greatest hits

check me out.

two posts in one week.

this could be a record of something.

someone print me a certificate of achievement, please.

at the beginning of every summer we make a list of things we want to do, so these last couple of weeks we've been doing our best to check them all off.  there are only a few left (one of which is six flags, and honestly i'd rather cut my foot off than to drag my children hot and whiny arounnd a theme park.  so we'll just let that one fly under the radar for now....don't tell the boys.)

here's what we've been up to (other than beaching it up in galveston):

1) at meet-the-teacher ben met mrs. dunham.  he was shy and awkward and asked that i not take his picture.  too bad, kid.  

it's my j-o-b.

2) after meet the teacher, we checked one off of our list by having our inagural "back-to-school feast" at a hibachi restaurant by our house.  the boys thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.  crosby kept requesting more fire.  surprise, surprise.  gotta keep your eye on that one.

3) we hit up the dallas museum of art after breakfast last sunday.  it was good for our souls.

4) the same day, we kept it dallas-y and had lunch and window shopped on lowest greenville avenue (here and here).  ben struck this pose and has been doing the same every time i have pulled out the camera since.  seven year old boys are special.  and cute.

5) and then all of a sudden, this happened.  second grade.  a new class in a new hallway.  a big kid hallway.  i got a little weepy before school but managed to keep my act together while in the building.  i was pretty proud of the way we all handled the morning.

crosby will start kinder next school year, so i have a feeling this year might be my only tear-free first day of school for a while.

6) checked another off the list when i took the kiddos bowling.  i was a little worried how i would manage them in that environment but it turned out to be the perfect hour-long summer activity.

air-conditioning.  an objective.  taking turns.  bumpers.  balls too heavy to chunk at your brother/cousin.

7) my precious hubs bought day-of tickets for us to go see the alabama shakes on a random wednesday night.  it was magical.  i am in love with brittney howard.  i want to marry her.  chris does too, so it works out.

8) still promoting the family business on social media.  this is super-new and advanced and fancy-like for our little paint-contracting company.  we have made samples for customers for years and years and years and have finally found a way to display the best of the best.  this is a peek at our new sample room.  to see more you can like us on facebook or follow us on instagram @martinpainting.

9) a lot has been going on in the lives of my girlfriends lately.  just yucky grown-up stuff that can only be avoided for short increments of time by drinking the likes of frozen trash-can punch.  this is thirty-six.

10) i was out of ideas of how to entertain the littles the other day, so we decided to mall walk.  

it was a good day.

11) chris' precious friend scott (or bear, as we call him) flew into town last weekend and spent one night with us. we all adore him and the boys didn't want him to leave.  neither did we.

there you have it.  how have y'all been?  what's been going on in your world?  i'd love to know.

looking forward to getting all caught up with my drawings (for the most part) and diving further into house of cards.

i miss don draper.

love,

coco

once upon a time

once upon a time, i was a blogger.

a blogger who would post weekly, sometimes more.  not just this once-a-month nonsense.

y'all.

i have so many excuses, i don't even know where to start.

but let me say, every day i am not at work, children are in my care.  and once they are finally in bed (glory, glory, hallelujah), i draw.  i have so many orders currently (hooray) that i am behind (boo) and am drawing every evening after the kids go to bed until i do.

good news: this year crosby will be at school for part of the day every day.  so i rearranged my work schedule to have some time at home during the week while my children are at school, so that i can draw uninterrupted, possibly grocery shop without a little person begging me to buy them something, and the best part, blog without having to stop a million times to fetch snacks/milk/answer questions and/or wipe a butt.

anywho, on to the blogging!

we didn't plan a big, bad vacay this summer for a number of reasons.

we've had a super-expensive year, wedding festivities occupied the first half of the summer, etc., etc., etc.

so we planned a weekend get-away to galveston with my sister's family.

it was the perfect way to wrap up our summer with a cute little bow.

we rented a house in pointe west and will likely not stay anywhere else.  

i had prepared myself for brown water, seaweed, potential jellyfish.

i in no way expected a gorgeous, sandy, private beach.  green water.  dolphins playing.

it was perfect.

our kids were ready to move there.

we were only there for a short time and were able to cook most meals at home.  and per usual, the grown-ups sat and talked on the back porch until the wee hours of the morning after we put the kids to bed every night.  so we did't really get a ton of rest on this vacation, but we did have the best time.

we went to town one night for the obligatory souvenir shopping trip where my boys begged for shark tooth necklaces that they wore for a total of twenty-five minutes after purchase.

we ate fried seafood and tried on dumb hats.

our trip was too short.  next time we want to surf, fish, and play putt-putt (per the boys' request).

but man, even if our dose of the beach was only a couple of days, two days are better than no days.

we are ready to go back.

p.s. don't you worry, we spent $50+ on snacks for the drive home.  smh.

did anyone of you sneak away for a weekend this summer?

did you take a big family trip?

i'd love to know.

p.s. stay tuned, once crosby goes back to school, i'll be able to schedule regular posts!  hooray!  i have so much tell you about.

xoxo