Meet Bryer...and the Chief's Family!

This weekend the Chief and I went to Amarillo to meet the newest member of our family, Bryer Hoyt! He was born on Friday evening, July 9 at 7:33 pm weighing 8 lbs 2 oz. He's the youngest of 3 brothers, and I think his new nickname should be bruiser. He's going to be tough and jumping into pillow fights as soon as he gets home will soon be the fun he learns!

Bryer Hoyt Parker

Perfection!

The meeting of the little brother!

There's the mom and dad, Kendra and Michael. They produce great looking kiddos! Congratulations Kendra and Michael...you've given our family such joy with these 3 great kiddos! I can't wait to see these brothers grow.

Meet the Big Brothers! Brady and Brock are the big brothers of this household and absolutely adore the little man on the scene. It was precious to see. They couldn't wait to get back to the hospital to be with Bryer....or their mom. What a neat relationship moms have with their sons.

Meet Brady. Biggest Brother. What a sweetie pie. Brady is a rule follower, a fabulous soccer player and the best big brother out there. He loves little Bryer and wants to hold him and be with him all the time.

Brock, Brocksty, Brock-lee, middle brother...
Brock is hilarious! He mooned the parking lot from the hospital the other night. He's a riot. Always looking for some fun and so sweet all the time in between. He's the helper around the house. Yesterday he said we needed to take his mom and dad their pillows so they could sleep better in the hospital. Heart of gold!

Meet Eddie or Pops, my father-in-law. He is as sweet as he looks in this picture. Every morning he offers a cup of coffee as soon as your feet hit the floor. He's a giver and a doer. He loves his family and especially his grandkids. He can't wait for little Julia to get here. He's already started the "my girls" routine talking about me and the princess. It's so sad she won't be loved!

Here's the momma hen, Grammie. Grammie is as good as the get. She's not pushy, she's not in your business, she just loves. She cares for and loves every little chick in this family. She always takes her turn last and just soaks up all the family time she can. All the grandsons think Pops is the greatest thing since sliced bread. She's holding out the Jules will snuggle and cuddle and sit on her lap. We're giving her some one-on-one time in the fall after Julia arrives. We hope this gives her a little headstart!

Here's my brother-in-law, Rich, Richie, Richard or Roodle. He's Clint's little brother and is the baby of the family. He's in college at the University of New Mexico and we're so proud of him! He studies hard and finds time to keep his body all toned up. Very impressive. He doesn't have the aggressive personality of Clint AT ALL. He's very relaxed, very chill, very kind hearted and takes his time DOING EVERYTHING. It drives Mr. Antsy Pants Crazy!

The little man! What is more sweet than a newborn? Bryer has a little puppy squeal that is so cute.

The Chief was attempting to watch the World Cup. His glasses were in the car. Apparently the Stevie Wonder look works well.

Yikes, so small!

They say I'm up next...hope I'm ready!

I hope your weekend was as heart filling as ours. Have a great week!

Bedding Fit for a Princess

The bedding is complete! I am in love. More in love than I thought. It turned out exactly as crisp and happy has I had hoped.

Please forgive. I haven't washed the sheet yet. I thought you could look past its wrinkles and see the bedding for all its glory.

Who did the bedding? Miracle worker, Lesley. She's a superstar. She's so talented, so sweet and so wonderful to work with. She will do exactly what you ask or when you get down to the end and you say "Les, here is the leftover fabric, make me something wonderful." She will. And you'll love it more than you thought. Like the Imperial Trellis pillow. I. LOVE. IT. Happy to share her. Let me know if you need a wonderful seamstress in Dallas.

I wanted the skirt to kiss the floor. I had originally gone with a different crib. I had Lesley make the skirt based on those measurements. Then I changed my mind on the crib. Yes, my husband has gritted his teeth at me on several occasions. So then the skirt was too short. Again, the chief saw no problem, but I insisted it needed to be fixed. He now agrees it's better. So above said miracle worker fixed me up. She added the stripe and velcroed it to the bottom. I actually love it more now than I did before! And, now the stripe can just be removed when it's time to lower the mattress. Genius!

Buenos Noches pillow is from Dallas Flea. Contact me for ordering information. The lady has several Spanish phrases.

**Zero natural light. All pictures with a flash. A little "tart", but it's close to the real deal.

What do you think? Did I spend more time agonizing over this bedding and nursery than most? I really wish I didn't care so much and bought a bed in a bag and said done. Really, this would be a lot easier on everyone. But now that it's complete and my hours of laying awake at night have paid off, I'm thrilled. No need to tell me how crazy I am. I know.

We're off to meet our newest nephew tomorrow! Pretty excited to see what Bryer Hoyt Parker is all about.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

The Black Velvet Dress

Have you heard the story of the BLACK VELVET DRESS? Hmmm, it's a good one. A bit long, so hang with me.

In the summer of 2003 I interned at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. The internship was in their Community Relations Department, and I loved it. I loved every second of it, actually. I had really hoped to get a job there after college. Didn't pan out, which all worked out for the best, but that's a whole other story.

That summer I worked on their fall fundraiser and auction: Treasure Street. It was such
an elaborate and lavish soiree. It took place on the hospital's lawn and was a magical affair. There were clear, bubble lights placed high-up in the trees. There was fantastic food served butler style with pretty cocktails to sip. The auction items were placed throughout the lawn for viewing pleasure. Everything from cars, to big, beautiful beds outfitted in elegant, silk linens. The music was playing in the background and it was a night that was like a fairytale of fun for adults.

Since I had interned there during the summer working hard on the logistics of this event, Clint and I were invited to attend as guests. Wow, this was my very first taste of the Dallas high-life. {Not sure I've tasted it since, but it sure was nice that night!}

I came home from college to take Clint as my date. I believe it was the Thursday of OU/Texas weekend, so the timing was perfect. I was on the 4.5 year plan, so Bevo Date Party had ceased. We dressed in our finest and rolled to the party like we had business being there.

I had my eye on a picture from the day it was brought in as an auction item. It's a photograph of a Tuscan Villa. The ears of corn are hanging to dry. I simply love it. It's moved from my living room to now in my kitchen, but I think it will always be in my home. It's happy.

Terrible picture using Clint's phone

Clint said I could place a bid, but if we were outbid then it wasn't meant to be. Little did I know he waited it out until the end to ensure he got that picture for me. It was my Christmas gift that year. It's a treasure.

In the meantime of all this silent auction biding, I took it upon my champagne-logged-self to bid on a little girl's black velvet dress. Not to worry, size 5. I didn't know a soul with a little girl. No little girls in my family at the time. I didn't babysit any little girls. I had zero purpose for this dress. Well, I won the auction. I was the new owner of a black velvet dress, size 5.

I had no idea at the time that Clint had just purchased my engagement ring and booked our New Year's Eve trip to New York. I was buying useless black velvet dresses. I was in college, I didn't have any money. Clint was 26 and had a smidge, but not enough to be buying little girl dresses.

So the night ends with a fabulous, framed photograph that I love and a black velvet dress. I'm sure Clint was sweating all the way home trying to figure out how in the world he was ever going to afford a ring, a trip and these unnecessary treasures.

The joke has been ongoing for years about this dress. I swore I'd give it to my first friend that had a girl. That was Kelsey and sorry, Paige....I just couldn't part with the dress. It hung in my closet for years and now resides in storage with a lot of our belongings. I don't have the actual picture of it, but it resembles this.



I called Clint in the middle of the day a couple of weeks ago and screamed, "We have a use for the black velvet dress!!!!" He laughed and decided maybe Julia can wear it for Christmas 2015. Thank goodness it's a classic piece of clothing, which now probably has moth holes. Come hell or high water she's wearing that dress.

Do you have a black velvet dress? Maybe not something for the hopes of a child, but maybe a wedding? Jules just got a onesie with Bono's face on it from U2. Aunt Meredith said she might have to order the same and it would be her black velvet dress. I like it!

Sadly, this isn't the only thing I have bought for a little girl. I also purchased a beautiful lace hankerchief in Burano, Italy outside of Venice. Does this make me a psycho? Probably, but we can always dream.

July 4th - Old School Food

This 4th of July we didn't see any fireworks, and we spent a small amount of time with other human beings. For the most part, the chief and I worked on the princess's room. We ate out a lot and didn't do the traditional barbecue gatherings. We had priorities, deadlines and to-do lists to see about.

Monday, however, we got an invitation for some family, holiday fun. Sadly, the chief couldn't make it due to illness. It was sad and he was missed, but I hit the pool and ate some fabulous brisket, sausage, ribs, potato casserole and taco salad on his behalf. I couldn't get enough. Home cooked food is very hard to come by at our house these days.

I decided to take this cake over to my mom and Doug's. Do you make this during the summer?

I think Cool Whip did an ad campaign on it one year. It seems like it was back in the early 90's and since then it has become a family staple during the summer.

With strawberries looking like this who could resist?



I tweak it a bit and use a white cake mix from the box and then add the Cool Whip, blueberries and strawberries. It really couldn't be any easier. I am pretty sure the berries should be placed in a flag pattern hence the name Flag Cake, but that is way too intense for me. Plus, I need a taste of both strawberries and blueberries all in one bite!
I shared my part and brought the rest home where we could have dessert for the week! I'm pregnant AND tricky like that.

So refreshing and tasty!

What are your summer holiday staples?

Teaser!

Happy July 5th! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend.
This household has battled a little bit of illness and a lot of rain. In the meantime, we did manage some major errand running and made lots of progress on the little one's room. Take a sneak peek...we're almost there!!

There's the infamous green lamp. I think my mom bought that at Sanger Harris a million years ago. It was in my room as a tot and has since moved to college, Jona Kay (my brother and sister-in-law's home in Norman), sat in storage and finally made its way back to life. That lamp just makes me happy. I can't explain it.

Off to bake a cake for some family fun this afternoon. Hopefully today brings you all sunshine and one more day of relaxation.

My apologies for the phone picture. I promise to do much better when it's all finished up!

Happy Holiday!

We hope you get a wild hair to have some fun this weekend!


Happy 4th!

The Joys of Pregnancy

No lie, I don't LOVE this whole pregnancy deal. I find it special and there are certainly times I enjoy it and smile thinking about how amazing the process really is. However, in general, this is not the 10-month period of time I have lived for my entire life.

And truthfully, I shouldn't even admit to that. I was so blessed to get pregnant very quickly without even having to think about it. No hiccups, no trouble whatsoever. I have friends and relatives that have had a few more bumps in the road. All of this to say, I'm very thankful for the easy process and that Julia seems so healthy to this point. I am, however, about ready to wrap-up and meet the superstar. I'm tired of sharing this body of mine.

So this week I rolled into Dr. Speight's for my 28 week appointment. This was my first appointment of the third trimester. Big stuff happens this week. I signed my life away on a blood transfusion if it's necessary, a C-Section if that's what my doctor sees fit and Cord Blood Preservation to be taken care of by my doctor. You know, just the REAL stuff of this pregnancy. It dawned on me that this whole thing is going to come to an end. She's gettin out one way or another. It could be as easily as I got pregnant or it could be a very hard way and complicated. I'm hoping for the first of the two scenarios, but I am in good hands at a good hospital, so I'm not spending too much time dwelling.

In addition to the paperwork I signed, I also had blood drawn to ensure I'm still HIV negative (from the first trimester). My fingers are crossed. I have been seeing other men during this time and having crazy, wild, unprotected, mistress sex. I kid. I find it ridiculous you have to be tested again, but as of January 1 it's all a new law. I about passed out when 5 vials of blood were drawn from my arm. I made it. My only concern at this point are my Glucose results. Just hoping those come back normal and for the time being we're good as gold.

The last episode of this appointment was a RhoGam shot. Anyone had that? I am a negative blood type so I think that means I am a negative Rh factor as well. Anyhow, they had to give me this injection to ensure the baby's blood and my blood will be able to intermix during delivery. My Aunt Cindy is a fabulous Labor and Delivery nurse and gave me all the ins and outs, but I'm unsure of the exact terminology. I had the paper prescription and had to have it filled before returning to have the injection placed in my rear. The Chief and I jumped through several hoops to get this Rx filled. We'll start with the fact it's $160 and insurance won't cover a necessary item. Ridiculous. The next hoop was that it is hard to find. Finally, we had the prescription and I'm all set for my appointment. The chief took some time out of his day to pick-up the injection on his way back from a meeting on the north side of town. This was all falling into place beautifully, and I was just about ready for the appointment.






This is where it all went to hell. It came in a bag looking like this.



The inside said this.


Clint didn't look at the inside of the box. I don't blame him, I wouldn't have either.
If you don't follow those instructions the injection is no longer good.
{And yes, they do have my name spelled incorrectly.)


This guy has had a bad cold this week and the weather was pouring rain. To get to the pharmacy 45 minutes from my place of employment just wasn't going to happen.

Most days this probably would have upset me and irritated me, but being pregnant it sent me through the roof. Why in the hell didn't the pharmacy tech tell my husband that this injection needed to be refrigerated? The man had on a suit and tie, did he look like someone that typically handles injections? At noon on a Monday did he look like he was headed home to catch his favorite soap opera? No, quite the opposite. He was headed back to his office where this shot would sit un-refrigerated for the next 18 hours.

After all of this madness the problem was resolved and the injection still made it's way into my rear. All is well and for week 28 we're set.

I hope the rest of you have been smooth sailin this week. I'm about ready to kick-off the holiday weekend...with whatever plans it might hold! I'm guessing some faux beer and maybe a poolside float or two.