Ten Things to Smile About: February

February 29 - Leap Day!  Are you doing anything fun to celebrate with your family???  We are going to have brinner for dinner (breakfast for dinner) and make a Leap Year Time Capsule! (check out what that is here)  I'm so excited - remember?  I like to make a big deal out of everything ....drives my family bananas. 

And because it is the last day of the month, I like to join Emmy Mom's recap of "Ten Things to Smile About this Month."  Here we go:

The one thing that has made me smile all month long is becoming a "Quirky Momma!!" Quirky Momma is a Kids Activity Blog that recently added new writers and I was picked to be one of them.  I post every Monday at 4 pm CST - my first one was about planning a Spring Break Staycation.  Check out this amazing blog!  I write alongside some amazing moms who come up with the most creative ideas of fun activities to do with your kiddos!

 This guy had his first Valentine's Day party!!  These are the treats we took in for his classmates.  Thank you Pinterest.

 I also was able to go tot Sissy's & Brody's classroom Valentine's Day Parties.  This is Brody's desk at school - no hearts, kisses, or LOVE for this boy!! Check out his Valentine's Day box that we made last year out of cammo duct tape - we are hoping it makes it another 2 years! :))

 I came out of a ONE hour PTA meeting and was greeted with 30 text messages - all from my Cali girls - seems a group text conversation can go on with out me (huh?).  Try catching up with 30 texts- it's hard! I don't want to hear any of you make a crack about my App Store updates...I'm lazy.....

 I am blessed to live in a city that has so much to do!!  I smiled all day long on President's Day as we toured Austin.  Starting with the Cathedral of Junk.  Read all about our visit over on R We There Yet Mom.

 Another thing we did on our tour of Keeping Austin Weird was to take pics in front of all these great murals peppered all over Austin.  Anyone who is a fan of my blog knows this is my favorite!!  But what makes me smile at this pic?  Brody.  I took over 25 of the same pic and he is doing the same thing in every single one of them.

 But then he perks up and smiles at our favorite pizza joint.  Anyone will smile at our favorite pizza place in Austin, HomeSlice!

 Last week, Bubba and I had a mom & me excursion to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.  He ran all the paths, we sat on every bench there was and had a wonderful time.  And I was able to capture this sweet moment....

 This past weekend, I had the privilege of making homemade Petit Fours for my cousin's wedding shower with my 85 year old grandmother.  She made them for my mother's wedding shower umpteen years ago.  They were hard!!  We both agreed this would be the first (mine) and last (both) time we would make them homemade!  But what a wonderful memory I have now!!

And on Sunday, the entire McBeth Clan featuring 4 generations all got together for brunch.  Sweet memories!

Friday Daydreamin': I LOVE Texas

One last week to share a photo of a place we love on Friday Daydreamin'.  Make sure you link up over at R We There Yet Mom.

This one needs no introduction.

I love the rolling hills. I love the friendly faces.  I love the can-do attitudes. I love the tex-mex.  I love the history.  I love the weather, most of the time.  I love all the lakes.  I love that everyone drives a pick-up.  I love the sound of the crickets at night.  I love the sunsets.  I love windmills.  I love longhorns.  I love blue bell ice cream.  I love cowboy hats and boots.  I love bbq.  I love the Dallas skyline.  I love shorts in winter.  I love "y'all". I love the pride.  I love Texas.

Capturing a Moment

I have said it before.... I am not a good photographer.  I get so messed up when it comes to settings - I never remember when to "bump my ISO up" or  "change my f-stop".  I've had lessons, I've read manuals, I've had tons of great photography advice from friends who are photographers, but it still reads like a foreign language to me.

I seriously take 100 pictures to get 2 great shots - I drive my family batty.

Maybe that's why I did Instagram so much......

Bubba goes to school with this amazing photographer's kids and I see her all the time at drop off - she has such a knack for taking a great shot...she makes every kiddo look like a million bucks.  Seriously - check out some of her work - it's jaw-dropping.

So when she announced a "capture a moment" photo contest, I was hesitant.  How on earth can I take a picture worthy to even show her....yikes!!!  But I really wanted to win....a mini day-in-the-life photo shoot with her.  We haven't had pictures taken since Bubba turned one.  We needed some gorgeous pics that only she could take.  I was in.  Photography classes at accredited online colleges should be able to teach you how to capture amazing photographs using the different features and settings of your camera.

So I followed Bubba around, but my ISO was too high and most of the 150+ pictures I took were grainy!!!!!! ARGH..

Here is a few from that day....

And maybe it's just me as the momma, but these pics make my heart go pitter-pat.  And that is exactly what Heather was trying to inspire us to do - take the pictures of the everyday moments that will last in our memories.  And these certainly will.

So I am in the contest....and now I really want to win......I mean really.......

So, I am asking you to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take 2 seconds and vote for Bubba & Sis - I submitted the picture of them hugging at the bus stop.  It's not the prettiest picture in the collection.  My sweet friend's picture of her kids playing patty-cake is amazing technically and pretty darn cute.... But again, my kiddos hugging pulls at my heart strings! And it is a moment that thanks to Heather, I will always have!

I'd appreciate your vote! Thanks friends!

Click here to vote.

Happy President's Day

President's Day was yesterday - and we had a BLAST!!  I'm gonna give you a sneak peek (Instagram style) of what we did - please don't get tired of my Instagram photos...I seem to be on a roll lately....

We had the day off, and I wanted to do some "research" - yes, research (I hear you snickering IA) - I am writing an article on keeping Austin Weird with kids.....

Do these places scream weird to you??  They did to us!!

The Cathedral of Junk.....

 Literally in a backyard in South Austin, this artist has been building his Cathedral since 1992.

 The City of Austin came in last year and almost made him remove it all - that would have been a shame.  These pics do do it justice - we explored for over an hour.  The kids LOVED it - it's 3 stories high and you can climb to the top (yes, it's very safe).

 Everywhere you turned, things caught your eye.  Like this very "Connie-esqe" Barbie in a hot tub.....

 It was stunning and I can't wait to go back.

 Next, we took pictures at my favorite Austin mural.....  we found more murals and took more pics, but those will be published later....

 Lunch at my fav pizza place on South Congress....

Then on to explore this AMAZING costume shop on Congress as well - I told the kids to find the "weirdest costume" they could....but quite honestly, the weirdest things were the shopkeepers - they were characters!!!  This is a WEIRD but fun store!!

We visited a few more stops on Congress, found a few more murals and had a cupcake out of my favorite airstream trailer before heading home......

Yep- I love these cupcakes.....hubby even brought home a dozen for the family for Valentine's Day last week:

 This was my Valentine's Day (thank you soccer practice) and it was perfect!

So I mentioned "research" up above - many of you know I write a family travel blog called R We There Yet Mom?  I have been presented with a few very fun opportunities to write for other sites and have been writing like crazy over the past few weeks....and I love it!!!


And I am THRILLED to tell you that I was selected to be a "Quirky Momma" over at Quirky Momma Kid's Activity Blog.  I post once a week, every Monday afternoon- please come on over and check it out - the site is filled with amazing moms who post all kinds of fun activities and ideas for every age.  Not just toddlers, not just school activities - EVERYTHING - it is an awesome blog.  And I am thrilled to be a part of it!!

Thanks for putting up with my blatant self-promotion and Instagram photos - it's not what I am all about - but it's what I have time for today!!

If you didn't find me from TTUT, go check out my girls - they love to hear what you have going on and I'm willing to be you won't find anymore Instagram photos shoved in your face!!

Friday Daydreamin': LOVE time with my kiddos!!

It's FRIDAY and it's FEBRUARY.....so it's time to see what you LOVE over at R We There Yet Mom?.    Hop on over for Friday Daydreamin' and show us what you LOVE this week!

Again I ask myself- how do I show you what I love in one photo??  I LOVE so many things!!

One thing I really LOVE is exploring new places with my kiddos - it is the one reason I started R We There Yet Mom??  We love to do fun things together - museums, historical sites, fun eateries, geo-caching- we all have a blast.  And quite honestly, I am going to do as much as I can for as long as I can while I still can with them - until they are way to cool to hang with mom.....

The City Museum in St. Louis, MO is one of the coolest places we have been together!  You can spend hours at this amazing children's museum climbing, crawling, sliding, and exploring.  Try to keep up with your kiddos and you will come home with skinned knees and bruises (I'm not as small as my 8 year old??? huh?).  We laughed and giggled all day together. And those are the days that I LOVE.

Link up what you LOVE - we are dying to see it!!

Have a super weekend!!!

What do i LOVE????

Love....exciting and new....come aboard...we're expecting you.....

cheesiest song ever.

and it's a tv theme song to boot.

why is that the LOVE song that is in my head today?  valentine's day?

i don't know.

being that today is February 14 (valentine's day and my aunt & uncle anniversary - hi aunt bev!!) i wanted to reflect on a few things i LOVE.  cause you all are dying to know.  ah, it will be fun to look back on a few years from now.

besides the obvious, my God, my hubby, my sweet kiddos, here are a few things that make my heart go pitter-pat.  including the over-used app on my phone, instagram....someone tell me to stop already....

 hubby found a heart-shaped chip on sunday and presented it to me as a valentine.  ah, ain't that sweet?

 this guy.  nuff said.  oh and the daddy behind him.  i love him too.

 and this guy.  rare to get a smile on camera with him but since he just won a trophy, it kinda snuck out.

 and this girl - my one & only salesgirl extraordinaire.

 green monster smoothies - it has lots & lots of spinach folic acid in it and you can't taste it - i promise!

appreciation notes that my brody writes.  he just says it like it is "sometimes you are funny."

PINTEREST.  need I say more???  where else would i get the idea to make cinnamon rolls in the waffle iron (shout out to connie for suggesting it too!)

 this schedule board that my family looks forward to writing up each week.  no more 'what do we have going on tonight?' thanks pinterest.

 ahhhhhhh.
sorry - distracted by this adorable sick kiddo.  why are they always so scrumptious when they are sick?

 my new running shoes.  these babies make me feel like I am running on clouds.  seriously.  never underestimate the power of mew running shoes when you are training for another half.  they actually make me LOVE running. crazy, i know.

a huge stack of books that Sis and I read this past weekend.  they are all "Bluebonnet Award" books and she has a fun quiz coming up on all the books in March.  as an adult, these books were fantastic and Sis & I had great conversations over some of them.

sunny days are here in Texas.  how i love playing outside in the afternoon.

I hope you day is filled with all things that make your heart go pitter-pat.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Go check out even more fun Valentine's Day posts at this fun Tuesday link up:

p.s. what else do i love?  when you all visit my family travel blog and leave me some love there too.  today is all about ice cream!!!

Ten on Ten ~ February 2012

Friday, February 10 - I documented my day using one of my favorite apps ~ Instagram!

What have I realized?  I had a pretty boring Friday.  I don't blame you if you leave the page now....

 7 am ~ Making lunches

 8 am ~ Friday Daydreamin'

(I have a full Inbox too...)

 9 am ~ Potty Training at it's best

(for the record - not a very successful day...)

 10 am ~ Play Time

 my boy can mess a room up in no time flat

 11 am ~ A little PTA work 

changing the sign was NOT in my job description....

 1 pm ~ Story time with Bubba

(I love this time)

 3 pm ~ At the bus stop

 4 pm ~ Playing with Instagram

Sissy took this one of me

 5 pm ~ wakey-wakey Bubba boy

 6 pm ~ Friday night pizza

7 pm ~ ending the day with a little family dancin'

OK - boring?  maybe

But this day was filled with giggles, cuddles, smiles, and happiness.  I'll take my boring Friday anytime.