Happy Birthdays!!!!!

My dad and my brother both have birthdays in March. So last night we all went to Lynn's Steakhouse to celebrate. We all rode in Eve together. By the way, Carson calls my van Eve because she is white like Eve on Wall-E. We were running a little late for our reservation and then started running even more late because there was a little bit of action going down on the way to the restaurant. Turns out a couple of guys tried to rob a store but they picked the wrong owner to rob because the owner chased them out with guns blazing. One guy got away but the other one wasn't so lucky - he was shot and then attempted to run across the street where he was then hit by a car and made it to the parking lot before he collapsed only never to rise again. It was like a scene out of a movie. There was police tape everywhere and cups sitting over the bullets in the parking lot. If we hadn't been running late to begin with, we may have been in the middle of a gun battle. I don't know what it is about the 6 of us getting together but we seem to find violence. One time we encountered a girl having a heated argument with her girlfriend and we just sat there and watched. It was in a gas station parking lot and it was so heated that the manager of the gas station locked his door and wouldn't let the girl in the store. Anyway, we made it to the restaurant and had a fabulous dinner. Here we are before we stuffed our faces. On the way home everyone was treated to the vocal stylings of Corrie and Leah. They were treated to such classics as Step By Step, Whip It, Faded, and Dick in a Box. They can deny their enjoyment all they want........

Here are a few pictures of the bugs. I have a parent at school who wants to make me one of those domino necklaces with their picture on it so I'm trying my hardest to get a good picture of them with their heads close together. The ladybug isn't a fan of the flash and has a terrified look on her face anytime she sees it. Cute pics nonetheless.....

Spring Break Weekends

Last week was Spring Break and, with the exception of the concert, it was a pretty uneventful week. But the weekends, on the other hand, were loads of fun. We started out with a visit from Carrie and John. They flew in from Kansas on Friday and stayed through Monday. I'm going to push for more days next time. Anyway, we met up with our friends, Chuck and Melissa, for dinner Friday night. Saturday, Carrie and I did some shopping while the boys hung out in the man cave at my parent's house. Chuck and Melissa came out to the house Saturday night for dinner and Chuck debuted (with minor technical difficulties) our Vegas video that we have been waiting almost 3 years to see. But it was well worth the wait - freaking hilarious!!!! On Sunday, Chad and I and Carrie and John headed to College Station to visit the winery there. We stopped to take some pictures in the bluebonnets on the way. It was a great day.This past weekend was a fun one too. Saturday afternoon I attended a baby shower for Laura to help her get ready for Olivia's arrival. She got lots of great stuff. The food at the shower was awesome and so were the mimosas - thanks Kirk! Saturday night we had our monthly dinner club. We went to Maggiano's and ate way too much. Here is a picture of the group at dinner (Laura is in the maroon dress).

Royce was there too but he got cut out of the picture. So he gets a solo shout out right here!!

Concert Commentary

Last night, Chad and I headed down to the Toyota Center with Mike and Laura to see the Elton John and Billy Joel concert. It was fabulous! They both started the show playing some songs together - it was very piano bar-esque. Then Elton played solo, followed by Billy solo then they wrapped the show up playing more songs together. Elton was great - played songs we all know and love - but Billy Joel put on the better show. He's very entertaining - a great story teller and a great jokester. I loved the show!!!

Now, let's talk about the crowd. Better yet, let's talk about the dude sitting next to me. It never fails - anytime I go to a concert, the only normal people around me are the people I am with. There is always the drunk chick behind me spilling her bear down my back. Or the drunk couple in front of me making out. Or the dude trying to have a conversation with his buddy on the cell phone. Or even the two people in front of me trying to have a serious conversation in the middle of the concert - heads pushed together, screaming at each other, blocking my view. Let's not forget the person that has an interpretive dance for every song or the one who feels the need to sing at the top of their lungs to every song. Last night was no different.

Let me set the stage for you. Our seats were upstairs at the Toyota Center. Have you ever been there? They pack you in upstairs - you have no elbow room and no foot room. It's crammed!! We had to look to our right to see the stage and my new concert friend (not!) was sitting to my right. He was with a group of four people. These four people had a few group dances they would bust into. They would sway back and forth, play the air piano, air saxophone - anything dorky they could think of, they did, of course with no rhythm. But here is what really bugged me about the dude sitting next to me. He would stand up, put his back to me, and then proceed to bend over to talk to his group of dorks that he was with. So, when he bends over, (remember I'm looking to the right) what is in my face? That's right - his rear end!! He invaded my personal space with his buttocks one too many times last night and I didn't appreciate it at all. And then to top it all off he didn't even know the words to Piano Man. Hello!!!!! Who doesn't know the words to Piano Man? I'm sure not everyone does but if you are going to pay the money that EJ & BJ were charging for their tickets, then you should probably know the words to that song. Seriously!

A bottle of red. A bottle of white. Whatever kind of mood you're in tonight.

3 Month Old Bug in the House

My ladybug is 3 months old today. Just look at this angel.

She wasn't always this peaceful. There was about a 3 week period where I was certain that she hated me. But it turns out that she just really hated her formula. So we changed that and she's been a happy baby ever since then. She's a great sleeper, great eater and great burper. Here is her favorite burp position. I think she likes it because she can see the TV while she burps.

I've been back at work for 12 days and I've really missed spending time with both of my bugs. But we've done lots of catching up. I even put my big girl panties on and took both kids to Target yesterday. It was my first outing with both kids by myself and I lived to blog about it. We are half way through spring break. We had a great first weekend of spring break and I'm sure the second spring break weekend will be a great one too. I leave you with one final picture of my 3 month old ladybug.Oh wait, here's another one.

Happy Birthday Carson!!

We celebrated Carson's 4th birthday Friday night. For the past 3 years we have had a party at home, which I personally love, but this year he wanted to have his party somewhere else. He started out wanting it at "nastics" (gymnastics) but he finally decided on "the jumping place" (Pump it Up). I was worried about the turn out for a Friday night but we had plenty of kids and adults there - plus I still had the rest of the weekend to do what I needed to do, which wasn't much. Carson had a blast!!! It was a Batman party. The kids got to play for over an hour and then we got to dine on pizza and cupcakes. The blue cake in the picture is the cake that my aunt made especially for Carson. She makes a special cake for the birthday boy every year. I also have to give a special shout out to my artistic genious friend, Melissa, for making such an awesome invitation for him. That's her in the picture with me and Chad.

Only one week to go before spring break. We've got our good friends, Carrie and John, coming in from Kansas this weekend. The week of spring break looks to be a relaxing one. We're going to see Elton John and Billy Joel next Thursday but those are my only solid plans. I know I've only been back at work for about a week but I already need a break. Come on spring break!!!!!!

Rodeo Day 2009

Today was Rodeo Day at Carson's school. Check out my handsome cowboy. He's not the best at posing for pictures but he's still a cutie. They had all kinds of rodeo activities for the kids today and even a hot dog lunch. Now, any of you who have met my child knows that the kid doesn't eat. A hot dog to him is simply the bun with some ketchup on it. BUT, being that he will be 4 in 5 days, he decided to be a big boy today and try the wiener. Could it be we are going to start eating something more than carbs at every meal? He used to eat chicken nuggets but for whatever reason stopped and now only eats a cheeseburger with no meat when we go to McDonald's. He has informed us that he will start and stop doing certain things when he turns 4. He says he is going to stop sucking his thumb and he is going to start eating meat. So, based on today, perhaps one of those things will actually happen.

Getting Started

Ok, so I'm still resisting Facebook so I'm going to try to keep a blog. My goals for the blog are simple:

• keep family and friends informed of what is going on with the Flora family


• talk about things that are on my mind


• update it more often than my friend Melissa updates her blog - which shouldn't be hard considering she hasn't updated it since August. Nothin' but love Mo!

First things first - what's with the title of the blog? My husband and I have some bugs in our lives that we are totally in love with - Carson, a.k.a Doodlebug, and Carly, a.k.a. Ladybug. Carson is 3 but will be quick to tell you that he is almost 4 - 9 more days to go to be exact. Carly is 10 weeks old, born in December. That's them in the picture. Carson's interests include playing on the computer, Curious George, Cars, and at the moment, Batman. Carly's interests include eating, sleeping, and pooping...lovely. As for my interests, well that's simple - my husband, my kids, my dog, every other member of my family, my friends, George Clooney, Las Vegas (more on that later), Coach products, office/teacher supplies - I could go on but I'm sure you lost interest at George Clooney. Chad has the same interests as me with the exception of Coach products, office supplies, and of course, George Clooney. That's it for now. Check back often for updates and feel free to leave me a message here at Bug Luv central.