Living in Munchkinland

We're off to go camping in the Davis Mountains, but I wanted to leave you with a Happy Thanksgiving from Davis. XXOO, Amber

Sam got three days of celebration for his birthday. On Thursday he had his school birthday. I brought pumpkin mini muffins and strawberries and bananas and the kids had a feast. Friday was his actual birthday and my mom and dad, grandma and grandpa and my mother-in-law all were there with presents to celebrate. Sam received many phone calls with birthday songs as well as your birthday wishes on the blog. Thanks! On Saturday we had a very small birthday party for Sam at the playground. We only invited a few children that Sam sees regularly so he wouldn't feel overwhelmed or overlooked. It was perfect and we all had a great time. We took a bazillion (yes that's a word) pictures and I have to post them here. XXOO, Amber

Today my sweet baby turns two. I can't believe how fast it has gone. He used to be this tiny baby I carried around in the sling and nursed and slept with. Now he is such a little boy. He speaks often and with full sentences and can be understood most of the time. He is rowdy and loves to climb and leap and try everything that Davis does. He also loves to cuddle and still thinks I hung the moon. He loves balls and animals and tractors. He likes to dig in the dirt and help me in the kitchen. He adores our cat and dog. He still uses a paci to sleep, but now sleeps in a toddler bed. He likes to sing and dance and jump and run and pull the cat's tail. He loves to hug and wrestle and kiss and ride on our backs. His hair is fine, and still very blond. He loves avocados and bananas and strawberries, and cereal bars. He loves his milk and likes to sit in your lap and try anything you are eating. He is his own little man, but still very much my baby. Happy Birthday, baby.

I found this recipe at one of my favorite blogs, Eat Like a Girl . I'm single parenting this week so I didn't do a good job of menu planning this weekend. I looked in my refrigerator and saw I had butternut squash and spinach and I always keep chickpeas in the pantry. I remembered I had seen a recipe at Eat Like a Girl with those ingredients so I hopped onto her blog to check if I had the right stuff to make the dish. I did and so I quickly threw it together. It was absolutely delicious and I had to share. from Eat Like a Girl: Ingredients: 1 butternut squash, 6-8 inches high, peeled and diced with seeds scooped out 200g spinach, washed and excess water squeezed out, chopped 1 tin chickpeas 1 tin tomatoes 1 tin coconut milk 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 onion, finely chopped 1 green chilli, finely chopped. (I used a jalepeno)More if you like it very hot! thumb size amount of ginger, peeled and finely chopped A handful of chopped fresh coriander (I used cilantro) Half a ...

Michael has to go out of town to San Angelo for work. He will be gone this week and all of next week. I know I can handle it, but I'm going to miss him so much. The kids are going to miss him too. And now I have to go. The kids are alternating brushing their teeth and using their toothbrushes to brush our cat.

The other day we were all sitting around the table and I mentioned how if we traveled again how much I'd like to have a nanny. It was just wishful thinking and not a serious statement at all. Davis immediately picked up on it though. "What's a nanny?", he asked me. I quickly thought how to put it to him and said, "A nanny is someone who plays with you all day long.". "Oh", he said. "Like Sammy! I already have one of those." I love it so much. They play all day long. We are so lucky.

"This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can." Barack Obama Today I am full of hope. Today I am a patriot. Today I love my country. Yes, we did!

This past weekend was a busy one! Friday was Halloween and also my mom's birthday. , Michael took the day off. The night before I accidentally sliced the tip of my ring finger off and so on Friday we headed for the doctor to have them dress it and then we packed. As soon as we picked up Davis from school, we headed directly to Sugar Land where Michael's parents live. We got there and got changed into our costumes and headed for the Sugar Land town square where they were having big Halloween festivities. My parents had driven up that afternoon and had checked into the Marriott on the square and so were ready to join the fun. With both sets of grandparents, we trick or treated, got the kids faces painted, and joined a costume contest. Afterwards, we met my godmother Chris and her mother Christine at a great Italian restaurant and we all had dinner together to celebrate my mother's special day. The next morning we woke early and drove a little over an hour to the Renai...

This is our new cat. He is pretty wonderful. We had no plans to get a cat, but we had a mouse problem and we decided to get an outdoor cat to help us with this problem. We went to the pound last week and adopted him. He's around one year old and is the sweetest of cats. He lets Sam abuse him and doesn't retaliate. He loves to cuddle and fulfilling all my baby cravings by letting me hug and squeeze on him. He has to stay in during his first two or three weeks with us to give him a chance to bond with us and learn that this is his home and we have enjoyed getting to know him. The best news about Max is that last Friday I was cooking some eggs in the kitchen and all of sudden a mouse ran past my feet. Before I could check and see where it went (and after I jumped on the counter), Max had leapt on that mouse, killed it, and begun to consume it. Well done, cat. You have earned your space in the Walter household.