Jump Start

On a cold and dreary weekend board games, play dough, coloring, homework, and even laundry can get to you...so we decided to get a jump start on February and bake some Valentines cup cakes.

The kids are always happy to help out in the kitchen, especially when they are rewarded with the finished product, not until after dinner of course. Until then, they are outside defeating the cold and I am happy to make it through another weekend with ZERO screen time!

Trailer 2-fer

Its the little things in life that really make me smile...such as hitting up a trailer park for dinner and trying out 2 new trailers with only 1 stop!!














We started at Odd Duck 'Farm to Trailer' where the focus is fresh food, right from the farm obviously. Not a kids menu here but without telling them what I ordered, I had my 3 picky kids sample the following:

~Quesadilla with slow cooked chicken leg, mushrooms, spinach and feta
~Coffee grilled half quail
~Grilled New York Strip on a slider roll with cheese sauce and pickled onions

Definitely a tad too gourmet for them but I thought it was delicious. Diners there with us had the best idea...go for a date night and bring a chilled 6-pack or bottle of red! I will leave the kids at home next time. BUT, the trailer next to us kept the "behave or else" incentive going.
































And that brings us to the second trailer of the night, Gourdoughs. You know the place has to be good when TLC will be filming there this Thursday from 1:00pm to 10:00 p.m. for an “America Eats” segment. Lets just say keep your daily calories at zero before visiting for this trailer because these things are good!

Think homemade warm donut topped with about anything you can imagine. We tried (or should I say devoured) Mama's Cake, Bring the Heath, Black Out, and Funky Monkey. Their name says it all...BIG, FAT, DONUTS and yes, I fell like the first two now BIG and FAT (but worth every bite!)

Wildflower Center

Since admission is free during the month of January, we hurried to Lady Bird Johnson's Wildflower Center after school today. Who would not want to run wild through the dormant gardens, climb on sculptures, play with recycled glass mulch, and climb a tower on a gorgeous day? We were even lucky enough to have our cousins join in on the fun.

We will definitely return in the spring when the flowers come alive!

Dribble, Pass, Shoot...Strep?

For the past 2 months our Saturday mornings are filled with basketball practice and games, followed by Monday night clinics. The boys have improved immensely, but the game is still a little painful to watch. The sport is tough one to learn....hopefully they will get it by junior high.

But the pain of watching them play was not near as bad as Big's right ear. He was screaming on the way home! My single parent nerves could not take it so we stopped at the doctors and we officially have our first case of strep throat in our house. Maybe that explains his low-grade fever and throwing up at school yesterday...for the ear pain, probably an outer ear infection (like swimmers ear) but caused by the shower. Here is to a fun weekend....hurry home Daddy!

Barton Creek

Taking full advantage of this amazing weather in January, we headed to Barton Creek Greenbelt for a long hike this afternoon. The trails are easy, gorgeous, and filled with plenty of things to discover...critters, treasures, bridges, rock climbing, etc. The kids were troopers during our 45 minutes of exploration. Ms. Pink had her moments, but don't all girls.

Next time we will bring our towels so we can wade in the water. And maybe double up on our morning allergy medicine since cedar is peaking.

The March

The kids and I headed to East Austin to join in on the MLK festivities. But we chose to do the course backwards...

We started at the festival before the marchers arrived, only to find very few activities for children, the location a muddy mess, and parking a drag. We did walk around only to pretend we feasted at the cotton candy, kettle corn and the funnel cake stands. Then we found a place to park off of 11th street for a front row view of the marchers. After 1 hour of waiting, the smaller than expected crowed filled the street. Our next and final stop planned was the MLK statue on University of Texas' campus. After too many one way streets and road closures due to construction, we decided to X-nay our last destination and head home for a way over due lunch.

A crazy, stress-filled day for me but the kids enjoyed it. I guess that makes it all worth while.

Al Estilo Acapulco

Nothing beats a taco stand that does not have a web page to link to. And a menu in Spanish with the English translation on a piece of torn cardboard written in crayon. By this time we know we have found the real deal when it comes to taco stands.

We opted on take out rather than eating at the 1 table provided in our church clothes on a 40 degree morning. The breakfast was wonderful. Even Ms. Pink will confess after she easily ate 3 of them. But don't let the green sauce fool you (3rd photo down in the top corner). What first tastes to be a delicious avocado/sour cream mix, quickly turns into a habanero nightmare...ridding one of all their mountain cedar symptoms. Oh, it was hot...but good!

Winter Eggs

3 dozen eggs, lots of blue finger tips, heading to Mobile Loaves and Fishes!

Holy Cacao

We finally tired the cake balls I have heard about forever at Holy Cacao. Cake crumbles mixed with icing, rolled into a ball, dipped in chocolate...Holy Cacao they were good! Our top favorite Brass Balls (Peanut butter cake mixed with chunky peanut butter, then dipped in chocolate and topped with crushed peanuts.)

Man Bites Dog

After cold weather and the holidays delayed our trailer trying, this afternoon was the perfect day to start sampling again. Man Bites Dog claims eating a hot dog is an "experience." After today, a Buffalo Hottie (100% Vienna beef frank with bleu cheese crumbles, buffalo wing sauce and green onions) will be a forever craving. It was good! Daddy enjoyed his Bird Dog and the boys like a Plain Jane. As for Ms. Pink...we left her asleep in the car. That is the good thing about trailer eating, you are at a picnic bench right next to the car :)

Home again...

We made it up to Grandma's house Christmas day just in time to play in the snow before it all melted. In 6 short days we managed to...see 3 sets of Grandparents, have 4 play dates, go to a surprise birthday party, visit the Science Museum, and see the Trains at Northpark. After all that, we could not wait to spend our last 3 days of vacation at the farm for a little bit of down time.

We rang in the New Year very quietly. It was the perfect night to use our new telescope. The full moon was also a blue moon. A blue moon occurs every 2 1/2 years or so, but to fall on New Year's Eve...the last one was in 1990 and we will not see another on this special night for another 19 years. But when Little looked through the telescope he said "Mommy, but its not blue?!?"

What will 2010 bring? Well, the boys have to bait their own fishing hooks and take off their catch. Ms. Pink will have to learn to steer her jeep rather than running into trees, fences, etc. And for me, I am going to try to keep life simple!