try to be... you are. And still... you treat me as an equal. That.

	A-Now (@HeyANow)
7/25/13, 10:18 AM I am the whitest white girl you will ever meet until a 2Pac song comes on.

	Heath (@DaHess1)
8/8/13, 11:44 AM I'm white but not "think a $70 rubber band on my wrist will make me run faster and lose weight" white.

	Matthew Houck (@Phosphorescent)
8/7/13, 3:48 PM Have you seen the new @Phosphorescent music video for "Ride On/Ride On" that premiered on @mtvU today? Watch it here: bit.ly/19bfQPz

Carbosly (@Carbosly)

8/7/13, 8:26 AM

I've never been sad enough to stop eating.

	Ephie (@goodballs)
3/11/13, 1:10 PM People who say their tickle fights lead to sex are lying. I'm ticklish and when people tickle me I slap them in the face then pee my pants.

on top of the world

i heard a joke once that goes something like this:

how do you ask someone if they've run a marathon?

you won't have to, they'll tell you.

i will never be one of those people with a 13.1 sticker on the back of my car (and sure as hell not one with a 26 mile sticker.  those people are cray.)

but i will say this, i ran 13.5 miles this morning.  and due to a combination of factors, i feel incredible.  i never in a million years thought i would say those words.  there is a life lesson tucked in there somewhere in the tune of never give up on yourself.

via

that is all.

have a wonderful weekend, friends.

love,

coco

greatest hits

chris' dad is going to san antonio for business, and because he's awesome, he's hopping on a plane to dallas to spend around 36 hours with us this weekend.  we are all excited to see papa.  we plan on doing the usual when out-of-staters are visiting: eating barbeque and mexican food.

yay!

here are some snaps form the past week or so:

1) i chaperoned ben's first field trip as a kindergartner.  as a former teaher of eight years, i have officially concluded that it takes a special soul to teach kindergarten.  and i am not one of those souls.  they are so sweet and cute and clueless, like puppies.  i had a blast observing.

 we walked to our neighborhood nursery where i drooled over succulents and the kids posed with pumpkins.

 aren't they cute?

 2) i snapped this pic of my mom and my niece.  it cracks me up for some reason.  i think these two may be two-peas-in-a-pod.

 3) desperately trying to get good use out of our season passes, we went to the fair a couple more times.

 the boys found a fun-house with suds.  our shins sure were clean after that.

 hear me out, this was the best thing we ate at the fair.  magical greens wrapped in dough and fried like an empanada.  best enjoyed after doused in louisiana hot sauce.

 this is why we are broke.  rides.

 someone's getting sleeeepy.

 after five years of practice, this child STILL cannot eat without food ending up all over his face and in his ears and staining his shirt.  unreal.

 the parade is always a hit.

 our local favorites, the o's, played the main stage.  ben got to high five his favorite musician/waiter/nice guy.  good times.

i am running thirteen miles on saturday morning, and to be incredibly honest, i am scared to death.  running close to 12 miles last week almost did me in.  anytime i am scheduled to run mileage i never have before makes my stomach knot.  wish me luck.

looking forward to that being over!

how was your week?  what are you looking forward to?

love,

coco

monday commute

yesterday i had my annual physical, which required me to fast for my bloodwork.  so blogging was the last thing on my mind.  all i could manage to think about were tacos and guacamole.  i told chris last night that i prefer my food to be of the mexican variety.

i'm texan.  i need queso to survive.

anywho, i did hear a song i've been meaning to post.  speaking of mexican food, my first-ever half-marathon is quickly approaching (lord help me) and i think this song most definitely belongs on a playlist.  i don't listen to music at all during training, but i do during races (since they are a closed-course).  

any suggestions for songs that will keep me running?

p.s. electronic music is so not my thing...but i cannot get enough of this song.  i love this one too.

love,

coco

acl awards 2013

{let me preface by saying that the security nazis at the festival are super strict about anyone bringing their nice cameras into the grounds.  we decided to leave ours behind this year, so i have very few good pictures of the festival itself.  thanks, instagram for making my iphone pictures look cooler than the originals.}

and here we go, in no particular order:

the best pre-festival tradition award goes to the giant burgers at casino el camino.  

friday morning we leave dallas in enough time to make it to casino for lunch, where we build a good base for the billion beers we are about to consume at the festival.  it's necessary.  and delicious.

the best-effort-by-a-pregnant-lady award goes to my friend becky.

not to be left out, my five and a half maonths pregnant friend ordered a virgin bloody mary.  super spicy.

the best fesival baby award goes to smiley-face lenox.

her momma and daddy scored last minute passes and experienced the festival for the first time as parents.  not to suggest for a minute that it was easy, but lenox helped them out by smiling, dancing, napping in the stroller and high-fiving strangers.

the dumbest-idea award goes to whoever suggested playing the trust game.

if you aren't familiar, the trust game involves falling backwards (or in jason's case, forwards) and trusting your drunk friend to catch you before you hit the ground.  in this picture, jason wisely chose his wife to catch him.  i note, she did not ask the same in return.

(pardon the outfits, baby was asleep inside, so we took the dance-party, beer-drinking, trust-game playing shenanigans to the garage.  it was cold, y'all.)

the school spirit award goes to me and marcy for our super-cool matching chairs.  

don't hate, congratulate.

the best homecoming award goes to joni.  

after taking a year off from the festival last year, joni and her husband came down from denver to participate in festival festivus.  any reunion with joni is a good one.  she hugs for a minimum of five whole minutes, not caring a bit if you aren't a big hugger (ahem).  her joy is infectious.  and this is why i love her.

best hangover helper goes to sweet leaf green tea (mint and honey).

this is not new news.  it never fails.  and considering marcy and i were trying to win some sort of contest all weekend of who could still drink the way we did in college, sunday was dedicated to rehydrating.  by the way, we tied for first.

best show-that-i-actually-have-a-picture-of award goes to phosphorescent.  he is fantastic.  that is all.

other favorites of the weekend include: vampire weekend (the.best.), passion pit (dance party), the cure (duh), dawes (presh).

the best surprise award goes to the cold front that graced us on saturday night.  

thank the lord.

the road-tripper award goes to suzy for driving up from corpus on saturday to see us off to the festival and to welcome us back when it was over.

i love you, suzanne. 

the best hostess award goes to becky g. for spoiling us rotten during our stay.  

seriously, the best.

also a big thanks to marcy, for driving back to dallas super late on sunday night so that i could get the kids to school and go to work on monday morning.  i am glad you got to see a little bit of your boyfriend (......lionel richie......)

austin, you did it again.  

xoxo,

coco