Happy Birthday Day...August 27, 2009

Toby turned the ripe old age of 35 today. We don't usually go all out for birthdays for each other...or for any holiday for that matter. Birthday celebrations at our house usually consist of a small gift and cake of choice. It's also always a given that we know we get to do whatever we want to do on our "special" day with no argument from the other.

So, Toby decided that he wanted to go canoeing on Town Lake (renamed Lady Bird Lake recently)in downtown Austin. Canoeing on the lake is one of the 50,000 things we have on our list of things to do in Austin.

Somehow or another in route our plans got changed and we decided to do the Austin Duck Adventures....another activity on our to do list. As with most downtown areas free parking is almost always impossible to find. Toby got to be a pro at finding free parking when he worked downtown when we first moved here, so he always finds us a spot with ease....me, I just pay to park to save myself the aggravation.

Anyway, it gave us a chance to walk a few blocks of downtown which is something I always love to do. Although I love the peace and quite of being out of the city limits I also could see myself as one of those city folk that take public transportation and live in one of those high rise condos overlooking the city.

Once we made it to the Welcome Center where we were to board the Duck Adventures we paid our hefty fee for the tour and got our tickets. We had about a half an hour wait before the next tour so we got us a snack at the little convenient store a couple of buildings down. We sat outside on the ledge of the music store and ate our snack and people watched. People watching in downtown Austin is always very interesting to say the least.

Although the temps are still in triple digits, I was not feeling it too bad....I guess you eventually get immune to whatever temps you get acclimated to.

I think Summer was enjoying the tour more than Toby and I. After all, what kid doesn't love hanging her head out a windowless vehicle feeling the wind blow in her face PLUS it rides in the water too! I don't think the lady sitting next to us was feeling the same joy. She was looking a little green and at one point was in search of a plastic bag. We couldn't figure out if she was sick from the heat or the motion of the giant rocking vehicle we were on.

Along the way, the narrator was giving little bits of history about downtown. It was very interesting and some of the stories were very amusing. We also passed by the filming of a movie they are making in downtown.

Here are a few pics of the tour...




One of the benefits of homeschooling....driving the Duck Adventures boat!





After our tour we were in need of some dinner. Since we were already downtown we decided to try out a restaurant we had never eaten, the Hula Hut on Lake Austin. I have to say the food was pretty good and we had a pretty good first dining experience. Being on the water with the tropical feel the restaurant gave off almost made me feel I was back on the coast....no seagulls there to beg for food though. :-)




Toby with his free birthday snack...and no thank goodness they didn't sing to him there. I don't know what the treat was called but it was very good.




I don't know about Toby, but I had a great day on his birthday. :-)

What's More Important???

Within the past year or so Summer has taken much consideration to the way her hair looks, making sure that it is brushed the moment she gets out of the bed. I know little girls start to get really obsessive about their looks at one point or another so I do understand.

Unfortunately, poor thing was also blessed with her fathers very thin, fine flyaway hair. All it takes is one gust of wind and it looks like she hasn't brushed it in months....matter of fact, I am sure most people look at me and wonder why I never brush my child's hair.

Although she is obsessive about her hair, getting her to brush her teeth takes an act of God. I have to constantly "remind" her to brush her teeth daily. After my gentle reminder she acts as if I have asked her to pull her own teeth instead of brushing them.

So, I decided to leave her to her own vices and let her suffer the consequences of halitosis. Only in this way I figured she would realize the importance of clean, fresh breath. During my experiment I was cringing but I knew it was a necessary evil. I really wondered how long it would take her before she would brush her teeth on her own without reminders from the evil mom.

I had only been a couple of days that she had not brushed her teeth before she came up to me after her bath one night and blew her breath in my face and asked me if it smelled fresh. Hmmmmm.....I asked her why all of a sudden she was concerned about her teeth and breath. I had to laugh to myself as she dropped her head and told me that while her and Philipe (her little boyfriend next door)were playing he had told her her breath stunk.

See if she had only listened to her mother she could have saved herself some embarrassment....but who ever listens to their mother??????

Hopefully the teeth brushing thing has been nipped in the bud. On to a new child rearing dilemma....

Life

While out and about today hubby and I were having a discussion. Unlike most typical couples our discussions usually don't revolve around kids or financial situations, but in-depth topics such as spirituality, fear, religion, education, etc.

For instance, today our topic was about living beings. e.g...why is is it considered by some to refrain from eating meat because it is considered a living being but yet it's o.k to munch on a salad or veggies (which are also living beings)?

The conversation was sparked by me today as we were passing by a farm on the way to errandville. I noticed a few cows by the fence. I made the comment that I had been made aware lately about the negatives of eating animal flesh. It's really something ordinary folks don't think about as we stick our teeth into that juicy burger or steak.

I made the comment that I thought the cow was cute and that I was rethinking eating meat products because the cow was a living being..like myself. I am using the cow as an example, but there are many other meats that are forbidden by "vegans".

Of course, hubby always loves a good debate and proceeded to inform me that if I were going to quit eating meat for this reason than I should quit eating salads too. After all, plants are also living things that also react to their surroundings and stimuli. Plant life can feel and react just as an animal can. Maybe not in the extreme but in their own living way.

This got me to really thinking about living things in general. It is so true...all living things survive off feeding off other living things. There is no way around it. Animals feed off other living things with no qualms at all...it's survival of the fittest...and yes, humans are animals in every form and fashion.

I began to think of all the alternate things that I could eat that I could sustain my life on and realized that there was absolutely nothing that I could eat that is healthy or good for my body that is not a living thing.

So to all you vegans out there I ask....my question of the day is what is the difference between eating a good burger and a salad???

Maybe I Am Just A Little Envious.....

.....but everyone that has their children in formal school seem so anxious to get their kids back to school - or the babysitter as I call it. I have heard expressions like yohoo, yippee, and parental freedom frequently used the past few days. Have we really drifted that far away from family unity???? And folks think the government officials are the problem for our declining family values!!!!!!

Don't get me wrong, my grown son was public school educated his whole life and I do know the pleasures of letting someone else deal with your kid for a while, but what is really going on here??? It makes me wonder why people even bother to have children-or are children another one of those American dream ideas subject to expendibility at our selfish convenience??? Again, I wonder..why even bother to have kids if you are so happy to rid them at the first chance??

I can honestly say that I have always enjoyed my kids company. Even when I was a working mother I always made sure that I would take personal days off that included taking my son out of school/daycare to enjoy them with me. Every time I was able to be out of the confines of my office cubicle, my son was with me....and YES, I even picked him up at after school care BEFORE I went to the grocery store. Time with my son was precious....

In my younger years I was one of those rare women who never liked the idea of having curtain climbers. I was selfish. I wanted to be able to do what I wanted when I wanted without the limitations of dragging extras along. Somehow along the way my storyline changed and I am blessed with two beautiful kids. That's o.k.

That said, you would think I would have been one of those mothers that was doing everything in my power to rid my kids to the first available taker.

I have always been a little on the odd side anyway. My husband is my best friend and I enjoy being around my kids...most of the time. :-)

Thoughts Become Things...Choose the Good Ones

In my doom and gloom of late, I have not felt much like doing my daily wifely/motherly duties, much less feeling creative enough to blog. In all honesty, I have had the strong desire to disappear off the face of the earth. Of late, I have felt worthless, ugly inside and out, unfulfilled, and unimportant to anyone and everyone. I am pinning all these feelings on that wonderful gift from God us women call "hormones".

On a more hopeful note, I do feel like my hormones are shifting back into place and I am feeling a little more like "myself".

Earlier tonight I got on a cleaning binge and decided to clean out my e-mail inbox. I had tons of e-mails awaiting to be read, you know the ones that you intend to read but never find the time. I went on about the business of checking and deleting - hoping there was nothing important in my mile long inbox.

As I was checking I noticed something that read FutureMe on the subject line. It sounded remotely familiar so I opened it. This is what I read....

Composed on October 13,2007

Dear FutureMe, I know your living in the lap of luxury in Texas right now. Your finally financially comfortable and living the life of your dreams. All your spiritual practice has finally gotten you somewhere and you are blissfully satisfied and happy with your beautiful new home and family. You have a few close friends and Summer is doing well in "school" and also has a few good friends. Toby is finally where he wants to be in his dream....a good shop where he can grow and develop his art. Thank you GOD.

In the midst of mine and Toby's spiritual journey a few years ago, we had subscribed to a website called TUT. The main idea is that thoughts become things. Whatever you believe and think you draw to you...if you have negative thoughts, you draw negative things and vice verso. It makes absolute sense if you think about it. I'm sure everyone can account to the fact that when you think you will be sick or something bad is going to happen to you, it usually does. If you are on a more positive mindset you seem to draw positive life experiences.

Anyway, one of our assignments for TUT was to write a letter to ourselves visualizing what we see our future to be like in a couple of years. Amazing that the future that I had visualized over two years ago before I even moved to Austin manifested itself exactly like I had visualized it over two years ago.

Toby and I had been practicing bringing those positive thoughts to us since approximately 2004. Problem is, sometimes life works on it's time schedule instead of your time schedule. We still kept our positive thought mode only "backsliding" every so often.

After opening that inbox letter to myself I was once again reminded that thoughts really do become things....ALWAYS choose the good ones.

Off to do some more visualizing. :-)

Friday August 14, 2009

Not too much can be said for the day today. We kinda just hung out together. We grilled out some yummy Elgin Sausage and went to the local pool for a swim. The pool was great! We had the whole pool to ourselves.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out at the house doing this and that.

Like I said..not to much can be said for the day. :-)

Thursday August 14, 2009

I finally got some much desired hiking in today. Actually, it was a little more hiking than what I was looking for considering the shoes I was wearing. Flip flops and 4 mile hikes through rocky terrain don't really mesh well.

For the most part I really enjoyed our hike though. I'm always impressed with Summer's ability to keep up with us on our long hikes. She is a very physically strong girl...just like big brother, she hangs with the best of 'em. In actuality, I was the one that was lagging behind at the end of the hike.







Our trail was the Barton Creek Greenbelt. This is the first time we had ever been on this trail. We had heard it's one of the best in Austin and I have to agree. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I'm sure it would have been even better if there had been water in the creek and water flowing down the falls. Maybe by next year the drought will have subsided and we can enjoy some of our beautiful creeks again.

As it sometimes goes, the pics do not even come close to capturing the beauty and serenity of the trails. As you can tell someone has took the time out to decorate the 360 bridge that crosses the trails at one point.

I hope you enjoy my pics as much as I enjoyed my hike with my family through Mother Nature's path.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Today we all went to Krause Springs. It was VERY VERY slippery there but that didn't seem to stop everyone from just diving on into the springs....all except me of course. I had to sort of slide into the water. Very amusing for the onlookers, I'm sure.

I have to say that Lucas was having a blast at the springs. He was definitely in his realm with the rope swing and diving from the cliff - which I might add was prohibited.

Here are some pics of our day at Krause Springs....






While we were there it started sprinkling just a little. On the way home we had a pleasant surprise of a nice rain storm - a rarity in these parts. It was also a pleasant surprise that the system had passed over Manor....YAY! My wilting vegetation got something to drink!

Tuesday August 11, 2009

I think today was probably the highlight of Lucas's trip to Austin. Being an avid cyclist himself he is a really big fan of Lance Armstrong so we headed downtown so he could check out Lance's cycling store, Mellow Johnny's.

Although I am not a cyclist of any sort, I was rather impressed with the store myself. There was a little more to it than what I thought it would be.

After Lucas collected a few souvenirs from the bike shop, we decided to take an afternoon dip in Barton Springs. As usual the water felt wonderful....and cold. Although, Lucas had seen the pool before, this was the first time he was able to swim in it. Lucas and Toby were having so much fun jumping off the diving board that Summer even decided to take the plunge.....



As luck would have it, as I was trying to video Lucas and Toby's dives my camera decided it needed some fresh batteries which were not easily accessible to me at the time.

After our swim we were getting hungry so we decided to treat Lucas to some tasty Texas barbecue at one of our favorite's the Southside Market in Elgin. It was delicious as usual and Lucas seemed to be pretty impressed. If I can just keep impressing him every time he visits maybe I can eventually lure him......

Monday August 10, 2009

Toby had to work a double shift at the tattoo shop today so I chose today for the day we went to the mall. Summer loves the mall..I think the mall here is tolerable...and Lucas just wanted some clothes, so he was willing to go anywhere I took him to get them. I knew going to the mall wasn't going to be something Toby felt like he was missing out on.

I did decide to take Lucas on a little sightseeing tour on the way to the mall. The Pennybacker Bridge is on the way to the mall and I knew Lucas would appreciate the view.

Looking back, I should have saved the climb up to the top of the cliff for on the way back home. The temps were extreme and I was pouring sweat once we made it to the top. Whoever invented deodorant definitely lived in the warmer climates.

Here are some pics.....






We then headed to the mall. It was not as traumatic as I thought it would be. We found some pretty good sales and Lucas was able to replenish most of his wardrobe.

Sunday August 9, 2009

Since Toby had to be in to work by 4:00p.m today, we were looking for something we could all do together before he had to go in.

Lucas had mentioned wanting to go to a park. I must mention that the parks here are not just regular playground parks. Most all of the parks are not only equipped with playgrounds, they have hiking/biking trails, pools, creeks, and other amenities.

I chose Pfluger Park since I knew the park would be appealing to Lucas and it was also close by Toby's shop. What I wasn't thinking about was that it was 100 degrees outside and by the time Toby trekked around the park with us he would be pouring sweat and not smelling too sweet. He managed to do a good job of hiding out in the shade...which is where he stayed most of the time. Hopefully he kept cool enough not to offend his customers. :-) Toby is a a much better sport than I am.

Although Angela and I have been to this particular park for playdate a few times I never realized that there is a whole system to this park called the Heritage Trail. There are several different parks that are connected along this hike and bike trail....almost like a neighborhood of connected parks. I never knew that until I ventured out around the park area today. I guess you do learn something new every day. :-)

Here are some pics of us at the park today....



Instead of helping me across, Toby delighted in taking pics of me trying to make it across the log above the creek. You can't tell in the pic, but the log is a couple of feet above the creek. I really don't know why everyone else balanced so well across the log....




Here we are testing out the exercise equipment while Toby stood in the shade and took pics of us...





Is this not the cutest pic??? This little squirrel was trying his best to keep cool....



After we left the park we ate at Fazoli's. We really wanted to take Lucas to lunch somewhere that Mobile does not have, but come to find out, even though there is a Fazoli's in Mobile he has never eaten there. So no matter how unoriginal it was...Fazoli's it was.

After we ate a late lunch and shopped around a little bit we dropped Toby off at work. By this time the kids were wanting an afternoon snack so I took them to the Tomunchi's Yogurt Shop.

Next we were off to J.C.Penney. There is one thing I will point out about my son...HE HATES TO CLOTHES SHOP. Everything he owns is work or outdoor clothes. He has nothing casual because he does nothing casual. If he is not at work or school he is cycling or surfing...or some other outdoor activity. Therefore he came to Austin with the intention of shopping with me so I could help him find some casual clothes.

I thought Toby was difficult to shop for but Lucas takes the cake. There were a ton of nice clothes in J.C. Penney (his favorite clothes store I might add) and a great sale going on, but he couldn't manage to pick but one outfit out.

I can only pray my daughter will not be that difficult to shop for when she is older. I am almost dreading our trip to the mall tomorrow where we will have to continue our shopping to replenish his 10 year old wardrobe. Lucas does decade shopping...not yearly shopping. He reminds me of both his father AND his stepfather in this aspect.

At the moment Lucas is napping on the couch with the dog while Summer is playing in my 2 loads of freshly washed clothes waiting to be folded on my bed. I have so much fun with my kids when we are together it makes me wonder why I never wanted more.....

Lucas's Arrival - Saturday August 8, 2009

The long awaited day has finally arrived! Although we are all excited about Luke's arrival, I think Summer was the most excited...after all, she had a playmate coming for a whole week.

Toby had to go to work so Summer and I headed to ABIA around 3:00p.m to pick Lucas up. Summer and I were talking his ears off and fighting for conversation time. Thank goodness my son is a laid back type otherwise he probably would have gotten irritated...no wonder he was hoping Toby would be there with us when we picked him up. :-)

When we got home Summer and Lucas played. I'm sure Lucas probably just wanted to chill out, but big brother couldn't say no to little sis. Here they are racing on Summer's scooters in the 100 degree heat...



After they got good and sweaty, Summer convinced her very tall brother to "surf" in her little pool with her. Here is the "surf"...



Here is Lucas with bruised knees from the "surf"..



Jumping on the trampoline is always a favorite of theirs...



Big brother never comes without teaching Summer tricks on the trampoline. Here is a video of Summer's new trick complements of big brother...



The rest of the evening was spent with me cooking and preparing food while the kids ate, played and watched T.V.

We did go for an evening walk. Lucas got to see some our Texas critters. Scorpions were out everywhere...more than usual. He enjoyed playing with them and making them try to sting him...BOYS!

Tomorrow is the Day....

Much to my dismay, tonight I realized I have not picked up my camera since I have gotten back from Mobile. This is unusual for me. My camera is usually always on my priority list....as is my blog....usually.

Maybe with my son arriving tomorrow I will get back "into the swing of things" and have the desire, passion, and enthusiasm to post something.

Today, I read an article excerpt in Austin's Family that stated that Austin has an average of 300 days a year of sunshine. That's great for the most part. I really like the sun, but sometimes the sun can be bittersweet.

Living in the rural community that I do, I drive by many farms each day. I see the devastation this central Texas drought has brought. Crops are DEAD. I see hundreds of acres of corn crops brown and roasting in the sun. Millions of dollars lost. Farmers can't use water because there are also water restrictions that have to be adhered to.

The roads and even our backyard look like deep earthquake fault lines. Dry and cracked up. There are very few animals singing or roaming around...I'm sure a few of them are dead too. I sit back and wonder how the trees are surviving with so little water...actually I have seen a few dying trees. Heck, the cactus are even dying.

The lakes and ponds are almost are all dried up. I have even heard stories of things/people that are now revealing themselves in the evaporating water after many years of being buried underneath the water....old cars, dead folks, etc.

The intense high temps and no rain are very oppressing to this tropical girl. No, I am not a big fan of rain, but I do like to see a good storm every so often.

Being a fairly new resident of Central Texas I am not sure if this is the norm or something out of the ordinary. Maybe this is normal as far as I know. I miss hiking through the trails and being able to stick my feet into cool creek water when I work up a sweat.....

On another more positive note, my son will be arriving tomorrow for an 8 day visit. I am going to try and post our pics and activities daily.

Stay tuned....

Memories From the Past - Independence

I was just shy of 23 years old when my son was born. Lucas was born the day after my birthday in the year 1988. Motherhood is one of those things that when you are young think will be easy. Big surprise..it ain't no bowl of cherries.

Not only was I young in age, I was also very immature. I knew absolutely nothing about raising kids. I was driven by instinct only.

Unfortunately, sometimes I chose to listen to others instead of listening to my instinct....as most of us do at one point or another.

Back in the 80's pushing independence in children was the norm and very common. I had never heard of co-sleeping or attachment parenting until I had my second child 12 years later. Even though my instincts told me to keep my son close by my side, Dr. Spock, my pediatrician, and my seasoned parent friends told me different. Guess who I chose to listen to???

In the end my son suffered those consequences. Even though my husband at the time and I felt quite comfy having him sleep in the bed with us I decided to do as the books and professionals suggested I do and teach him to be "independent" by sleeping alone in his bed in his room WAY on the other side of our run down trailer in which we lived.

Over the years I have learned that some babies are easy and never fuss or fret about sleeping independently. My kids have never been those type of kids. No matter what method I used to try to coerce them to sleep independent of me, they would cry for hours before finally passing out in exhaustion.

One week in particular when my son was about 8 months old I was trying to get him to sleep independently...per our society standards. I would put him in his bed and he would cry. I would go in there and pat and soothe him....just like the books said to do. I tried this particular method....I don't remember what is was technically called, for a whole week without any progress. I was exhausted and so was he. I began to wonder what in the hell kind of battle am I fighting here???

Each night of that week was torture for both of us. What I really wanted to do was snatch him out of the bed and comfort and love him beside me in my bed. Unfortunately that week I never listened to my inner voice. For a whole week after I put my son in his crib he would cry to the point of vomiting every night as he stood up holding onto the rails of his crib. As I stood outside of his bedroom door, I cried too. After a couple of hours he would finally pass out from sheer exhaustion.

I inevitably would go to bed with a heavy soul and a guilt ridden conscience along with that gut feeling that it was not what I was suppose to be doing.

The next week I took him in for his check up. Hmmmm....guess what?? I found out that he had double ear infections in both ears that had obviously been there festering for a while. Ironically, the same "professional" that had told me to put my child in the bed at night and let him cry was the same one that scolded me for letting my son go so long with severe ear infections in both ears.

Live and learn. From that day on my son slept in the same bed as my then husband and I. He finally decided on his own to sleep in his bed at the age of 5.

My 8 year old daughter on the other hand seems to have no intention of ever sleeping in her own bed.

What kind of monster have I created???

What Would Happen If......

I was thinking lately about how much people in general irritate me daily. I am not one of those people who "Love my neighbor as I do myself." I know that is not the social norm to even say that aloud but for the sake of my post I am going to. Most people tolerate other people well....or at least do a good job pretending to.

For some reason it is not acceptable to respond to people in an opposing manner. If you do you are labelled as hard to get along with or tagged as a bitch or some other derogatory name.

When it boils down to it, everyone is so fake with one another. Most of us don't express what we are really thinking or feeling when we are are socializing with one another.

Just a few examples:

You pretend that you think your neighbors kid is just adorable when you are really thinking what a huge head he has and how out of control his behavior is.

Most peoples blogs are all sugar and spice but inside their homes loom an emotional disaster. We are expected to only write the pretty stuff when sometimes in real life it's not really all that pretty.

An old friend professes she is a great mother and you know she is just fooling herself 'cause you know she would never get the Mother of the Year award but you just nod your head in agreement even though you remember the day she packed up her stuff and walked out on her kids while they were still in diapers.

Your crazy neighbor preaches about her religious convictions too much to you and you just keep trying to change the subject instead of inflicting your belief upon her like she does you.

Your husband wants to "play in the hay" and you really want to tell him to "Get a magazine and here is the lotion." Instead you grin and bear it and hope it's over pretty quick so you can get back to what you were doing before you were so rudely interrupted.

Or your neighbor wants you to watch her nuisance dog, that you already are fed up with anyway, while she goes on vacation for the week. You really want to tell her that you hope the dog gets snake bit while she is gone so you don't have to deal with the nuisance dog ever again. Instead you agree to the task of feeding, watering, and chasing the dog down to chain it up in the evenings while she is gone.

You get the picture??

We all are very honest as young children. We stare at someone we think looks or acts odd and point it out. We tell someone when they are ugly or they stink....that is before we are taught to "be nice" or not to say how we are really feeling. I think that maybe if we were all totally honest with each other in the beginning that no one would ever be able to be offended or persecuted.

So I was fantasizing about what would really happen if you started expressing your actual thoughts and feelings when in social settings. It really might be rather amusing....

As for now we all just have to put that smile on your face, suck it up and move on and be the robots we are taught to be.

Passing The Day

I have been on the scout for some new living room furniture for a while now. Not long ago while we were out and about we found a sofa that we liked. Now, for the life of us we can't remember where we saw it.

My memory served me that we had seen it at Macy's in Barton Creek Mall. Although Toby and I are not mall lovers, Summer is. It didn't take long to prod her to get ready so we could go check Macy's for the sofa I was searching for.

Of course, the sofa was not at Macy's either....or it may have been at one time but now no longer was. So our search is on again.

While we were eating at the food court in the mall Toby pointed out bungee jumping on the floor below the food court. This definitely caught Summer's attention. We finished our meal and took the elevator down to check it out.

The price was steeper than we thought it was worth ($7 for 3 minutes) but Summer really wanted to do it. I think if it had been left up to Toby, he would not have agreed to paying the price. Good thing for Summer that I was there. I think children should be able to have certain experiences no matter what the price....if the money is there at least. You're only a kid once.

Just as I suspected she would, she had a blast! 3 minutes last a lot longer than you think when you are tied to a bungee cord. And of course, the one time I didn't have my camera with me. Who knew I would need my camera at the mall????

Later on we had a neighbor kids birthday party to attend. Toby had to go to work but Summer and I were able to make it. End ended up being more like a block party than a kids birthday party. I always enjoy socializing with my neighbors. Aside from a couple of loco neighbors, most of them are very pleasant.

Summer had just as much fun as I did. By the time we walked home it was 10:00p.m. After a late night bath we crashed into the bed.

I like busy days. :-)