Sunday Meals

So our weekly routine or ritual is to "eat out" after church on Sundays. Since the economy has gotten worse and money isn't as GREAT..we have tried to curtail our spending habits (well, mostly MY habits).

In an effort to save money on our weekly enjoyment, we visited China Bear restaurant in Houston...this is the one off of I-45..the place is HUGE..doesn't even look like a restaurant. First of all let me say that I HATE buffets..especially Chinese buffets..Seems like they put the junky chinese food out there and the dark meat for chicken. EWWWWW!!!!

So as we are walking to the entrance I notice a difference from where we usually go...the people...I can't believe that I just realized that I live in a kind of bubble as opposed to the rest of the Houston area or Houston. The Woodlands is a Bubble...just a different kind of people or something..hard to explain. WE WERE the MINORITY there that's for sure!

There's a big fish pond when you go to the door with a bridge over it..it is kinda stinky and WAY over Populated with FISH!! I didn't like this..the kids did..Also when you walk into the restaurant, there are bunches of tables full of plants for sale, like Bonsai's..and even chinese dresses for sale..OKKKK!!!????

The food was BETTER than I expected. THERE was actually WHITE meat for most of the Chicken dishes..lots of FRIED chicken...just in different ways. The wonton soup was good. THE best part though was the Cheesecake :)

One thing that often just baffles me is that I see people piling their plates with crawfish and crabs. LOL!! and that's it..so you go to a chinese restaurant to eat boiled seafood? To me, that's just NASTY!

WE sat in a booth..should have sat at a table..it wasn't very clean..the wall and cracks next the booth were DIRTY...OF course I didn't say anything because I think Scott would have gotten all aggravated saying that it wasn't good enough for me or something..it's just I don't like DIRTY places..I mean imagine that kids have probably just touched the walls with their greasy hands and chinese sauce has splashed all over it and it is just NEVER cleaned. NO way that they clean it..AT least clean the cracks of the seats...It was difficult for me to sit there and to have my purse sitting there also. BUT the BEST part had to be when I picked up my purse to leave...there was a small bug crawling under it or around it...whatever. WTF???!!! I killed it with my napkin and left. I think it was some sort of Weavil? I DESERVE a Medal for keeping my mouth shut today.

NO I don't have any pictures of the place..I got enough stares so I figured taking my phone out to snap pictures would just be too unbearable.

If you ever VISIT Houston, DON'T eat at China Bear..or IF you do, get a table and don't forget to eat the Cheesecake :)

Total Bill charge was somewhere around 43 bucks for a family of 4~~too expensive..I would have left the bug as their tip, but since I didn't say anything...it stayed.



FORTUNE: Next time, eat somewhere else.

10 Years

Wow!! Scott and I have been married for 10 years. We weren't able to celebrate on our actual anniversary, but we did get a chance to celebrate on a different day!

My friend Terri was nice and sweet enough to watch our 2 boys so we could go out to dinner! We went to Morton's Steakhouse in Houston. The experience was Fantastic, the Food was EXCELLENT and the service was EXCELLENT also!!

Morton's had a special menu printed for us with our names on it.. I loved it!



What I ate: Chopped Salad, Colossal Shrimp Alexander, Filet, and the famous Hot Chocolate cake. I had the best Pomegranate Mojito also!!
If you are ever in doubt whether you should go to Morton's or not..don't be!

The Famous Dessert


By the Way, Morton's took the photo of us above :)

Say What?!

Me: Ryan why do you have Fire Poo?
Ryan: Because I poo alot
Me: Why do you Poo alot?
Ryan: Because I have Diarrhea!

HE does not have Diarrhea!

LOL!!! the things that he says! This in continuing a conversation about him having what he described as "fire Poo"

YES I DID!! ~~ MEET Chris DAUGHTRY!!

I met Chris Daughtry at the Daughtry Concert here in Houston. My friend Kim came with me to the concert. Thank GOD for her because I had NO clue how to get to the venue and the directions that the venue gave were horrible! But she knew the way there!
We waited in line for hours before the show started. The opening band was David Hodges..I loved him/them..they were amazing! His voice is amazing! Daughtry ROCKED the house for sure!! Every song that he sang was GREAT..just awesome!!! I took a ton of pictures and and some videos!
Me and Kim


After the show we met David Hodges..they were all so nice. I took a few pictures with them and they all autographed a CD for me :)
Me with David Hodges



Before we left the venue we walked around the corner of the building to find Daughtry's bus!! Wow!! after 10 minutes of being there..OUT walks Chris! O M G!! I was dying!!! I was able to get an autograph on my Ticket!! He also smiled for my camera and talked to me..AND OMG he hugged me!!! I thought I was going to die!! WHAT A NIGHT!!! that is one sexy Man..sorry..had to say it! :)
My TICKET


MY SMILE


MY Ticket about to be signed


HOTTNESS!


MY SHIRT









Daughtry singing HOME~ shout out to Houston :)

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

Gosh! I am so far behind in blogging that I feel guilty! I have been stuck on FB for too long! I am holding myself accountable right now and I will begin blogging again this week. The boys are growing so fast and I need to document it :)

When Money Gets Wet

Why is it that my 9 yr old cannot keep track of his wallet? He even has one of those ATM style little machines to keep his money (his second one, BTW)...Last week it was missing (he misplaced it). He blamed it on the maids, I found it (thankfully). The time before that, he apparently did NOT remove it from his pocket and it was washed!!! We had to put the money out to dry.


Hopefully, he learns his lesson, but I am sure he hasn't....


I cannot believe how far behind I am in posting my blogs. I have tons of stuff to post and I will get to it this weekend ( I hope). We are going into Easter weekend and we will be staying here in Texas...sure do miss our family back home though.

Old McDonald Had a Farm

EIEIO! And on his farm he had a PIG...


Ryan has a GREAT time at his weekly 'class' at the Children's Museum. He was a bit hesitant at first, but he did fine! The theme was Farm Animals. Ryan made piggy ears, and the cutest Sheep ever! They also made piggy noses (but Ryan didn't want to do this?) LOL


They also made butter and spread it on their bread and ATE it!

We had such a special day. Ryan rode on the Carousel (the first time that he loved it and wasn't scared!) HE picked the LION!!


After that we went on down the that big PIT play area thing..FIRST time that I let him play there since I mostly consider it a GERM pit! BUT It wasn't very crowded at that time and since he isn't crawling anymore or really sucking his thumb in public either...HE loved it! Worked up a big sweat and then daddy met us there and it ended with Ryan getting a cookie from the Cookie Co. LOL!

Yesterday we attended our weekly B&N story time! Had a blast! Miss Sam was soooo much fun today...the theme again, was FARM ANIMALS..soo funny! and all of the kids were making animal sounds prompted by Miss Sam! It was hilarious! There were lots of kids too!! I think my 2 fav books were the book about animal butts...well butts said in all kinds of ways, like behind, back side, buns, etc. LOL! AND the one with the animal sounds..soooo CUTE! The cookies were so warm, they were breaking apart too (I wanted one soooo bad). The craft was making your own barn or farmhouse with animals..Ryan colored his animals and MOMMY drew the barn. He put the glue on them and stuck them on the page..MOST of them were in the AIR though?! haha.


The end to that day.......naps as usual in the USUAL spot!


Noah is finally finished his SAT's..phew! BUT I am sure next week promises LOTS of homework..NO school today on Friday. YIPPEEE! BTW, Noah just walked in here and asked me if a Chocolate Rabbit from last year is CANDY?! LOLOL!!! OH he gave that up for Lent..poor boy is desparate..and WHERE did he get that Rabbit? YUCK!


We hope today brings us lots of FUN...going to eat Veggie Pizza and go to the Park until TKD.

Lots of FIRSTS for Ryan

Wow! Ryan has been doing so much lately..He is leaving a trail of firsts behind him *sniff sniff*...My little man is growing up! He started riding his tricycle! For some reason, he could never peddle or understand what was needed to peddle his bike..but last week or was it 2 weeks ago? He hopped onto his bike and started peddling away like he has always been doing it!! It was amazing!! I had to catch him in the action!



Last week, Ryan had his teeth cleaned at the dentist for the VERY FIRST TIME!..He has been there before but only for "lap exams"...just the Dentist looking at his teeth. THIS time he had them cleaned. He looked so adorable with his little sunglasses on. OF course, this took MUCH coercing from Momma to get him into that chair...I want to say that it took about 20 minutes or MORE to get him in it. And after he was in it, he held both of my hands the entire time! AND he was also promised a BIG surprise from the Toy store...so after it was off to Toys R Us for that NEW Toy! LIKE He needs another TOY!! HIS teeth were GREAT!! Dr. Ragsdale said that his teeth look Wonderful!! AFTER a LONG time there, he finally decided on a Handy Manny tool set! HE LOVES it!! The tools dance and stuff...very cute!


Last week, Ryan attended his FIRST CLASS without ME at the Children's Museum. It is for 3-4 year olds and YES the parents CANNOT stay! I was fearful of even trying this as Ryan is VERY clingy and has NEVER been left ANYWHERE before...HE was very hesitant at first hiding behind my leg..I walked him there and he started playing with some dinosaurs and above that was a painting of MONA LISA and he asked what that was and I told him that it was a painting and it was MONA LISA...well he then told me that he does NOT like MONA LISA. LOL!! HILARIOUS!!! I told him that I was going to get us a drink and would be back in a little bit, before he knew it..he continued playing and I slipped out the door. I was just waiting for the teacher or the museum to call me that my child was crying and would NOT stop...the never called! Upon going to get him (the class is only 1.5 hours), he ran to me and the teacher said he did WONDERFUL..that he was a little sad at first, but was fine afterwards! I was soooo super proud of him. He said he liked it and wants to go back again!! The class was about Chemistry stuff..and they made some goop and other fun sticky things..he even drew a Volcano!! I am going to send him to class there every week. This week is about Farm Animals! I sadly do NOT have any pictures :(

We are still attending weekly story time at B&N..WE LOVE IT! Ryan is doing so well. He just goes to sit in the front on the front bench (even when other kids are there) and he listens!! 2 weeks ago, Miss Sam read "I STINK"...it was about a garbage truck and Ryan LOVED it!! He is so into garbage trucks right now. He has a huge Tonka one and he watches outside if he hears the Garbage truck..He also informs me every time he sees one as we are driving around town. LOL Well...we had to purchase the book too!


Last week, Miss Sam read alot of books about Sharing! Ryan loved the books. I was preoccupied in my own head and with a very distracting toddler running everywhere (NOOO not my Toddler)...so I don't know details about the stories. LOL Ryan had fun playing with the trains afterward too. He colored some pictures of Curious George and we left..next week promises the start of Easter Crafts. yay!!! LOL


This past weekend, I took the kids to Chuck E Cheese (it was for a Birthday party)..this was the FIRST time that I had taken them to THIS Chuck E cheese..OF course we have been to the one in Houma. THIS one was so different: TONS Of kids..lines for everything. NOT a good experience for me. probably NEVER again on a weekend. LOL BUT the boys had fun riding in this jeep:




Noah is taking his SAT's this week at school. He also has a tournament coming up for TKD (sparring)...we are all excited about that. Nanny and Nana are coming here too to see him! He just got a stripe last night on his belt..He is a Senior Green Belt... so he will be testing for his BLUE belt in April! GO Noah Go Noah. LOL!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Today is Ryan's THIRD Birthday! My baby boy is 3 years old!!! I cannot believe how fast time goes by....My boys are growing up so fast...I feel kind of sad about it :(
Ryan is 3!


Ryan is so big! He is a big 3 year old for sure! He weights 44 pounds and wears a size 11 shoe. I am not sure on his height..we didn't make it to his 3 yr apt yet. Ryan is a kind, loving boy. He is aggressive but not around girls. He loves to be outside, he loves sports, trucks, cars, and superheros! He loves snuggling with his blanket and watching cartoons. He loves ART projects and loves to use scissors. He mostly engages in imaginitive play and I never know what he is goiong to say next. He keeps our lives very active and interesting. His favorite color is green. He knows all of his colors and can count up to about 15. He sings the A-B-C song. He has never been left anywhere without me (daycares, schools, etc). He loves to ride on his scooter and always wears his helmet. He also watches football with Scott. LOL Ryan loves to help out with cooking and LOVES decorating Pastries. I am sad that he is getting older...for soon he will not look for me as often...but Ryan is my heart and I love him...Happy Birthday baby boy!

3 years ago my belly was so huge a week before Ryan was born!


Ryan was just born!!


This was the first time that Noah held Ryan!

Ryan's Baptism


Ryan's First Birthday!


Ryan's Second Birthday!


Ryan had his Birthday party over the weekend. It was a blast!! Nanna and Parran Eddie brought over a Jumper with a slide and the kids enjoyed it so much! Ryan enjoyed playing with his friends in the neighborhood. John Edwin, Noah, Samantha, Cole and Travis and of course Noah all played with him!!

The kids all had Power Ranger masks to wear and they actually wore them even when they were jumping...It was cute!

WE had some good food too...we had Cane's Chicken Tenders and Chips and Salsa from Guadalajara...YUMMMMY! The cakes was CHOCOLATE which was Ryan's FAVORITE!


The kids had fun playing a game too! They had to put the Power Ranger emblem on the Chest...funny! NOAH acutally won, but since he was told he was too old to actually win, he didn't get the prize. Ryan actually won but since it was his party...we chose the next winner to receive the 'gift'...and that was Samantha!! woohooo!!



Ryan had so much fun visiting with Nanna and parran. He misses them so much and I do too! :)


The party ended with Ryan ripping through his presents...and boy did he rip them up!! He was so excited to open his gifts that he was shaking!


There was so much wrapping paper and the kids had a blast playing in it.


Happy Birthday Ryan. WE hope that you had a blast for your party and that you you have a fun day today!