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!

MY FRENCH GIFT TO YOU

Two of our kiddos just returned from an amazing journey that began in Barcelona and ended in Paris,  with a leisurely road trip up through Provence in between. They are now basking in the giddy afterglow, pouring over photos, telling stories, trying out recipes, etc. I remember that period well, after we did our Viking River Cruise through Provence. Paris was gorgeous, but Provence? Well, it was so much more than a bunch of famous landmarks to have your photo taken in front of. It's about a certain way of living -- the way we were hoping to live here in the Texas Hill Country, and our reason for choosing this as our forever home.

After that trip I was even more obsessed with that way of life, and may have gone a bit bonkers in my efforts to hold onto that glow. I read books set in Provence, bought French cookbooks, poured over all the photos we took and wrote blog posts about it all.

Even the pages in my art journals around that time were all about Provence!

Then, just as the afterglow was beginning to fade, I discovered a blog called My French Corner. It's not specifically about Provence, but it is about the French way of life -- about how they eat and shop and cook, what they think about exercise and skin care and clothes, how they decorate and celebrate, etc. It's actually written by an American teacher whose sister married a Frenchman and went to live there permanently. The teacher then began spending her summers there and fell madly in love with the French way of life. When she had shared all that she had learned, she stopped writing the blog. But, it is still out there, just waiting for you to stumble upon it as I did, start from the very beginning and work your way through to the end.

 
 Bon Voyage!
 

A KNIGHT'S TALE

Perhaps you remember, long long ago when our grandson was just a baby, how his silly Mimi went out and bought this amazing book about all the wonderful things you can make from cardboard.

Of course, he was nowhere near ready to do anything like that, so I stashed it away in the secret closet and all but forgot about it. Same thing happened when Hubby came home wagging a little box of wooden blocks that you could build castles with. We couldn't even get him interested in the giant colorful baby blocks a friend had passed down, so he'd probably be a tween before he'd be interested in these. Into the closet they went. Then, just this past week, I was in my favorite consignment store -- the one with lots of books and toys -- and saw that they had brought all their Halloween costumes out. Hanging on the end of the rack was a little knight's breastplate and shield set, for only $6.99. I was oh-so-tempted to buy it, but Calvin didn't have a clue what a knight was, what they did, or where they lived, so why bother? Besides, the secret closet (aka the linen closet) was running out of room! So I let it go.

Wouldn't you know, the very next day my daughter sent us a photo of Calvin playing with the little cardboard castle and catapult set he had built from this month's Kiwi Crate (Thank you Aunt Kathy!). He was having a blast using the catapult to knock the castle down, then getting to set it up again, over and over. In the blink of an eye I was running back to the thrift store to see if the armor was still there. It was.

Unfortunately, it didn't come with a sword, so he grabbed a squishy Batman baseball bat to use as his weapon. But then I remembered that amazing cardboard adventures book I had stashed away, and we made our own sword!

Then it was on to some castle-building with Papa John.

Know what I like most about little knights in shining armor? They just love being helpful.

And, speaking of shining armor, I'm thinking that on his next visit, we just might need to make this jousting helmet. Wouldn't you agree?

Papa got me plenty of duct tape on his last excursion to Ace Hardware. Now all I need is some cereal boxes!

 

A NATURAL HIGH

We have a thing for the Bunkhouse Group, owners of some of our favorite hotels, motels and coffee shops.  Many are out of our price range, but a few are not -- especially when they offer you an end of summer bargain rate. Which is how we ended up meeting our BFFs at Austin Motel this weekend, for one of our 24 hour Lanford Adventures. When staying there in the past we've always been in one of these little rooms.

However this time, since we were getting such a good rate, we went for the larger poolside rooms, with their own covered parking spaces and a great view overlooking the pool area. Check-in time wasn't until 3:00, so we went to lunch first at Home Slice Pizza, and followed that up with some Amy's Ice Cream.

One thing we were a bit miffed about was that they were holding some kind of fundraiser event at the pool that afternoon, so we wouldn't have it all to ourselves. We started out just sitting on our private terrace overlook -- nice and shady and the perfect place for the boys to smoke their cigars.

But, the music was so good, and everyone was having so much fun, that, before we knew it, we were headed down the stairs to join them!

First we got to join in on some water aerobics led by a gorgeous redhead, and guess who was dancing around and having more fun than anyone? No, not me. Mr. Toad Sanford! I came in second. Then they cleared us all out of the pool so we could watch a water ballet performance by a local group of ladies.

I thought the announcer called them the So. Co. Hos, but surely that can't be right? Speaking of the announcer, turns out she is part of a group called Mama Sana -- a local nonprofit that provides midwifery services to help combat the fact that the US has such a high infant and maternal mortality rate, especially among working class women of color. We felt honored to participate. Funny, too, that the thing I was miffed about ended up being one of the best parts of our adventure! Just shows to go you, right?

After several hours of way too much fun and sun, we finally went inside to get cleaned up for dinner, then headed down S. Congress to try and choose between a plethora of wonderful options.

We were about to choose one of several good Italian spots when we decided to pop across the street to peek inside the new S. Congress Hotel, to see what options they had. Turns out their Central Standard Bar & Grill was participating in Austin Restaurant Week, and was offering a 3-course meal for $35. How could we resist?

We each started with our own platter of delicious wood-fired flat bread topped with all kinds of yumminess, then we had a choice between a roasted chicken entre or pork chops. I chose the chicken. YUM!

For dessert we had to choose between a whiskey cake with caramel and ice cream...

or this frozen lemon, cream cheese, and blueberry bar .

We wandered around S. Congress afterwards, trying to walk off some of those calories, then it was back to our poolside aerie.

The next morning I was up at the crack of dawn, headed for my favorite hangout, Jo's Coffee. I love just sitting there, watching the town come to life, with a constant stream of people stopping by to grab a cup of jo while they walk their dogs, do their jogging, or head off to work. When everyone else was finally awake, Hubby came to fetch me and we all went to have brunch at the new-to-us Joann's -- also owned by Bunkhouse I think -- which took over an old diner space right next to Austin Motel, and now connects to its lobby.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, but it's pretty amazing, just how much fun you can pack into a mere 24 hours -- especially when you're with the right people. In fact, there may even be a video floating around, of Miss Paula and I gettin' jiggy on our pool top overlook. Who could resist, when they crank up the volume on Play That Funky Music White Boy? Some might wonder if there was alcohol behind our dancing, but I promise, there was not. We were simply high on life, and gratitude!