BURBMOM: THE BEGINNING

A few years ago I started a blog.
I don’t know why I started a blog.
Why , Oh, why did I start a blog?

I started writing every day. I enjoyed the writing. I enjoyed the online community that developed around my blog and the blogs that I read regularly. Before long I found that many of the people I considered friends were people I had never met in person.

A year and 1/2 ago one of my online friends emailed me to make sure I knew about a group of bloggers meeting in Dallas. I signed up anxious to meet my friends.

As the details formulated, I mentioned that I lived close to the airport and could easily pick up people who were flying in for the weekend. Shauna, the person who was organizing the event emailed me asking where I lived. I replied…

Flower Mound, TX (it is just North of DFW in the metroplex)

When she replied that she lived in Flower Mound too I nearly fell off my chair.

One of my anonymous blogging friends was my neighbor.

We met in person soon after this revelation. Soon after that we met our non-Flower Mound blogging friends for an amazing weekend of fun.

That is how it started. As a blogger writing under the name Texasholly, I ended up with a local friend.

It should be easier to meet local moms.
It should be easier to meet local moms.
It should be easier to meet local moms!

And that is why Burb Mom was created. So much of our life is LOCAL. The places we go, the experiences, the frustrations, the activities, the food, the FUN!

It all starts at home. It all starts in our town. It all starts in our ‘burb.

We created a place where we want to hang out. A website that tells the story of our community.

We don’t just want to tell this story by ourselves. We want you to join us.

Oh! What about that french toast pictured above?
That is a picture of what I ate at the first official Burb Mom meeting (at Le Peep) proving that breakfast is the most important meal of the day…

This was the first post we published when we started Burb Mom in November of 2008.  I am re-running it because I am feeling a little nostalgic and mushy.

Holly’s public restroom tour

Last week we took a road trip to Colorado.

Yes, we like a LOT of other Texans think that Colorado should just be part of Texas (in fact I would be willing to negotiate a map fold arrangement where we cut out about 7 hours of the trip between DFW and Vail).  What I love about Colorado is that pretty much everybody there is from Texas.  It is like we didn’t even leave home…except for the snow, the mountains, the skiing, the density of fine dining and a few snowcats.

The road trip takes us 14 hours at speed limit speed and very, very, very brief stops for the necessities for life.

The necessities of life include some snacking which I can pack ahead for…and the dreaded road trip restroom break.

*insert scary music here*

*very scary music*

*super scary music*

Please don’t make me pee in there!

Yes, this is an actual quote from one of my boys as I FORCED them to pee at a gas station.

I am a super mean mommy who would prefer not mopping up accidents in our relatively new car.

I have been taking road trips since birth.  Many things have improved across America in the 40 years I have been alive, but public gas station restrooms appear NOT to be one of them.

WHY are they so bad?

Let’s take a tour!

Yes.  I took pictures.

THAT is how out of control my disgust is.

So, the first restroom we come to is out of order.  I never know what level of disgustingness is required to actually have the OUT OF ORDER sign posted.  I would have made this call more often.

Good for this gas station for calling it like they see it…

Of course, next door to the OUT OF ORDER restroom is the now MEN AND WOMEN restroom, but please notice that this fine gas dispensing establishment does “NOT have public RR – (they) are for Customers ONLY”.

That must mean they are special.  They want to take good care of their CUSTOMERS and not waste all their restroom effort on the average American that might stop by but not buy anything.

I feel so special.

Until I enter the MEN AND WOMEN room…which by the way you need to “please lock behind you because both men and women are using”, because quite honestly, they should have condemned BOTH restrooms.

And to further our tour at another location there was this…

The haphazardly hanging paper dispenser which was awkwardly positioned next to the previous built-in paper dispenser that was partially ripped out of the wall.  I probably should consider it a miracle that the dispenser actually contained paper towels.

Have you ever noticed that the more disturbingly dirty the sink, the more likely it is to have a 1/2 peeled off sticker somewhere on it that declares it “sanitized”?

Our last picture on this very fine tour looks deceiving.  The walls are still relatively white with just a few watermark trail exceptions, the floor is solid-surface with decent cleaning potential, the toilet is still a shade of white and there is only a little paper on the floor…

So what is my problem?

Let’s just say that it is a good thing that smells cannot be translated through photographs and computer screens.

Yep, it was probably the worst restroom we visited on the trip and although the floor appears pretty clean, there is a 1/2 inch film of standing water across it that continues to make me squeamish just thinking about it.

The last gas station restroom that we visited was disturbing in another way.  I had just helped Rhett through the potty process and we walked out of the stall to the sink only to encounter a MAN.

Oh, and this was NOT the MEN AND WOMEN restroom.

He looked up.  Startled.

I stared at him.  Startled.

We both said at the same time, “am I in the wrong place?”

He left the sink with soapy hands to open the door and look at the sign.

He was in the wrong and fled the scene.  I felt bad for him a few minutes later as he was intentionally dodging any interaction with me in the mini mart.  He was hiding behind displays of soda, snacks and batteries.

There is one redeeming restroom fact that I have learned.  Believe it or not, the state of Texas has created and maintained rest stops that have sparkling clean restrooms.

*gasp*

I would never have believed it possible…the rest stops of my early road trip years were among the most frightening.  They usually boasted accommodations rivaling a porta-potty.  But the rest stops of 2010 are clean, well-stocked, patrolled and downright a pleasure…

except for the “Watch out for Rattlesnake” signs.

Christmas Texas Style at the Gaylord Texan

Last year on our first day of Christmas break,  I decided that I’d take the kids somewhere I’d always wanted to go – the Gaylord Texan.

For those of you that aren’t from the area it’s a huge hotel/convention center that is beautiful and I’d heard that it was all decked out for Christmas.  I really wanted to go the year before, but we could never make it work.  My mom and I took my three kids and my niece and we could have used another set of hands- there was so much to do and see we were constantly having to keep tabs on who had who.

It was super cold that morning so the first thing we had to do is come in and sit by the fire.

Next we saw the obligatory Texas longhorn.  They have to remind us that we’re in Texas.  

The Christmas tree was massive and beautiful.  Like they say- “Every thing’s bigger in Texas” I guess that includes Christmas trees.

My favorite thing was the life size gingerbread house.  It was so much fun to look at and the kids loved it too.  They couldn’t understand why they couldn’t go in.

And for those of you industrious cooks/crafter’s here’s what you’ll need to make this bad boy:

Who doesn’t have 10 gallons of molasses on hand?

Here are a few more things that we saw while were there:

Overall we had a really good time.  We paid $10 to park, but we didn’t pay for anything once we were inside.  It was worth the parking fee- the kids really loved it.

If you’re going there are a lot of places that provide great photo opportunities.

We arrived around 9:45 am and it wasn’t too crowded, but when we were leaving around 11:00 am it was getting pretty crowded.  If you’re going to take pictures go early – it’s much easier to get the shots you want when there are less people.

Oh Christmas Tree!

If you take a little drive down Shiloh road in Double Oak/Flower Mound area between 407 and 1171, this is what awaits you.

It is bright.

It is beautiful.

It is worth the drive.

It is something that just takes my breath away each time I see it.

So glad it is back this year.  I saw it this morning on the way to black Friday shopping...very early.

Canton is a Carnival: Shopping with a Hesitant Hubby

If you’ve lived in Dallas for more than 5 minutes, you surely know what Canton First Monday Trade Days are.  This is the monthly migration where hoards of suburban housewives pile into Cadillac Escalades and Yukon Denalis heading east on Highway 20.   The Friday morning, before the first Monday of each month, the traffic jams begin to form on 20 just past the Forney exit.  Whether your home is Country French, or Shabby Chic, whether you’re looking for holiday decorations, a new piece of jewelry,  knock-off designer bags, or a new puppy for the family, if it’s not in this town at a severely discounted price, it is not on God’s green earth.

I’ve done my share of damage in Canton.  In fact, a few years back, two of my friends and I decided to play hooky from our part time jobs.  At the end of the day, we had crammed so much into the back of the Suburban, one of my buddies had to crawl on top to load a trellis.  A camera crew from a Dallas TV station rolled up next to the truck and began to interview us.  Suffice to say, we had to come clean with our employers as to where we had been, while the news story replayed all weekend on a local channel.

In my opinion, October has the best Trade Days of the year.  The temperatures are much cooler and all of the new Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas items are on display. The smell of roasted turkey legs is much more appealing when it’s a little chilly outside.  The roads leading into Canton are lined with farmers selling fresh fruits, nuts and veggies.  It really is a gorgeous time of year in North Texas.  As delightful as a crisp autumn day is with your friends as you cruise down the aisles and miles of things you really don’t need, catching up on the latest gossip, the trip is severely stressful when you go there with the one you love the most.  Your husband.

Now as a disclaimer, I must first say that my hubby, Brian, gladly offered to go along with me and he never once complained.   Not when we had to park nearly a mile away in a dirty mud pit and his spotless black car got dirty.   Not when we walked up and down the same aisle four times looking for a booth I’d been told about.  Not even when he stood amidst a gaggle of ladies inside a vintage tent as I painstakingly custom ordered several things.  He really is a trooper, and that almost makes it worse!    You  need to get in a different frame of mind when you take your husband and/or your kids.

Instead of meandering to and from pavilions, stopping to sample soups and jams, trying on cute dresses with your friends, this becomes a search and recover mission.   With my girlfriends, I can spend an hour in one building.  With Brian, I got shin splints as I hurriedly make my way to ground zero, not knowing when the plug would be pulled, and the day trip deemed over.  Even though never a harsh word was spoken, and a smile remained on his face, ladies you know what I mean, this was the definition of pressure!

Should you too, choose to have your spouse accompany you to the promised land one weekend, I have a few tips that should make life easier.
1. Park close to where you plan to exit.  Your hubby won’t mind the walk in because he’ll be curious, but on the way out that car had better be close…especially if you expect him to carry any of your purchases.
2. Today is not the day to find an unfamiliar booth.  Know where you’re going and don’t stop to look at extraneous booths along the way, unless he is interested in them.
3. Plan accordingly.   Food and drink vendors are located everywhere.  I know when it’s just the ladies, we snack at the booths and stop for a late lunch.  Trust me on this one, your husband will snack at all the booths and still be hungry at 10am.  Vendors selling Roasted Corn or Sausage Sandwiches  always seem to have a group of men around them.  Go for it!
4. Finally, if you do not want a new pet for the family, don’t even tell him about Dog Alley.  Our guys are softies at heart, and none of them can resist the puppies.

Above all, try to enjoy the day with your guy knowing that more than likely, he will never ever want to come back here again.  Head back to Dallas with your lighter than usual load and remember that the next Trade Days are only a month away.

For more info on Canton and places to stay: Canton Chamber of Commerce

The Obama Indoctrination Speech to School Children

My five-year-old twins won’t view President Obama’s education address in their kindergarten classroom on September 8 because school administrators in our Texas district have deemed that it would “interrupt instructional time.”

Instead, the district will stream the video online. Families can then opt in–or out–of the national dialogue.

This safe compromise was likely made to soothe conservative voices here who worry the President’s short speech would aim to indoctrinate their youngsters into the Democratic party–or worse–a “socialist way” of thinking.  And while I haven’t yet seen the speech as I write this, I can tell you from my professional experience covering local, state and national education issues as a newspaper reporter for more than 10 years that few presidential addresses of this type given in the classroom release bombshells. My prediction is that Obama’s speech will be fairly neutral in tone and offer nice photo ops for the press corps.

As a parent of three, however, it is greatly refreshing to see the public’s interest in the content our children are exposed to in our nation’s public schools–I only wish we as a group would pay more attention to the subtle types of indoctrination that happens every day.

For example, last week–on the second day of kindergarten–my twins bopped home from our tony community’s premier elementary school with camouflage-colored dog tags hanging around their necks from metal chains.  While my kids thought nothing of this, I brought context to such symbols.  Dog tags, after all, are an indelible symbol of warfare. In fact, such dog tags are manufactured to be thin and small so they can be sewn into the mouths of dead soldiers and thus help those in field mortuaries identify the fallen. By sending home such a symbol, my public school is sending a subtle message that they not only approve of warfare–but wholeheartedly endorse it. Moreover, they’re telling my young children to be proud foot soldiers.

On the fourth day of kindergarten, my children returned home with fliers listing half a dozen fast-food restaurants that will return a portion of our bill to our public school in an effort to raise funds for educational endeavors.  “Mom,” said my daughter Elizabeth, “we have to go eat pizza tonight to help our school!”  As it turns out, we can spend every night this week–and every night for the remaining school year according to these fliers–at fast-food joints raising money for our school.   Of course, nutritionists–many who work for the state’s department of health–would tell us that to take the advice of our premier elementary school would be to risk the health of my family. My children would become obese, contract diabetes and ruin their hearts.  Yet, the subtle message from the public school is ‘Do your duty and help out your school.’

On the sixth day of school, instructional time in our kindergarten was handed over to two uniform-clad high school football players who signed autographs in promotion of their first big home game. They also read two books to the children, but this last detail was forgotten by my kids who reported only the shimmering uniforms and the deep, impressive voices of the handsome players.  It is likely, too, that they subconsciously picked up on the school’s subtle message that sports are of the utmost importance here in Texas, that male athletes should be revered above others, that strength of body trumps strength of spirit or mind.
This is why, even as a longtime card-carrying member of the Democratic party and big Obama supporter, I’m thrilled to have passionate conversations about indoctrination. But let’s not limit the discussion to the President’s 10-minute speech. As parents, we need to be aware of and address the subtle everyday messages our public schools are giving our kids.

I only wish our school district would give us the option of streaming some of these other messages via video.

Julie Blair is a Dallas-area freelance journalist who graduated from both public and private institutions. She continues to support her local public schools with her most precious commodities–her three children.

Monday – Home Sweet Home

My family and I were out of town last week for our summer vacation.  We drove to Colorado and spent time in both the Winter Park and Vail areas.  All of us enjoyed the mild weather, incredible scenery and change of pace.

The boys kept talking about how they wish we lived in Colorado…and there were moments when I had those same thoughts.

Toward the end of the week I asked the boys which place they liked better – home or Colorado.

It was unanimous.

They missed Scratchy (aka Scooter our cat) and were ready to go home.

My husband works from home and so home COULD be anywhere.

Anywhere is here.

Anywhere has to be here.

I love Texas.

Janine Turner said, “You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can’t take the Texas out of the girl and ultimately can’t take the girl out of Texas“.

I totally get that.  No matter where I am in the world and no matter how much fun it is, it is nice to return home.

Texas Sweet Texas.

Wafflepalooza

I don’t cook much.

OK, I really don’t cook at all.

BUT I can make a mean waffle.  Waffles at our house are a major food group.  They take special priority and can occasionally be found at the dinner table.

*gasp!*

It isn’t all bad.  The boys enjoy applesauce or a fruit topping on the first one and then the syrup comes out for all to enjoy.  They really are good.

A few Christmases ago a family member gave us the fancy barnyard waffle maker.  I figure that protein is implied when the kids are eating cows and chickens.  The gift is well used.  It probably is used more than my oven.

The waffle recipe I use is originally from the Oster Belgian Waffle maker I received for my wedding 17 years ago.  I have tried a lot of other recipes, but this is by far my favorite:

LIGHT ‘N CRISP WAFFLES

2 egg yolks

2 cups milk

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup oil

2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Preheat the waffle maker.  I separate the eggs placing the whites into a small mixing bowl and the yolks into a large mixing bowl.  I add all the other ingredients to the large mixing bowl.  I pull out my hand mixer and first whip up the eggs until fluffy.  Then mix the other ingredients with the hand mixer until they are combined.  I then fold in the egg whites with a spatula.

That is it!  Pour the batter into the waffle maker…

Mmmmmm.

Dinner? is served.*

*also works well for breakfast!

More yummy recipes can be found by visiting Rachel at A Southern Fairy Tale where she hosts Mouthwatering Monday .

When Holly isn’t trying to pass off breakfast food as dinner to her family, she is at June Cleaver Nirvana.

Dallas Zoo

Last Friday we had good intentions.  A friend and I agreed to meet at the Science Museum with our collective 5 boys for a morning of fun.

I was 1/2 the way to Dallas when my husband called and said, “Where is this museum?”

“Fair Park.”

“You CAN’T GO THERE TODAY!  It is the Cotton Bowl!”

About that time my friend called to report her husband had just called her with the same information and she was already in a traffic jam on I-30.

We had 5 anxious boys, 1 grandma and 2 very uninformed mommies!

We made a snap decision to go to the Dallas Zoo instead.  The weather was great and we already had sandwiches packed…

The boys were excited to get out of the car and run around.  The zoo was a perfect place for expending child energy.

There is an area where you can buy either worms or birdseed sticks to feed the birds for $1.  All our boys chose the birdseed sticks.  The birds were still on their “winter schedule” so eating wasn’t a high priority, but we had some fun encounters.  Several of the birds kept trying to climb into my purse or up my mom’s coat sleeves.  They were not shy and the kids loved it.

Next time I will encourage buying the worms.  Some of the birds only eat worms and they seem to be a less popular purchase among the zoo visitors.  You don’t actually touch the worms, the birds will eat them out of a small cup that is provided.

The zoo has a huge play area.  It has equipment for kids of all ages.  This spider web was my 5 y/o’s favorite:

There is also slides and tunnels and large eggs to climb into…just a bunch of fun stuff.  Surrounding the play area are several smaller learning centers and the Nature Exchange Center.

All the boys thought this was great.  You can bring in up to 5 items (you collected at home) and trade them for other nature treasures.  There is a point system assigned so it is like a nature store.  There are many things to see and touch even if you (like us) don’t have anything to trade.

This Nature Exchange Center is one of the main reasons we will be returning to the zoo this year–and next time we will be prepared with treasures to trade.

The underground learning area is really unique.  It is dark (and quiet) and has all sorts of animals that live underground.

There is also a tunnel to crawl through to fully experience underground living.

There are also lots of animals at the zoo…

Overall it was a great experience.  We were glad we had missed the craziness at Fair Park and gone to the Dallas Zoo.  It took us about 45 minutes (without traffic) to get there from Flower Mound.  We spent 4 hours, but could have easily spent another hour or two if everyone had the energy!

If you have written about your experience at the Dallas Zoo, please mention the link in the comments.

When Holly isn’t planning trips in the middle of major events, she can be found at June Cleaver Nirvana where being a mommy and blogging is not in the middle of traffic.

A Home with History and Charm

A bit North East of Dallas lies a small town that has AMAZING Older homes…the kind of old homes with History and Character that get you thinking about commuting long distance just so you have the pleasure of weekends in the country at a Bed n Breakfast called ‘Yours’.

I stumbled on such a house today and thought about punching numbers on the calculator.

Notice the front porch is screened in for enjoying those cool summer evenings sans mosquitoes.

This is the balcony off the Master bedroom upstairs

Here is the original wood stair case. There is another stair case, most probably in the back of the home. The front door looks original too.

The 4th bedroom, one of 5, is located on the third floor. Look at the old wood and the old windows. I would have that painted white in a heart beat and a window seat would be where those treadmills are. That blue carpet would be gone and wood floors would be polished. An old iron bed, lots of pillows, sheers hung at the windows. And spring nights would be spent reading then dreaming as cool breezes wafted through.

It sets on over an acre, backed by lush trees.

Looks quaint in the height of summer as it does when snow whispers into North Texas.

Photos from over a century ago…

A piece of the past. This humble Lady certainly merits a bit of time with the calculator and cup of hot tea, don’t you think?

She loves old chandeliers, painting roses, flea markets, hidden garden spots, a flag stone path, tall sprawling trees, roses gone wild, a big covered front porch, old vintage hardwood floors, and the first crisp autumn day and she writes The Cottage Rose.

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