Atkinson Family Adventure

Catching up on Christmas & Spring, with pictures of just about everything!

2011-02-28T15:15:00.001-06:00

As of today, I have been working at the following job for 1 year, 9 months, and 15 days, with approximately 18 years left to go (25 if I'm being realistic).

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment.

Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.

Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.

Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.

Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery-operated devices.

Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.

Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT AND PROMOTION:

Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:

None required, unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually-exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION:

None. On the contrary, you will pay those in your care, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18, on the assumption that college will help them become financially independent (which is not guaranteed, and is in fact, highly unlikely).

When you die, you give them whatever is left.

BENEFITS:

While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered, this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and, if you play your cards right, you will find it one of the most personally rewarding jobs you have ever done.

Modified from parenting.families.com

In light of my current job detail, please excuse the rather long delays in between blog posts these days! If I am blogging, it is likely that meanwhile, there is a sink (and counter top) full of dishes, a few loads of laundry waiting to be done, and I need a shower badly.

So, on that note, let's work backwards here. I'll start my catch-up post with a slideshow from our first warm Saturday in Houston this Spring, spent at a birthday party for a little friend who turned three. Samara played on a backyard swing set, pretended to be a bunny (a la the Max and Ruby birthday party theme), and then took a stroll down to the park and thoroughly enjoyed the many slides on the playground while the rest of us soaked in the amazing weather.

"Picnik Show"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Now let's try to think back to Christmas of 2010. I know, I know, almost two months ago... Sorry about that. At any rate, we spent Christmas in Florida, at which point I got my brand spankin' new Canon T1i DSLR camera from Garrett. I started practicing my photography skills and am still FAR from the quality level I would like to reach, but I know if I take about 800 million pictures, I will probably get at least 5 I can work with. That's not bad, is it???

These are the pictures from Christmas in Florida up to Valentine's Day, which Samara celebrated with her little preschool class. She had a great time stuffing the little mailboxes we got for each of her classmates with a little toy, a piece of candy, and a Valentine card. She also discovered a new love for suckers, thanks to another classmate's Valentine gift.

It's been a wonderful start to 2011, and the activities and excitement continue every day. Hope your year is going as great as ours thus far!

"Christmas to Valentines Day"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-06T14:31:00.001-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS &

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

See you after the holidays!

Falling for Fall

2010-12-02T15:08:00.000-06:00

Our friend, Jessi, a budding photography hobbyist, took a fall photoshoot of just the kids and me down in the Heights one afternoon this week. After a scrumptious brownie, a latte for me, and an iced chai for Jessi at Waldo's Coffee House, we walked down Heights Blvd. toward Donovan Park to take pictures as planned. Unfortunately, however, the park was closed (said to reopen on December 4th).

Instead, we found a pretty street lined with beautiful Victorian houses and colorful flowers, and decided to take the pictures there. I think they turned out just perfect. Samara had a grand time throwing leaves into the air (and later, pea gravel and dirt...), inspecting dried berries and twigs, watching some friendly dogs play in one of the yards (and taunting them with screeches), and just getting into mischief as usual.

Mitchell found Samara's antics fairly entertaining, but also enjoyed a game of flying under a pretty tree. It was a lovely afternoon! Here are the pictures:

A Houston Halloween

2010-12-01T16:52:00.000-06:00

I do realize it's already December and I haven't posted Thanksgiving pictures either, but cut me some slack. I barely have time to take a shower these days! Here is a compilation of our Halloween festivities this year. We've been busy, busy, and attending some sort of activity almost every day of the week! My brain can barely keep up, but we're having a great time!

Mitchell's First Trip to the Sunshine State, ETC!

2010-10-15T16:17:00.003-05:00

The Atkinson Family at Dewberry Farm

Wow... Long time, no blog! Get ready for a long "ketchup" post! I started to write a new post a few weeks ago, but life with "two under two" is INSANITY! I thought about deleting the draft I started, but then I decided I should just publish it as well, just to remind myself that things ARE getting better - even if the process is sloooow! So, here is the draft I started just after our return from Florida in early September:

As Mom's stay in Houston came to a close, the family and friends back in Florida tapped their feet impatiently for her speedy return (it's good to be missed, but sometimes you'd rather not be!). I, however, was dreading my impending alone-ness. Yes, I would miss having Mom around - not just for her insane housework productivity, but also for her company during the day. But the thing is, I would more than just MISS her; I knew I would flounder without her.

Samara was an easy baby. We never knew how easy we had it with her. She nursed every 3-4 hours, skipped the 12:30am feeding immediately, and was sleeping through the night within a matter of weeks. She may not have been the most cuddly infant in the world (her independence started early), but it sure was nice to be able to lay her in her crib and get things done - all the while, listening to her little contented coos and squeals.

Mitchell squeals, too. Except his squeals are quick warning squeals that precede a siren of a wail. And they occur at least every hour and a half (when he demands to be nursed), along with the additional cries that are peppered in when he has a bout of gas or hiccups. My hunch is that he is battling a bit of infant reflux, and that he definitely has some gas issues; so I know when he cries, it's for a reason. However, the crying is hard to handle. Especially when you factor in a slightly jealous 15-month-old.

Fast-forward to today, and things are definitely better! Life is still hectic, and my eyes are blood-shot from lack of sleep, but we are taking baby steps toward getting onto a schedule. Mitchell now eats about every 3 hours, though he sometimes puts up a bit of a fuss at 2.5 hours. He wakes up about once per night, around 2:45 or 3:00am, but every once in a while he decides to wake up at 12:30am, too. (Hence, the blood-shot eyes!) He slept until 5:45am two nights in a row a couple weeks ago, but that has not happened again since. I am tossing around the idea of just putting him in his crib upstairs and letting him cry it out to see if he will drop the night-feeding habit, but I'm afraid he might wake Samara, and two babies crying in the middle of the night sounds like my worst nightmare! So, for now, our little guy is still sleeping in his cradle in our bedroom. I keep saying I'll re-evaluate my game plan when he's 3 months old, but that's in two weeks! We'll just have to see about that! He might be 16 years old and still sleeping in our room, for all I know! Yikes...

In addition to our erratic nights, our daily schedule has been just as crazy these days. Mitchell absolutely will not be put down for more than 5 minutes at a time, so I walk around with a baby on my hip all day long (and the poor kid gets a bonk on the head every now and then because of it! Darn those door frames always getting in the way). He is a big cuddler and prefers to be entertained face-to-face. He shows no interest in mobiles or other baby entertainment gear, and would rather just sit and "talk" with me. He gurgles and coos and blows the cutest baby bubbles. If I could just sit around and look at him all day, I would! But, alas, at some point, dishes and laundry MUST get done!

He seems to do much better at Playgroup, though, so I try to make a point to get out and do something at least twice a week. We are still meeting up with our Heights friends every week, and Samara started Preschool at Bear Creek United Methodist in September. We also joined the church and are attending Sunday School and services every Sunday, which has been a great way to meet new friends in the area. The mother of one of Samara's classmates at school invited me to join the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at church as well, so we attended our first meeting this week. And, we're planning to start going as a family to the "BFF" (Bear Creek Family Fellowship) meetings on Wednesday nights twice a month starting next week! So, as you can see, we are busy! Busy, and loving it. We are loving our new friends, our little family, and all the activities that come with it!

Mitchell & Me at our first MOPS meeting.

What a sweet little face!

When we're not out of the house at one of our many activities, I am practicing my patience skills with my darling daughter and needy son! A typical day consists of a hurried breakfast before Garrett has to race off to work, then feeding Mitchell while Samara jealously looks on, followed by damage control for the rest of the day until Garrett returns in the late evening. Samara is learning to love her little brother, but she's still adjusting to a world where she has to share her mommy. She does, unfortunately, take swipes at him when she gets a chance, but I am noticing some improvement in her behavior these days. We have been practicing nurturing behavior with baby dolls, and it seems to be working. The No-no!'s followed by a quick bop on the head are reducing in number, thank goodness! She will now go up to Mitchell and tuck his blanket around him, rather than stealing it from him. However, when she does decide to smack him, she's not one for apologies. In fact, if I try to make her "kiss and make up," she will go up to him like she's going to kiss him, and then quickly slap him and run away. (I'm sorry, but it's kinda funny). And her "badditude" doesn't stop there. When I go into my bedroom to change one of Mitchell's frequent dirty diapers, Samara the tornado swoops in behind me and creates a trail of destruction in her wake. No storage bin or unlocked cabinet is safe. (See proof below).

Samara caught red-handed with one of Mitchell's pacis, his towel, and my shoe.

Mitchell's changing table, pre-organizational bins, post-Samara.

Even shoe boxes contain treasures (i.e. tissue paper to be crumpled and torn to pieces)

Laundry baskets are not overlooked.

Clean clothes are pulled off the bed and promptly unfolded.

"No" is not Samara's only favorite word. These days, she also loves saying "Uh-oh." It's not uncommon for me to turn around just to find an "uh-oh" moment, in progress. These are just a few highlights:

I turn around from changing Mitchell's diaper to find Samara pumping baby lotion on the carpet.
While cleaning baby poop off my pants, I look up to discover a HUGE pile of wipes on the floor, and Samara bending over them, trying to collect them all in her arms.
I sit finishing my makeup at my vanity, with 10 minutes to go before we need to be out the door, and Samara reaches a half-full glass of red wine from the night before on my bedside table. The wine is promptly splattered across the carpet. I run for the Resolve, only to find I have only a few squirts left! Lesson learned: Toddlers can reach things if they are placed too close to the edge of the table.
Garrett and I look away for a second, only to hear a "crash" and find a broken salt shaker and salt ALL over the kitchen floor. Wait - didn't I just say we learned that lesson? Guess not.
Garrett and I sit eating breakfast and Samara suddenly walks up to me with something brown smeared on her finger. It's dog poop. The dog had diarrhea outside and must have come inside and sat on the tile floor. Samara was curious enough to stick her finger in it, and (thankfully) was all too happy to show it to me before licking it. (I hope, anyway).

So this is life with two babies, and some days I feel like I'm hanging on by a thread, but I know I'll be happy I had two so close together when they can play with each other and experience life with a friend always by their side. I just have to keep reminding myself of that! In the meantime, here's my attempt to document those fleeting moments in pictures.

Remember, if you are reading this in email form and you can't see pictures and/or video, go to the main blog at www.atkinsonfamilyadventure.com for better viewing!

A Visit to the Sunshine State:

Samara plays dress-up with my apron in the kitchen.

Playgroup at Nia's house. Samara was feeling a bit under the weather.

Samara kissing Addyson Nguyen at playgroup.

Samara and Addyson.

Dewberry Farm in Brookshire, Texas:

Samara plays in her new "Cardboard Cottage."

Mitchell Learns Life Lessons:

Samara's first week at Preschool! A Playground Popsicle Party for the class.

First time eating popsicles = not the last!

YUM!

Samara and Nate

Jack

Ta-ta for now!

Mitchell does some male modeling.

2010-08-25T10:11:00.000-05:00

Maybe there is more to life than being really, really ridiculously good-looking...

~Zoolander

Or... Maybe not. At least, if I were as cute as Mitchell, I wouldn't think so. Either way, the results of Mitchell's male modeling session are simply adorable. Our friend Andrew Roach, of Roach Photography, came over to the house to do the photo shoot, and Mitchell acted like a seasoned pro. He was happy and flexible, opened his eyes every now and then, and considerately held his bladder during his sans-diaper shots!

We did try to get some photos of the whole family, Samara included, but she was less cooperative than Mitchell. Maybe it was because we were shooting before lunch, or maybe she just didn't take a good enough nap. Whatever it was, she was a crazy person and refused to sit still long enough to get any pictures. So Mitchell was the star. But maybe that's the way it was supposed to be; maybe every newborn deserves his own personal photo shoot without the intrusion of elder siblings.

When you view the slideshow below, pay attention to Mitchell's curly toes (we think those belong to Beane Beane), his striking resemblance to his Uncle Brian (will have to post some comparison pictures next), and the pretty blue knit blanket and hat (made especially for Mitchell by Honey).

We think these pictures turned out just perfect, and we think you will, too! Enjoy.

To view these photos individually, please visit the gallery here.

Sometimes you just need a little Samara cuteness...

2010-08-13T14:36:00.001-05:00

Samara would like to remind everyone that she's still here, still cute, and still "da baby" (the baby girl, anyway). The toddler phase is pretty insane - lots of attention-seeking behavior (both good and bad), but still full of lovely, sweet moments with our little girl. Here are some pictures and videos of a few of Samara's most recent funny and lovable toddler moments.

Samara got a new dinosaur scooter, but still prefers to press the buttons and dance to the music rather than ride around on it.

Daddies always know how to teach kids the weirdest things...

The water jug is the new favorite toy.

Samara thought Honey in the wheelchair was pretty cool. It's like a grandmother and a ride all in one! Wheelchair rides became a daily activity during Honey's visit.

Sometimes you just need a margarita at the end of the day...

Samara thinks Gabi is her best friend. Gabi mostly just thinks Samara is annoying, but every once in a while, they play like best buds. It's fun to watch.

Honey made Samara a gorgeous little knit hat. She loves it! She takes it off to look at it and then puts it right back on. She knows she looks darn cute in it!

Our little girl is obsessed with guacamole. She could eat it exclusively if I let her.

Spending time with Honey.

She wouldn't let go of her Nordstrom balloon even in her sleep. I had to pry it out of her little hand.

Daddy forgot to put shoes on her (oh, horrors!!!), so she had to improvise.

Chunky Hunky Mitchell Perry Enters the World!

2010-08-12T20:18:00.004-05:00

Things were getting pretty tense at the Atkinson household the last week of August. Mom, Honey, and Jennifer came into town for the express purpose of helping with Mitchell's delivery, and it seemed the days before their departure were flying by without any sign of active labor. I had plenty of contractions off and on - even a few nights with as many as 15-20 contractions - but nothing regular, and as soon as I would lie down at the end of the night, the contractions would stop. It was the same story it had been with Samara: the doctor says to prepare for an early delivery, and then the baby waits until AFTER the original due date. We were all beginning to worry Mitchell would not arrive until after Honey and Jennifer left Houston. Their flight was scheduled for Monday, August 2nd, and my temporary OB (since my regular doctor was out of town) had tentatively scheduled me for induction on Monday as well. I was sick of waddling, sick of the uncomfortable nights of sleep, and just ready for the baby to be OUT!

As luck would have it, Mitchell decided to make his way out on his originally-scheduled due date of July 31st - meaning we were able to leave Samara with Honey and Jennifer at home, and Mom was able to accompany Garrett and me to the hospital to help coach. I started having contractions around 3:00am on Saturday morning. I woke up to what felt like strong cramps, and soon realized they were coming and going in waves about every 10 minutes. I pulled out my iPhone to use my little contraction timer (yep, there's an app for that), and Garrett woke up to the light. After timing a few more contractions, we both decided it was time to get ready. I called my mom on her cell phone (she was sleeping upstairs), and Garrett hopped into the shower, knowing he'd probably be without one for a day or two. Mom and I groggily put on our make-up - our pre-hospital tradition (hey, a girl's gotta look good in her labor pictures!), and by the time we were finished, I realized my contractions were strengthening and coming about every 3-4 minutes.

Garrett started loading everything into the car, and my nervousness grew as I realized things were moving MUCH more quickly than they had with Samara. I looked at my timer again and I was already contracting every 2 minutes! We jumped in the car and rushed to the hospital, arriving around 5:45 or 6:00am. I was checked into Labor and Delivery quickly, and an hour later, I was ready to push. I think we were all in shock over how fast things moved this time around.

Mitchell Perry Atkinson was born on July 31st, 2010 at 7:17am at Memorial Hermann Memorial City hospital. He was 9lbs. 1oz. and 20 inches long. Garrett cut the umbilical cord. Mitchell had an easy time breathing and is completely healthy. He has navy blue eyes, a full head of dark brown hair, and even has little tufts of hair on his ears - we think he's going to be tall, dark, and handsome. :) If the three of us had not seen Mitchell come out of me, we might not have believed he was ours; it was hard to believe he could look so different from Samara! We have all agreed he looks a lot like his Uncle Brian, his Beane-Beane, and his great-granddaddy Colmore. He might have also gotten some of his great-Uncle Polk's looks. Either way, he's got some good genes! We think we'll keep him.

Honey and Jennifer visited the hospital in the afternoon on the 31st and Samara met Mitchell for the first time. From that moment, she has been completely obsessed with him; she thinks he is the coolest. All she wants to do is pet his hair, pat his belly, and kiss his feet. Granted, her attempts to be nice are a little more rough than we would prefer, but at least she likes him! Below is a slideshow and video of the first moments between Big Sis' and Lil Bro'. It's pretty adorable.

We are still getting to know Mitchell as a little human being, but some things we know thus far are these:

Mitchell is a chatty sleeper. He makes all kinds of little cooing and grunting noises in his sleep. It is so cute.
Unfortunately, unlike his sister, he does most of his sleeping during the day. He is up much of the night and has been a little bear to get on any kind of schedule.
Mitchell gets hungry every 15 minutes. Well, maybe it's every hour and 15 minutes, but it's certainly not the 3 hours it's supposed to be in between feedings! He's got a "warning cry" that sounds like a little piglet squeal, warning us that he's about to get loud - and we hear this pretty often. We're definitely running on sleep fumes these days!
Also unlike his big sister, Mitchell is a little cuddle bug. He loves snuggling with Garrett or I, and could sleep in our bed all night.

We may be exhausted, but we are loving our life with our new son and sweet daughter. Our little family is now complete! Enjoy some pictures from Mitchell's first few days below. More to come!

Here's a little snippet of Mitchell's chatty snoozing.

Mitchell's best impression of his Uncle Brian.

Chillin' with Daddy.

Lovey, Honey, and Aunt Jennifer with the new baby.

Samara is excited to meet her little brother!

Back at home, snuggling with Honey.

He has Beane Beane's curly toes.

Posing with the stork put in our yard by the neighborhood Mom's group.

Hurry! Let's get the picture before the mosquitoes attack us!

Mitchell's display of hunger every hour.

Lots of sleeping pictures.

Bath Time

Very Small Window

2010-07-09T10:57:00.001-05:00

As of Wednesday's doctor's appointment, I am about 2cm dilated and 60% effaced. Every day I am feeling more pressure on my pelvis (is it possible for it to crack???), and just generally feeling whale-ish. The doctor still seems to think Mitchell is on track to head out around a week early, but he'd better follow directions because it turns out he has a very SMALL window of opportunity to arrive! Dr. McCloskey will be out of town from July 26th through August 2nd, and Garrett will be out of town for work for two days next week. So, if you have any special powers, please use them to encourage Mitchell to plan his arrival for sometime between next week and 25th. That's 12 days. He can do that, right? Maybe if I tell him sternly and use his middle name...

Look for the next baby update after my appointment on July 14th! TGIF!!!

Our Little Family's Low-Key 4th of July

2010-07-09T10:28:00.004-05:00

July 4th, 2010 was my first Independence Day away from home. I usually spend my birthday and the evening of fireworks with my family in Florida, so this was a first to try to plan our activities in another city. Houston is known for hosting the largest land-based fireworks display in the country at their "Freedom Over Texas" festival every year. This year, the big draw was a live concert by Pat Green, one of Garrett's favorite country music artists. Although the festival sounded like a ton of fun, we decided it would probably not be the best place for our little toddler. Throngs of drunk people sweating everywhere... Yeah, not so much. Garrett complained a bit about not being able to party like a rock star anymore, but he was a pretty good sport.

In the end, we opted for a low-key 4th celebration in our neighborhood. Hearthstone Country Club hosts an annual Independence Day celebration at the clubhouse, open to all residents, with barbeque at 7:00pm and a fireworks show on the driving range around 8:30 or 9:00pm. Unfortunately, the club never updated their website with the specific information for the night, so we missed the barbeque. However, we did arrive in plenty of time to set up our camping chairs and blanket on the driving range just as dusk was setting in.

The weather was surprisingly comfortable for July in Houston, with a constant breeze in the air and just a bit of humidity. We listened to the live music playing in the club's outdoor pavilion and Samara snacked on freeze-dried fruit bites and danced along. The fireworks started when the sky blackened, and we were pleasantly surprised with quite an impressive fireworks show for just a neighborhood celebration. Samara was a bit startled at first by the loud booms, but no tears - just a few minutes of quiet contemplation. It didn't take her long before she decided the fireworks were pretty cool, and she asserted her independence by hopping off our laps and sitting alone on her blanket to watch the remainder of the show. She pointed, clapped, and squealed with excitement as the colors exploded in the sky, and kept turning around to look at Mommy and Daddy, pointing at the fireworks as if to say, "Are you seeing this???"

It was a great family evening, and just the first taste of many more to come.

Here is the slideshow of pictures and video from our low-key 4th of July. Hope yours was as great as ours!

Summer Fun & First Steps!!!

2010-07-08T11:01:00.000-05:00

What a great summer we have been having! Between play dates, lunches with friends, and all the doctor's appointments preparing for Mitchell's arrival, we have been busy bees! Houston has been hot, hot, hot, so it has been a bit of a challenge to find activities for the kiddos that are comfortable and fun, but somehow we manage!

Here are some great summer pics with our playgroup friends.

In other news, Samara reached a huge milestone on my birthday. She took her FIRST STEPS on July 2, 2010!!! While she hasn't started running around everywhere yet (the spider-monkey crawl is still the locomotion of choice), she is practicing her walking more and more every day. It's amazing to watch her grow! Here is a video of her (technically second) set of steps. So exciting!

A New Baby Update - FINALLY!

2010-07-01T09:45:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was my 36-week prenatal check-up, and only my 3rd ultrasound this pregnancy. It is crazy how few updates I feel like I have received this go-round, compared to my pregnancy with Samara where I was labeled "high risk," thanks to the false-positive NT test. Though I am SO thankful not to have had to go through the worry and stress I did last time, I will say that the amount of ultrasounds and updates with Samara were wonderful. This time, I have just been going through the motions of being pregnant, without even really letting the fact sink in that we are HAVING ANOTHER BABY! After yesterday's appointment, the reality is really sinking in!

I am 1cm dilated and 50% effaced at this point, and Mitchell is about 6lbs. 3oz. The doctor thinks Mitchell will be no bigger than Samara was (thank God, since Samara was 8lbs. 1oz.!), and based on his measurements, his ETA has been bumped up by about a week. The doctor said she thinks I will deliver "as much as a week early," so we could be seeing the little guy's face sometime around the 25th instead of the 31st. But you never know - remember, Samara was due April 28th and didn't show herself until May 6th! So we shall see!

We are also hoping for an even faster labor this time, since this is my 2nd baby. It only took 8 hours with Samara, but the doctor said she is shooting for 4 this time! Woohoo! Let's hope she's right!!! I'm rooting for quick and easy, too. :)

Lastly, I received four pictures from yesterday's ultrasound, and I'd love your comments on them. Typically, I can tell what's what in the ultrasounds photos, even if they aren't the clearest images in the world. However, this time, I have NO earthly clue what the ultrasound tech was taking pictures of! If you think you have an idea, by all means, chime in! I am otherwise at a loss...

I mean, what in the world IS this???

This one is just downright scary. It looks like there's a screaming face upside-down on the left, and a random nose with flaring nostrils toward the top. It freaks me out.

Okay, this one is somewhat decipherable, I think. If I'm looking at it correctly, I think this is a zoomed-in image of Mitchell's profile. His face is pointed upward on the screen, the crown of his head to the right and chin to the left. I can see a defined nose, lips, and forehead, but that's it.

Sorry these pictures aren't better! Unfortunately, you won't see anything better until the little man is here for real! Maybe Garrett will take pictures of the right baby this time... hehehe.

Maternity Henna & Photoshoot

2010-06-13T15:47:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I am fully aware that second children can sometimes get the short straw when it comes to pictures and attention. I know I haven't blogged quite as much about Mitchell's impending arrival as I did about Samara's. And while I have a full book of pictures and details about my pregnancy with Samara, the little guy's book has a few lines scrawled and some ultrasound photos stuck in between the pages. Half the time, I don't even know how many weeks pregnant I am, and the poor kid's room is still empty with wallpaper glue on the walls! It's shameful. But I did do something special this time around that might make up for my otherwise delinquent record-keeping.

I had seen photos of women with their bellies beautifully tattooed with henna (a temporary organic tattoo made from the crushed leaves of the henna plant, and traditionally used in India as celebratory body art for engagements, weddings, etc.), and I knew I wanted to steal the Indian tradition for myself. Since Garrett and I are pretty sure we're done baby-making after Mitchell, this was my chance. I made an appointment with Soniya at The Original Henna Company in Houston Heights for the Tuesday after Memorial Day, and asked our friend Jessi (who is quite the talented little photographer) to come hang out with Samara during the appointment.

The whole process, from application through drying time, took about 2-3 hours. Samara has been teething something fierce the last few weeks, and I was worried she would be a grouch while I was out of commission, but surprisingly, she was a complete angel! She never once tried to get me to hold her (which was my main fear, since I definitely couldn't pick her up with wet henna all over my belly!), and just crawled around playing with her toys. (I brought an awesome new toy that pretty much held her attention the whole time - the B. Parum Pum Pum Drum. She looooves that all the pieces make lots of noise!) It also helped that Soniya, the henna artist, had her two kids with her at the shop, too. Her daughter is about 9 months old and was a little extra entertainment for Samara during the process.

After the henna dried, I had to let it slowly flake off for another hour or two until I was finally able to scrape off the dried paste. Underneath the dried paste was the design, in a very pale orange stain. I was told to rub some Vicks VapoRub onto the stain (because of the eucalyptus oil and menthol in the ingredients), and that the stain would darken to a deep orange-y brown over the course of 24-48 hours. Sure enough, the stain darkened beautifully, and by Friday of that week, I was ready for pictures.

Jessi came over around 11:00 and we braved the heat outside to try lots of different poses in the back yard. Unfortunately, the heat had overtaken most of the colorful blooms in the yard that I had originally planned to use as back-drops, including our purple Vitex tree, yellow Bearded Iris, Gardenias, and Knockout Roses. Our Crepe Myrtles and Plumbago hadn't even bloomed yet, so we were pretty much stuck with just green for a backdrop; but I think we got some great shots!

Samara and Gabi joined us outside and even inserted themselves into a few pictures. By the time we finished, it was time for lunch, and we were all covered in dirt from laying (some of us crawling) around in the grass. Samara got even dirtier after digging into her broccoli casserole and blackberries, so we opted for a bath before nap time. It was an exhausting day, but a fun time!

Below is the slideshow of pictures from the henna appointment and the photoshoot day. For full-sized pictures from the photoshoot, click here.

A huge shout-out goes to Jessi for taking the awesome pictures - I love them!

Guest Post: "The Climb" as told by Brian Beane

2010-06-08T11:11:00.003-05:00

As many of you may already know, Garrett and Brian made their most recent hiking trip in May to Mt. Whitney. Though it almost caused heart attacks for me and Mom, the boys made it back safe, sound, and triumphant. We'll skim over the fact that Mom and I have created a "Hiking Protocol" sheet for their future hikes to prevent worry and hyperventilation on our parts, and put the real focus on what a great time the guys had and how proud we are of their accomplishment!

Now, for the real story, as told by Brian Beane (slideshow of pictures below):

I had the privilege last month to climb with my brother-in-law and some friends to the summit of Mt Whitney, at the Southern terminus of the John Muir Trail. Nestled on the boundary of the Sequoia National Park and the Inyo National Forrest, a mere 76 miles West of the lowest point in North America (Badwater, Death Valley National Park, elevation: 282 feet below sea level), Mt Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous 48 United States at an elevation of 14,505 feet. The summit of Mt Whitney lies along the Sierra Crest in a cluster of many of the highest peaks that the Sierra Nevada has to offer. Our expedition followed a unique progression from the infancy of its conception to the culmination of our efforts and the ultimate fulfillment of achieving the summit. Because the mountain is located in a National Park, it is necessary to obtain Backcountry permits from the National Park Service for any climber to attempt reaching the summit. When applying for such permits, an applicant may submit several dates he or she would be willing and able to make the trek. In our particular case, permits were issued for one of the least desirable dates we had requested, however, we were presented with a unique opportunity and challenge. The month of May represents the early season for climbers summiting Mt Whitney, and there is often significant residual snow and ice on the mountain throughout the month, with the possibility of additional snowfall. The presence of snow and ice on a climbing expedition drastically changes the prerequisite skills and abilities of the climbers involved, as well as the necessary gear and equipment without which such a climb would be virtually impossible.

During the late Summer, climbers of all skill levels often summit Mt Whitney in nothing more than shorts and tee-shirts. The clearly defined Mount Whitney Trail climbs up the primary Southern chute via a series of switchbacks, not unlike the zig-zag movements of a skier trying to reduce their speed on descent. During the Winter months, however, the entire trail is completely obscured by several feet of snow, making it possible for climbers to trudge straight up the chute, often at angles of incline nearing 45 degrees. The precariousness of the angle combined with the snowy and icy terrain require the use of specially designed footwear and hand tools. Crampons are a modified boot sole which are strapped to the outside of a climber's boot, and consist of a series of spikes protruding from the bottom intended to give the wearer purchase on snow and ice. An ice axe is a mountaineering tool held in the climber's hand on the side of their body oriented to mountain facing uphill. The ice axe consists of a pick and an adze at the head, and a spike or ferrule at the base of the shaft. This multi-purpose tool may be used for balance and stability, carving out footholds in hard packed snow or ice, and most importantly in the event of a fall the climber uses the axe to perform a self-arrest and prevent sliding down a mountain without control. The use of both crampons and ice axes is quite necessary for a successful summit climb in winter or frozen conditions.

Ironically, of the nine individuals who made the trip, none of our crew had any prior experience in frozen conditions, and none of us had the necessary equipment, much less did we know how to use it. We were notified of our approval for permits less than a month in advance, and it was only weeks before the trip that we became aware that the conditions surpassed our expectations, and would necessitate the use of such specialized gear. The result is that we all purchased these items as a last minute consideration, and the extent of our experience in using them consisted solely of watching instructional videos on YouTube. As if these circumstances weren't enough, two days prior to our attempt at summiting, the area was inundated with another two feet of late season snowfall.

So on a Thursday afternoon when I finished my work, I flew out to Los Angeles where I met up with my brother-in-law and stayed at a hotel for the night. We woke early the following morning to make the three hour drive North to Lone Pine, where we expected the rest of our crew to have already embarked. We had planned to camp out at a designated area along the trail for the first night, and to attempt the summit early the next morning from this intermediate elevation. It was agreed that we would all meet at the Outpost Camp in Big Horn Park, and climb together as a crew on the second day, however, when we arrived at Outpost, there was no one to be found. We assumed that the rest of the crew had pressed on, and considering that we had not anticipated the arduousness of the hike, we made a decision to climb higher on our first day and essentially lessen the extent of our climb to the summit on day two. Again we underestimated the difficulty of the climb, and the hike from Outpost Camp to Trail Camp, just a little further up the mountain, sapped from us what little remaining energy we had. The mere two miles separating the two camps consisted of a steep vertical climb of approximately 200 yards, from which we struck out horizontally along a well used path in the snow along the Big Horn Traverse. This proved to be the first opportunity to use our crampons and ice axes, so after watching several other climbers slide from their perch and lose 100 yards of elevation, we dutifully put them to use. Upon arriving at Trail camp, we un-slung our heavily laden packs, sat down for a quick drink of water until our hands and feet began to chill, then we set up our tent and sleeping bags for a late afternoon siesta. Searching for our remaining crew members proved too ambitious for our worn-out twosome, so about three hours later we were still cozy in our sleeping bags, and had no desire to stir. It was crucial that we eat a substantial dinner to repair the sore muscles and store energy for the trials to follow, so without venturing out into the cold, we lit our stove under the vestibule of the mountaineering tent, boiled some snow, and helped ourselves to some freeze-dried trail meals that you simply add water to and stir. Mine was Chili Mac with Beef, to which I added Tabasco, and while I bitterly contested the statement on the label that the course was for two, I was amply pleased with the warmth and flavor that brought me so much comfort in those final hours. Needless to say, immediately after dinner, we dozed off and relished in the best night of sleep you can possibly experience on a rocky outcrop in 17 degree weather.

It was roughly 7:30 on Saturday morning when the sun broke the horizon down the valley, and we were the first to stir on the wind-swept rocks. We boiled some snow to make water for the day's climb, then shed the bulk of our gear so that we could travel lean and fast to the summit. What we left behind we simply stowed in the tent, and once again donned our crampons to break fresh snow. We were the third group to set out from Trail Camp that morning, but we easily overcame the second group as they leisurely ambled up the chute. The first group, however, were experience mountaineers with whom we had spoken briefly the previous night, and whom we knew to have consumed a full bottle of Jack Daniel's to stay warm in their minimalist bivvy sacks. They angled out across the chute towards the scramble route on the SE face of the ridge, which can considerably shorten the climb for those experienced and confident enough to brave the much steeper inclines. We opted for the safer, though arguably no less difficult route straight up the belly of the chute, so we were the first to make tracks up the powdery face. It was at least an hour and a half before we reached the Trail Crest at the top of the chute, where the Mount Whitney trail intersects the John Muir trail on the ridge of the Sierra Nevada's. We broke for a half hour to eat a breakfast of Clif bars and energy gels, and enjoyed our first glimpse of Guitar lake down below on the far side. The most demanding part of the climb behind us, we struck out along the Ridgeline towards the Whitney summit. The ridgeline section is a few miles of gently undulating trail that meanders along the west side of the ridge. The terrain, however, is a coarse mixture of gravel, rock, snow and ice, making it difficult to keep one's footing, with a sheer drop-off on the left side that would surely claim the life of anyone so unfortunate to slip and fall. Only a half mile or so into the ridgeline we could make out the summit shelter off in the distance atop a massive granite shelf. The granite structure, replete with stovepipe and tin roof, appeared a haven from our tedium, so we stepped ever onward and upward with renewed vigor. By this point, we had reached elevations where any man, regardless of health and fitness, will come to a gasping halt almost every twenty paces. It was almost another two hours before we were at the base of the shelf, and we faced one final ascent of 150 yards over a snowy pass that seemed to disappear in the distance the way an infinity pool blends with the ocean beyond into oblivion. Blinded by the sun's reflection on the snow and exhausted by the effort of the climb, we triumphantly staggered across the field of loose boulders on the summit towards the shelter, and the plaque which symbolized the highest elevation in the lower 48 United States.

The view atop the summit is humbling, with a 360 degree uninhibited panorama of the Sierra Nevada's. We took advantage of the momentarily clear skies, and took several photos of ourselves, the shelter, the plaques, and the scenery. It wasn't long as we sat sedentary on the summit before the temperature brought a sharp reminder of the harshness of the mountain, so we donned our jackets to enjoy the brief respite. While we lay stretched out on the rocks warming in the sun, our crew began arriving intermittently from across the boulder field. Within an hour, all but one of our party had made summit, and so we took several group shots of the crew standing in front of Summit Shelter looking Northwest. As the afternoon progressed, the wind began to shift, and clouds loomed over the western skies from the Pacific. It became imperative that we move off the summit and make our way off the mountain before temperatures dropped significantly. We set out together to descend the mountain, and our progress along the ridge was swift and filled with light-hearted banter among the crew. We reached Trail Crest within an hour, and peered down over the vast expanse of snow on the Chute that we had toiled up only a few hours prior. Rather than climb slowly down the face, we took advantage of the unique opportunity to glissade, a technique of running and sliding down the snow without ever stopping to get stability, but with some degree of control of direction and speed. What had taken us hours to complete that morning took a mere ten minutes with the aid of gravity. We strolled cheerily into Trail Camp to gather the rest of our belongings, resupply with water, and make our final descent to the car park.

It was a slow walk to the car, down every switchback and over every stream. We dreamed of water and beer, and fish tacos from the Mexican restaurant in Lone Pine that we had heard so much about. More than anything, though, I couldn't wait to take off my boots, to warm my toes and relieve the pressure and discomfort. Only after several hours of knee jarring downhill, slogging through the half melted snow and slush that covered most of the trail, did we finally arrive at the car, just minutes before nightfall and complete darkness. Tired but utterly relieved to be off the trail and finished with our ordeal, we hopped in the car and headed to the Mexican restaurant to celebrate.

I have been backpacking my whole life, and I always marvel at the power of the human mind and its ability to suppress memories of pain and replace them with memories of triumph and joy. This trip was, without question, the most difficult climb I have ever attempted, and while I have no intention of repeating the exercise any time soon, I will always recall the memories and smile, and the photographs will serve as a reminder of the accomplishment I now share with my brother-in-law and our small band of novice climbers and outdoor enthusiasts.

Hazardous Fruits and Vegetables: Do You Know the Dirty Dozen?

2010-06-03T15:55:00.003-05:00

You may have heard the latest from Nancy Snyderman on the Today Show, regarding pesticide-laden fruits and veggies, and their potential link to autism in kids. If you haven't, the full video segment is below. As usual, I try to take every bit of information with a grain of salt, but this info was a bit disconcerting. It's not conceivable for us to buy organic ALL the time, so I was pleased to find this little cheat sheet, pictured below, showing which produce is best to buy organic and what not to worry about. I also downloaded the iPhone app recommended in the article, called "Locavore," which has all kinds of fun goodies, including information on what produce is currently in season and where to find the closest Farmers Market. Anyway, some good stuff here. Thought I'd share!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Read full article here.

Mitchell's Baby Shower!

2010-06-02T15:41:00.000-05:00

It's been a little while since I was able to post, but I've finally finished compiling the pictures from Mitchell's Baby Shower! After a busy weekend working on Samara's birthday party, it was so nice to have a relaxing brunch with just the girls, to celebrate the impending arrival of our little boy! Lauren drove in from San Antonio on Sunday afternoon, woke up early on Monday morning to slave away over the stove, and prepared some fabulous food for the shower! The weather was pretty warm, but breezy enough to stay comfortable, and we enjoyed sitting out on the patio under the shade of the umbrella. I loved being able to spend some extra time with all my girls, and am so thankful to Lauren for putting everything together so well, and to everyone for the sweet gifts for Mitchell! Garrett and I cannot wait for his arrival!!!

To view slideshow in FULL SCREEN, click here.

NOTE: If you want to slow the slideshow down, just view it in full screen and drag the little slider toward the turtle, away from the rabbit, in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

Happy Birthday to All!

2010-05-16T16:17:00.003-05:00

AND THE WINNER IS... no one. Yep, that's right. In the "More Like Daddy or Mommy" contest, the final results tallied to 6 votes for Samara looking more like Garrett, 6 for me, and 4 for "She's a little mixture." I guess we both win. Either way, she's a cutie!

So, last weekend was the big birthday bash for Samara and three of her playgroup friends, Walker, Juliana, and Andrew. Mom, Daddy, and Grandmother stayed at our house and were a tremendous help with all the cleaning and preparations! The party was a huge success, with plenty of good food, lots of family and friends, and of course, cake! With a little over 50 attendees, the other moms and I all worked together to make enough food for the party. Amaya made homemade guacamole, mushroom bruschetta, chocolate strawberry cake, and some killer sangria. (I only got to try a tiny bit, but I wish I could have had a whole jug! It was sooo good). Kelly made some succulent pulled brisket to pile onto rolls with various condiments and potato salad, along with her famous Red Velvet Chip Cupcakes with White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting. Long name, delicious result! Nia brought hummus and pita, veggies and cheese, and some other yummy snack foods. And, thank goodness my mom was here to help, because we made Honey's famous Carrot Cake Supreme with Buttermilk Glaze and Cream Cheese Frosting, Perfectly Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache, homemade vanilla ice cream, and Rotel dip with refried beans and tamales. Judging by the empty platters and even some to-go plates thrown together at the end of the party, I'd say it all turned out pretty delicious!

Aside from the awesome food spread, we also had three kiddie pools, a little slide, and of course, the big pool. Samara had the most fun splashing around in the little pools and swimming in the big pool with her Daddy. She later tried her first bites of cake, but we think she might have had too much sugar because not too long afterward, that cake and ice cream came right back up! Poor kid... But she rallied after that, and was back to her happy self. All the kids and adults had a blast, and before we knew it, the party was over and our little bambinos were bushed and ready for a nap! You know, we were pretty bushed, too!

Samara received so many adorable gifts from friends and family, all of which we love and appreciate! Thanks to all who attended, and for the generous gifts!

Here is a slideshow from the birthday bash, including some pictures from Samara's first year of life. I can't believe time has flown by so fast!!!

To view slideshow in FULL SCREEN, click here.

NOTE: If you want to slow the slideshow down, just view it in full screen and drag the little slider toward the turtle, away from the rabbit, in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

We also attended another birthday party a few weekends ago for Beckett, another of Samara's playgroup buddies. Beckett's party was also great fun. Here are the photos from that fun day:

Up next: Mitchell's Baby Shower, thrown by the lovely Lauren!!!

The First of the Birthday Parties

2010-04-23T15:18:00.002-05:00

It's birthday party season here in Houston, and while it keeps us busy, it's a heck of a lot of fun! On April 10th, we attended Samara's friend Marshall's birthday party at Wonderwild in the Heights, an indoor playground with a big bouncy area, climbing structure, and lots of toys. The kids had a great time crawling around, bouncing on the "Jumpoline," and climbing around in the big play house. However, I think the biggest hit of the party was the ball pit. Samara, Marshall, and the rest of the kiddos had a blast just sitting in the balls and kicking them around.

Of course, Marshall enjoyed some delicious homemade mini cupcakes, made especially for him by his mommy, Amy (which we enjoyed as much or more than the babies!). We also gave Marshall one of our new favorite books, in the Mini House/Mini Wheels Book Collection by Peter Lippman. We bought six of these cute little books, and loved them so much that Samara is getting the Enchanted Castle one for her birthday! (Sorry, the surprise is out - not that she'll care!)

Here is my slideshow of the party, along with Amy's slideshow below:

To view slideshow in FULL SCREEN, click here.

NOTE: If you want to slow the slideshow down, just view it in full screen and drag the little slider toward the turtle, away from the rabbit, in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

We'll get back to you with photos from the next birthday party (Beckett's) after this weekend, and then the big group bash for Samara, Walker, Juliana, and Andrew is on the 8th!

More Like Daddy or Mommy?

2010-04-14T09:14:00.003-05:00

Does Samara look more like her Daddy or her Mommy? What do you think? Take a second to vote in our little poll on the right-hand side of the blog. We'll decide who wins on Samara's big FIRST birthday, on May 6th!

Here are some pictures to help you compare:

Samara:

Daddy:

Mommy:

Tasty Tuesday: Grandmama's Key Lime Pie

2010-04-13T10:31:00.037-05:00

During our Galveston trip, we visited the Sunflower Bakery for breakfast and loved the food. However, given the early hour, we elected not to try any of their decadent-looking pastries, including a key lime tart topped with fresh fruit that looked heavenly. After craving key lime pie all day, we tried to go back again for a late lunch on Sunday, but they were already closed! So of course, I felt the need to indulge a bit at home this week, and decided to make Garrett's favorite dessert, his Grandmama's Key Lime Pie. Man, is it good... Grandmama uses shortbread crust instead of graham cracker, which gives it a little more crisp with every bite. Although it can be substituted with graham cracker crust, we like the shortbread. We also went the easy route and just a roll of refrigerated Pillsbury pie dough instead of making our own crust, so the crust is pretty versatile. Just choose whatever you like! We also used bottled key lime juice, since the little green gems are harder to find in Texas, apparently, than in Florida. However, even with the substitutions, the pie was to die for. We're pretty sure you'll think so, too.

Grandmama's Key Lime Pie
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature

¼ cup sugar

1 large egg yolk

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

Pie weights (dried beans or rice will also work)

1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

½ cup fresh key lime juice (can take up to 12 limes to yield this amount, depending on their size)*

2 key limes, zested (reserve half for garnish)

1 small package whipped topping, plus more for garnish

In a bowl, combine the butter and sugar and blend to make a paste. Add the yolk and blend thoroughly. Add the flour and using your fingers, blend to make a crumbly dough, being careful not to overwork. Pat firmly into a 9-inch pie pan and let rest in the refrigerator at least 2 hours or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator and prick the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork. Place a sheet of parchment or foil in the pie tin and fill with pie weights, dried beans or rice and bake the crust in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove the pie weights and foil and bake for another 5 minutes or until light golden brown. Allow pie crust to cool completely.

Meanwhile, beat together condensed milk and key lime juice until thoroughly combined. Add half of lime zest and beat until well-blended. Fold in the whipped topping, being careful not to over-mix, or the whipped topping will “break.”

Pour mixture into cooled pie crust and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Top with more whipped topping, sliced key limes, and zest.

Frozen shortbread or graham cracker crust is also delicious!

*Jarred or canned key lime juice may also be used.

A Galveston Easter Weekend Getaway

2010-04-08T10:35:00.004-05:00

(Left: Victory gestures in the direction of San Jacinto, to honor those who won the Republic of Texas' freedom from Mexico).

Everyone warned us that Galveston would be sub-par compared to our beaches at home in Florida, that the sand and surf would be brown, and with oil rigs in the distance. So, we chose to take a mini-vacation to our closest beach destination with admitted skepticism. It's not often that we get to take vacations these days with Garrett's busy work schedule, Samara, and Mitchell on the way. However, we were able to squeeze in a short getaway over Easter weekend and were pleasantly surprised with the little 19th century beach destination that is Galveston.

Maybe it was because of our low expectations, but we had the most wonderful time in Galveston. We stayed in an adorable restored Victorian home aptly titled "A Bygone Era," located in the Lost Bayou Historic District, just six blocks behind the historic Galvez Hotel on the Seawall, and seven blocks from The Strand. It was built in 1886 by Mr. Thomas Hawley, and survived The Storm of 1900. The home owners have taken care to preserve as much of the home's historical elements as possible; framed remnants of the original wallpaper and a stamped piece of wood from the original sub-floor decorate the walls in the foyer. The original hardwood floors were even saved after September 2008's Hurricane Ike, when much of Galveston was flooded and the house itself sustained multiple feet of water damage. From the looks of the glossy floorboards and the pristine paint job, accompanied by the tasteful decor, you would never know the house was ever damaged in the first place. We were able to bring Gabi, which saved us the cost of dog boarding, and the house even had an antique crib for Samara to sleep in.

Besides our lovely accommodations, we also visited quite a few tasty restaurants, including The Sunflower Bakery, The Spot, Gaido's, and Bernardo's at the Hotel Galvez. Our meal at Bernardo's was the annual fancy-shmancy Easter Brunch, which was amazingly huge - buffets lining the entryway into the ballroom, the foyer area to the ballroom, and the ballroom itself. Even Samara thoroughly enjoyed the meal, trying salmon for the first time in a white wine and onion sauce, as well as some green beans with roasted red peppers and lots of fresh fruit. I enjoyed a few succulent crab claws as well, and sampled quite a few of the heavenly desserts. There was a layered chocolate mousse cake with chocolate ganache that was particularly decadent. Mmmm... My mouth is watering for it right now!

The Sunflower Bakery was a wonderful breakfast destination, with a lovely little outdoor patio. Garrett had the lox and cream cheese bagel with capers and red onions, and I had the Southwestern Eggs Benedict, with salsa, avocado, and perfectly-poached eggs. The Spot was fantastic fried seafood, including fried shrimp, crawfish, grouper, fries, buttermilk onion rings, and golden brown hush puppies with the perfect hint of spiciness - all enjoyed right on the seawall with a view of the bay. Our more formal dinner for the weekend was enjoyed at Gaido's, also on the seawall. The snapper was so fresh that the sous-chefs were filleting the fish as we were seated. Apparently, all their seafood comes straight out of Galveston Bay. Obviously, we both tried the snapper; Garrett's blackened with Cajun seasoning with a side of fresh vegetables and dirty rice with mushrooms, and mine topped with a sort of compote of shrimp and avocado, tossed in a white wine sauce, alongside some wonderful fresh veggies. I am usually skeptical of "mixed vegetables" at restaurants, because they come out steamed to a mushy consistency and scooped out with a big ice cream scooper. However, these veggies were just lightly steamed and tossed in just a bit of this yummy herby-lemony-butter sauce. They were so fresh and crispy and flavorful! Needless to say, we were fans of all the food!

We visited the beach on Saturday, and really weren't disappointed. Again, maybe it was due to our low expectations, but we were pleasantly surprised. Granted, the Galveston beach cannot be compared to a Caribbean or even a Florida beach, but the water looked clean - just sandy - and the sand was brown, but again not dirty-looking. We didn't even see any oil rigs in the distance! Our only minor gripes were 1) the rocks in the sand (not sure where these come from - are they naturally-appearing?), and 2) that people weren't following the dogs-on-a-leash rule. We almost brought Gabi to the beach, but decided against it for convenience's sake; however, a few people did have their dogs in tow. We wouldn't have minded, except that neither of the dogs in our area were leashed. Both were rather large dogs, and one was a Pit-bull. Both seemed happy and well-behaved, but with a little baby crawling around, we were somewhat disconcerted about the roaming dogs. Otherwise, the beach was great!

Samara was unsure of the sand at first. Every time her hand or foot would touch it, she would freeze and raise up the appendage like it was no longer usable until I brushed off the tiny grains. Her apparent dislike of the sand actually made it easy to keep up with her, though, so Garrett and I were able to relax and know she was staying on the blanket or inside her little baby beach tent. She did seem to warm up to the sand a bit when we walked down to the water and let her splash in the waves just a bit and dig her toes into the wet sand. We were out there for hours, and Samara never made a screech - she loved it!

We also explored the historic neighborhoods on Sunday, and I was particularly blown away by all the Victorian, Queen Anne, and Greek Revival architecture. You could say I'm a bit obsessed! I could just drive around and drool over historic homes all day long... The area definitely still needs more work after all the damage from Ike (and likely just the typical deterioration of historic homes over time), but the houses still standing - especially those restored - are simply breathtaking.

Below are some photos of our rental house, followed by some of the lovely "painted ladies" around town, and finally, our slideshow of family pictures from the weekend:

To view slideshow in FULL SCREEN, click here.

NOTE: If you want to slow the slideshow down, just view it in full screen and drag the little slider toward the turtle, away from the rabbit, in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

Samara gets smeared in sunscreen:

Not too sure about this sand stuff...

Well, maybe it's KINDA cool...

Okay, NOW we're talkin'!

Sign the Food Revolution Petition!

2010-04-01T11:29:00.000-05:00

If you have kids and haven't seen ABC's new series, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, you must! Or at least break out the remote control and DVR an episode. Having worked in the public school system, this hits close to home for me, and gets me all fired up to take part in making changes before my own kids enter into the system themselves. The food served by our schools is appalling, and is undoubtedly linked to this country's obesity rates. I made a few attempts to change the vending machine options when I was teaching, but my revolutionary attempts were puny compared to Jamie's! Unfortunately, vending machines aren't dealt with in this series, but this is a huge, wonderful step forward! If this strikes a nerve for you as it has for me, sign the Food Revolution Petition here.

A Spring Visit from Aunt Lauren!

2010-03-30T20:22:00.000-05:00

Aunt Lauren paid us a visit last weekend during a dental conference and took some adorable videos of Samara. In case you haven't seen enough of her cuteness in the last couple of days, here is some more!

This first video is of Samara's new "crazy crawl," which is sortof cave-man-like, or downward-dog-yoga-esque... Anyway, she stepped on her dress and "rolled with it," which was impressive and incredibly cute:

This second video was taken during dinner at Yia Yia Mary's, a Pappas Greek restaurant in Houston. Samara was exhausted and somewhat delirious, which can either result in a terrible 'tude, or this sweet silliness:

Easter Presents & Heights Kids Easter Egg Hunt

2010-03-30T18:44:00.027-05:00

Samara and I attended another Easter event this morning, the Heights Kids Group Egg Hunt. Just the moms and the babies this time, we all met up at Milroy Park in the Heights. The weather was once again beautiful and sunny, with the perfect amount of breeziness. There were probably about 30-40 mamas and babies in attendance, meaning we had LOTS of eggs to play with! We just scattered them around in the shade and the kiddos had fun popping open the eggs and eating the munchies inside, including apple puffs, goldfish, and Cheerios. There were even a few eggs with bubbles inside, but it was a bit too windy to enjoy the bubbles.

After the hunt, our little group (Samara, Marshall, Walker, Andrew, Juliana, and Beckett - and the mommies) went to Berryhill Baja Grill for lunch. We sat outside by the fountain and enjoyed the beautiful weather, and after eating, the babies watched the fountain and played in the sun. It was a perfect day!

Here is the video of Samara opening her Easter presents from Granny Jack (including the little pink tutu outfit she wore to the Egg Hunt)!

Slideshow from the Egg Hunt:

More Egg Hunt fun:

Tasty Tuesday: Baked Penne with Corn, Zucchini and Basil

2010-03-30T09:03:00.002-05:00

Let's ring in Spring with a fresh veggie-packed pasta bake. It's hot and cheesy, and chock full of succulent vegetables. We use Dreamfields Healthy Pasta's penne, which (in our humble opinion), tastes just like regular pasta, but is a little bit healthier. I have also used canned tomatoes in place of the fresh tomatoes in this recipe; both turn out just as delicious. And, on a final note, the ingredients list calls for 8 zucchini, but also note that you're going for about 2 lbs. total, so you may end up needing fewer than 8. Just be sure to weigh your zucchini at the grocery before checking out, or you might end up with WAY more zucchini than you really need!

Enjoy!

Baked Penne with Corn, Zucchini and Basil

Kosher salt, to taste

½ lb. penne

6 Tbs. olive oil, plus more as needed

Kernels cut from 2 ears of corn

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

8 small-medium zucchini, about 2 lbs. total, cut into half-moons

½ yellow onion, diced

4 tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 Tbs. sliced garlic

1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 Tbs. tomato paste

¼ cup white wine

½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil

6 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated

2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

Preheat an oven to 400°F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Generously salt the water, add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold running water. Set aside.

In a 12-inch nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 3 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the corn, season with salt and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the corn is lightly golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Set aside.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and warm the remaining 3 Tbs. olive oil. Working in batches, add the zucchini, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender and golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add to the bowl with the corn. Repeat with the remaining zucchini, adding more oil to the pan as needed.

Set the pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, 1 tsp. salt and black pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes soften and begin to form a sauce, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until the wine has reduced and the sauce is fairly thick, about 3 minutes more.

Add the pasta, tomato sauce, basil, mozzarella and half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano to the bowl with the vegetables and stir to combine. Transfer to the fry pan and sprinkle the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until golden brown on top, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.