It's a boy

I live in a girl world here in this old house ... and while I'm over the moon about having a boy, I'm admittedly a bit freaked out too. I know nothing about boys. Nothing. I do know that boy dogs are awesome, so surely human boys follow suit. Am I right?

PS: It goes without saying that girl dogs are totally awesome too :-)

Dear God,

Was it really necessary to have me be pregnant at the same time as Gisele?

Like, really?

Thank you in advance for making her gain 175 pounds over the next 9 months (please).

Sincerely, Kelley

All I want for Christmas is ...

A brand new little baby ... and oh what luck ... that's exactly what I'll be getting !

Introducing the Littlest One :

(head up, tail down)

He or she will be arriving just after Christmas (give or take a few days). This littlest one has been a long time coming, and we couldn't be happier.

PS: You might have noticed that this baby has completely obliterated my blogging mojo. I'm not one of those ladies who is effortlessly and gracefully pregnant. I spend my days just trying not to puke on my loved ones or myself. I hope to be back once I'm feeling better. And I'm hoping that happens sooner rather than later!

Home sweet home

Our neighborhood home tour was held a month or so ago, and available at said home tour was this book :

A whole book bursting with photos that absolutely capture the flavor of this special place.

Even though it is a book about front porches ... and even though we don't have a front porch (I always call it our stoop) ... we actually made it into the book. How exciting!

Here we are :

Taking the slow road

We recently made a quick trip to San Antonio to visit the little one's Granny & Granddad. That is always a treat, because when we get there stuff like this is waiting for us. Sigh. And then Granddad makes us the most delicious paninis we've ever tasted. Wish I had a pic of those, but I inhaled both (yes, both) of mine before I thought about it!

Granny is always up for a game of tag.

And their kitty Babs lifts our spirits when we start missing our own fur balls.

On the straight, flat, and mind numbing drive home, we decided to make a detour. We hopped off of I-10 and took the old highway instead. It runs through all of the little old Texas towns that were passed by when I-10 was built. Little old Texas towns are great for lots of reasons, not the least of which is that you're virtually guaranteed that they'll have a Dairy Queen. Look what I found there :

Riding around past cow pastures and windmills with the sun streaming through my window, and eating a banana split. Well, that is one of the best times I've had in a long time.

Taking the old highway will lead you through towns with names like Flatonia and Schulenburg. Places that still have town squares that look like this :

You will also get to drive over pretty bridges like this :

And if your family is anything like ours, your own little one will take about 150 pictures of her toes.

Can't wait to do it all again.

Update :

Strange fruit still strange.

After looking at way too many varieties of figs, I think it might be from a weeping fig vine. Still not positive though.

The little one has taken to calling it the Freckle Fig, and I think that's just about the cutest name I've ever heard. Heretofore ... the strange fruit shall be called the Freckle Fig (at least in this old house).

Dear Mr. Tom Jones,

Remember that time in 1997 when you were performing at the MGM Grand in Vegas? And how I was in the audience? And how you sang that song "What's new pussycat"? And how every time after you sang the lyric, "Pussycat pussycat I love you", you would leer at the audience and stick out your tongue and make slurping sounds as if to imitate something that is not fit to be discussed on my sweet and innocent little blog? That totally grossed me out.

Sincerely, Kelley

PS: Also - when that woman came up to the stage to give you her panties - and then asked if she could kiss you - and you said sure - and then you like kissed her. For a really long time. Yeah, I didn't like that either.

photo via blogs.knoxnews.com

You might be a redneck if ...

Your beer cooler doubles as your swimming pool.

I really should have added this to the "Things that made me cry" post

The little One and I were taking a quick spin around the block, trying to enjoy the last few days of below 90 temperatures. On the block behind us lives a dog named Tanner. This is him :

He is the sweetest, cutest, and nicest pup you could ever meet. We always stop and give him some love through his fence, and today was no different. We scratched behind one ear for a while, then he stood up and turned around so we could get his other ear ... or so I thought ... it took me a good 3 seconds to realize that he had turned around to get into position to pee on me.

He peed on me ... in my shoe (thankfully, or not, can't decide)

Anyhoo. I squished all the way home. If you ever meet Tanner, run when he turns to the left. Trust me.

PS: This reminded me of the best story ever told about getting peed on by a dog. Click here and enjoy.

Anniversary rings

Happy Anniversary Husband !

May 5, 2002

My most favorite day ever. For true :-)

A giveaway to brighten your day

photo courtesy of The Bunny Bungalow

Today is the first birthday of the Bunny Bungalow! To celebrate, Annie is giving away two sets of these sweet little porcelain bunny stirrers. Head on over to her site and leave a comment to enter, and stick around a while. Annie is a constant source of inspiration for me, and I bet she'll do the same for you.

Before and after part 1

We have spent the better part of 2 years rehabilitating our property. What started out as a muddy mess is growing into our own little urban garden oasis.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Minivan Confessions

Soooooo. I was listening to XM the other day. I usually have it set to Jazz, The Standards, The 40's, or Classical. Yes, I am a wild and crazy minivan driver. Anyhoo, somehow the dial ended up on Top 20 at 20 ... and a song began to play. It was just acoustic guitar (which I adore) and then a voice started singing. Oh, well now, who was this? Kinda sorta maybe sounds like a young Brandi Carlile (love her). So, I checked out the audio screen to see who the artist was.

And then I died.

Miley Cyrus. Oh dear. Is my minivan going to my head?

House Envy

I have always loved this house. It's situated on one of the small but grand boulevards in my area of town. Last week, just by chance, I happened upon the listing for the last time it was sold. So beautiful!