Happy Easter!

Hi All!

It's been a busy spring so far. Mark is training for the 2012 BP MS150. For those of you unfamiliar with the ride, it's a bike ride from Houston to Austin benefiting the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. The ride is on April 21-22. He'll start out in Waller TX and end up at the Texas state capitol building in Austin. Every Saturday he goes on training rides that vary from40-60 miles. The kids and I will be going up there to meet him at the end of the ride. This will be my first road trip with both kiddos by myself, so say a little prayer for us on that day if you remember! LOL.

Last weekend we went to the Brookwood Community's annual Breakfast with the Bunny. Brookwood is a local residential facility and vocational program for adults with disabilities. It's a wonderful place and this is our second year to help support their mission. I learned they have a breakfast with Santa also, so I think we'll be heading down there in December this year as well.

We also went to the annual Easter Egg hunt at St. Peter's, where Evelyn's school is. She had a wonderful time, although I have to say that having an egg hunt in 85 degree weather is a bit uncomfortable! Tanner was a sweaty baby by the end.

Tanner is 4 months now and he's learning new things every day. It's so amazing to watch him see the world for the first time! I'm not sure I've ever seen a happier baby and Evelyn was a really happy baby! He's just been an amazing addition to our family. Evelyn is a super big sister and really hasn't had any real jealousy problems. I think the fact that we had a boy made a difference. she's still mommy and daddy's little girl and she still retains her position as princess of the house.

The little angels are getting restless, so I'll have to cut out for now :-)

I added some pictures to a slideshow, so take a look (and now that I know how to do it, I'll do it more often!)

Hope everyone has a blessed Easter!

The McGraw's!

some thoughts on judging...

Yesterday I ran across a news article in the Huffington post titled "Apologies to the Parents I Judged Four Years Ago" I couldn't have agreed more with this article if I had written it myself.

It came at a good time, especially since the majority of yesterday my daughter spent her time on the floor of the upstairs guest bathroom because that's the only place in the house that a) has no toys for her to play with and b) is just uncomfortable enough to make her mad.

So, yesterday evening we received an invitation to dine with a friend and his daughter (mom was coaching a track meet) at a local restaurant with a wonderful outdoor playground. It's one of Evelyn's favorite restaurants because of the playground. It of course had been raining that evening so the playground was soaking wet. After Evelyn and her playmate finished their dinner (okay they each took about 4 bites) we let them out to play.

And as I watch these two girls proceed to bathe in the rain water, (I'm talking washing their faces, dipping their hair in it and sliding down the slide into what is now a giant splash pad) i feel the all to familiar feeling of someone judging me. So I look behind me and see a sweet young couple in matching outfits with a little baby girl all decked out in her car carrier sleeping like the perfect angel she will always be (uh huh) I feel the look... I know the look... I know what they're thinking : "how can that mom possibly let her daughter out there to play in that acid-rain. She's going to end up with hookworms or dengue fever or some kind of catastrophic ailment. I bet she even feeds her kid blue food coloring!"

Personally, I was just happy she kept her clothes on. I mean lets get real here. Thankfully Mark was there and he was giving Tanner a bottle b/c otherwise I would have had to prop the bottle up with a blanket (another stellar parenting move) to go out there and ask that Evelyn not bathe in the water anymore.

And as I watch the sweet couple gather up angel baby and put her in her $400 BoB stroller and mosey on out of the restaurant looking at me with all the contempt of a first time parent of a 2 month old who can't throw a fit or smash ice cream into your face or bathe in the acid water filled playground I smile and just pray they have a second kid!

So I'll leave you with this quote today:

Matthew 7:1-2 Judge not that you be not judged. For the judgement you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

Have a great weekend!!

MRM

here's the link to the article

EXCUSES EXCUSES EXCUSES

so as I was showering for the first time this week (yes, it's Wednesday, don't judge me!) I was wondering at what point am I going to have to stop using the excuse of "I have a newborn" to get out of showering, potlucks, and the ever present in my life, jewelry/ candle buying parties?  I'm thinking by the time Tanner is 4 I'll have to give it up.

so i did it.

So since we all know I'm pretty bad about remembering to send out the most recent pictures of the kids or happenings in our life, I've decided to create this blog

Come visit at your leisure and see what kind of mayhem is occurring down in our little slice of heaven called Texas.

Melissa