Life in the Middle Age Lane

John is my better half.  Plain and simple.  He says that he married up and that always makes me smile. Because the truth of the matter is that John makes me want to work at being a better person.  Better daughter, mother, and wife.  He is truly the most humble, intelligent, selfless person I have met.  He has been a true father to our kids and as time goes by now a huge support system for his dad who has Parkinson's.  He has been cub master, do-dad (girl scout dad), chaperone for school trips, dances with his daughter, and so many other things that are too numerous to mention. I'm so proud of the father he is and more than anything for the role model the kids have.  Emilio and Shelby love him to pieces and have such a high regard for his "words of wisdom".  It's so beautiful to see a hands on dad.  (I won't go into it, but I grew up without a father, and never saw first hand the love of a dad.) 1995 John looked like he gave birth, he...

The Birthday Couple For many years now I have volunteered for various organizations and have had to throw tea parties, events, gatherings, etc.  And at every single one of them I have had someone come up to me and tell me that I need to do this professionally.  One of my neighbors offered me the opportunity to help throw her husband his 50th birthday celebration.   And I jumped at it!!  I was so worried that I would disappoint or not be good enough.  However, I think it went well.   Here are some pictures from the event The theme she decided on was a circus theme.  This came about when she asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he sarcastically stated clowns and balloons.  Little did he realize he just opened a whole can of confetti with that one!  One of the fun things for the birthday boy was a cigar girl who walked around with cigars, mints, matches, puncher and cutter for the guest.  She was a big hit w...

Every year (okay we did take a break when we moved ) we host our annual crawfish boil.  We treat our friends to shrimp, crawfish, beer, gumbo and entertainment.  When the kids were little Emilio would perform celtic irish music at the party. Our kids had a great time helping throw this huge party.  We would have about 50 to 75 people attend and enjoyed seeing all our friends together.  This is Shelby with her friend Hayley shucking corn. You can see how excited they were.  Pictures from last year's crawfish boil.  I made the mistake of telling everyone to bring dessert and we had so many desserts left that I made sure I didn't do that this year! This year's crawfish boil consisted of more neighbors who have become wonderful friends the past 4 years.  We also had a few old neighbor join us and it was a treat to see them again.  It's amazing to look around and see people from so many stages in your life.  From Middle school ...

I'm a little late in writing this but have been documenting my feelings about my first born graduating from College.  He accomplished something none of his parents were able to attain at his age.....a college degree.  All of us are so proud of him.  But most of all, the degree he earned does not begin to describe what a fine young man he is.  June  was the first month that no money was sent for rent or living expenses.  He is officially living on his own, managing his money and still calling us to see how life is in Houston.  I was doing great during the graduation ceremony and concert but I completely lost it when we were about to leave back to Houston.  I just couldn't stop my crying.  (I'm such an ugly crier!) And I didn't want to let him go.  My eyes are tearing up just thinking about it.  He was such a good sport about it and just held me and assured me that he would keep calling and visit when he could. Talk ab...

 This blog will be more pictures than words.  Here are pictures of Emilio performing at the senior commencement concert on April 20th, Friday night.  That same evening The Eagles were honored at the concert, they received their honorary doctrines.  The cool thing was that each Eagle member stood for over 2 hours and shook hands with each and every class of 2012 graduate.   Also, only 10% of the class of 2014 were able to perform at the concert and my son was part of the small percentage.   To say I am very proud of my son would be an understatement.  He was the one that struggled through school and just could not find his footing in High School until his Junior year.  His accomplishments were always celebrated  by all, grandma's, dads, cousins, friends and neighbors.  We could not have asked for a more fitting support group.  Don Henley, Joel Walsh, and Glen Fry.  I don't remember the name of the 4th Eagle....

Shelby gets a Race Car Or  What the Hell Were the Parents Thinking Our wonderful daughter who is almost finished with her first year at a new school will be home soon. We are so proud of her accomplishments and sticking it out the entire year away from home. So many challenges to overcome and yet she saw it through. We wanted to get her a car this year because of all the commuting she does from the suburbs to downtown plus other community service projects she is involved with.  Mind you we wanted her to buy her first car (just like her brother did) but with the little savings she has and all the extra curricular activities (Girl Scouts, NCL, Drama, etc.) she just doesn't have the time. AND WE DO NOT PAY FOR GRADES.  In the end, this car fell into our laps and it had Shelby written all over it.   Still in Shock! First things first, Top down! Dad is the first passenger My lovely daughter's first words were "I don't deserve thi...

It has been a busy two months for our household.  We had a fabulous visit to Boston for our son's senior recital at Berklee.  He did an amazing job with his music.  A snipet of his recital . After our return from Boston which had beautiful weather and the public gardens where in full bloom. We returned to Houston and then prepared for our next "relaxing" weekend in New Orleans. Our friends, the Martins flew us in their Bonanza to Jazz Fest. Very crowded but had a great time.  We saw Cee-Lo and heard a lot other music through the crowds.  Tom Petty was playing that afternoon but it was so crowded that all you could see was a wall of people.  I don't think we will be doing the fest next year.   However, the food in New Orleans was amazing and my trophy for eating my share of oysters and Crawfish Monica was three pounds added to my frame.  (Which I since lost! Whew!)  Worth every bite. Did lots of walking and ...