Living in Munchkinland

2008 was a big year for us. 2008 was the year of the move. From Austin to our forever home on a ranch in San Marcos where I grew up. A year where I built new routines and met many new faces and started a new life in a new town. 2008 was the year of the 50's housewife, where I focused in on my family and my home. Where I kept the kids happy and entertained and stimulated without any childcare for almost nine months. Where I cooked three to five meals a day and at least three of them were south beach friendly. Where I volunteered at the kids schools and went on playdates and made sure the weekends were full of fun for my family. Where I set up a routine for keeping my house clean and picked up and where we worked hard outside to create a fun place for our children to be. Where I set up a budget and worked very hard to stay within it. 2008 was the year my children became playmates. And they do love each other. They play all day long and mope when the other one is missing. 200

He learned to ride his bike! Ever since we went to the Bastrop Lost Pines Resort and saw a three year old boy riding his bicycle without training wheels, Davis has wanted to be able to do that. He explained to me that training wheels would just slow him down and he wanted to be fast! So Santa brought him a new bike sans training wheels. It took Davis four days and some determination and practice on all of our parts, but he's got it! We rode to the mail box and gate yesterday and again today. He didn't fall once today and had a great time. I'm getting a super duper work out as I run flat our while pushing the stroller all over the ranch. I can't keep up! I hope you enjoy the video. We're all really proud.

We had a good Christmas day. It was hard, because the kids were wired and crazy and we were out of our routine. But it was wonderful too, because we were with family and because our kids were experiencing the magic of Christmas in our very own home. And we got some really great gifts too. We all live on the ranch and so Christmas this year was really fun as we moved from one house to another all within walking distance of each other. We had our Christmas Eve party at my mom's house with tamales and carols and old home videos from Christmas' past. We kept the party extra small this year, but it was still really fun. The boys stayed up till eight o'clock and enjoyed being with their family and friends. After the party we went home and sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn, put out cookies and carrots for Santa and the boys went straight to bed. Marchelle stayed with us this year and it was so fun to sit in front of the fire and anticipate Santa's arrival and open a f

Davis didn't feel well yesterday. He took a nap for the first time in almost nine months. He laid down on the ground and told me his ear hurt. He didn't eat. Last night he cried intermittently all night long. We were up so many times, filling the humidifier, administering tylenol and motrin and ear drops. Around four this morning he woke up screaming. We rocked and cuddled him back to sleep. This morning we realized that his eardrum had burst. Blood and more yuck had come out of his ear. I took him to the doctor and was told he had a double ear infection and indeed, the left ear drum had ruptured. Apparently, this is relatively common and while it is painful, it shouldn't have any long lasting effects. It is traumatic for us though. Davis is almost always healthy. He has a rockin' immune system. He had perfect attendance this semester at school. This is his first ear infection. The doctor could find no record of having to give him antibiotics before. Hop

I saw this on one of my favorite blogs, City Mama . I loved it. My niece asked me the same question last week and I wished I had had this answer on hand to give her. Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus By Francis P. Church, first published in The New York Sun in 1897. We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun: Dear Editor— I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia O’Hanlon Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of our

Sam is sick, but for some reason didn't nap at all today. I am feeling slightly overwhelmed. I love 'em though. That's probably why I don't go absolutely bonkers. Anyway, here are some pictures of it all today. Are you sure it's not Friday yet?

Davis had his open house at his Montessori school last Friday. He was so excited about it. For the weeks proceeding the big night, he would tell us all about their plans and kept telling Sammy that his mommy and daddy were going to come inside his school. On Friday evening we all dressed up, dropped off Sam at my parents house and headed for his school. The children invited us in, showed us where to hang out coats and walked to the little rugs on the floor where their name cards were placed. Davis began demonstrating one of his works. It was the moveable alphabet where he picks out letters, says them phonetically and finds it match from a tray of wooden letters. It was awesome to see his knowledge. Then he carefully put all those materials away and took us to a small table where he invited us to sit down and went to another room to get his whisk exercise. This involved a tray full of glass items that he carried around and did not break. On his way to return a full glass bowl o

Sam's Mother's Day Out had a Christmas Pageant on Tuesday night. His class had been practicing for several weeks for their small part of the program. We'd been practicing at home too and we all knew the songs very well. They were Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star and Mary had a Baby sung to the tune of "The More we Get Together". It really sticks in your head. Anyway, the pageant was Tuesday and we all went down to the church to see Sam perform. Davis was very, very jealous. He wanted to be the star and NOT the audience. (I wonder where he got that from.) Mom and Dad came too to watch our baby sing. We got the camera ready and he came right out to the edge of the railing. He did great. He was happy and followed direction well. And then he didn't sing. He gazed around at the audience with a faint smile on his face, but he wouldn't open his mouth. Davis sang. Loudly. But not Sam. When the songs finished and the audience applauded, Sam smiled an

This weekend we decorated our house for Christmas. We had an impromptu playdate on Friday and the kids all decorated the tree while the parents drank wine. Michael had called in sick because he's been hacking up a lung with a cold Sam passed on to the family, but was present enough to sit with us and enjoy watching the kids put the ornaments on and I was happy to have him with us. The next day we went to Sights and Sounds of Christmas. We went with my sister and nephew and planned to meet up with our friend Ben and his two children. We got there early and enjoyed looking around. The kids played in Bethlehem which is a little village with real animals and the stable and manger. Davis' favorite part was a well with a working pump. Then we went to the Lion's Club booth where the kids "ice skated" in their socks on linoleum and made ornaments. We briefly met up with our friends, but there was too much going on to stay together. At last we headed to the amuse

We need rain. Desperately. It is so dry here. You may remember our fire in March. I remember it all the time, especially as I see the drought escalate in our area. The fields are dry. The tanks are almost empty and have become muddy pits with a tiny dot of water in the center. My hands are cracking and my sinuses are swollen and dry. Mice are coming in. They are crawling up the windows and into the garage searching for water. Sam's eczema is back. Our lawn is dying. Our local news reported this yesterday. "the National Weather Service has recently bumped our local drought status into the 'exceptional' category, that's as bad as it gets. Central Texas is now one of two areas in the U.S. under an exceptional drought." I'm about to go outside and do a rain dance. Wish us some rain will you?

We spent our Thanksgiving Holiday in the Davis Mountains. That was a good halfway distance for us to drive to meet my cousin Marcie, her partner Ann and their two sons Andres and Cruz. It is also a beautiful place to camp. We really wanted to see my cousin and her family because we are super close and our boys are the same ages and we hadn't seen them in almost two years. As soon as I told my parents and grandparents that I was going to go camping in the Davis Mountains with my cousin they were on board too. My parents rented my dream RV, the Winnebago Access 31J. This is an RV that Michael and I had been lusting after and researching since midsummer and it was a total surprise and delight when Mom and Dad rolled up in it. Michael and I had planned to tent camp with our family, but after hearing several extremely cold weather reports, we decided to stay in the RV with my parents. It was a great decision! We loaded up the RV on Tuesday and early on Wednesday morning we drove ou