Living in Munchkinland

Hi there. So the sick is gone. Hallelujah. We are better. I am finally recovered and trying to catch up. I've got a bit of a back log of posts going on here. I mentioned a few weeks ago that we made a trek in the rain to the Butterfly Festival in Wimberley. It was pouring down rain as we arrived, but we were dressed for it and we were determined to see some butterflies so we went in and did our best to enjoy it. Our friends Marja and Ben and their kids Ransom and Ellis joined us and that pleased Davis very much. They played a bit and then went off in search of the butterflies. We received our butterflies on top of some cantaloupe. The children, especially Sam, were a bit disappointed that a butterfly was in the way of some good cantaloupe eating. We then walked our butterflies to a beautiful flower under a sheltering tree and transferred them so that the kids could eat the fruit. We bought each kid a small kite that they could launch themselves and then caught a ver...

The good news first. Davis is well. Sam escaped unscathed from the evil virus. They are healthy, happy kids. Now the bad news. I cleaned with bleach and washed the sheets and kept my hands clean, but Michael and I both fell ill this weekend. I got chills and fever on Saturday and the stomach stuff hit Michael on Saturday night. He was up all night being sick. Michael slept all day Sunday and we both felt like we were hit with a ton of bricks. Michael felt better yesterday, and I thought I did too, so I washed the sheets and bleached the house again, but by midday I was feeling pretty bad again. I got violently ill as I prepared dinner around 5 and I stayed violently ill till around 11. I'm better this morning, but incredibly weak. Michael is well, so that is a blessing. Maybe this will be the last of it, yes? For the record this is day 8 of the evil virus' presence in our house.

Davis is so sick. We're talking vomit and diarrhea. Lots of it. Like 20 times a day of it. His fever is hovering around 102. And we are on day three! When will it end? Michael and I are stumbling around like zombies because we are up all night with the little guy. When he is not being actively sick, he lying on the couch or bed moaning or dozing with his eyes half open. I am washing my hands so often they are beginning to crack and peel. Sam remains well. Please oh please let him stay that way. This weekend our Friday night plans were cancelled. Saturday we attempted to go to Wimberley's butterfly festival, but the pouring rain really "dampened" our fun. We had a bright spot on Saturday evening with a birthday party with friends, but I couldn't drink or eat because of this stupid elimination diet and I had a terrible headache from caffeine withdrawal. And on Sunday Michael accidentally slid the tractor through the mud into our pond. Monday was okay. Tue...

Last weekend we spent Saturday and Sunday in Austin. It was a lovely weekend. We started out early and headed to the One World Theatre to the Theatreworks USA production of Max and Ruby for Lilliana's birthday. The kids all loved it. Then we headed to my parent's fancy condo on Lady Bird Lake for a pizza party and cupcakes and some playground time on the lake. Michael meanwhile drove his Vespa up from San Marcos to have it ready to lead the charge at the Capital 10K. Michael has led a team of Vespas and scooters every year ahead of the race to disperse t-shirts and noise makers. Then he stays and does crowd control. He loves this event and has done it since before I met him. That evening we dressed up and drove up north for the Partnerships for Children's Gala at Cover 3. It was a lovely event and we saw several friends there. The food was excellent and the wine flowed, but the sound system was a major failure and we missed a lot of the action. Hopefully next year...

I had my annual physical this week. My blood work came out great. They did a body fat measurement and it was great too. My blood pressure is low. La, la, la, I was acing that thing. And then we talked about the few check marks on my complaint list. Indigestion, rash, joint aches, canker sores. All these symptoms started when I quit the south beach diet in November. So it was decided that perhaps food allergies are to blame for all of these symptoms. We decided to implement immediately an elimination diet and hopefully on Monday I will take a RAST test, which is a blood test to determine food allergies. The elimination diet takes about a month. And it is brutal. I can't have a lot of things, but here are the ones that I can't have that are killing me. No Coffee. No alcohol. No dairy. No eggs. No beef. No citrus. No brown sugar, honey, fructose, molasses or corn syrup. No soy. This is not as hard for me as it might be for some, since I was on the South Beach diet ...

I came up with this recipe the other day after I failed to make it to the grocery store. All the ingredients were ones that I had in the freezer, refrigerator and pantry. It was a hit! The kids picked out the meat, but loved it otherwise and Michael and I both enjoyed it as well. Try it, maybe you'll like it too. I already added it to my cookbook. Yum. Ingredients: 3 tablespoons balsalmic vinegar 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 small garlic cloves minced 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 3 cups cooked edamame, shelled 3 cups cooked fresh corn 1 red bell pepper, diced 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1 pd fajita meat or steak 8 oz mushrooms, sliced ¼ cup onion, diced 1 tbsp olive oil Directions: Marinate meat in a mixture of soy and vinegar for at least an hour. Combine vinegars, sugar, garlic, cumin, and onion powder in small bowl. Blend until sugar dissolves. Heat skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and sauté mushrooms and o...

Easter happened. There was some really great and some really not great. Davis got a fever the afternoon of our Good Friday potluck. Only Cheris and Rob and their kids and my parents decided to party anyway, but we all ended up having a fabulous time. So that was good, but Davis' fever was not very good. Saturday I got to go to yoga and then have our first pool party of the season at mom and dad's and then we dyed eggs and made cookies with G.G. and Gramp. Marchelle and Marc came to stay overnight and we had a wonderful dinner and great conversation and wine on the patio. So that was pretty wonderful too. But Davis was still feeling very badly, so that wasn't good. Easter dawned misty and rainy. Davis was screaming and writhing about with ear pain and a couple of us were a bit hung over. All of that wasn't so great. But we regrouped and headed over to my mom and dad's house and ended up having a fabulous Easter party with friends and family. The buffet was w...

Having children is bittersweet. For all the daily irritations, the fits and arguments, the wishing it was bed time already, the interruptions and the constant responsibility, there is regret that I didn't do better or appreciate them more. That I let small, precious moments slip by when I could be loving them more or giving or singing or cuddling or just listening. That I shouted or spanked when I should have hugged and listened or just breathed. That I didn't pay attention and missed some perfect moment. I looked back at my blog recently and saw pictures of my boys slowing learning and growing and becoming more independent. I want to bottle it up. I want to be able to revisit those moments and smell their soft baby smell or have them ask for mah tisses (more kisses) or anything really as long as they say it in their sweet baby talk. I want always to heal their boo-boos with kisses and know the answer to all their questions. Their babyhood is fleeting and in mere moment...

The boys and I went on a walk around the ranch to pick wildflowers for a bouquet. We went all around and had a lovely hour or so. I love living on the ranch. It is so beautiful in spring. I am truly a lucky girl to have this place to live.