Congratulations to the new journalist to - be... me! :)

I am so happy to report that I will be writing for a local publication called About Town Press - check us out!!! This is exactly the opportunity for which I have been praying and hoping. I will probably be scaling back on my cooking blog and maybe even this blog, because adjusting to juggling a new ball in the act will take a little time for me I think! I am really excited about embarking on this new adventure, and I will keep you posted about how things go. I hope you'll look for my articles and give me honest feedback!

Dallas

Bronius had a 3 day training in Dallas and we decided to tag along! It would have been much easier to stay at home, but I was in the mood for adventure, and Bronius was gracious enough to sacrifice his alone time to let us come along! :)

We spun Milo's car seat around on this road trip and he loves being forward-facing! It made the trip much easier too. We started by going to the Plano Hot Air Balloonfest. The last time we went, we arrived in the morning and that's the best way to beat the heat and the crowds. We arrived just in time to have a little fun and eat some festival food before the balloons launched, and it was SO EXCITING to watch it!!! It was like watching a dream, it's just so magical (stop laughing at me!)

We stayed in the Sheraton Suites Market Center in Dallas and it was super close to all things downtown. It was right next door to Medieval Times but we never got to go to a show because the timings were not working for us. I was the most bummed about that. However, I am super proud of myself for driving the kids around all by myself - and NOT GETTING LOST, calling Bronius repeatedly or hyperventilating on the side of the road. I've only been to Dallas a few times, none of which were downtown trips, and none of which where I was driving. So, 5 gold stars for me! Thanks to my handy palm pre, I was able to navigate while driving and find a few parks, grocery stores, libraries and other child-friendly places for us to go to.

I took the kids to the zoo single-handedly and it went surprisingly well! I rented a little wagon to cart the kids around when they got tired, and they hopped in and out at their leisure depending on their interest in certain exhibits. The Dallas Zoo has an awesome Children's Zoo within the zoo, and we honestly could have spent all day at the zoo. I didn't realize we had only seen half the zoo until I got back to the hotel and opened up the map all the way - doh! I wish I could have taken more pictures, but I was doing good just to keep the kids by my side and not swinging with the monkeys from tree branches! It rained most of the time we were there, which put us in the mood for hot, comforting Vietnamese food and we found a lovely bistro that played Duran Duran and Depeche Mode and U2 and if that wasn't good enough for me, they made the most delicious noodles and lemon grass chicken that I've ever had! MMMMMM!

Now we're back and settling into the home routine again. I'm trying to put the house back together and start pulling out winter clothes since we're having a little cold snap here! :) I'm so happy that Fall is here, there is so much to love about Fall. Happy Fall wishes to you all!

G family visits

We were blessed with a visit from the Gutierrez family today. Did I ever document how crushed I was when they left for Boston? Well I was! Not sure I ever recovered, honestly. This visit felt like the OLD DAYS which I miss SO MUCH. Thanks for coming, guys. Can't wait to see you on your turf soon.

I love how my kids are the ones with the red eyes! :) This was the best I could get of all four squirmers :)

Bits and pieces update - gymnastics, rainy weekend, a visit to Senele's and my new cooking blog

In this issue....

A beyond adorable picture of a proud Dominic posing with a canvas which he and Bronius stretched and assembled together on a rainy day in the garage (in his superman jammies which he has clearly outgrown but refuses to wear the new set we have bought him). Dominic wears this getup A LOT. I don't mind it. :)

Bronius got to take Dominic to gymnastics on Labor Day since he had a day off work. He got some pictures of our budding gymnast.

Some cute shots of Milo eating a ginger snap at Senele's house and Dominic analyzing bug specimens. They get to do the coolest things at their Grandparent's homes!

And I've started a cooking blog. Inspired from seeing the film "Julie and Julia," I decided to blog about new recipes, whether they are a smashing success or go badly wrong. I'm also going to file away my favorites and some family favorites also, on this site. I'd love for you to visit it when you are blog floating! Eating Out of House and Home.

More videos and updated family photos to come soon! Happy Fall to all!

Back to school and Milo's 16 mths

Fall is here! We have even been blessed with slightly cooler weather to welcome the season in. Yesterday, Milo turned 16 months! I think I am going to start rolling his monthly updates into the family monthly update, since I'm quite frankly amazed that I have kept up with monthly updates for him up until this point. :) Poor baby has a fever this morning, and he is actually taking a morning nap. Hence my opportunity to blog! Milo is starting to say a few words, he'll say mama, dada, baba (not sure what that is, but it's cute). He makes sounds for a puppy and a monkey. He makes up his own signs for things which are super cute, I have to remember to film those. He is definitely becoming his "own" person. He gets frustrated when things go a certain way, namely, HIS way. His little fits are very short-lived though, I am grateful for that! :) He is a cuddly baby. He wants to get down and explore, but he still enjoys being held and ported around. He loves hugs and kisses, and if you sit on the floor, you are designating yourself to be a jungle gym. He uses me (or anyone) to climb on to the sofa or whatever furniture is close by. Milo still does not enjoy swimming very much...I suppose it depends on the pool. He does wonderfully at the pool by Senele's house, but nowhere else really. Dominic loves the pool and has been more bold about swimming.

Milo is fascinated by everything big brother does. They are finally getting to the age where they can play together. Dominic still struggles with the sharing, but has made great progress. Going back to school has been great for Dominic too! The drop-offs were a little rough (just picture the classic clinging to mommy's leg and running out of the school-house) but he's so happy when I come pick him up. He has so much fun at school. He blows me away by what he is learning. However, trying to get information out of him is like squeezing water from a rock, so I have to do a lot of guess work to learn about what happens at school. He told me yesterday they were mixing concrete. They are working on their gardens at school and I love it when Dominic comes home and wants to water the grass and plants in our backyard. In fact, that's Milo and Dominic's favorite activity to do together. Dominic's REALLY into music these days, he is so curious about lyrics and instruments! He loves his Hermie cds, literally listens to them morning, noon and night. I love that he is memorizing scripture and enjoying it so much! He's taken a liking to Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder, Bollywood music and 80's music this summer as well, and the classics of course, always the classics. I adore the age of 4. We have a little bit of sass and back talk happening, but on the whole, it has been such a fun age.



I hope to have more pictures soon to share. I borrowed some of these from B's flickr blog!