My flower child

The weather is so warm the broccoli has bolted and nearby at the compost pile we found a surprise. Not a big deal, you say? You should have seen Cruz's face and heard the delight in his squeal when he said, "Mommy, look! A flower!!!"

Look what we picked up at HEB

Whole...organic...two-year-old cuteness. :)

We were waiting for Mr. Zapata, our Meals on Wheels client that we meet biweekly for grocery store trips. Cruz loves him (and the fact that Mr. Zapata brings him treats like a quarter for his piggy bank, an empanada and even a Valentine) and loves HEB (free samples, buddy bucks and hand baskets like the one below).

Primos por vida

My sis and nephew are in town for a long weekend and it couldn't have come at a better time. While Sue helps my mom around the house as she recovers from her surgery, Jax is winning the heart and mind of one particularly enamored two year old who was missing his daddy (who was out of town all week).

Here he is, stuck on Jax and his kolache breakfast.

This was them in July when we visited Colorado.

Love this Texas winter weather

80 degrees. Partly cloudy with the sun roasting my left arm as I enjoy my lunch break on the patio. This is what I love about Texas and why so many northerners flock here during the winter. It is also a bittersweet reminder that summer is just around the corner when we will all be cursing the heat.

Last summer we escaped the drought and hellish record 100 degree days by going to Florida and Colorado. When it rained in the keys, Cruz was so confused that he thought we were at a carwash.

Here's to great weather and looking back at our awesome summer. Bring it on, Texas.

Eating broccoli straight from the garden

Literally. Makes me love the spontaneity in children. I'd love to be able to take credit for good eating habits. However what you don't see is the next shot of him in our car port bending down on all fours to eat kitty kibble from the outdoor kitty's plate.

I can almost taste the farm fresh eggs

Just a few more bells and whistles and this coop will be fully functioning.

I love you more than Star Wars

This was the first time I've ever not put thought into Valentine's Day and felt bad about it. Dax and I rarely celebrate the hallmark holidays but this year I was dealing with thousands of crafty ideas on my pinterest dashboard and super moms posting photos on Facebook of heart shaped sandwiches. A chat with Pam, a few tears and a trip to Michaels led to me scrambling to get something, anything done.

SUCCESS! Cruz loooooooved the valentine I made. On the back, it said "I love you more than Star Wars."

Just gotta remember, "do or do not, there is no try."

Cruz, Dax is your father.

Every day since Christmas 2011, Cruz has asked to watch Star Wars. Everyday when he gets home from school, he pulls out this little R2 unit, playing for what seems like hours on end. He has even gone as far as quoting the movie! Sometimes he wakes up singing the Star Wars theme song, and today, he was singing the "hello song" to the gang. People: he is two years old! What have we created??? I wonder if he realizes that in a galaxy not too far away, his dad is STILL equally obsessed.

Update on the Chicken "Poop"

Cruz is pretty excited about his chicken "poop."

One up, three to go

Using recycled and reclaimed materials, we are a quarter of the way there in building our chicken coop with BioGardener. So excited. What with trying to eat primaly, we've been going through two dozen eggs a week almost.

Cruz vs. the Cupcake

This cupcake wasn't only huge, it had magical powers of bribery. He napped for three hours, happily, and woke up saying, "Where's my cupcake?"

Trading Spaces

One of my goals this year was to separate family life from work, which is a hard thing when you're a work at home mom.

We did the old switcheroo and made the family room more comfortable for Cruz and created an office space for myself in our master suite. So far, everyone is happy!

Lettuce be thankful for the rain this fall

First time growing lettuce successfully. Who knew fall gardening would be so fruitful.

Cruz 2.0

The fall was busy with birthday celebrations all around.Here is the little stinker playing in the tent he got from Uncle J, wearing the awesome birthday shirt from Etsy.