mandatory vacation photos

1. View from the plane.

2. First margarita.

3. Bare feet overlooking the ocean.

mexico bound

This is a metaphor for how I'm picturing myself as I arrive in Todos Santos, Mexico tomorrow. I'm thinking of myself in the boho-gypset-India Hicks kind of way. Leaving the children behind for four days while celebrating the 10th wedding anniversary can affect a person's mind like that. If you don't hear from me in a few days, that's why. But I'm also picturing amazing scenery of both villages and countryside that I will photograph along the way, so stay tuned.

pie in the sky

Can you guess what kind of pie this is by looking at the picture? If you were here and could taste it, I would pose this question to you: what kind of pie are you eating? Odds are you would say apple pie, and you would be 100% wrong. It's a Ritz cracker pie. But it tastes just like an apple pie (actually, exactly like the McDonald's apple pie, in my opinion). But what does any of this mean? Here's how I arrived at baking a Ritz pie...

In addition to nagging our siblings and running wild around the house, winter break also meant working on our science fair project for a certain first grader at Lee Elementary. Catcher checked out this really cool kid science book--hear the dorkiness in my voice?--from the library right before break. After studying it for three consecutive nights, he finally zeroed in on this little cooking experiment that he could conduct on his sisters. By combining Ritz crackers, cinnamon, water, fresh lemon juice, cream of tarter and butter in a pie shell, he could trick the girls into thinking they were eating apple pie. It was a top secret affair--no one was allowed in the kitchen during the baking process--and it totally worked! Don't tell anyone how it turns out, though, the science fair hasn't happened yet.

lego wars

There are times when Legos are the greatest toy ever invented. Like the time(s) that they kept 4 year-old, 5 year-old and 6 year-old Catcher occupied for hours on end. And then there are times when Legos are your worst enemy. Like the time(s) you step on one barefooted while vacuuming. Or the time(s) you're looking for that one (tiny!) piece without which you can't move past step 5 (of 88!).

Today the Legos caused an ever greater source of controversy in our house when Catcher wanted to make something with Scout's Legos, and a small misunderstanding followed by a large misunderstanding turned into fisticuffs. My only choice was to confiscate the Legos for the afternoon. With that extreme move I was labeled "the worst mom in the whole world," but I'm pretty sure I'm not. Besides, I brought the Legos back downstairs before bedtime and told everyone they could start with a clean slate tomorrow. Of course I'm sure tomorrow the Legos will be meaningless and those two will argue over Catcher's double-sided light saber.

into the woods

The sun came back today! So I took the kids on a Hansel and Gretel style walk into the woods to see if I could lose them. It didn't work. We circled around and around Mayfield Park under the direction of our resident boy scout (who isn't an actual Boy Scout), Catcher, and eventually ended up right back where we started. Along the way we saw several peacocks, Lake Austin and a murky creek that the children were trying to convince me they were skilled enough to cross by hopping on rocks. That didn't happen, but we all got muddy shoes--and pants, if your name is Scout--and enjoyed some much-needed afternoon sunshine.

 

party like it's 2015

We are now on day three of cold, rainy Austin, and the novelty of staying inside and playing indoors has worn off. The girls busied themselves this morning with a dance party--Scout referred to it as a "Zuko" (who knows?)--set to the tune of 90s rump shakers (music: my choice). There was a lot of spinning and surprisingly little falling down dizzy and/or bumping into furniture or expensive electronics (i.e. the big TV). When Catcher discovered how much fun the girls were having, he tore himself away from his book and hopped off the couch to terrorize his sisters.

Tug-of-war ensued followed by a wrestling match and hysterical cries interspersed with bouts of laughter. Were they playing? Were they hurting each other? It's hard to tell. That must be the mystery of the Zuko.

the last day of the year

After all the excitement of Christmas and 65-degree winter afternoons, yesterday we got a taste of the quiet life as a cold front hovered over Austin on the last day of the year. We spent most of the day inside our own house and most of the night--all of the kids lasted until the clock struck 12--at our friends' celebrating 2015. While we were counting down the hours until we could count down the minutes (then seconds) to the new year, we played with Legos, made funny faces in front of the tree and tried our hand at an 850-piece puzzle.

It was an awesomely quiet day followed by a morning miracle. The children--all the children--slept in past 9:00am! That, my friends, is a Wheat family first and a beautiful way to start 2015. I was on such a sleep-in high that I agreed to donuts for breakfast and didn't even mind that the three munchkins devoured a dozen.