Living in Munchkinland

7 days 17 parades 6 bloody mary's Countless wine refills 1 pot of gumbo 1 pot of red beans and rice 1 trip to Martin's wine store 1 trip to Fresh Mart 1 trip to the World War 2 Museum 1 trip to Rockn'bowl 1 trip to the Audubon park and Zoo 5 real mardi gras Indians spotted 8 tons of loot 1 four night stay at the Columns 2 wristbands to get us in the gates 9 family members for the holiday 1 visit with Sophie and her family 4 days with the Spille's 1 exciting moment where we saw Anne and Jeff in the parade 40 new parade-gating friends made 12 continuous hours on the street for parades on Sunday 2 hours before each parade that we waiting on St. Charles, drinking and making friends 9 footballs caught and then played with in the street 5 horns bought and fought over = Priceless Vacation to Mardi Gras with the family!

We just had a super fun, friend-filled weekend. We started on Friday with our friend Rob's birthday. We dropped the kids off for a sleepover at my parents' house and then we met some friends at our favorite Thai place in San Marcos and then met more friends at Pinballz Kingdom which is a funky pinball arcade in an old castle/gas station. I did lots of ski ball and got schooled in DDR by Cheris and Rob. It was a very good time. Saturday we spent the whole day at the STEM fair. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). It was a wonderful fair with so much to see and do. Davis was presenting a video game he had created in his Codu club and both sets of grandparents stopped by to see his work. We left him there for a lunch at Cody's with Martha and Clark and then went back to pick up Davis and his friend for a play date. The kids ran around the ranch for a couple of hours and then we loaded them up and drove towards Wimberley to meet a bunch of friends at Middleton

I am spending a lot of time practicing Dharma. My life right now is an exercise in patience. Despite my frantic striving for a plan, I am forced to stay in the moment. These are just the facts, man. My dad has dementia and has spent the last two weeks very, very sick with both the flu and pneumonia. The illness has caused some progression of the dementia as well. I have to not make plans or even a plan to make a plan. I just have to take each day as it comes and be available and open. I have to be patient and kind and positive. My mother is mentoring me with this and is far more advanced at "the Now", than I am. My grandmother has fallen three times in the last 6 weeks and has been in the hospital, rehab, home and hospital again. My grandfather's dementia is progressing. My mom and my uncle are working, working to try and get them taken care of, and make them happy, or at least safe. They have to stay patient and kind and positive. I try to support them as m

Last weekend, on National Soup Swap Day, I held my seventh annual January soup swap. We had nine attendees and eight soups. We were a very merry bunch and had a wonderful time. I am friends with some very wonderful women. Michael took the kids to a massive play date with all the dads and children while I hosted. I made a Portuguese white bean soup and traded for some amazing new soups. I forgot to take any photos until the end, when I snapped a picture of us on the back patio. qMy mother I law graciously offered to take the photo so she is not pictured. It was a good time, girls, thank you for swapping!