Galveston in 48 hours

We did a there-one-day and back-the-next trip to Galveston.  I don't know if I recommend it.  I would do it again, but I really need to figure out how to do the beach with my kids.  My main problem is that we don't beach it up that often, so I spent way too many of our precious 48 hours in hyper-awareness mode.  Gotta figure out how to change that....

What I loved:
4.5 hours of (almost) uninterrupted convo with two amazing ladies I love to talk with
Chick-fil-A on the road
beholding the Elissa, a wooden ship built in 1877
the hotel directly across from the beach
the waves
the sand
watching my mom laugh with my kids as they are toppled into the tide
rolling in the sand with my kids
watching my above mentioned friends boogie boarding with my kids in the ocean
fried seafood at the "locals" restaurant
the wide-eyed wonder of the little ones in a bonafide candy & ice cream shop
mom's wide-eyed wonder buying said treats in the candy & ice cream shop
being with my super-stamina mom
a bonafide espresso beverage from the local coffee shop
another 4.5 hours of (almost) uninterrupted convo with two amazing ladies I still love to talk with even after 48 hours in Galveston

What I did not love:
kids tugging on and whining at me while I tried to behold The Elissa
the seaweed
the BROWN waves
the sandy poo diapers
the stress of having four kids and only two arms in the seemingly hungry sea
not being able to take pictures on the beach for the same reason
the drama of dragging them away from the beach
loud tenants on every side of our hotel room
puking child at 5a.m.
missing beach time so sick child could rest
early check-out times
not enough hours in Galveston

If you have any tips on how to make ocean experiences less stressful, I'd love to hear them!  But all in all, I would do it again in a heart beat.  My kids will probably not remember one thing of the "didn't love" list anyway.

My friends Han Stoney and Stephanie Press happen to be snap-happy brilliant photographers so I have borrowed generously from their collections

Stephanie and Hannah checking out the sleep quarters

Hannah and Quinn ascending from the Captain's Quarters

by Stephanie Press

Doesn't it make you want to say "Arrrrrgh!"

By Stephanie Press

By Hannah Stoney

By Stephanie Press

By Hannah Stoney

By Stephanie Press

By Stephanie Press

By Hannah Stoney

By Stephanie Press

Look at that radiant woman!  Love her!!

By Hannah Stoney

A List of Reasons Why Michael is a Great Dad

He gives the sweetest sweet kisses.

He gets us the best seat at the coffee shop.

He lets us make our own hot chocolate.

He shows us where to find all the eggs.

He wears a kilt.

He's a great jungle gym.

He let's us do dangerous stuff.

But he keeps us safe.

He teaches us how to be noble.

He's almost always happy.

He teaches us outdoor skills.

He's a good place to nap.

He likes to do crazy science experiments.

He takes us on long walks.

He wears silly hats.

We believe him when he says it will be ok.

He looks cool.

He likes to play in the water.

He teaches us how to be friendly.

He sees us.

An "aha!" Moment

I used to love to cook.  I used to love to cook, that is, before I had kids.

In college and as a newly wed I developed an appreciation for all things culinary.  I eagerly explored new foods, spent hours strolling the isles of "fancy" grocery stores, drooled over kitchen gadgets at Sonoma Williams, and most of all, took great pleasure in hosting dinner parties.

Back then.  Now, the mere thought of cooking dinner for my family can fill me with dread.  Apparently, I have lost the joy of cooking.  So this week I began asking why.

Why is it that my culinary joy has disintegrated into dutiful (and I'll admit it) occasionally resentful meal-making.  Why is it that I cringe when I hear my kids' inevitable question, "What's for dinner?"  And don't even get me started on, "What's for snack time?"  Oh! how the 'S' word simmers my brain.  The process feels like such a drain now: the planning, the shopping, the storing, the prepping, the cooking, the cleaning...YUCK!

Why is something that used to be a joy now a chore?  I interviewed myself:

Is not because you don't like food?
No, I really, really like food.

Is it because you don't value meal time?
Nope.  Table-time with the fam is one of my favorite parts of the day.

Is it because of the sheer constancy of feeding people day-in day-out?
Maybe.  That responsibility does become draining, but I've learned when to let myself order pizza        and take-out and whatnot.  That's not truly the joy-sucker for me.

Is it because you are continuously surrounded by at least three, usually four, little humans who tug and pull and interrupt, leave their toys in the kitchen, put their fingers in your bowls and generally make the cooking space ten times more chaotic with their eager-hungry presence?
Kind of.  But not really.

Here's the thing. One day this week a miracle happened: I cooked two meals at one time without being interrupted.  I have no idea what my kids were doing at the time.  I blatantly ignored them and chose to bliss-out chopping and stirring and wafting away. Blissed out by myself in the kitchen.  Those meals were made with love and joy and were all the more a pleasure to serve because of it.

It turns out, I'm an introvert.  I take great delight in being all "inner" with myself as I create a meal.  This is the "aha" part.  Cooking--whether it is a full blown gourmet meal or an elevenses snack--is a creative endeavor.  I have never named it like that before, but the truth of it is really liberating for me.  No matter how complex or simple, cooking requires creative energy and I have more pleasure exerting that energy when I have space to think, to create.

Now the question is, what do to with this new perspective?  How do I honor my need for introspective creative time in the kitchen while embracing the reality of my big-family/little-house lifestyle?  I definitely don't want the kitchen to be mysterious no-go zone where mom slaves away in culinary martyrdom.  Nor do I want my current free-for-all kitchen of chaos scenario.

I am sure there is a clever balance or strategic boundary setting approach out there.  I'll let you know when I find it!  If you relate to this, do you have any tricks?

Totally forgot!

I used to have two other blogs.  I seriously forgot about them, which is simultaneously hilarious and frightening.

http://sweetals.blogspot.com/

http://ouraustinlife.blogspot.com/

First Full Week of Summer

Nothing too deep to share this week.   Activities mainly revolved around water, which is great for the kids but not optimal for picture taking.  If I'm behind the camera at the pool, then four kids are unsupervised in the water.  Bad combo, as I'm sure you can imagine.  So instead, here's a little sample of pics from the phone (they are more true to our everyday life anyway).

We updated to the granddaddy of wading pools.   Oh yeah, slide right in baby! 

A rare moment with one kid at the coffee shop.  

Elia and Austin were not at this gathering, so Emerson got to play with "their" friends.  Need I say that she loved it?!  Have you seen a fiercer bunch of super heroes?  I think not.

Ok.  So I did sneak one photo op at the pool.  Naughty mom.  But, hey, it was her first-ever jump off the diving board!

This is happiness on so many levels.

Here we go...

It seems like this summer is all about adventures.

It has taken me a while to embrace the fact that summer in Austin requires a hefty dose of heat-tolerance and equal amounts of creativity.  Premeditated "heat strategies" and summer themes seem to help.  One year we did colors.  This summer my genius friend is doing words and cities.

Our family will have a pretty big adventure in July, but I'll get to that later.  We started the summer with a little flavor journey to Sweet Berry Farm in Marble Falls.  I adore this place, truly adore it.  It is a family run operation, with endearingly family-friendly amenities and is surprisingly, refreshingly peaceful.  Oh, and of course TASTY!

Off to the fields!

Hannah didn't really "pick" berries; she mostly just sat among the rows and feasted!

We arrived at the end of the season, so the berries were small but still super juicy delicious!

They have lots and lots of goats to pet.  Hannah was enthralled with them.

Austin too.

Elia won the award for smallest berry...

and best toe-touch.

These "jumpy bubbles" are a new addition.  And this is what I love about Sweet Berry Farms: every year we go back and they have added some new feature to enhance the "farm" experience (as if that wasn't enough)!  These folks care for their land and care greatly that their visitors enjoy the experience.  I really, really appreciate that.

2011-2012 School Year

The 2011-2012 school year just ended.  For a bit of closure, I compiled a set of photos that captured the major events.  Having a visual panorama of the year helped me see how much everyone learned and changed.  It was truly a learning and internal-growth kind of year.  My little ones live their lives so full-on!

There were quite a few photos so I posted them on my flickr stream which you can see here.

Well done Vaclav Family!