Okay, enough of that – I’m wearing myself out…
Anyway, I’m back to blogging for a bit before I get off on another project that will take me way off course again. In the meantime, I wanted to tell ya’ll about my wonderful long weekend in Houston. I talked my sister into going on a date with her husband so I could babysit my nieces and nephew. My nephew is 17 months old now and my sister and her husband have not had one night away without kids in – well let’s see…. Ever. They simply don’t do things without the kids so I talked them into renting a hotel room in Houston for Valentines weekend to do – well, you know…. Anyway, they took me up on the offer and my nieces couldn’t shove their parents out the door fast enough. We waved goodbye and then started jumping up and down yelling Par-tay!!!! And then we broke out the junk food.
Let me introduce you to my nieces again:

The oldest one is Jilly Bean and the little one is Miss High Falutin’. I call her Miss High Falutin’ because….

She’s just high falutin'. What can I say?

Jilly Bean is the athlete. And quite the comedian.

And this is the baby…

How cute is that? I made sure to take on the responsibility of teaching him NOW that bubble baths can cure any ailment or any bad moods… He’s taking to it nicely.
I had a great time with the kids and of course was very responsible in my caretaking . I didn’t want the little darlings to get sick on too much Valentine candy, so I rummaged through their goody bags from their school Valentines Day parties and stuffed 49 tootsie rolls in my mouth over a 10 hour period whenever they weren’t looking. I mean, you know – it was what was best for them. I also limited their enriched flour intake by hiding Valentines Day frosted sugar cookies in my suitcase from them. I’m very concerned about any gluten allergies they could possibly have… I would never consider this as stealing food from my nieces. I was simply demonstrating leadership in child-rearing. I'm just still wondering why they kept getting so upset with me when I would lock myself up in the closet with their goody bags…
In all seriousness, I have to applaud once again all you moms out there. Kids are great! But SO exhausting. It’s A LOT of work. I mean, I work hard – you all know my crazy schedule. But keeping kids is a different kind of hard work. When my sister got home on Sunday I had to take a nap before I could venture out on my drive home. I was completely worn out. In a good way, of course… But, I have to tell ya’, I’m not smart enough, wise enough, or athletic enough to raise kids. In fact, the only thing I think I can raise right now is my glass of cabernet to all you moms out there… Cheers!
Last but not least, I have to update you on our new roommate. Remember me telling you that Jack met a cowboy at WalMart and the next thing I knew he was moving in? You just never know who you’ll bump into at WalMart. Anyway, this is who he is:

His name is Damon Rogers and he’s a real bull-fighter. I’m still cracking myself up over the fact that my husband dragged him home. You know – we have 13 animals in total which I think is PLENTY. I warned Jack a while back that he couldn’t bring home anymore stray animals…. BUT, I didn’t clarify that that included stray humans...
Seriously, we are enjoying Damon and are glad to know him. He’s in a transitional phase right now so bunking here for a bit. He’s been our evening entertainment and we will both miss him when he’s gone…. Oh - And he's a darn good horse trainer and farrier. So - if you happen to be in the Hill Country and need shoes for your horse(s) give Damon a call!
Okay – I’m done and going to bed. I’m truly exhausted and the truth is feeling a little puny. I missed a great party in Austin tonight because of it… And you know, far be it from me to miss a good party! Seems I’m paying a price for 49 tootsie rolls and 10 pounds of sugar cookies. Oh – and hanging out with kids with runny noses and coughs. Like I said, I’m just not tough enough to raise kids….