Kicking Off Fiesta!

In Dallas we grew up with the Fair, but living here in San Antonio, we have something much better: Fiesta! Who knew we would be celebrating the independence of Texas from Mexico's reign in 1836 with 10 days of fun in 2006? Gotta love it!
Each year since we've lived here we've taken Will to kick off Fiesta at St. Gregory's Fiesta De La Familia. My Aunt Melissa and Uncle Bob play a huge role in organizing and executing this activity and it is loads off good carnival fun! Dave likes to go for the Shiner and Corn on the Cob. I like the silent auction and cake decorating contest. Will loves the prizes and the rides. Each year he looks longingly at the Big Kid rides and stands tiptoe at the height scale. We've sent him on his merry way with your traditional Ferris wheel and Bounce House. Happily, this year he was ready for the real stuff.


He and I ventured over to this ride loaded with big kids swinging in their seats, flipping their whole carts in circles. Will is so excited he runs to a cart in need of a second brave soul. I handed 4 tickets to the middle age, missing teeth, weathered carnie (as Dave calls him). I step to the back to bask with my sister at my son who is growing up right before my eyes.

"Ma'am,” the man asks "You're not going to ride with your son?"

"No" I replied, "he's going to brave this one alone."

It's true, I was a little worried about Will and I would have liked to hold his hand, but going on the ride is asking a little too much...

"Well, Ma'am I'll let you on the ride for free."

And I'm thinking I must be a bad mother if this guy wants me to ride with Will so bad that he'll let me go free of charge. Blindly, I walk over to Will who has made a new and eager friend, and we head over to the last cart available.

We clamber in and to my horror there is remenents of vomit covering the side and toppling over the edge. I look up in disgust to see Will beaming with happiness. Oh man, I don't have the heart to tell him to abandon ship, that ride is unacceptable, that I would give him anything if he just opens the latched door.

I stay quiet; Will starts rocking in hopes of spinning our cart like the other big boys. I pray that the smell emitting from our cart is in my head and watch Will's hand carefully, ready to scream "Get your hand away from there!" because he is getting a little close to the undigested contents from someone else's sick tum-tum smearing the side. Without realizing the ride has started we transcend a few feet in the air, Will rocking, me worrying.

It's not pretty: my sister blurs past me. Instead of her gentle, reassuring face she looks a little worried and I'm starting to feel like I did after our 21st birthday. I can't even look up anymore, my eyes are shut so tightly I have to force them open to make sure Will is okay and clean of hand. The world is spinning and I am trying so hard to stop it. We continue to go faster and higher, and I know I must be in hell.

I peek at Will who has stopped rocking, he looks a little perplexed: "Are you okay, Mom?"

"Uh huh," I reply in a meek voice ... please, for the love of God, please stop this machine.

Minutes (years) later the ride slows. The carnival man runs over and grabs our cart to stop it. I look over at my sister, who is anxiously waiting. With tears in my eyes, the man engages in small talk, and I'll I can do is muster: "Thank you for the ride. That was truly awful." I tried my best to not sound ungrateful, that would just be rude. He takes my hand and helps me out. I step out, with a shaky flip flop, over the pile of freshly laid puke (not mine) careful to make sure Will doesn't land in it, too.
"Come visit me again!" The carnival man says.
No... Not likely.

I'm so sick; we have to sit down a few feet away. Dave and Avery, both fresh from the Face Painting Booth with glittering dragonflies on their cheeks, look at me a little pained. Will who bravely made it out unscathed, is holding my hand. My dear, sweet sister who takes my defense in any circumstance starts in on the fact that the ride WAS going on too long.

Defeated, I break it to Will that I will not be riding anymore rides - we have to go home. Amy, with Avery in hand, helps me to the car. Will and Dave get their cotton candy to go. I climb into the passenger seat, put my head on the dash, and pray Dave takes the turns slowly.

I felt so guitly we had to leave, but Will isn’t disappointed. Instead he’s worried and asks me if I’m okay. He keeps my heart full while my stomach lurches: he is a compassionate boy and that is all I could ask for. :-)

Can I get a ZZZ? How about a little shade?

I know this insomnia thing is bad. For the 3rd night in a row 1:30 AM rolls around and I am wide awake. This calls for extreme measures - I'd really like to go to bed at 6PM, but at this hour I need to be aware because not using pot holders and setting steak knives instead baby spoons can create problems.

Ohhh, the evil plots of a sleep deprived stay-at-homer!
Last night 7:00 rolled around, both kids were in bed! With a little strategic planning (ie boot camp for babes) the afternoons are busy. This helps, not only so I can stay awake, but can put them to bed dog-tired right after dinner. ;-)

"Let's walk to the park!" Who cares if it's almost 100 degrees?
We take off with the Chicco umbrella stroller for a little off-roading. Will eagerly walks beside the stroller looking for dinousaur bones as we experience Death Valley in San Antonio. It is a little hot for April...
  
I started to feel a little guilty: Avery burned her hiney on the slide and Will's face, though covered with a baseball hat, was slightly tomato - let's not talk about my shoulders which hurt so bad I’m issuing a bra ban.

We return from our 90 minute adventure. Avery and Will needed something to cool them off.
Maybe a water hose?
  
So I let them waste water - this is hard for me to do because I worked in water enforcement at the EPA and our water supply is truly valuable. Anyway, the whole time water is running down the cul-de-sac I watch out for SAWS, and enjoy my children laughing with sheer pleasure of this refreshing treat. Bottom line, we had a great time AND they were in bed really early!!!

Yahoo! So I managed to sneak in bed a little before 8pm. Dave wondered what happened to me when I didn't come back during the prevail of the number 1 Natural Wonder of the American West Coast on the travel channel last night (Promise, nothing else was on). He wandered in and I was under the covers praying I wouldn't wake up at 1 again. I forced my eyes open reading Real Simple Family and a cheesy murder mystery until 10 and then lights out. Surely, as tired as I was I will sleep through the night.

Fat Chance - 1:30 like an electric cattle prod I am awake. After an hour of shutting my eyes so tight I expect crows feet tomorrow I give up and high tail it out of my room. I'll clean the kitchen, fold laundry, organize the pantry, make a grocery list, put together PB&J sandwiches, and then I can sneak off to the grocery store right when it opens.

Hallelujah, I'm awake and not paralyzed by sleeplessness. After much productiveness in the kitchen plus scrapping recipes in a photo album I am hungry for breakfast. Instead of the traditional GoLean Crunch I prepare 2 eggs over hard, toast with jelly, and raspberries. Ahh, Heaven (but its dark outside). And I realize this is just not right - it's 5:15, I can't do this any longer, I'm going back to bed. And I dreamt about sleeping until 7:30. Now that, my friend, is Heaven!

A Big Boy Birthday and 100 Uses for an Easter Basket

I'm not about to make you endure a long list of the uses of the treasure able Easter basket, but I will give you three 1) a mad dash and stash for cascarones, treat filled eggs, and other delectable goodies 2) a puke bucket for a long ride home from G&G's 3) if puke free a great way to stop a migraine.

Will is having a hard time with allergies. The Duncanville/Cedar Hill area is not the best place for a little boy with a great love for the outside. He had a great time with his both sets of Grandparents over Easter weekend/ Dave's birthday. He played Warcraft with Grandpa Carl on the computer (Hello, T for Teens doesn't apply when your 57 or 5.5, it's the combined age I was told). He fished in the Grandma Bean's Koi pond where Will's new turtle, Turtle, is swimming somewhat peacefully.
But somehow Easter morning after four days of Kingdom the little King came down with an asthma attack. Easter was also Dave's birthday and he tried his best to be happy for his Daddy. After some Easter egg, cough, cough, hunting and celebrating Dave's 32nd birthday we packed up the car and started the long journey home and Will feel into an allergy induced slumber for 2 hours.

He woke up a little after we decided to ditch I-35 for a longer, less crowded tour through the Hill Country on 281.
"Mooommm, I don't....." (Inaudible due to retching).

And bless our lucky stars a car wash came into the horizon. Dave peels off in its direction while Avery mimics Will's guttural responses as best as any 5 year old boy trapped in a 20 month old girl body can. GOTTA LOVE LEATHER as we wipe all offenses and threw out Will's blanket that was conveniently covering him and not so conveniently taking the hits.

In desperate acts I reach for the basket hiding in the back with the plethora of candy:
"Willie Bear, can you hold this in your lap in case you get sick again?"
I say to my sweet-little boy who has the look of complete defeat, not to mention a very alien green look to him.

And off we go, careful over the bumps and not so full speed ahead. Every once in a while we look back to see Will with a bucket (err, basket) over his head. It's probably better that way.

So Dave spends his birthday in a car and his birthday money on me, the kids spend their Easter with runny noses and abdominal exercise, and I am ready to get out of the car - I have laundry that takes precedence due to smell factors and an IPOD Nano that needs to be loaded up. Thanks Honey, I love your birthday!

Quiet on the Homefront

It's been awhile and it shouldn't - in all honesty I've been in an insomniac's fog. Yes, it's self diagnosed, but I was really starting to get worried when I'd have nightmares about waking up and not being able to go back to sleep. It's been so bad lately that last Saturday I went for a midnight stroll for 2 hours in Port Aransas in my pajamas. I guess I was celebrating the time change. Thursday, I went for a morning run with the newspaper delivery truck. It's so confusing and my poor brain is desperate for solid sleep.
Anyway, since this episode I haven't felt like doing much at all (except for eating mostly candy in the lazyboy totally reclined).
Today, we had our annual neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. This is one of my favorite things to experience as a Mom. Hiding eggs is so much fun. And as a member of the playgroup in charge of this activity hiding over 1000 eggs can be extremely gratifying. It will be Christmas before all are accounted for.
This was Avery's first hunt and I was her helper. She likes this cleaning project and filled her basket in hyperspeed. With the exception of a few eggs that cracked open with the help of her foot, she has no clue that there is some serious "DANDY" in her possession. Will was born a treasure hunter and this is right up his alley. He was a trooper and shared his candy with no strings attached. Good boy; there is no worse feeling than stealing candy from your children!
We're off to the Strawberry Festival after naptime. The candies worn off, but there will be funnel cakes soon!

Hurray for Port A!

  

Avery: A Few of Her Favorite Things