Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a safe and wonderful holiday season with your families! Apologies to everyone on not getting Christmas cards out this year! I just simply had no idea where this year went! By the time it caught up to me - it was over and too late!
To update everyone, I started a new job in February 2011 at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP). They are an accounting firm - I know what you are thinking! No worries, we do tons more than auditing and taxes and I have absolutely nothing to do with the taxes we file so rest assured!
I love the job and am relieved to no longer work for my former employer. It has been a transition to move back into the "real" world of business but I'm grateful, happy and am adjusting well.
We put our house on the market in June 2011 - we have a few interested people - no real bites and are now attempting to sell it ourselves. We'll see how this goes :) The housing market as you know is not the best and it's even worse in our neighborhood. Our goal is to sell it and move before Madison starts school. Unless we enroll her in a private school, that will be when she is 6 due to her birthday so we have sometime. We are not sure where we want to move exactly - more than likely the Sugar Land area but we will see!
Madison turned the big 4 in October. We have had a blessed year with her thus far. She's moved to a new school which has helped her tremendously! She's learning at a rate in which Chip and I can barely keep up (I know, scary considering she's not even in school yet!) Let's just say we plan on having a large tutor budget for the areas in which Mommy & Daddy are lacking :)
Chip is still working at the shop, still working out and still continues to be a great dad and hubby! Not much changes with him! He's a trooper to keep up with us girls!
More to come in 2012......

All I Want For Christmas....

All Madison wanted for Christmas was princess, princess, princess stuff! So, our house (at least the west wing) has officially exploded in princess stuff everywhere including her very own princess room!!!! Santa was good to Maddie this year!

Such a girl....

So, we are in the phase of our lives with Madison where everything is pink, everything is sparkly and everything is princess!!! This is what I LIVE for people! This is why I had to have a girl - it simply wouldn't work any other way! My daughter is just simply perfect for me :)

Here we are this morning on our way to ballet - in all pink of course!

Sweet n' Sassy

I think this is the perfect place for my 4 year old as I don't know anyone who is more "Sweet n' Sassy" than Madison!

She got her nails painted purple and pink sparkle - alternating fingers! LOL

Turned out pretty cute - I told her they looked like Princess Nails and she was sold :)

Family Night @ The Unerfusser's!

So every night of the week, we do our best to do something as a family and to keep Madison from watching too much TV :) This was clearly bake night! Madison is getting very good and I think her cupcakes turned out cute not to mention super yummy! Not great for my diet but that's ok :)

Houston Ballet - The Nutcracker 2011

One of my favorite things...

So what is my all time FAVORITE thing to do!?!?

I love curling up in bed with my Maddie, watching a movie and just hanging out. I have no clue how long this will last but with any luck, it will be a long, long time!

Thanksgiving Lunch

So blessed! I love my new job and I love that I have some flexibility within reason to finally not miss the good stuff! LIKE having Thanksgiving lunch with Madison at her new school :)

Recent Pics of Maddie

4th Birthday!

Happy Halloween!!!

Maddie (Snow White) Trick or Treating with all her friends :)

Gymnastics 2.0

So we took a little break and now we are back doing dance (Ballet and Tap) as well as gymnastics! She didn't look like she had taken almost 2 years off! She jumped right back in like an old pro!

Henderson Elementary Agrees that Reading Rocks!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of going to Henderson Elementary and volunteering to read to the students through EWI. 90% of the children at Henderson in our own 5th ward have 1 or both parents who are in jail. The other 10% are property of the State in foster care. 100% of the students who attend are on a reduced or free meal plan and the school is threatened to be closed almost every year. It's funny - it's just on the other side of the highway, in our own city. It's easy to ignore them when you aren't looking. Yesterday Clutch from the Rockets, myself and other members of EWI went to Henderson, had a ton of fun with the students and they all received free shirts and books compliments of EWI.

They all stated the reason they felt reading and education was important to them and expressed their desire to be lawyers, doctors, teachers - some of Houston's greatest :) I have faith in them and I look forward to seeing them all again very soon!

Happy Birthday!

So on the 16th I turned 34 - eek! Luckily for me, my parents took me to Corpus to get away and remind me that I'm still young enough to have some fun! We had a great "family" trip and check out the view from our hotel room! Was sad to come home - was nice to wake up to this every mornnig! I see a beach retirement in my future.....

The Center

There is an amazing place in Houston - The Center for Mental Retardation and PwC picked there as our place to do our community service day. Lucky for me, I'm friends with the head lady heading up the event and work for the BIG boss (the lady to my right) so while the others were slaving away in our 104* heat, I was inside, stuffing fruit cakes :) PwC had more than 150 volunteers show up that day and we had so much fun!

Ah, another precious moment! We are at PF Chang's enjoying dinner - here Madison is showing off her mad chopstick skills and of course, being silly - a trait that is her father's of course! :)

New Steps Forward....

If you have talked to me at all in the past 4 years then I'm almost positive you have heard me complain about Madison's daycare! The list is so long that I just don't even care to get into all the details! Besides, as I said before, I'm sure most of you have already heard it! Today was her first day at her new school. I don't know who was more excited - me or her!

She has also grown a lot as a little person the past few weeks - Chip and I couldn't be more impressed or proud of her! For a little reward we got her a few new decorating items for her big girl room - she picked them out - some pink zebra sheets, a few fury pillows and a super bright shag rug....yes, she's 100% my daughter! :)

She also got a new backpack and shoes for school! Again, notice that they are PINK Nike's!?!? This little nut didn't fall far from the tree :)

Madion's social schedule is packed these days - more than her father and I's combined :) I enjoy watching her with her friends and am grateful that she's made some in the neighborhood. Here she is at the pool with our neighbor boys & girls.