Living in Munchkinland

Hey there mamas. A good friend of mine has asked me post this on my blog. I think it's a very worthwhile campaign. Check it out. A new public service campaign called “ Protect Two from the Flu ” http://www.facebook.com/l/hAQBS0paTAQDUJCQl-NaNwCj8eKM1yx2RB4bgmIRdXqSsdw/www.Protect2.org is to protect that little bun in the oven from the flu — and the mom-to-be. The campaign offers information about how important it is for expectant moms to get the flu vaccine — even during the summer, since the flu virus is active year-round. Plus, getting the vaccine is the only way to keep the baby safe from the flu, since babies cannot get the flu vaccine themselves until they are six months old. Doctors and health agencies now say expectant moms can get the vaccine at any point during their pregnancy and urge them to do so as soon as possible. The campaign, from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) answers common flu questions. DSHS is also working with OB/GYNs to educate and v...

We had a nice Saturday afternoon/evening with my family celebrating my sister's birthday. We had planned to take the kids and bowl at the Highball, but when we arrived they informed us that the kids were not allowed. We quickly changed plans and moved to Westgate Lanes where my boys had their first bowling experience. They loved it. They bowled with their cousin and had a fantastic time. My mom brought cupcakes and we gifted my sister. Then we drove to a restaurant I'd never been to, and had a fabulous dinner. I love spending time with my sister and I had a great time watching my boys throw that heavy ball down the lane. Sunday we went to a private island in New Braunfels with our usual crew of best friends had a great time. Davis and Sam had their first diving board experience. Their friend Rowan showed them how it was done and then Sam boldly tried it. He did very well and loved it. After Sam did it a few times, Davis agreed to try and from then on didn't want ...

We've had a good week. It seemed to fly by. We had an awesome Monday evening ranch Happy Hour. We were celebrated the fact that Michael passed the third, very difficult test in a series and is now officially a CCNP! This is great news and I am very proud of him. Tuesday night was our eighth wedding anniversary. Mom and Dad kept the boys and Michael and I drove up to Austin. We did the omakase at Uchi and it was amazing. WE had ten courses of delicious bites as well as a lovely, way-too-smooth bottle of sake. We were there for four hours and then we took a taxi to my parents' condo. We spent the night there for what will probably be the last time since they are selling it and drove home in the morning. It was a great anniversary. Wednesday was a recovery day for me. I was a wee bit hung over and I had done a lot of driving so I flaked from book group and went to bed at 8:30. On Thursday we had a great swim playdate with Davis' good friend. It was so sweet to see ...

We had a great weekend. I ate lots of mexican food and had two skinny margaritas on Friday night and I was new woman. I do so love food. Saturday we rose early and worked out and cleaned house and were loaded in the car in our swimsuits by 9:30AM. We drove out to New Braunfels to play with Stacey and Chris some more on the summer vacation. We had a good morning in the pool and then we followed them to a lunch place with burgers and a playground. It was really cloudy and so the outside seating was actually bearable. We ate burgers and drank wine and had a great time. Then we drove home, put on a movie for the boys and Michael and I took an hour long nap. Ahhh, perfect. Power nap accomplished, we quickly dressed and reloaded the car and drove up to Austin where we had happy hour with our friends Cheris and Rob. They shared the fabulous tartufata I brought them from Italy and it was so yummy. Then we followed them to the Texas Rowing School on Lady Bird Lake where we had a potl...

This week has been hard. Michael was in Dallas all week so I was single parenting. I got a speeding ticket. I locked my keys in my car. It's one hundred bazillion fucking degrees outside. We had a fire on the ranch which then flared up three times. Michael came home and the first thing we did was have a fight. I forgot to wish my most fabulous mother-in-law happy birthday/anniversary while on the phone on the most special day (today! Sorry Martha! Love you!). I've put my foot in my mouth quite a few times. And most importantly and probably the reason for most of these things (not the heat or the fire) is that I have been on an intense allergy clean and have only had shakes and greens for SEVEN days. I am hungry and irritable. The last three nights I have spent the whole night dreaming that I am at a restaurant ordering and eating french fries. And other fried things, but mostly fries. That all being said, we have had some good points in our week. The kids have b...

Jet lag was hard on us. The boys and I seemed to fair worse than Michael, but we all suffered. It took several days before we were able to function after about 3PM. We eased into the week as gently as we could, so basically other than cleaning and grocery shopping, we stayed in on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday the kids watched the shuttle launch with Michael and in the afternoon we had a pool party with Stacey and Chris and the girls and it was awesome. On Saturday we met with an old college friend of Michael's and our mutual friend, John. We met at South Park meadows and the kids enjoyed the splash pad and playground and we all enjoyed the Waterloo Icehouse there. Saturday afternoon we finally took the kids to see Cars 2. They have been begging to see it since January when they learned it was coming out. While we were in Europe, they would see it advertised everywhere, but they agreed they wanted to wait till we got home to see it so they could see it in English. Thi...

Paris got better. On our second day we had a leisurely breakfast and then I spent an hour in a Parisian laundromat while Michael and the boys watched the third star wars movie. After all of that, we met up with Mom and Dad and took the metro to the Montemartre. We took the funicular up to the Sacre Coeur and had lunch and then walked through all the artists. We slowly made our way down the hill through the gift shops and back to the metro to our hotel. We showered and changed and then walked to the Champs Mar and the Park at the Eiffel tower where the kids played on the playground and we watched a demonstration. Then we made our way to the Rue Cler for dinner. For our final day of Paris we woke early, breakfasted and changed hotels. Our new hotel was a big room and we it was close which was good since we had to walk there as no cabs were to be had. Once the move was complete, we met mom and dad and took the metro to the Louvre. We finally found a short line through the carousel mal...

The overnight train to Paris went okay. We ate late night McDonalds in Florence and the kids were punch drunk, but it was okay. We slept better than last time and that was good. We came into the Paris train station and waited almost an hour for a taxi. then we had a hellish exchange with the concierge of the apartment we were meant to stay in. She refused to give us the keys and slammed the door literally in my face. with no back up plan in place, we had the cab driver take us to the hotel where my parent's were planning to stay. They were able to give us two rooms (at an enormous price), but were not able to find us space for our last day. We also haven't had access to laundry since we left France and had planned to do our wash at the apartment, so now we are stuck with absolutely no clean clothes. We took the rooms, and after trying seven more hotels who were all booked, we finally found another hotel who will take us for our last night. We also discovered a laund...

On Thursdays they don't do any meals at Villa Pia. The staff takes a break and we are forced to get out into the countryside. We drove into Arezzo to spend the day. We toured the Cathedral and saw a famous fresco and then played in a huge park. we watched the bells in the tower swing at noon and found a great trattoria for lunch where we had truffle bruschetta, a faro salad and a white bean and tuna and olive salad accompanied by a cool, slightly sparkling white wine. the. We shopped along the streets and ended up in a great piazza where the kids had a gelato and Michael and I had prossecco served with pringles, oddly enough. We stopped on our way out of the town to see a roman amphitheater and then rushed back to the car when it started to rain. After a mid afternoon break back at Villa Pia where we played ping pong and read our books, we drove up to Monterchi through tiny winding roads that posed as sidewalks until we reached the top of a hill and found a little cafe. The...