on the mend

Well, I'm happy to report our family of three is on the mend. I hate being sick. It's quite annoying really, but it's even harder when you're little. And if baby's not happy, nobody's happy. Miriam has been my constant shadow, which I secretly like, but I think it was starting to hurt daddy's feelings. Poor fella. Sometimes a girl just wants her momma. Last night we all took a big sigh. I cooked my own version of this lovely chicken parmesan by bridget. Quick and easy. While we waited Miriam and I ate lots of sliced cucumbers and played pots & pans, one of our favorite past times lately. She loves to gather a variety of toys and then stir them in one by one with a wooden spoon. A budding chef perhaps? We ended the weekend with some special treats from Sprinkles. Did I mention this town literally has everything you can imagine? Trev was not so impressed, but me I rarely turn my nose at a cupcake so I'll definitely be back for another bite.

ikea + square burger + dinosaurs

After feeling a bit sorry for myself last week, the weather brightened and Friday arrived which meant hubs was home. We did a lots exploring around town. Went to dinner with our friends from back home that recently moved to Dallas as well. Two cranky and tired toddlers tagged along with us which made dinner a little bit of a struggle, but it was so nice to see some familiar faces and talk about our new city. Then I made my first trip to Ikea. I was speechless. It was way cool and also way cheap. The child area was my favorite and I had to resist penciling in all the item numbers on my list. It's so big you actually have to write down your item list then go pick stuff up on your way out. Let me just say it will blow your mind.

We also explored McKinney a bit more which has a beautiful, historic downtown. Lots of cute shops, but we mainly zeroed in on food and found the most amazing place called Square Burger. It's so good I can barely stop thinking about it. All of their burgers come with a fried pickle. Stop it… and they have a great beer list and a great kids menu and I could go on and on and on, but I'll just show you my plate and our happy faces.

Next, we went to the Heard Natural Science Museum to see their dinosaur exhibit. Yes y'all we saw dinosaurs in Texas. It was very random and probably better suited for bigger kids, but it was such a pretty day we just loved being outside. I mean, 70 in January? I could get used to this real quick.

So, after all our fun sweet Moosh came down with a 102 fever Sunday night. She was so sad and hot and just wanted to literally lay on my chest and be held. Her fever went down after I alternated between ibuprofen & acetometaphin every 3 hours. I had no idea you could do that, but worked like a charm. She's still been fighting a terrible sinus thing all week, but I think she's slowly getting better. I'm quite sure she picked it up from day school. All those dirty little hands and runny noses. Sweet, because now mommy and daddy are sick. We are a pitiful bunch for sure so I'm off to buy a humidifier and more kleenex and definitely more hand sanitizer… sniffle, sniffle.

we made it

So here I am y'all… blogging from Texas! Whew, it's been a whirlwind. Trevor was already here so my brother Will and I made the 10 hour trip down together which was pretty fun. The day went by faster than I'd imagined. We talked the entire way down, music playing as we took turns playing DJ, and the landscape gradually changing outside our windows. This time, leaving home felt a lot more real. My parents arrived with Miriam the next morning. With all the anxiety I've been having, my family's presence really grounded me and helped ease me into my first few days here.

Since we couldn't find a house in such a short timeline, we ended up renting a furnished apartment through hubs work. It's a great development called Watters Creek in Allen with shops and restaurants below the living space. Nice and pretty, but even though they have an Anthroplogie dangerously close to my doorstep, it's a little strange being in corporate housing. The transition is still brand new and it's been really hard. I wish I was one of those spontaneous people that could trot around the world and pick up in a second for a new adventure. But I'm not. Apparently, I crave the familiarity of home and old friends faces. So a few tears have been shed, usually when hearing my mommas voice, but I'm going to make it. Really, I am. Time to be strong and brave and just forge my path here in Texas. I did it in Greenville and now I will do it here in Dallas. And thank goodness for a very supportive husband and adorable little Moosh right here by my side.