January 31 - Lake Girls WIN Districts!

Swim districts were last Friday and the Lake Girls won 1st place for the first time in over 10 years. GREAT job ladies! The boys placed 2nd and did great too. Julia swam 4 events:

*50F: 3rd place and best time!

*100F: 4th place and best time!

*200F relay: 1st place; she anchored the relay and had the fastest split on the team and her best split ever!

*400F relay: 2nd place; she anchored the relay and had the fastest split on the team and her best split ever!

So proud Jules, great job to you and the team. Next stop, regions!

Congratulations Lake!

January 30 - Baby It's Cold Outside

Only 16 days into the new year and Houston already broke a record-record cold! After a mild Christmas and New Years, winter finally arrived with a cold long weekend. On the 16th, it was 18 degrees with a wind chill of 5, making it the coldest January day since 1985. There was a little precipitation so schools were closed due to ice on the roads. As you can imagine, very few people were out walking their dogs but I was LOL. The dogs were so excited about the cold weather and I loved lighting the fireplace. It felt like a "real winter" even if it was for a few days. 

Of course, after a few cold days, it was warm again. So what do Texans do when it's winter, warm outside, but you want to experience all the "fun" of a real winter? You bring in truckloads of ice to create a sledding hill in the neighborhood. Jillian went to Leeya's neighborhood and the girls got to sled, build a little snowman and play in the snow. They loved it!

January 19 - "D" for Disappointed

"Jillian, are you still thirsty? Do you want to finish this milk before I put your cup in the dishwasher?" - me

"No, I'm not thirsty anymore. Thanks Mom." - Jillian

2 minutes later:

"Mom, I'm thirsty. Can you get me a drink?" - Jillian

"I literally just asked you if you were thirsty and you told me no. Get your own drink this time." - me 

1 minute later:

Jillian sits down next to me at the kitchen table with a coffee mug that has the initial D on it.

"Do you know why this cup has a D? It's "D" for disappointed because I'm disappointed you didn't get me this drink" - Jillian

*****

"Mom, do my eyebrows look any different?" - Jillian

"No." - me

"Well, I took mascara out of your purse and put it on my eyebrows because I wanted to enhance them but your mascara is dried out. You need a new tube." - Jillian

***

People-she is SEVEN! Never a dull moment. 

January 16 - Does He Have a Girlfriend?

After a relaxing 2+ weeks off at school, the kids started back last Tuesday. It feels good to get back into a routine, although they are home from school today due to a winter storm that came through last night. The current "feel like temperature" is 10 and I'm here for it. I love the cold weather! We were below freezing temps all day yesterday and there was freezing rain last night, but today is a clear, bright cold day. Just beautiful. 

I've been slacking updating the blog this month so here are some quick updates:

Julia: the swim team did not have a break over winter vacation and had practice pretty much every day. The district swim meet is next Friday and they are getting ready. She is anticipating a ton of work in AP Capstone (research) this spring and already has her first college tour scheduled at Purdue in March. I can't believe we are doing official college visits already! She is also really into the tv show "Pretty Little Liars" and slowly reading the second book in the Throne of Glass series. 

Luke: Luke received a 3D printer for Christmas and I'm not exaggerating when I say he is making things almost 24H. He loves that thing! He is trying out for golf soon although he hasn't golfed since June so..we'll see how that goes. I signed him up for overnight swim camp at A&M this summer and he started swim up last week. I also plan to sign him up for an aerospace camp at Embry Riddle in Florida, hopefully with Andrew if we can work the dates. 

Jillian: Jillian is our little social butterfly going to multiple birthday parties and playdates every weekend. We recently went to the new Wonka movie with her Daisy troop and she was very impressed with Timothee Chalamet. "Does he have a girlfriend? Is he married? Have I ever seen him before?" So funny! She has decided she doesn't want to do gymnastics anymore so I put a withdrawal notice in for that, and we might try tennis.

Fur Babies: Apollo and Bella are both chunky and I switched them over to weight management food. I am really monitoring their food intake and they are finally eating on a schedule. Time will tell if they are losing weight, fingers crossed! Crumble and Louie T Muffin are doing great. LTM tries to escape outside at every opportunity and loves to climb trees in the backyard. 

Yours Truly: I am back to work! I started med device consulting part-time and it feels good to use my brain again. 

Stay warm everyone!

January 14 - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! The girls and I went to a New Year Eve's party at Ava's house (Julia's close friend from swimming) to ring in 2024.  It was a great night! The kids played cards and the saran wrap game, while the moms chatted away.