H2 {oh!}

Google and a Broomhandle just saved me $90!

... and increased my ego by 3% :)

 
My garbage disposal quit on me this week -- I think after cleaning swimmey's bowl when a few lost rocks may have fallen down the drain, oops.  I called a plumber just to see how much it would cost... um, I think if I lose my job I'm going to plumbing school. 

Instead I tried Googling the problem, typed in: "help, my whirlaway 191 is broken" and my new best Garbage Disposal expert friends were here to help. 

They told me to grab a broomstick and start twirling!  Voila! I'm now chopping and disposing with ease.

And Yes Grammie, I unplugged the GD :)

I seriously feel like a home improvement rockstar! Now, off to Home Depot to build a deck!

Kansas Playdate!

Playdates keep us sane. Point blank. So the first thing we ask is that before you watch this video, you don't judge us.  There's only 7 steps and one of us was at the bottom just a few inches away every time... and geez these kiddos LOVED every second of it... let's call it "ghetto boarding," for lack of a better title. 


Kansas Playdate from H2oh on Vimeo.

E-I-E-I- Shoe

You kind of have to watch till the end when she forgets the shoes are on her hands. 


E-I E-I O from H2oh on Vimeo.

The things inside her head...

Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit down with one of my bestest friends over coffee and help her create a blog titled The things inside my head... to document her thoughts, emotions, and feelings surrounding her recent diagnosis of Chiari Type 1 Malformation. Chiari Malformation is a rare brain abnormality that will require her to have brain surgery next week. I feel fortunate to have helped create a site that will hopefully help others with the same condition connect... not to mention hang out with a great friend and learn more about the procedure on an emotional level. The girl does an amazing job explaining the diagnosis in her first post (I'm so proud of her!)

Amy is one of the strongest and most beautiful women I know -- inside and out. I know she'll make it through this with flying colors -- but the term brain surgery is just plain scary! I'm sending all my prayers her way and hope you will add her to your prayer list too.

Check her updates -- I added her to my sidebar over on the right!

Love you Amy!

Home Sweet ... well five hours from Home at least.

We made it safely back to STL after an early morning and a day full of airport... but our girlie vacation wouldn't be complete without one final "grammie behind the wheel" anecdote to finish it off.

Disclaimer:  Grammie woke up before 5AM, cleaned, and was missing out on her daily Venti, non-fat Carmel Machiato (thanks to a Target that didn't post it's Starbucks hours vs. it's store hours -- who knew?)

So since I was the one who booked the rental car (thanks to Priceline.com and a sweet deal) and was on the contract (and we all know how the Grammie follows ALL the rules) I was the one that did most of the driving this week.  But it was early, REALLY EARLY, and Grammie can't sleep in the car anyway -- so she reluctantly agreed to drive us to the airport. I slept, BG sang.  Twinkle Twinkle I believe.

I was awaken by the panicky shrill in Grammie's voice -- looked up to see that we were headed to Tonganoxie!  WHAT?  There was literally only one highway to take from the time I fell asleep to the time I was awake! How could it be that we were LOST?

So we get on another highway and tried to turn around. Fortunately we happened upon a sign with an airplane on it. EUREKA! For the record DO NOT follow the direction of the airplane, it will always be pointed forward, instead follow the arrow NEXT to the sign -- that will point you in the right direction.  Fwww, relief, we're headed to the airport. But wait -- WHY is Grammie still panicking?

Even though we were literally ON Airport road and following specific signs with airplane images on them, she was NOT trusting the direction we were going because it was NOT the way we came. Let's just say THIS is where BG and I get our OCD  :)  We made it, don't worry. And she did a fabulous job getting us safely to the airport -- just a funny story that I had to share.

So we arrived at Lamber and Aunt Sharon and Uncle Joe picked us up -- thanks guys!  And now BG and I are ready to board the train for our final leg home.

We'll miss you beach -- see you next year!

Love, BG, Grammie, and HT

xoxo

Beach-tastic!

Another phenomenal day on the beautiful beaches of Destin, FL. Grammie called it the "best day she's ever had on the beach in her ENTIRE life"... although I swear she said that last year. I'll have to check the records.

BG got a boo boo on the walk home, and since it was hurting her after her bath we decided to stay in -- why risk the hysterics of a boo-boo'd 2.5 year old when we'd had such a gorgeous day. So instead we relaxed with Toasted Head, M&Ms, and Ariel (twice).

It was an amazing day and I'm so sad to leave tomorrow.

Here are a couple pics from the day... explained :)

THE sign!  Okay... so much to say about this sign. BG is all about signs, and reading them, and me reading them, and people picking them up and moving them. Signs, signs, everywhere a sign...

So this is the sign that led the way to "the condo" and each time we passed it, BG picked up the stick, taught us the letters, had us read it, and then told us to "MOVE ON PEOPLE."

We saw this one a little more than preferred.

Snooty face

Oh my, my favorite!

This is the my girl.

 Love from our last day on the beach,

Ht, Grammie, and BG

xoxo

Princess of the Palace

Sand palace that is! (yes, that's a road... even sand princesses need a way to get from palace to palace.)

Gorgeous day at the beach!  And you could certainly tell it was the day after St. Pat's... and oh yeah, that we're old. We were some of the only cats at the beach this AM. The teeny-bopper crew showed up around 1:00 with their beer bongs, just in time for BG's nap.  BG was all about the ocean, sand, and shells today!

(Grammie's hot legs over to the right!)

Wild Irish!

The most gorgeous day EVER at the beach -- but unfortunately that didn't stop Miss Attitude from shining brightly :) Only Grammie can tell the story of the screeching walk back to the condo while mama tells the story of 4 solid phenomenal hours of peace and quiet with her new book club book and a bottle of 15 SPF oil.  Don't worry -- I did rescue grammie so she could walk the beach and meet us for dinner oceanside.  We were all very lucky this amazing Green day!

Pictures from the Gulfarium!

The Gulfarium

I'm not even sure how you really say that but according to BG, it's "A-ri-um" and that's where she wanted to go to see the BIG FISH!  So on this rainy Monday here in Destin, that's where we went!  And boy was Grammie in her element -- NOT!

Baby Girl wasn't a fan of the sharks (although I thought they were fascinating... and did you know that most of the time their scary fin isn't even above water?!?!)the birds (why are birds at the Gulfarium?), or the sting-rays, but she was lovin all over the river otters (that never actually got in the water), the black footed penguins (which ironically are native to the equator region as opposed to the arctic) and the adorable sea lions (which differ from seals because they can rotate their necks ALL the way around!) 

Her fave was the 200 lb dolphin named Princess (of course) and the one that could balance a soccer ball between his teeth.

Tried to post some pictures from the day but having lots of trouble loading.  :(  Will try again in the AM.

The weather man promises tomorrow will be a balmy 77 and we're ready -- SPF 55 and all! not sure which of the three swimsuits baby girl will be donning -- check back tomorrow for an update!

Love from the beach!
Ht, Grammie, and BG
xoxo