Christmas

We arrived home from our delicious and delightful trip to Connecticut at about 5:30 this morning. It was an amazing and magical adventure (even if Continental airlines has made a permanent enemy out of me) and I can't imagine not going back east much sooner than the six years we waited this time! It will take me awhile to sort it all out and share it, but it really, really was wonderful and the time we spent with my sister-in-law and her husband was priceless.

We're holding off for the big Christmas "moment" until after nap time--partially since my husband is still asleep--but as he'll be home for the next week, we have lots planned, such as:

+Cookie, truffle, and rice krispie treat making, gingerbread village making (thanks Allie)
+Getting into the rhythm of snow-cocoa-snow-cocoa (the outdoor time will come in short spurts since all our snow clothes are currently vacationing in some top secret Continental airlines location)
+Sending the rest of the Christmas cards (once the luggage with them in it arrives)
+Hors D'oeuvres and sparkling cider galore (standard fare here from Christmas to New Years)
+Writing time for me since my husband is home to adore the children--will I submit poetry by the end of the year or won't I . . .

Anyway, you get the picture. It's a happy picture for me! And don't worry, photos (and details of the enmity between me and Continental) will be forthcoming :) Wishing you all a lovely day today and hoping you a fab week of festivities as we celebrate the mountain of December and January holidays!

Hope & Misery Abound

"Victories in life come through our ability to work around and over the obstacles that cross our path. We grow stronger as we climb our own mountains." -- Marvin J. Ashton

Yes, I am still sick. This would be the misery part. I'm on antibiotics though and it's now been three weeks, so I'm hoping it clears itself up this week and leaves me able to breathe in peace!

My husband was out of town Tuesday through Friday last week at a conference for work. I missed him terribly, both because I adore him and because it was horrid trying to deal with the kids alone all week when I felt so rotten.

Tuesday I woke up and got the kids dressed and breakfasted and decided to go lie down for a bit. This was a really stupid idea, and I'm playing the sick card as an excuse for my temporarily feeble decision-making capabilities.

When I got up, refreshed and feeling positive about my ability to handle the week with the kids, I first encountered a strong smell. It was not an unpleasant smell, but if I could smell it through this massive head cold then you know it had some serious power behind it. It smelled like . . . barbecue . . .

I was then confronted with my small son, slathered in something frighteningly thick and brown from fingers to wrists and looking like a little ghost--caked in a white powdery substance from the neck up. Then I saw the living room and I was not well pleased. My delightfully creative children decided to give themselves and the house a . . . spice rub.

The main ingredient was this, which is one of my favorite things to add to chili. This was the brown stuff Bear had on his hands. His head was covered in a mixture of cream of tartar and powdered sugar and dampened for maximum pastiness by organic lemon-thyme cleaning spray. Floors, walls, furniture and accessories, all "rubbed".

I thought about taking photos, but frankly I was too sick to do more than send Princess to her room while I gave Bear a bath and then baby-gated him into the hall while I spent 2 hours cleaning. I did get Princess out for the last half hour and have her help me vacuum and scrub, but most of it was too much of a mess for little hands to be of much use. Everything cleaned up fine except for the ottoman which I think is a lost cause. They used it as a palette and it had the hickory salt, cream of tartar and curry powder ground into it. We're going to smell like a smokehouse for months.

Now for the hope part. October is almost over and I am busy, despite the illness trying to get ready for November which brings the beginning of NaNoWriMo and CU lecture writing, Thanksgiving, my sister's birthday, the holiday selling season on eBay and the start of my own holiday prep list (which promises to be as lengthy and glorious as it always is).

Call me an optimist (or totally unrealistic), but I'm excited about everything I plan to pack into the last couple months of 2008! I love the holidays that are part of this time of year and the busyness that accompanies them, and I have hope that I'll manage to accomplish enough of what I want to be pleased with the effort and the results.

Tomorrow my plans are to pull out the sewing machine and begin work on Princess' Orange-Yellow-Pink Fuzzy Spider Costume and do a lot of laundry and work more on a story called "Worry & Care" that I started two years ago. I've only got a few chapters left I think before it's done and I'd adore having it finished this week. Here is the quote from the first chapter that the title comes from. It sums up my current state of hope.

Faith is not without worry or care--faith is fear that has said a prayer.

–Author Unknown

Tons of Photos, Egyptian Maus and What Bears Eat

Well, some of what I wanted to blog during the Wisdom Fog is returning. As of today I am just on Ibuprofen and feeling a lot better. Still not sure I will be up to 3 hours of child hauling tomorrow, but we shall see. Anyway, I have tons of photos to share today!




These are the works of art Princess brought home from Nature Art Camp. The pottery bowl story is that I was ooh-ing and aah-ing and telling her I was so proud of the great job she did on it and she had this funny, sort of sheepish look on her face. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that she couldn't remember which one was hers to take home so they gave her an extra with no name on it even though she was positive she hadn't made this one because hers had not been round. The stuff on the pine cone is salt dough, but seriously, after all the mashed potatoes I've eaten this week I could have sworn that is what it was! I was impressed by the very cool fish prints they had made and then she told me they used rubber fish. Sheesh. We always used real stuff when I was a kid!

This is what Baby Bear is eating these days--little bits of lots of stuff. He loves broccoli, cheese, chicken, hot dogs, and most fruit (no raspberries)--I love chopping things up and putting them on his tray and watching him investigate and snarf!

My friend Lisa blogged a while back about her new cat, and finding that he is likely at least partially an Egyptian Mau. As I was reading the description she gave, I though, "Hmm, that sounds like my kitty." So I checked around online and found tons of info that confirms my sweet cat is definitely, at least partially also a (bronze) Egyptian Mau! Then my sister send photos of her new kitten and he must be too! Very cool. The quirk about these cats that fits my fabulous Mau the most is that the moves her tail constantly when she is happy or content--in most other cat breeds this is considered a sign of aggression or distress (at least this is what my vet has always said), but in Mau's it means they are at peace with the world.

Here are some photos from our 4th of July picnic at the park on the bay. The sunset was amazing and the weather that night was perfect in every way. It is the first time we have gone down there to see the fireworks and it was SOOO worth the hassle! They were incredible. I did have to carry Bear, in the stroller, up and down about 10 flights of stairs each way (and that is not an exaggeration--we parked at the top of the towers as there was no parking at the beach level), but other than that it was delightful in every way.
Are you tired of garden photos yet? I love my garden in case you can't tell.

I have peppers! These will be red bell peppers eventually :)

Can you believe there are this many tomatoes on one little vine? These will be Yellow Canary tomatoes which are supposed to be little tiny things.When my mom came to live with us a couple years back she brought me all her rose bushes. They spent almost three years in pots, and finally got planted next to the driveway during the spring before Bear was born. They spent a year in recovery from my horrific mistreatment of them and this year most of them bloomed beautifully, including this Queen Elizabeth. One day Princess came in and told me she needed to "paint the garden". After some discussion and compromise, I got out the easel and picked one rose for her to do a "study" (how cute is that?) with and she went to town.These amazing little creatures love the lavender under the driveway trellis. I can't believe I got a picture of a dragonfly!!!Here are photos of the aforementioned yard clean-up my husband did this week. This is out back yard.Happy new little pumpkin.Still happy larger pumpkin.Turned yellow but still strongly on the vine pumpkin (I even tugged on it).What happens shortly thereafter :( WHY?????See all those cute little Blue Lake beans?This was one day's harvest from only three of our pots! The strawberries are doing well this year.I have no idea what kind of tomato this is--it is one of the orphan plants I picked up on the side of the road with the "free" sign on it--but it looks as though it may be ready to eat soon!The Snap Dragons have been roaring this summer--they didn't bloom until November, and then, quite pitifully as you might imagine, so I was surprised they survived and surprised they thrived!I have corn with feathers! I have 4 corns with feathers!

We have a new church ladies book group! I have started reading our first book, The Alchemist: A Fable about Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho. I've only read the introduction and the prologue and already am enjoying the truth there. I adore self help books written as stories--I have several on my shelf already--and was excited to try this one out. From what I have read so far it will be an easy read, but one I will go through more than once and mark up like crazy.

Yesterday we had a fun 4th of July. Aside from visiting with my friend Julie's and the neighbors' families a few times over the years, this is the first time in my married life we've really done something other than staying home and watching the big Seattle fireworks on television. It's also the first time my husband and I have initiated a get together for the 4th. I entertain a lot, just not around Independence Day I guess. We called up a few people we thought might be without company and told them we were going to to the big park on the bay for dinner and to watch the fireworks show. We ended up with just us and four other people but it was fine--we had a great evening! The fireworks were gorgeous and the weather was absolutely perfect.

This weekend we are watching a 2-year-old daughter of a woman from church who is in dire straits. 7-4 yesterday, today and tomorrow. Since we don't have a car big enough for three little kids, I'll be walking to church tomorrow with them all in tow! Princess has loved having someone else to play with and it hasn't really complicated life (except for the transportation bit). The little girl is pretty easygoing--a definite two, but well-behaved.

The garden is happy! We picked another dozen strawberries for lunch today and a few peas. We have more pumpkins, yellow squash and zucchinis and the wax beans and growing well. The corn just keeps getting taller and we have open blossoms on the pepper plants! Lots of tomato blossoms but only 2 actual toms. I have got to figure out what to do about the cabbage! Something is eating the heck out of it and it won't last 'til the first frost at this rate. The celery amazes me. I am amazed that I can grow real celery that looks like celery! Now, I don't LIKE celery, but the rest of my family does (as do the Wonderpets who come and play at our house occasionally) so it's good we'll have a nice supply.

I'm finally telling people that I have a blog. Like, people other than the people who randomly found it because they have a blog too. I figured, I've been doing this a year almost and I should fess up :)

Time flies...

Where did June go?

We've spent a lot of time in the garden. We picked out first 3 strawberries this morning. One even looked like it could have come from the store! we have tiny pea pods, tiny green tomatoes and microscopic zucchini. The flowers are awesome this year--or at least more awesome than I've been able to make happen in the past--so if you live near me you might find some on your doorstep! I finally got the herb bed dealt with as well and while my purple basil died, my neighbor gave me some great plants and I have an amazing lime oregano and pineapple sage! Pineapple sage actually smells like pineapple! I'll post the before and after photos next time.
Princess had her first real dance recital this week. The wore a white satin and sequined tutu and had a great time! I had a fiasco while trying to shop locally and order new tights so she wore the old ones with a huge black (irremovable) spot on the knee. We took dinner to the studio staff for the dress rehearsal and that was fun. Tuscan Chicken Salad, fruit salad, fresh rustic bread from Costco, chocolate and lemon-strawberry cupcakes Princess helped make and mints to deal with the after effects of the garlicky meal. Princess played hostess and gave everyone mints and drinks and it was cute. She performed Thursday and the show went smoothly and was lots of fun (even though we were close to late because I lost the tickets--a nice man let us in anyway thank heavens). Friday night I went to help backstage during the show since I didn't want to miss seeing Princess on Thursday but still wanted to help. The most polite thing I can say about that experience is that is didn't kill me. I frankly have no clue how the Gosselins manage six 3-year-olds . . . but it wasn't (as usual) the kids that were really the problem. My friend Joan P. came to see the show and I really enjoyed having her there. Bear slept for that last hour but really seemed to enjoy it until we hit bedtime. No screaming and no removing him though! How's that for a miracle?!

I love my new massage therapist and finally am making really good progress again! She has two kids about the ages of mine, and she's good at her job and a lovely commiserator and problem solver when it comes to parenting. Some people prefer silent massages--I've been blessed with MTs who like to talk as much as I do and we have a ton of fun! I leave feeling physically better and mentally refreshed. Maybe after I finish the treatments (probably before the summer is out) we can meet at the park with our kids!

Father's Day was pretty mellow. My husband got cards from me, the kids and the cat, pajamas (his request), and photos of me with the kids. I voluntarily get photographed maybe twice a year. Christmas with the whole family and Father's Day with the kids for my husband. This year my quota is already filled because of the 4-generation photos we took in Boise with my mom and grandma, so if I'm going to be in the Christmas card I'll need to buck up once more.

Baby bear has been growing like crazy. He has 8 teeth and is working on more, is walking by himself a good 6 steps at a time, has massively increased his hair output and had his first all-kid food meal for lunch today! Sliced penne noodles (so they look like cheerios), mozzarella cheese and peaches. He thought it was quite novel and ate a lot once I took the way-more-fun-than-eating bowl away from him.

Bear has also managed to tear down the horrid vertical blinds in the living room and escape repeatedly. This has caused us to get new blinds that we can actually raise high enough for him to not destroy and rearrange the baby gate configuration. I was not happy I was going to need to buy more and then the same day I was going to go get them, a lady posted on freecycle that she was giving away the exact gate I needed in the exact size I needed!!! When I emailed her she had offered it to someone else and I was sad, but then she sent me back a note saying the other person had declined! So I got a brand new one of these for free! This has allowed us a safe place for the Bear again since we have enough gates to block off both exits from the living room now.

This week Princess started swimming lessons! She's like a little fish and just loving it. She's going to the city pool twice a week in the morning and is in a class with about six other kids. Bear and I sit and watch--he's fascinated and sleepy from the heat so he's quiet. I look over my list for the day and smile, wave and give the thumbs up sign as needed.

Yesterday we went to a local historical working farm for an arts, crafts and animal feeding class for Princess. It was a gorgeous day and they had peacocks roaming the grounds and Bear and I just walked (yes he walked a lot of it) and enjoyed the sun while Princess did her thing. There was this amazing white peacock trying to dig herself a shady hole in the ground. Weirdest thing I've seen in awhile--it looked like a cat wanting its tummy rubbed!
We've also made Jell-O jigglers, toilet paper butterflies, tried out a local church playgroup, been to the library a lot, played a lot of dress up, and enjoyed our brief moments of sunshine. All in all, it has been a busy and lovely month!

Crossing things off the list & Early gifts

I got a box from my dad and stepmother today with a really kind note, NEW SILVERWARE to add to my meager supply and this:


Which I think is meant as a bit of a joke :) I do not buy Jell-O and my husband was practically apoplectic with excitement at the thought of making Jigglers!

Yeah me! Today I finished and mailed a project I started before Baby Bear was born. My grandma wanted to create a family history book for her sisters and children that detailed the descendants of her parents. I got so sick while being pregnant that it was all put on hold the end of 2006. I did some work on it the end of last year and then again last month when I was visiting her, and I really wanted to get it to her. We had an understanding that this would be a work in progress--a workbook of sorts for each person to make changes to and update.

Gram turns 79 on Tuesday and as I was getting her birthday presents ready to send I decided that it was time to finish the books up and send them off to her. So, this morning I printed close to 1500 pages of family group sheets and personalized card stock dividers, packed them carefully and took them to the post office. Any prayers you can spare that they arrive intact would be most appreciated! Of course there is the updating and filling out of additional details and frills like photos and copies of documents that needs to happen, but the basics are finished and I am breathing a sigh of relief!

Also today my Visiting Teacher dropped by this:

Isn't that beyond sweet? I know there are those who sniff and scoff at "treats" being part of the program, but personally, I love goodies and flowers and poems and stuff. I love that someone took a moment to think of me, I love them dropping it by and surprising me, and I love having something bright and happy and sweet on my table, reminding me that someone cares enough to take the trouble.