Around here

This post is one of those all over the place random updates of life in our house right now and it is long.  But these are little things that I want to remember...

I am not one to typically binge watch TV at all.  I don't have big blocks of time between work and home life.  However, last week my sister told me about this show called Married at First Sight.  Four experts look at extensive data and match three couples.  The first time they meet is at their wedding.  They have a wedding, a reception,  honeymoon, move in together and try to make it work. It is absolutely fascinating.

I have had my PhD in marriage and family communication for 22 years.  I taught for many years at the college level on gender and communication, relational communication, marriage and family.  Now, I am in private practice helping engaged and married couples navigate the challenges of their relationships.  So, this show is made for me.  I LOVE it.  Season 2 is currently airing but I loved it so much I bought Season 1 on Amazon to watch (Married at First Sight Season 1).  And I watched almost the whole season this week in every spare second I had.

I seriously cannot recommend this show enough if you like relationships like I do.  I absolutely LOVE my job.  I love helping people figure out how to be better partners to one another and this show hi-lights the ups and downs that we all have in marriage.  It focuses on the most important thing though...the commitment to keep doing the WORK.  I see that over and over in my office.  The couples who do the work, make it.  The couples who don't are miserable.  I have said it a million times on this blog but Love is a decision and an action every single day.  And it is interesting to watch that play out on this docu-series as well.

Now I am watching Married at First- The First Year.  These episodes follow the couples from the 6 month though 1 year phase for the couples that stayed together.  It is on demand in some places.

My work is really good.  I try to maintain a pretty small practice so that I can still have time to exercise, meet a friend for lunch once in a while and be involved at the kids' schools.  But it is so hard to find that perfect balance.  Some weeks, I have just a few clients and some weeks I am crazy busy (like this week).  I am really trying to work more because I love it so much but juggling everything part time can be stressful at times.  As many of you know, you often end up feeling like you aren't doing anything as well as you'd like to.  And every time I meet with clients, I am reminded of ways that I can be a better Mom and wife too (which is a good thing).  If you need marriage/parenting/life coaching, feel free to reach out to me (khswales@comcast.net).  I do phone or Skype appointments if you are not in the Houston area.

Will is taking he ACT again today.  It will be the last time he takes it.  He already has a great score but he wanted to take it one more time just to see if he could get another point or two for scholarships. This summer he will take a workshop for writing his college essays and in the Fall he will apply to the colleges of his choice.  I really cannot believe we are at this point in life with him.  The other day, we got the tuition bill for his senior year and there was a cap and gown/gradutaion fee!  I admit that I teared up when I read that.  He turns 18 in June.  My first born son becomes a legal adult.  I know people say it all the time but it really has gone by so fast. I am SO proud of the man he is becoming.

I know a lot of young women without kids or Moms with very young kids read this blog.  Cherish the moments at each and every stage of childhood because they are so fleeting.  Even the tough stages will be ones you look back at with a smile, I promise.

Kate is getting ready to make her first holy communion and she is SO excited.  She really embraces her faith and takes it quite seriously.  A few weeks ago in Sunday school, she learned about Saint Maximilian Kolbe.  He was a Polish man who became a Franciscan priest and gave his life for another man in a Auschwitz.  Kate became so fascinated with his life.  So, when she had to pick an important figure in history to do a report about, she chose him.  Kate attends a public school so her classmates are researching figures like Abe Lincoln, Elvis Presley, Harriet Tubman etc.  But Kate really wanted to do her report on this not very well known Saint (Mother Theresa was her second choice).  I am so grateful for a loving teacher who is encouraging Kate to follow her heart and her faith.  The biography we are reading (together) is WAY above her level of comprehension.  Heck, it is difficult for me and Dave in some parts. But she is really committed to learning as much she can about this incredible Christian man.

When I thanked Kate's teacher for being supportive she said she was not surprised at all that Kate chose a Saint.  She said, "Kate is so Catholic. I see it in her everyday the way she acts, they way she answers questions, the way she got so excited when we learned about Mother Theresa."  Her comment made my heart leap with joy because to me your faith is not something you simply believe but it is the way you act toward others.

One more little update on Katie Ru.  This girl is obsessed with crafting.  She makes these little boxes out of cardstock.  I wish I had photos of some of the more unique ones she has made.  In her spare time, she looks up knitting patterns and these box patterns and she crafts and crafts and crafts. She will literally spend an entire Saturday making stuff.  All she wants for her birthday is crafting supplies:) I love the coupons at Hobby Lobby and Michaels:)

Harry is finishing up 8th grade!  He has about a month left of middle school and then graduation.  YEAH!  So far, I think the middle school years are the toughest years of growing up. It is such a difficult time for kids and their parents. Sixth grade was incredibly difficult for Harry (and me) and you could not pay me all the money in the world to do middle school again right now (glad Kate has a few years!)  This year has been great though and I know he has mixed feeling about starting all over at a new school.  I think he is nervous yet excited.  Harry is finishing middle school with straight A's and straight E's for all three years!  And he has taken several advanced classes.  This year he has 10th grade geometry (in 8th grade) and high school Spanish and Journalism.  If he were going to public school, he would be entering with 5-6 high school credits already.

This week he finishes up his lacrosse season at his school too.  He has been a key player all three years. The lacrosse program had lapsed at his middle school and a Dad got it going again 3 years ago--  just as Harry entered middle school. Harry stepped in and started as a team captain and he has been a captain all 3 years.  He is hoping to play high school lacrosse too.  

Also, I am not sure if you noticed but Harry and a HUGE growth spurt (easter pics here).  Harry has always been below the 5th percentile in height and weight and he has had health issues too~ I mean his WHOLE life.  Some years he was not even on the charts.  At his check up a few weeks ago, he was in the 11t percentile for weight and the 13th percentile for height.  That is HUGE for him.  His pediatrician (the one who was there on the day he was born) was so happy.  And so were we.

For the last 3 years, Harry and I have volunteered in the school store every Wednesday morning at his middle school  It was an awesome experience. And it is something that just he and I shared.  I cannot put into words how much I am going to miss those Wednesday mornings with him (and the other Mom and son we have worked with for the last year and half).  I am going to get a photo of us together in the next week or two of us in the school store because I really want to always remember those times.

Of course, I don't have photos of the boys because truth be told, they are rarely around these days.  They're always off with friends (which I guess is good).

Okay, that is my long update about me and the peanuts.    I also want to share a discount code with y'all.  I got an email that it is friends and family weekend at Loft.

I have my eye on these...

shorts

And finally, don't forget about the Lilly Pulitzer launch tomorrow at Target!  Everything looks so cute!  You can actually heart or favorite things and then when the sales launches and midnight or 1 am you can check out faster.  Click below to see the whole collection and heart items.

I have my expectations set very low because I think it is all going to sell out quickly.  

Mother-Son College Road-trip

I had NO idea that President's Day weekend is apparently a HUGE time to visit colleges.  Will is our oldest so this is our first go around at college visits.  Last Fall, Dave took Will to visit UVA and William and Mary.  He really liked both of them.

I decided (when I found out Will had off last Friday) to plan a very spur of the moment road trip for us to visit Baylor, TCU and SMU.  Now this is kind of ironic because a) I don't really do things spur of the moment, b) I don't really travel and am a homebody and c) I have a severe phobia of driving on the Texas freeways (a recent one since I have been hit a few times on them through no fault of my own).  Even Dave could not believe I had planned this little road trip.

I really enjoyed my time with Will.  He introduced me to his favorite music.  We ate a lot.  This boy ate 6 full meals on Friday.  Our first stop was Baylor in Waco, Texas.  It was my first time in Waco and we were both pleasantly surprised.  We pulled into Waco around breakfast time so we went here and had a great breakfast.  There were lots of very cute co-ed girls there and so Will was a little distracted.  Baylor has 60% females to 40% males.  I think that was kind of appealing to him.

After breakfast, we had to make a slight detour.  I love the show Fixer Upper and it takes place in Waco.  My Mom is kind of obsessed with the show and Joanna Gaines.  When she found out we were going to Waco she made a big fuss about us visiting the Magnolia shop.  So we did.

It is a cute shop but the inventory is very limited.  I hear they are expanding.  My Mom was looking for a "g" for her wall but I could not find one.  I did pick her up a little something for Mother's Day (she is coming to visit for Kate's 1st holy Communion!)

Will hated this.  He was embarrassed and did not want to take my photo.  He did notice there were lots of other old ladies in mini-vans stopping;)

Then we went to the Catholic Student Center at Baylor.  We just walked in and there were some kids studying.  They were so welcoming.  I really enjoyed talking to these kids. We got a great tour of the center and learned a lot about the campus ministry.  I felt confident that Will would find a great place to support his faith there.

Will was hungry again so we headed to this place (at a friend's recommendation)

I got a coffee milkshake because I was sleepy.  Will ate a double cheeseburger and a peach milkshake.  The food here looked amazing and not at all healthy!

Then we had a tour at Baylor.

We had fabulous tour.  Baylor has such great traditions and the campus was lovely.  We both were so pleasantly surprised.  Will had always thought he'd go out of state for college but I think he will seriously consider Baylor now.  As we started this tour, Will said, "Mom we should walk near the front of the group.  You learn a lot more that way."  And he was SO right.  On both this tour and our SMU tour, we learned all sorts of tidbits that the rest of the group did not hear.  Just my piece of advice for those of you about to tour colleges.  Stay near the front and strike up conversations with your guide as you move from point to point.

After our incredible Baylor tour, we headed up to Dallas.  It was a harrowing drive during Friday afternoon rush hour but we made it.  We checked into our hotel in Highland Park and then went to dinner with Eloise, Robert and Vivi.  Eloise is a blogging friend who we have gotten to know a bit over the years.  She has visited us in Houston and we have visited them in Dallas. They were so kind and gracious to take us to their local Mexican restaurant.  Then they drove us around the SMU campus.  They are both SMU alums as they met there:)  I did not get a photo of us and I am so bummed because I just love their family.  They have a daughter Will's age who is also touring colleges.

Saturday morning was GORGEOUS!  It was perfect Texas weather….  blue skies, no clouds and perfect temps. And the SMU campus is absolutely beautiful.  I cannot overstate how beautiful it is.

I LOVED SMU!    Seriously, I would go there if I could. If Will chooses a different school, I'm going to hope Kate or Harry goes there;) It is beautiful and the alumni are incredible.  I loved the academic programs and the traditions.  Again, we had a great tour guide and we stuck near the front and got a lot more information from him.



We did not have time to visit the Catholic Student Center but I wish we had. Next time.

Will was starving (again!) and really wanted In-n-Out.  We don't have them in Houston.  So, we went. It was heavenly.

So, at this point, I kind of needed a nap.  But we headed back onto the freeways down to Fort Worth to visit TCU.  We could not get into an official TCU tour because they were full.  But we walked around campus and talked to students in the rec center, visitor center and student union.  Will really liked the laid back feeling of the campus.  Kids were laying out on the lawn and playing music and tossing a football.  It was super chill.

The mascot is the "horned frog"

This is frog fountain.

I really wish we had an official tour.  But I think if Will wants to, we could come back and visit again.

We were SO TIRED after this visit.  I seriously wanted to get a hotel and sleep.  But we had to drive home.  It was a long drive that afternoon but Will and I had some good talks.  He slept some of the way but then we talked about some really good stuff.  I really am so grateful for the relationship we have.  I am kind of tough on my kids.  I have high expectations but I give them unconditional love and we talk about everything.  I am incredibly blessed that they talk to me and trust me too.  I will never forget our talks on this road trip.

As we pulled into Houston (I was completely fried), Will played me some awesome upbeat 80's music from his phone.  He held out on me the entire trip.  I laughed as we enjoyed some fun 80's music for the least few minutes of our drive.  I am still tired from this trip and cannot imagine touring colleges in 9-10 years with Kate.  I will be SO OLD!  

I am just so proud of Will.  He does not know where he wants to go to college or exactly what he wants to major in but he has such a good head on his shoulders and he is a good person.  I am blessed to have had this time with just him.

{All I-phone pics}