Grass looks so good!

We are getting grass today.... They are laying sod as I type...hiphiphorray

Mud Pool

Well, overnight storms have left three huge mud pools in the backyard. I could easily make them goldfish ponds if I wanted to do so. I am so glad Ryan is with the team and not here at home. He would have a heart attack!

Backyard Details...

Yesterday we began on our backyard renovation. We literally had one tree in the backyard when we moved in a couple of months ago and so we needed a jumping off point to get us started. We decided to add an additional patio onto our existing patio and add a sidewalk and fire pit to the patio. Turns out we have huge drainage issues.........I came home to a 12 foot tall pile of wet red dirt, tire tracks throughout the yard, and standing water three feet below ground level. My heart sank when I looked at the yard, but I have hope that by the time they finish, we will have a wonderful new entertaining area. This is an open invitation to all of you out there....please come to Oklahoma and have a glass of wine with me on my new patio :)

A day in the life of a preschool teacher

Screams and Cries
Diarrhea
Vomiting
Runny noses

Tough day at school today :(
Need I say more.....

Rules A Father Should Learn.

Rules a father should learn...
1) Listen to your wife/mother of your children, they know everything!

Okay, that should do it. Only one rule to live by, short and to the point. Now if I could only get Ryan to jump on board and follow the rules. Today, we took Ady to a great little bistro for Sunday brunch. We were having a great time, enjoyed great food, and even ordered dessert. The dessert came to the table in a box and so we decided to take it home and enjoy it for later. Ryan of course says,"Ady it is your job to carry the box to the car." Being the non-controlling parent (no laughs please) I decided that was not a good idea. "Why don't we let me carry it," I said. Then giving Ryan some mama knowledge as to what was going to happen to the cakes if we continued to allow Ady to hold the box of goodies. But no....Ryan insisted that Ady was to take the box of sweets to the car. All mama's out there I know you can see where this is going.....We had almost made it to the door when the bottom of the box opened and our $10.00 piece of cake hit the ground, with Ady left holding the top. It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut until we made it to the car, I think I lasted five steps. Ryan laughed and I thought this is not my first rodeo, I am with our child 99.9% of the time, why don't you listen to me! As we drove away all I could say was, "This is going on my blog!" Ryan rolled his eyes and with a chuckle said, "I am sure it will."

Happy Birthday MawMaw Betty Lou

On this wonderful spring day, my beautiful grandmother, Betty was born. We all know her as Mawmaw Betty Lou (Even though Lou is not in her real name :). She is the heart and soul of the Houston Family. If it weren't for her my Mama would not be the amazing person she is and I would not be who I am. She is everything a mother and grandmother should be....kind, warm, compassionate, healing and so much more. So I wanted to take a moment to say "Happy Birthday Mawmaw!" We love you so much, thank you for giving us an example of the kind of person we should all aspire to be.

Dinner and a Show

For the first time in as long as I can remember, Ryan is home on a Friday night. So we have started a Friday night tradition which to Ady will be known as Movie Night. We rented some movies, curled up on the couch in our jammies, and had my homemade pizza. What a great night for family time. There is no place I would rather be than with my two favorite stinkers!

The reason for this short post is that I wanted to share a recipe that I concocted. I wanted to make my traditional homemade pizza but wanted a healthy alternative. So I took out all of the fresh ingredients out of the fridge, and the pizza turned out so good, Ryan says it is the best I have ever made. I hope you enjoy the recipe and will try it at home for your families next movie night.

1 box jiffy pizza dough
(Make dough as directed, the trick to good dough is warm water)

After preparing the dough, place it on the pizza pan and add the below toppings.
2 tablespoons sundried tomato pesto spread evenly (Classico..in the pasta sauce section of the grocery)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I like out of a jar instead of fresh)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup of diced tomato from a can ( I prefer over fresh due to the juices you get out of a can)
Add mushrooms of choice
Cover with fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup olive oil over the top of entire pizza
Sprinkle with Fresh Parmesan Cheese
Dust with Garlic Salt
Place in oven until golden brown and Enjoy

Her very own set of clubs!

Monday night Ryan and I spent the evening watching our little girl hit ball after ball after ball on the golf course. She was dragging my clubs around and after about two hours of it, Ryan looked at me and said, "It's time for her own set of clubs."

So...after school on Tuesday...I found Ryan and Blake (Ryan's assistant/substitute wife) cutting down clubs. These were the tiniest clubs I had ever seen and who do you think they fit? No one but our beautiful two and a half year old little girl. I have never seen her so excited to have her very own real golf clubs. And I have to say I don't think I have ever been so excited to see a set of clubs myself!

The Masters!

The Masters is the greatest sporting event known to mankind, well at least in the Hybl home. It is the only golfing event that I can truly say that Ryan and I love to watch together. This year we could not be together during the tournament, I wasn't alone though...with Ady by my side and my texting ability heightened I watched all four days of the treasured tournament. Ryan I and decided it would be a great idea to bet each other who would win. (For those of you who might be reading this, we know it is illegal for Ryan to bet in the sporting world, lets just call it a friendly game between a husband and wife) I thought this was a great idea. We each got three choices...I chose KJ, Steve Stricker, and Jim Furyk...Ryan chose Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, and Ian Poulter. If you watched the Masters at all you would have already realized I was a defeated person from the beginning. I believe there is a verse in Genesis that reads "Thou shalt not bet against husband when it concerns the game of golf." I also believe there is a Chinese proverb that reads...Wife who bets against husband in game of golf will forever be known as STUPID IDIOT. And my favorite is the Native American name given to me Raging Bull***t!
I love the latter and I was given that name after I was not victorious and realized my husband is in the golfing world, keeps up with all of the statistics, and records the golf channel. DUH! How could I have been so stupid. Let's just say next year I will be more prepared, if anyone wants to get me a Christmas gift you can buy me a subscription to Golfweek. And for all of you who want to know what Ryan wins...I am still waiting to hear what he wants...Can you say the calm before the storm.....

Pictures To Come Soon

I will have many pictures to post soon. Just so you know my beautiful talented 2 year old has taken over the camera and now it will not even turn on. So I will be making a trip to "the stow" to get "some mo" (better known as the store for all of you who do not know my sweet Ady, everything we can fix, "its okay we go to the stow and get some mo" she says quite often.

I decided to buy her a fake kids camera. I admit it was an impulse buy, we were standing in line at the checkout and she saw another little girl playing with one and so we Had to buy it. (Please spare me with the parenting tips on giving your child everything they want. If you are telling me that you have never bribed or rewarded for a good trip to the grocery store....YOU ARE LYING!) Anyway, it was a cute little camera that had a screen that showed finding nemo in the ocean. It made the camera sound when you clicked the button and even lit up. My child of course says to me after we had paid and made it to the car. "Mama it doesn't work, I took your picture and it is not in the camera, It is just fishies....I don't like this camera." Whatever happened to the days when you took a picture and you didn't automatically see the picture you took. What happened to film...Already my child knows that I can not fool her with kids stuff, she wants the real thing with "the real picture."

The Easter Bunny Gives A Big Surprise!

As spring arrived in Oklahoma I realized how much I missed being in the south for spring. I longed for tulips, buttercups, beautiful green grass, and family. So very last minute Ryan offered to fly Ady and I back to Georgia for Easter. What a great surprise it was!! After driving 3 hours to Wichita, lugging her and all of our luggage through the airport, boarding a plane with a 2 year old and all that includes, a 75 mile an hour tailwind and we were in the deep south. A phone call later and Ady and I found ourselves outside of the Atlanta airport for an hour waiting on my brother. We had planned a 9 hour travel surprise and of course I-20 had a pile up and Josh was stuck in it. This is why I do not plan surprises. Even with the hiccup I was not bothered by it...I was home...humidity, pollen clouds and all! As we made our way back to Athens the surprise was a complete success. No one suspected a thing and I have never seen my Mama so excited. With screams of joy, a few happy tears, and absolute shock we were home for Easter, just where we needed to be. It was just as I had pictured it. Green grass, tulips, and buttercups, my Mama's garden never disappoints. So stealing a line from Dorothy, "There is no place like home."