Texas Longhorn Football

Diane came to the twins birthday party and spent the night with me, but she did have a choice! She could have gone to the UT football game with husband Richard, a true orange-blood. However the game was at 2:30 in the afternoon, Richard's friend, who is his former college roommate and best man at their wedding, was making the trip with Richard, and they were driving to Austin and back the same day. So she opted for a twins-visit and dinner and an overnight at my house. Good choice, as we watched the Longhorns take it on the chin from UCLA. Plus the announcer said it was 110 degrees on the field at gametime, probably not much cooler in the stands.
But usually she goes to the games with Richard. I'm sure they are somewhere in the picture above. It is his enjoyment in life, and not any different that men who play golf every weekend. The football season doesn't last ALL year, and golf club memberships and green fees, plus clubs, balls, lessons, etc. for a year probably cost more than Longhorn season tickets. And even though one of Richard's requirements for retirement living was that it be no more than an hour from Memorial Stadium, the lots in Eagle's Nest in Burnet meet that need and have really nice hill country views!

Our family has a long and strong Longhorn tradition, Daddy Bob went there, my sister and I both went there, and husbands. Three of our sons went there, Jeremy and Jason's brother Nick went there, and Jennifer's sister and her husband, and Richard's sister. Richard's Mom was a big Longhorn fan, and traveled with him and Diane to many Thanksgiving Day games. Both of my daughters-in-law have their game day gear, as do the John, Claire and Jake, and I'm sure Taylor will be decked out for the Turkey Day game this year. But is Richard's thing, and Diane and son Blaine enjoy it with him as a family thing.

Jeremy was a member of the Texas Longhorn Hell-Raisers in his sophomore year, he went to games bare-chested with a large orange letter painted on his chest. I have a newspaper photo to prove it! (not the one below).
So although one can't count on Diane and Richard to be available for weekend activities in the fall, or at least check the Longhorn football schedule before trying to plan something with them in the fall, that is their thing, and everyone should have a "thing" in their life.

Dining on the lake

After the twins birthday party, sister Diane and I tried out 5 Guys Hamburgers out by the lake. It is located in the same strip center as County Line and Sam's Boat, 2 other restaurants, and down from Marble Slab and Double Dave's Pizza. A plethora of artery-narrowing dining options! Bill and I have been to Sam's Boat several times, but it was too hot to sit outside. The evening that Diane and I were at 5 Guys, we wandered to the outside eating area toward the back. I was surprised to see it opened out to a large plaza, open to other eating areas for Sam's Boat and County Line. From there we walked down a ramp to the water, where a wide sidewalk continued on around the back of the entire strip center. There was a marina with multiple docks each with multiple boat slips, boats and jet skis for rent, and a larger dock over the water that had a fish feeding hole in the middle of it, with fish food dispensers, like gumball machines. I never knew any of this existed! But now that the weather is cooling off, sitting outside in the evening eating shrimp or barbecue will be more enjoyable.

Diane and I out on the fish feeding pier.

Looking back towards the restaurants from the fish feeding dock.

The fish in the fish feeding area are way to large for this guy to have a meal. He must be just enjoying the cool breezes from the lake.

Tossing fish food into the hole in the dock causes a frenzy of activity.

Twins First Birthday

The twins had an awesome first birthday party. Claire greeted her guests wearing her new tutu.

She took a liking to a purple purse carried by one of the small party goers, and had to show it to Sam, who showed her the correct way to carry a purse.

This is just a small sampling of the presents. Of course, there are TWO recipients!
Party goers enjoyed a great lunch, with seating both inside and out.
Claire wanted to go join the outside group. But when I took her outside and stood her up in the grass, she picked up one foot, then the other, I don't think she liked being barefoot in the grass! She takes after her JanMa!
Jake just likes being held, by anyone.
Claire enjoys watching cousin Maddie.
Another set of twins attend the party.
Jake and Claire let Kathy Boyle and daughter Shannon hold them.
Claire shows off her first birthday outfit with a big number 1 on the front.
Each twin had an individual cake. There were 2 large cakes, one for each twin, for the rest of the party goers to eat. See video below of twins tasting their first birthday cake.

After cake, the presents were opened. Jeremy helped Claire open hers, Jennifer helped Jake. Jake was mostly content to sit in mom's lap, Claire wriggled free from dad pretty soon and enjoyed playing with the gift sacks. Luz, sitting next to Jeremy, is the twins' nanny.



Jake and Claire got an early birthday present from their mom and dad, and got to try it out before the party.

A good time was had by all. And I'm hopeful the twins took a long afternoon nap after everyone left.

Bill becomes a Grandpa!

On Friday, September 17, Bill got to welcome William Jeffrey into the world, his first grandchild, a boy and a namesake. What a thrill. William is a robust 9lb 4oz big guy, with a lusty wail to match his size. But when I got in to hold him, he was quite settled and sleeping well.

Jeff and William Jeffrey, less than an hour old.
Bill gets to hold grandson William. Check out little William's dark hair.
JanMa gets to hold him too. He's looking at me!

Uncle Brent takes a turn.
Then back to Bill

Finally Mom Jaime gets him back.

Here are all the Schultze boys and Jaime before William arrives.

This is the first grandchild for both sides of the family, and Grandpa Bill and Grandpa Andrew both had looks of awe and wonder on their faces. Andrew kept saying "this is amazing, just amazing". It's not like William was a surprise, we have known for over a week that he would arrive shortly after 4:30 the afternoon of September 17. It is more like an epiphany, a sudden and crystal clear vision of the future, of all life's experiences this child will have, along with an understanding of the past. A man has a son, now his son has a son, and this man had a father, and a grandfather. Although this man did not know his father and grandfather as young men and babies, and this man will not know the grandson as a father and grandfather, but at least he now knows that he is a link in that chain. And that seems to evoke those feelings of awe and wonder.

More about going back to work!

After a full 5 day work week, I had no trouble sleeping Friday and Saturday nights. Just the early mornings, hit the floor in the "get ready for work" mode, and not the unlimited amounts of time in the afternoons/evenings. But since this sub job won't last forever, the time crunch doesn't even bother me. I did run to Kroger's on Saturday morning, but it wasn't crowded at all. And the job itself is totally no stress at all. I get to answer the phone, take messages or forward to the right person, respond to emails, file things, keep up with some stuff, pick up the mail, and hunt for stuff in the 3 locations that this department has stuff stored.

Hunting for College Night stationary in the C&I storeroom.

One unexpected downside was the amount of laundry that needed to be hung up in the closet! Now doing the laundry is no problem, I did sort into 2 loads, as opposed to a single load when it is my hanging out clothes. And I dried everything in the dryer just fine. But the number of articles of clothing that had to be hung up in the closet was a surprise. Since retirement, I mostly toss clothes into drawers, but this past week I was wearing things that came off of hangers and needed to go back onto hangers. So although it only took a few extra minutes, hanging things up in the closet is one of those chores I really don't like to do. There is nothing relaxing or calming about it, I don't get that "happy successful" feeling when it is over, I really have some deep-seated abhorrent feelings about hanging up clothes in the closet! Go figure...
I have chosen to work early hours with this job, arriving at 7:00 and leaving at 3:30, so I still have the afternoon to swim. Tipper is feeling better and has found a comfortable place to hang out while I swim in the afternoons.
Next week I'm watching the twins one day, back to my sub gig Tuesday - Friday. I will look forward to some extra income! I hope some other secretary needs to take a week or so off later in October.

Sunday morning with the twins

This is a follow-up from last weekend when I spent Saturday night/Sunday morning with the twins. They woke up at 6:00 a.m., which is about the time I FINALLY dozed off. The baby monitor can be a curse, cause you hear every little sigh and pacifier suck. Then if you don't hear any noises, you have to go check to make sure they are still breathing! So although I'm sure I did get some sleep, it didn't feel like it, cause I was awake quite a bit.
So at 6:00, I raced downstairs to get the bottles I had made up the night before. The babies were happy and chattering away, I changed both of them, then we went into the media room, closed the door, turned on a Baby Einstein dvd, and we all got in the playpen, and Jake and Claire got their bottles. (It is a big playpen!) I stretched out with a pillow, they stood hanging on to the bars with bottles in one hand and eyes glued to the TV. After a bit, they both sat and scooted back toward me, and sort of lay against my side, sort of like being in a recliner, and kept watching TV. At 8:00 we went downstairs for breakfast, then at 9:00 back upstairs for more playtime, with a nap planned for 10:00. By then mom and dad were up, and they took over. I came home and took a long hard nap!

Back to Work!

I have started back to work... sort of. I signed up to substitute teach to make some extra $$$ to meet the property tax bill in December. My first job is subbing 2-4 weeks for an administrative assistant in the admin building, my old stomping grounds! It is working out great from my point of view, I know the people, the technology systems, it is a short commute, and the pay is almost that of a sub teacher, but a LOT less stressful than teaching 2nd grade, or any grade for that matter!
Despite the pluses of this job as a sub job, it is still a job that requires early morning wake-up and go to work routines, and it keeps me away from the house and my slothful ways for 8 1/2 hours a day. Driving home after the 2nd day, I found myself in the "hurry up frenzy" I used to experience, planning to do this, then that, then something else before I could "relax" at home after work. Nuts to that! I can break that habit now, because this job will only last a few weeks and I can go back to my leisurely pursuit of doing not very much as slow as I want. It also made me realize that sometimes it is just as important to know what you DON'T want to do as it is to know what you DO want to do. And I know that I DON'T want any kind of regular job, even part time job. I can enjoy a 2 week sub job, and I love to babysit the twins from time to time, and I can get obsessed about JanMa's Digital Memories project. None of those things will take up the next year of my life, and I can be flexible with all of it so that I can make a trip to McKinney to see John, and soon Taylor, or join Bill in some exotic location that he has to travel to. I truly have a blessed life at this point in time.

Totally off the topic, Tipper kitty was a bit under the weather, having some problems walking. He has a bone spur on his last vertebrae that had inflamed the tissue with the beginning of some infection. This was all discovered after x-rays and blood tests, and vet bills are NOT covered by insurance! A week after the shots and pills, Tipper was feeling much better. He still wanted to get on my bed at night, but he wasn't supposed to jump. So I rigged up some steps for him to use.
Unfortunately, I cannot give Tipper his medication very well, so I'm making a quick trip to the vet every afternoon when I get off work to have Debbie the cat whisperer give him his pill and pain medication. I'm glad the vet is close! If I wasn't working, I'd be taking him twice a day, or I'd have more time at home to wrestle with him over taking the pills. But he's a really good kitty, he has brought me a lot of enjoyment and pleasure, he purrs loudly and is a good lap cat. So I'd like to keep him around for a bit longer.

Twins are still cute.

I've had some quality twin time the past two weekends. Last Sunday I babysat the twins while Jennifer and Jeremy went shopping for office furniture. Jennifer is setting up an office for her practice. I saw it and it is very nice, and will enhance her legal mediation practice. But I got to take the twins in MY car for the very first time. I drove them to pick up Courtney who was going to babysit with me and spend the night. Then we went to babies' house for the rest of the afternoon/evening. Here they are in JanMa's car for the very first time.

Jake enjoys his dinner.

The next weekend was Jeremy's birthday weekend, and I had offered to babysit for the evening and overnight, then get up with the babies in the morning, so Jeremy and Jennifer could sleep in. It was my birthday present to Jeremy, and hopefully it was priceless. The babies were great, we had fun and they went to sleep easily.

Jeremy and Claire watch the start of the UT football game.

JanMa takes Jake and Claire for a ride in the wagon around the driveway.

Jake enjoys the attention of both mom and dad.

Jake has the cutest smile.

So does Claire, and she shows off her transition sippy cup. They both get their milk from these cups now instead of a bottle.

It takes two to change a diaper.

Video of Jake and Claire taking a ride around the driveway in the wagon.



This was from last weekend when Courtney and I babysat. Claire starting gathering toys and putting them in her nap nanny, then climbed in herself. I think she wanted to lay down with the stuffed animals, but couldn't quite figure it out.

Babysitting for John

Last week I went to McKinney to babysit for John while Ashley and Jason attended the funeral events for her grandfather, who raised her as her father. Howard Clark was 88 years old, and beloved by family and many friends. I was fortunate to have met him and visited with him a few times. He liked Jason, so I of course loved him.
John and I had a great time, he accepted me without reservation, no tears or distress over his mom and dad not being there. I held him while we waved good-bye to them on Thursday, and got to experience dinner time, bath time (including medicine, which he took like a champ), and bedtime. Ashley and Jason have John in such a consistent routine that it was easy for both me and John. On Friday I picked him up from a neighbor and spent another afternoon playing with John. I had a great time, and he had fun. Ashley and I both feel better about me watching John when Taylor is born!

John likes to look at books.

He also seems to like to strum his guitar and Jason's banjo.

John likes to put things inside something (a plastic tub or box) and then dump them out again.

We had pasta for dinner.

John has his own chair on the patio.

I took John for a ride in the wagon earlier.
Jason installs a shade cover on the wagon for future rides.

Ashley and friend Lorissa show off matching babies-to-be.

John also likes to dance and watch Nick,Jr on TV.