Denise's Blog

The Big 3G

denise — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:03:28 +0000

Seems like this summer went by so quickly and upon us now is another school year. Third grade to be exact. Nathan didn’t say much or seem excited about starting another school year until we met his teacher last week and he found out his friend was in his class, sitting right next to him no less. In the car ride back home from meeting his teacher he was already planning out what shirt he was gonna wear on his first day of school. He chose the red shirt with the 3 skateboarders on the front. The eve of his 1st day he couldn’t sleep of course. He told me he couldn’t wait to play with his friends. He woke up at 5am something he has NEVER done before…not even on Christmas morning. I thought for a second he was sleep walking but no, he was that excited to start his day. I made him some pancakes, he got dressed, combed his hair, brushed his teeth and we were out the door. We decided to walk to school and it was a good decision because that school traffic was out of control. His walk was purposeful and brisk. My walk was hesitant and emotional. We made it to school in time to find his new class in the cafeteria. I was sure to remind him not to miss his after school bus (as I do every year), kissed him on the cheek and told him to have fun. Fast forward to 5p. Nathan caught his after school bus. Completed his homework (reading) and told me his teacher is really nice…hallelujah!

Watch out Third grade we’re comin’ for ya…

Third Grade

2nd Grade

1st Grade

Kindergarten

Summer Sizzler

denise — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 02:40:52 +0000

My favorite time of year is HERE even with the record heat blasting at 115 on the daily. Month of May was stressful, bumpy and a month I do not want to rehash so this ode is to you my precious June. Oh how you have been full of new experience and low money fun (best kind aside from no money fun if you ask me). Started June off right with a new kayaking experience with family and friends. I’ve always seen those darn kayakers at Lady Bird Lake just rowing away freely, without a care in the world. Thoughts of their stupid joyous smirks irritated me as I drove by green with envy. I told myself to stop being a hater and actually try it out. My moment came when my friend and I were winding down/goofing off (however you wanna put it) one Friday afternoon at work. The stresses of our work week had us daydreaming and when we came to, after our 2hr long “conference”, we had decided to go kayaking. Saturday morning finally showed its face so I packed up a very reluctant 7 and 34 year old and headed out. The Spears were going kayaking! Told my crew this was a mandatory fun day so check your “Hmming, Hawwing, Aww Mom’s and No’s ” at the door. When we arrived we were quickly checked in and what seemed like an ‘I Dream Of Jeannie’ blink we were in a kayak on the water. It was such a peaceful morning with enough sunshine to warm our skin and enough clouds to enjoy a lovely breeze. The water was cool and inviting. We raced, daydreamed about living in the fancy mansions at the top of hill, watched turtles chilling on the banks of the lake and sang to songs playing from Pandora’s Quick Mix on my phone. I enjoyed myself but was really taken aback when my husband proclaimed his new found love of kayaking. And if you know my husband at all, you know he hates everything summer; pools, beaches, sweat, sun, sand. So needless to say I was ecstatic when he told me he would kayak again. Score! Believe me when I say, I am holding him to it! It’s now in black and white so he will have to oblige.

Free sculling lessons was an added bonus

Lady Bird Lake

Nathan pretending to help his daddy row

June you also brought exciting and unexpected access to the latest Austin City Limits taping. Raphael Saadiq was the man of the hour and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. Who am I kidding I was jumping up and down, whootin’ and hollarin’ when I got the email confirmation saying I had been selected to receive two free floor area passes. I LOVE LOVE Raphael Saadiq and was over the moon. The new studio is located in the swanky W hotel’s Moody Theater. The sound and energy in the joint was phenomenal. I danced and sang to every song new and old (if you do not have his latest cd Stone Rollin’ you need to stop reading this post and run, don’t walk, to your nearest music store and GET IT). The taping is part of ACL’s 37th season and will air in Oct 2011 so please tune in to PBS. I’ll be the short one in the crowd jumping up and down acting a fool.

Moody Theater

Saadiq!

ACL program

Ima nerd!

Ah, June what more can I say other than “I heart you”

My Little 2nd Grader

denise — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:45:39 +0000

Here we are again, another year at Boone Elementary this time as the cutest 2nd grader the school ever had. I’m surprised how easy he woke up and got dressed this morning (I have a feeling his enthusiasm won’t last the entire week but I’m riding this wave to the end). We got up with enough time to eat breakfast, watch a little cartoon network until it was time to go. We don’t live far from the school so it took us no time to get there. The streets were packed. The front entrance to the school was littered with teary eyed moms holding their nervous kindergartener’s tiny hand. As we shoved our way past the crowd (because we are in 2nd grade now) we found his seat in the cafeteria. Kissed his forehead and reminded him not to miss the bus in the afternoon. We left feeling like old pros knowing the drill and admiring the newbies creating pandemonium by the flag post. Naturally when I picked him up in the afternoon I quickly asked how his day was and his reply was simply “!Fantástico!”….well alright then, let’s go with that. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard him say his day was “fantástico”. I couldn’t concentrate all day worrying he was not enjoying his day. Mrs. Fox is his teacher and I am eager to see what she has in store for us this year.

2nd Grade

1st Grade

1st Day of Kindergarten

Tagged: first day of school, Nate

Summer Road Trip

denise — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 02:40:08 +0000

Summer is my favorite time of year. So much to see, do, eat, smell, taste and what is the ultimate summer past time other than bbqs and meteor showers…..yes, ROAD TRIPS!! So you are about to read our “last-hoorah-before-school-starts” summer road trip story. Enjoy.

Let me start by saying we are fortunate enough to live in the heart of Texas where you can decide in a mere weekend to take a day trip into the luscious Texas Hill Country. After a nice poolside discussion one hot summer’s day, we decided to take a road trip to Shiner, TX to visit the Shiner Boch Brewery. I won’t bore you with how we were splashing about in the pool wishing we could take a road trip somewhere, anywhere. Having the many beers and wine enhance our summer dreams so I’ll simply just bullet point the outcome of that day.

Day Road Trip Destination: Shiner Boch Brewery in Shiner, TX

Vehicle Occupants: Bryan, Cesar, Marisela, Nathan and myself (the Fenders decided to take a “last-hoorah-before-school-starts” summer road trip of their own, to New Orleans. Couldn’t really convince them to postpone their trip a week to join ours)

When: Friday the 13th

Why (consists of two answers): 1) why the hell not, 2) because we can…

and since Shiner, TX is only a couple of hours away, why the hell not? Our day started around 9:30a. Drove out to Buda, TX to pick up Cesar and Marisela. Before we began the drive we all agreed we would stop at every “interesting stop” along the way so when we drove by a custom cowboy hat shop in Lockhart, TX we knew we couldn’t pass it up. It was everything you imagine it to be. Small house located off the main road. A house older than the dirt the foundation was planted on. The smell of leather hitting you as soon as you open the wooden clanking doors. The floors creaking at every step. Cowboys giving you a once over as you shimmy down the long narrow celebrity picture filled hallway. It was a beauty. I gave Nathan a little boost so he could peek through the window in the back room where they had all the hat molds and ancient machinery. We are not much of a cowboy hat wearing bunch so, needless to say, we walked out empty handed but it was still a great first exciting stop of many we would make that day. As we piled back in the car we drove a short distance before arriving in Luling, TX for a bite to eat. We ate at Luling City Market Place. Yes, of course, we ate some good ole fashion deep pit BBQ (Luling is known world wide for it) but not before we window shopped at all the antique shops on the strip. Nathan finally got into the whole road trip idea when we purchased his very first $3 sling shot. We strolled through town taking pictures of old neon signs, slinging rocks, burping up bbq. Next stop..Shiner!

No car windows cars were hurt in the making of this photo

Luling, TX

Spoetzl Brewery: Home of Shiner Boch Beer

We didn’t have to drive far until we arrived at our destination, the lovely Shiner Boch brewery. We arrived just in time to make a lap around the grounds and gift shop before the next tour started. The tour guide made one thing clear before we entered the brewery and it was “Please do not touch the copper barrels”. and of course, like any mother in their right mind would, I immediately glared at my 7yo floppy bodied son and mouthed “Did you hear that?!, DO NOT TOUCH THE COPPER…” I held Nathan’s hand and my breath as we entered the brewery. Everything turned out fine. The tour itself was a bit lackluster but we made the most of it. Like at the part of the tour where we got to see the beer bottles moving along the conveyor belts, Cesar and I couldn’t help but hum the Laverne and Shirley theme song. Nathan especially liked the machine that placed the bottle caps onto the bottles. The tour was ok but the real party was back at the hospitality/gift shop room where the Shiner samples were a flowing. There were 5 different beers on tap: Oktoberfest, Hefeweizen, 101, Black Lager and Shiner Blonde. We, of course, got our dixie cup drink on and Nathan was served fresh lemonade. The tour guide noticed Nathan holding his dixie cup and asked if the lemonade was good. He nodded. Then she asked him how many languages he spoke. His response was “Two. English and Spanish”. She liked his answer so much she leaned over and told him she would teach him a word in Czech that means “Cheers”. She asked him to raise his cup and say “Prosit!”. He raised his cup and repeated his new Czech word “Prosit”. We left the brewery with shiner swag overkill (you know you get caught up in the moment). On our drive back we listened to the Shiner mix Bryan made the night before. We belted out new tunes, old tunes and even some Spanish tunes. In all it was a great way to wrap up the summer. And after all the BBQ blue cheese burgers were gone at Cesar’s house, we made our way back into Austin. We were in our own brewery thoughts when we turned onto our street to find cop cars and bright lights blocking our way. At first I thought they were at OUR house then as we made our way through we saw our college frat house neighbors handcuffed, sitting in their driveway. Nothing like the po-po in your hood to round out your already amusing day. This story was definitely one for the books or blog in this case.

: Prosit!

The Facts

Mandatory candy stop and Cesar getting schooled by a 7yo

Tagged: Family, Nate, Road Trip

I’m 7 now

denise — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:51:07 +0000

Well it finally happened. I knew this day would come and I honestly didn’t know how I would feel. Before I get to what happened today let me backtrack a bit. Ever since Nathan turned 7 years old he has been walking around like he just had his 17th birthday. He takes every chance he gets to remind me he is not a baby anymore and I of course am not ready to hear all that noise.

It was light-hearted and fun when Nathan’s new favorite saying was ” Yes I can …. because I’m 7 now” It started out with “Yes I can drink Dr. Pepper because I’m 7 now” and quickly went to ” Yes I can stay up as late as I want because I’m 7 now” (side note: this statement was squashed almost immediately). Well, today he asked if his friend could come over and play. He looked so mature and well all of 7yrs old that I couldn’t say anything but “Yes you can”. He was so excited and a bit surprised I actually said yes but I thought here we go…he’s right, he’s not a baby anymore. So when I picked him up this afternoon I awaited the inevitable mom to mom phone call. She called and we set a time for them to stop by. I was anxious but curious to see how it would turn out. I feel silly now looking back on it, it was a piece o cake.

Doorbell rings and there stands another 7yo with his video game player in hand eager to see his friend…my boy. It was surreal but comforting. Mom and I chat for a bit and then off she goes leaving her son under MY care. It was a huge leap for me. I (being the antisocial one of the neighborhood) opened up and let a stranger’s child in my home? Amazing. Ok so that may have sounded a bit dramatic but it kind of was for me. The boy was nice and polite and Nathan was over the moon. He finally had a buddy stop by his house to “hang out”. He was excited to show him his room, toys and things. I could hear them talking and laughing and just having a great time. The boy stayed only for an hour, short and sweet. But boy, there were so many emotions rushed through me within that hour. I felt proud of myself for not shying away and closing off what appears to be a new-found friendship but mostly I felt utter joy seeing Nathan so happy.

Nathan is 7 years old, he will enter 2nd grade in a few weeks, it’s time he had a friend over to play. I am seeing my son grow up right before my eyes. I can’t stop it so might as well roll with it and enjoy him enjoy life. Moms, you all know what I’m talking about..sigh…

Tagged: Nate