God Bless Texas

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's celebration! We most certainly did. It started with R's preschool party, during which she got copious amounts of candy and lots of little trinkets. None of which I provided for the kids (just cards). Ooops, times have changed! The next day, we dashed around town to deliver a few V-day goodies. Then we headed out to the ranch for a glorious afternoon and a (mainly) chill evening. It was a perfect, warm afternoon in Texas. Sunny, 80 degrees and just wonderful. Of course, Valentine's Day itself was a totally different story as we woke up to 40 degrees. But hey, enjoy it while you can. I actually have very clear memories of laying out on V Day as a preteen. So after a long walk with Papa Mike, we all changed into our suits and pretended it was springtime.
Reese actually got into the pool. Trust me, that water was FREEZING!!!


Lots of goofin' around....

The view from the pool. So relaxing....

Greta chilling out after a very long and hot walk. She was pretty exhausted. Later in the evening, she wandered into the garage and stepped on some of that sticky mousetrap paper. That was the only non-chill moment of the evening. That dog can screech like you wouldn't believe! But Papa cut it off of her and she is just fine. Lesson learned. Maybe.

Two buddies playing.

Happy, happy, happy!


Along with the amazing unseasonably warm delightful weather, we got to see a really beautiful sunset. I think the most amazing sunsets are in Texas, no contest. The sky is so big, the weather changes so frequently, and the lighting is amazing. But don't take my word for it. These pics are from my really basic digital camera, too--WOW!

Aaaaah. The perfect end to a great day.

Let them eat (cup)cake

We are deep in the midst of preparing for the big preschool Valentine's Day par-tay tomorrow. And by "we," I mean ME, naturally! Somehow, I ended up volunteering (actually, being volunteered by R's teachers) to bring the cupcakes. All the paper goods were spoken for! So I have been baking, frosting and attempting to form M&M hearts on the cupcakes this evening. So here are the cupcakes--you can tell they are hearts, yes? Yes?--plus the two extra ccs that don't fit in there, and R's cards. This does not include her backpack and lunchbox, plus other various accoutrements that she takes on a daily basis. I have already told D that I will be needing his assistance in hauling all of this tomorrow.

In the meantime, R has been lounging in front of a movie, licking the bowl....

Ah, the lazy days of youth....

And since she refuses to relinquish said bowl, Greta has been banished to her pin.

PLEASE SET ME FREE!!! :)


I am doing much, much better than I was last week. I didn't mean to be overly dramatic--it was all just really raw then. It's been amazing to find out how many of you have been through this (almost everyone!) and also has been really helpful to hear kind words and some stories. Thank you to everyone.
So here are a few pics from the past two or so weeks...
My parents returned from Hawaii and brought us leis. This one was hung on the door and ended up resembling a heart....and made the house smell amazing for a few days as well.

Reese got some gifts from Hawaii...a grass skirt...

And a swimsuit that was clearly one of those vacay impulse buys that you regret...my parents were telling us to get rid of it almost as soon as they gave it to her. I think we will do just that.

Reese really enjoyed Gigi's visit two weeks ago, and so did we. Gigi and my aunts helped us out so much, and it was really nice to have Gigi in town.

But at some point, a girl has had enough. No more paparazzi, please!


So we are prepared for the school festivities tomorrow. If I remember, I will post a pic of her all dolled up for V-Day. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Picking up the pieces

I've obviously been avoiding the blog lately. I've kind of been avoiding a lot of "daily life" during the past several days.
I've debated whether to blog about this or not, and I decided I will make this a pretty brief entry. It does save me from having to make a few more difficult phone calls or emails right now, and I am so very tired of/from explaining this. And bracing myself for the inevitable well-meant reactions, which just aren't sitting properly at the moment.
So, a week before Christmas, I found out I was pregnant. It was a pretty big surprise, but of course one we were thrilled about once we wrapped our heads around it. We went in for the 8-wk appointment a few weeks back, and we saw the baby's heartbeat. To me, before now, seeing the heartbeat has been the "whew" moment where everything is on track and the possibility of problems drops dramatically. There was a strange situation, but it apparently didn't affect the fetus and I really don't want to get into it anymore than that.
The baby was measuring small, so our OB wanted us back in at 10-wks to measure again so she could set a proper due date. So, in I went last Tuesday, debating whether August 25th or September 3rd would be the better DD and thinking of when we would find out gender. Wondering if the baby would still look like a bean on the ultrasound or more like a real baby (more like a real baby, turns out). Clearly, I wasn't prepared for the news I got, but I'm not sure you can be. Anyway, the baby's heart had stopped beating and there were visible nuchal fold problems, which indicate chromosomal issues. We went in to the hospital for a procedure the next day.
I am a rational person and I know in my head that it is for the best, if there were problems. Obviously, things happened the way they needed to. I know it in my head but not yet in my heart. I'm getting there.
I know so many friends and family have gone through this, so very many women have to go through this at some point. I appreciate all of the wonderful support and advice we have received, I am thankful for the way this situation has been handled mostly, professionally and personally.
Please know I am not posting this to solicit a lot of replies, which I really, really am not seeking. It's not a task I wish for right now, responding to everyone's emails and calls. I am using the blog as a forum to reach some friends and family who may have known none of this until now, or may have known the happier parts of the story. Also, to let everyone know that I'll be back on the blog/email/phone at some point, but it may just take awhile. Until then, much love. xoxo

Aaaaah....cho!

The weather is almost (almost!) perfect today. It is 75 and sunny and just lovely for January. The reason it isn't totally perfect is when it is like this in January, it makes the cedar pollen explode and go nuts. So the pollen count is over 18,000 and anyone who breathes is basically suffering here in central Texas.
But we couldn't avoid being outside in the warm sunshine, so we braved the allergens and headed into the yard for some playtime. (Those of you who do not live here are probably laughing at the drama of this cedar pollen. Trust me, those who do live here are not laughing at all.)
Reese frolicked all over the yard. In a strange, mismatched outfit.






Greta gets in on it as well.


It is a bittersweet realization that the weather will be like this most of the week. On the one hand, the rest of the country is is negative numerals, buried under feet of snow. Then again, we'll have to see how high this pollen count gets. I am so jealous of my parents, who have the good sense to escape Austin every January and "ride out" the cedar on the island of Kauai. Aloha, Mom and Dad!

Fighting for their rights

This is basically what our past 24 hours have looked like. How 'bout yours?
So, we went to the farm and had a wonderful time and neither of us brought our cameras. We have no visual proof, but you'll have to take our word for it. Also, it should be mentioned we got a Wii for Christmas and David purchased Guitar Hero. At the farm, David, Bain, Blake and Blaise played A LOT of Guitar Hero. And David continued that upon our return.
Ready to rock out.

Reese provides masterful dance sequences throughout the performances.

Sometimes they border on the vaudeville/burlesque side...

But mainly, there's a whole lot of jumping and flailing of arms.



Sometimes it gets intense.

Other times, maracas seem like the right addition.


David: "You're really going to blog about this?" Silly, silly, silly question.

I have to admit, a lot of Reese's moves bear a frightening resemblance to my dance moves from the college days.



"Daddy, I'm tired of this song. I want a new one."

Everyone gets in on the music. Note Greta stealthily chewing the maracas on the side.

Pink dogs and sexy boys

Last night, Reese announced she was making a "pink Labradoodle" out of tissue paper. Over the past week or so, she keeps saying things like, "I wish, I wish with all my heart...that we could have ANOTHER doggie!" When pressed on the topic, she confesses that she is worried about Greta's lack of canine friends.
Here's a glimpse of exactly what is entailed when making a pink Labradoodle out of tissue paper. Apparently, you have to keep the paper flat. I did not do that and was told in no uncertain terms how off course I was.



This is what Greta thought of the whole activity.

Reese had an animated phone chat with Ma Pam and Papa last night. They are in Kauai for 3 weeks and were in the midst of some huge wind storm. Here's R's reaction when they told her they got her some new jibbitz for her crocs. Of course, she could not fathom why she couldn't have them rightnow!

I love all the gesturing that goes on when she's on the phone. It's really funny!


This is what David is wearing right this moment to go on a walk in our neighborhood. I kid you not.

Here we go, headed out on our walk. I wonder how many honks we'll get.

Talkin' about the Midnight Rambler

Happy New Year! Clearly, blogging wasn't at the top of my NY resolutions list. Actually, I didn't really make any hard and fast resos this year. I am going to try to organize and plan our weekly meals at home better this year. Let's see how that is working out...hmmm, we've eaten out, oh, every single meal this week. So, it's going really well! Ahem.
Here are some pics of R cooking up a storm (at least someone in our house is doing it) in her new pink kitchen, which we now have thanks to Senor Claus.

She was making "cookies" but quickly got distracted by the Rolling Stones on TV. Much dancing ensued.

Also, Mommy thought it would be hysterical to have R pose with her tongue out, you know the Stones and all.

You can see how well that turned out.

Reese actually got tired of Mommy demanding that she stick out her tongue.

Reese and Mick, jamming out.

Fluffy furball cutie.

How can you say no to a face like that? Needless to say, Greta gets up on the couch a lot.

between toddler antics and puppy messes, I feel like I am running around nonstop. Oh fine, I have also been obsessively reading the Twilight series. Yes, it's "Young Adult" literature about vampire love. Laugh all you want, it completely sucks (har har) you in. So I am almost done with the 3rd out of 4 books. I do recommend the books; I strongly do NOT recommend the movie. That's my $.02.
Off to chase children and canines and squeeze in some more reading.