Living in Munchkinland

I've got trouble in my lady parts. The symptoms of this trouble have been really bothering me all summer. I have been working very hard to push them aside and ignore. They are no longer possible to ignore. After seven weeks of working hard to find out what was causing all this yuckiness, I think we have an answer. I have a laproscopy scheduled for Tuesday morning. It's a relatively non-invasive surgery and will hopefully either fix the situation or at least give us some answers. And that's that.

I already told you about the high school reunion we attended last weekend. Enough said about that I think. I did want to post about the other part of our weekend. That part was the best part for me. We got to spend four days with Michael's brother, Steven, sister-in-law Melissa and their kids. They all live in California and we don't see them nearly often enough. The kids are seven and three, and are both boys which means that when the cousins get together they have an awesome time. The California Walters don't make it Texas more than once a year and we haven't all spent time together and Michael's parents' house in several years. In fact, the last time was before the youngest boys were born so this was an extra special reunion. During our long weekend, the kids fished with grandpa, rode big wheels in the front drive, played with all of Micheal's and his brother's old toys and generally had a rip roaring good time. Michael's parents kept al...

We're in Houston this weekend. Michael and I drove up to spend four days with his parents and attend his 20 year high school reunion. My sister-in-law is also attending her 20 year reunion for the "sister" school to Michael's school. This means that Steven and Melissa and their kids are also visiting AND that we got to hang out a lot together because the reunions were combined for Friday night. These are both excellent things because we love them and it is super fun to be grown-ups with them. My in-laws are also beside themselves with joy to have their whole family under one roof. It's a very rare occurrence and so it is a big deal. The visit/family part is fun. The reunion part is, well, interesting. The reunion is not about me. I have been informed of this fact several times by my husband. But I have been taking notes on the whole thing because I am helping to plan my upcoming 15 year high school reunion and I want to make it a good one. Here are some per...

Just about eight years ago, Michael and I got really drunk in a bar and told each other we loved each other. The funny thing was that it was absolutely true. We'd only been together about a month, but we were pretty darn sure we had found our match. We were head over heels, can't keep our hands to ourselves, is there anyone else in this room I really wouldn't notice in love with each other. Michael proposed four months later in a really romantic setting in Aruba with black swans swimming nearby, fancy rings, champagne and amazing words. I said yes. I said yes a lot of times in a row and then I cried. It was awesome. Seven years ago today we headed for One World Theatre where, surrounded by family and friends, we said I do. And we really, really meant it. It was a really great day and a really fun party. We've been through a lot in the last seven years. We've moved three times. We had two kids really close together. Michael has changed jobs three times. We...

Davis lost his first tooth today. We were running errands in the car when he suddenly announced with great surprise that he had lost his tooth. He grinned triumphantly, brandishing his little white tooth while a wide trail of blood ran down his chin. I celebrated this moment with extreme excitement and he seemed very satisfied with it all. He has great hopes and belief in the tooth fairy and highly anticipates a gold dollar in the morning. I can already see the permanent tooth coming in through the gap. He's such a big boy.

Last night I went to the pantry to get a graham cracker. I glanced at the door and saw a reptilian face looking back at me. Totally freaked out, I sent Michael outside to check it out. We took these pictures and then Michael shooed it away with a broom. Based on photos online we are pretty sure it was a Texas Rat Snake which is non-venomous. I'm glad it can't kill me, but I still really don't want it climbing up my door. Shudder.

I've got the travel bug again. It comes and goes, but I've got it bad right now. Too bad my bank account is empty, otherwise I would be going crazy with all these last minute travel deals. But it's not just a desire to go away randomly for a few days. It's deeper than that. It's something inside of me that pushes me to go. The funny thing is that I don't even know where I want to go. I feel pulled in so many directions. Should I go somewhere I've never been before? There are so many of those places. How could I ever choose? Or should I revisit some place that I truly loved and want to experience again? Every time a great vacation ends, I promise myself that someday I will return. But when? How do I return and visit again when there are still so many places I haven't been? And then there are the places I've lived. I love to move and live in different places because it is basically like extended traveling. I have lived in NYC, L.A., Tucs...

As soon as hurricane Alex blew over we jumped in the car and headed for the beach. We had big plans and no rain was going to stop us. We drove through big rain to get there, but by the time we arrived the weather was calming. For the rest of the vacation, we never saw another drop of rain. We spent the long weekend with some of our best friends. We had four couples all together and eight children. Stacey and Chris arrived first with their girls. We arrived shortly after and had a great evening drinking and chatting. The next day we ate at the Port A Brew Pub and discovered some great new beers. Elizabeth and Zach and their boys arrived late that day and joined us for a drink that evening. Cheris and Rob and Violet and Graham pulled up the next day around lunch and joined us at the beach. We were happy to have our party complete. Mostly we drank and swam and played at the beach and chatted and laughed and made music. The kids all got along pretty well and no one was injured ...