Children's Museum

Today we rode the commuter rail downtown. That's an adventure all by itself, for Jackson and Olivia. They love riding the train.

Our destination provided even more excitement. This was our first time visiting the Austin Children's Museum!

We walked in to a whirlwind of activity. Dozens of kids buzzed around, running from station to station. We parked Olivia's stroller and got ourselves oriented. The first room we visited was full of golf balls and various ramps to roll them down.

The golf ball room alone was enough to entertain my kids for a good 45 minutes. Then they requested a snack, so we made our way to the designated dining area and they chomped on some granola bars and blueberries.

Then it was back to the action, for several hours. They donned hard hats and safety vests to enter the multi-level "construction site."

Plastic nuts and bolts arrived through an air chute. Olivia had the genius idea of using her hard hat to collect them.

This complicated piece of machinery was used to scoop up rubber balls and deposit them in a pit.

After observing big brother in action, Olivia had it figured out.

Next, we moved on to the hall of mirrors. Multiple Jacksons!

Olivia found some butterfly wings to try on.

Jackson went fishing for magnetic fish. And Olivia fish.

Their favorite station by far was the kitchen. Are these my kids or what?

Olivia making her "quesa-tillas."

Serving it up.

And, this shows how well my kids know me. "Mommy, here is your lunch," Jackson said, proudly serving me a plate of pizza and jalapeno peppers.

Chairs of various sizes help the kids learn about scale.

Olivia thought the tiny chair was hilarious.

They loved making faces in this red bubble thing.

At the chalkboard, Olivia collected all the O's. It's the only letter she knows right now. "O for me!" she exclaims.

I thought the vet's office was a cute touch. Olivia took good care of Mr. Squirrel and gave him his shots.

We had such an awesome time, we bought a membership. And Jackson's looking over my shoulder as I write this post, reminding me that we need to go again soon.

For dinner, I made a quick yet fabulous Chana Masala. Can't recommend this recipe enough! The spice level is mild, so I sliced some banana peppers onto me and Tony's servings.

How was your day?

China Festival and Curry

Saturday was our "out and about" day this weekend. We had lunch at Curry in Hurry. I've reviewed it before. It's so good. All vegetarian, and they have lots of meal combinations and daily specials, as well as Indian street food appetizers.

 

We started with one of those appetizers, pani puri. This snack consists of thin, crispy shells filled with chickpeas, onion and cilantro, served with tamarind sauce and mint water. You spoon the tamarind sauce and mint water into the little round shell and pop the whole thing into your mouth. The combination of all those different flavors is awesome. 

 

 

I ordered the lunch combination and was told that I could pick two items, along with cumin rice and paratha bread. I chose the okra curry and the split peas in a tomato sauce. Both were so good. I get okra every week in my CSA box, but I can always deal with more okra! Tony had the same combo as me, and also enjoyed it. Jackson and Olivia ate a mild chickpea curry over rice.

 

 

After lunch, we headed to the George Washington Carver Museum for their China festival. This was a free event that sounded like it would be interesting for the whole family, and it was. First, we saw a group of tradional Chinese drummers.

 

 

 

Next, we hit the kids' craft area. Jackson and Olivia made some Chinese dragons.

 

 

Jackson's finished dragon -- so sparkly!

 

 

Olivia didn't want to cut hers out. Hers was very sparkly, too. That's my girl.

 

 

After finishing the crafts, we watched a kung fu demonstration.The crowd was too big to get any good pics, though. This was Jackson's favorite part of the festival.

 

Hope you had a great Labor Day weekend!

 

 

Balancing Act

One of Jackson's birthday presents this year was a balance beam. He recently finished his gymnastics class, and we thought he might want to continue practicing at home. He loved watching the Olympic gymnasts and now he is making up his own "routines."

 

 

He can also levitate, check it out.

 

 

Olivia likes it too. She also likes wearing brother's shirts that he has outgrown.

 

We had lunch today at Mister Fruit Cup, a new trailer that specializes in, you guessed it, fruit cups. Fruit cups are a Mexican street food. A few years ago when I lived in South Austin, I lived near a  fruteria where you could get a big cup of freshly sliced fruit, sprinkled with lime juice and chili powder. But I'm pretty sure they've closed down. So it's nice that this trailer has opened to fill that void.

 

It's also nice that they have a full vegan menu in addition to their regular menu, including vegan brownies and whipped cream!

 

 

 

Don't they look lovely? Nice arrangement. From left to right: I had the Thai with basil, mint, chopped peanuts, and brown sugar sauce. Olivia had the Tropical with cashews and coconut flakes. Jackson had the Rainbow, with vegan whipped cream and sprinkles.

 

This afternoon we picked up our CSA box. This week we received basil, arugula, okra, cantaloupe, summer squash, cucumbers, eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, beets, onion, and assorted sweet and hot peppers.

 

Lots of fruit today, and lots of veggies. Tomorrow, probably some pizza or nachos or something. For balance.

 

Do you have any big plans for Labor Day weekend? I'll just be relaxing with the family, cooking out of course, and catching up on my blog reading, too. I've gotten distracted this week, playing around on my new tumblr. You see, I am extremely ready for fall to get here. Summer is wearing me down. It was 101 degrees today! So I'm trying to experience fall vicariously until the real thing arrives.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Jackson's Birthday Dinner

 

Jackson's birthday fun wasn't limited to his party at Chuck E. Cheese. Since Tony unexpectedly had to miss the party, we had a second celebration one evening when Tony could be a part of the festivities.

 

First we had dinner at Chuy's. I had my usual, veggie enchiladas.

 

 

After our meal, the wait staff came out and sang Happy Birthday to Jackson and gave him an ice cream pop.

 

Back at the house, we had cake. Jackson requested a fire truck cake this year. Actually, he requested one last year, too! But this year, he specified that it should be in the shape of a real fire truck. I did my best to oblige him.

 

Then came a few presents.

 

He is really into dragons right now!

 

He likes clomping around in his new Monster Feet.

 

A very happy birthday for an awesome little dude.

Jackson is 4!

It is hard to believe, but my little baby Jackson turned four last week.

 

 

I had a sense even before he was born that Jackson would be a "spirited" baby, and my premonition proved true. He was so happy and alert -- always smiling and laughing and ready to play.

 

 

 

As he gets older, I am amazed by his energy. His daredevil nature can make me nervous, but I love his enthusiasm and excitement. I hope he always retains his adventurous spirit, whatever life brings his way.

 

We baked some cupcakes for his birthday party. He did the sprinkles.

 

 

We had his party at Chuck E. Cheese. It was Jackson's first time there. He has seen the commercials so he was very excited about it. The monster truck was his favorite ride.

 

Happy Birthday, sweet boy! We love you.

Last Gymnastics Class

Jackson has been doing gymnastics for the past six months, and he has learned a lot. He is awesome at doing somersaults; he even taught Olivia how to do them. His balance has also improved dramatically. Who knows, he may do another class in the future. Right now he is going to switch to swim lessons for awhile. So today was his last class. It was also pajama day!

 

 

He is such a little monkey.

 

For dinner last night, I made the banh mi sandwiches from Veganomicon with the five-spice dipping broth. My favorite recipe ever. It used to take me forever to make the seitan, but it gets easier with practice. And the payoff is always worth it.

 

 

I also grilled some okra and zucchini from our CSA box. Do you like okra? Some find it too slimy. I love it. Luckily, my kids share my love for it. We grill it and eat it up like candy.

 

Hope you are having a great day!