MEET ROWAN

 

WELCOME TO THE PARTY LITTLE ONE!

On Friday -- our daughter's actual "due date" -- we took a risk and purchased tickets to see an afternoon showing of the new Downton Abbey movie. Once we made it through that, I told her she was free to go into labor at any time. She took me at my word, for that very night we got a call around 2 AM saying "You might want to head back to Austin now to pick up little Goobs."

"So many Super Calvins, Mimi!"

We took him back home with us and snuggled into bed, but woke up early, anxious for some news. We waited, and waited, and finally got a text about five hours later saying "Well, we seem to have stalled out." We were making plans to take Calvin home the next morning when we got another message, saying "OK, things seem to be starting up again, but I wouldn't get too excited just yet." Finally, around 11 PM they decide to head for the birthing center and call the doula.

But, once little sister made up her mind that she was ready to break outta dat joint, her mama says it was like a freight train coming through. When the midwife said "Here she comes!", Lex thought she meant she was finally crowning, but the midwife said "No! I mean she's halfway OUT!"

And so, more than 24 hours after those first contractions, our chubby-cheeked granddaughter, Rowan Rebecca Sanders -- weighing in at just under 8 lbs. -- finally made her entrance. Sadly, I have no pics to share just yet.

Meanwhile, the worlds cutest race car driver spent three fun-filled days with us, but couldn't wait to get home to his Mama and Dada, to make sure this usurper wasn't trying to take his place at the center of the universe -- just like his own mama did when her little brother was born. Ahhh, sibling rivalry!

We'll just have to keep reminding ourselves that only ten or fifteen short years later, Austin and Alexis somehow managed to magically morph into being the best of friends! 

FOR ALEXIS: MRS. EVERYTHING

Our daughters don't know -- what it was like growing up female in the 50s and 60s, and just how limited our options were. They think they do, but not really. To tell you the truth, I didn't fully understand myself, until I read this book, just how much things changed between the years when each of my sisters and I graduated from high school, in '64, '67 and '71.

I didn't get why the oldest felt her options were so much more limited than mine ..why all she wanted was to get married and have babies...why my middle sister switched her major from accounting to teaching, because that would be easier when she had kids...why I told my mom midway through college, after taking an abnormal psych class, that I didn't think I even wanted to have any kids, and aimed instead for a glamorous career as a buyer for Neiman Marcus, and to travel the world. Oddly enough, much like the two sisters in this book, we somehow switched paths along the way. They both ended up with the glamorous careers, while I opted to be the stay-at-home mom! But, at least it was by choice.

Our daughters though, they really have no clue why we fought so hard just to have the right to choose, and for equal rights and equal pay, and to have control over our own bodies. They never had the humiliation of walking into a store to purchase a washing machine, only to have the condescending old salesman suggest that I should come back later and bring my husband, to help me make such an important decision. My reply? "Why? It's not like he ever uses one of these things!" Lest you think poorly of him, he does do all his own laundry now, but that was a different day and age.

I used to think we had made great progress and that much had changed. Now, I'm not so sure. Which is why I'm hoping my daughter will read this book, then share it with all her friends -- so they can see for themselves just how far we have come, and just how much they stand to lose, if they don't actively participate in the decision-making process!

FORTY FOUR YEARS!

Can you believe it? Friday was our 44th wedding anniversary! What made it even better was the fact that this couple right here, who's anniversary is just a couple of weeks from ours, was here to celebrate it with us. They have been here with us, right from the start, sharing in all our adventures. Some good, some not so good, but all better for having them here with us.

From our first meet-up in Bahrain as newlyweds...

through all the parties we threw together in Houston...

Toga! Toga! Toga!

My 30th Birthday Wake

through the celebration of our first Christmas with our two miracle babies and all the family adventures that followed...

 
to sending them off to college, seeing them all married, having to relearn how to have fun without them, and now discovering the joys of grandparenthood...

Paula and Tim have been right there with us, every step of the way.

Actually, we're getting pretty good at this "having fun without the kids" business. Here's hoping we have many more years in which to perfect this talent!

THE HIVE: BUILDING A VILLAGE IN S. AUSTIN

By now, I'm sure we all have at least one friend or family member who "telecommutes" or spends at least part of their time working from home, which could explain the many "co-working" spaces popping up all over the place. Why, we even have one here in little ol' Wimberley! However, the place my kids have discovered, near their home in S. Austin, has taken this concept to a whole new level. Welcome to The Hive!

The Hive is the brainchild of Shelly Weiser -- an idea that came to her after the disastrous day when she tried to handle a panicking client who's account had been hacked, while her infant and toddler both had epic meltdowns in the background. She dreamed of a space where people could get "The Three C's": Coffee, Co-working, and Childcare. But not full-time daycare, which can cost almost as much as you are making yourself. Just a few hours here and there, when you need it most.

She brought that dream to life, but didn't stop there. They do offer WiFi and co-working spaces where one can be connected in a quiet place to work and network, but they also offer parents much-needed time to get things done -- whether working or just visiting with friends -- while their little ones enjoy playing in a safe and fun on-site supervised area. There's the beautiful cafe area and lounge, where you can work at no charge, a shady area outside with picnic tables, and two co-working offices with multiple desks in each, some private, some semi-private, where you can rent space. Plus the cafe has all the popular beverages you love, as well as breakfast, lunch and snack options.

All that is great, but what I really love are the many ways in which they are building community. For instance, there is wine and beer available at the end of the day, if you want to kick back with friends, as well as a food truck on the premises. On Saturday mornings they offer live children's music, while young families hang out and visit in their large outdoor play area, which is what our Calvin is doing in the photo above. This Wednesday they will have Story Time and Crafts with Usborne books, and, as if that weren't enough, on Saturday, April 13th, they will be hosting a Draft & Craft Buzzaar from 9-4, where our daughter Alexis will be selling her handcrafted jewelry. And that is how a "village" is built, one brick at a time.

If only they'd had someplace like this when we were young, instead of me starting my contract work each night around 9:00, after I finally got them both to bed!

A PLATE TOO FULL

Well, it's been a rough couple of weeks, but I think we're finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Daughter Lex is expecting baby #2 and having some epic morning sickness -- the kind that lasts all day. The lay-perfectly-still-and-don't-even-speak kind of sickness. And, hard as it was to see her suffering like that, seeing the effect it was having on our little Goober Bear was harder still. One day he took his Dada on a walk, and insisted that they pick some flowers "to make Mama smile". I tear up each time I think about it.

After a few weeks she finally called her birthing center to see if they had anything to suggest, and they called in a prescription for her. Unfortunately, when Nate went to pick it up that evening, he was told their insurance wouldn't cover it, and that one little jar of pills would cost him seven hundred dollars! Now, that might lead you to think it was one of those rare orphan drugs that only a handful of people need, or maybe it's made from frankincense and gold, but no. It's the number one recommended prescription for morning sickness, so millions of women take it. In fact, they've been taking it in Canada for over 50 years. And what is it made of? It's a mixture of vitamin B6 and Unisom. Go figure.

Anyhoo, Nate spent the next couple of days on the phone, going back and forth between insurance people, doctors, HR at his company, and the Birthing Center, never losing his cool or screaming, until finally they came to their senses and agreed to cover it. And, thankfully, it seems to be doing some good. Fingers crossed, because as sad as I am for Lex and Little Goobs, and even with everyone pitching in as much as possible, it is Nate who has born the brunt, juggling pressure at work, nursing, childcare, grocery shopping, feeding, and insurance wrangling. Now he has the added burden of his annual job as a crew chief at SXSW, and the need to start recruiting all the volunteers for his team. I mean, seriously! Just how much can one plate hold?

Well, better go get dressed. Off to Austin to go grab Goobs and bring him back to Wimberley for a bit of fun and adventure!

IF YOU CAN'T BE WITH THE ONES YOU LOVE...

I cackled out loud when a cute video about "Friendsgiving" popped up on Facebook recently. When we were living overseas, we celebrated many, many of these make-do holidays, where your friends and neighbors became your family, and you threw yourself into making the holidays special with more passion than ever before, so that your kids would never feel that they were missing out on everything good by being so far away. It worked. So well, in fact, that we ended up missing those holidays when we moved back home!

Ever since we bought this Hill Country house, and all our parents passed away, we've had very quiet Christmases and Thanksgivings here with just the four of us, celebrating with our Dallas family sometime in mid-December. Then it became the six of us. Then seven with the addition of Little Goober. Then suddenly both sets of in-laws and some siblings were close by and deserved equal time. So, since we'd all be together multiple times in the coming weeks, and since our BFFs are always alone on Thanksgiving Day, we told the kids "Go spend lots of quality time with your in-laws over Thanksgiving, 'cause we have plans for a Lanford Friendsgiving Adventure!"

Yes, that's a real live longhorn that lady just climbed up on!

We met up here, at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort near Bastrop, which is just about midway between our home and theirs in College Station.  We were just there for the day, and expected the place to be kind of dead this time of year, but that was not the case! Instead, it was jam-packed with lots of large family groups who decided to take their celebrations on the road. And what a great place to do it!

We went on-line to make lunch reservations well in advance, opting out of the huge holiday brunch buffet being held in the ballroom, and the fine dining steakhouse which, I think, only serves dinner. Instead we chose their Firewheel Cafe for 11:00. Then, around 9:30 on the morning of, we got a call from the hotel saying that particular restaurant was closing at 11, but if we came earlier we could have breakfast there. Well, that wouldn't work since by then, we just barely had time enough to get there at 11! So, instead, they switched us to their bar restaurant, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Not only was the food simple and delicious, it was actually quiet enough to have a real conversation!

Miss Paula and I split their version of a Bacon Jam Burger, and I have to say, I'd have a hard time choosing which is better, theirs or Hays City's! After lunch the guys and gals split up -- the gals to go exploring, they guys to find the perfect spot to smoke a cigar. Remember how, just recently, we had several hard freezes in a row, with temps dropping into the 20s at night? Well, this week we had this...

kids floating in the Lazy River, with gorgeous fall colors in the background. Only in Texas, right?

The River Runs Through It

The Favored Method Of Transportation Around Here

 

 

 Loved the carved totem pole on the porch of one of several golf shops/bars/cafe's on the property.

It was the perfect place to smoke a cigar. In fact, they even sell them inside!

Then we all met back up at the lodge's ice cream parlor/cafe for dessert, to complete our celebration.

Best thing about these amazing friends of ours? It's that, whenever we are with them, we somehow forget that forty years have passed, and transform into the same crazy, fun-loving goof-balls that we were when first we met. Now, that's something to be thankful for!

WHAT BEST FRIENDS DO

Whenever Hubby and I get together with our BFFs Paula and Tim, it's usually just for about 24 hours. However, we always manage to pack a whole lot of fun into that short period of time. More often than not they come here to the Hill Country, since there is so much to do and so many little towns to explore. Last week, however, we went to see them in College Station, because there was something pret-ty special going on -- The Brazos Valley Bombers! The Bombers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bryan, and their son Chase, who is head baseball coach at Rudder High, got invited to be one of the Bomber coaches this summer, which is a pretty big deal!

Like his dad Tim, who coached every t-ball, softball and soccer team Chase was ever on, and now coaches his grandson's teams, Chase has a dual focus. He doesn't just turn his kids into good ball-players. He turns them into good people, and we couldn't be more proud of him!

In addition to baseball, we managed to squeeze in some shopping, lots of good eating...

Brunch At Casa Rod

and, as always, lots of good yakking!

Taking Advantage of Grandson Wyatt's Pool

'Cause, if there's one thing we've all become really good at over these 40 some odd years of best friendship, it's making the most of whatever bit of time we have!

HABIT-FORMING JOURNALS

Have any of you heard of this guy -- the one who started illustrating the hilarious things that kept popping out of his little girl's mouth? Well, one thing we really regret is not jotting down more of the funny, shocking, heartwearming things our own kids said and did when they were small. You feel sure you will remember them all but, surprise, you don't! Now that Little Goober is starting to talk, Papa John wants to make sure our kids don't make the same mistake we did. He went on line to see if he could find some kind of journal for them to keep a record of those special moments in and, par for the course, ended up ordering three! Two of them actually made it to their house.

One, however, never made it any further than the little side-table in my cozy dining porch nest, where I watch the sun come up each morning.

You see, one thing I have never been able to do is form any sort of art habit. I'll get totally immersed in one project for a while, but then I might go days, weeks, sometimes even months, without picking up pencil or brush. What I really want is a daily habit. It doesn't have to be a whole project per day, maybe just a little sketch or something. I was thinking about signing up for a class called 365, but when I read the blurb on the back of this book, I knew I was holding the perfect solution there in my hands.

In fact, it reminded me a lot of those super-fun exercises we did in my illustration class, with Becky Dawson of One Lane Road, at art camp this fall -- the ones that had us laughing so hard we almost wet our pants!

So far, so good!

P.S. Speaking of Becky Dawson, did I ever tell you that I finally received my Lucky Star coffee mug she designed? You saw it in the last post, about my "Seasonality Cafe" brain fart. Picture me this morning, sitting in my cozy nest, sipping tea from that mug, watching the sun come up, and sketching in my new little journal. Does it get any better?