Spring is right around the corner in Austin

Max discovered a single mushroom, bravely poking its head out of the pine needles at our local park. He was fascinated by this strange 'flower' and we worked on touching it 'gentle' as part of our ongoing efforts to not be so rough with other living creatures. It has been a very mild winter here, even by Austin Texas standards according to the locals. Things are sprouting, mid January already. We had better get our seeds planted in preparation for early planting in our flower garden next month!

Touch it 'gently' please!

A delicate touch for a brand newly arrived mushroom

"What is this thing I have found?"

Maximus at 23 months

First Bike Ride

Too cool for you...

Today is September 25th, the 19 month mark for Max, and his very first bike ride! It was 100+ degrees again outside today (after nearly a week of cooler temps) but we braved the heat this evening to try out Mom's new bike with a very awesome seat for Max. He sits up front, attached to the handle bars in a very comfy Dutch designed baby seat. You can see the specs here at REI if you're interested in this sturdy engineered bike seat option for your little ones. It's called a YEPP Mini. They also make a larger one for the back.

Mama's new bike with a seat for me!

A big special thanks and We Love You, Daddy, for buying Mama a new bicycle (Schwinn for the win!) that's comfy, sturdy and safe for Max to ride on around town!

Stylin' in my helmet and shades

Here is the awesome Schwinn World 21 bicycle Mom got yesterday. Great end of summer deals at Performance Bicycles.

Our Little Garden

The view looking out from our back door

We're finally getting settled in our new apartment. It's been about a week, and I'm so far behind on my blog, I'll be back-blogging stuff from weeks past playing catch up so check back often for July and August updates I failed to upload!

One of the main selling points for the apartment that convinced me it was the perfect little habitat for Max and I was this awesome fenced in patio garden.



The owner (its actually a privately owned apartment building) had some custom built flower boxes and benches put in that are very nice. She encouraged me to rejuvinate and plant new things. I'm looking forward to it.

The opposite view, towards the back door, with Max!

There's a blue bench seat with flower box, and a blue rain-catcher barrel with faucet attached to the downspout so we can re-use rain water ... ok well providing it ever RAINS here again! ;)

She put some pea gravel down, and some tiles and loose rocks, but I think it needs some softening up and beautification. Maybe a small bubbling fountain, some greenery along the base of the flower boxes...

Nice custom made flower boxes, and artistic tile stones

I could use some help on ideas for fall planting in Texas (hint hint Uncle Russ!).

The flower beds get partial sun throughout the day, but they are somewhat shallow so I have to water frequently especially with the record 100+ temps and drought here.

Maximus 'digs' his garden!


Max is very happy with his own little shady outdoor play area. He likes to sit and dig in the pebbles (pea gravel). Every day he gets his bucket and stands by the door. He knows the front door means 'go to the playground' and the back door means 'go out in the garden' so he's particular about which one he wants.


Finally, for the comedy component, here's a video interview I did of Max on the back patio - he will tell you how much he likes his new place, and a short tour of our garden... enjoy!

Friday Night Drive Around Town

http://www.bouldincreekproperties.com/Bouldin-Creek-Neighborhood.html

What do you do on a Friday night when you're stuck at home with a crabby toddler and no money? You go out driving around, that's what! We went out and ended up driving around the Bouldin Creek area of South Austin, in the heart of "Bubba Land" as my Uncle says it's called down there. I really like the funky houses nestled in throughout the greenbelt creek and small hills of this neighborhood. It would have been a top choice for new residence except it slid a bit on the desirable scale because of the commute time from north Austin where Nox works.



I wanted to stop and watch the famous bats (on my list of things-to-do) coming up from under the Congress St. bridge as we crossed back over Ladybird Lake into downtown just before sunset, but Nox was on a mission to find some funky old decrepit properties in need of rescue - so we continued on around the Red River and Rainey St. corner of downtown. This little pocket of old houses is odd. Most of them are being bought up and turned into trendy little cafes and bars, but some are still run down and privately owned houses. Nox found an abandoned / boarded up old four square type house that looks like it might have been apartments at one time. That's the kind of weird places he likes to live in, haha!

We ventured east across I-35 and then Nox spotted a giant corrugated steel fence that ended up being the security fence for Austin Pipe & Supply Co., a scrap metal salvage yard on 5th st. He was in love! (no, I don't think you can live in the scrap yard honey)... ;)

image credit:  tender buttons

Finally we ended up at East Side Drive In, a strange little plot of land a block or two away near the rail yard that had been turned into a trailer eatery... these are popular little hodgepodge spots that sprout up around Austin. And yes, this one has a funny drive-in theater (large projection screen mounted on an old school bus).

Nox gives the fish and chips a thumbs up

We ate Fish and Chips, done authentic English-style wrapped in paper with lots of vinegar!

The "Pig Vicious" trailer nearby held bragging rights to a menu of odd sandwiches, everything overloaded with BACON!

Gimme more dreamsicle float!

Maximus had a pretty good time, despite doing a complete face-plant in the dirt while running around. His favorite thing was an orange Fanta dreamsicle float!

It was a great Friday night date with my two favorite men. <3

Central Market - HEB

HEB Central Market on Lamar Ave.

Another new venue adventure for Max and Mom.

We stopped at the Central Market grocery on our way back home from a shopping trip downtown. I kept hearing it was as good as Whole Foods for fresh natural/organic only food, but less expensive. I finally made a point to stop by since its located on 40th and Lamar, which is just a mile or so from our soon-to-be new apartment in Hyde Park.

They even have special parking for us!

We only bought a few things, so I can't say much for price comparison yet, but the selection was really really good. They manage to cram a lot more items into a smaller space. A lot of your 'experience' at Whole Foods is the large open airy space and fancy displays - more like a showroom of food whereas Central Market seems to just get down to the business of stocking shelves. The aisles are a little narrow and the layout of the store was a bit confusing at first. While its 'warehouse' style made sense - seems to me they could make it a little easier to get from one section to the other, especially to the checkout area - only a few small entry aisles to the more than adequate number of cashier lanes.

Max enjoying some 'Pro Bugs' brand Kefir' for kids

The bakery was phenomenal, more selection than Whole Foods I think.

Overall it was a good experience and I definitely recommend this place if you're a 'central' Austin resident like us. We've been going to this tired run down HEB out here on Lamar north of 183 for so long I forgot what a nice fresh grocery should be like. Whole Foods always felt like a special trip because its a longer trip downtown for us and the prices are pretty steep.

We'll be back here next week for the annual Central Market Hatch Festival that runs from the 17th through the 30th. I love green chiles, and have never experienced the way they are roasted here, so this will be yummy!

Improvising with food

Step 1: Dip peanut butter covered stick into cheerios

Anyone with toddlers knows they can sometimes be quite picky about what they eat, and getting them to try new foods can be a challenge. It's also a long process for them to learn to use utensils to eat.








Today at lunch Max discovered a way to improvise with his food items that I thought was clever, so I expanded it a bit and provided him with some practice foods. He took a toddler snack stick and with peanut butter stuck to it from his sandwich, stuck it in his cheese and cheerios as a handy utensil to pick up bits and eat them.

Step 2: Enjoy tasty treat!

I added more peanut butter and cheerios to the plate and let him go to town 'fishing' for his tasty snack.

He's a happy toddler with his clever tool usage!

And for humorous comparison, this reminded me of the wild chimpanzees who were discovered to be using grass twigs to 'fish' for termites in their mounds... I guess termites are to chimp toddlers what cheerios and peanut butter are to the Max! 

I 

Young chimps fish for termites

Japanese Tapas

Max looking swanky for his sushi dinner date

We went to dinner at AFin Japanese Tapas sushi restaurant tonight. Yum! They have a combination of sushi and seafood dishes done tapas style. Tapas is a way of eating rather than a style of food. It focuses around traditionally smaller portions, like appetizers but are neither appetizers or main dishes. Rather, a tapas is meant to be enjoyed slowly over the course of your dining experience. Many small dishes of tasty foods. This is a really great way to eat when its super hot outside and you don't want to eat a huge filling plate that will not settle or digest well. I had a couple nice sushi rolls and an amazing seared tuna with peppercorn mushroom sauce and asparagus. It was delicious!


Here's my Yelp review.

Dad's got beer, I've got a sippy cup. NOT beer!