Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Country Mouse or City Mouse??






Ok, so we are in great big ol' Texas trying to figure out whether or not we could actually live here -happily. There are definitely pros and cons to Austin, and I'm not sure whether to put the heat on the pro or con side yet. It will be REALLY nice come winter when it is still 60 degrees outside. Possibly the one big thing that I am hung up on is that it doesn't have the same "feel" as Cambridge. Duh. Of course it shouldn't, since it's NOT Cambridge. But, I feel slightly like a city mouse who has been dropped off in the country, with plenty of tacos to eat but no pad thai. How do you possibly decide between the convenience, culture and excitement of the city and the lifestyle, space, and comfort of the burbs? It may very well be the eternal question. I am hoping an "a-ha" moment will resolve this all for me.
On another note, I took the kids on a little adventure this morning to San Antonio, which is an hour from Austin. We went to the Alamo, the San Antonio Children's Museum and then walked along the "river walk". It was wonderful! The river walk is one of the most beautiful places I have been. Lined by restaurants and little shops (with a mall at one end) it was a lovely place to take a stroll and snap some photos.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Our Warm Welcome

For those of you who have missed a beat or two with the Brown/Gritton clan... we are now in AUSTIN! That's Texas. After a 3.2 day journey with the kiddlie-bops we arrived to the warmest of welcomes from the lone star state. In fact, today's forecast on accuweather.com stated that it would be 100 degrees, followed by the one word description "sunshine". Not "hot as *#%$", or "warning: people standing in direct sunlight are at risk of instantaneous combustion." Perhaps I could open up a roadside breakfast shack and fry some eggs on my face. You get the point. It's HOT!!

I've had some mixed reviews from the local folk. Some say it's unseasonable "warm" for May. This morning while waiting at the Quick Lube for my oil change, an older gent told me "ya ain't seen nothin yet darlin. Summer still ain't here yet." (Meanwhile, a few miles away, a freaky drugged out creep armed with 5 knives was sitting outside our house, insisting to cops that he lived there. Fun. -We actually live in a really nice neighborhood. Just random apparently.)

My one year old, Emma, has learned the word "hot" in the last few days. It sounds more like "awt", but she says it while waving her hands every time we get in the car. Thank heaven for AC in the car and central AC in the house.

Ok. Enough of the hotness. But, did I mention...? This place is pretty hot. Tomorrow should be cooler. A high of 93. Yippee!!

Monday, May 5, 2008

General Choas

Chaos is too much a part of my life lately. I envision Chaos as a miserable little man that wants everyone to suffer for his inadequacies. He likes to shut down brain function, torpedo your house, feed your kids too much sugar, and send secret agents to wipe out all communication between you and your spouse. He leaves you with never ending loose ends, and ten thumbs to tie them up with. What a guy.

This last week has been just crazy. We have given our notice for our current apartment, found a HUGE new place to move into August 1st, posted our car on Craigslist and sold it that day, Jeff finished classes and started pulling late nights to study for finals. We have started packing for Austin AND are packing to move a week after we get back from Austin... I could keep going, but I'm getting another Chaos induced headache just thinking about it all.

On the bright side (literally) it is beautiful weather today! Finally the rain is gone and the sun is shining. With some of the big "what are we gonna do about it" things behind us, I can breath a bit and take a sec to open up the windows and let in the sun.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

An Unwelcome Guest

What would you do should a rather irritating person keep showing up on your doorstep uninvited? This person turns up again and again on my doorstep unannounced and stays for a week at a time. (Sometimes MUCH longer without my approval.) They put me in a terrible mood, and aren't Jeff's favorite person either. I have asked them to leave and only come to visit when invited, but they just ignore my request. The person I am referring to is Aunt Flo.

The women reading this know who I am referring to. For the men... it is code for period. Menstruation. I will not go into too much detail about my run-ins with the feisty lady for fear of losing the faint of heart. I don't worry about the married men, however, since I know they have found themselves wandering and perplexed in the "feminine hygiene" aisle on an errand or two for the wife, and I extend my sincere sympathies to you. I have a hard enough time finding what I need when I need it.
Let me just say, that the uterus is certainly an interesting organ, for which I am truly grateful. Without it, I would not have my two beautiful children. And should we want more, it will definitely come in handy. At this very moment however, I would like my uterus to take Aunt Flo on a long, very far away vacation. I could use a rest. She could send postcards if she liked, and I would send her a telegram when we were ready to have her back. It could really be a nice arrangement.

During my recent month long menstruation adventure,(I had my period for over a month) I was poked, prodded, had every test possible (most of which I can't remember or even spell for that matter) and finally, much to my chagrin, the Gynecologist prescribed "the pill" to try and regulate things a bit for me. I was on the pill once before, right after Jeff and I were married. Jeff would describe that few months as "not fun". I was moody to probably say the least. So, needless to say, I was not excited about taking it again. After the first day on the Ortho Tricyclen, Aunt Flo went on her merry way. This could have been a coincidence, since her bags were already packed and sitting at the door- I think she just needed a final boot in the pants.

Day two on the pill brought on a whirlwind of dull headaches, and I never get headaches. They were much like the sensation after you stub your toe - only imagine stubbing your head. Again and again. In the same spot. On day ten, after having been seasoned with stubbings, a giant house landed on my head. Or so it seemed. Out of nowhere WHAM! Migraine. All I could do was sit on the bathroom floor, a weepy shell of myself that couldn't open her eyes. Every once in a while Oliver or Emma would wander in and see if I was still sitting there. I could only tell which one it was by the sound of their voices (Oliver speaks, Emma kind of grunts.) After a few mumbled texts to hubby, he (literally) ran home to save the day. At that moment, I swore off the pill. I have a hubby in law school, and two children at home. I don't have time for pill induced migraines! At the sight of my incapacitated state, Jeff heroically announced that there would be no more "pill". I had just barely vowed to never even look at it again, so I agreed. Two days later... there's a "knock, knock, knock" at the door. Aunt Flo showed up again. Darn it. And she brought her friends Crampy, Bloated and Backache. What a party. I suppose it had to come down to choosing the lesser of two evils. Aunt Flo won over Migraines. That doesn't say much for Aunt Flo, does it?


*Over the next several months I will be attending mediation with Aunt Flo in order to come to an agreement over visitation rights with the uterus. I will keep you posted on the outcome*

Friday, April 25, 2008

Time to Brush Up...






I think Jeff and I are going to need to brush up on our soccer skills. By the looks of it, both Oliver and Emma are going to be quite athletic. That means... by my calculations, Jeff and I have approximately 2 years to perfect our (currently hibernating) sporty selves again.

Mission to Mars




Recently, we went on an adventure to see a "real" rocket ship. I've been telling Oliver for a while now that Sam and Eliza have a rocket ship in their backyard, and finally, a couple of days ago we went to see it in person. Oliver was totally beside himself, and Emma was chattering with excitement. They weren't quite sure what to do with themselves! Oliver was pleased to inform me right away that "it's a real rocket ship Mamma." They cracked open the door and climbed on in for their very first voyage on such a vessel. Oliver checked out every nook and cranny, while Emma was just happy to be along for the ride. As Oliver looked about, he focused on the window for a moment, and proclaimed with complete certainty, "look guys! There's Mars!" My response to such an appropriate observation on his part? "Yep Buddy, there it is!"

I never cease to be amazed.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Zamboni

Oliver: "Are you a Zamboni Mamma? heehee!"

Me: "No Hun, I'm not. But do you know what a Zamboni is?"

Oliver: "Uh huh. It cleans the hockey ice"

Me:
"Oh! Really? Do you know how it cleans the ice?"

Oliver: "Yep. It squirts water on the ice and makes it shiny."

Me:
(dumbfounded) "That's right Bud."


*this conversation occurred about a week after Oliver watched his first hockey game, and saw the Zamboni cleaning the ice afterward. I'm guessing Auntie Jessie told him what it was, since I've never had the conversation with him.*