Force of habit!!

I have been up for the past few hours wondering what to do with myself. For the past 8 years, I have instictively popped up early on this day so that I can put all the final touches on my daughter's birthday bash. Well this year, like so many before, I am up but with nothing to do. This year my big girl is only inviting 3 friends to have lunch and then go swimming. Wow! what a change from the past.

We have hosted diva parties, pop star parties, had swimming soirees at every local dive you can think of, including Schitterbahn, but today a quiet house. So since I am up, I have used this quiet time to reflect and thank God for the many blessings we have experienced since having Trinity in our lives. I am so thankful that He has intrusted me with her.

BUT old habits do die hard, so I still made goodie bags filled with flip flops, floaties, candy, snacks, stampers with a gem handle, water tied with ribbon and kool aid packets and twisty straws hang from them. I couldn't help myself. What? she's still my baby. ;-)

Remember me?

Once upon a time, there was a girl with a dream....skiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirk! No time for fairy tales. Life has been rolling by with no sign of slowing down. It has been almost a year since I have posted, and I miss writing.

My girls are growing by leaps and bounds, so I am having to remember to take it all in. My 8year old is truly coming into her own. She is bright and funny, and each day brings something new with her. Science is her favorite subject and she even named her fish after constellations. As a matter of fact she said, "of course they have to be named after something to do with space."

My wild and rowdy three year old, brings drama and chaos to any given situation, but I could not imagine life without her. Since I have been back to work, I have missed so many things in her day. Last week when she wrote f-h-j on a piece of paper and said, "Look mommy this word says fudge...[fuhj]." As she sounded it out phonetically, I was in awe and a little sad all at the same time. The sadness was fleeting, but I was so proud of her. Now, that I am aware she wants to write for me almost everyday. I love it.

There has been lots of transition in our lives, but I can only say we are the better for it(even on days that it is hard to see the good). I have always had faith in God and I believe the best is yet to come.

Until next time, be blessed.

Confession

My name is Ursula and I am addicted to Facebook. I love to blog, but over the last several months I have neglected it for the short quick posts of FB! Today I am ready to break that cycle and get back on task. Let's see, where shall I start.

We had a fabulous summer. Every time we tried to plan some form of family vacation it kept falling through so we soon realized that everyone should plan their own "stay-cations" and that worked out well for all three families involved. The girls spent lots of time swimming and playing outside. We saw lots of family members and friends and just had fun.

My first born turned 7, so we celebrated with a trip to Schlitterbahn and a tea party with some friends. She was in heaven. She is now in second grade. She loves school and loves to tell us what "she knows." The funny thing is she is amazed that we know it too. We never tire of laughing at that. She often asks my husband and I "are you sure?" Hey we have been out of school for a while, but there is still a little knowledge left upstairs. :-)

The two year old potty trained over the summer and it was really hard at first, because she was literally going about every 15 minutes. Some days my husband and I would ask each other, whose turn is it to help now. She has done really well and we are proud. She also loves to sing now, which is absolutely awesome. We hear Twinkle Twinkle Little Star about 5 times a day. She is also learning to spell her name, but she combines the Alphabet song with it. T R I S T-UVWXYZ. Now technically she isn't wrong because S T U is the order of the alphabet, but that doesn't spell her name. I still love to hear it though.

My husband, Chef Boudreaux or Cookie Man, as he is affectionately known at church has been really busy. He is still full time at IBM, but his wonderful hobby of cooking has him just as busy. I am so proud of him for following his dreams.

Although I have been MIA I have posted information about the book on Facebook and even started a fan page. I have to admit I took advantage of the summers days with the girls, so I am having to hit it pretty hard now to make up for lost time. No problem though.

Being a wife and mom is awesome, but I realized I was neglecting myself, so when school started this year I started a daily bike ride. I use that time to pray and just clear my mind. I am loving the time to myself, it also is making a difference in the way my clothes fit too. Yahoo!!!!
But seriously I encourage all parents to do something for yourselves, it is amazing. I purposely pass by my daughter's school on my bike route, that way I can pray for each child, teacher, and other staff in the building. It is always good to lift up others in your prayer life.

Well I plan to be more faithful to my blog and show up with a post a lot more often. I might even post a pick or two. Be blessed!

Too much love?

So tonight my sister-in-love and I had a lukewarm disagreement. We were both passionate about our position and both very adamant about getting our point across. Neither of us were ready to back down and both of us "just knew" we were right. What caused all this hoopla? Quite simply, the love of a child.

Sometimes life can put you in such a tailspin, that no matter how much you care about someone, you have to agree to disagree and move forward. What were we arguing about? It really doesn't matter, but what does matter is that when two people are trying to reach the same goal, in two very different ways, there is bound to be some friction.

We are both striving to be excellent moms, but with two different approaches. One thing we do have in common is no matter what the kids will all have love and respect for God (and family). Both of us were fueled by the challenges that life has presented us from the past 24hours to the last 6months to a year or so. My point is, we will continue to go on living and loving each other as we have forever. We were on two different paths when we first met, but that didn't stop us from bonding then either.

To think there are children out there who just want to be loved, in this family it is overflowing and sometimes the cup runneth over.

For the Children

So how do you begin a post about such a controversial individual? The music industry has lost a talented icon, while 3 little children have lost a father. I can't explain the emotion that I feel, but the faces (sometimes disguised) of the children continue to cross my mind.

I understand that there were those out there who despised the very ground that he moon-walked on, but the media has no regard for the pain that his children may be in right now. I just happened to catch a news story about a week and a half ago where he was out with his children and for a change they were unveiled. I immediately thought maybe these kids have a chance at normalcy.


Regardless of which side you fall on Guilty/Innocent, it is a life lost, with a tragic ending to go with it. I am not asking anyone to change their mind, but as a parent, please pray for the children of MJ.

Barnes and Noble is today...to be continued

http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/author-events/Ursula-Wade-Boudreaux/2095481

Summer

Well school is out and the girls are full of energy. We successfully finished the Spring season of soccer, which was quite an adventure because my husband coached the 6 year old's team, and they were busy. She played really well and he was really proud(me too). She is on her way to second grade, and has big plans to run a lemonade stand on Saturday mornings this summer. As we speak she is working on a picture of the model stand. It's actually quite creative.

The 2 year old is running around trying to do everything her big sister does, including jumping from the wall into the swimming pool. When we first got there she didn't even want to get in, then 10 minutes later she was all over the pool in chest deep water. I am amazed at how fast she is growing and how fiercely independent she tries to be. She asks, "What you do-an (doing)?" at least 10 times and hour, even if she knows. She also rides a mean tricycle.

For the month of June we have a laundry list of birthdays and parties, husband, 2 brothers, niece, god-daughter, 3 friends, lions, tigers, bears, oh my! Needless to say I haven't had much time to make plans for myself.

However, I am very proud to say that I will be at Barnes and Noble in La Frontera on the 27th of this month, so I am more than excited. The book signings have turned out to be an awesome way to meet people whose path I would probably not have crossed. The phrase everybody has a story is so true. So many people openly share stories about their faith as soon as they find out the story is faith based.

Stay tuned throughout the next few weeks, I plan to post more and include pictures from some of the signings. Have a safe and blessed summer!

Caught off guard!

It was a really busy weekend for the Boudreaux family with 2 soccer games for the six year old, a play date and two book signings. Oh I forgot to mention the two year old was having a major health challenge. Well we pulled it all off with the help of family and friends. It was truly a lot of creative juggling going on.

On Saturday I was at Hastings and the end of my signing the manager offered to put my book on an end-cap display. I wanted to run allover the store doing cartwheels, in my high heels. Instead I calmly mentioned that I would love that and I appreciated his support.

The real shocker took place on Sunday. My husband and the six year old went with me to the church where I was scheduled to speak and when my time came the pastor invited all three of us up there to stand together. So as I was speaking, I became overwhelmed with emotion as if I was about to cry. I had to pause, because this truly caught me off guard. I realized in that moment how God was using me as a vessel for His works.

I quickly regained composure, but the joy I felt(and still feel as I write this) was unexplainable. The church was so warm and friendly, I truly enjoyed the experience. Well everybody have a blessed week and take time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Rites of Passage

The six year old is growing up so fast and coming into her own. She is getting so tall and has a beautiful free spirit about her, so much so that I am often in awe. We talk about so much on a daily basis that sometimes my husband just looks at me because he knows when I am fighting back tears. He gently reminds me that she is just growing up.

Last Friday we decided to let her get her first relaxer aka perm or chemically straightened. It is so cute, she looks like such a big girl. A true right of passage. Stick with me, I am taking the long way around to get to the point. Well after talking about how much she is growing and all we tell her it's time to part with the booster seat in the truck. Get this! She doesn't want too.

Underneath this big girl exterior lies my beautiful baby girl. On one hand I want to say, "Girl get out of that seat!" Then on the other hand I want her to feel comfortable in making her own decision when it comes to this. She has said before that she doesn't feel safe without it. However that was about 4 months ago, when she was significantly smaller.

The joys of motherhood. Letting them grow up is so hard, but it is so awesome to see it happen. I thank God that he picked her for me.

Learning to take a compliment...again.

Since the beginning of time, or at least my time, I have never had trouble accepting compliments. At least not according to my mom, who used to say I fished for them. Well something has happened along the way. I found myself surprised at the last two book signings when people piled on the kudos.

Why? I don't know. That has never been an issue for me, but as I survey the past few months I see a pattern. Well...timeout for that. I have worked hard, stayed up late, gotten up early, neglected friends and made all around sacrifices to make this book happen. I am so proud to say that today I am learning to take compliments in style.

No this is not where the "big headed-ness" starts, but I do believe in self fulfilling prophecy. If I tear myself down, nobody else has to do it for me. This has been such a wonderful journey and I want my daily life to reflect that too.