Closing Time

"Closing time... one last call for alcohol now finish your whisky and beer." Hey, it's moving day! The time has come for me to stop using the training wheels and move to a big girls bike. My new home is here www.chikaustin.com.

Stop by and say hello!!! And don't worry, you don't have to bring a housewarming gift.

Be My Valentine

Today we woke up thinking about Valentines Day. As a family, we have always made handmade valentines. Even before we had kids, Miles and I would get out the construction paper and scissors to create a Valentine. Now that we have kids that can do some crafting, it's time to get them involved.

I signed up for the Valentine's Exchange over at Sarah's site so we need to get busy making our Valentines to send to Pensacola. I'm thinking about some finger paint. This will be a first for Keegan so I'm sure it will be extremely messy.

While Keegan was napping, Makena and I decided to do some Valentine crafting thanks to some ideas from Martha Stewart. These crayon hearts are just what I needed for my kitchen window.

Now to figure out what to make for everyone. You know, I'm thinking about something for our garden. But don't tell my Valentines!

Green Thumb Anyone

Where did winter go? I know some of you are cuddled up inside of your house with a fire, hot cocoa and lot's of snuggling watching the snow fall outside. Well, let me tell you that spring has sprung in Austin, Texas. The birds are chirping and seem quite pleased that I've decided to fill the bird feeder with sunflower seeds. I've been trying to get a picture of them but I seem to always venture outside with a parade of dog and toddlers so they don't stick around. I will catch one sooner or later.

With the incredible weather and Makena's newly gifted Pansies we ventured outside to do some planting. I let Makena pick the spot where she wanted to plant her flowers. She marched around the side of the house, plastic shovel and watering can in hand ready to plant.

We decided to make a lesson out of the first planting of the year. We pulled out the vintage flower books and learned that Pansies are a type of Violet. Who knew? Okay, so maybe you already knew that. But we looked in our books and decided (Makena decided) that we need lots of flowers, and if we water them they will grow all the way up to the sky. Maybe she just read Jack and the Beanstalk? Who knows where they come up with these things.

All of this got me thinking about spring gardening. Oh do I have big plans I'm just not sure where to start. We live on about an acre and have lots of room for gardens. My question for you, my friends, is what should I plant? I would really like to plant blackberries, blueberries, tomatoes, things for cooking, things for canning, etc. Does anyone have any good suggestions for things to plant and resources (books/websites) that might help?

The only stipulation that we have is deer and I'm sure they would love some tasty blackberry vines. We do have lots of different levels of gardens that surround our house that the deer can't reach. Anyone have a green thumb out there?

Flowers

Makena's boyfriend Gage joined us for our Mardi Gras celebrations last night. He jumped out of his mommy's car, flowers in hand and said "Makena, I brought you some flowers." Makena, on the other hand, had befriended our neighbor's dog who was also over for a visit. So here is Gage running around with the flowers trying to catch Makena as Makena is trying to show Gage the dog. They finally met, somewhere in the middle, hugged and proceeded to run different directions again.

As we were making our way into the house, we noticed that Gage had stopped and was drawing a picture on the chalkboard. When we asked him what he was doing he replied "drawing a picture for Makena." I just can't get enough of this sweet little fella.

We proceeded to celebrate Fat Tuesday like two families with two kids each. There was Cobb Salad, Jambalaya and King's Cake. Lots of rushing around, trying to get the kids fed so the adults could eat. Playing referee. Reminding each of the kids to play nice. Jumping onto the sofa. And lots of fun. Hope your Mardi Gras celebrations were just as festive! This is the way we plan to celebrate ours for years to come!

Fat Tuesday & A Winner

Happy Fat Tuesday! Happy Super Tuesday! It's Tuesday and there are plenty of reasons to celebrate. This morning we had a drawing for the winner in my 100th post contest.

Drum roll please...


And the winner is....

Claudia at Aux Petits Oiseaux email me with your mailing address. Something special is coming your way!

Today the kids will be busy with Mardi Gras crafts while I'm in the kitchen cooking jambalaya, homemade bread and homemade King's Cake. Ayeeee!

Let Them Eat Cake

Our weekend was spent in San Antonio with family. Makena woke up Friday ready to go so we loaded up the car and hit the road. There were bridal showers, bachelorette parties and birthdays to celebrate. On Friday, we took Makena for ice cream because nothing can make you feel better than ice cream!

Saturday was a very busy day! If you can picture this Miles, Grandpa, Uncle Nick and soon-to-be Uncle Robert took all of the kids (5 of them) to the San Antonio Zoo. Sorry I don't have any pictures because that would have been asking way too much of them. We were just happy all of the kids came back!


All of us girls spent the day in Boerne with Miles' sister's bridal shower at a tea house and some shopping.



Saturday night was spent on the Riverwalk eating Mexican food and enjoying margaritas. Oh how I love San Antonio in all of it's glory. The sounds of the mariachis remind us that we are back home. Can you guess which one is the happy bride and which one is the sister-in-law/bridesmaid? The bride was VERY reluctant to wear the veil so Carla wore it for her for a while. Carla was very excited to wear the veil. She kept getting 'congratulations' from bystanders. Too funny! She was like 'thanks!!!' The blonde is the bride.


On Sunday, the celebrations continued with Baby Cousin Addison's 1st birthday party. Happy Birthday sweet girl. Today we are back home recuperating from the weekend. Maybe we'll get some crafting in today. Fingers crossed.

Blessings and Miracles

Today was the big day. Surgery day for Makena's finger. There were lots of nerves. Lot's of waiting. Lot's of prayers.

Lot's of picture taking by a nervous momma. What a beautiful hospital. So very non-hospital feeling.

Today's surgery went unbelievably well. A HUGE thank you to everyone that prayed for us. Our prayers were answered. Dell Children's Hospital is an incredible hospital and we were immediately made to feel comfortable. All of Makena's fears were alleviated by one member of the staff or another. They are all so caring and considerate. Makena was wheeled back to surgery in a Dora the Explorer car, chattering all the way.

She was in surgery for about an hour to align her finger with two pins. When we met with the doctor after the surgery we were welcomed with much good news. When he cut open her finger he noticed that the growth plate, in fact, had not been crushed. It was ALL THERE! What had happened is that it had flipped up and out of line. These things are almost impossible to see on an x-ray because it is all tendon and cartlidge and not visible through an x-ray. If you remember, we were working on the assumption that the growth plate was shattered and destroyed. Not the case after all. What a miracle!!! So, Dr. Sharma realigned her growth plate with a metal wire. Makena also has two pins to keep her finger tip straight and pointed upward. These pins stick out of the end of her finger and will be removed in 3-5 weeks.

These are the best possible results we could have asked for. The fact that the growth plate is still there and now back in line is a miracle. Makena is recovering well. She spent most of the afternoon eating six popsicles and forcing Miles to do one craft after the next. We are all exhausted and glad it's over.

Thank you to everyone that has been praying for us. We rejoice in the good news and are optimistic about her future use of that finger. Thank you, thank you, thank you from all of us!!! We have felt your prayers leading up to this and today.