Day 1: GIVE a clothing donation to a family in need

Yay! First day of 'giving'! Today I got to go get my baby fix with sweet baby Reid! One of my great friends from college had a baby two weeks ago that I've been itching to meet. My crazy friend and her husband decided NOT to find out what they were having and waited til his big arrival to find out the gender. Needless to say, at the baby shower that kid received alot of gender neutral clothing (aka yellow and green). Once I found out she had a boy, I pulled my remaining baby clothes from the attic. (Since my new nephew was born in the summertime, alot of my hand-me-downs were for a different season.) I showed up today with a big box of little boy clothes, because he was in some serious need of some blue! :)

And to top off my afternoon, I got to hold him and snuggle for a while. Definitely miss the baby snuggles, but not enough to have another one of my own. Ha, that ship has sailed.

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Finally getting around to posting about our Fall activities. A fall festival, fun at the State Fair, trip to the pumpkin patch, carving/painting pumpkins, and ending with trick-or-treating. It has been a busy month in the Hougham House!

I'll just post the highlights, because I've got a party to plan and 30 days of giving to get to! :)

Chase finally got to venture to the fair with us this year. We determined he was finally old/big enough to not be too much to handle. And Austin loves riding all the rides. We hit up the typical attractions: barnyard petting area, Little Hands on the Farm, corn dogs, cotton candy, ice cream, and lots of rides. They were both pretty well behaved, and since we went on a Thursday it wasn't all too crowded.

The next weekend, we hit up the pumpkin patch with the fam for a full day of fun. Lunch first, then a train ride, then the pumpkin patch, complete with bounce houses. Needless to say, we were beat when we finally made it home that night.

We waiting until the weekend before Halloween to carve and paint our pumpkins. I swear, Austin bugged me every night about wanting to do the pumpkins! Basically, the kids painted their little pumpkins, while Jordan and Logan took care of carving the big ones out.

Last year, we did a Toy Story theme for Halloween get-ups, which was pretty fun. This year, Austin insisted on being a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. And I refused to be a damn ninja turtle. And Chase wanted to be Mike (aka the eyeball monster from Monsters, Inc.). This all resulted in no family theme this year. We trick-or-treated around the neighborhood for a bit grabbing up the goods, and then came back home so that Austin could pass out candy. He got so excited every time someone would come to the door. For a few girls, he gave them more candy. When I asked why, he simply said 'because they were special.' Looks like trouble to me!

Can't believe the end of October is here and we're quickly approaching the holiday/birthday chaos that the next 2 1/2 months old!

November: 30 Days of Giving!

Seriously, it's October 30th. Where has the year gone? November is tomorrow, yikes! This year I've decided to celebrate the month of November with 30 days of giving. A friend (and fellow blogger) of mine came up with the idea and we brainstormed on all the ways we could 'give'. (I won't comment on some of Jordan's suggestions!) Some are monetary, some are time, some are just giving encouragement. Looks like it could be fun.........and difficult to keep up with posting everyday. Because let's be honest, my posts are seriously lacking lately. But I'll do my best! And I don't plan on doing this all myself; I plan on roping in the boys and the hubby wherever I can.

 

 

In no certain order, here is my 'to give' list for the month........

1. GIVE a 100% tip
2. GIVE to a child in need for Christmas
3. GIVE the driver behind you in a drive-thru a free meal 
4. GIVE a back massage (better be the hubby!)
5. GIVE a clothing donation to a family in need 
6. GIVE a monetary donation to a charity
7. GIVE free house/dog sitting to a friend
8. GIVE Jordan the choice of a date
9. GIVE cookies or treats to a neighbor   
10. GIVE to a local food drive
11. GIVE treats to a service provider  
12. GIVE thanks/encouragement to a co-worker
13. GIVE a handmade gift to a loved one 
14. GIVE teachers a gift of appreciation
15. GIVE Brady a walk around the neighborhood 
16. GIVE a phone call to a loved one
17. GIVE a home-cooked meal to a family     
18. GIVE a thank you card
19. GIVE encouragement to your spouse
20. GIVE a great party
21. GIVE breakfast to co-workers
22. GIVE a cooking lesson to the boys
23. GIVE thanks for everything we've been given
24. GIVE encouragement to children
25. GIVE a treat to first responders 
26. GIVE toys to children in need
27. GIVE Austin the choice of a family date 
28. GIVE thanks to grandparents  
29. GIVE a note of encouragement to somebody in need
30. GIVE the house some holiday cheer

Sea World......Round 2!

Whew! It has really been over a month since I last blogged. The Houghams have been super-busy lately! I’m officially in full planning mode for Austin’s 5^th birthday party in three weeks. We’re doing a superhero theme, and you know I go big or go home! Needless to say, lots of things to do on my list!

 

Anyways, onto the point of this whole post. J At the end of August, we planned a big trip to San Antonio for the sole purpose of going to Sea World. Well, as you can tell, that didn’t quite go as planned. Then my Mommy-guilt got the best of me, and I knew we needed to plan a make-up trip to actually deliver on my promise of dolphins, penguins, and whales!

These kids roll in style!

We took a few days off of work, loaded down the Tahoe again, and made the 5-hour trek back to San Antonio. We didn’t splurge on the big resort again, since I was pretty sure the weather was going to be too cool to utilize the vast amenities of the place, so we stuck with a basic hotel this go around.  We arrived early Thursday afternoon and got settled in. We utilized the indoor pool at the hotel for a bit and then had some dinner. Later that evening, we had another family join us (the same couple that went with us on our cruise this summer brought their kids to San Antonio the same time). The kids enjoyed themselves running up and down the halls like crazy before we wrangled them into our room to try to get a good night’s sleep. But I swear, my boys are night owls and it was after 11:30pm before they got some shut eye! Good thing Sea World didn’t open til noon on Friday so we were able to sleep in a bit.

Little rascals!

 

How sweet is that?!

We got our cooler and bag all packed and headed out! We made an excellent choice by coming on Friday, as it wasn’t crowded at all. We were able to enjoy the Shamu show, a Pets show (who knew you could train cats, pigs, birds, and even a mouse!), sharks, penguins, dolphins, etc. We pretty much hit all the major attractions on the first day. Not to mention that we cooled off in the splash park at the Bay of Play and played on all the nets, slides, and tunnels. Chase was a bit of a weenie, but Austin rode a lot of the kid rides. Since it’s close to Halloween, the park was decorated in fall décor and even had some characters dressed up where the kids could trick-or-treat for some goodies.

The best we could do with a family pic

 

Shamu!

 

Austin was super-excited to see all the characters and trick-or-treat

My sweet boy!

Exhaustion was finally upon us and we decided to call it a day and head back. The kids were asleep within a minute, while clutching their souvenirs in their hands. It was so damn cute!

We headed back again the second day, but since it was a Saturday, it was super crowded! So glad we were able to take in the more popular attractions the day before, with only a few extra things to cross off our list. We took in the sea lion show, dolphin/acrobat show, and rode some more rides. We called it a day earlier and decided to hit up the indoor pool at our hotel. Then we ordered in pizza and had a ‘picnic’ in the lounge area down by the hotel bar. Yep, 4 adults, 4 kids, 2 large pizzas, alcohol, 3 iPads, and 2 DVD players made for some relaxing time on our last night.

We had a great time at Sea World and enjoyed having another family to hang out with. And I’m pretty sure that Chase may have a crush on Ella. J Luckily, we waited so late in the 2013 season to buy our fun cards for Sea World that we ended up buying the 2014 passes with the Fall 2013 free. That means our passes are good through the end of 2014, so we’re sure to go back again!

 

The boys had a blast and I was glad that I was finally able to deliver on my promise of a trip to Sea World. As the boys are getting older, these family trips and memories get even better!

The Houghams have a busy couple months ahead with lots of blogging in store. We ventured to the State Fair yesterday, a trip to the pumpkin patch this weekend, Halloween at the end of the month, Austin’s birthday in a few weeks, then Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Chase’s birthday right after the New Year. When will I ever sleep?!

Welcome to the World, Connor!

I'm a little late on announcing the arrival of my new little nephew, but hey, I've been busy. :)

We had been awaiting the arrival of this sweet little boy for what seemed to be forever. But Kat & Lo just celebrated their one year anniversary at the beginning of July and we were anxiously waiting for Connor to arrive later in the month. Kat and I aren't only sisters; we're best friends. Just ask Jordan and Logan; we're attached at the hip and pretty close. (That wasn't always the case when we were younger, but we grew up!) Kat even lived with me and Jordan while she was in college for about 3 years, so she was here through the births of both Austin and Chase. She was practically a second mom to them sometimes, so I was definitely looking forward to having the same relationship with her little one.(We used to joke when we would go out with Austin about his two mommies.)  And since I had two boys, I saved all of their baby clothes and all that fun stuff to pass on to my sister. Let's just say, she got lucky with all of my hand-me-downs that are going to save her $$$!

Kat went a full week past her due date before she finally got scheduled to have an induction. This induction date just happened to be the day before mine and Jordan's 10 yr anniversary and we were staying the night at the Gaylord for a night away. Talk about being double-booked! However, after a long day of laboring, Connor William arrived via c-section a little before midnight on 7/25, weighing 8lbs. 10oz. and 20 1/2 in. long and as perfect as can be. He was nearly born on my 10 yr anniversary!! I think he looks a lot like Chase did when he was a baby. :)

How cute is he?!

 

Anyways, Connor is doing great and I get to babysit him for the first time next weekend!

 

San Antonio Staycation

I don't even know where to begin. We had been looking forward to our trip to San Antonio for a couple months now, hyping the kids up to go to Sea World to see dolphins, penguins, sharks, etc. All packed and ready to go in the new Tahoe! The drive down was actually pretty good, making it in a little under 5 hours. The boys did great, entertaining themselves with movies, snacks, etc.We arrived at the Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch around 3pm on Sunday and got all checked in. I stopped by the concierge desk, bought our tickets for Sea World  and booked us a slot on the hotel shuttle there first thing in the morning. All set!

After getting settled into our room, we headed down to the lazy river at the resort. It was complete with a sandy beach that the boys LOVED!

 

 

 

 

And they had a pool bar where Mommy & Daddy could get a cool 'beverage' as well. After having some fun in the sun, we ordered dinner from the hotel restaurant and then ventured down to the fire pits to make s'mores! It was so relaxing and fun!

 

On the way back to our room from s'mores, the concierge came running out frantically, telling us that they just found out that Sea World changed their schedule and is CLOSED this week. W.T.F.?!?! I thought this was a joke. We ran back to the room and I grabbed my iPad to look it up. Depending on where you click on their website, it says they're open this week, and some say closed. This can't be happening! I have promised two little boys a trip to Sea World! I checked their website a hundred times in the past two months booking this trip, ensuring that they were open. This was the last full week they were to be open, before resulting to weekends-only. I had no idea what we were going to tell the boys.

Woke up early the next morning, went down to the concierge desk and confirmed yes, they were indeed closed until Friday. Ahhhhhhh! The whole point of this trip was to go to friggin' Sea World! I didn't know who to be mad at, the hotel, Sea World, myself?! Needless to say, I was feeling the mother's guilt of promising my boys something spectacular only to let them down. I guess it sorta didn't make me feel as bad since the hotel still thought they were open (selling tickets and booking people on the shuttle), as did other hotel guests. This was quickly turning into an expensive staycation......5 hours away from home. At this point, there was nothing we could do. We were already in San Antonio and just had to make the best of our trip.  After getting ahold of somebody in the Sea World HR department, I gave the lady a piece of my mind. I directed her to where on their website it STILL said they were open and she quickly refunded my $200 in tickets. The money wasn't the point, we wanted to see Shamu, dammit!

 

 

 

Luckily, we planned to stay at a resort with lots of activities, not just a run-of-the-mill hotel. We ventured down to the Riverwalk area and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. Austin loved it, while Chase wasn't too sure about the animals coming to life every fifteen minutes. They got to paint at the kids camp at the resort and got glitter tattoos.

 Most of the time, we just relaxed out on the beach and played around in the lazy river. It definitely wasn't what we expected from our trip, but we had to make the best of it. Jordan and I loved spending so much time with the boys and created some great memories. The boys loved building sandcastles and Austin even made some friends down in the water. One night, we even got to watch a movie outside under the stars on big screen. And we grilled out on one of the grills one evening for dinner. Austin kept saying that he loved camping. :)

 

 

The guilt ate me up and now we're planning another trip back down to San Antonio in about a month to spend a long weekend at Sea World. I hate to give them by business after they basically just screwed me over, but I have to give the boys what I promised! They asked a few times if we were going to Sea World, and I just told them they were closed and we would have to take another vacation really soon to come back. That (surprisingly) ended their inquisition and that was that.

 

 

On the way back home yesterday, we stopped off in New Braunfels and visited two of our favorite spots........ate lunch at the Gristmill and stopped in to Gruene Hall. Jordan and I have been here many times and it was great to bring the boys by (although, I don't think either one of them appreciated their greatness!).

 

 

Jordan said our trip reminded him of National Lampoon's Family Vacation, where Chevy Chase's family drives all the way to Wally World, only to arrive at an empty amusement park. Don't think that the thought of breaking into Sea World didn't cross our minds! :)

Summer Lovin'

Hey there! I've been kinda MIA lately. Work has been pretty busy and the boys keep me on my toes when I'm at home. I'm wayyyyy behind on blogging......

• Austin wrapped up his second season in t-ball
• Our family welcomed my new nephew Connor into the world 3 weeks ago
• We've been hanging out at the pool alot, getting the boys more comfortable with the water
• We have a family vacation in San Antonio next week, heading to Sea World for some fun!

Since I'm on PTO all next week, I'm hoping to get a chance to catch up on some blogging, so stay tuned!

 

In the meantime, this is what the boys have been up to!