7 Quick Takes: Sweet Reunions

– 1 –

QOTW for this week:

“Party on, guys.”
Luke, when the boys and I told him we were headed to Party City.

“Well, let’s see. The last time I wore them…”
Me, in response to Will’s question, “Mom, where are my shoes?” It drives him nuts when I say that.

“Even if the basketball card was worth $6-million, you’d still throw it away?”
John Paul, when I told him to pick up the eight bazillion cards by noon or I’d throw them in the trash.

“Go get beautiful.”
A text from Scott in reference to #4 below.

“They’re awesome. Yummy, too.”
Anna-Laura, telling me about her friend’s chocolate chip cookies.

And, your story this week. We headed up to the school to get the boys from art camp. Luke had just woken up, so his sweet little eyes were still used to a dark room. When we walked outside, he froze on the sidewalk, right where the sunlight met the shade. He covered his eyes and screamed out, “I can’t see!”

– 2 –

Some friends are forever. My college roommates reminded me of that this past weekend. Two of us live here in Austin and the other roomie lives in my old hometown up in the Texas panhandle. While we’ve seen each other in pairs, this is the first time all three of us have been together in 17 years. Yes, you can imagine how much we laughed and reminisced. Our poor husbands. It’s possible the kids ate dinner, but we were too busy trying to remember how to walk down memory lane. Felicia is an OB/GYN, Jan is a teacher and between us we have 11 kids. We roomed together our senior year and even though the years and miles separate us, the beautiful core of our friendship is still there. I think the best part of the evening was when Felicia told her youngest son they were heading to our house for a party. Somehow, he interpreted that to mean his birthday party (which really isn’t until October). The evening ended with a rousing “happy birthday” song to Sam at 10:30pm amid many giggles and smiles. That’s how you celebrate.

– 3 –

Speaking of celebrating, I wrote my annual love letter to Clare in honor of her sixth birthday – which is today! My dining room, kitchen and backyard are dripping in rainbow colors in anticipation of her shindig later today. Party fun coming next week.

– 4 –

Ever since I visited Paris back in 2009, I have been a closet fan of makeup. Specifically, people that can actually apply it correctly and look stunning, but not overdone. I finally decided to do something about it. I found a local makeup artist from a few tips from my wedding photographer friends, and enjoyed a two-hour session with someone who actually knows how to apply makeup and create beautiful faces. Yes, yes. I know that we are all beautiful without it. I’m with ya. But sometimes, a gal wants to know how to accentuate the beauty God gave her. Maris was so awesome. I learned so many things and I’ve been at the makeup gig since age 14! It was money well spent and now I no longer feel intimidated when walking up to the makeup counter.

And, AND! I learned to do a smokey eye. I know, it’s obviously the small things with me. Do you have a favorite lipstick? Because if you do, I am ALL lips. Help a sister out and recommend your favorite color. I don’t do red and I don’t do hot pink, everything else is open for discussion.

– 5 –

The North Austin 4-H club is finally O-fficial. A great friend and I are co-managing the club. We have a bank account, so you know we’re legit. We just need some members and volunteers. Details.

No, we’re not taking on animal projects, this is specifically a ‘burbs community club. There will be fashion, food, photography, consumer decision making, leadership, citizenship, public speaking, fitness and lots of fun. So much greatness is in store. The club is for kids ages 9-19 (we’ll take a few kids younger than that for the Clover Kids program, but not many). If you’re looking for some great opportunities for your kids, without hefty membership dues and the potential to earn some serious scholarships, you know where to find me. If you’re interested, email me, and I’ll send you all the details.

– 6 –

The girls rocked swim lessons. Anna-Laura’s backstroke is beautiful and Clare is gaining more confidence with getting her face wet. We opted to do lessons at Emler this year after Luke’s very positive experience earlier this spring. I felt like they really focused on the safety aspect of water, in addition to some practical skills and making sure each child is in the right class. When we had to miss a daily class unexpectedly, they were great about working with us to get it made up before the end of the session. The girls both loved their teachers and I was grateful that we went for the two-week daily class and got them off to a good start for the rest of the summer!

– 7 –

My Initals Inc. giveaway for the “just in case” bag is still going on, but it ends soon! I’m also hosting an online party to help out a sweet friend who’s just launching her business. You can shop online at: www.myinitials-inc.com/SHOPWITHLISA, just click on “shop” then my name.

I did direct sales for a few years after my first child was born and I know what a blessing it can be to a family!

As always, Jen is a lovely hostess. Enjoy the rest of the 7 quick takers on her blog.