Snow in Austin!

Today we had nearly a full day of snow in Austin. It was awesome. The flakes were huge and fat and fell heavy from the sky.

So she wouldn't miss out on the snow while she was traveling, I took some pictures across the street at my neighbor Deanna's house. Her desert century plant presents quite a juxtaposition to the snow.

Here's the field across the street from our house.

The dogs enjoyed the snow, too.

So did Mateo. We made a snowman. He has peanut butter pretzel eyes and a baby carrot nose. He's a little grassy, but we like him.

I offered "snow ice cream" to Mateo, scooping some fresh snow from the hammock, but he got completely grossed out yelling "yucky yucky yucky!" when I took a bite. Boys... *rolling eyes*

Happy Birthday, Mateo!!

My baby boy is now "free" years old. We celebrated his birthday at The Little Gym of Austin. He and his friends had a grand time! The Little Gym teachers gave Mateo tons of special attention, which he was eating up. The party started with some free time in the gym and bubbles.

Then the kids got birthday cake stamps on their hands. Mateo got three - one on each hand and another on his forehead. After they played with balls and danced to a song, they brought out the air truck. The children sat on it while it inflated and then jumped on it. It was a HUGE hit.

Then they brought out a huge wheel and gave the kids rides on it.

Once all the little hands were sanitized, they formed a birthday train, with Mateo at the front. Boy did he love that!

Next came food and cake! We served sandwiches, Veggie Straws, oranges, and strawberries. We were so proud of Mateo - he blew out his candle at the right time and with only one try!

Obviously our friends and family were very generous. Mateo has played with pretty much every toy more than once. He was a happy boy!

A Big thank you to everyone for the lovely gifts, but mostly for spending your time to celebrate Mateo's birthday with us.

The Poisonwood Bible.

It's not often that a novel requires 3am bedtimes, but this one does. It's a fascinating read about a family (father, mother, and four daughters) who leave the life they know in the southern USA to live in the African Congo during the 1970s. The country's fight for survival amid corruption, assassinations, and political turmoil is the backdrop for the fight for every day survival by those of the people. The jungle is harsh and unforgiving, but the villagers rise to the challenge. At the end of the day, the members of this white missionary family, each in their own way, learn that while they can't change the jungle, the jungle does change them.

I highly HIGHLY recommend this book. Five stars.

Pancakes make everything better.

Mateo has the flu. I have the flu. We're praying Rafi doesn't get it. Mateo also has double ear infections. That said, he's still playing with his trains and is relatively happy. I, on the other hand, haven't been. I'm still functional, but this thing has been dragging me down. I'm sure not being able to call in sick to my job of motherhood might have something to do with it. I think, though, that the worst is behind us. Mateo is on antibiotics for his ears, and I've been trying to rest in between meal making, cleaning, changing diapers, etc.

Due to our illnesses we missed the Shrove Tuesday pancake breakfast at Mateo's school. I had planned to volunteer to cook, but I assumed most people would prefer not to have a sicky hacking over their breakfast. Instead, I made pancakes for dinner - with sprinkles, which made Mateo very happy. Here he is "helping" me make them:

I can't believe my baby turns 3 years old in five days. Ack!

Valentine's Day Party.

Well, Mr. Sickly is still sick, so we didn't actually ATTEND his Valentine's party at school, but we swung by to drop off his Valentine's cards for his classmates. Originally Mateo was supposed to help me decorate the cookies with food markers, but since he was sick I did it myself. Each kid got a cookie, Diego Valentine with heart shaped sucker, pencil, and two tattoos. I kind of overdid, but I think I was subconsciously making up for him missing his Christmas party due to Christmas in Panama.

After we got back home Mateo was super excited! He got a candy gram from his Mommy and Daddy (pink thing he's holding up) and his decorated bag full of Valentine's loot. For lunch he insisted on unwrapping every piece of candy and sampling it all. I managed to get some peanut butter pretzels and oranges down him somehow, but the great thing about kids this age (unlike most adults, me included) is they really don't over indulge on candy. He had a few pieces and then was done. If only I could manage to do that!

Mr. Sickly.

Mateo suddenly came down with a nasty cold. He's got a fever, sore throat, runny nose, and drainage that makes him gag. Poor kiddo. Some time on the couch watching Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs is making him feel better.

Life of Pi.

Pi, a young Indian boy, is on his way to Canada with his family when their ship sinks. The story that follows is of his time on the lifeboat. It's a fascinating read that keeps you turning the pages with an ending that makes you go BACK and read the details again. I love books that have a great ending twist. It's a tale of religion, adventure, survival, and of how the human mind can save us from madness when we need it most.

This weekend Mateo's school hosted a Valentine's Dance. There wasn't too much dancing, but there was a dessert buffet!

There were some games, too. Mateo had to stuff Rafi's shirt full of balloons.

I had to hold up some marshmallows for my partner to eat. We lost, but I still got to take home a pink Tupperware prize!

Rafi entertained the kids by showing them how to rub a balloon on your head and make it stick.

Hopefully we raised a good amount of money for the school. It's a great school, and Mateo loves it there.

Spring Fever?

It seems that I caught Spring Fever in January. For the last few weeks I've been hard at work, all day long, going through every single drawer, cabinet, box, shelf, closet, and room in this house. It's been a struggle some days to stay motivated, but I just keep thinking about how wonderful it will be this spring when all this hard work is already done! Then we can enjoy the good weather when it comes. (Hopefully it comes soon, as we need warmer temperatures to refinish our patio furniture, though since Phil saw his shadow this year, I'm not placing any bets.)

Mateo and Rafi are very excited about this:

Mateo is excited because his favorite buddies are in his room. Rafi is excited because now it gives purpose to him having saved them from a movie theater years and YEARS ago.

So, yeah... not much else going on around here; nothing too exciting to post about. I'm hoping to get the house all finished up by March, because in March I WILL have something exciting to post about. We're going to Peru!

One last mention - Happy Birthday to both Rafi's mom and my mom!