On the 6th Day of Christmas

On the 6th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me a romantic date night in Austin. Austin is such a cool city. It feels like Texas but at the same time it’s way too cool to be part of Texas! It’s urban and small town and gritty and sophisticated all at the same time.



We went out to a fancy place we’d never dare to take the kids. We had grown up food and beverages. We happened to arrive for dinner during happy hour so we were able to enjoy the happy hour specials (half off of the bar menu and all drinks) and our date night fell on a Wednesday which happened to be the day they offer oysters and champagne for half price. In fact the food we had was so delicious I just have to share our menu……

Parkside
Starters
M: potato gnocchi, arugula puree, parmesan, arugula salad
L: fried oyster blt, avocado, romaine greek goddess aioli
Cocktails

Main
Bottle of bubbly
M: wreckfish, petite potatoes, garlic parsley puree
L: green garlic risotto, mascarpone, pickled mushroom

Dessert
M: chocolate mousse, hazelnut crunch, poached pear, brandy ice cream
L: goat cheese cake, basil ice cream, pinenut brittle

After dinner we explored 6th street for a bit and then made our way back to the hotel . We stopped for cocktails in our hotel and enjoyed Jalapeño and Cucumber Lemonades (vodka, jalapeño, cucumber water, lemon—it sounds odd but it was delicious).

During our stay in Austin we also enjoyed lunch at Which Which (delicious) and breakfast at the Magnolia Café (M: Queso Omelet and Gingerbread pancakes, L: Migas and Black Beans) also fantastic with a great Austin vibe!

On the 5th Day of Christmas

On the 5th day of Christmas we loaded up to go look at the Christmas Lights. We went to Santa’s Wonderland just a short drive from my parents house.



Unfortunately we wern’t the only ones with that idea and it was quite crowded. The lights were worth it though and Peter applauded and clapped throughout the 5 mile light trail.





We stopped to visit with Santa



Forced the kids to pose for pictures







Enjoyed hot chocolate and candy canes by the bonfire



Followed by more posed pictures



Which then resulted in a hay fight



If you ever are in the Houston/College Station area for Christmas and you have small children we recommend Santa’s Wonderland (but it is a little pricey and it can get quite crowded so I’d recommend going right when they open or closer to closing time).

On the 4th Day of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, bright shining sparklers!

On the Mend

Olivia is continuing to feel a little bit better every day! She has RSV and an ear infection. For the majority of the population RSV isn't too serious, Peter has it and wasn't really affected but for someone like Olivia, who already has reactive airway disease, the combination of the ear inection and the RSV caused some complications. Olivia received 2 doses of IV antibiotics for her ear infection as well as an oral antibiotic and some eardrops. We've also now have an inhaler in addition to her nebulizermeds. She'll be using the inhaler for the next few days then we'll transition back to the nebulizer meds. All in all it was pretty scary to ride with Olivia in the ambulance. The staff at Ochsner was great, it was nice that the team at Duke was only a phone call away (and call I did, but only twice). Apparently Olivia missed a visit fromt the entire New Orleans Saints Football team by 2 days. Mike would have loved that but I don't think that Olivia would have appreciated it.

In the ER, they put Olivia on oxygen but she hated having the tubes in her nose so they let her just chew on the tube. It worked!


Our welcome to the Ochsner Main Campus after the ambulance ride.


The next morning, starting to feel much better.



Just received the good news that we were going to be discharged!


Some Daddy cuddle time!

On the 3rd Day of Christmas

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a long drive home to Texas!

Fortunately our drive was very peaceful! We had good weather and we made good time. We are so lucky the kids love to watch movies and nap in the car!





On the way we stopped off in Louisiana to pick up our two adorable nephews. It took quite a bit of rearranging to make sure that everyone and everything fit into the car.





This little guy seemed the most excited about the addition of 2 new playmates!

On the 2nd Day of Christmas

On the 2nd day of Christmas we celebrated a mini-Christmas in North Carolina with just the 4 of us before heading out of town.









We can already tell the kids are going to be very spoiled this Christmas! Peter loves his Thomas pillow (it says goodnight and plays a short lullaby), and his pretend buzz saw and safety glasses, and his buzz lightyear bath accessories. Olivia loves the new books, blocks, and musical instruments.

Freeze

Just when I share about how healthy Olivia we seem to have hit a major roadbump. On Christmas eve Olivia and Peter both came down with a cold--just runny noses and a little cough. Neither one of them let it slow them down much and we were not concerned. We enjoyed Christmas with my family. We left Houston early on the 26th and headed to new Orleans. During the drive we noticed that Olivia seemed to have some trouble breathing, she was taking short, shallow breaths. She also slept almost all day, very unusual for her! We decided that mike would drop Olivia and I off at the er on the way to his parents house. The staff at the er was great, they took one look at Olivia and efficiently rushed us to a room, started an iv, collected blood and urine samples for lab tests, did chest x-rays, collected a snot sample. They told me shortly after we arrived that Olivia would probably be admitted but they would need to transfer her to a different hospital with a pediatric floor. Olivia was given a shot of steroids to help her feel better and some iv antibiotics. She was diagnosed with RSV and an ear infection in both ears. I spoke via phone with the attending doctor at the children's hospital. He said that given what he'd been told of Olivia's history he would leave it up to us. I decided to be cautious and stay in the hospital overnight. Olivia was admitted to the regular pediatric floor (rather than ICU) but it's never "regular" when your baby is in the hospital. We rode in the ambulance together. She slept well last night and seems to be feeling much better today. She's not happy to be in the hospital which is a good sign. We've spoken to the folks at duke and are waiting to see the doctors here this morning. Will update later.

The 12 Days of Christmas

We're celebrating Christmas big this year! This time last year we were very cautiously optimistic, wait I take that back, we weren't really all that optimistic, we were still in full blown, complete, panic mode. Olivia and I had just moved to Ft. Bragg. We were very happy to be together as a family but we were terrified that something would go wrong and Olivia and I would have to go back to Duke. We were driving to Duke at least once a week. Olivia was very weak and needed a lot of round-the-clock care. Peter had just started walking. A lot changes in a year, this year we're celebrating big. Enjoying being together and being healthy! This year we'll be celebrating Christmas all over the south east with celebrations at home at Ft. Bragg, in Texas, and in Louisiana.

So without any more rambling on my part I announce the first of our 12 Days of Christmas.....

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a house built of gingerbread. This year I bought a gingerbread cake pan so that we could make our own gingerbread and it’s a huge hit!


Look at that concentration!


He takes his gingerbread decorating seriously!


For every piece of candy Peter put on the Gingerbread House Olivia took one off. It was endlessly entertaining for both of them!


Olivia has very quick hands and Peter didn't realize that his house was being undecorated in front of him.




Our Masterpiece!

Merry Christmas

We’re very busy lately, celebrating Christmas with friends and family! We haven’t forgotten you though and we wish you a very Merry Christmas. Here's a copy of our 2010 Christmas Card that will be sent out in the mail....tomorrow!

Yonder

I don’t use that word, ever. But when I’m here at my parents’ ranch I feel compelled to use it as often as possible. Especially when this is the view from the front porch of the little house when I’m enjoying my morning coffee.



Everything about this picture says “look at that mess of horses over yonder”. And when I’m here I feel like it’s perfectly acceptable to speak in this way. Even though no one else does and they all look at me funny when I use my new country vocabulary.

So this is where we’ve been. There is internet here but we’re just too busy enjoying each other’s company to bother with using it.

St. Barbara's Ball

We go to formal occasions a couple of times a year. Sometimes I absolutely dread these balls but we went to one this past weekend and had a blast. We had so much fun we're both still recovering. Mike and I realized that we don't quite recover as quickly now as we did when we were in college. A group of us decided to rent a limo and travel in style (and in safety). It was my first ride in a limo! Its really nice to let loose once in a while! But before we get to the pictures I have to share a bit of the background......

St. Barbara is the Patron Saint of the Field Artillery. Saint Barbara's day falls on December 4th and is traditionally recognized by a formal Dining-In or military ball. Saint Barbara, the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat, was tortured and executed after her father discovered she had converted to Christianity. Legend has it that after her father executed her, he was struck down by lightning in divine retribution. Because of this, she soon was regarded as the patron saint in time of danger from thunderstorms, fires and sudden death. She became the patron saint of artillerymen from early on in the development of artillery pieces as early cannons were unreliable, and at times would explode wounding and killing their crews. Saint Barbara was invoked by these early cannoneers in the hope she would protect them from this fate

Mike was induced into the Order of St. Barbara last week. The Order of Saint Barbara is a military honor society of the US for both the US Army and the US Marine Corps Artillery, including field artillery and Air Defense Artillery. The Order of Saint Barbara is awarded to those individuals who have demonstrated the highest standards of integrity and moral character, displayed an outstanding degree of professional competence, served the Artillery with selflessness; and contributed to the promotion of the Artillery branch.

Here's a quick pick of Mike being inducted.


At the ball I was given a Molly Pitcher award for my service to the artillery community. Here's the background on Molly Pitcher: Mary Ludwig Hays was born in 1744 to a German dairy farmer in Pennsylvania. She began her career as a maid to Dr. William Irvine at age 13. She later retired to marry John Casper Mc Cauly, a barber. In 1775 he enlisted in the Colonial Artillery and Mary was there every step of the way. At the Battle of Monmouth she used a pitcher to carry water from a nearby spring to thirsty and dying soldiers, even to her former employer, Dr. Irvine. After her husband was wounded, she took over his cannon. These deeds earned her recognition from George Washington and her nickname, Molly Pitcher.

Here's the Colonel and Mike giving me my award.



Now for the fun pictures. Here's one of the few pictures of Mike and I together. It is a terribly unflattering picture of me but Mike looks good.



Obviously these were taken later in the evening after we'd enjoyed a few cocktails.

Christmas Photo Rejects

Our schedules lately have been so busy that it's been impossible to get a family photo together. I'd given up on getting a family photo of the 4 of us together and decided to do a photo card with each of our favorite moments of 2009. When I went online to create our card I saw all the adorable cards and decided I could try and get just one cute picture of Olivia and Peter together. They love each other and they love to give each other hugs and kisses so I thought I'd be able to get a couple of cute pictures!

This is what I got.....
I do love these little feet but I'm not sure this is the Christmas message we want to send!
This is a completely unacceptable look to get from my 2 year old! He must be at least 12 before he's allowed to look at me with that much annoyance!
" Mom why are you torturing us like this"
Olivia helped calm Peter down. This would be an adorable one if only they would look at me. But by this point they were so annoyed with me they didn't even want to acknowledge me (or the camera).
I love my happy little girl. I just wish the weird shadow didn't make her have 2 heads!
Oh well! Maybe next year? On the plus side they were so exhausted from our photo shoot that they are both taking naps at the same time on a Saturday, a rare miracle!