Madeleine

One of my college roommates, Katie, had her baby girl on Wednesday. After only 2 hours of labor, Madeleine Atchley Noss, at 6 lbs 2.2 oz and 18 3/4 in long, made her first appearance.

Candice and I were able to go see her yesterday. She is the smallest thing I have ever seen and she has the cutest cry! Katie's husband Drew reminded me that the cry is not so cute when you hear it in the middle of the night! I am so happy for the proud parents. They did a great job! :)

Hillary Dee

Today is one of my best friend in the world's birthdays... Hillary Dee (Rodgers) Pace. In honor of her 26th year of life, I want to tell you all the reasons I love her so much. Let's start with the many memories:

Hillary and I met when I was in like 5th grade. We went to the same church and became friends very quickly. I'll never forget my our first church camp together... Hillary got yelled at for putting her feet on the ceiling. We still talk about that.
We used to ride four-wheelers every day back in the Rodgers' pasture. So many times, we had to hold our noses because of the smell of dead cows (it makes me flinch thinking about it)! We also rode horses in that pasture, and I experienced my one and only time getting bucked off a horse. Talk about pain... But at least I reacted better than the boy that got thrown off with me.
We joined the Rockets cheerleading squad in Middle School. I'm pretty sure we never won anything, but it was a good place to start.

So much happened in Middle School. For one, Hillary totally stole my boyfriend!! I still tease her about it, but let's be honest, it's definitely good that she did. We spent a lot of time hanging out with the wrong boys. Hillary's dad had a friend that owned a helicopter so we were able to take a ride in it. I remember Hillary's mom didn't tell mine. Oops! We both played sports and got awarded best dressed (which I still have no idea why... We did NOT dress cute). We went to San Antonio with our Moms... They bought us these hideously long fake nails and put them on ourselves. We also tried (what I remember as) the cutest halter tops ever. Our moms didn't buy them because Hillary's mom, Cindy, promised to make us some. I'm still waiting. :) I think it was the same trip that Hillary pinched me and made me cry! On hippie day, Cindy let us wear her bellbottoms that she actually wore back in the day. We got accused of painting a bridge (see story below). When my mom's sister died, Cindy came and picked me up and they kept me so my mom could deal. We took a Thanksgiving trip to Colorado where I first "learned" how to ski.

In High School, Hillary was super protective of me. She wasn't crazy about my boyfriend and wasn't afraid to let him know. When she got her first car, a red Cougar, we cruised around town like nobody's business. We became an exclusive part of the "Coolbaby" club, and never missed a Varsity baseball game. We went to prom together several years. We cheered together and went to parties together. Conveniently, our boyfriends were good friends, so we double, triple, and even quadruple dated. We went back to Colorado to her family's cabin. I was pretty much devastated when Hillary graduated! My Senior year was rough, but I got to go visit her at Tarleton and we went to see Pat Green. We actually attended more than our fair share of Texas Country Concerts during those years.

In college, we were so far apart so didn't see each other as often as we would have liked. During my last year of college, Hillary got married. She had the most beautiful wedding ever. When I graduated college, she and her husband Clint were there rooting me on.
Not too long after that, I was able to see Hillary have her first child, Evan. Let me just tell you, he is going to be a heartbreaker! :)
Through it all, whether near or far, Hillary and I have remained good friends. I am so blessed to have met her 15 years ago. I can't imagine my life without her in it!

Home Sweet Home

Matt and I want to buy my parents' house. I know, I know... I never thought I'd end up in Midlothian, especially not in their house. However, after they were quickly whisked away to Odessa, it was difficult for everyone to give up the house! Even though Brad and I have never really lived there (besides my short stay after college), it has felt like home for so long.

So, Matt and I talked about it. It really is ideal for us. Although it's a little bigger than a "starter" home, it is a great place to stay for a while.

The only problem is that it is currently on the market. It turns out that we should have made this decision a few months ago. My parents have a 60-day contract with the realtor, so I selfishly hope it does not sell so that we can move forward with our plans. If it does sell though, I will try and remind myself that it just wasn't meant to be. Please pray for us... That we'll have patience over the next 60 days and that if it is truly meant to be, it will. :)

Scar Tissue

Sometimes I wonder why I have a blog... I mean, all of my friends in the blogging community are married, have kids, and lead MUCH more exciting lives than myself. Then, I realize, my life IS exciting damnit. :)

For instance, (man, I hope this story is as funny as I think it is) today, I was teaching my kids probability. Now, even though I scored highest in the area of probability on my certification test, I would venture to say that it's truly not my forte. So, in an attempt to use those wonderful real-world examples that are supposed to keep the kids somewhat interested, I was talking about tossing a coin. I chose a random boy in my class, and said "Now, if I handed Ryan a coin, told him to toss it, what's the probability that he would get head?" No, not headS... Head. With a simple slip of the tongue, it sent my kids into an uproar. Yep. That was my day in a nutshell. Head.
Another one of my kids was copying his answers off of another student. I waited for him to finish and went to him, picked up the paper, crumpled it up and threw it away, and made him start over. Hey, I could have given him a zero... But it's so much more fun to just embarrass them. :)

On a lighter note, I'm reading the book, "Scar Tissue," Anthony Kiedis' autobiography. Now, if you don't know Mr. Kiedis by name, you should know him by his band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While I frackin' love the Chili Peppers, I had never taken a true interest in the lead singer. However, after this amazing whirlwind of a book, I have a new appreciation, interest, and downright adoration for Anthony. To be completely honest, after all of the drugs, sex, and rock and roll, I'm surprised the man is even alive. But he his, and he was able to tell an incredible tale of life in the fast lane and an eventual redemption that saved his life. It doesn't get any better than that.

So tell me I don't have an interesting and exciting life!! I hang out with 13-year-olds all day and at night, I live vicariously through a crazy-ass rocker. What's not to love?

Call me MOH.

My best friend is getting married in October. I was thrilled when she asked me to be her Maid of Honor. However, it has been incredibly hard to do any of the normal MOH duties because she lives in Little Rock, while I'm in Dallas. It, in a word, SUCKS.

Anyway... I was able to meet her in Houston this past weekend (where she is from and where the wedding is) to do wedding stuff. It was so fun, but so exhausting. Who knew how much trouble planning a wedding is?! Not this girl, that's for sure! We were able to finalize her menu, pick a cake flavor, decide on linens, and start planning her flower arrangements. Her wedding is going to be BEAUTIFUL!

I am so happy to have been a part of the planning, but especially to be a (very important) part of her special day. I am so excited for her. After this weekend, in a small way, I am relieved that she is the one planning such a big and stressful event... But, I must admit, in a big way, Matt's in trouble for not having proposed to me yet. :)