Last Week's Restaurant

For the last month I haven't been able to shake the "love sauce" taste — a la Love Shack — from the back of my throat. When Tim made a super quick trip to RVA earlier this month he stopped into Honey Whyte's, our favorite burger joint. Needless to say, I was a bit jealous. So I was really glad to find my fix at Tommy's on Camp Bowie. I got the Wholly Moley burger, which was topped with cheddar and guacamole, and Tim got the Blue Cheese Burger. Tim's onion rings were good (not as good as the ones at Commercial Taphouse in RVA), and my fries did the trick. Nigel really enjoyed his tater tots. And we all loved that we got to take home these cool plastic cups! The service was quick and friendly, too. We'll be back for sure.

Texas Fashion

Texas fashion is a bit more casual than the East Coast, but it's not frumpy. Tim says it's quite common to see businessmen downtown in jeans, boots, cowboy hat and a bolo tie. And the women I see out and about at the play areas are always very put together. Who doesn't want to put their best foot forward in a new town? So, little by little we're changing our ways, too.

Without much help from us, Nigel has always been fashionable. His wardrobe is quite impressive, complete with sweater vests, button up shirts and a driving hat. The moment my mom found out we were moving to Texas she ordered Nigel some killer cowboy boots. He wore them with his cowboy Halloween costume, and he still wears them at least once a week. Uncle John gave him the super cool shirt above for Christmas.

I'm trying to catch up to Nigel's coolness by making a conscious effort not to wear my yoga pants for anything but yoga. I also got a hair cut and am wearing the super cool Corral cowboy boots that Tim got me for Christmas. I still have a ways to go before I'm making a fashion statement in Dallas, but my yoga pants are appreciating the vacation.

This Week's Restaurant

We gave Mexican food another shot last week with La Familia. The restaurant is on Foch Alley in a really cute part of town called So7. This was the best Mexican food we've had so far. Tim got shrimp enchiladas and I got the Tex-Mex enchiladas. Tim's shrimp were perfectly cooked, and my chicken was fabulous. Each of our meals was served with the most delicious soup. My bean soup had a zesty broth with plenty of fresh cilantro. The salsa was stellar! We were also served roasted jalapenos, which Tim couldn't resist trying. Another huge plus here is the staff: Everyone was friendly and Al Cavazos greeted us at the door with a handshake. After our meal we headed over to J. Rae's, which has a huge cupcake on top of its shop, so Nigel could get a treat.

We also went out to lunch last week. Our new friends that we met at the Ethiopian Christmas gathering invited us to join them at the Swiss Pastry Shop. Tim got some sort of sausage plate and I got a Rueben. My sandwich was pretty good, despite not being served on rye and without much Thousand Island dressing. If we go back I'd love to try the carrot cake sandwich side — two pieces of carrot bread with cream cheese in the middle.

Nigel Update

We've been busy trying to get into a regular routine here now that the holidays are over. Last week we tested out a class at the Little Gym (above). Nigel had a blast jumping and flipping. Unfortunately, the class is a bit far from our house and a tad expensive.

But we've got lots more planned for Nigel. For starters, we joined the YMCA earlier this week. In addition to playing with other kids while Tim and I work out, Nigel can now go to swim lessons this spring — just in time for our annual visit to Tim's dad's lake house at Smith Mountain Lake. We'll also sign him up for a week-long summer camp at either the FW Zoo or River Legacy Park. And we're looking ahead to preschool this fall. We have visits to at least three schools planned for the next week or so.

In the meantime, we're looking forward to a somewhat warm week and weekend. A picnic lunch at the FW Botanic Gardens is on tap for Friday, and Tim's great-aunt and great-uncle are coming over for dinner Saturday. We've also been digging the vast selection of Spanish/English books at our library, including Dear Primo.

FW Stock Show

After our hours-long stay at the FW Science Museum on Wednesday, we went to the FW Stock Show & Rodeo since it was included in our admission. The show runs Jan. 14 through Feb. 5. We missed the kickoff parade because of a bad weekend and rain, but we were glad to make it to part of the show. Our visit was on a down day, which was a bit of a bummer but at least we didn't have to fight crowds.

This show is the real deal! There's a livestock auction, a rodeo, saddles for sale, etc. This is also a great place to find real, authentic cowboys. I'm talking hats, boots, spurs... the real deal!

We checked out the Future Farmers of America's little barn, where we found two escaped wee goats munching through a plastic feed back; a modern milking demo; a petting zoo complete with feed from an ice cream cone; and a pony ride. We also snacked on a Frito Pie, a Texas specialty that's essentially nachos made with Fritos (there's a fried version at the Texas State Fair). Judge all ya want, but it was goooood! Next year we'll be sure to take in the Cowboys of Color Rodeo, too.

FW Science Museum

Wednesday we joined some folks from a Meetup.com group at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. The museum also has a children's museum inside. The Children's Museum of Richmond was always fun, but this place is AWESOME! So awesome, in fact, that we were in the kid part from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with just a 30-minute break for lunch. They have sculptures, light and shadow play, an air tube that kids can "fly" paper cup creations, a doctor/ambulance area, a massive play grocery store complete with grocery lists and manual conveyor belts, a trolley, and a huge wooden train set.

(Clockwise from top left: driving an ambulance; weighing
a baby; playing with the giant LiteBrite

FW Water Gardens

Playing a little bit of catch up here... After being trapped in the house for a week with potty training, we needed to get out of the house on New Year's Eve. So we hit up the Fort Worth Water Gardens. It's pretty cool. Wasteful, in my opinion, but pretty darn cool.

A Shameless Plug

Just a quick note to let everyone know I now have a fabulous professional website, thanks to my bud Ryan Powell!

I went to school for journalism and was a city magazine editor for several years, but since Nigel joined our family I've added marketing and advertising work to my resume. If you know anyone who needs help with copywriting, editing/proofing or press releases, please pass my name along. I'm currently looking for clients in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Please visit skmcdonaldinc.com to view my resume and work samples. Mention this blog post and your company will receive 10% off my hourly rate.

The Monster at our Table

Thanksgiving dinner, which was actually meltdown-free.

Since we last updated you on Nigel, some sass has emerged. Make that A LOT of sass. Tonight we had to leave a family friendly tour of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. We gave Nigel many warnings, but he just wasn't listening to us. In his defense, today's event was geared around the most boring, unkid-friendly art ever: a dull, pink square piece of granite. And the hands-on art part of the tour was actually a worksheet geared toward much, much older kids. But still, he didn't even attempt to be good.

Much of the sass happens at the dining room table, though. He'll suddenly start crying if his PB&J sandwich oozes a wee bit of J; he'll yell that he doesn't like something, despite having already eaten 82% of it; he babbles loud nonsense when Tim and I attempt to have a conversation. Other times, he is extremely impatient. And for some reason, when Tim tries to put him into his car seat he screams like he's being murdered. Ya know, because our family doesn't stand out enough as it is. Tim says it was so loud and out of control one day at Home Depot that he thought someone might call the cops. It all started the week before we arrived in TX, and it hasn't died down.

Is it because he's almost 3? Is he sick of me and craving kiddo interaction? Is he lashing out because we moved? Who knows. All I know is, I want it to stop. Sometimes I wonder if I'm expecting too much of him when he isn't even 3 yet. But I don't think so. He's very smart and capable. Too smart, perhaps.

Could it be worse? Of course. Nigel continues to exhibit great behavior and use incredible manners 90% of the time, but during those meltdowns it's really, really hard to be patient. Moments like this, however, allow us some humor and perspective: Monday night when we were reading Nigel his bedtime stories and talking about the day, we mentioned that he hadn't been on his best behavior that evening. He had, in fact, been acting like a bad boy. "I'm not bad," he replied. "I'm just not really good."

Last Week's Restaurant

The week before last we ordered takeout pizza that was neither good enough nor bad enough to write about. We've been getting our pizza fix via the frozen section at Whole Foods and Central Market. We're really missing Bottom's Up and Mary Angela's.

So I'll tell you where we went this weekend: Riscky's Barbeque. If you've been to Texas or have watched the Food Network, you most likely know that barbeque here isn't a noun so much as it is a verb. It really refers to meat — any kind of meat, really — cooked over an open flame. I'm a HUGE fan of the vinegary North Carolina-style of BBQ, so I didn't think I'd like Texas-style. I also was turned off by the absence of anything green on the menu (a side salad doesn't count in my book) and something called Riscky Dust (the name reminds me of the nasty Love Sauce that I can still taste from Love Shack).

But I have to say I rather liked Riscky's. Having been advised against the pulled pork (since it wouldn't taste anything like pulled pork in Virginia), I got the chopped beef brisket sandwich. The meat was very tender. The sauce was a tad sweet, but not overly. My side of potato salad was more like mashed potatoes with mustard. Not so good. If we go again, I'll get the fried okra or pay extra for a side of green beans. Tim got a meat sampler of some sort and was not in love with his beef ribs. Other pluses: Our waitress was so nice, our food came out pretty quickly and the decor kept Nigel amused.

FW vs. RVA: Wildlife

A javelina.

When we moved to Texas I totally thought we'd see armadillos everywhere. Alas, that has not been the case. Not even a dead one on the side of the road. The Texas Wild section of the FW Zoo doesn't even have any, despite showing one on its website (we did see a roadrunner there, though). But we have run across a few interesting things — out and about, online and in books.

As anyone in RVA knows, gray squirrels are everywhere there. And it seemed like our neighborhood had more than its share. A lot of the time it seemed like the ground was moving there were so many squirrels; they weren't even deterred by our pets. But here in FW we seldom see squirrels. And the ones we see are the Eastern Fox Squirrel. (Interestingly enough, Texas Monthly has a story this month about squirrel camps.)

And since our RVA 'hood was so close to the river, Tim and I spotted a bald eagle next door and once we followed a buck through the alley. No deer sightings here in FW, but we have seen some different types of birds. The lake at the park near our house there are lots of ducks, but few are mallards. There are ducks spotted like cheetahs and some black ducks with white-striped heads that squeak.

I'm most intrigued by these three animals: First, is the wild pig that is tormenting Dallas and its suburbs. Next is the capybaras, which I mentioned in Richmond magazine this summer. And today, when Nigel and I were reading The Gingerbread Cowboy we found out about javelinas. I'm pretty sure we won't spot any of these three, but I'm holding out hope!

What Will 2011 Bring Us?

Happy New Year! 2011 has some interesting shoes to fill in the McDonald house! 2010 brought us one really big unwanted surprise (Tim losing his job), but also some really great moments that made us a stronger family. Tim saw just how amazing and needed he is when the job interviews and offers came pouring in. Sarah found joy and peace with running and even completed her first 10k. And Nigel left babyhood in the dust!

This coming year we're looking forward to selling our house, making new friends, and hosting visiting friends and family here in FW. Here's what we've got planned for Nigel in 2011:

• Kick diapers to the curb for good
  
• Learn to write the letters in the alphabet
• Make new friends
• Be confident
• Be respectful of his surroundings
• Have gratitude

What are your plans for this new year?