Living in Munchkinland

We had a great Thanksgiving day. We started the day off right with red chili topped bloody marys. Ann made us a betting squares chart for the cowboys game later and we each kicked in two dollars a square. Marcie and Ann and Mom and I bustled around the kitchen all morning, preparing our feast while also joining everyone in the living room to watch the Macy's day parade. We made an organic turkey with red chili gravy (mind blowingly good- made out of roasted garlic, onions and red chills). We had vegan and pork tamales, sweet potato casserole with brown sugar and pecans on top, a huge platter of roasted root vegetables drizzled with balsamic vinegar, quinoa and wild rice pilaf, rolls, fruit salad and two different kinds of homemade cranberry sauce. We also had pumpkin, apple, pecan and key lime pies. It was a feast! We all sat around the table and held hands and told each other what we were grateful for. The food was delicous and it was wonderful to be with our fa...

Sam's birthday was great. Davis stayed fever free all day and seemed well by afternoon. We started the day with Sam's request of pancakes and then we all gathered in the living room and opened presents. He wore his golden birthday crown and loved his presents. We assembled Legos an splayed with toys and then had lunch at Orlando's. After lunch we went to twirl and Sam spent his fifty dollar gift card. They got great toys, but the playground was closed in anticipation of today's Christmas party. We shopped the square and then came home and played some more. Sam loved his birthday. Late that evening Marcie and Ann and family arrived and we all chatted and hung out until night. It was a wonderful, clear, gorgeous day full of love. I can't believe my sweet tiny baby is six. He has grown into such a sweet boy. He is sensitive and shy, but when he's comfortable he is a class clown. He really loves making us laugh. He loves silly dances. He adores stu...

We loved Breaking Dawn 2. It was made for the fans and we appreciated it. It was a nice date. Tuesday I went for a run and then Sam and I baked a vegan pecan pie. He really wanted to do this for Thanksgiving and I was happy to do it with him. Michael and the boys and I went out for lunch at Gutiz. It was wonderful. Really amazing good. It may be a new favorite. Then we headed to the plaza. We walked all around and did some shopping and then we walked to the Harwood Art Gallery. We loved it. The art was great and even the kids were engaged though Davis was a bit grumpy. We walked down LeDoux street and stopped at the Inger Jerby gallery. It was so whimsical and Brit. LeDoux street is great and deserves some more time and inspection. We returned home and Davis and I took a nap and then we all gathered in the living room for conversation and happy hour. Davis was still acting grumpy and tired and felt a bit warm. We ignored that and headed to happy hour at KTAOS...

We had a good road trip up to Taos. We let Sam skip school on Friday and picked up Davis at 10:15 so he could be counted present. We drove up through Fredericksburg and stopped in Mason for a picnic lunch. We continued up to Lubbock and got in around 6pm. We arrayed at the Overton and it was fabulous. The restaurant was delicious. We woke up early on Saturday morning and continued our drive. We listened to Harry Potter on he way and the kids love it. We stopped in Las Vegas for lunch and ate at Kocina Raphael. They have good sopapillas there. We got into Taos at 1:20 pm and unpacked. We relaxed and visited with mom and dad and G.G. and Gramp. We sat in front of the fire and worked a puzzle and then mom and I made dinner. We all went to bed early. Taos is beautiful this time of year. There aren't any tourists yet (the ski valley doesn't open till Friday). The weather is crisp and cold. We are having his in the mid fifties and lows in the twenties. We haven...

Sam's real birthday is November 21st. This year that makes it the day before Thanksgiving. Because of the holiday and our trip to Taos, we decided to have the his birthday party a couple of weeks early. Sam wanted a baby animal party. He wanted all the kids to bring their favorite stuffed animal and then they could all play with them and he wanted the party at his house. We kicked around ideas and then Michael and I decided to get a traveling animal zoo to come out and bring real live baby animals to our house for the party. Mom offered to pay part of it as her gift. We decided to do this as a surprise to our Sam. I found a company who did this with great reviews and even though they were expensive, booked them. I also added a bubble machine and some amazing animal themed goodie bags to my order. All was set! Sam was allowed to invite as many kids as he was old along with their siblings and he had no problem choosing. He asked me to make coconut cupcakes (his ...

Michael and Davis were in the Veteran's day parade today with Pack 18. We dropped them off and then Sam and I found a good spot to watch the parade on the square. We met with some of our friends we've met through cubscouts and all watched the parade together. The cubscout float was great. The parade was well attended and had lots of floated. Sam said he loved it. When it was over we picked up the boys and then went with the Pasemanns and the Nances to eat lunch at Casa Maria. It was a really good time. They are fun people and our little boy scouts enjoyed hanging out at their end of the table as well.

I made up a dinner tonight and it turned out delicious. It was cheap. It was healthy. The kids thanked me over and over for making it. So I thought I'd write it down here so I'd remember what I did and share it with you guys too. Ingredients 4 cups cooked brown rice 2 pds eggplant, peeled 2 bell peppers, cored 1 large onion 2 cloves garlic 1/2 can of tomato sauce 1 tsp salt 1 tsp olive oil 1 tsp cumin 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained. Method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut eggplant, peppers and onion into 1 inch chunks. Put cut vegetables onto roasting pan or cookie sheet, drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on vegetables. Cook for 40 minutes at 400. Stir occasionally. When vegetables are done, put them in the food processor along with the half can of tomato sauce and teaspoon of cumin. Whir into a thick dip consistency, a little chunky. Put in a pot over low heat and add can of chickpeas. Heat through. Serve sauce w...

We are so pleased that President Obama has been re-elected for a second term. It has been fun to share this election with the kids and talk about how the election process works, the structure of our government and what the political parties stand for. Of course, they get this with a very left leaning perspective, but that's the breaks. I'm raising little liberal democrats. Davis' elementary school had mock elections yesterday. The entire second grade voted and Obama won 72 to 28. I was so proud. Last night the kids watched a bit of the returns with me and this morning we watched Obama's acceptance speech. We talked about making sure we were gracious and how we all needed to work together whether we were republican or democrat. I'm trying to teach them the value of bi-partisanship in the hopes that we can get there, someday. It was a great night.

This weekend has been busy with lots of fun and more to come. Thursday I spent the morning with Stacey on her birthday, shopping at Target and lunching at Palmers. Friday night, we took the kids to art class and snuck off to have a sushi date. An hour later, we picked them up and dropped them off for an overnight stay with their mimi and pawpaw. Then Michael and I drove over to Stacey and Chris' house for Stacey's birthday celebration where we met up with Anne, Jeff and Elizabeth and Zach and did a little pre-party partying. Then we drove to New Braunfels for Wurstfest. I'd never been before. I was expecting it to be similar to Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg, but it was much different. It was much bigger and was inclosed in different buildings. There were tons of people and made for very good people watching. We drank and ate (I poisoned my body with delicious beer and french fries) and danced a little. It wasn't perfectly suited for me, but I lov...

We had a nice weekend and Halloween last week. We had dinner out on Friday with some new friends at Japaneiro. We played with Kade and did home things and built a fire and read guidebooks on a very chilly Saturday. That evening we attended the Texas Civil Rights Project dinner with Anne, Elizabeth, Jeff and Zach in Austin. We enjoyed meeting Lilly Ledbetter and spending time with our friends. On Sunday we attended church and then had the Gardners over for the afternoon. I made lunch and we all ate and then we watched the kids have a blast leaping on the hay bales. Sunday evening Michael and I drove up to Austin to see Bill Cosby in concert. He was still funny and we enjoyed our date night. I spent almost six hours at the hair salon this week changing my hair color from dark brown to dark blonde with highlights. I call it bronde. I prefer my natural color, but now that I am 40% gray, I need to make some changes to incorporate the gray rather than try just to cov...