I wish...

This weekend is the opening weekend of ACL fest in Austin.  I bet you are thinking from the title that I wish I was there.... Well, you would be very wrong!  I wish I loved concerts, let alone three day long concerts over two weekends.  I wish I lived for the release of the ACL artist lineup.   I wish discovering new artists was fulfilling to me.  I truly wish I gave a shit... But truthfully and sadly, I don't!

 

 I was born and raised in Austin, live music capital of the world… I think we gave ourselves that title but I’ll take it anyways!  There is music everywhere in town.  So much so that when one of my brothers in law asked where to see live music last time he came to Austin I was stumped because, like I told him at the time… “There are people playing everywhere!”  I guess I never appreciated music because I was raised around every kind of music and it was playing all the time… maybe I have always taken music for granted.  My childhood was filled with music ranging from good old country music to Elvis Presley to James Taylor to the Rolling Stones and the list goes on.  My grandparents always lead the old German hymns at our family reunions and preformed solos in their church choir.  In my life I have played the piano, violin and church bells (I was really cool as a kid!).  Growing up my parents took me to more musical productions at Bass concert hall, Zachary Scott and the Paramount than I can count (again… I know I was super cool kid, right?).  My parents have always been music lover.  My Dad even owned roller skating rinks when I was kid and was always up to date on the newest music to play at the rinks (does that put some cool points back on the board for me?).  My sister, Tracy and brother, Derrick, got the “love of music” gene for sure, but it missed me.  Don't get me wrong, I think music is awesome and I think this world would be a sad place without any! I also enjoy a concert every now and again... My all time favorite concerts have been...

1. Bone thugs and harmony (Yes, this was my all time favorite concert even though Bizzy Bone was still in jail)

2. Dave Mathew band   

3. Sting and the Police  

4. Jason Mraz opened by G love and the special sauce  

5. Jerry Jeff’s 60^th birthday party in Luckenbach.  

Not going to lie… I really only enjoy concerts when I know the songs (or at least most of them)... When I don't know the songs, I feel like an awkward white lady trying to dance and make it look like I have some rhythm, all while trying to drink a beer gracefully! 

 

Ultimately, l love good, new music but I just don’t want to seek it out. I want people to tell me what is good without having to be outside for three days waiting hours for the port-a-potties and having my beer go hot in 5 minutes.  So, I guess I am musically lazy… maybe that’s why I never excelled at any of the instruments I have ever played!  I need people to pick up the slack for me and help a sister out with a list of new, cool bands and their good songs… I am talking to you; Mon, Jes, Missy and Bush!   For now though, I will live vicariously through my friends photos on instagram and updates on Facebook of the latest and greatest band they saw on a random Tuesday night at Stubb’s, Saxon Pub, Continental Club, Austin Music Hall or over the next two weekends at ACL fest.   I will keep on wishing that I am that cool girl that can wear my badass ankle boots, cutoff shorts, flowy printed tank tops with a Kendra Scott necklace, a slew of bracelets up my wrist and a headband positioned every so perfectly across my forehead with one single feather attached somewhere in my ombred hair… all while carting around my ridiculously cute and perfectly mild mannered baby in her soundproof headphones and wearing only organic textiles. 

                               

 Until I buy that wardrobe and get bit by that music bug, I will just have to keep on keeping on with what they play on the two radio stations my car picks up in Dubai (not even kidding here people... my car only receives two English speaking channels and I spend a minimum of 2 hours in the car a day).  So to all you music crazies out there… know I am really just super jealous that you love music as much as you do.  I truly wish I was as passionate and cared as much as you do about something that can bring out so much emotion in people… and in all honestly I really I just wish I was as cool as you and could pull off your wardrobe!

Until Later…

 

Jay

The world lost a great man a month ago.  Jay Middlebrook was the salt of the earth, he was a warm shoulder and an open ear when you needed it and lord knows he was always ready with a joke.   Today would have been Jay’s 69th birthday.   

There are times in life when the line between friends and family gets blurred and your friends become more…they become family… well, it worked the other way with Jay.  He was family, but for me he was a friend, too.  My sister, Tracy, literally met her husband, Joe, in kindergarten.  Tracy and Joe were in kindergarten two years before I was born and a year before Joe’s sister, Lindsey was born too.  The Middlebrook family has been in my family’s life longer than Lindsey and I have been alive… crazy if you think about it.  So when the day came that Tracy and Joe finally tied the knot I got to give jay a title… he became my father in law-in law… aka father in lala.  He was “officially” family! 

My memories of Jay go back to Northwest Hills where he would go swimming with me and Lindsey when we were just little things.  I remember him standing at the end of their long driveway in San Marcos coaching us girls on how to ride Lindsey’s mini motorcycle and not kill ourselves.  I still remember the smell of his pipe that cold afternoon… how his teeth held on to it as he giggled at us two rolly pollies bouncing, wobbling and flying down the rocky road holding on to the handle bars for dear life.  

As is life, there was a gap in time where we didn’t see the Middlebrooks as much… aka, Tracy and Joe weren’t dating… but how lucky for me that they fell back into each other’s lives when I was finishing high school.  Fortunate not only because Joe was back in the family (he was my favorite boyfriend that my sister ever had), but because he brought three other amazing people along with the package!  The time that has passed between then and now has included four trips to Akumal, one impromptu trip to Vegas where I crashed the Middlebrook’s vacay, two cruises, god knows how many trips to Galveston, a wedding shower, a full on Cumberworth/Middlebrook Christmas and more San Marcos back porch sitting sessions in pie pants than I can even count.   Jay walked my mom down the aisle at my wedding, babysat my dogs, introduced me to gingersnaps with sharp cheddar cheese (don’t knock it ‘til you try it) and has given me more side cramps from laughing than you can even imagine.  The thing that I will miss most about Jay Bird is his humor (and his love of spicy food).  

Jay was always there with a laugh.  He was full of… well, let’s just say, he was full of it.  I have never known someone who literally has a joke for everything but man, Jay always had a joke.   Just weeks before he passed, Jay was sitting on the front porch of their new house in Lakeway, when he called Campbell (his 6 year old granddaughter) over.  He said, “hey Cam you hear that?”  In the distance you could hear a jackhammer… she replied, with “yeah, Pops... What is it?”  Jay said, “you know Cam, it’s the Lakeway dentist… some kid’s been eating too much damn candy!”  He retold that story to me and literally laughed out loud!  

Oh his laugh… it wasn’t so much of a laugh as a giggle or a chuckle.  I can see him standing in his kitchen just waiting for the first fool to eat his “special peanuts”.  When that poor soul ate them… the ghost chili peanuts that is… and the spice finally hit the back of their throat, I can still see his shoulders bouncing as he let out is chuckle and slapped his leg with pure delight.  Linda promptly made him put a note next to the nuts so no one else would fall victim to his prank. The note read something along the lines of “Warning, these nuts will burn your ass”.  Those notes were another part of his Jayisms… those moments when you just have to laugh and wonder, who thinks to say that?  Jay always got up early and had the coffee ready to go for us hung over idiots that woke up hours after him.  One morning I woke up to one pot that read on a sticky note, “black gold” and another pot beside it that read, “Old San Antonio donkey piss.”  Haha… hilarious! 

Behind all of his jokes was a father that loved his kids and grandkids more than life itself… a caring husband… an animal lover… a teacher… a confidant… a chef… and a business man who could flip a switch and get the deal done at a moment’s notice.  He wore many hats, was successful at them all and supported and encouraged those around him along the way.  Although he wore many metaphorical hats, he was lucky to be in a profession where he didn’t have to wear many suits.  Jay was most comfortable in fishing shirts, shorts and flip flops… for fancy occasions he might pull out his linen slacks and if we were really lucky he would wear his green sport coat.  No no, not hunter green or forest green or any other green that may have been appropriate… this jacket was Sunday at the Masters green… and you know what, jay was the only person who could ever pull that off and he did on multiple occasions.  

I will miss Jay so much.… more than words can say, but you know what….. god damn I was lucky to have known the ol’ mullet.  I was lucky to have 31 years of laugher and stories and memories.   Lucky for all of us Jay also left his humor, wisdom, and caring nature in is son and daughter that we can hold onto forever and a wife that was the perfect match for all that was Jay.  I will forever be grateful to have known Jay, to call him family and best of all to call him a friend.   

Jay Bird, when we meet again, whenever or wherever that may be, you better be ready to tell me a joke as soon as I get done giving you a big old kiss! 

Until Later...

Justa Swinging

There are many things that bring joy to Leighton’s life but at the very tip top of the list is not me or Jon, not  ice cream or even TV with Peppa Pig and Dora!  The number one thing that brings pure joy to our munchkin is swinging!  This girl could spend hours swinging and I am not kidding… she will literally swing for hours.  In our recent past, every weekend  in the Cumberworth house was spent pack up and heading to a local park where Jon and I would take turns pushing Leighton to her little hearts content… or until we had had enough and we would pry her little fingers off the swing chains.

 

 

 

On the days we didn’t have time to head to the park we would get this…OMG mommy and daddy… can we go swinging?!? Now please now now now now now!!!!!

 

What do you mean we don’t have time?  You don’t have time for your oldest child’s favorite activity on Earth?  Well, I hope you can feel the daggers my eyes are throwing at you right now and I hope they hurt and crush your soul just like you are doing to me at this very moment!

 

So what do caring parents do? (And by caring I mean smart but extremely lazy parents!)  They buy a swing set for their backyard!!!  So for Leighton’s 2^nd birthday we gave her the gift that will keep on giving…. a bad-A set of swings!

 

Wait… what am I looking at?

 

Holy balls… those are swings!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Who is going to set this thing up?  Am I going to have to do it by myself?

 

In classic Dubai fashion they sent the wrong color and proceeded to try to tell Jon that it is meant to have one tan side and one blue side… in the swing company’s words, “it is the newest style.” Um… No! So we got a new blue side delivered the next day.

 

 

HURRY UP MISTER… HURRY UP… THIS GIRL WANTS TO SWING!!!!!

 

I am going to sit right here Daddy…

 

SUCCESS!!!!!

 

 

Unfortunately mean mommy had to swoop in and drag the little swinger (that just sounds wrong) upstairs for bath time.  Every family can only have one fun parent right? I had to play bad cop this time… oh the joys of parenting!

 

 

 

The swings have been a hit thus far… we have used them with our friends!

 

 

 

We have swung by ourselves…

 

 

 

And we enjoy swinging really really high!!! Or in Leighton's words, "SUPER HIGH!"

 

 

We even enjoyed swinging as a Hawaiian cowboy princess! 

 

 

I have no doubt the swings will be a hit for years to come and I know Leighton cannot wait for her baby sister to join in the fun.  Almost every day I find her hanging out on the swing like the picture below yelling, “mommy push me… mommy PUSH ME!” 

 

I am very happy that we made this purchase and I know it has and will continue to make our oldest lady happy, but if little miss Leighton doesn’t learn to pump those legs soon I think I might get a touch of the carpal tunnel from the repetitive pushing… do you think I can file for workers comp with Jon?  Momma could use some disability pay!

Until Later...

Never Nude

Recently, Leighton had the worst case of diaper rash I have ever seen... Like port wine birthmark red...ouch! It was pretty intense.   As every parent knows, medicine can only do so much and the best way to help speed up the healing process is for your munchkin to go foot loose and diaper free for as long as possible to air that puppy out.   So I rolled up the rug in our family room and prepared to clean up a few accidents while Leighton’s lady bits took in the fresh air. Naked for longer than bath time? I think most two year olds would be pumped... NOT OUR KID! Every time I would take off her diaper she would walk around for about ten seconds and then start yelling, "Diaper ON!" Thinking she didn't want to have an accident in the house, I tried taking her outside to frolic in nature. This landed us in tears while yelling once again, "Diaper on Mommy, diaper on pleeeeeeease!"

She is actually begging for her diaper to be put back on in this picture... 

 And then she ran over to try to put on her old dirty diaper by herself.

So we officially are raising a never nude... Like Tobias from Arrested Development.  Just replace Leighton’s diaper with some lovely cut off jean shorts...  He wears them in the shower, under ass-less chaps and when he joined the blue man group.   So Leighton, welcome to a very special club and know that as your parents we will always support you and your decisions... Unless you are still wearing a diaper in kindergarten, then Jon and I will pretend we don't know you.

Until Later... 

PS... If anyone wants to shoot their Netflix log in info my way I would greatly appreciate it!  There are 15 new episodes of Arrested Development out there calling my name... it is literally killing me!

 

The BIG 2!

Leighton is two!  I felt as if the first year took an eternity but this second year has flown by in the blink of an eye!   I am not a baby person… I like a little person that can interact with me, run around and tell me if they are in pain…. So, I am loving 2 (minus the timeouts, tantrums and “MINE” all the time!) 

Last year we had a ton of people celebrate with us for her first birthday and that did not go over so well with little Miss Leighton.  She was completely overwhelmed with unfamiliar faces and so many people in her home, so this year we threw Leighton a little birthday fiesta with just a couple of her school and playdate chums. 

The birthday girl

And her friends…

It is a 2 year olds party… of course there would be a potty in the background of at least one picture!

 

 

We did a lot of sliding

 

And swinging...

 

 

Who knew a cooler with Ice would be the hit of the party? (yes, that is beer in that cooler... we had to keep the parents entertained also!)

And then out came the cake…

 

 

Yes, I made the cake… I was very impressed with myself!

 

 

Then it was time for goodbye hugs…

And off to nap time…

I could give y’all a list of what makes Leighton so awesome, but I am a little competitive and that list could go on for quite a while.  I’ll just leave it with she is a badass and we count our blessings every day to have made such a cool kid… did you catch that?  We made her… and guess what?  We will never stop reminding her (especially in her teenage years) that our genes made her as awesome as she is. 

 

Until later…

 

 

Vocab

It is amazing to me how much Leighton's vocabulary has grown in the last five months. Kids really are little sponges... Guess I am seriously going to have to start watching my mouth now!

This is why it takes us so long to get to the park…

 

You heard her correctly.. ready, STEADY, go… apparently our kid wants to be British or Peppa Pig.  We are planning an intervention.

 

I am pretty certain that her vertical is already higher then mine and her spanish skills are about to pass me by too.
 



Until Later…

 

Little booger…

Mom came recently to visit but as always we let our guest take all the pictures, so once I receive them I’ll post about our time together.  Anyways, things are pretty good around here with our newly expanded family.  We are finding our new normal and getting into routines.  Corbin is still rocking and rolling and getting much better at nighttime, only waking up once… Praise the freaking lord above!  

 

Obligatory cute pics of baby Corby

 

              And Leighton, well she is turning into quite the little booger…  She is getting too smart for her own good… well, maybe not just smart but funny.  We realized a while back that she was going to be a great party trick… hell, why do you have kids anyways but to turn them into walking party tricks.  Jon and I decided that we were going to teach her “earmuffs”, like in the movie Old School, where the kid puts his hands over his ears so he won’t hear the parents cussing and saying inappropriate things.  We gave ourselves a weekend to make this happen.  Well, we showed her how to cover her ears with her hands when we said “earmuffs” and she got it after the first try… Jon and I were ecstatic and we decided then that our kids gets humor…. AWESOME!  Then, Jon and I looked at each other and said, “well that took two minutes, what do you want to do for the rest of the weekend?”

Basically, Laylay is a hoot! Yesterday she was walking around the house holding two toy tea cups and she started hitting them together while yelling in a monotone voice, “TEA HANDS, TEA HANDS, LEIGHTON’S TEA HANDS!)  Maybe she isn’t funny, just a little special… but I will take that! When people meet her for the first time she usually doesn’t put on a show… she sits there shyly, meekly and most likely giving the new person the stink eye (we have really got to work on that).  However, get around her a few times and she lets her hair down.

 She makes the most ridiculous faces so when she does them I have started calling out names to go along with them… here are her latest faces (at least the ones we have pictures of)…

Happy

 

Fish face (or "Bitch" face in leighton lingo... It's always fun walking towards the Aquarium in the mall with that newly acquired word!

 

Angry

 

This is her watching DORA face… she doesn’t know it is a face!  L is obsessed with TV and Dora which makes me want to shoot myself (especially when I find myself singing the songs while I am alone… I hate you Dora!)

 

And the piece de résistance, Popeye!

 

 

On top of the faces, Leighton has become skillful with using her words… she totally understands everything and she has already started using that against us!  What is the normal exchange when a kid is going to bed?

Mom/Dad: night night, I love you!

Kid: night night, I love you too….

Well, this is how it goes in our house;

Jon: Leighton, Go give mommy a Hug and besos and tell her night night.

(Leighton runs to me, gives me a hug and kiss)

Me: night night honey, I LOVE YOU! (BIG HUG)

(Leighton runs back to Jon saying nothing… Jon picks her up to take her to bed upstairs)

Jon: Tell mommy, I love you.

Leighton: night night mommy

Jon: Say I love you mommy.

Leighton: mommy Night night

Jon: I love you mommy, night night

Leighton: Bye bye mommy, Bye bye

(Jon and I both shake our heads and Jon takes the little booger up to bed)

In Leighton’s room:

Jon: night night baby, I love you, sleep tight.

Leighton: night night daddy

(Jon turns off the lights and is about to shut the door when Leighton grabs a random toy she calls bodyboss and she proceeds to say, as she gives it the biggest hug ever…)

Leighton: Bodyboss, I love you!

 WHAT A LITTLE SHIT!  But how can we be mad?  Her comedic timing is impeccable and you can’t teach that folks!

 

Until Later ...