Living in Munchkinland

I wake up in the morning ready for the day. I leap out of bed, dress the kids, make the coffee, empty the dishwasher, make breakfasts, pack two lunches and then sit down to have coffee and return emails all before 8AM. I feel productive and full of energy. I can sweep through the house and clean, dream up parties I want to throw and schedule playdates and fun. I run non stop all day long, organizing, reaching out, playing, working. But by evening I am tired. Around four I start dragging. And by the time 6:30 rolls around, cleaning up the kitchen after dinner and putting the boys down for bed is downright exhausting. So after the boys are in bed at seven I close down shop. I may lie on the couch and talk to my husband, but other than I am done. I leave the kids rooms, turn on the monitors and head for my room. I slip on my pajamas and fuzzy socks, pour a glass of wine and curl up on the couch by a fire with remote or book in hand. Michael almost always has to work in the PM and...

I've thrown my back out. And it hurts. A lot. I can't put my own socks on. But I am still happy because I got to spend a long weekend with my wonderful friend, Katie and her little bug, Soren. We all had a fabulous time. We played on the ranch, had a playdate party with some of my favorite people, had a delicious dinner with Marchelle, went to McKenna Children's museum, and enjoyed lots of couch sitting and talking and red wine drinking and good south beach meal eating. Davis and Soren are still great friends and Sam got to spend quality time with his Godmother. It was great. I would write more but my back is KILLING me and holding the computer hurts. Here are some pictures. I love you so much Katie!!!!!! XXOO, Amber

That's what's going on around here. We've been prioritizing and getting our ducks in a row. Having a limited budget really makes you think about your choices. We've had to decide what is really important to us. We care what we put in our bodies. We can cut our grocery bill- but only to a point. Organic dairy stays and so do whole grains and non processed foods. We care about Davis and Sam's education. We decided to take Sam out of his MDO, even though we love it there, so we can save the money for his tuition at the Montessori school next year. We care about travel. We will save enough to make weekend trips and possibly a summer vacation too. Everything else is cut. We were planning a big vacation to Cancun with all our friends this fall, and now I think it isn't going to happen. I just can't conjure the money up while the market stays so far down. There's always Port A! We've also cut down on all babysitters except for our broadway ticket ...

So it's Mid January and I need to post something. Let me fill you in. 1. We had a wonderful post Christmas weekend with Martha and Clark last weekend. We had a tree and everything. I got a new mandoline and I promised Michael I wouldn't slice my finger off again. Michael got a Wii so there should be even more gaming going on than usual. 2. I'm single parenting this week while Michael is doing a wireless site survey in Maryland. So far he's had home cooked dinners with an old college buddy and her family, his cousin and her family, another cousin from the other side of his family and her husband and tomorrow will have lunch with another old college friend. 3. I finally convinced Michael to read the Twilight series with me and we are having a great time doing it together. 4. The kids are great. They've been healthy for two weeks in a row and are smart and fun and I'm really enjoying them. 5. I'm staying really busy with some really wonderful friends ...

We just got back from the beach. It was so much fun. It was a bit chilly and windy and foggy, but it was also not crowded, had clean beaches and because of the wind and chill, the humidity was okay. We found lots of ways to enjoy the winter beach weather. We flew a kite and let the kids chase the tail until we all fell down laughing. We went on a family bike ride all over the town and ended at a fantastic little cafe called the Phoenix. We played in the sand and built sand castles and knocked them down and ran in the water till the kids lips turned blue. We cooked dinner every night and drank lots of good red wine. We played at a park on the sea when it was so foggy you couldn't see the ferry boats that honked their horns right next to you as they ferried passengers back and forth. We watched a great movie. It was a really nice trip. XXOO, Amber

2008 was a big year for us. 2008 was the year of the move. From Austin to our forever home on a ranch in San Marcos where I grew up. A year where I built new routines and met many new faces and started a new life in a new town. 2008 was the year of the 50's housewife, where I focused in on my family and my home. Where I kept the kids happy and entertained and stimulated without any childcare for almost nine months. Where I cooked three to five meals a day and at least three of them were south beach friendly. Where I volunteered at the kids schools and went on playdates and made sure the weekends were full of fun for my family. Where I set up a routine for keeping my house clean and picked up and where we worked hard outside to create a fun place for our children to be. Where I set up a budget and worked very hard to stay within it. 2008 was the year my children became playmates. And they do love each other. They play all day long and mope when the other one is missing. 200...

He learned to ride his bike! Ever since we went to the Bastrop Lost Pines Resort and saw a three year old boy riding his bicycle without training wheels, Davis has wanted to be able to do that. He explained to me that training wheels would just slow him down and he wanted to be fast! So Santa brought him a new bike sans training wheels. It took Davis four days and some determination and practice on all of our parts, but he's got it! We rode to the mail box and gate yesterday and again today. He didn't fall once today and had a great time. I'm getting a super duper work out as I run flat our while pushing the stroller all over the ranch. I can't keep up! I hope you enjoy the video. We're all really proud.