Living in Munchkinland

Flood of Jan. '12

2012-01-29T08:27:00.002-06:00

It rained over five inches one night this week. It rained hard and loud. We had hail and rain hit our bedroom windows sideways and keep us up all night. It totally flooded our yard and came in between the cracks of our windows. The ponds over flowed, the river over flowed and made a great roaring noise as it poured over the dam. School was delayed.
Davis and I hiked down to the river and around the ranch in our rain boots and took pictures. It was not the worst river flood we've ever had. Not even close. But it was a BIG rain and definitely worth noting.

Pinewood Car Derby Race, Education Fair and Tough Mudder

2012-01-29T07:57:00.005-06:00

Michael woke up early in anticipation for the Tough Mudder. He woke up early several times, but finally got up at 6AM and was on the road at 6:30. I wished him luck and then focused on the day.
I cleaned the house and got the kids ready and by 8:30 AM we left the house to head to Dick's Classic Car garage where Davis participated in his very first derby race with the cub scouts. He and his dad had worked really hard on his car and made a Mach 5 with Speed Racer as his driver. It was a very cool car.
They did four heats. Davis came in second in every one of his heats. They took the winners of those heats and raced them against each other to find the winners. Davis was not too disappointed that he didn't win. We had tried to prep him for a loss just in case, and it seemed to work. He was very happy that his car had gone over 200 miles an hour. Sam burst into tears at Davis' loss, however. Seems I forgot to prep the brother. He eventually got over it though and all was well.
After the race we drove over to the Embassy Suites hotel for the San Marcos Education Fair. It was wonderful. I learned so much and talked to many people. The kids loved it too.
We met Mom, Stacy and Lilliana there and after we picked up Dad, we all went to eat lunch at Los Cucos. I love the salsa there so much and the food is great, but the service is so consistently bad that I just don't think I can patronize the restaurant again. I'll have to get their salsa to go and take it over to Casa Maria.
We came home and had a wonderful playdate with Stacey and Chris and the girls and waited for Michael to come home. He eventually came home around 6:30PM. He was filthy. He had mud all over him, marker on his face, a shaved head and he was sore and exhausted. He was happy to see us though and he had a celebratory Guiness and dinner. He got to spend some time with our friends and kids and stayed proud and cheerful as he told us about his day.
Michael rocked the tough mudder and did two obstacles the other teammates wouldn't even try. He did every obstacle, even the electricity and made it across the A-frame monkey bars and balance beam without falling. His teammate said he was the strongest team member all the way around. I was so proud. He's been running 7 miles every other day, doing strength training and pilates on opposite days. He's worked so hard for this and it was quite an accomplishment.
After we put the kids to bed he took a long bath and got clean. We put on our jammies, watched Downton Abbey and crawled into bed. It was a great, exhausting day.

Five Year Anniversary

2012-01-23T09:16:00.003-06:00

Today is the fifth anniversary of my blog. This is my 598th post. Happy Anniversary to me! I started the blog when we lived in Phoenix. It was a way to keep up with my friends and family. Sam was 2 months old and Davis was two months shy of two. I was anticipating my 30th birthday. Here's the Initial Post. Feel free to go back in time with me.
Writing this blog has been a way for me to connect with others and keep a history of our lives for my family. Each year I turn a years worth of the blog into a book. (I'll get it together to make the 2011 one soon.) It's my way of journalling/scrapbooking/making photo albums. It's been really nice to look back and see when a certain thing happened, or where we ate on that trip, or what I thought during a certain point in time.
I can't put everything into the blog. There are lots of things that are just too private to put out there, but I think this blog has been a good representation of where we have been. It has certainly been a labor of love. To those who read it, I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what kind of posts you like and keep commenting. It helps me keep going. XXOO, me

Annual Soup Swap

2012-01-23T09:07:00.003-06:00

I hosted another soup swap yesterday in honor of National Soup Swap Day. I can't remember how many soup swaps I've hosted over the years. I"m thinking this might have been the sixth.
It was really fun.
Michael helped me clean the house and get it ready for the party. I cooked up some soup and decorated the house a bit. I bought some prizes and opened the wine. Michael with the boys and Violet and Graham met up with several of the dads with their kids at our friend David and Rachael's house. They had a great time and it got them all out of the house which was fantastic.
We had thirteen ladies participate and thirteen different soups! They all sounded delicious and there was a scramble to get some of them. The wine flowed and we had so many good things to eat. I wore my new sparkly pocketed pants and felt fabulous. I got to spend some time with my ladies and that is always a win. My very best friends were all there and it was almost perfect.
I love soup swap. I think we should do another one in the summer with summer soups. Now all I have to do is figure out which soup to have for lunch.

MLK Day

2012-01-17T07:49:00.004-06:00

We had a wonderful MLK day. Michael had to work, but the boys and I drove out Monday morning to pick up Dad and Lilliana and head for the courthouse. We met up with our friends Anne and Jeff and their children and gathered with our fellow UU's for the program. We had our picture taken for the newspaper (which thrilled the kids). We ran into our friend Alex with her kids which made Sam's day because he loves her son Miles. The boys played on the courthouse lawn and we listened to a very moving program.
After the program we all marched down MLK street to the Dunbar center. The weather had started cloudy and cool, but it grew warmer and warmer and turned out to be a lovely day. We all enjoyed our march and Dad got interviewed by the local college paper while we marched! Everyone had cake at the Dunbar center and then we walked back toward the courthouse with our large group plus some friends we met on the way. As we approached the square we met Cheris with Violet and Graham and we all went to lunch at the food trailers.
It was great. The weather was nice and we had at least 10 kids so they had their own table. The grownups sat at our own table and had delicious food and great conversation. After lingering about an hour, we walked (and some drove) down to the purple dinosaur park for more fun. The kids played and we had so many people in our group that conversation was interesting and varied. We ran into some more good friends at the park and stayed for a good hour and half at the park.
It was a great day and a wonderful holiday. I highly recommend that you do the march if you live in town.

An update! (their feet are not so big)

2012-01-15T15:21:00.002-06:00

I took the boys back to stride rite this afternoon to get some another pair of shoes (not light up) so he could wear them to school and since, apparently, he had outgrown his old ones. When I got there, I got them to remeasure his feet again just to make sure. I couldn't believe he'd grown from a 13 to a 2.5 in three months. Sure enough, the original measurement was wrong! He is a 13.5 and so is his brother. I told them how they'd mismeasured and they apologized and switched out the shoes for the proper size even though they'd been wearing them for two days.
Alls well that ends well. And I still think it's funny that the boys wear the same size. Sam has big feet, just not clown feet like we thought before.

The Cleanse

2012-01-14T17:59:00.003-06:00

I am now on day 12 of my allergy cleanse and day 6 of only eating medical shakes and green vegetables. I am miserable and weak. However, I am headache and body ache free. My skin is clear and I'm not sick at all. I'm down a whole dress size and fit in my clothes again. I'm glad for those positive things. That's why I'm doing it. But I hate this cleanse all the same.
I really love food. I like flavors and textures and cooking. I also really love my evening cocktails. I haven't been to a restaurant in two weeks and I haven't had a single sip of liquor. I miss those things a lot. In order to stick with my cleanse I've made sure not to have any social life to tempt me. I miss my friends a lot. I can't wait to be done with this.

My Kids Have Big Feet

2012-01-14T17:56:00.002-06:00

The boys got new shoes today and this time Davis can grow into Sam's shoes. That's right. Despite being 19 months younger, Sam's feet are now a half size bigger than Davis'. My just turned five year old wears a 2 and a half! Think he'll grow up to be tall?

Michael's Beard

2012-01-10T12:13:00.003-06:00

Michael grew a beard over the Christmas Break. It has lots of red in it and a little grey. It was very scratchy at first, but now it's soft. I'm ambivalent about it now that's it no longer poky. Michael thinks he'll wear at least through January. Davis LOVES it. He says it is Michael's "Obi Wan Kenobi" beard and that it makes his dad very cool. What do you think?

Cocoon

2012-01-06T16:53:00.002-06:00

I think I'm going to withdraw for a week or two. I am glad to be back home and had a really wonderful holiday, but now it is time for some quiet.
I'm on my allergy cleanse which I truly despise, but which I desperately need. No booze, no sugar, no lots of things, and, starting this Sunday, nothing but shakes and greens for a week. This makes me not want to be around people who are eating and drinking so I stay home a lot. It also makes me grumpy and tired so it's a good thing I'm isolating myself.
And my job has been hard this week. Alzheimer's really sucks and it is so hard for the person suffering from it and for the people who love them and want to take care of them.
I'm exhausted.
So I'm going into my cocoon and I'll come out a cleansed, cheerful butterfly. Right?
We still have a few plans. We're going to the farmer's market in Austin tomorrow so I can stock up on greens and then we'll go ride our bikes with the cub scouts on the veloway for a couple of hours. I plan to do some playdates with our friends.
But mostly just cocoon. XO, me

Taos Pueblo Turtle Dance

2012-01-01T17:49:00.002-06:00

This morning we woke up at 6:30 and got dressed in our warmest clothes. We put a bunch of pendleton blankets in the trunk and Michael, Mom, Davis, Sam and I drove out to the Taos Pueblo to see the Turtle Dance.
It was very cold, about 15 degrees fahrenheit outside. We walked up to the Pueblo with our breath frosting and as we came into the courtyard we heard the drums and some chanting. We stood and watched the men from the tribe dancing and singing. They were bare chested with small skirts. Some wore leggings and they all wore turtle shells on their knees, bells on their moccasins and furs hanging down their backs. They wore feathers in their hair and shook white painted gourds ties with cedar branches.
Several priests stood on top of the pueblo's all around. They do four dances in different parts of the pueblo. We followed them from place to place until they disappeared into the kiva for a private dance. Then they were going to start it again ending up doing each dance four times. It was an amazing way to start the new year. We were not allowed to bring in cameras or cell phones, but someone wrote a blog about it last year with some pictures and they write about the experience much better than I do. Check it out HERE.
We came back and warmed up by the fire while Tiff, Keith, Kade and Dad went out to the pueblo to see some more of the dances. We met them at Doc Martins for brunch. We'd picked it because their bloody marys are so good with lots of horseradish, but it was Sunday before noon so we couldn't get any. We were disappointed, but the food was great so it made it all better. I had a bowl of green chile stew with sweet potato fries. Michael had a Maple Tofu Scramble and the boys had blue corn pancakes. Then we walked down Bent Street and made our way to the plaza. We bought the kids some little solar powered cars and Mom and Dad bought some books.
We've spent the afternoon cleaning up the house and packing. Tonight we'll go to dinner at Antonio's and then we have to leave the house by 8AM tomorrow morning. It's been a great trip.

Earthships, The Gorge and Fireworks, New Years Eve 2011

2012-01-01T10:13:00.005-06:00

We had a great New Year's Eve. After breakfast we all loaded up into our cars and drove out to see the gorge. This is a huge canyon with the Rio Grande running through it. A bridge runs over it. We drove across and then parked and walked down to look over the edge. The wind was blowing so hard that we were freezing. Davis said he wasn't afraid of heights but he was afraid that the wind was going to blow him off. We hastily snapped some pictures and ran back to the car.
A few miles down from the gorge are some Earthships. We went to visit the Earthship World Headquarters. These are some really cool houses. I loved how the grew their vegetables in the long window room and how their utility costs are only about $100 a year. Michael was fascinated with the engineering aspect. It was a neat thing to learn about.
Then we drove back into Taos for lunch at the Eske Brew Pub. Sam was pretty sick for the first half of lunch because of car sickness, but he felt better after about 20 minutes We all tried some beers that they make there and I had a veggie burger. Sam recovered and we were ready to rock again.
We rested through the afternoon. At some point mom pulled out a sage stick we'd bought at the Pueblo on our last trip. Dad and Kaden lit it and we went through the house doing a smudging ceremony to bless the house and remove all negativity. It was a really great thing to do and the kids got really in to it.
Around 4PM we put on our warmest clothes and all headed up the Taos Ski Valley. It was dark when we arrived. We walked next door to the tubing area with our own sleds and let the kids go down. They loved it and it was MUCH better than paying for tubing. Lesson learned. After about 15 minutes we walked over to the base of lift 1 and found great spots to watch the torch light parade and fireworks. The kids found a little snow ledge in front of us where they could lie on their backs and watch the mountain and we stood behind them. It was so cool to see the ski instructors fly down a black run holding flares in each hand. We whooped and hollered a lot for them.
When they came all the way down an amazing fireworks show began. I think it was the best one I've ever seen and I was so glad that this was the boys' first firework experience. The fireworks were so close to us and reflected against the white mountain slope. I wish I was a real writer so that I could explain better but it was absolutely awesome.
We drove back down the mountain after the show and I threw an enchilada casserole in the oven and opened the champagne. Our kids were begging to go to sleep and we were happy to oblige. They went right down and so Tiff put on a movie in their room for Kade and all of the grownups moved to the living room to sit by the fire, drink champagne and play Things. We played for two hours and laughed so much. It's a great game. We watched the ball drop in New York (10PM our time) and I went to bed.
Michael had gotten an urgent work email and so he had to abandon the fun and work. I think he came to bed right before one.
It was a lovely New Year's Eve and could have only been better if we could have shared it with our friends.

The Gorge, Tubing and the Stray Dog

2011-12-31T07:44:00.004-06:00

Yesterday morning we stayed home and hung out with Marcie and Ann and watched while they and mom worked on the couch fiasco. The green marker is still prominent though many calls were made to leather stores, home insurance companies and couch dealers. My back was better but I still couldn't bend over at all and so mostly I rested.
At lunchtime, Tiffany, Keith, Kade and Dad joined us for a wonderful lunch at the Gorge. The food was delicious. I had chili dusted sweet potato fries and a fish sandwich with cider slaw. Tiff and I also had two very wonderful, very strong margaritas. We were very merry.
Marcie and Ann left us when we got back and so I went to take a nap while Michael and the boys watched Star Wars episode 1. Then Tiff and Keith and Kade and my little family put on our ski clothes and headed up to the Taos Ski Valley about 20 minutes away. We were going tubing. Sam was reluctant because he really just wanted to sled again. I promised him it was sledding on tubes.
The ski valley had beautiful snow. Michael and Tiff and Keith were just kicking themselves that they had wasted their ski day at Sipapu. Next year we're forking out the money for all day ski school for the boys at the Taos Ski Valley and letting Michael ski there.
The tubing was a big disappointment though. We spent eight dollars each to tube and then got in a line of a hundred people or so. We got to tube once in an hour. The kids loved it, but it was freezing cold by this time and pitch black outside. We called it and walked over to the Stray Dog. This was a good decision. We got a table right away. It was warm and cozy in there. The kids had hot chocolate and grilled cheese and I had this amazing bowl of beans, fritos and green and red chills. Yum.
We came home and put our exhausted children in bed. Then we went right to bed our selves and read till late in the night. It was a good day.
Today we plan to read, go see the Earthship houses and maybe check out the gorge. I want to celebrate noon year with the kids. Tonight we plan to go to the Ski Valley again and watch a torchlight parade and fireworks.

Sledding!

2011-12-30T08:48:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I stayed home in the morning with Davis, Sam and Cruz while Mom and Dad shopped and everyone else went up to Sipapu to ski/snowboard. Michael took an hour long snowboarding lesson and then did a blue run. He had never snowboarded before and was really proud that he picked it up so quickly. He's sore this morning though!
The boys and I lazed by the fire and then went into town to meet Mom and Dad for lunch at this fabulous hotel resort called El Monte Segrado. It was amazing and the food was great too. I had some mussels in white wine, garlic chili broth and it blew my mind. The kids were impressed about the fun anaconda dining where we had our table.
After lunch, we said good bye to Mom and Dad and I drove the boys up the mountain to a great sledding hill. We unloaded sleds and started sledding. It was so fun. The hill is great, but there were pretty serious moguls in the middle and they were icy so the sledding was FAST. I had a great time until I hurt myself. I caught air on a mogul and when I slammed down, I hit my tail bone and excruciating pain went up and down my left side, When I got to the bottom I couldn't get up for a long time and when I finally did I was hurting very badly. Marcie and Ann showed up around this time with Andres and Amelia and they took over supervising and sledding while I sat in the snow and tried to ignore pain. Michael and Tiffany and Keith and Kade finally met us there and every one did some sledding. Michael helped the boys build a real life, big snowman and Ann shared her flask with me.
Sam and Davis LOVED sledding. Sam had a new plastic green sled and he was dedicated in pursuit of the sled ride. The would ride down fast and serious, smile and then immediately trudge up for another solitary ride down. He must have sled that hill at least 50 times. Davis loved it too, but he liked to ride with other people. It was a success and free and we will probably do it at least two more times this trip.
I came home (and cried all the way cause the upright sitting position doesn't work for me) and took four ibuprofens, sat in the recliner with with a heating pad and drank gin and tonics. We ate a fusion dinner out of things out of the refrigerator and pantry (miso soup, tamales, pizza) and then played a great game of Things once my boys went to bed. The game and evening petered out when Amelia drew with marker on my mom's new leather couch and my ibuprofen wore off and so I went to bed early. I'm about finished with my book by Kristin Hannah and it is perfect vacation reading. I think I'll start another one today.

Being Lazy in Taos

2011-12-29T08:52:00.004-06:00

So far we've done exactly what I was hoping to do in Taos. We've been sitting by the fire, drinking, eating out, and sleeping.
The trip here was exhausting. We woke at 4:30AM (3:30 New Mexico Time). We flew to Santa Fe, picked up our rental car and drove into Taos around 1PM New mexico time. I gave Sam a dramamine for the ride and he fell asleep immediately. Davis fell asleep as well. We were starving by the time we got into town so we went straight to Michael's Kitchen for lunch. Then we came to the house and began sitting by the fire, drinking and sleeping.
Yesterday we continued that regime while Kade and Keith went snowboarding. Michael and the boys and Mom and I went to grocery store and then out to lunch at Orlando's. Then we continued sitting by the fire till dinner time when Mom and I made an awesome black bean soup and Marcie and Ann rolled in with the boys in the trailer.
Today Michael is headed to the slopes to ski for the day. I'm going to spend the morning with boys here at the house and then will meet up with Kade, Tiffany, Andres, Marcie and Ann for lunch and then we're all going sledding. It should be a good day.
It's cold here, and there is snow on the ground, but it's a bit icy. The boys are really wishing for some fresh snow.
Sam has been band-aid free on his finger since we've been here. He seems okay, but when we first went to his room where the incident happened, I looked down to hand him something and saw he had tucked his hand inside his sleeve so there is obviously some trauma he needs to work through.
So that's that. The pictures are of the boys sleeping on the way here, Orlando's restaurant and us sitting around yesterday afternoon.

Christmas Festivities

2011-12-26T16:17:00.003-06:00

We had a lovely Christmas Eve. We had our usual party at my parents' house. We sang and drank cocktails and exchanged gifts and made merry. I am so lucky to have this tradition.
We went home around eight and put the kids right to bed. They were thrilled to go and were asleep very quickly. Michael and I had a sort of an argument that soured the evening a bit, but we rallied and thrilled getting the house ready for Santa.
Christmas morning Martha and Clark came over from the hippy house in the dark and were standing ready with the camera when they boys tumbled out of their rooms when their clocks turned green. They loved their toys. Santa brought them hats, coloring books, remote control cars, make your own lightsabers and real noise making light up light sabers. Michael built a fire (it was cold outside) and I put on Christmas carols.
I made breakfast and then we loaded up bags and bags of presents and took them over to my parents' house. We all laid our stockings on the big table and then everyone took turns going around with their sacks and stuffing everyone's stockings to the brim. We all poured ourselves bloody marys and mimosas and then sat down to open the stockings. It was so much fun and we got some really great things. Then we spent about two and half hours opening presents. We do it slowly in our family, taking turns and watching each person open their gift until turning our attention to the next eldest who gets to open the next one. I love this tradition and I love getting to see what each person received and their reaction to it. Our family received season passes to Schlitterbahn. I got a briggs and riley backpack I've been lusting after, some dishwasher safe, non breakable wine glasses (with wine to fill them) and some really great books as well as a ton of other great stuff. I must have been a pretty good girl this year.
Everyone was happy and cheerful with their new gifts. Dad got a trip to Cuba and he was so excited! I gifted my grandparents with a photo book I had made with pictures of all their grandchildren and great grandchildren. It was fun for all.
When the present opening wound down, we had a big lunchtime Christmas breakfast and then we all played with Kade's new Kinect.
After a while I loaded the van and drove over to our house where I quickly spent some alone time unpacking all the gifts, putting every thing away where it went and cleaning up. The family arrived soon after and Martha and Clark pitched in to help cook Christmas dinner and Michael and the boys built a star wars model.
Mom and Uncle Larry and Tiffany and I (and our families) made the whole Christmas dinner and took it over to my grandparent's house where they hosted. We had about 25 people for dinner and it turned out really yummy. The kids played outside after dinner for a while with cousins they rarely see, but soon it just turned into kids sobbing in the yard, so we loaded them up and took them home.
They gratefully went to bed early and so did we. We got up this morning and took down Christmas and cleaned the house from top to bottom. We did some laundry and a bunch of errands and then we packed for Taos. We leave early in the morning for our vacation. My parents gifted all of us with plane tickets to Taos for the new year. We are very excited and can't wait for our vacation. You'll hear from me next from Taos. Merry Christmas, ya'll.

Sea World

2011-12-24T13:46:00.002-06:00

We used our season passes for Sea World for our very last time yesterday. We drove down there with Martha, Clark and Lilliana. We rushed and rushed to get there at 10AM. We drove up and felt just like the Griswalds at Wally World. The place was deserted and empty. It turned out that Sea World didn't open until noon.
We used yelp to try and find a mexican restaurant to go to for brunch. After 45 minutes of driving and three restaurants that weren't open, we found a great restaurant. We had a lovely early lunch and then went back to Sea World.
We had a great time. We saw the penguins, watched Polar Express in 4D, rode some roller coasters, and watched the beluga whale show and the sea lion show. It was very cold, but it wasn't very crowded and we all had a very good time. It was very nice to get in the warm car and then go home to a fire in the fire place and eat my homemade coconut shrimp soup. It was a fun day with family.

Christmas Reflection

2011-12-23T08:15:00.002-06:00

I led the service at our UU church last week and our minister asked me to write a reflection on how I felt about Christmas.

This was my reflection.

I love Christmas. I’m one of those people who start listening to Christmas carols when Thanksgiving isn’t quite over. I like to put up my tree as soon as possible and plan lots of parties.
I like Christmas because it is such a time of joy. I don’t really think much about the religious aspects of it. Sure, people can celebrate the birth of Jesus on this date if they like. I’m glad to have the opportunity to participate. There’s nothing wrong with it to me. Jesus was a very enlightened guy and he had a good message. I wish we had big parties to celebrate all the enlightened ones around here. I tried to throw a big Buddha day celebration last year, but it kind of fell flat.
I know that Christmas time is also hard on people. I understand their reasons. Maybe it makes them sad or cynical or just annoyed. I can’t speak for them. I don’t see it from their perspectives. I can only tell you how I see it.
I see the Christmas season as a season of opportunity. It’s an opportunity it give. And giving makes more giving. I don’t know how old I was when Christmas changed for me from being about what I got to being about what I gave, but I love it now. i can’t wait to see people’s faces when they see what I’ve chosen/made for them. I loved hearing my parents tell me how they gave their god-daughter a kitten as an early Christmas gift and she cried for joy and they cried for the joy they’d given her.
I love the opportunity that the season gives to spend with my friends. It’s an excuse to have a party. Lots of parties! And what are parties but a chance to laugh, sing, smile and relax with the people that we love.
I love the opportunity to sing and listen to music. Everyone is encouraged to carol or sing or play the piano or keep music in the house around the season. You should have seen all the grown-ups stop chatting and smile as the kids crowded around the piano last weekend at a party and sang Jingle Bells.
Children take so much joy from the season. And they give so much as well. The joy my children take as we drive around town after dark and they point out every Christmas light display gives me so much happiness.
There is a yin and yang of Christmas. I know this. I, too, am rushed and stressed and pushed to the boundaries of my budget, but these things that take time, the Christmas cards, the shopping, the throwing of parties, the hanging the lights- these are the things which give me and others so much joy. The Christmas season is a season of opportunity. The opportunity to choose to create and receive joy. It’s awesome.

Four Seasons and Guy Forsythe, Carolyn Wonderland Holiday Show

2011-12-22T07:59:00.004-06:00

Last night was awesome, ya'll. Michael and I drove up to Austin and met my parents at the Four Seasons where they were celebrating their 43rd wedding anniversary. We were planning to have drinks and appetizers in the bar, but it was packed, so we ended up going downstairs to the restaurant for dinner. I'm so glad we did. The food was amazing! I got three sides, quinoa with trumpet mushrooms and chard, broiled broccolini with chili flakes and the best rosemary steak fries I've ever had in my life. They were so crispy and salty and delicious! We laughed and laughed and had a great time.
After dinner we drove over to the Long Center to go see the Guy Forsythe, Carolyn Wonderland Holiday show. We had a table for four placed directly in front of the stage. Michael and I have been huge fans of Guy for years and years. We were both thrilled to attend. The show was seriously my favorite concert EVER. Carolyn and Guy were fabulous together. We loved watching the bass player and drummer goof off together. Carolyn's phrasing on Silent Night rocked my world and Guy played the whole first verse of that song on the saw. It was a perfect blues, Christmas-y, rocking' time.
We dropped my parents off at the Four Seasons after the show and listened to the CD we bought at the show all the way home. It was pretty much a perfect date night. Thanks so much to my parents for letting us share their anniversary night.

Graham Cracker Houses

2011-12-21T14:52:00.003-06:00

We went to a party today to build Graham Cracker "witch" Houses. (that's what the kids call them anyway.) My friend Rachael did an amazing job. She served lunch to everybody and then had the whole set up for about 16 kids to make houses. It was really fun and the kids all loved it. Good times!

All He Wants for Christmas...

2011-12-21T14:47:00.005-06:00

Is his top front tooth. And he might need his two front teeth instead. That second top one is awfully wobbly.

SAMA and Mi Tierra

2011-12-21T14:10:00.003-06:00

Yesterday afternoon we all drove to San Antonio to do a "go see it" for Davis' cub scout troop. We went to San Antonio Museum of Art and wandered around there looking at the art for about an hour and a half. It was really interesting and the boys did really well. They've come a long way with museums even since last summer!
After the museum, the cub scouts were supposed to hike 2.5 miles to the Alamo, but we were hungry and decided to skip it. We went to Mi Tierra's instead for the lights, the food and the margaritas. The kids were dazzled by the lights and loved it. I had a great margarita and Michael had some amazing mole. We let the kids choose dessert from the bakery and they were thrilled with their selections.
I love going to S.A. around Christmas. We always went down there when I was a little girl to spend time with my dad's family and it became a wonderful tradition for a while and is full of good memories. I was glad to share that with the kids.

Enchilada Casserole

2011-12-20T09:19:00.003-06:00

I have a recipe for you. I made this night and everyone loved it. It was pretty easy and very tasty. I got it from the blog, Oh She Glows, which I really like. I made a few changes, (I can't help myself), but the results were delish. Let me know if you try it. XO!

Yield: One (2-quart) casserole

Ingredients:

8-ounces dry fusilli pasta (3.5 cups dry noodles or half a 16-oz package)* I used quinoa pasta, but any is fine.
1 tsp olive oil
1 bunch of swiss chard, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (I left this out because the kids are afraid of hot things)
2 bell peppers (I used 2 red), chopped
1-3 tbsp taco seasoning mix, to taste
1 can black beans (or 2 cups cooked), drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
1.5-2 cups homemade enchilada sauce (see above, or use store-bought)
1/3-1/2 cup Daiya cheese (or other non-dairy cheese or regular cheese if your not allergic to dairy like I am)
1 cup chopped green onions (I left this out because I don't LOVE green onions)
salt & pepper, to taste
20 tortilla chips (about 2 handfuls), crushed
Avocado, salsa, sour cream, etc, to garnish (Davis and I made a really limey guacamole and it was really good on the casserole.)

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grab a 2-quart casserole dish. Add dry pasta to a pot of boiling water and cook for 7-8 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the pasta or it will get mushy in the casserole. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.

2. In a large skillet, sauté the chopped onion, jalapeno, and peppers in the olive oil over medium heat for about 7-8 mins.

3. Add the taco seasoning, drained and rinsed black beans and corn, and 1 cup of the enchilada sauce. After a minute, add the chopped chard. Stir well and cook for another 5 mins.

4. Stir in the cheese, pasta and chopped green onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

5. Spread 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce over the bottom of the casserole dish. Scoop on the skillet mixture and spread out evenly. Spoon on the rest of the sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese and some of the crushed chips.

6. Bake for 15-20 mins at 350F until heated through. Sprinkle with crushed chips, chopped avocado, salsa, and sour cream if desired just before serving. Serve with a big green salad and nacho chips.

Note: Want a burrito filling and not a casserole? Try subbing the pasta for brown rice.

Caroling Party

2011-12-19T09:45:00.002-06:00

We did such a fun thing last night. Our fabulous friends, Anne and Jeff threw a caroling party. We all went to their home which is in a dorm since Jeff is a professor. The dorm was deserted because all of the students are gone and we had it all to ourselves. We ate appetizers and drank cocktails and chatted. Then we passed out santa hats and song books and rehearsed some carols. When we thought we'd got a few songs down, we all walked down from the university to the square. We sang at Root Cellar, at a bar, a coffee shop, Valentino's pizza, Sean Patricks, and the Italian Garden. It was so fun and I had never done anything like it before. The kids were absolutely precious. Then we let them run through the courthouse yard where they had lights and blow up santas. It grew pretty dark, so we walked backed to the dorm, put on a movie for all the children and chatted and sipped some more before we had a fantastic dinner of two different kinds of soups made by Anne and Jeff. I know I've said it a million times on here, but I am so grateful for our friends. I love them so much and enjoy the times we have together. It was BIG fun.

Davis and Gymnastics

2011-12-17T10:31:00.002-06:00

Both the boys love their gymnastics class. Unfortunately Sam has been benched for the last month while his finger heals. Last week was the Holiday Skills Show where parents and grandparents are invited and allowed on the floor to take pictures. Mom and Dad and I stayed upstairs with Sam and watched Davis show off his skills below while Michael stayed with Davis and took pictures. Davis did some things I didn't know he could do and was super impressed and Sam didn't act jealous at all. It was a win-win.

Christmas Parties!

2011-12-12T18:35:00.005-06:00

We partied all week. I'm loving the holiday season. I like all the chances to dress up, sing and be with my friends.
On Wednesday I had a long, delicious, fabulous lunch with my ladies celebrating a birthday.
We had a great ranch happy hour on Thursday.
Friday night we attended the kids' Open House at Montessori. We all dressed up and the kids really enjoyed showing off their work. Davis showed off his work with fractions and also his knowledge of the parts of plant root. Sam skip counted by nines and worked with phonograms. We were proud. They were proud. Then we all had hot chocolate. We drove home looking for Christmas lights and singing Christmas carols at the top of our lungs.
We dropped the kids off at the house with our babysitter and changed into cocktail attire. Then we drove over to my parents' house to cohost our book group holiday Christmas party. We had so much fun! We drank and laughed and did a gift exchange and sang lots of Christmas (and non-Christmas) karaoke. I served my cherry bounce and it was yummy. I stayed up till after 1 in the morning and had a blast. I love my friends so much.
Saturday we stayed inside for most of the day. I curled up with my quilt and my kindle in front of the fire and let the kids play. We had a party to go to at 2, but we decided to stay home and relax. We needed the recovery time.
Sunday we went to church and then out for sushi (the kids cannot get enough miso, gyoza or dragon rolls). Then we went over to my parents' house for their grand open house party. There were over 100 people who stopped by. It was wonderful to see old family friends and spend time with all of our friends. Cool Mint cafe catered and the food was very good. The kids all sang Christmas carols and we sipped champagne and sang along with them.
I really love Christmas. And I love parties. We're going caroling with our friends this weekend and intend to go see the Trail of Lights in Wimberley. There are some good times going on around here.

My little bookworm

2011-12-08T16:51:00.003-06:00

Davis has recently discovered a passion for reading. I love this. He reads everything and anything he can get his hands on. He has asked if he can stay up an extra half hour in the evening and curl up next to me while we both read our own books quietly. I said yes, and was overwhelmed with joy. I'm so excited that he's excited to join the world of reading. Love it.

Stitches Out

2011-12-05T18:13:00.002-06:00

Every time I've been involved in getting stitches out, it was easy peasy. I expected this to be same. It was not.
I took Sam to get his stitches out this afternoon. Thank god I left Davis with my mom while I went to do it.
It took three nurses, two doctors and an hour. The stitches had sunk down into his open wound. They had to cut into the open wound to reach the stitches.
Sam stayed perfectly still the entire time, with tears rolling down his face and screaming when he needed to.
They kept taking breaks so the nurses could get some air and so Sam could catch his breath. At one point Sam whispered to me that he just couldn't take it anymore and could i please take him home.
It was awful. I need wine. The nurses all said that they needed some too.
The stitches all came out, but the wound is only just barely healed closed so now we have to be even more diligent with protecting the wound. He has to wear a splint with tape for two more weeks. No gymnastics or wrestling or rough play. If he hits it the wrong way now, it will just open back up.
I've dosed Sam with ibuprofen and given him a candy cane before dinner. He seems recovered but he told Davis when we picked him up that it was hurtest he'd ever hurt before except for when it first happened.
The doctor said it will leave a scar and he may not get the feeling back into the tip, but that it will heal. I am grateful that this is the worst injury our family has had. Send us some quick healing vibes please.

Cozy Weekend

2011-12-04T17:57:00.004-06:00

We have had a very nice weekend. It's been cold and rainy. I love that kind of weather on a weekend. All i want to do is sit by the fire with my book or computer and listen to the blues. I got to do that a lot this weekend.
Michael was in Dallas last week and will be again all next week so we all appreciated him extra much this weekend. On Friday we had family movie night. We wore our pajamas, ate popcorn and watched the Muppets Take Manhattan. The kids enjoyed it and I LOVED it.
Saturday we cleaned the house and decorated for Christmas. We put lights on the tree and decorated all over the house. This was the first year that the kids could put up all the ornaments. There were not any that were off limits. They loved it and felt so proud. It is really fun to decorate the tree with kids who are up to the task. My mother-in-law gave me a bunch of handmade ornaments that Michael's grandmother made and I love them so much. I used them all over the house as decor. Michael also set up a star wars themed Christmas display featuring the kids' Star Wars lego Advent calendar. They are thrilled with it.
We had some friends over that afternoon as well as my parents, sister, nephew and god-daughter. We had a blast, with lots of snacking, sipping and laughing. The kids were in their element and I think everyone had a great time. I made some vegan chili and some New Mexican corn bread. Yum.
This morning it was still cold and rainy, but I had to leave the fire to go the grocery store. With that task out of the way, we proceeded to have a very chill, very fun day. We went to my parents' house and had a visit. Then Michael and the boys built a model Millennium Falcon and all three had a blast doing it especially Michael. I curled up by the fire and finally finished a photo book I'm making for my grandparents for Christmas. It has truly been a labor of love and I'm so glad it's done. Then we all loaded into the car and went to the movie theater to see the new Muppet Movie. We all enjoyed it very much and the kids are cracking each other up still over lines from the movie. I made dinner tonight and now the boys are sitting at the table working on a pinewood derby car for Davis' cub scout troop. I love winter and I love getting to spend all this quality time with my boys. It's been a wonderful weekend.

Finger update

2011-11-30T08:12:00.002-06:00

Turns out that at least one and possibly two of the stitches in Sam's finger have slipped. We suspected that when we changed the dressing on Sunday night, but doctor confirmed it on Monday. It was too late to restitch it, but he fells confident that it will still heal. The scar will just be less pretty.
On a side note, Sam did well at his five year old well check. He's 78% for height and 59% for weight. We got a new prescription for car sick medicine and a regimen for his excema. Sam also failed his vision test, but just barely. We'll take him to get his eyes checked in January when our insurance will cover it.
The big bandage on Sam's right finger is causing him trouble. We have to help with spooning soup, fastening his buttons and wiping. He lost his bandage twice yesterday at school. His teacher replaced the bandage both times and told me about it after school with her head on my shoulder with awe and disgust about how terrible it looks. Luckily, it looks to me like it's healing and Sam seems less freaked out now when we change the bandage. We get the stitches out on Monday.

Taos Day Six

2011-11-27T16:32:00.003-06:00

We woke up early and breakfasted and all the cousins commenced to playin'. They played and played and played. It was very cold outside and raining, but everyone except for grandma and gramp decided to go out to the Taos Convention center for the Arts and crafts christmas show. As we drove there, the rain turned into huge, fat, perfectly formed snowflakes. The kids were so excited when we pulled into the parking lot and let them out of the car.
The show was kind of lame so Marcie and Ann and the kids went back to the house and Mom and Dad and my family went out to lunch at Graham's Grill. The food was absolutely delicious there and I bought mom and dad a cookbook from them as a housewarming present.
After lunch we walked half a block to a fabulous toy store called Twirl. They were having a Christmas party with live music, cookies, crafts, face painting and a chance to meet Santa. The kids had a great time and each got some face time with the man.
Michael and I bought them a couple of toys and then we headed home.
The terrible finger accident happened shortly after we got home and we spent the rest of the day at Urgent Care. After we put the kids to bed, we poured lots of drinks and sat around the table with Mom, Dad, Marcie and Ann and played our new favorite game, Things. We laughed so hard for two solid hours. It was great.
Saturday morning we woke early and cleaned and packed and were on the road by 10AM. We drove and drove and drove. We had a nice lunch in Las Vegas, NM and then kept driving. We got to Fort Stockton about 9PM and fell over. We drove from 8:30AM this morning, had lunch in Kerrville and got home today around 3PM. We are glad to be home, but we miss Taos already. We'll be back though in a month, and that keeps me cheerful.
Sam's finger seems to be doing okay, though he freaks out when we change the dressing. When I take him to his five year old well check tomorrow, I'll have the doctor look at it.
I need to go look through the pantry and see what I can find to feed the family. XOXO, Amber

Sam's finger

2011-11-26T07:55:00.003-06:00

A terrible thing happened yesterday. We had just gotten home from a nice day in Taos. The kids were all playing the their room and I had just sat down with a gin and tonic after checking on the boys and admonishing them not to play in the closet and slam the doors because it was dangerous. Literally 60 seconds after the admonishment and just as my butt sat back down on the couch, I heard Sam sceaming and Michael yell, OH MY GOD!. I ran into the kitchen to see Michael holding Sam and blood everywhere. And then I saw Sam's finger. It looked like it had been cut in half from the top right through to the first joint. It looked like an over cooked hot dog when they just split.
I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his hand and held it tight to stop the bleeding. I somehow got my purse and yelled over my shoulder for Marcie to take care of Davis. We got the keys and Sam into the car and then I rode in the back with Sam while Michael drove us, (still steaming and pissed off as hell) to the nearest hospital that we could find on the gps. Traffic was terrible and Sam just kept screaming and screaming. I tried to talk to him about fun happy things, but he kept telling me it hurt too much too talk.
We saw a Urgent Care place before we could get to the hospital and we pulled in. They saw us right away. Three people had to look at the finger before they decided whether they could fix it or if they needed to send us in to the hospital. While they unwrapped it to inspect it, I got really hot and then suddenly I thought I was going to vomit. I've never lost it on any of the times I took the kids to the emergency room, but this wound was so ugly and it was on my baby. I just couldn't take it. Michael was a trooper though and put on a movie on his phone and held it front of Sam to try and distract him. I felt really embarrassed explaining the wound on his finger, the wound on his head (which they said should have had a staple, but we were too late) and the fact that I was a good mother, all with gin and tonic on my breath.
They finally decided to try and fix it. They forced him to hold it in a bowl of soapy water and though he did it, he kept screaming that he just couldn't hold it. Then they explained that they needed to do some lidocaine shots and it would only work if we could keep him totally still. If we couldn't, we'd have to go the hospital. Michael held his head, I held his legs and the nurse held his arms. We explained he just had to hold still. That baby held totally still for the ten minutes it took to numb his hand though he screamed the entire time.
When the pain finally went away he fell asleep almost immediately. The doctor said that was a normal reaction after trauma. She started to stitch it up. At one point Sam woke up and said, "What in the world are you doing?" to the doctor as the sewed his hand and then he fell asleep again. When she finished giving the stitches (seven in all) they did several x-rays. He slept through it all. There was no fracture that they could see though they'll send it to the radiologist.
We got our instructions, copies of the x-rays and prescriptions and promised to take him to a doctor at home on Monday and they let us go. Sam woke up and remembered we had promised both chocolate and strawberry ice cream while he had been screaming. We stopped and got him some and took him home.
Davis and all the kids were mortified that they had done this. Marcie that she had given a good talking to about what they did and they had all drawn pictures with hearts and the word sorry all over them. Davis and Sam hugged and all was well, though Michael and I were extremely shaken. We put the boys down and then poured several stiff drinks.

Taos day 5- Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T08:12:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving was fun. We all cooked together and sipped eggnog and mimosas and bloody Marys before we switched to my homemade Cherry Bounce and wine. Mom made an amazing dinner. The red chili gravy was THE BEST gravy I've ever had in my life, ya'll. The kids all watched the parade and saw the "real" Santa at the end. I think it was the best part of their day. Davis and Cruz and Sam played Barbies in the trailer most of the day and Andres played football with Michael and Ann outside, and then after dinner, played a really laughter filled game of Taboo with us. Marcie, Andres and I were on one team and Mom, Michael and Ann on the other. It was so fun and we intend to continue it today. We enjoyed the antics of both Amelia and the new puppy. As the sun disappeared behind the mountain we brought the kids in and watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
There was one bad splotch in the middle of the day. Right before we sat down at the table for our Thanksgiving dinner, Sam and Andres ran through the kitchen and Sam bounced into Andres and slammed the back of his head into the edge of the bar. He cut open his head and bled and bled and bled. We'd just been through this with Davis in Arkansas in May. We stopped the bleeding and dosed him with motrin and put a bandaid over it. We gave him a huge piece of pie and he was okay again. During bath last night we cleaned it out and looked at it. It's pretty bad. Worse than Davis' and I think that if we were at home we'd take it to get stitched. I'll look at it again this morning, but I think we'll treat it at home and he'll have a scar on the back of his head. Can't go on a vacation without a head wound it seems.
All in all though, it was a wonderful Thanksgiving- quite possibly the best yet, though I missed my sister. Today we have our last full day. I want to shop, eat New Mexican food and be with Marcie and Ann and the kids. And play Christmas carols! XO!

Taos Day 4

2011-11-24T10:56:00.003-06:00

Yesterday morning we woke up, made breakfast and headed out to the Taos Pueblo. It's about fifteen minutes from here and is a UNESCO Heritage site. We had a tour and we all really enjoyed it including the kids. Then we wandered around and explored and shopped. We all had an indian fry bread and I bought a pueblo made christmas ornament. The kids loved it and seemed to learn a lot.
We came back and made lunch out of leftovers and then mom watched the boys while Michael and I went to the local theater and watched Breaking Dawn. We both loved it though Michael was a bit perturbed that he was the only man in the audience. We came home and had cocktail hour that included a hilarious family game of twister.
Later in the evening, Marcie and Ann and the kids arrived. We ordered pizzas and let the kids go crazy. They brought light up lightsabers for the kids and a super hero costume for Sam for his birthday. Marcie and Ann had bought a new Yorkie puppy that morning and we are all under his spell. He's precious. Dad is still very sick, but mom got him a prescription called in here for antibiotics so hopefully he will get better.
This morning we woke early and started cooking. We had a big breakfast and then we started on the dinner. The turkey is in the oven now and we are watching the parade and drinking eggnog. We'll have a late lunch of New Mexico Chili stuffed turkey with red chili gravy, tamales, platters of roasted root vegetables with balsamic glaze and truffle oil, a green salad with citrus, avocado, green peas, cranberry relish. For dessert we have four pies- pumpkin chocolate pecan, apple, cherry and key lime, and also some vegan chocolate chip cookies.
The boys and I sat at the bar this morning and talked about what we are thankful for. There are so many things in our lives to be grateful for and it was so fun to talk about them. I'm grateful for my family and friends. I hope you guys have a fantastic Thanksgiving.

Taos Day 2 and 3

2011-11-22T17:36:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we drove up to Taos Ski Valley and let the boys go crazy. It was very cold and everything was covered in white, deep snow. The village was pretty empty because ski season doesn't start till Thanksgiving and it was pretty amazing to have the whole place to ourselves. Michael and the boys threw snowballs at each other and built a snow wall and made snow angels. Then we met Mom and Dad and the grandparents at the Stray Dog where they were waiting for us and had a cocktail and hot chocolate for the kids.
We drove home and had quiet time and then went out for supper at Orlando's. It's a great, funky, friendly place with amazing art inside. I'm in love with red and green chills and want to eat New Mexican food as much as possible. Every restaurant here offers several vegetarian options here and we are loving it! Sam ate a tiny piece of his quesadilla and then we ordered him a brownie and cookie which they delivered with a candle and the whole restaurant sang Happy Birthday to him.
This morning Mom and I baked cookies and prepped for Thanksgiving. Then the two of us ran into town and picked up some more tamales and shopped in some Mexican import stores. They are great here. I'm in love with the Talevera pottery. I bought a wine pitcher that I love and mom got some great things for the house.
We came home and picked up the rest of the gang and went out for lunch at a place on the plaza called the Alley Cantina. It was basically a bar, but it was warm and they had fish and chips that were extremely tasty though they made my body extremely unhappy for the next few hours
After lunch, Mom and the old crowd went back to the house for a nap. Dad is really sick and needed to sleep. Michael and the boys and I walked around the plaza and then got into the car and drove about half an hour to a small family run ski resort called Sipapu. We had heard of a fantastic sledding spot on the way up and we wanted to scope it out. It looks fun and we'll definitely try sledding there when we come back after Christmas. Sipapu is perfect for our little family. We'll sign the kids up for ski lessons after Christmas there. It's all easy and small and feels like a great place for us since we aren't big skiers.
On our way back to the house we stopped at the Overland Sheepskin store to look at jackets for Michael. He doesn't own a single warm coat and he'll need one here. We didn't buy one yet, but we are going to think on it and decide before we leave. I also found a fantastic leather fringed coat with embroidery at a shop on the plaza, but it's very pricey so I need to think on it as well. What do you think? Can I get away with a leather fringed coat? I think it would be a fantastic fashion statement, but Michael is skeptical.
The sun is going down now and turning the mountain outside the windows a gorgeous pink color. I took a sunset picture outside the back door and ran back in. It's about 40 degrees outside now. It's supposed to be 16 tonight. Good thing the house is warm and cozy.

Sam is Five

2011-11-21T17:20:00.002-06:00

My baby turned five today. We all gathered and sang to him and he ducked his head in embarrassment but had a huge grin. We opened presents by the fire. This afternoon we drove twenty minutes to the Taos Ski Valley and let the boys go free. They dove into the snow and had an amazing time. Sam was beside himself with joy. Then we came home and put on his new birthday movie, Cars2. We have promised him dessert of his choice for dinner. He is a very happy child.
He is such a sweet boy. Good natured, a little introverted, easy going. He gives amazing hugs. I crawled in bed with him this morning and cuddled him while I wished him happy birthday. I have to enjoy while he's still little enough to let me. On occasion today he would mention something fabulous about being five and then chuckle and beam with pride.
I can't believe my baby is five. I love getting to know him though. The older he gets the better I get to know who he is and I like him so much. It's pretty awesome. I love, love, love this child with the quick smiles, quick hugs and gentle soul. Happy Birthday to my baby.

Taos Day 2

2011-11-21T08:19:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we woke super early (time change!) and had a slow morning. We made some plans and lists and puttered around the big house.
Then we all loaded into the cars and drove into town to the local Walmart. We bought some more toys for the house, and a card table and a roasting pan. Then we drove to the plaza and walked around doing some shopping. I found a few Christmas presents for people. I fell in love with a fringed jacked with embroidery that I wanted so bad, but it is way too expensive.
After we shopped for an hour or so, we went to the Taos Inn and ate lunch at Doc Martins. I had a bowl of green and red chili that was flavorful and spicy! Yum. It was good food and a great place. Mom says the Taos Inn has live music every evening and Michael's Aunt Dianne says the margaritas are great there, so we'll definitely go back.
We made our way home after lunch and Dad and GG and Gramp all napped while the boys played quietly in their room with Michael and mom and I made a Thanksgving menu and shopping list. We had a call from Marcie who said they would bring their trailer out and have a visit so mom and I snuck out to the grocery store and bought all the fixings for a dinner for everybody.
It gets dark early here so we got home just as we were losing the light. Marcie, Ann and the kids were right behind us and we had a great evening of cocktails, dinner and fun. The boys all love each other and Amelia (18 months) is so sweet and so fun to be with. It was a good time. They left their trailer in the driveway and had to go home because they still have school on Monday and Tuesday. They will come back Wednesday and stay in the trailer for the rest of the week.
Today is Sam's 5th Birthday. We are taking him up the mountain to play in the snow. He is so excited.
The weather here in the valley is nice and cool, but not snowy. We've got highs during the day in the low 50's. The house is gorgeous. There are views out the window of mountains on all sides. Immediately outside our yard is a huge field of sage. The wind blows the smell of sage into the house and it's wonderful. We all love it here.

Road trip to Taos

2011-11-20T09:02:00.002-06:00

We left Friday around 1PM for a two day drive to Taos. I had to yank Michael out of his office kicking and screaming to leave, but I finally got him out and we were on our way. We planned a six hour drive to Fort Stockton for our first day. We booked a motel that allowed pets since Ellie was with us. We made it a couple of hours and then Sam started to throw up. It was bad. We gave him the car trash can and kept driving. He kept being sick. There's been a terrible virus going around his school and we were sure he had it. We got to the motel as soon as we could and brushed his teeth and put him in bed. After about ten minutes he felt awesome and begged us for dinner. The whole thing turned out to be car sickness! We were relieved, but realized that we still had eight more hours in the car ahead of us with our little man.
Saturday we woke early, gave Sam some car sick medicine and put the trash can at his feet. We made a rule: no movies, no coloring books, no looking at picture books. This was a bit difficult because those were the things I had brought to entertain the children. The good news is that Sam made it the whole way vomit free! But we played A LOT of games of 20 questions, I spy, and I'm going on a trip. We listened a bit to the only audio book we had on my iPhone and we made it through!
The kids were amazing. They stayed cheerful and happy the entire time and never complained. We arrived around 3:30 at the house. It is amazing. Taos is amazing. I can't wait to share some pictures of the place. In the meantime, here is a picture of the view we saw for most of the drive.

Sick

2011-11-20T09:00:00.001-06:00

I've been sick. Very sick. I had a nasty cold that turned into the worst sinus infection I've had in my life. My teeth hurt, my head hurt, my snot had some amazing colors, I was totally exhausted and I ran a fever. Luckily I got some antibiotics and between those, mucinex D and my neti pot, I recovered! I was down for almost two weeks, but it is finally over. Hooray!

Star Wars Birthday Party

2011-11-14T13:54:00.004-06:00

We threw a Star Wars birthday party for Sam yesterday. His birthday isn't until next week and we'll be in Taos so we decided to have a party for him before we left on our trip. Of course he chose Star Wars as his theme. The child is obsessed. He brings drawing after drawing of lightsabers home from school. He thinks about Star Wars all the time- even when I think it's off topic. For example, last week he asked me if I had a penis. I told him no and that I had a vagina. He then asked me I peed out of my bottom. I told him no, I peed out of my vagina. I waited for the next question with some trepidation. He then asked me how old Luke was when he got the force. See what I mean?
So a Star Wars birthday party it was! Michael was thrilled with the selection and really joined in helping me plan the party. We let Sam invite five friends and their siblings. We crafted an evite inviting his friends to join him in some jedi training. I bought snacks (pretzel rods- they look like light sabers!, yodamole and chips, and strawberries and almonds), and some silver, black and white decorations. I ordered a Star Wars cake from Penningtons in chocolate at Sam's request and looked up some party games.
Two days before the party I got really sick and Michael took over. I was so grateful for him and he really enjoyed it. The party was from 2-4 on a Sunday afternoon and went like this.
We put a Star Wars Jedi Training sign on the front door and had Star Wars music playing throughout the whole party. We had the cake set out surrounded my star wars figures and the bowls containing the snacks. I had beer, wine and iced tea on the island and a cooler full of flavored and non flavored Horizon milk boxes. Davis wore his clone costume and Sam wore his Luke Skywalker costume. I dressed in silver and black as their training leader.
A few minutes before the start of the party, Sam's grandparents arrived from Sugar Land just for the party! The boys were thrilled and quickly showed off the party set-up and gifted their grandfather with his birthday presents since they wouldn't see him again before his birthday.
When the kids arrived (many in costume!) they were each given a three foot long tube of insulation piping that we bought at Lowes. Michael had found lots of colored duct tape and the kids used this to decorate the "Light Sabers". When they finished decorating, we divided them up into partners and gave them their first training activity. We gave them green balloons and told them to use their lightsabers to keep the balloons from hitting the floor. They seemed to really enjoy this game, though there was a lot of chaos. I probably should have given them more time to decorate their lightsabers while serving the grown ups beverages, but i was feeling rushed since I didn't know how long the activities we had planned would take.
After they demonstrated their skills with the balloons, we took them outside to the back patio where Michael had set up an obstacle course. The kids had to crawl through a tunnel, run across hot lava (a red towel with some boards across it) and then use their lightsabers to whack at some weighted balloons sitting on orange cones. This was fun to watch and the kids seemed to enjoy it.
When they seemed to tire of the obstacle course, Michael taught the kids some jedi stances. Kade helped out with this one and I got some really great pictures. Then Michael led the kids around to the driveway where he had drawn two huge deathstars side by side with chalk and filled two big buckets with photon torpedoes (water balloons). We lined the kids up at the end of driveway with the buckets and let them destroy the deathstars with the bombs. This was big fun for the kids.
When the last water balloon was exploded and the deathstars were a watery memory, we took the kids back to the patio and let them destroy another death star in the form of a piñata. We had struggled to find a death star piñata and had finally bought a soccer ball piñata and spray painted it silver. I had then stuffed it with the gift bags filled with Star Wars stickers, tattoos, bouncy balls and a few pieces of candy. There was one for each child in the hopes of eliminating the terrible fighting and scrabbling that we have often had with pinatas.
The kids whacked at the piñata with their own light sabers and then we handed them a plastic light saber to try. They ended up knocking the piñata loose from it's rope and so I asked the kids to use the force while i broke it open with my hands and dumped the gift bags out on the floor.
Michael had snuck out at this point with our friend Chris. Chris cued up some music that Michael had put together. We had the speakers inside the door where the children were hitting the piñata, so the kids heard some voices and loud space ship noises from right inside the door! They soon realized that it was Darth Vader! We heard his voice and then battle sounds. The kids were both thrilled and terrified. Slowly the door opened and Darth Vader (Michael) appeared. A couple of kids cried, but the costume wasn't very convincing and the big kids quickly realized the fun to be had and attacked Darth Vader with their light sabers. They beat him back and were very proud of themselves.
Then we let them run around a play on the swing set and the grownups got a chance to chat and snack.
We called the kids in about 20 minutes later and cut the cake. Pennington's had done a great job with the cake and Sam was both pleased and embarrassed to be the center of attention during the birthday song and blowing out of the candle. I cut the cake and dispersed it and most people took it outside to eat.
With fifteen minutes left in the party we all went in to the lounge to open presents which all had a star wars theme, much to Sam's delight. He opened presents with more grace than I could expect for an almost-five year old. He let Davis help him open. He said loudly that he LOVED each and every present as he opened them. And he thanked everyone for the gifts without much prompting.
The party was over and we said our goodbyes and began to put away the party. It was pretty easy clean-up and our friends Anne and Jeff helped. I immediately collapsed on the couch since my cold had turned into a sinus infection and I was pretty exhausted. We chatted with Anne and Jeff and let the kids play as we all wound down. Soon it was bedtime and we said goodbye to our friends, served the kids some "chicken" nuggets and put them to bed. I wasn't far behind. Sam said it was the best birthday party ever and that he loved every part of it. We did too.

River Potluck and Campout

2011-11-11T14:10:00.002-06:00

Last weekend Michael and I hosted a potluck dinner and campout at the river bottom in honor of our friend Stacey's birthday. It took a bit of work, but not so much as it has in the past. The weather was perfect. We had our core group of really awesome friends there and almost everyone camped. Pappy Hour played a rockin' concert. The kids roasted smores. Then the kids actually fell asleep when we wanted them to. Grownups got to sit up around the fire. It was so much fun. Big fun. I can't wait to do it again. I'm thinking early spring.

New Roof

2011-11-06T14:37:00.002-06:00

We have a new roof. Our tile roof was supposed to last a lifetime, but it was put on incorrectly and so we've been fighting leaks ever since we moved in. We had some bids offered on both a new tile roof or on several different types of metal. We chose a metal roof because I grew up with a metal roof and loved it and because it was less expensive than the tile. It took the crew seven working days to take off the tile and put up the new roof. They did a great job and we really love it. We were worried at first that it wouldn't be as beautiful, but we really do like it. Now I want to repaint the front door though.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T19:06:00.004-05:00

The kids started their Halloween with a costume parade at their school before their class party.
After school we played for a bit and then we all put on our costumes, trick or treated at G.G. and Gramps' house, and stopped at Uncle Larry's house where Hank gave the kids each a jalepeno! We then went to meet some friends at the Rail Yard Restaurant. For school, Davis had been Venom and Sam a clone trooper, but for the evening, Davis was black spider man and Sam was Luke Skywalker. Michael dressed up as the Red Baron and I went as a vampire.
After dinner we met up with more friends and went trick or treating on San Antonio Street. There were lots of people there and some fun decor at the houses. It was a bit of a mad house and we didn't stay long, but the kids LOVED it. They were so excited to get home and trade me all the candy for the toys I had bought them. They each got to keep as many pieces of candy as they are years old and then they gave me the rest and collected the toys. Sam got a submarine Finn McMissile and Davis got a Transformer. They were both exhausted and didn't even have a piece of candy they just clutched their toys and fell into their beds. They loved the holiday and we loved sharing it with them.

Cub Scout Campout at Inks Lake and Sweet Berry Farms

2011-10-30T17:57:00.003-05:00

This weekend we all went to Inks Lake for Davis' cub scout campout. I used to love to camp very much but we tried when the kids were little and it was a disaster. This was a big test to see if we could have a successful campout and learn to love camping again.
We took the scenic route up to Inks Lake and it was gorgeous. The weather was perfect- upper sixties and low seventies and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We didn't get the best of camp sites, but it was okay. We were surrounded on three sides with cactus. Most of the Tiger Cubs were already there when we arrived. We set up our tent and then Michael and Davis attended a pack meeting while I explored the camp ground with Sam and Dean.
Later in the afternoon we all went on a two mile hike that was very challenging for the kids. Sam really struggled and all the Tiger cubs were exhausted at the end. So were we! It took us two hours and I can't believe it was really only two miles.
After the hike I poured myself a very against the rules gin and grapefruit juice and opened a bag of pistachios and we sat in front of the campsite while the den leaders made dinner. It was nice. Very nice. I could get used to lying around while the menfolk do the camp cooking.
After supper we played for a while and then went to the amphitheater after dark for a campfire show. Each den did a skit and then we went back to the camp to go to bed. The kids were exhausted, especially Sam.
It was around 8:30PM and getting very, very cold by this time. I went ahead and went to bed with the kids while Michael hung with the other dads. Sam fell asleep very quickly, but Davis wouldn't fall asleep until it was all quiet out. After Michael came to bed, the temperature continued to drop. We used all our sleeping bags and blankets, but we still froze all night long.
We woke this morning with the sun and ate the breakfast the den leaders made. Then we had a very quick church service in the amphitheater and packed up camp. We left around 11 and drove into Marble Falls. We had a great lunch with white wine and fish tacos on a deck over looking the river. It was pretty perfect.
After lunch we drove to Sweet Berry Farms which is a great pumpkin patch. The kids each painted a pumpkin, rode the barrel train pulled by a tractor and conquered the kids maze without the grownups. We got there right when it opened and only stayed an hour so we avoided some of the crowds and we all had a good time. We picked up a pumpkin on our way out and made plans for carving when we got home.
We got home this afternoon and carved our pumpkins. Then we showered off and curled up in the Lounge to watch Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin and wait for the pumpkin seeds to roast.
I think I can happily say that I like to camp again! The only tricky part was getting Davis to go to sleep, but I didn't mind going to bed with him last night. We had a lovely weekend with some really wonderful weather. I can't say that I bonded with any of the fellow tiger parents, but we got along just fine. I think I'm just a wee bit too liberal and the gap seems a little wide for deep conversation. It's okay though. The kids all love each other.

Tooth Extraction

2011-10-27T12:18:00.003-05:00

I took Davis into the dentist today. We went to see Dr. Matt Johnson who is the best, coolest, nicest dentist ever. He really listens to the kids and I can't say enough about how great his whole office is. Which is good because today was not a regular cleaning.
Davis has a habit of having his permanent teeth come in at an angle toward his tongue, which doesn't fully sever the root of his baby tooth. The baby tooth remains slightly wiggly and the permanent tooth comes in behind the baby tooth at an angle. This is not good. It is also a sign that our sweet little man will need braces someday. There just isn't room in his mouth for all those teeth.
Today he had two wiggly teeth on either side of his permanent teeth on the bottom. Usually kids lose the bottom two and then the top two, but that is not the way Davis' mouth chooses to go and that is okay.
Dr. Matt said it would be best to take out both of the wiggly teeth. He gave Davis some nitrous oxide, put Star Wars on the movie player glasses and got to work. It was a bit traumatic for me to watch my baby so out of my control and in pain. Davis wasn't real thrilled either. At school this year, the spanish teacher quit and so the kids have been learning sign language. Davis used his new skills quite a bit today. With his mouth held open and the shot in his mouth he signed for us to stop and that it hurt. Later while we were chatting quietly while the doctor worked, he signed for us to stop talking. It was a little bit funny even later as he became more relaxed with the nitrous and his signs became more and more vague till he was just fluttering his hands.
He actually handled it very well. He was poised, didn't throw a fit and seemed pretty pleased, though extremely numb, when it was over and he had two baby teeth in a box to show for his trouble.
On the way home he sat quietly clenching two gauze wads in his mouth to staunch the bleeding. After he took them out he told me that he was okay. I asked him if I could get him anything and he told me that he really just wanted Sam. (ah heartbreaking sweetness!) I picked him up some macaroni and cheese for his lunch and took him back to school. Ms. Spaulding promised she'd look after him and sit with him at lunch to make sure he didn't bit his still-numb bottom lip. I hated leaving him there. Sweet boy of mine. The tooth fairy is going to treat him soooooo good tonight.

You can live with me forever.

2011-10-27T12:10:00.002-05:00

Last night after I finished the night time routine of singing and chatting and cuddling with Sam, I was just slipping out the door when he said, "Mommy? When I grow up, will I have to be apart from you?"
"No baby, you can stay with me as long as you want to," I told him as I turned back to the bed.
"Good," Sam said, "I want to live with you forever".
He snuggled into his bed and closed his eyes and I felt loved from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

Apple Maple Butter

2011-10-25T12:09:00.005-05:00

I made Apple Maple Butter today and the whole house smells wonderful. The bit I tasted was delicious and I can't wait to open up my first jar and slather it on some apple cake. (Yes, I have a plan.) I got the recipe from my new canning cookbook called Tart and Sweet, by Kelly Geary and Jessie Knadler.

Apple Maple Butter
4 pounds mixed apples, peeled, cored, bruises removed, and cut into 1/2 inch wedges
1 cup maple sugar (I used palm sugar)
1 cup sugar
1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 star anise pods
Juice of 1 lemon

Place the apples, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves, star anise, and lemon juice in a large heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a simmer over medium-hihg heat, stirring frequently. Lower the heat a bit and continue to stir. The apples will begin to break down after about 20 minutes, but you can help this process along by mashing with a potato masher or a wooden spoon and stirring often.

After about 1 1/4 hours, take the pot off the heat and blend the mixture in the pot with an immersion blender or transfer in batches to a standing blender of food processor. Blend until the mixture reaches the desired consistency.

Return the mixture to the pot, if necessary, and cook over medium-low heat for another 20 minutes, or until the butter mounds on a chilled spoon and is thicker than applesauce.

Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. check for air bubbles, wipe the rims, and seal. Process in water bath for 15 minutes, adjusting for elevation.

Yield: 4 to 5 pints

Menu for Oct. 23-28

2011-10-23T16:18:00.003-05:00

Sunday: Teriyaki Tofu with steamed broccoli, carrots and brown rice from Peas and Thank You
Monday: Black Bean Burgers with steamed Artichokes and Kale chips from Peas and Thank You
Tuesday:Spinach Linguine with Edamame Pesto from Appetite for Reduction
Wednesday: Crock Pot Day! Kung Pao Chick'n from my Vegan Crockpot cookbook
Thursday: Tempeh Chili
Friday: Corn, Potato Chowder with cornbread
This week I am also going to do some canning and make Apple Maple Butter from my new canning cookbook, Tart and Sweet

There are a Lot of Scorpios Around Here

2011-10-23T15:53:00.003-05:00

This week we celebrated lots of birthdays. My dad, Uncle Larry, my mom and my cousin's boyfriend all celebrate a birthday within a week of each other. And then next week we'll celebrate my grandmother's and our neighbor's. We had a special birthday ranch happy hour this week with a gift exchange and fancy cake. The boys made birthday presents (finger puppets and mandalas)and enjoyed their creation and wrapping. It was good fun.
Last night my dad's band played at Cheatham Street. Michael and I got a sitter and met our friends Anne, Jeff, Elizabeth and Zach at one of our newer restaurants in town called Vodka Street. The food was okay, and the martini's were very smooth, but the best part of the evening was getting to spend some grown-up time with our friends. After dinner we headed for Cheatham Street. The band was rockin' and there was a big crowd there to help celebrate my dad's birthday. There were so many people I knew from growing up in San Marcos and I hope their presence made my dad feel special on his special day.
We had a really, really good time.

This Week's Menu

2011-10-18T10:09:00.002-05:00

Every Sunday I make out the week's menu and a grocery list. Lunches are usually Amy's frozen entrees, left overs, salads, or tortilla wraps with hummus and cheese.
I thought I might post the menu every once in a while, both so I can remember what I made and also in case it might start a dialog. I'd love to hear what your week's menu contains.

This week:
Monday- Sushi Roll Edamame Salad with steamed Salmon and Miso-Onion Dressing from Appetite for Reduction
Tuesday- Quinoa pasta with Eggplant and Seitan (I made this one up and Michael can't get enough of it)
Wednesday- Crock pot day! We're having Pumpkin and White Bean Lasagna and salad from The Vegan Slowcooker
Thursday- Lentil and Eggplant Chili Mole with Scallion Corn Bread (Uncle Larry has lots of eggplant in his garden) from Appetite for Reduction
Friday- Pizza and Thai Crunch Salad from Peas and Thank You
Saturday- we'll go out with friends before my dad's gig at Cheatham Street.
Sunday- Pantry/Freezer day where I look to see what I have and create something out of it.

How about you? What are you making?

Wings Over Houston and a Visit with the Grandparents

2011-10-16T18:15:00.003-05:00

We drove up to Sugar Land on Friday afternoon to spend the weekend with my in-laws. We had a nice dinner with everyone and the boys were in heaven when they saw Michael's old Star Wars toys spread out on the floor. We visited and let them play and let them go to bed late.
Saturday morning we woke up and headed for the new Sugar Land farmer's market. It was great! They had lots of prepared foods (including a vegan booth) and lots of meats as well asian vegetables and a few produce stands. At one of the produce stands, I totally scored and got two boxes of zucchini blossoms and a box of figs!
After the market we drove out to the airforce base to see "Wings Over Houston", an awesome air show. My father in law was working at the ticket booth but we all got to say hello and then made our way into the show. The kids were totally blown away. There were tons of planes that you could just walk up to and look right in. There were military men standing with each plane so they could answer all of Davis' question of how fast they go and how high. We walked through the whole show and then made our way to fence by the air strip and laid out our blankets and chairs to watch the air show.
I wish I could have captured the boys' faces as they saw all of these planes. We watched WW2 bombers drop "bombs" with pyrotechnics. Davis' jaw fell open when we saw a plane break the sound barrier. We all nearly fell over when a plane parked in front of us turned on it's engines and propeller. Our chairs fell over, hats flew off and grit blew straight into our eyes. It was crazy wind created by one little plane!
We found some veggie corn dogs and stayed watching planes for three hours. We all got a bit sunburned and wind blown, but the kids (especially Davis) had an amazing time. All the books that Davis has checked out of the library on planes really came in handy since Michael had read them to him and so could explain all the different planes we saw.
After the airshow, we stopped for white wine on the way home and then enjoyed the coolness of the house and wine for a few hours.
The kids played with their new toy planes and star wars toys and Michael and I fried up those zucchini just like we learned in Italy. They were wonderful! It was such a fun treat to have them.
Uncle Roy came over and visited with us while we ate a lovely dinner outside on the patio by the lake. After supper Davis and Sam got to fish with their grandpa. Then we put the boys down and visited for a while into the evening.
We had a great weekend in Houston. We left early this morning and got to our church in time to help paint the RE room. We got to spend happy hour after all that painting work with some of our friends at the Railyard Restaurant. Pretty great weekend indeed.

Bread and Butter Jalepenos

2011-10-16T18:09:00.002-05:00

I LOVE these bread and butter jalepenos. My Uncle Larry has always made them in the summer and I wait for the times when I can try them. My mom always serves them over a block of cream cheese with some crackers. Last year I tried my hand at canning them. It was a bit tedious to cut up all those jalepenos, but the result was worth it. All year I've eaten them on hamburgers, salads, sandwiches, tacos and bowls of rice. I was down to my last jar this week and so my mom and I decided to work together to make a big batch. I picked in Uncle Larry's garden in the morning. We then spent the afternoon in her kitchen and ended up with 17 jars of bread and butter jalepenos. Delicious! I'll ask Uncle Larry at the next happy hour if I can share the recipe with you. If not, if you ask me nice I might share with you. Maybe.

Ranch Happy Hour

2011-10-16T18:07:00.002-05:00

We had a great ranch happy hour this week. My Uncle Mike and Aunt Char were visiting and Marchelle came down and spent the day with us as well. It was so much fun! I love having a couple of hours a week when the whole ranch clan get together and catch up. It's even better with close friends and more family. I'm so lucky in many ways and this is definitely one of them.

Rainy Weekend

2011-10-10T16:03:00.003-05:00

We had a rainy weekend. I know. We could hardly believe it either. We are still in a drought, but the rain was fantastic.
I went for a run first thing in the morning and then Michael and I spent the rest of Saturday morning working in the front beds. Michael used the tractor to pull out five or six dead bushes and I did a ton of pruning and weeding and the kids trimmed back my basil and mint plants. Right as we finished it started pouring down rain.
We ran inside and cleaned up and by the time we were pretty, it had stopped raining again. We decided to go over to my parent's house and have a little visit. We did some karaoke there and visited with my grandparents. Then we came home and got ready for our dinner date. Michael and I attended a vegan supper club in Austin and really enjoyed it. The food was great and we met several nice people.
Sunday was supposed to be the Tough Mudder which is something Michael has been training for the last few months. Around 4:30AM we woke up to booming thunder. It was raining and storming outside. It continued to pour down rain all morning and they cancelled the Mudder. Michael was pretty disappointed. They offered to let him sign up for another one in January, so he will probably do that one.
His friend A.J. had driven down to our house so we could carpool so we ended up just spending a lazy day around the ranch. In the morning we listened to the rain and watched Tough Mudder videos on YouTube. We had a boozy lunch at Los Cucos with my parents' and then we all went over to their house. The guys watched football, my dad played outside with the kids and Mom and I sat on the porch swing and chatted. After a while Mom and I snuck off to the outlet mall and Dad snuck off to have a cigar. It was a very relaxing afternoon and my very favorite kind of weather: cool, rainy and gray.

Another Coral Snake

2011-10-10T15:57:00.003-05:00

This afternoon I was sitting at my grandparents' house visiting with my Aunt Char, Uncle Mike and Uncle Larry. I stood up after a while and walked to the front door. Through the screen door I saw a coral snake slithering it's way up the sidewalk. I started saying, "coral snake!" in an odd, high pitch over and over again. Everyone gathered around the screen door looking out. Apparently our voices were a bit too loud and the snake turned and scooted it's way under the piece of wood dividing two sections of side walk. Uncle Larry had wisely gone around the back of the house and picked up a piece of rebar. He came around the house and Gramp pulled up the wood. Uncle Larry whacked it in the head. The snake continued to thrash around wildly though his head was smashed. Uncle Mike stepped on it's tail and Uncle Larry whacked it again. Then he picked it up and threw it in a bucket. It was all very exciting. My heart sure was pounding. Then we all sat around on the front porch and talked about it and everyone made fun of the way I sounded the coral snake alarm. Here's a picture of it in the bucket. It was still writhing around after 20 minutes in the bucket. Shudder.

Mice

2011-10-06T16:43:00.004-05:00

We are over run by mice. At first we saw droppings in my kitchen drawers. Then we saw them on the kitchen counters. Then we saw several mice dash across the living room floor when we were cuddled up in the dark watching TV. I upped my bleaching and cleaning, but it wasn't working. Michael put out traps and caught a few, but obviously not enough.
I am terrified of the mice. I can't help it. When I see one, I begin screaming and then I find myself perched up on the nearest counter top.
We have had many mishaps as we have fought the mice. Once Michael forgot to unbait the traps before he left for work and one was snapped right at my feet while I was making the kids breakfast. The poor little thing was screaming his little mouse lungs out and I was mortified. I had to call Uncle Larry to remove it.
Then our Maltese, Ellie found one of the baits and ate it and I had to take her to the emergency vet on a Saturday night where they dosed her with ipecac, charcoal and Vitamin K and charged $215.
And then today I went over to pantry to get the kids an after school snack and when I opened the door a mouse leapt off one of the top shelves directly at me. It flew the air, landed on the ground and dashed for under the wine rack. I found myself screaming bloody murder on top of the dryer and I refused to come down for some time.
I've had it! We are either buying a cat or paying several hundred dollars for the exterminator to come and rid us of them. I'm trying to decide right now which choice is an easier pill to swallow.
The kids and I pulled all the food out of the pantry this afternoon, threw away anything that looked compromised, bleached the pantry and put everything in new containers before returning it to the pantry.
Now every time I hear a rustle or see a shadow I panic. The kids are convinced it's Ralph S. Mouse and want to find his hole and feed it.

Reflection on Change

2011-10-03T08:20:00.001-05:00

I was lay leader at our Unitarian Church yesterday, and our minister asked me to write a reflection on change and growth through learning. Here's what I wrote and delivered yesterday. (I based it on a post I wrote a few years ago, so some of it may sound vaguely familiar.)

My whole life I’ve just been trying to figure out who the heck I am and learn more about the myself and world around me.
In a nutshell, here's how my self awareness has gone down.
Teenage years: Who the hell am I going to be?
College years: Well that was wrong, maybe I'll try this identity/profession/relationship! I’ll try this new experience/flavor/location!
Post college years: This is who I am! I like me! I like my life!
Post marriage: Let’s have a baby or two!
Immediate post baby: Can't think about that stuff, must stay awake to provide loving, safe, nourishing home for baby. Only purpose in life is baby.
Post baby period: Now where do I fit in the world and what else can I learn about my place in it?

I needed to take stock of how I had changed since I had children and who I still was outside of them. This led to some serious spiritual questioning of why we were here on earth and then, how I could make my time on it more joyful and meaningful. (This is still an ongoing question and process).
At some point I realized that all this time I have been changing. But I didn’t really know how I fit into the world around me anymore and I needed to focus in and pay attention. I needed to embrace my change.
But it’s not easy. Change is hard.
And sometimes the change is something you really don’t want to happen. You lose a loved one, you lose a job, or you face illness. You know what I mean. Change isn’t always good, but it happens and it changes us and we choose what becomes of us because of that change.
Change threatens control and we can grow through it or get stuck in the same old circle of pain. I think that very struggle IS life.
The struggle to find myself in this world has sometimes been a spiritual struggle and sometimes been a personal one. I feel the need to justify my presence on the earth and to make the world a better place. I hope that I grow, change, become better. I think that’s what most people want, when they think about it. It’s just that sometimes it’s easier to think about and work on than others.
But I don’t think it has to be a big spiritual journey. I have found that if I work on the small things around me that the ripple effect goes out.
Over the last few years, I have been able to continue to look around at life outside of the narrow constructs of child raising . I have narrowed down from my wild search of the divine and my place in the world and began to focus on making our life joyful and meaningful from the home on out.
In the last few years I developed as a caregiver. I mean caregiver in the true meaning of the words. I have been working hard at learning to give care. This has not always been an easy role, . it was one I was handed and the one that I chose and I am making the best of it.
I work to develop my friendships. I tried to make the effort to reach out and deepen the existing relationships I have built with people in my community. The friendships and support that we have right now in our circle of friends (which include my parents-another amazing gift) are so nourishing and wonderful and bring joy to us and feed my soul.
I travel. It is my passion and my addiction and my joy and my great expense. But I love it and can justify it in many ways. I say that it opens our eyes to places outside where we live. It recharges our batteries to face the daily life. It connects us to the people we travel with and creates something special that we will always share. And it definitely helps to make me grow and open my mind.
I feel like I am figuring things out day by day and that is a good pace. I still sometimes hate change. I resist it kicking and screaming at times. But I know change is inevitable. And I’ll either roll with it or fight it and change will still be happening. I’ll just try to stay in the moment more, be more patient, love more, listen more. I’ll just try to keep learning.

Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg

2011-10-02T17:42:00.003-05:00

We drove up to Fredericksburg on Saturday morning so we could attend Oktoberfest. The drive is just a little over an hour and is very nice. Even when it's brown and drought ravaged, the Devil's Backbone is an inspiring sight and the whole drive was lovely.
The weather was gorgeous! It was only in the 80's and the sun was shining. When we got there we headed straight for the kids area. Davis and Sam played plinko, whack a rat, toss a chicken and many more games. They earned tokens and redeemed those tokens for toys. They did very well and got some cars that made them happy. Michael and I deemed it beer thirty at that point and I made the decision to ignore my food allergies and do an Oktoberfest beer tasting. I think the fact that I never ever drink beer any more made the beers I had at the festival even better, because they were fabulous!
We listened to some polkas and drank our beers while the kids played on the adjacent playground. Then we went to find some lunch. We had red beans and rice and hit another beer stand. It was yummy. After lunch we wandered through the crafts tents and made our way to another stage. We found a nice shaded patch of grass and made ourselves comfortable with a third kind of Oktoberfest brew. Michael and I relaxed and really enjoyed the music and some great potato fries and the kids watched movies on our iphones.
Eventually we had to pack it up and head home because Michael had a Pappy Hour rehearsal that evening but it was super fun. Next up, wurst fest in New Braunfels!

Little sayings and updates

2011-09-29T14:34:00.005-05:00

Did I ever tell you that Michael got his old job back? He did. Works from home again and still has his six weeks vacation. We are very happy.

Sam informed me that he would like to stay a kid forever and have me as his mommy forever. We have these little chats every night after Davis leaves the room where I sing to Sam and in between songs we discuss the best and worst parts of our day. That time with Sam is my best part of every day. (Davis won't go for that. He just wants his dad right now).

My dad and I were talking about the difficulties for him living with dementia. He said that while the rest of us were just easily walking down the street, he was hacking his way through the jungle with a machete. I thought it was a very good analogy.

My grandparents got some elder care and all of a sudden I don't have to cook for them every day anymore. I'm making too much food now.

Davis is loving to read all of a sudden. It's a breakthrough. He's really reading books now, even just to himself. It's pretty awesome.

He is also deeply in love with being a Tiger Cub. Michael is now a den leader and it brings Davis unconditional joy to spend his Monday nights with his dad.

It's been raining a tiny bit. Every few days we've been getting a bit. We're still in a major drought, but it's very exciting when it happens. Cheris took some cool pics of the boys jumping off the swingset in costume while holding onto umbrellas.

Quick Port A Weekend

2011-09-25T16:22:00.003-05:00

Last week I sat Michael down and asked him to play "calendar" with me. We had lots of invitations and fun events we wanted to go to and we had to sit down and see how they all fit on the calendar. We did it and quickly managed to fill up our entire fall. In doing this I realized that we only had one or two weekends until Thanksgiving where we could get away for the weekend and one of them was this weekend. I have been missing the beach so much and so I asked Michael and the boys if they wanted to leave Friday for Port Aransas and come back on Sunday.
We all thought that was a grand idea and so on Friday we implemented our plan. It was just our little family of four, but we had a great idea. We got in late (but enjoyed the new ferry in the dark!)and the boys went right down and Michael and I went down soon after. Saturday morning we ate breakfast and lounged about and then went into town where we rented bikes and went on our first ever all-four-of-us-on-our-bikes bike ride around town. Sam did extremely well and we were super proud of him. After an hour long ride, we turned in our bikes and went to lunch at Shell's. We love that place despite the fact that several years we encountered a rat during dinner. we had boycotted it for years, but we decided to forgive them the rat and have lunch there again. We were so glad we did! The food is absolutely amazing. Michael and I split two entrees, the tuna sandwich on homemade focacia and key lime aioli and the blackened rare tuna tacos and the boys split and huge bowl of pasta with pesto. We also had a nice waitress and a glass of pinot grigio which was just what the doctor ordered.
After lunch we had siesta time where we all read and then we put on our swimsuits and headed for the beach. The kids boogie boarded and we all worked together to build a castle. Davis and I went for a long walk on the beach and we enjoyed the nice breeze.
I made dinner of shrimp tacos and beans and guacamole and we feasted. The kids went to bed early and Michael and I cuddled on the couch and watched Game of Thrones on his laptop.
This morning the boys went back to the beach while I cleaned the condo and then we drove into Corpus Christi for lunch and the Executive Beach Club. We enjoyed the food, but noticed the table next to us found a bug in theirs. Still the atmosphere was nice. You go at your own risk, I guess.
And now we're home. We are so lucky to have Port A as home away from home and we love it there so much.

Hair Cut

2011-09-17T14:55:00.003-05:00

Hey I cut my hair! I haven't cut it since April and I really needed a trim. It was getting long, down to the bottom of my bra strap if I pulled it straight. I asked Michael if I should cut it and he said, "Yeah, cut it short, make a change!". So I did.
I went in with a few pictures. I told her to cut it all off to about my chin. She did.
I also told her to leave my bangs long- chin length. She didn't. She did some cutting and then said, "oops!". She accidentally cut off the bangs.
It's okay though. I actually like it. What I like best is that I can get out of the shower, let it air dry and go. That's what I did this morning and this is what I looked like. I think if I add some gel or mouse or something it might be a bit better. And also I was tired of wearing it in a pony tail. I don't know if I totally love the way it looks, but I LOVE the way it feels. I'm going for sassy and sexy, not mom-like and I'm not 100% sure which this hair cut is. Maybe I should die it red...

Michael's Rockin' 40th Karaoke Birthday Party.

2011-09-11T18:15:00.004-05:00

We managed to stretch Michael's birthday over two weeks. We had a family party, a trip to NY with family and friends and then a rockin' karaoke party on Labor Day weekend. (We were limited to our small room with how many people we could invite so please don't feel left out.) We rocked out until they kicked us out and then squeezed in some more fun at the Whip In before Michael and I got a ride (thanks Stephen!) to our hotel where we got to sleep in and have late hungover brunch at Guero's (thanks mom!). It was a fun birthday. Special thanks to Cheris Lifford for the excellent photos.

Hyatt Live Oak Getaway

2011-09-11T16:16:00.004-05:00

We had a little San Antonio Getaway this weekend. A month or so ago, Hyatt asked us if we would like to stay at a very discounted rate at their Vacation Club in San Antonio. We had to agree to a 90 minute presentation, but the price was so great, we said yes.
We drove down Friday as soon as we picked up the boys from school. We had a beautiful one bedroom suite and a huge jacuzzi tub that boys were immediately in love with.
We explored the grounds, played at the playground and then had dinner. There were no vegan options, (or vegetarian!) but I made do with sides and then we went up to our room where the boys took a very long bubble bath (Sam was heard yelling that we should do this every weekend!) and then took a very long time going to bed. The 8 oclock outdoor movie was very loud and kept the boys awake. Michael and I hid in our bedroom with a bottle of wine though so it really wasn't so bad.
Saturday morning we hit the pool. It was great and there weren't very many people at all. We all did the water slide and I bet Davis did at least twenty times. Sam loved the water cannon and I enjoyed reading my kindle at the side of the pool and wading in the "beach" area. After a bit we went to the lazy river and did several rounds on that. I enjoyed that a lot, but the boys seemed to think it was a race course and after a while that took the "lazy" right out of it. We pulled in our tubes and parked our selves on the sandy beach which was filled with kids creating all sorts of sand sculptures. The kids made friends immediately and Michael and I hit the bar.
We ate lunch again at the ONE restaurant they have there (again no vegetarian options) and so I had a liquid lunch. We dropped the kids off at the kids club, took a nap and then went to our vacation club presentation.
We were tempted to buy in, but felt very pressured and so we didn't. We went back to our room where we drank more wine, I made us a nice dinner and the kids had another epic bubble bath. They went to bed early that night and Michael and I got to watch a movie in bed. Perfect.
This morning we breakfasted in our room and took the kids to the playground. Then we packed up and headed five minutes up the road to Sea World. We have season passes and this was the best weekend we've been there yet. There were no crowds and the morning we was mild. We hit the Shamu rollercoaster a couple of times and then did the carousel. After that we went to the Sesame Street 4D movie and then strolled into the Sea Lion comedy show. Sam was decidedly unhappy at this point because we wouldn't buy him a plastic sword from the gift shop, so we stopped for lunch at Rosita's. They made me my own vegan pizza and we had a surprisingly nice lunch. It also improved Sam's mood so we felt ready to venture on. Davis wanted to ride the "journey to Atlantis" ride so we all walked over there (again, no line!) and we gave it a try. Davis loved it and Sam was absolutely terrified. He told me all about it while Davis and Michael rode it again. We were just in time to walk over to the Azul Beluga Whale show so we got great seats and enjoyed the show. Sam melted down again on our way out over the plastic sword so we packed it up and drove home. We really enjoyed our day there.
Overall the weekend was good, but not great. We love Hyatt Lost Pines and Hyatt Hill Country, but we felt that the Live Oak was missing in activities and amenities. Still, the price was right and the kids absolutely loved it.

FAT

2011-09-11T16:01:00.002-05:00

Like most women I have always battled the bulge. I've been down to a size 2 and up to a size 12. I changed sizes depending on what was going on in my life, but I almost always exercised and watched what I ate except while pregnant and nursing when I just ate everything I could get my hands on.
For the last four years or so I got in the habit of working out a lot and eating very few carbs. This made me thin. And I liked it a lot. I liked the way I looked in clothes. It gave me confidence. It made me feel in control of my life.
In April I started taking an evil hormone that helps my lady problems (which have gotten quite severe the last year or so), but makes me FAT. Okay, maybe not fat, but much, much bigger. Like 15 pounds bigger. This has been extremely hard for me. I still run four miles every other day and spend the other three days a week doing a mix of weight lifting, pilates and yoga. I eat low-fat vegan. But still I gain. I've had to go up two dress sizes (I started really small so it's not that dramatic perhaps to others, but it's dramatic to me.) My face has changed and my rings are tight on my fingers.
I do not like the way I look, and I don't like the way I look in clothes. I apparently have no perception of what I look like anymore. I see myself as much, much bigger and I am always surprised when I look in the mirror and realize I'm actually not really very overweight at all. Just a bit bigger than I was. Still, I look at women on the street and wonder, am I bigger?, smaller?, how do I compare? Because I really don't know. I can't see myself anymore. I wonder if people are shocked when they see me after a space of time. How drastic is my change? Is it changing their perception of me?
(I realize this is a ridiculous notion. Rationally I know this. But there's that evil little voice in the back of my head that is not rational and it's not quiet either.)
And I feel totally out of control in my life. Michael took away the scale. This helped a lot. My doctor explained that lots of women on this drug gain 30 pounds and I have actually done very well only gaining half of that.
And I know that it is worth it to carry this extra weight to not have the pain that came with my female problems. I'm still a healthy BMI, I'm not really fat. I'm just more than before and I have to find a way to wrap my head around being okay with that.
In talking with other women about this I have realized how many other people base their self worth or self perception on the their body. I have also realized how much we use our weight as a way of control, since the world is uncontrollable.
It's a scary place to be, and a bit taboo to talk about it, but I wanted to put it out there, because it's something that I'm struggling with and perhaps someone else might be struggling with it too.

Vegan

2011-09-11T15:49:00.002-05:00

I've gone vegan. Mostly. I'm actually vegan+fish. I went vegan as a 21 day challenge with my sister in April. It made sense since I'm allergic to dairy, eggs and pork. Basically I just had to give up the other meats. I read "Skinny Bitch" and did some online research. I hoped a vegan diet would not only help my health, the environment (a biggie for me) and my karma, but would help keep my weight down.
I found some great vegan blogs and subscribed to them. I love Peas and Thank You, Vegan Faith, The Snarky Chickpea, The Lazy Smurfs Guide to Life.
I cheated while in Europe, but since we've been home, I've stuck with it. I love it. I feel good inside. Clean and fresh. I feel like I'm contributing to a better world. I'm giving a good example to my children.
Michael and the boys are mostly vegetarian as well. At home I cook vegan. At restaurants we order fish or the rest of my family eats vegetarian with eggs and cheese back in. So far everyone likes it. Sam LOVES tofu. He calls himself a tofu vacuum. I've used the Peas and Thank You cookbook almost exclusively since I got it and Michael thinks it's a miracle cookbook. Every single recipe we've made out of it has been a hit. I also love "Appetite for Reduction", and "The Conscious Cook".
So look forward to some new vegan recipes coming soon on the blog. And try them! Even as a "foodie"- someone who truly loves to try all foods, I used to be bored by vegetarian food. It just didn't sound good or filling to me. But I have discovered so many delicious flavors and food combinations. And they are filling! So there you go.
We'll see if this sticks or if I eventually change, but I will tell you right now that I love this choice and that's it's perfect for me right now.

Things Are Changing

2011-09-06T13:07:00.003-05:00

Holy heck, things are going on around here. You may think it's quiet on here because nothing is happening, but that is not true at all. The problem is that most of it is stuff I can't post about here. At least not yet. But things they are a'changin'.
I'll give you the cliff notes version of what's happening around here:
I have been suffering from foot-in-mouth syndrome for the last few weeks.
Wildfires are burning across central Texas and everywhere outside is the smell of smoke.
Michael had a rockin' 40th birthday party with some friends and we did karaoke and drank lots and laughed lots and loved our friends lots and got spend the night in Austin.
We had a fabulous Labor Day picnic with our fabulous friends yesterday and again I felt how lucky I am to have them.
Major Job Stuff is going on that I will tell you about later. (maybe, but you will never know the real details)
My grandma is sick and going into the hospital today.

And my camera hasn't made it's way out of my desk drawer in a week. So this post is lacking in photos. I'm sorry. I have to go do stuff and freak out now.

It's HOT

2011-09-03T09:03:00.002-05:00

Brown grass, hot winds, huge cracks in the ground big enough to put your foot in. Dust, burning steering wheels, sweat. When I walk outside this summer it's like walking into a kiln. The kids can't play outside and my lawn is golden brown in spite of the fact that we water twice a week.
I just wanted to let you know.
...in San Marcos, so far this year:
...we've had 78 days of 100+ (all-time record)
...we've had 23 days at 105+ (all-time record)
...we've had 27 consecutive 100+ days (all-time record)
...it's the hottest summer ever with an average of 89.5 degrees
...our hottest August was also the hottest month on record

NYC 2011

2011-09-02T13:27:00.004-05:00

We had a fabulous time in NYC despite the hurricane. We got to see some good friends, we ate so much good food and we really enjoyed not being in the Texas heat.
Here's a little overview of what we did.
WEDNESDAY:
We flew into JFK, checked into the Excelsior Hotel on the Upper West Side and met mom and dad for a happy hour bottle of champagne. Then we changed and met our friends Nick and Tina and walked down to the Ocean Grill for a delicious and very fun dinner.
THURSDAY: Michael's 40th Birthday. We woke up and opened presents and then walked down to the Good Enough To Eat restaurant for breakfast. I had a divine asian tofu scramble and Michael lusted after it. We also had mimosas. Then we met mom and dad and shopped a bit for hotel snacks at Zabars. (I love to browse in there.) After we dropped off the snacks we walked across the street from the hotel to Museum of Natural History where we watched the planetarium show and explored the dinosaur hall. We ate a late lunch at a great vegan restaurant nearby called Blossom. The food was truly amazing. Then we walked around some more and went back to the hotel for a birthday nap. Later that evening we went with Tony and Pam and mom and dad to the Blue Fin restaurant in Times Square. After sushi, sake and birthday cheesecake for Michael, we walked to Don't Tell Mama, where we enjoyed the piano and the singing. My dad had been begging me to "sing in New York" so I got up and sang "Maybe This Time". I was so terrified that my knees were literally knocking together. But it made my dad happy so there you go.
FRIDAY: Mom and Dad and Michael and I took a long walk through central park and visited my dad's park bench where we has a plaque with some of his poetry. Then we met Pam and Tony and my friend Jamey at the Boat House where we fought past protesters, had a lovely lunch and watched a cold front/storm roll in. Jamey took Michael and me to a fabulous hotel called the Standard. The rooftop bar was very trendy and fun and we all had a drink there and enjoyed the sunshine and the views and then we went to their swanky lounge and had another martini. We walked down the High Line and found a great California Punk Brass Band playing. We listened a while and then said good-bye to Jamey and made our way to Little Italy. We found out then that our flight was cancelled and Michael and I spent a good hour on the phone trying to get another one. We met at an Italian restaurant called Il Cortile with Carol, Mario, Tina, Nick, Tony, Pam and Mom and Dad. The food was abundant and delicious, but I was in a right tizzy over the hurricane and was no fun at all. I was worried later I ruined it for everyone, but mom promised me they all just ignored me.
SATURDAY: We went out early to look for food and flashlights in preparation for the storm. We walked a bit until it started to pour down rain and then we ducked into a little restaurant near Lincoln Center for an early lunch. We walked some more as the rain eased for a bit and toured my old neighborhood. We had a nostalgic drink at the Firehouse in my old 'hood. Then we holed up in the room while it rained. That evening we met mom and dad at the hotel restaurant/bar which was totally awesome! It's called Calle Ocho and it is way better than any hotel restaurant I've been to before. They had great mojitos and wine and the food was fantastic.
SUNDAY: We stayed inside while the hurricane happened. There was a moaning wind and sheets and sheets of rain, but other than that it was very tame. Our airconditioning unit took in some water and broke so we changed rooms and then laid around some more and watched a movie. Around 1:30 the rain eased up and we all went on a long walk (the transit was shut down). We walked by Lincoln Center then to Columbus Circle and then down to Times Square. Lots of people were out walking. It was very, very windy, but other than a few broken windows, we didn't see much damage. There were still lots of reporters in Times Square. We eventually made our way to "restaurant row" and had a light late lunch where we met Michael's friend, Pat. Then we went a few doors down to an indoor beer garden (it had begun to rain again) and had several beers. (my friend Jamey met us there as well)
MONDAY: We had breakfast with mom and dad at Good Enough To Eat again and then made our way to the airport for a long day of travel. I was so happy to see my children when we got home!
It was a good trip. I was very sad to miss our fabulous seats at "Book of Mormon" and I was mad at myself that I was such a bad sport at our Italian dinner, but other than it was pretty wonderful. I love spending time with our friends in NYC and we did many things I hadn't done before. Michael and I spent some quality time with each other and enjoyed our forced relaxation. I love NYC so much. I would live there again in a heartbeat if only I could bring my family and friends.

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-27T16:40:00.003-05:00

We are in New York City right now celebrating my sweet husband's birthday. We heard a hurricane might be heading that way as drve to the airport on Wednesday. On Friday we knew it was on it's way and as soon as the airline allowed, we changed our flight from Sun to Sat to try and get away ahead of the storm. We were really disappointed because we would miss our one broadway show we had planned, but it seemed wise to get out. Then Friday night we heard ALL flights on Saturday were cancelled. We frantically spent over an hour trying to get through to the airline to rebook for Monday. We were lucky enough to keep our hotel room, but could not move to a lower floor as the hotel is sold out. my in-laws reassured that they would keep the kids and that all was well on the home front.
This morning was dark and rainy but we went out and got foodfrom Zabors, hit lots of drugstores till we finally found flashlights and stocked up on wine. The transit system in the city shut down at noon and our play was cancelled. We had a nice lunch and made dinner reservations in our hotel. It's very quiet around here and though the rain is steady, it truly is the calm before the storm. The big rain should start later this evenin with the worst from Midnight through noon tomorrow.
I really miss the kids and wish we could have gotten home, but we are making the best of it and enjoying the forced relaxation time
Other than the hurricane we've been having a great time. We visited the museum of natural history, had fantastic dinners at the Ocean Grill, Blue Fin, Il Cortille, and The Boathouse. I sang at Don't Tell Mama ( and was utterly terrified) and we had great afternoon at this aawesome hotel called the Standard with my great friend from school Jamey. I have lots of great pictures and lots of stories but I'm typing this on my phone so I'll stop now. I'll try to keep you updated on Facebook and perhaps here as well.
Keeps in your thoughts. XO, amber

The Lounge

2011-08-21T18:17:00.002-05:00

We have continued moving furniture around and changing up the house. We decided to change our dining room into a "lounge". We'll watch TV in there and then we can make the focal point of our living room our fireplace instead of the television.
Earlier this week, my parents gave us their couch and two chaise lounges that I have been coveting for a long time. Michael and I were so grateful and thrilled. When we got the furniture in our house and arranged, we realized we needed to paint the new "lounge". Michael was not thrilled about it, but we bit the bullet and painted it this weekend. The kids "helped" and that was harrowing for a while, but we got through it and they even gave themselves a bath and put on their jammies all on their own after they painted. That was a miracle in itself.
We think the room looks fabulous! I am thrilled with the deep "purple twilight" color and think it looks great with the berry colored chaise lounges. Berry, purple and white were my wedding colors and I love them so. The paintings look good in there and now we have a color theme through the house. Check it out.

Rockin' Tale of Snow White

2011-08-21T18:09:00.003-05:00

Davis performed in his first musical on Friday. This performance was the culmination of his two week study at the Texas State Theatre Camp. Davis played one of the seven dwarves in a rock-style version of Snow White. His name was "Big Mike".
Michael got off work early in time to see the show and some of our friends came too. Davis was very proud. He looked so cute and small up there. His singing was great and he remembered all his lines. He consistently started his choreography off on the wrong foot (so like his mama) and was a bit too quiet for the large theatre, but we still thought he was brilliant and wonderful. We were proud too. We brought him a Cars 2 balloon and took him out to dinner at his favorite restaurant, Japanerios after the show. We'll receive the DVD soon and tuck it into his memory box. It was really special for me to see him travel down his mama's footsteps if only for an hour and 15 minutes.

Lilliana

2011-08-15T18:53:00.004-05:00

I'm keeping my parents' goddaughter this week from 8-5 while her mom works. I have known this beautiful girl since she was eight months old and have kept her lots of times. There was an extended period of time I kept her when she was 18 months. She is eleven now and is sweet as sweet can be. It is a joy to spend time with her (though she never stops talking!), and she is helpful besides. Today we did kid yoga, cooked together, she read starwars to Sam, held his hand across streets, played pretend, cleaned everything up, ate everything I put in front of her and hugged me when it was time to go and begged to stay. Tomorrow we're going to the library where she's promised to let me introduce her to Little House on the Prairie.
Sweet, sweet girl.

Bunk Beds

2011-08-13T18:39:00.004-05:00

This morning I saw an ad on craigslist for some Ikea Bunkbeds. Michael and I emailed them right away and around 1:30 this afternoon we picked them up! Our boys insist on sharing a room and we figured this would give us much more room. It would also give us an extra trundle bed that we could move to our extra-playroom-that-used-to-be-Davis'-room and make ourselves a guest room! We've always wished we had a guest room and now we do.
We spent all afternoon disassembling, assembling and moving large pieces of furniture. We still love each other.
Check it out.

Rough and Tumble

2011-08-12T13:52:00.002-05:00

I just spent some time online researching rough and tumble play. It runs out that the boys are pretty normal. Sam is experiencing a typical four year old surge of testosterone. Their joy over their games indicates that it is not real aggression and the constant touching each other is fulfilling their needs to be touched. (if they really need that much touching, why won't they allow me to smother them in kisses?).
All it seems that I need to do is remind the boys what kind of touching is appropriate (no punching or biting) and make sure both kids are enjoying it. I am relieved by this research, but still totally befuddled by boys. Anyone have any raising boys how to book suggestions?
Right now I'm at the jumpy place letting Sam burn off some rough and tumble energy on soft bouncy things. And then I will attempt further smothering of kisses.

The Boys, Parenting, and Life this Week

2011-08-12T09:43:00.005-05:00

The last week I have been off work and so I have been home with the boys. Davis has been in theatre camp all week and I spend most of the day with Sam. It has been a quiet week. After the drama and emotional rollercoaster of Monday, I sort of nestled into solitude. I'm feeling insecure and reticent.
And it's not just that. It's hot. So hot. And dry. The ground is cracking and brown and I can't even force the kids outside at 7:30 in the morning for longer than half an hour because they come in drenched in sweat and complaining. And my mom and dad are gone for vacation and I miss them! And my friends are busy or on vacation. And money is a bit tight. So for all these reasons, my days this week have revolved around staying home with Sam and dropping off and picking up Davis from camp.
Michael's job so far is good. He likes it and we are finding our new rhythm. But I miss him so much. We have started doing our runs at six in the morning in the dark. I make his breakfast and the kids and then I pack his lunch and kiss him and he drives off by 7:30. I take Davis to camp and spend my days cleaning and preparing vegan meals and doing a few errands and spending time with Sam.
I have enjoyed these times with Sam. He is so easy and fun. He plays quietly by himself for hours, only asking for me when he gets hungry. He is easy going and helpful. He slips his little hand in mine happily when we go walking. He cooks with me. It is truly a joy to spend my hours with him. And it's amazingly different than when he's with his brother.
When Davis and Sam play these days it is non-stop aggressive behavior. Most of the time it is play. They wrestle, sword fight, crash into each other on big wheels, arm wrestle, tickle, light saber fight etc. They don't stop touching each other! But of course most of these things end in somebody getting hurt. And then there is blame. And then I have to put somebody in time out. And then there are tears because they don't want to be separated for the amount of time that time out takes. Sam is usually the instigator. Davis will be playing quietly with his cars and Sam will just take a flying leap onto his back and start wrestling. Sam is also biting and punching. So far, he is only biting and punching Davis, but still. And mostly they love each other and this kind of play. Sam pines for Davis all day long while he in camp.
Davis says he doesn't like Sam to hit him all the time, but when I actually break it up, he is usually laughing and tells me that he's having fun.
Is all this normal? Will sending them back to school solve my problems? Should I break up the fighting or let them wrestle it out?
Davis seems to like theatre camp. He is playing a dwarf in the Snow White play they are doing. His teacher says she sees real talent in him. He knows all his lines and is looking forward to performing in the show next Friday. But yesterday he came home a bit angry and quiet. It turns out he is having a bit of a perfectionist problem. If he can't do it perfectly he gets angry and wants to quit. Or else he tries to convince everyone else to do it his way and when that doesn't work, he gets angry and wants to quit. I've been working on convincing him that Walters try even when it seems to hard, because by trying they will get better. I feel for him on this. His dad is a real perfectionist and says it made his childhood really hard. I'm open to suggestions on this.
Basically the kids seem to be on a rotation with six months of being great and six months of being hard. The good news is that they are on opposite schedules. Davis has been great for the last six months, but is sliding into difficult and Sam has been hard, but is now sliding into easy. Minus the punching and biting of course.
Either way I just adore them. I'm working so hard on being a good mother to them. Sometimes I'm impatient and I get yell-y at them. But most of the time we have a pretty good time. I really try to listen to what Davis has to say and empathize and help him work through his feelings. But I walk a tight rope of being sympathetic enough and still helping him accept his faults and try to grow through them. I've been researching ways to help him be a team player and not be too sensitive. I've enrolled him in gymnastics again this year and he'll be a cub scout this year as well. I've got a copy of "how to talk so your children will listen and listen so your children will talk" in my purse.
I kiss their little faces and hands as often as they let me (they wipe them off immediately) and I stroke their foreheads when they sleep. I love them more than I could ever express.

Terminated

2011-08-08T15:35:00.005-05:00

Michael got a phone call this morning at 8AM from his official boss. This is the person who approves his expense reports but hasn't spoken to Michael in months. Michael actually works for his active boss who isn't really his boss on paper. This is a bit confusing I know, but work with me on this.
The official boss was calling to let Michael know that his position has been terminated. 13.5 years with his company and he had no idea it was coming. He got severance and we keep our benefits for a few weeks. He should come into the office and pack up his stuff and turn in his computer. We were all in shock. We're still in shock.
Michael's active boss was in shock. Michael is totally indispensable to him. He cannot do his job without him. He had no idea it was coming. We think the official boss had no idea what Michael was really doing and when he had to make budget cuts he saw Michael as easy cut. He did say it was not performance related.
Michael's old boss called and said he would try to create a position for Michael in his old job. Michael went up for a meeting this afternoon with him and we shall see...
In the meantime I am sick to my stomach. Both Michael and I were shaking and felt as though we had a permanent lump in our throats. We are trying to stay positive and not get sucked down into the anger right now, though the anger is present. How could they be so ignorant of Michael's worth?
He really loved his position. We all loved it. It was long, long hours, but they were so often at home. We have loved having him work from home. It has made our life so much better to have him here.
Right now we have plan A, plan B, and Plan C already in the works.
But really we are just in shock. Time is moving super fast, but every minute is painful. I want to cry, but it wouldn't help and it would only upset Sam. Sam already knew we were upset this morning though we thought we had totally hidden it. He drew a picture of sad Daddy and then gave me a picture covered with hearts.
Michael is doing great. I know he is very shaken, but he is handling this in such a calm, mature, rational way. I love him so much and I am so proud of him. I have so much faith in his ability with his job and I am very sure that he will land on his feet. We will be okay. But it's such a crazy feeling when the rug is pulled out from under you so abruptly and with so little warning.
UPDATE: His old boss did manage to halt the termination and hire him back to his old job as consultant. He is really lucky to have such good relationships in his office and such a great former/current boss. I'm glad for him, and grateful, but also disappointed because it means we are back to the long commute (he'll be back in the north Austin office (near round rock, starting next year.)) and will be back to lots and lots of travel. I am totally emotionally exhausted by this day. I need a cocktail.

TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls

2011-08-07T09:05:00.002-05:00

We had a great time last night at the Palmer Event Center watching the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls. We double dated with our friends Marchelle and Marc. We watched Las Putas Del Fuego battle the Holy Rollers. We got there early and waited in line at the door. When they opened the doors we pushed our way through and got some great seats. I was so glad we got there early, not only because we had an hour to chat and catch up with our friends, but also because we got seats. People who came in closer to the start time had to stand for the whole derby.
We bought raffle tickets for the chance to seat with the judges by right by the alley, and Michael and Marc ended up having their numbers called! They had a great time sitting front and center. They had mixed drinks and vegan wraps so I was happy and we just had a great time watching the show. Those girls are so tough! They are sexy and athletic and it looks so fun, but the elbows to the face and the major tumbles and the fighting make it something I would never try. I'm too much of a wuss. Still, it was really enjoyable to be there. You should definitely try it for a date night.

Walter Family Reunion Washington D.C.

2011-08-05T17:49:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we hopped on a plane to BWI and our 2011 Walter Reunion. We arrived in the late afternoon and had missed lunch, so after getting our rental car (a cute Mazda 5), we headed to a great Thai food restaurant I had read about called Little Spice. It was amazing and the white wine was appreciated too. After dinner we drove to the Cherry Creek Campground where we were staying with all the family in the "Abigail Adams" cabin. This was a large three story house with a big deck. We enjoyed being with family and then retreated to our very cold (but very private), basement room.
Friday we rose early (when you are in the basement, you can hear footsteps in the morning), and got ready to head into D.C. We took the metro in with Martha and Clark and nearly melted in the 100 degree plus five million percent humidity as we walked to the air and space museum. I had voted for the American History museum, but the boys outvoted me three to one. They loved the museum and I found it interesting. I spent some quality time on my new iphone when they planes got a bit too much looking for places for lunch and I found a great recommendation for the restaurant in the American Indian museum next door. The food was indeed delicious and it was nice to spend time with Martha and Clark there. After lunch we melted some more as we walked back to the metro station, though the Good Humor man showed up halfway through and offered Michael and the boys some free ice cream!
By the time we made it home we were all suffering from the heat. The kids tried to play outside in the little blow up wading pool with their so-sweet and spunky cousin Harper, but eventually gave up in the heat. We took cold showers and laid in our cool basement until everyone else got back from their exploring and we met up again upstairs for taco night. After dinner the kids put on their traditional talent show. It was probably my favorite part of the whole reunion. Michael's youngest cousin Mason was the MC and did a fabulous job. The kids were precious and all the grownups enjoyed them. Davis demonstrated his balance as his talent and Sam pretended to be a zhuzhu pet.
Saturday morning we breakfasted early and headed over to the adult-only "Martha Washington" house for the traditional family meeting. We sat in a circle and shared what's been going on in our lives. I love this part and enjoyed the meeting. We broke for lunch and then all headed out for the Cherry Creek Park pool. The kids splashed and played for a couple of hours and then we came home and got ready for "friends and family" night. We all had matching reunion t-shirts and everyone looked great. After a slow start to the evening, (car drama and late arriving guests), the party began. There was a great-looking bbq spread on the buffet (I had to have some grocery store sushi alas, stupid allergies) and lots of friends came. We took family photos and ate and chatted. We put the kids bed late again after some fun with glow sticks and heard lots of fun and singing even after we'd gone down to bed ourselves.
Sunday morning was traditional family brunch and the traditional family sing-a-long. It was fun to watch the kids learn the family songs and to hear the beautiful Walter voices. Note to self- next time practice the songs ahead of time. After that the official Walter reunion was over, though lots of family was staying through Monday. We climbed in the car Martha and Clark and drove to Arlington to spend the afternoon with Michael's cousin Marti, her family and the rest of the Miers side of the family. They had a very cute townhome and we all had a great time. The boy cousins played, went to their community pool and Sam fell in love with their Star Wars toys. Marti made a great dinner on the grill with a great bonus for me of having almost everything on the buffet being something I could eat! It was so nice and delicious and a real treat. I really enjoyed spending time with this side of the family and it was extra special since we don't get to see them very often.
Sunday night we sat around in the living room of our Walter reunion cottage and visited with the cousins and aunts and uncles who were still there. We stayed up late and had some laughs and told stories.
Monday we cleaned up, packed, hit the wonderful Little Spice thai food restaurant again and then caught our plane home. It was wonderful to be in our own home again. We've had lots of travel this summer!
The rest of this week I have spent frantically trying to catch up! I worked getting my mom and dad ready to leave for Canada and just catching up around home. Soon I will let you know some exciting future travel plans we have made around here this week as well.

Protect Two from the Flu

2011-07-26T15:07:00.001-05:00

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 vaccinate expectant mothers.

Flu Facts

- If you are expecting, you should get the flu vaccine. Pregnant women must get the injectible form of the vaccine. Pregnant women are advised not to get the nasal spray.

- The flu vaccine protects you and your baby from the flu. Antibodies can be passed on to your unborn baby and help protect your baby for up to six months after birth. This is important because babies cannot get the flu vaccine until they are six months old.

- Millions of flu vaccines have been given to pregnant women for many years. The flu vaccines are made the same way each year, and their safety is closely monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Protection as well as the Food and Drug Administration.

- You can get the flu vaccine at any time, during any trimester, while you are pregnant. A flu vaccine is necessary to help protect you and your baby.

- You can breastfeed your baby if you have received the flu vaccine. Antibodies may be passed in breast milk and will help protect your baby from the flu.

- By mid-November last year, nearly half of the pregnant women in the U.S., 18 and older, had already received the flu vaccine. This means that more than 50 percent of the pregnant women in the U.S. still need to get the flu vaccine to help protect them and their unborn babies from the flu.

- Catching the flu while pregnant puts both you and your baby at risk for some serious complications.

Everybody is trying Something New around here.

2011-07-26T12:55:00.005-05:00

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 to stop jumping.
This week my parents have flown off to Taos to look for a vacation house there to buy! We are all very excited about this development. I am cleaning and packing and getting ready for our trip to Washington, DC for Michael's family reunion. We'll be gone for five days. If you live in the area and want to meet up, or have some good suggestions of things to do with the kids, please let me know. I haven't been to DC since I was a kid so it'll be a new experience for all of us.
Michael has thrown away my bathroom scale for my mental health and I am enjoying the freedom from it. I have been a slave to the scale for all of my adult life and have always let it dictate whether I was going to have a good day or a bad day. Since I began taking my new medication for my lady problems, I have put on some weight and so the scale has been dictating that every day is a bad day. This is no way to live. Apparently my husband figured it was no way to live either and so he has hidden it. I have decided to continue to eat clean and vegan, continue my running and weight lifting routine six days a week and buy slightly bigger pants so I am no longer haunted by a muffin top. Hopefully, if I do all these things I can let go my obsession with my body image and focus on being happy and healthy.
We are also fighting with our house. Turns out our roof is a lemon. The beautiful tile was never put on correctly and the brief three minutes of rain we had last week came through places in our roof it's not supposed to come through. We are going to find out this week is we can just fix it or if we have to get a new roof.
And tiny little sugar ants have invaded our home. I'm cleaning out drawers and cabinets and shelves and putting our more poison than I want to. Let me know if you have any good remedies. Every day we wake up to find a new swarm in a new area of our kitchen.

8th Anniversary, Talent Show, Karaoke Night

2011-07-23T11:03:00.005-05:00

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 them so happy to see each other after over a month apart.
Friday was the talent show day at the kids' camp. Sam demonstrated karate again and Davis showed off his roller skating skills. He performed with his good friend Rowan and they were both so proud. After the talent show we went up the Jumpy Place for a playdate with Violet and Graham. They had a terrific time and wore themselves out. I drove them home and cooked a yummy dinner of veggie burgers and coconut curry sweet potato fries. I loved them so much I want to marry them. I will post the recipe soon.
And then Miss Anna came over to babysit and Michael and I went over to my parents' house for karaoke night. My cousins Manie and Lilly came with two of their friends and my aunt and uncle and Stacey and Chris. We had a great time. I sang some new songs and enjoyed singing with everybody and watching how everyone got into the songs. It was a blast. I paced myself well and felt good this morning- always a bonus. This morning I went for a run and then Michael and I cleaned the house. This afternoon we are headed for the Highball to bowl with my sister to celebrate her birthday. Good times!

Lady Bird Lake Bat Float and More

2011-07-18T08:48:00.002-05:00

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 potluck on the dock. Davis' long lost friend Evie came with her dad and all the kids had a splendid time. Rob tuned up with his band, Out of the Blue on a floating raft and Michael and the boys and I climbed into a canoe. Davis was a bit sad that he couldn't be in the canoe with Evie and Violet, but he managed to still have a fabulous time. We paddled a mile and a half out to the Congress Street bridge and shortly after we arrived, the bats poured out. They came out fast and the whole thing was over in about eight minutes, but there were so many of them! It was really cool to be under the bridge and hear their chirping before they came out and then see them just fill the sky. We sat for a little longer listening to Rob's bluegrass, letting the kids sing along and watching the sunset.
Then I realized we still had to paddle back. While the evening had perfect until then, this is when I was done, but I was still a mile and a half away from the dock. A mile and a half is a very long way when you are rowing. And done. Which I was. And so were Michael and the boys. The sunset was beautiful and the music was good, but I was so glad to finally see the lights of the dock ahead in the darkness. We didn't get home until ten and we all fell into bed and slept immediately.
On Sunday we decided that other than a necessary grocery store run, we wouldn't leave the ranch. We relaxed and puttered around the house and got stuff done. We went swimming at my mom's house and played with the kids. I cooked and cooked and cooked some more. I made waffles and homemade tomato basil soup and marinades and chocolate chip cookies and eggplant tomato casseroles and coconut red beans and rice and pork two ways. Michael did a science project with the kids and we just enjoyed being together. It was a nice day.

Hard Week

2011-07-15T17:06:00.003-05:00

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 been in camp all week and they seem to like it mostly. The boys and I met up with Cheris and her kids at the jumpy house on Wednesday and we had a great time catching up. I drove out to New Braunfels to spend some time with Stacey and Chris and their kids on their summer vacation. Chris and my boys jumped off a tall rock into the river. I was both terrified and impressed. They declined to do it twice. And today the kids did a cute little talent show at camp where Davis demonstrated how to make a paper airplane and Sam showed off his karate skills (of which he has none, but he doesn't know that so it was very cute). And Michael and I made up and made a fabulous plan for our anniversary next week.
And most importantly, I am going to quit this stupid shake diet and go have some Mexican food. And then I feel like maybe my whole world will get better.

First Week Back

2011-07-11T14:09:00.005-05:00

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. This was their second movie theatre experience after a failed attempt two years ago when we tried to see UP. Ever since then Davis has declined any offer to see a movie at the theater. This time, however, they loved it. They had popcorn and put on their 3-D glasses and sat quietly through every moment. It was a win.
When the movie was over we threw on our swimsuits and met Tiffany and Kade and mom and dad at the pool for a pool party and hamburgers. We all had a great time.
Sunday we went to church and enjoyed the best service we've attended yet. It was all about staying in the now and not putting off things that you could do now. After church I made us all lunch (well not me, since I'm cleansing again- shakes and greens- yuck), and then we picked up Tiff and Kade and went to rent tubes at the Lions Club so we could tube down the San Marcos river. The kids had never been before and we were excited to share the tubing experience with them. We got tubes with bottoms in them for our boys and they liked that. They got hot though and I think they were a bit bored. They kept asking when we might hit some rapids. They didn't understand the just lazing and floating bit. I think beer really adds to the whole experience and so they just can't understand it properly till they are 21. Still we all had fun and they said they loved it so there is that.
Today they started church camp. I pick them up at 3:30 and we'll see if they love it. I hope so since I signed them up for three weeks of it.
We also had a big ranch fire again this morning. The fire department came out and put it out and left, but it flared up again this afternoon and they had to come back out. This drought is so bad.
I've been spending my evenings catching up on reality tv and searching the internet for next year's summer vacation. Really all I want to do is go back to Villa Pia. I can't believe it's over.

Paris Continued

2011-07-05T19:50:00.003-05:00

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 mall and made our way to the Medieval Louvre exhibit and the Egyptian Artifacts Hall. There were so many people! And it was so crowded and big! And I felt like cattle. I have decided that I don't love big tourist attractions. Especially crowded museum-like ones and even more especially with two small children.
We busted out of there and headed for lunch. We were starving. We found an amazing restaurant by luck called Lu Roc which was fabulous. It was the best food we had in Paris. I had beautiful salmon and salad and french fries and harticot verts. And we had two bottles of French chardonnay. It definitely improved our mood.
When we had finished eating, we strolled out into the Tuilleries. We rode the Paris Ferris wheel and let the kids do lots of carnival rides. I did a hilarious fun house with them and they fell in love with bumper cars. We shared a nutella/banana crepe and then walked some more. We ended up in our room for a happy hour where we shared a bottle of wine we got in Italy. Then we cleaned up and went back to Rue Cler for our final Parisian dinner. After a palate cleanser of gelato we hugged and kissed and went back to our hotels for our last night.
We woke early this morning and caught a taxi by 7:30AM. We traveled and traveled. Our flight was hard since Air France is striking and we got a crappy plane with not good seats. We finally got home around 7PM which is 2AM for us. Davis had not slept at all and Sam had only slept for about an hour and a half. They went right down.
It's 8 now and I'm about to follow them. My hands are shaking I'm so tired. I'll get the pictures up tomorrow and recap the whole thing. XO, and welcome me home, Amber

Arriving in Paris

2011-07-02T14:54:00.004-05:00

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 laundromat across the street and I plan to be there first thing tomorrow.
we were very disheartened at this point, but I rallied us and we all headed out for lunch around two. Then we walked towards the Eiffel tower to make the boy's dreams come true. We were all gazing up to catch a glimpse of the tower when Sam walked straight into a metal post and gave himself a huge, purple goose egg on his head. the noise he made thunking into it drew spectators who all shouted advice in French. we ran to the nearest ice cream shop and got him ice for his head and ice cream for his belly. then we made our way back towards the Eiffel tower. The kids loved it. They were so excited. After we walked under and around it, we jumped on a river boat cruise down the Seine. we walked home throughout the park and came home exhausted. the kids rested and then we went out for dinner. I had found this great, inexpensive basque restaurant with great reviews two minutes from our hotel, but when we arrived it was booked solid. we Ate Thai food instead.
At this point we were all a bit down and tired. We walked back to the hotel in a bit of a funk when my mom called and announced they had just gotten to the hotel. we grabbed a bottle of wine we had bought in Italy at the olive oil mill and took it up to their room to share it. We we so happy to see them. The kids were existing on pure fumes at that point and were crazy, but we had a great time catching up.
we finally got the kids in bed by nine, though they didn't go to sleep till ten. they say they want to stay up to watch the Eiffel tower light up when it gets dark. you can see the top bit of the tower if you lean out our window so we have promised to bring them in our room in the middle of the night to see it.
so tomorrow hopefully will be better. We have to enjoy it right? we're in the city of lights!

Arezzo

2011-07-01T01:41:00.003-05:00

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. They served us a huge platter of carpaccio covered in salad and fresh marinated olives and then I had a bowl of tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms and Michael had gnocchi with truffles. The Kids had spinach and ricotta filled ravioli and Michael and I shared a half liter of chianti. Several of our friends from Villa Pia joined us and we had a lovely time.
We came home and put the kids down and snagged a bottle of wine from the fridge. We curled up in bed with our wine and kindles and called it a perfect evening.
We plan to visit an olive oil maker this morning. The kids will take a cooking class this afternoon while we pack and as soon as children's dinner is over we will drive to Arezzo where we will drop off our car, catch a train to Florence and there, catch a night train to Paris where we will continue our adventure. Our night train doesn't leave until 22:12, so wish us some not too cranky children will you?
It is going to be so hard to leave this place.

Cotta di Castelllo

2011-06-30T02:04:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we drove about half an hour in a new direction to Citta di Castello. We visited a gorgeous museum and saw some great frescos and art including a famous Raphael paintin, though the religious depictions of saints being tortured made Davis a bit uncomfortable. Our kids spent the whole time at the museum as their alter egos, "whiney mcwhiner" and "endless questions" and both kids ended up in a huge fit so we didn't finish the museum and instead headed for the nearest gelateria for ice cream. Michael got a bit frustrated, but after a break, the kids calmed down and we moved on to an old farmhouse museum. The kids were interested even thought it was very hot by then it was getting close to lunch time. We found it interesting as well to see how they lived hundreds of years ago.
We came home for lunch and then headed straight to the pool where the kids played with their new best friend, Big Sam. After a couple of hours Big sam's parents and Michael and I dropped the kids off with a sitter in the courtyard and wandered up to the barn to take a yoga class. It was not a good work out, but it was very relaxing. Then we gave the children supper and put them to bed.
For the cocktail hour, Michael and I ordered a lovely bottle of local prossecco (the thing to drink here) and visited with all our new friends. We made our way to the table and had a fabulous night, laughing, really getting to know our friends and holding hands under the table. It is so romantic here.

Sansepolcro

2011-06-27T09:23:00.006-05:00

Another long, fun filled dinner last night. We are making good friends here. we had an eggplant appetizer, a vodka, sausage pasta dish, saltimbocca and then grandmother's cake. Michael and I managed not to get too boozed up this time by alternating each glass of wine with a glass of water. When we got back to the room I chatted with my mom and dad on the phone. They are having a great time in Spain.
the kids woke up way too early this morning and that combined with the fact that Davis didn't fall asleep till ten has made him feel and act a bit rough today. Still, we've had a good day.
We spent the morning in Sansepolcro at their weekly market. I bought some truffles and the kids got some water guns for the pool and Michael got a very fine pair of black Italian shoes at a great shop near the market. this is what he has been wanting as his souvenir from Europe and we were happy to find a pair he loves.
WE poked around in an old church and walked through the walled city before we headed back to Villa PIa for lunch. This afternoon we spent almost three hours at the pool. I swam laps for along time and it felt good to get some exercise. I feel like I've put on five pounds in the last week.
I'm sitting on a hillside over looking the valley and watching Sam on the tube slide while I type this. In a minute Michael will switch with me and I'll go inside to use the Internet and research some more day trips. It is so wonderful to see Michael really relaxing here and becoming so much more easy going. This is such great place for all of us. Sam just asked me if we can stay here ten more days.

Anghieri and an Italian cooking class.

2011-06-27T09:23:00.005-05:00

This morning the kids woke up early and we put a movie on for the and dozed for another hour. The family style dinners here don't end until 11, but the kids still wake up around 6:30. After we finally got up we had a quick breakfast and loaded into the car for an adventure into the Italian countryside. WE drove into Anghieri (about 15 minutes away) knowing nothing much about it except for the fact that there were supposed to be spectacular views of the Tiber River valley.
We first stopped at a playground above the city overlooking the valley. Then we drove down a beautiful narrow street city that led straight into the valley and was surrounded on both sides by a medieval village. the town is in the middle of a festival celebrating their great battle of 1440. It was decked out in banners and their were flowers everywhere. We bough postcards, toured a museum of the history of the Tiber River and went to a wine shop where we tasted and purchased some Italian wines. We also found a gift shop and bought Sam a toy since he has been begging for one since we got here. Davis chose a model of a Vespa, of which Michael greatly approved, but Sam chose a western style six shooter. oh well, it made him happy.
We returned to the villa in time for another fabulous lunch and then we chatted with some of our new friends until time for our classes. The boys and their new friend "big" Sam went up to take an art class and Michael and I donned aprons to take a cooking class. there were four of us in our class and two instructors one of whom spoke English.
We learned to make fresh tagliatelle, ravioli with sage and butter sauce, gnocchi with truffle sauce, pizza, fried zucchini blossoms, eggplant Parmesan,and a grandmother's cake. It was so fun and a great experience to share with Michael. the kids loved their art class as well and enjoyed trying the food we made.
Now we'll read a bit before children's supper. We have met so many nice people and look forward to another boost gourmet dinner with all of our British friends.

Villa Pia

2011-06-26T09:47:00.003-05:00

I'm in heaven. this place is pretty much perfect. Yesterday we sat on a hill with the children playing with new friends below, a gorgeous sweeping valley below and a glass of wine and my kindle by my side. the kids went right to bed after the children's supper and our evening grown up meal was fabulous. We had four courses and the wine flowed. almost everyone here is British and it is so fun to talk with everyone and learn about how they do things.
Our second story apartment is framed with jasmine growing up the walls and the smell drifts in through the open windows in the evening.
today I asked the boys what they would like to do today and they told me they would just like to stay here and not travel. so that is what we are doing. We spent the morning playing with friends at the tube slide and dressing up in costumes from the costume box in the toy room. We had another amazing lunch and then we spent three hours at the pool which has a trampoline on one side and a sand pit on the other. the pool is a bit cool for my boys (it's about 84 degrees here but it is cold at night), and it is way too cold for me. the kids have found that the small barrel where you can dunk children to get the sand off is warm and so we have dubbed it the " Texan hot tub". they lounge in there while the other British kids swim in the real pools.
Michael and I are enjoying reading our " Game of thrones" books on our kindles and mostly enjoying the gorgeous views and the relaxing atmosphere.
Michael was distressed to find out that the vespa museum he really wanted to visit if 2.5 hours away. we are still undecided if we will make the trek. I am ignoring my food allergies and eating almost everything they out in front of me. the food really is amazing here. I'll diet when I get home.

Overnight trip to Italy

2011-06-25T06:30:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we went in search of boulders to climb. we were unsuccessful though we managed to convince the kids that a few big rocks were boulders..They were underwhelmed. Then we went out for a fantastic French lunch in Fontainebleau at an old house called el Patton. we had three courses and it took two hours. We ate on the terrace and the kids played In the garden.
After lunch we packed up the car and drove to the Fontainebleau train station where we dropped off the car and took a train to Paris. there we rook a taxi to a different train station and after a forty minute delay, boarded our overnight train to Florence, Italy. we had our own little compartment with sliding door, Harry Potter style. We ate a yucky sandwich and pringles washed down by a nice rose we smuggled in. then we converted our seats to bunk beds and tried to convince the kids to sleep. this took a couple of hours but eventually we all slept until about 7AM. This was the hard part of the trip. Michael has made great progress in rolling with the punches and dealing with the unknown with grace, but yesterday was a bit of a struggle for him. all in all though, we got through it and our night went very smoothly.
We switched trains to Arezzo after a bit of confusion and eventually found a place for all of us and our luggage. At the train station on Arezzo we got our rental car (an Ibiza) and made the 30minute drive to Lippiano and the place where we are staying, Villa Pia. if you have a minute, stop and go to trip advisor and look up Villa Pia. It is amazing.
we drove up a winding road, over a bridge marking the border between tuscany and umbria, past a small piazza and fountain until we came through the gates of our villa sitting under a castle. The courtyard was full of children. It is so beautiful here. So bright and warm and clear. It is just like that movie Stealing Beauty. we are over looking a valley full of grape vines. when we arrived we helped ourselves to home grown wine and then explored Villa Pia. the kids rode ikes and jumped on the trampoline and made friends and played on the swing set. then we checked out the pool, tennis court and treehouse. everyone here has children and almost everyone is British. It is so nice to speak English. Then they rang the dinner bell. all the families made their way to a building opening into the courtyard where there was a massive buffet lined up with over twenty dishes including my ultimate Italian favorite, fried zucchini blossoms.
when lunch was over most of the people left since your stay here is Saturday to Saturday and official check in time isn't until four. we were shown our fabulous little two bedroom apartment on the far side of the courtyard called the annex. We love it here.
I'm curled on the couch with a glass of wine writing this while Michael is up with the boys in the game room teaching our costumed boys how to play foosball.
Children's dinner is at six and then we put the kids down and have communal dinner at eight. I wish so much that I could share pictures with you on face ook, but we are traveling separately from my parents now and so I am separated from the doohicky which allows me to download pictures to the iPod. I'll add pictures later.
Let me know what you'd like to hear more about. wishing our friends were here to share this. XO!

Provins

2011-06-24T01:29:00.003-05:00

Yesterday at breakfast, we all decided to go on a day trip. I looked on line for medieval castles and found the ancient city of proving was only an hour away. Proving is a UNESCO world heritage site and is an old city that still functions that you can tour. there is an old fort, church and underground tunnels as well as an amazing wall that runs around the city. They also have a GREAT show with all sorts of jousting and knights and a love story and animals including real wolves, a camel, pigs, geese and goats. we watched the show with about three hundred French school children and it made it so much fun to watch it with their energy. It was way better than any show I've seen at a renaissance fair. We ate lunch in a cafe in the city and an English gentleman joined our table and gave us a history lesson on the town. It was really interesting.
After several hours of walking t he city we all stopped for ice cream and then headed back for our cars. My little family was exhausted so we walked down the hill to Sorcerie and had a quick supper while the kids played on the playscape. Tiff and Keith went back to the festival with mom and dad so Michael and I put the Kade and our boys down and read until bedtime.
today we will go bouldering and pack and then get on a train for Paris where we will switch stations and catch a night train for Italy.

Django Festival

2011-06-23T02:32:00.003-05:00

We decided to spend the day at home yesterday. I cooked up a huge lunch just for the fun of it. I made pasta and seafood and merguez sausages and harticot verts and roasted broccoli and cauliflower.
The kids slashed through the rain and got very muddy and loved every minute of it. Michael and I read our books and lazed around.
In the evening Mom stayed with the kids and dad and Michael and I drove across the river to the Django festival. we bought tickets, waited in line and were thrilled to enter the festival. We got cups of dry rose wine for two euros a glass and a big plate of paella. Vendor food in France is amazing! As we ate we chatted with some other travelers. we took our seats in the bleachers in the third row. the first act we saw was Antoine Boyer a thirteen year old who was amazing. Tiff and Keith joined us at the end of that act. We dashed off for French fries (fried in duck fat!) and more wine and all enjoyed the second act. There was a great stand up bass and the artist played true Django music.
We abandoned the music at that point and after a short stop for an ice cream cone we headed home.
it was so awesome. I love gypsy jazz.

Family Meeting and Fontainebleau Dinner

2011-06-22T01:50:00.003-05:00

We spent yesterday with the whole family at the villa holding our annual meeting. We had a good time and also had some meaningful conversations.
after a full day of being cooped up inside, the sun came out and so did we. The whole family tumbled outside for a rousing game of kickball which I thoroughly enjoyed until Michael forgot we weren't throwing the ball to get people out and smashed the ball hard into my face hurting my nose. He was, of course, extremely apologetic, but I took it as a sign that I just was not made for sports.
The game was fun to watch though. when it was over, we drove into Fontainebleau for dinner. It took a while to find a restaurant serving dinner at 6, but eventually we found one in a plaza right in front of an awesome carousel. the kids took two rides and loved it. We had delicious food and Kade and Davis tried escargot. Davis didn't love it, but that may have something to do with the fact that Davis has decided not to eat any meat anymore. He is a full fledged vegetarian and won't let any meat or fish cross his lips. Sam Sussex out of trying but wants another try later. I sampled the escargot and it was excellent. Kade agreed.
We drove home after dinner through some sort of big concert and then had a huge battle getting the kids down. Michael and Keith and mom and dad played bocce ball on the lawn while Tiff and I got the kids down. It was a lovely evening with warm sun and no rain.
It's about 59 degrees this morning and raining again. I don't mind. I'll be happy to curl up with my book. Tiff and fam have gone back to Paris today. We 'll explore around here today and this evening, mom and dad are babysitting so we can go to the first night of the Django Reinhardt festival. I 'm so excited. I still can't get pictures up here yet, but they are on my facebook page and I'll add them here when we get home.

France-Vulaines-Sur Seine

2011-06-21T00:27:00.003-05:00

We are having a fabulous time here in France. the kids did great on our flight over. They each got about four hours of sleep on the plane and never napped the next day until bedtime (neither did we), but we all still kept in great spirits and enjoyed the moment. They fell asleep that night around 6 and slept the next day until 9 and have been on our regular sleeping schedule ever since.
Our villa is a beautiful old house that was truly once a grand dame and has now fallen in disrepair. We love it and think it is very charming. It is old and creaky and so cool, with three stories of hidden rooms under the eaves, and doors leading to hidden rooms. It reminds me of those books where they have weekend hours parties on the weekend and everyone dressed up in costumes and played games. the lawn is huge and has two resident ducks that are like pets and provide endless amusement. There is a tennis court and swing set and secret fort and the kids have found bicycles which Michael has repaired.
The weather is very cool and rainy. We never take our hoodies off, but the rain is a soft, gentle kind and we just keep on through it.
our first day here we just settled in, had lunch (moules and frites!) did a little grocery shopping and relaxed. Our second day, Tiff and fam went in to Paris on the train, while Mom and Dad and my clan drove across the Seine (about five minutes) to Samois Sur Seine where the Django Reinhardt festival will be held. We walked along the Seine and looked at barges and had a beautiful lunch in a restaurant decorated in Django memorabilia. Then we made a pilgrammage to Django's house and then explored the island where the festival will be held. these little towns are tiny and almost everything is walking distance. we've even found a little restaurant down the hill with a playscape called Sorcierre which will be our local hangout while we are here.
yesterday Michael and did some more grocery shopping with the boys and then had lunch in Fontainebleau with Tiff and Keith and Kade.
we met mom and Dad at Chateau Fontainebleau and we all did an audio tour of the palace. It was really amazing and so beautiful. the kids did well, but we were glad to head back to the villa and let them play outside while we drank French boxed wine and made a simple salad for our dinners. I put the kids down and played with Kade on the lawn before heading up to take a hot bath and read.
The house is quiet and cool this morning as I type this and it is raining again. today we will have our meeting and then maybe go do some boulder climbing in the forest if the rain clears. I haven't figured out yet how to add pictures from the iPad, but I will continue to work on it.

Kid Cuteness

2011-06-16T20:15:00.004-05:00

There is some serious cuteness going on around here. Davis has been cute too, but I've caught Sam on camera. Enjoy and goodnight!

Summer Fun

2011-06-15T13:38:00.003-05:00

We've been having a great summer around here in between all these vacations. The kids have spent their days at Miss Annie's while Michael and I work, which they love and in the afternoons and evenings we've done lots of fun things together.
We've gone out with our friends to celebrate Zach's birthday. We also went up to Cheris and Rob's house for a great Sunday visit.
The boys got new bikes that fit each of them well and Sam has fallen head over heels in love with riding. It makes Davis so happy to have a buddy on a bike and they both have endless fun on their new bikes.
Sam and Davis have also watched the first Star Wars movie and think it's totally awesome. This was a big deal for Michael to share Star Wars with his kids and he is enjoying their enthusiasm. I bought some little star wars figures for the kids' carry-ons and I think they'll be thrilled.
I did lay leading at our church and presented my first reflection which was nerve wracking but fun all the same.
We've also continued our weekly ranch happy hours and spent lots of time in the pool with our friends.
Good times around here!

Hot And Dry

2011-06-15T08:17:00.003-05:00

It's so hot here. I make the kids go out and play at 7:30AM and they come in complaining of the heat by 8:15AM. They want to ride their bikes in the afternoon, but after five minutes they come in melting underneath their helmets. I've had to make a rule of no playing outside if the temp is over 100 degrees.
There is also no rain. No rain, no rain. We are in a severe drought. Already the grass is brown and the ground is cracked. The ponds are drying up and the river is low.
And we had no spring this year. Just hot wind and no rain.
Michael and I are going to start watering our foundation in the hopes that our house doesn't crack like it did year before last.
Thank goodness my mom and dad have a pool and we are allowed to use it. It has made the afternoons bearable. It feels so nice to splash around and be cool for an hour or so every once in a while. And thank goodness we got a new airconditioning unit last spring. It has made this year so much better.
And most of all, thank goodness we are leaving on Friday! The forecast for France shows a high of 71 degrees most days and a low of 58 with partly cloudy skies. Ahhhh.
Cannot wait!

The Tony Awards

2011-06-13T07:37:00.002-05:00

They were so good last night! I love Neil Patrick Harris. He is the best award show host ever. His duet with Hugh Jackman was my favorite part. Go youtube it.
Michael and I sat on the couch and made a night of it. we had so much fun! Those people truly put on the best awards show out there. Of course they do, they are used to bringing it live.
In the past I have mentioned the Tony's being a bit bittersweet for me because they reminded me of paths not taken. Well, that was not true this year. They were sweet from beginning to end (except for the Spiderman number which was extremely sour). Michael and I are so excited that we have tickets to see The Book of Mormon in August. We can't wait!
Much love to the Tony's! Can't believe so many people missed it to watch basketball, but to each their own. I guess. Suckers! You missed an awesome show!