Living in Munchkinland

The last couple of days the boys and I have been trying to find a summer routine. With no school and most of our lessons cancelled for the summer, we are left with lots of free time. Yet somehow we have still been so busy. Most days this summer I'll be working and the boys have some camps they'll be doing, but we still need to find our new summer rhythm. Today over breakfast, we talked about what needed to happen today and then I made a list and taped it the wall where the kids could see it. After we finished each item on our list they would run over and check it off the list. It really helped with transitions and cut down on the whining. Today's list looked like this: Breakfast (eggs and grits) Outside Play (they need to do this early 'cause it's already so hot.) Visit Mimi and Paw Paw Grocery Store Homework (they have workbooks I bought them for the summer) Lunch (tofu scramble with mushrooms and zucchini and toast) Art Canning (we made garlic an...

Yesterday we had the hottest, coolest time in Texas. We went to Schlitterbahn. We got season passes for Christmas from Michael's parents and we were so excited to use them. The boys had never been and Michael had only gone once when he was a teenager. Stacey dropped Lilliana off in the morning and after my four mile run I quickly showered and packed us a big picnic of veggie burgers, veggie hot dog wraps, berries, hummus and lentil chips. We lathered ourselves in sunscreen and hopped in the car. We got there about ten minutes before it opened. After scoring a great parking place, we ran into the original side, got ourselves a locker and dropped off our towels, sunscreen and wallet. Then we took the tram over to the new side and got in line for the big water coasters. The line ended up being long (90 minutes), so we switched over to another line and had a great time on a major water slide. We then spent the morning doing lots of fun water play on the new side. My favorit...

We drove up to Stonewall on Saturday morning and met our friends Cheris and Rob and their kids there. We unpacked and rocked on the porch and then headed into Fredericksburg for lunch at Hondo's. The kids played in the courtyard while we sipped jalepenos margaritas and then we all ate lunch. After lunch we drove back toward Stonewall and stopped at Becker Vineyards for a wine tasting. It was lots of fun and the kids enjoyed playing on the grounds. Michael bought us a bottle of dry rose and we sat on the porch for a bit and then we drove back to the house. More screen porch rocking and sipping and music playing occurred and the kids ran around the yard with butterfly nets, played games and watched a movie. I made us dinner and then we all played Telestrations, a new game that is pretty hilarious. The kids didn't go to sleep till nine and I followed shortly behind. Sunday morning we had a pancake feast and then every one went on a hike through the fields to the riv...

Davis had his graduation ceremony from Montessori school on Wednesday, yesterday we had the end of the year school picnic, and today is the last day of school for the year. I am so glad that Davis got four years with our Montessori School. I think that choosing a montessori education for our children was a great choice for us. It has been expensive and I have had my doubts on occasion, but the education foundation that Davis has gotten has been incredible. I have loved the small class size, the historic home where the school is housed and the fantastic hands-on materials, the program and the way they learn. The kids have thrived and enjoyed exploring the materials and living the day in a meaningful, joyful routine. I have loved how they have a job each week and sweep up and do dishes and take on responsibilities. Davis has made some wonderful friendships at his school and learned lessons at this school that serve him his whole life long. This year he has embraced a mentors...

Lately Davis has told us that when he grows up he wants to be a scientist/superhero. Today all that changed. On the way to school this morning we were talking about all kinds of career choices. I offered up doctor, lawyer, engineer, computer programmer, musical theater performer and scientist. Sam thought maybe he might be a UPS man. And then Davis got super excited and loudly announced that he had finally figured out what he truly wants to be when he grows up. He wants to be a piano player in a subway. He then told us knowingly that he would make a lot of money that way.

I'm the chair of the fundraising committee at the montessori school and today was our big fundraiser. We did a silent auction at the Texas Swing Festival. It was so much work. So. much. work. I've spent all year working on this, but the last two months have been crazy. I got there at 8AM this morning and got home at 5:45PM. It's the longest I've been on my feet since the surgery. It turned out great! Our auction packages were good and the committee I worked with all worked hard did a great job. Michael helped out by face painting for a couple of hours and Davis went around telling people to come check out our auction. A couple of our good friends came by and it meant so much. The kids had a blast running around the festival with their friends. The festival is wonderful and the weather was perfect. And I bought a great package with 24 passes to our favorite summer hangout the Jumpy Place. We made a lot of money and our take from the whole year's worth...

Positivity is our new motto. My sister got us some bracelets with the motto and I ordered more today. Here's why. My dad was recently accepted into a study for a new way to fight Alzheimer's. When the doctors in the study looked at his latest MRI, they decided that he had Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus. They kicked him out of the study and sent us to a Neurosurgeon. Dad went to see the doctor and learned more about the disease and his prognosis. This disease has three main symptoms and dementia is one of them. The best thing about this disease is that is it treatable. His doctors are saying that he has both Alzheimer's and NPH, but we aren't so sure. We are hoping that maybe they are wrong and that he only has NPH. After all, Alzheimer's can't be totally confirmed until autopsy. The way to treat NPH is by placing a shunt in the brain and draining fluid. My dad is going to have the surgery to place the shunt on June 5th. I would like to ask you to...

I had a wonderful mother's day. This morning we delivered muffins and chocolates and cards to G.G. in bed and then after a quick trip to pick up flowers from my dad to my mom at the store, we delivered muffins and presents and cards to my mom at her house. We were all filled with a happy, loving mother's day spirit and we enjoyed spending that special time with my mom and grandma. The kids gifted me with a new pair of Toms and the cookbook Veganomicon and were so pleased and sweet about mother's day. I got lots of hugs and sweet words and they were helpful and kind. Michael was great all day and treated me like a queen. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and such great kids. I spent the rest of the morning reading and resting and taking a quiet bath and then we picked up my dad and went to church. It was a nice service and we all enjoyed it. We had a quick lunch of leftovers and then we spent some time on Skype with my mother and father in la...

I woke up this morning having had a really rough night. I've been having a hard time sleeping lately. Michael and I took turns going on a run and then cleaned the house and did some house chores. Then we decided to try and have some fun. We drove to the library and checked out some books and movies and then drove up to Austin. We had lunch at the vegan counter at Whole Foods and then did a lot of grocery shopping. While we were there we saw a flier for the Austin Mini Maker Fair e and realized it was going on today. On the spur of the moment, we threw the groceries into the cooler in the back of the car and drove over to the Faire. Michael and the boys loved it. There was so much to see and try and do. They played basketball with a robot and met R2D2. They did spin art and played with small machines and learned how to make a bird feeder. They rode a dinosaur rocking horse and a bat bicycle. After a while I got hot, headachy and really all done. I had just pushed it ...

I am really, really feeling the lack of estrogen these days. I'm in a bad mood a lot. I am short tempered and emotional and I walk around feeling angst pretty much all the time. It's probably best if I avoid people for the next few weeks. Yesterday I was working and my dad asked where his sunglasses were. I told him he didn't need them because it was raining and he told me not to tell him what to do. This is a normal, everyday sort of conversation that never even makes a ripple, but yesterday he told me that and I burst into huge sobs and big tears. And then that made me have a hot flash. I was a sweaty, red faced, crying mess and my dad was totally confused and I was completely embarrassed. So embarrassed. My mom parked me under the fan in her office and gave me a hug and then went and tried to comfort my dad and explain why I was a total freak. That was the first time I've totally lost it, but i'm afraid it's not the last. I'm not saying that I ...

Last night my parents threw a house concert. They hosted Lisa Morales and Louie Ortega. They did the whole thing outside by the pool. They served burgers and beer and wine and we all sat on the bleachers and chatted and ate and then listened to some great music. Almost all of our best friends were there and we had a great time. The weather was warm, but we were on the shady side of the house and it was breezy so it felt great. We were afraid it would keep raining as it had done the night before, but the weather held and as the sun set, a huge orange moon came up behind the musicians and the whole evening became even more magical. It was a wonderful event and we all really enjoyed it.

I made up a new recipe on Monday and it was surprisingly awesome. Michael and I had ordered the fried brussel sprouts from the East Side Kings trailer at the food festival and I wanted to try and recreate it. I didn't succeed in doing that, but I did make something that we'll make over and over again. Michael and I both couldn't get enough of it. I took a fresh bag of brussel sprouts and quartered them. Then I threw them on a cookie sheet with a light spray of Pam on it and roasted them at 375 degrees for a long time. Over half an hour. I basically cooked them until they were more brown than green. I'd never cooked them that long before, but they were really golden brown in the East Side Kings dish so I figured I'd try it. When they were done I threw them in a bowl and added about a cup of fresh chopped mint, basil and cilantro. You can play with the herbs to your own liking. I also lightly salted the whole thing. When it was time for lunch we took out th...