At Last

Our good friends Cara and Anthony waited a long time, and walked a long road in order to meet their son. When that day finally came, I think their whole world was bursting with happiness around them.

(Text from our favorite Dr. Hasty that morning)

 

As my friend Stephanie would say, this photo makes my uterus ache. Do you not just want to eat this chin?

If you want to see the whole day, get a tissue and click below.

Mac's birthday from maile wilson on Vimeo.

Music (in case you haven't been exposed to Western civilization for 50 years): At Last by Etta James

Congratulations Cara and Anthony! I really want to kidnap your child. But I'm also really happy for you too. 

River

I am not made for Texas. Or for the sun or heat, or basically anything that involves nature. But it's been 5000 degrees, so we thought it would be fun to go sit in the river and do nothing with our friends. While they enjoyed the sun, I sported a full body gown, hat, and sat under the umbrella in Melanoma corner. I'm a hottie like that. I also forgot to sunscreen my knees so they burned and peeled for a week. It was sexy.

Today is filled with lots of appointments, including a visit to the dermatologist (speaking of skin cancer!). I always get a little nervous about it now. And there's not much time to write. So have a fun weekend friends! (wear sunscreen)

Port Aransas: Part 2

Emily was going bananas over the ocean, and embodying everything I was feeling. The waves, the salt, the sand can be intoxicating, especially if it's been a while since you've experienced it. Still her fearlessness made me feel like I couldn't relax or take my eyes off her for a second. And I think she had the same effect on her older sister. Annie kept pulling her in, telling her not to get in so deep. It's interesting to watch birth order characteristics develop right before you. 

Salt water in the eyes.

"LOOK MOM! A BALLOON!" as she reached down. 

"NO HONEY DON'T TOUCH THAT IT'S NOT A BALLOON I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS BUT IT'S DEFINITELY NOT A BALLOON."

Later, I googled "Long blue jellyfish in Port Aransas" and found out that it was a Portuguese Man of War. 

About six times the size of the ones I remember in Hawaii. Because Texas is competitive even when it comes to poisonous Marine life.  

Speaking of hazardous creatures. Who could leave the beach without a hermit crab for the kids? I mean, they're made for kids. All colorful and painted with glitter and butterflies and superman logos. All they need is a little low maintenance sponge and an adorable self-contained habitat to keep them happy.

Jason's prying it off his hand for the second time. I'm saying, "That's it, as soon as you get that bastard off, I'm flushing it down the toilet." Which prompts Annie to start crying / screaming, "NO MOMMY! YOU CAN'T FLUSH MY CRAB! THAT'S MYYYY CRAAAAB!!!" I reluctantly promise that I won't. We finally get everyone calmed down. Only to realize that something might not be quite right with Emily's crab.

She'd picked the one that had Dora painted on her back. She named Dora "Megan", after our awesome (we-would-die-without-her) Nanny "because I love Megan so much". In the store, she kept asking why Dora Megan wouldn't come out of her shell. We kept saying it's because Dora Megan is a hermit and likes to sleep a lot during the day. Until we got her home and realized that Dora Megan likes to sleep a lot during the day and the night.

And also permanently.

It seems that Dora Megan was never with us.

After a good fifteen minutes of inconsolable crying, I suggested maybe we should hold a memorial service for Dora Megan. Maybe the process of getting outside would get Emily's mind off of it. So we all gathered around to say a few words that we might celebrate the life of Dora Megan, as well as obtain closure for her untimely passing.

Good bye Dora Megan. We promise non-hermit-crab Real Megan is not mocking you by posting pictures of your burial on her facebook page.  

Pictured here, I think non-hermit-crab Real Megan is wishing you didn't share the same name. But also she is deeply, deeply mourning your loss.

Pictured here is the top of Grammy's head. She may have been laughing hysterically, or she may have been overcome with grief. Either way, I know she was trying very hard to contain herself. 

We all deal with grief a little differently. 

By then, it was time for dinner. So we packed everyone onto the golf cart and drove into town.

You can drive golf carts on the roads there, which might have been my favorite part of the whole weekend.

My other favorite part of the weekend was when my good friend Rachel and her awesome family came down to play. I'm lame and didn't get pictures of them. But if I did, it would include images of a family who has the beach Down To A Science. They were like a well-oiled family machine complete with tent, coolers, life jackets, and special sunscreen that sticks to you even when your skin is wet. It was impressive. But more importantly, they are just some of our favorite people.

Rachel also writes a crazily successful food blog. So on top of being fun, she is usually bearing treats. Like this Mexican Pasta Bake that she rolled up with (so good!). She has the Cook Knack. You know, there's some people who can cook, like me. I don't, but I can as long as I have a recipe or instructions, and there is no independent thinking required. Then there are people like my mom or Rachel who can magically create a four course meal, with nothing but ketchup, and Arm & Hammer deodorizer. This is the Cook Knack. And this is what she did with this vodka fruit mystery drink thing that she whipped up when we were there. It was so good. But you'll have to take my word for it because I don't have a picture of that either. 

What I DO have a picture of however, are Long Dogs.

What? You've never heard of them? Probably because they are my very own special, special creation. Because sometimes you buy too many groceries. And on the last day of vacation you need to use everything up so you don't have to lug it all home. Sometimes you have left over hot dog buns, + no hot dogs, and only hamburger meat. That's when you have to improvise people. That's right. Go ahead, and impress your friends this weekend. Happy Fourth of July, and you're welcome.  

Port Aransas: Part 1

Maui and California turned me into a beach snob. So much that I'd lived here eight years and had never graced Port Aransas with my Royal Hawaiian presence. Because Texas? Beaches? Please. 

I'm also typically skeptical of websites that photoshop clouds or sunsets behind their rentals. But my good friend Lauren said Cinnamon Shore was awesome. And I've been fiending for the water ...(why is spellcheck telling me that word doesn't exist? Has Webster never heard of crack? Or Horse? Or a girl who might die if she can't smell the ocean?) So we packed up the family and headed three hours to the Texas coast this weekend. 

On the way, we let the kids overdose on technology. The silence was a little eerie + fantastic.  

We weren't sure if it was going to rain or shine, which is the best weather for contrasty (overly-photoshopped) cloud pictures:

 "Pool Party" by TRA does pretty things to clouds.
We weren't there ten minutes before Emily was doing this. 

Made me re-think my opinions about the Texas ocean completely.

Untitled from maile wilson on Vimeo.

To home school or not to home school, that is the question.

I found this quote by Charlotte Mason via Simple Mom.

For a few years, I've had it in the back of my mind that I'd switch to home schooling when my children were old enough for middle school. Despite the plethora of horror stories my babysitters have told me over the years, I don't have anything against the public school system. Aside from the expected routine traumas of adolescence, I liked public school. But as an adult, I envy the freedom that it seems like home schooling families enjoy. I love the thought of finishing school work by noon, so kids can fill the afternoon with fun stuff like learning another language, becoming really good at an instrument, or playing sports (or do they even have sports?). And mostly I want to delete crazy evenings from my life. I despise the drive-thru lifestyle of rushing from one activity to the next, only to get home to start homework at 9pm. Do you think it's possible to not be that family?

I should also be clear. There is NO WAY I could do this myself. My schedule is way too chaotic, and I'm much too undisciplined to be responsible for something as important as someone's education (which is why I clicked on this article in the first place). The only way I could make this work is by hiring someone. But I've never heard of anyone doing that. So again, maybe I'm dreaming? 

My other big concern is that my kids are very social, especially my oldest. And I have homebody bordering on hermit tendencies. I would hate for that to rub off on them. 

So I decided to put it out there to hear what you guys think. Do you have experience and/or an opinion about home schooling? Will my children become pasty agoraphobics? If you do home school, how do you avoid that? And where should I start? So far googling has done nothing but make the process seem incredibly overwhelming.

This is me officially soliciting your advice. 

(thank you) :)