Creature Bug

With Love

Happy Valentine's Day to you, friends! Hope your day is lovely.

gettin' my valentine's day card on

I have had one of those weeks where I wish I could do it again. Not because I regret anything I did, but because I had a list a mile long of things I needed to get done this week, and didn't. My to-do list wasn't helped by me getting some sort of bug in the middle of teaching class on Thursday (Student: You look terrible. You really need to sleep more. Me: I think I have the flu. Didn't you see me leave for a few minutes in the middle of class because I was so ill? Student: I didn't notice. Suuuuper.) It was one of those days I wished I didn't work 70 miles from home. I had to stop halfway through my commute to take a nap at a rest stop area. Good times.

Fortunately, I'm feeling better.

Fortunately, Addie is feeling better too. She got what I had (or something like it) and had a temperature of 102. Poor baby.

So, yes. The week. Not what I had planned.

One thing that I knew would make me feel better? Picture cards.

Today I managed to make the girls' Valentine's Day cards (found this idea from Pinterest; I think the original idea came from here).

{Tootsie Pop illustration by Sarah Morrissey.}

Of course, the cards will have real Tootsie Pops in them, but I Photoshopped in a little illustrated one here so you get the basic effect. I'm pretty tickled with how the cards turned out--especially since I had a photo credit at Costco, so the pictures didn't cost anything. The girls' favorite part? The hearts. They told me where to place each of them, and the thrill of Photoshopped heart placement was almost too much for them. They were crazy with power.

And lest little Miss Addie should feel left out, I managed to put one together for her:

{Font and owl graphic free from MTF.}

Truthfully, I just wanted a reason to make this picture into a card. Is it not so ridiculously adorable? On the practical side, however, she'll get to pass them around to her college buddies on Tuesday. College kids need Valentine's Day cards too.

So, that was my Saturday. Even if "make Valentine's Day cards" was supposed to be done a week ago, at least I know that the classroom cards will be delivered on time. The family cards that I frantically addressed and mailed out today? Well, sometimes it's the thought that counts. I hope so anyway.

Stuck Together in 2011

Even though I didn't manage to chronicle 2011 very well in written form, it still happened all the same. (Proving that if a tree falls in the forest and no one writes about it, it still happens.)

We got to travel. I went with bff Megan to Hawaii. We took a family vacation to San Francisco and Reno.

We got to work. Jason continued with his job of teaching eighth graders history and English, and we were amazed and thankful every single day for his job. I kept teaching public speaking classes to college students who made me laugh and forgave my serious lack of punctuality in grading papers.

We got to permanently unpack. We decided not to build a house, staying instead in my grandparents' old house for the long term. New paint inside and out. New landscape showing our personality.

We got to learn. Sydney in second grade, Jules in pre-school. Addie learned to scoot, and then walk, and happily eats whatever we put in front of her with all 16 of her shiny new teeth. We learned about gluten-free diets and dairy-free diets, and homeopathic remedies. We learned about childhood emotional issues and how our family needed to adjust to our kids' unique personalities.

We had our hearts broken. Uncle Don passed away in March.

We had our hearts filled. I got to witness the birth of Megan's son Cedar. 

We had our family. We met together every month (and sometimes more) for Soup Night, even lucky enough to have honorary Soup Night members visit from Scotland and Idaho. Jason's mom was a constant fixture at our house as she helped take care of the girls on the afternoons Jason and I worked. Jason's brother and sis-in-law visited from Rhode Island, and we met their daughter for the very first time.

We had the mercies of God who strengthened our faith, gave us wisdom and patience, and never ceased to take care of us in a million different ways.

There are no perfect years because life is not perfect. But it was the year God gave us, and I know we did not waste it. We stuck it out, stuck together, dug our heels in and made the most of it.

We will continue to travel, to work, to learn, to have our hearts broken and filled again. We will have our family, and as 2011 trades places with 2012 we have the promises of mercy and grace and a new morning that starts fresh with no mistakes.

As is my tradition, here's my end-of-the-year wrap up video, giving you our 2011 in 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

{This year's anthem--which you may have seen the girls and I singing in the car? "Stuck on You" by Sugarland.}

{And here's 2010, 2009 and 2008.}

Happy New Year, friends!

7 Quick Takes Friday: Christmas Highlights (vol. 15)

A few (but by no means all!) of the highlights from the Christmas season...also, I'm not being quick at all about it. It's what comes of trying to cram a month of blog posts into one post.

: 1 : Christmas Tree Hunting :

I wonder sometimes how my kids will remember the tradition of getting our Christmas tree. There is always mud. There is sometimes rain. And because I absolutely don't want to just pick the first tree I see--even if I do, in fact, love the first tree I see--there is tromping around the Christmas tree farm promising the girls that at the end of the trip there will be hot chocolate and candy canes.

Remarkably, this grumpy face was just for show. She was all about getting the tree. Holiday spirits were high.

The big sister, however, was less than happy about Christmas tree hunting. First off, she stepped into a big muck of mud (see above boots) and when she tried to pull her boot out, she pulled her foot out instead and ended up with a sock full of mud.

I laugh as I type. I laughed then too. Much to Sydney's great indignation.

Jason remarked on Syd's grumpiness. I reminded him that Sydney hates getting the Christmas tree. Every year she's miserable. It's a tradition that I cease to fret about.

: 2 : Portland Zoo Lights :

The Portland Zoo has the best zoo lights! We were lucky enough to go twice this year, once with Jason's parents and once with our dear friends.

We were totally prepared this year with warm clothes and mittens and strollers and snacks and jammies for the girls to change into after we saw the lights so they could fall asleep in the car on the way home and life was merry and bright. We drank hot chocolate, rode the Christmas train, hugged the costumed polar bear and loved it all.

I have the cutest video of Jules narrating part of the Christmas tree lights, and I'll try to get it posted tomorrow.

: 3 : Dry weather :

We had so many nice, cold days. I wished it would have snowed, but at least we didn't have much rain.

(You didn't expect me to write about the month without getting in some weather related news, did you?)

: 4 : The Nutcracker :

Sydney's performances were the first week in December this year, which made for a less stressful month since that freed up the rest of our weekends.

She was a Peppermint and a Mouse, and all the girl cousins from the Family Farm saw Sydney perform and gave her performance gifts. So sweet!

After five performances and two dress rehearsals we thought she'd be all Nutcrackered out. But, no. We continued to listen to the music from the show all through December, and she was still excited to go with Grandma Sharon to see the Oregon Ballet Theatre's performance of The Nutcracker, which is, of course, quite a few steps above her own school's performance (which was still wonderful in it's own way).

: 5 : Family :

We did Christmas Eve Eve with my family, Christmas Eve with Jason's family in Eugene, and then Christmas Day with our own family, our church family, and Jason's parents. I am so thankful for our families! They bring me so much joy.

Addie and Grandma-Great were quite tickled with each other.

: 6 : Birthday Girl :

I know, I already wrote about her birthday. But it's still Christmas fun to have a birthday thrown in the mix. We do extra baking, extra wrapping, extra singing, and extra dancing. It's a birthday/Christmas extravaganza. Jules picked a 50's themed diner for her birthday meal, and got treated to an ice cream sundae surrounded by pictures of Elvis and Shirley Temple and Lucille Ball.

: 7 : Togetherness :

I love Christmas. I love that a school deadline forces me to have my grades in so that I don't have any work hanging over my head (too bad Jason can't say the same--he went in to school three times this week). I love the baking, the carols, the movies, the hot drinks, the pictures and more pictures, and going to church and thinking about this amazing thing of God becoming a little baby.

I loved watching my girls try to figure out what their presents were (yes, we had all their presents wrapped and under the tree a week before Christmas, and THEY LEFT THEM ALONE). Loved that my brother came down from Seattle for a long visit. Loved that I have an international texting app, so I got to text my sister in Scotland. Loved that Jason and I had--for the first time ever!--all three girls staying overnight with Grandparents, so we got to go see Sherlock Holmes.

We were together, and it was just everything I wanted it to be.

Tomorrow is the last day of the year, and I still need to get my end-of-the-year-video done. Better get to it.

Check out Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes.

Merry Christmas!

Dear friends, the presents are wrapped and under the tree, two Christmas gatherings have already been had, and many many Christmas cookies have mysteriously disappeared. Children are sleeping. An interesting book is waiting for me on the Kindle. Hot tea is cooling in my favorite mug.

The joy of Christmas is here.

Merry Christmas, friends!

Trick or Treats

: TRICK :

I had to take Sydney to the doctor this morning to have a swollen lymph node checked out. I wouldn't have thought anything of it if both lymph nodes were swollen, but just one?

Seemed odd.

Our pediatrician gave Syd a thorough check-up, and then started asking Sydney about cats.

Do you play with cats? Any kittens at your home? Has a cat scratched you in the past 1-2 months?

I may be sleep deprived, but I guessed that the swollen nymph node probably had something to do with cats. We don't have cats, but there are cats here on the Family Farm. A couple months ago, Tuffy scratched Syd. Nothing serious, but it was a legitimate scratch.

Dr. Pediatrician finally said, "What I suspect is Bartonella henselae. Also known as cat scratch fever. It won't usually show up for awhile, and most likely it will go away on its own."

Cat scratch fever? Have you ever heard of this?

Seems like a made up disease, but evidently it's not. And it turns out that Sydney has several of the symptoms: headache, fatigue, sore throat (but she doesn't have strep; she was tested).

Craziness.

: TREATS :

Miss Penguin and Miss Rapunzel were in the house.

We wandered around the Family Farm getting treats, then went over to Jason's parents' house in a lovely subdivision where the girls scored buckets of candy.

Addie and I didn't go trick-or-treating. I thought she might spook too easily in the dark, and someone needed to stay back at the house to hand out candy. Plus, I have a terrible cold.

Hope you Halloween was full of treats and not too many tricks.

Especially cat scratch fever.

Candy corn, chocolate, or twizzlers?

The girls went to a candy carnival tonight (ie: not trick-or-treating, but just fun and games at a church where they also hand out buckets of candy). They made it home with most of their candy, but I did have to sneak out a Milky Way. And a Snickers. Okay, and Tootsie Roll too. But that was it. Because it turns out that my girls very specifically chose much of their candy and they will know (and protest too much) if some of it goes missing. I don't know how they keep a mental inventory of all of their candy but they do. They can't remember to pick up their socks, but they can remember that they HAD TWO HERSEY BARS AND WHAT HAPPENED TO MY TWO HERSEY BARS?!!

Obviously, candy trumps socks in terms of things to remember.

In the spirit of candy loving people everywhere, I ask you what your favorite candy is. Are you a candy corn kind of person? Or do you just go straight for the name brand candy bars?

Maybe you skip candy altogether and just head to Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte.

I wouldn't blame you on that one.

A fun surprise when we looked out our back deck

What do you get when you carve two faces into one pumpkin (Sydney did a face, and Jules did a face) and light it up on your back deck that's enclosed with glass?

A jack-o-lantern and a jack-o-lantern ghost.

Fourth of July

I started writing this post earlier today, determined to be quick and efficient and then scurry outside so I could be enjoying the amazing, the fabulous, the ever appreciated sunshine that was shining down on us.

My determination came from wanting to write for my poor sister who had to celebrate the 4th of July in the UK (where, naturally, they aren't big on 4th of July celebrations). But I couldn't be quick or efficient, and the creek was calling my name, as were two little people who wanted me down at the creek with them.

Ah well. Timeliness was never my strong suit anyway.

Last year, Jason's assistant soccer coach invited us up to Ridgefield to watch the parade. They saved us seats and everything (which is a big deal when you have to reserve seats the night before). This year, we continued the tradition and kicked off our celebration with a drive to Ridgefield to watch the parade.

Ridgefield's Fourth of July festivities is exactly what a small town celebration should be. Pancake feed, 10k race, kids and pet parade, Main Street parade, bbq at the park, singing, dancing--they have it all. We go because Jason coaches in Ridgefield, and because the parade is awesome and the girls get a bag full of candy. Someday maybe we'll do the whole day celebration, but for now, we just go for the Main Street parade, and hustle on home in order to get ready for the Family Farm party.

This year, we were more prepared for the parade than last year, but this year I forgot my camera. So, the Droid photos will have to suffice.

The girls are well trained to wave and smile, and the candy just rains down on them. Lucky ducks.

After the parade, we headed back home and eventually wandered over to Ty and Sarah's pre-party festivities. I think this is the fourth year they've hosted a 4th of July party, and it's always lots of fun. You never quite know who's coming, but you do know there will be a lot of kids.

And a lot of really yummy desserts.

You know it's gonna be a good party when the dessert table is full.

I didn't capture any early-party photos because I was too busy talking with family and new friends. An old childhood friend of my brother's (and mine) was at the party with his wife. Fun visiting with them. I tried to convince them that all babies are exactly like Addie: sweet and smiley. They weren't quite convinced.

Eventually the sun begins to set, and people begin to wander out to the field with blankets and chairs.

 

Before the Big Firework show, we have the Little Firework show, which is mostly comprised of lots and lots of sparklers.

Various adults would take turns standing around the fire pit (fire barrel? fire bin?) handing off lit sparklers to the kiddos. In case you didn't know, kids don't tire quickly of sparklers. And for future reference, it's handy to have about a dozen sparklers per kid.

Addie got to witness her first sparkler. 

She loved it.

In fact, she loved all of it. The fireworks. The noise. The party. The people.

I thought she would follow in the pattern of my other two girls and be scared of the booms. But she wasn't. I suppose she's witnessed enough meltdowns (from a sister who shall not be named) that fireworks seem like small potatoes.

After the sparklers, there was the annual "firing off of the parachute men and watching the kids run all over the field trying to catch one" tradition. It doesn't matter if you are big or little--it's all fair game. If you can't run fast, tough luck. Next year run faster, kid.

There were more kids than this, but I couldn't photograph them all.

They wait expectantly...and then...

...off go the parachutes! Some years the wind really blows them across the property, but this year they didn't float too far.

And she scored three parachutes! Yahoo!

Eventually we run out of sparklers and parachute men, and it's time for the big guns.

A perfect night for it. Not a cloud in the sky.

I was trying to get some nice clear photos--had the tripod all ready and everything--but little Miss I Love Fireworks kept crawling all over me. So, I got what I got, and my pictures make me smile knowing how I got them.

In an unplanned stroke of patriotic luck, the show ended as the iPod played last strains of the National Anthem. Well, actually the battery on the iPod ran out just before the last note of the anthem. So close.

"And the la-nd of the freeeeeeee....

...and the home...of the..."

14

Yesterday, I had plans to take a picture of Addie with 14 flags because yesterday was Flag Day. Hooray for the flag! It needs its own day, evidently.

Instead, I spent the morning at the doctor's office where Sydney received a nice summer celebration present: medication to treat her strep throat.

And for good measure, I had to walk out of her appointment in order to spare everyone the fun that is "the stomach flu."

What a way to celebrate Flag Day--strep throat and stomach flu (times two: Jason has it also, although since his seems to be 3% worse than mine (approximately), I get to be the designated parent). Good times.

So, the flag will have to wait until later in Addie's Numbers, and instead we have 14 spinning pinwheels and 1 very smiley baby. Fortunately, she's been very healthy. And she doesn't mind it if I lay on the floor reading a Boxcar Children mystery to Syd. I'm like one big jungle gym.

Happy (day after) Flag Day. If you haven't put out a flag for the summer, well, go ahead and do that. It'll look very festive and summery and make you feel patriotic.

Coming Home

Thirty-five years ago my mama got to celebrate her first Mother's Day with her super adorable three month old daughter.

The back of this photo reads,

2 -3-76
Coming home with Mom.

Some people couldn't live next door to their mom, but I do. I do because I know she'd do anything for me. I do because even if we drive each other a little crazy every once in awhile, it's nothing a piece of pie can't fix.

Living here is coming home.

I love you, Mom

W is for...

...our first President: General George Washington (and his dapper white wig).

What do you think, Addie-George? Feeling patriotic on this Presidents' Day?

W is also for wheelbarrow. Our first president was a farmer and a soldier. I wonder if his wheelbarrow was made in the USA? Probably in England. (Have you been to Mount Vernon? It's a fascinating place.)

General Washington's 279th birthday is tomorrow. Addie's twenty-third weekly birthday was yesterday. Celebrations all around!

The photoshoot prop: I remember when I was a kid, we made presidential wigs of some kind in school. Something to do with rolling paper around pencils? When I did a Google search, I discovered this craft of a powdered wig, which I attempted to make out of a paper bag and cotton balls. The trouble was that Addie's head was too small and the paper bag didn't sit very well.

I thought to myself: If only I had something that would hug the shape of her head. Something that has elastic and is soft and pliable?

Oh, that's right. Thanks to a trip to Costco yesterday, I have about 200 of them. They're called diapers.

So a few minutes with Elmer's glue, a diaper (luckily I had a generic white one lying around), a red ribbon, and 100 cotton balls and I was set. It's actually really cute in person. You know. For being a diaper covered in cotton balls.

The celebration of the day: Even though celebrating Presidents' Day isn't all that glamorous--I would be surprised if Hallmark had cards celebrating Presidents' Day--in light of all the global political upheaval, I felt like today is a great day to be thankful for a president who set a precedent of what our nation should expect in a leader. Not everyone agreed with his decision to rule only 8 years, but he was a wise man who knew when to give up power. With one exception (our benevolent dictator FDR who managed to be elected 4 times), our leaders remain in office no more than 8 years.

We may not like them, but we can vote them out. And even if our individual vote can't get them out, the 22nd amendment makes sure they leave after eight years. No fussing about it. No war. No protests. No gunfire in the streets. The outgoing president and the incoming president shake hands and that's that.

It's incredible.

So today I think of General Washington who stepped up and led our nation when it needed him.

And then amazingly he stepped down from the presidency because he thought it was the right thing to do.

After seeing the bloodshed other countries go through, and are currently going through, in order to get new political leaders, I'll never think of Presidents Day the same again.

Happy Presidents' Day. It's a pretty great day to be an American.

For more W pictures (including one with her favorite history teacher) and the rest of Addie's alphabet, click here.

V is for...

...a very sweet Valentine!

And what's that they say about love?

It's all you need, baby.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Hope it's filled with lots of love!

12 Days of Christmas

My trouble with Christmas is that every event is worth writing about. The Nutcracker, the birthdays, the two school Christmas programs, the shopping, the meals, the food, more food, Christmas Eve service at church: I've wanted to write pages and pages about them all. But when I sit down to write, I'm either missing out on a moment, or I'm missing out on sleep, and neither one is worth sacrificing.

So I try to capture as many real and mental photos as I can so that I'll remember this moment, and that moment, and all these other moments. I'll never remember them all--my memory isn't that good--but to my future self who will look back on this post (when I'm doing the photo albums) to see what happened in December 2010, I say this: it was busy. It was very busy. But somehow you didn't fall apart. You loved it. The baking. The events. The girls. The late nights.

It wasn't relaxing, but it was joyful.

It wasn't always peaceful, but it was almost always purposeful.

It wasn't perfect, but I'll remember it as perfect.

*

And, so, in a ridiculously long post, I give you the Twelve Days of my Christmas.

♪ Twelve family members gathering...

...for our annual Family Christmas Shopping Day (also referred to as FamChrShoDa). This year, we didn't really do much shopping and instead just did the Spaghetti Factory and the Oregon Zoo Lights (it's amazing how they put Christmas lights on the animals...*ha*). We missed having my two younger siblings along, but the little cousins had quite a lot of fun anyway. And they were so well behaved at the restaurant. There was some serious Peace on Earth in that corner of the restaurant.

♪ Eleven o'clock snoozing...

...thanks to Christmas break and a hubby whose body clock wakes him up around the same time the oldest two girls wake up. Oh, such sweet sleep. Addie and I snuggle in bed, and she'll sleep as long as I sleep. I love sleeping in late with a baby beside me. It feels like such a gift.

♪ Ten days straight of events...

...made us feel a little crazy at times, but it was worth it. The church events, the school events, the birthday parties, and The Nutcrackerkept us on our toes, but it was fun. I'm pretty sure that one of the reasons why I enjoyed this holiday season more than I have past holiday seasons is because of the meds I take to keep me sane. I'm okay with that.

♪ Nine cousins smiling...

...for the Nativity photo. I'm still giddy about how that turned out. And if you'd like a little behind-the-scenes peek at that crazy photoshoot, here's a video I put together (courtesy of my dad's video footage). Bonus: all the kids singing "Away in the Manger" despite my ridiculous micromanaging in the background.

♪ Eight hours time difference to Glasgow, Scotland...

...but thanks to the magic of Skype, we got to visit with my sister during our Christmas dinner.

Oh, how I wish she was here to go shopping with me and help me plan parties and make food and wrap presents! But I'm happy that she's following her dream, and thanks to her landlady, Andrea didn't have to spend Christmas alone. Love you, Sis. Meow.

♪ 7 dozen cookies...

...to make for all the many events that required cookies. I made chocolate mint cookies, sugar cookies, lemon rosemary shortbread, and something else I'm forgetting. And Jason made gingerbread cookies. We got our cookie on, that's for sure.

I do not like my sugar cookie recipe, so I will have to keep trying out other ones.

I did however find a fantabulous recipe for chocolate mint cookies from Cooks Illustrated. They were delish, and my always present kitchen helper thought they were super fun to make (though she didn't eat them because she doesn't care for cookies unless they're marshmallows in the shape of cookies).

♪ Six Nutcracker performances...

...if you include the two dress rehearsals. And since those rehearsals were 3 hours long (on a school night!), then I count them. Sydney has been wanting to be in The Nutcracker for the past couple of years, so I finally found her a ballet school that puts on a production. I had been hoping the rehearsals would be integrated into the regular ballet classes, but no. The rehearsals were every Saturday afternoon. For 10 weeks. Whew.

Fortunately, Sydney loved every minute of it.

She was a Bon Bon (a role not usually seen in the European versions of The Nutcracker), and a mouse (hence the mouse on her shoulder...a gift on the last night of the production). She did fabulously and wished she could perform every night.

Here she is with the Mouse Queen.

And here she is with Clara.

It will be nice to just have regular ballet classes and have our Saturdays back.

♪ Fiiiiiiiiive Golden Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiings...er...Rinks!

We took Sydney ice skating for the very first time.

Girlfriend LOVED it. Wants to go skating every. single. week. "Just like ballet! Please please please, Mom?" Uh, no. I couldn't believe how brave she was, wanting to go faster and faster. She's such an adrenaline junkie. She got soaked from falling down (only a few times), but we still had to drag her off the ice. At which point she hopped into a hurricane simulator next to the rink. The "winds" got up to 80 mph, and Sydney was smiling and laughing the whole time.

♪ Four years old...

...is our sweet Julianne. I do have to get a proper post up about this, but for now, just pictures.

She wanted a rainbow reindeer unicorn cake. And this is what I came up with. I actually had created different antlers using big pretzel sticks, but Jules vetoed that idea. She wanted the antlers on a frosted sugar cone. She was happy with it, and so was I. Hooray for another horse birthday cake.

♪ Three French Hens

Jason's mom turned 60 earlier this month, and her best friends threw a lovely party for her. I think as the only local daughter-in-law, it might have been my obligation to organize the event, but fortunately Sharon's best friend stepped in and did the whole thing. I did do the invites, sang a birthday song, and made sure the girls were there, but that was all easy stuff.

♪ Two turtle doves

Despite our wickedly busy schedules, Jason and I managed to have a day and night out on our own. Well, Addie was along too, but she's such an easy baby. The girls stayed the night with Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Sharon, and Jason and I shopped, went out to dinner, and even saw a movie (The Tourist--a fun film with beautiful people). It was wonderful.

♪ And a partridge...er...baby at her first Christmas!

She loved it.

It was a wonderful Christmas, and other than my sister being gone, it was just perfect.

Hope your day was sweet and filled with wonderful memories.

PS: Addie's "O" photo won't be posted until Monday because we have another family Christmas party tomorrow. Let the good times keep on coming!

N is for...

...Nativity scene with all the cousins.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby,
keeping watch over their flocks by night.
An angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked,
"Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?
We saw his star in the east and have come to worship Him."

The shepherds hurried off and found Mary and Joseph,
and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
When they had seen him, they spread the word
concerning what had been told them about this child,
and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God
for all the things they had heard and seen,
which were just as they had been told.

(from Luke 2 & Matthew 2)

The photoshoot: Back in September when I decided to do Adelynn's alphabet, I flipped through the calendar to see what letter would land the week before Christmas. From that moment on, I started mentally planning the nativity scene with all the Family Farm cousins. It was absolutely a group effort to get this picture.

Since my sewing skills are lacking, Aunt Jane (grandma to two of the "wisemen" and "Joseph") and I went to Joanne's Fabric to get material, and then she sewed the costumes.

She and my cousin Donnelle were on hand to pin and tie and wrangle the kids into their costumes. Aunt Jane and Uncle Don also graciously loaned their Turkish antiques for props.

Thank you, Aunt Jane, for the sewing!

Thank you Sarah for taking the photos! (We have a good system: she takes the photos, and I Photoshop them. Love it.)

And thank you, Dad, for building the manger. I think Addie kind of liked it.

She was so happy! Too bad we weren't doing a full-on Christmas program because that girl would have soaked it all in. Not too many babies get a moment to play Baby Jesus, so Addie made sure to shine.

The reason for the photo: Obviously, there are lots of things I could have done for the letter "N," but I chose Nativity because the birth of Jesus is one of the cornerstones of my faith, and the faith of everyone here on the Family Farm. Yes, Christmas is about family and giving, but for my family and me, it's more than that.

When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

I've received many wonderful gifts this year--Jason's employment, a beautiful baby, another year with family--but more than anything, I'll be celebrating the gift I gratefully accepted many years ago: the gift of love in the form of a tiny baby who arrived in a stable on a starry night in Bethlehem so very long ago.

Merry Christmas to all.

O Christmas Tree

O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging.
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging.

Not only green when summer's here,
But also when 'tis cold and drear.
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging.

Sunday afternoon we got our tree.

We had thought about going up to the mountains to cut one down, but the snow levels have been so low we were afraid we wouldn't be able to maneuver our vehicle around. So, we--along with Jason's parents--drove a few minutes north to a tree farm in La Center, and choppity chopped one down.

The farm only had nobles, which was perfect since those are our Christmas tree variety of choice. It used to be that noble firs were really expensive (as in $50-$100 expensive), but then--as the tree farm owners told us--10 years ago, lots of folks planted Christmas trees for the tax break, so now the market is glutted with them. Hooray for consumers. Hooray for $20 trees. Hooray for the Pacific Northwest...home of the noble fir.

I never thought about it until last year that a lot of people don't live around Christmas tree farms like we do (there are hundreds of Christmas tree farms within a 70 mile radius of our house). Sure, we still have tree lots for people who don't want to drive to a farm, but it's local trees on the lots.

It's big business shipping Christmas trees from the PacNW to other parts of the country, so I suppose they must end up on a tree lot somewhere. Aren't they expensive though? Now I'm dying to know. How do you get a tree? 

 

As you can see, it was muddy muddy muddy, but we all wore boots, so it was just a grand time. I love walking through mud in boots. I makes me feel oddly powerful against the elements.

Put on some boots, strap a baby to my chest, add in the scent of fir trees, and I'm ready to get a cape and call myself the Christmas Tree Crusader. Or Tree Farm Feminista.

Saving the world from the perils of sappy hands. Seriously. Have you ever had tree sap on your hands? It's so annoying.

The girls had lots of fun running around trying to decide which tree was the best tree. And when they tired of that, they threw sticks at each other. Nothing says Fun Family Tradition like a stick in your eye.

In the end we found the perfect tree, and invited it back to our home for hot chocolate and popcorn.

I know a lot of people don't do real Christmas trees anymore, but I couldn't bear to give it up. I love it too much. The stomping around the farm, the sound of cutting the tree, the scent of the tree in our house--I have to have it.

Have to.

O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me.
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me.

How often has the Christmas tree
Afforded me the greatest glee!
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me!

O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
How richly God has decked thee!

Thou bidst us true and faithful be
And trust in God unchangingly.
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
How richly God has decked thee!

[Photos taken with my Droid using the Retro Camera app.]

Being Thankful for Red Dresses

It's Monday, and our long extended-due-to-ice six day Thanksgiving vacation came to an end about 5:30 this morning.

There's piles of laundry to do, a basement that needs organized, and a tree in our living room waiting for little hands to hang ornaments on it tonight. Christmas music is in CD player, Nutcracker posters sit by the door ready to be distributed, and the calendar is filling up fast. December is coming, but not yet.

Not before I write about Thanksgiving. Not before I tell you about a very special someone meeting another very special someone.

Grandma-Great meet Adelynn. Adelynn meet Grandma-Great.

It was love at first sight.

It was a bittersweet moment for me, seeing Adelynn with her great-grandma, wishing with all my heart that my grandma was here to hold her too. Grandmas are good at holding babies; great-grandmas are really good at holding babies, and my grandma was a star among stars in holding babies.

We spent Thanksgiving with Jason's family, and part of that blessing meant seeing his Oregon family. Though the cousins weren't with us, we had an aunt and uncles and grandma, and they all were meeting Addie for the first time.

And I was grateful.

Grateful for little girls who show off paint chips while having their picture taken.

Grateful for four-generations.

Grateful for family, grateful for grandparents and great-grandparents, and grateful for a little baby who changed my heart in more ways than I can count. Six months ago I couldn't have imagined myself enjoying this day, a day in which I sat with a daughter on each side and one in my arms. As my right hand helped one daughter cut up her turkey and helped prevent another daughter from spilling milk poured into delicate china glasses--in between sneaking bites of sweet potato souffle and passing plates of cranberry sauce and green bean casserole--my left arm held a snugly baby who just didn't want to be put down. Who could blame her? She wanted to be surrounded by family just like everyone else.

And though Addie may have been a tiny star in the Thanksgiving show, the older sisters were beautiful and charming and entertaining as well.

Sydney entertained us with her repertoire of songs.

Her hands-down favorite is "Jingle Bells." That girl loves her Christmas songs.

She can't read notes yet, so I write out the letters on paper for her. Even when she's not playing, I can hear her practicing the notes as she sings, "E E E / E E E / E G C D E." I love that girl.

And Jules?

She drew us pictures and danced and refrained from too much mischief. I love that girl too.

Our Thanksgiving gift to the girls was letting them wear the Christmas dresses that have hung in their closet since we bought them on clearance 10 months ago.

All through the spring and summer and early fall, we held fast and didn't let them wear those dresses. Probably we should have hidden them away, but things that get hidden away are sometimes forgotten, and I did not want to forget about these dresses. At any rate, the girls loved to just look at them hanging in the closet.

Thanksgiving morning, I told them they could wear their red dresses.

"We CAN? REALLY?!!!" and then they ran around the house screaming and laughing, and jumping on the bed for good measure. "Red dresses! RED DRESSES! REHHHHHHHHD DRESSEHHHHHHHS!" All day long, they never stopped commenting about how much they loved their new dresses.

If there's anything I've learned this past year, it's that the wait may nearly kill you, it may bruise your shoulders and dent your resolve, but when life gives you a Red Dress to wear, it fills you with gratitude and makes your heart pop. You can't stop talking about how much you love that Red Dress.

This year gave us a lot of jeans and torn sweatshirt days.

A lot of days of over-sized sweatpants and ill fitting shirts.

But thankfully we got to wear the Red Dress a few times.

On June 17--when Jason found out he got a teaching job. I cried again just now when I reread that post.

On September 12--when Adelynn was born. More tears of joy.

Thursday reminded me that when you get to wear the Red Dress--the one you've seen hanging in your closet and are just hoping the right day comes along eventually--you'll never forget that day.

Never ever ever.

Thank you, God, for Red Dresses.

Merry Christmas from Shutterfly

My love of photocards is well documented, although--if you can believe it--I've never sent out photos for Christmas. I haven't even sent out cards sans photos for many years. Even though my mother lightly scolds me for my non-traditional ways, I'm more of a Valentine's Day card person myself.

This year, however, I'm seriously thinking about sending out Christmas cards (in addition to Valentine's Day cards because that's a tradition I refuse to give up). Maybe because I'm already weeks ahead in thinking about Christmas (thanks to Sydney's Nutcracker rehearsals, her school's Christmas program, and family holiday scheduling), or maybe--and more likely--it's because there's a sweet baby in the house and I'd love to send out her photo.

Thanks to my friend Kim--whose sweet daughter Alivia is a mere two days older than Addie--I heard that Shutterfly is giving out 50 free cards to bloggers who spread the Shutterfly Christmas Cheer. I had already considered using Shutterfly for their desk calendars, so using them for their Christmas cards sounds like a good idea too.

I'm traditionally a last-minute Christmas shopper, but I've already figured out that if I'm going to do a calendar as a gift, then I need to plan early. This calendar would be way cuter on my desk than the desk calendar a mortgage company sends us every year (and we don't even have a mortgage).

 
Of course, when it comes to Christmas cards Shutterfly has some great holiday designs too.

I like this one for its simplicity.

 
I also like this one because it has multiple photos (although when it comes to Christmas cards I'm more of a "Merry Christmas" kind of gal, rather than "Happy Holidays").

 
 
Why send one photo when you can send six? That's what I always say. Starting today, anyway.

Shutterfly has lots of other great designs too, which I was unaware of. Now I can bookmark them for design inspiration when I need an idea for that birthday invitation I need to put together for Jules's December 21st birthday.

One nice thing is that I can still design my own (if I want) and use Shutterfly for printing because they have a plain photo card, and all I have to do is upload my photo with whatever design I come up with.

I don't know if that's what I'll do, but I could if I wanted to.

We'll see if inspiration knocks me over the head, or if I'll just go the quiet peaceful route.

Peaceful, indeed.

My Sweet Treats

My children have been looking forward to Halloween since Easter.

Candy addicts much?

I admire moms who make costumes for their kids. Me? I recycle through Sydney's dance recital costumes.

And when that fails, I go to Costco in the middle of August. (I may not make costumes, but I do try to plan ahead.)

Since the Family Farm has a limited number of houses to hit up for candy, we head out to the grandparents who live in the suburbs. I like the suburbs, especially at Halloween. There's a certain beauty in going to 25 houses and discovering that every single one of them want to give you candy. Thrilling.

Miss Penguin and Miss Snow White were CRAZY with excitement to go trick-or-treating. CRAZY! I tell ya. Me taking pictures of them was putting a serious cramp in their style (to be out the door already).

Fine then! Away you go to safely and adorably loot and plunder the neighborhood!

I considered going, but some of us had to stay behind and watch the baby.

Yes, it takes 3 people to watch the baby. She's frighteningly sweet and has supernatural powers to charm the socks off us.

Can you guess what she dressed as for Halloween?

The World's Cutest Baby.

Original, I know.

Hope you had a very sweet and happy Halloween!

Fourth of July

(Because I'm feeling patriotic...and because I was just looking at photos from my 2008 trip to the East Coast...and because the day isn't over until Lee Greenwood sings "God Bless the U.S.A.")

*

And I'm proud to be an American

Where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died

Who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

Next to you and defend her still today,

'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA.

*

Hope your independence weekend was a fabulous one!

Happy Valentine's Day!

♥

Thank you all for your happy comments, and if each word carried a little bit of anti-nausea medication with it then I'd be in super shape. Ah well. It's just good to feel loved, even if the rest of me isn't feeling so hot.

And I do hope that you are feeling loved today. Sending you all big Valentine's Day hugs ♥

PS: Credit goes to Sarah for the sweet photo. Don't blame her for the Cupid doilies though. That's all me and my pregnancy craziness.

Week 288: The Second Day After Christmas

It has been non-stop Christmas holidaying, partying, gift wrapping, unwrapping, caroling, and too much dessert eating. I'm so exhausted I have just a few brain cells left to write a bit here, and then use my other remaining brain cells to either finish that last Twilight book or watch PS: I Love You with Jason. There were a few moments in this past week that were tinged with sadness and non-Christmas related disappointments, but here at the other end of it all, I can say it was a lovely Christmas, full of family and love. Also? My girls have been amazing considering they've had less sleep and more sugar.

In the last ten days, we've had: 

a school Christmas program,
to make birthday cupcakes for school,
final papers to grade from my students, 
a house to clean and food to cook for Jules's birthday, 
the actual party,
the actual birthday and following birthday dinner celebrated at Applebee's,
final grades submitted for all my classes,
a playdate with friends Megan and Amelia,
a trip to Powell's Books,
dinner at The Spaghetti Factory,
last minute holiday shopping (which is generally how I do all my Christmas shopping),
Christmas with my family,
Christmas with our family,
Christmas with Jason's parents,
a Christmas night spent watching Sherlock Holmes (I quite enjoyed it, and found it very entertaining)
Christmas with more extended family,
and a very first birthday party for my favorite nephew Med.

Whew.

I'm tired.

But before I head off to crash, I give you a small tale of a Christmas miracle when the prodigal Polly Pocket shoe was found...

No less than 30 seconds after opening up her new present, Sydney in her joy accidentally flung an itty-bitty, teeny-tiny Polly Pocket shoe into the air and *poof* it disappeared. Poor Belle was left with only 2 1/2 pairs of shoes, and even though I figured she could share shoes with Cinderella (whom Jules had acquired), Sydney--who is normally so very, very careful with all her things--was rather sad about the missing shoe.

Have you seen a Polly Pocket shoe? They are literally the size of my pinky fingernail. They are smaller than the size of a tic-tac. I could swallow a Polly Pocket shoe and be no worse for the wear.

We searched high and low at my in-law's house. The shoe is so small it could have gotten stuck in my hair, traveled through the house, dropped into someone's drink and been effortlessly swallowed. I knew we hadn't deliberately thrown it away in the big box of discarded wrapping paper/tissue/bows/Polly Pocket instructions, but it could have ended up there.

And so piece by piece, I started pulling out wrapping paper and unfolding it, looking for that shoe. That teeny-tiny, itty-bitty Belle shoe that she might need to eventually throw at the Beast for his poor manners. Jules, who had been super adorable and very helpful in getting all the paper in the box in the first place, decided that she would help me look for the shoe by pulling paper out as fast as she could. I let her pull the paper out, and figured the cause was lost...

The light on the foil of the new-fallen trash
made my eyes cross in wonder at finding my stash,
when, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature shoe, that was so tiny and dear.

I sprang to my feet and and cheered all around
For Belle's little shoe had most certainly been found!
And all heard me exclaim, 'ere I ran out of sight,
"My work here is done! Merry Christmas! Good night!"

Merry Christmas!

A portion of gratitude

There have been years--mostly when my girls were even younger than they are now--that Thanksgiving has come and gone and I wonder, Thanksgiving? We did that? And I stumble into the next day just as sleep deprived as I was the next day, grateful although very tired.

This year I am thankful I am not sleep deprived.

I'm thankful for the pies my mom baked in her oven, the turkey that is cooking in our oven, the bread baking in my bread maker, and the cranberry sauce that I made this morning containing 3 cups of sugar. Gratefulness indeed.

Already today the girls watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Jason went for a 4-mile run in the rain, and I got to sleep in. Already today I have thought of my grandmas and how much I miss them, and how grateful I am to have had them in my life for so long.

I hope your day is filled with gratitude.

Already today? Mine is filled and ready for more.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Week 283: Thanksgiving...almost the same

I can't explain it exactly, but my brain has felt like a big blank this past week, unable to organize my thoughts in a coherent fashion. I know it's because the holidays are coming up, and for as much as I'm looking forward to them, I'm also feeling sad and missing my grandmas so much my heart aches.

While of course I'm excited about Thanksgiving this year because it's our first as Family Farm residents, I've become keenly aware that my role in the meal has changed. It's always been my grandma and my mom that do Thanksgiving, and I've always been the one who sits around chatting and eating olives like I've always done. It's true: I can be absolutely worthless when it comes to kitchen help.

A couple weeks ago, when my mom started planning Thanksgiving, she called me to start organizing everything. "You'll have to come over early this year," she said. "You'll be helping me out."

Her words hit me with an unexpected panic and gravity. This is the year everything changes. This is the year that I don't get to sit around being the entertaining daughter and granddaughter. I don't have any excuses to sit back and do nothing. This year, I'm stepping up into the role that my mom once filled, and my mom is now the cook in charge.

To my girls, the kitchen scene will be just as I remembered it as a kid. To them the characters are all the same. The grandma and the mom will spend the morning in the kitchen, prepping the turkey, fixing the bean casserole, keeping the kids' fingers out of the pies. The kids will play in the basement, unconsciously absorbing the sounds of Thanksgiving being prepared.

The picture will look just as it looked so many years ago when my mom had her first Thanksgiving meal on the Family Farm, her mom by her side, her baby girl unknowingly watching a holiday tradition that would last 33 years.

To my girls, Thanksgiving will be the same scene I watched so many times.

To me, having been witness to that very first Thanksgiving on the Family Farm, this Thursday will appear almost the same but not quite. As if a hand has reached in and rearranged the characters, dropping familiar faces into different spots. My mom at the oven. Me at the kitchen sink.

My grandma conspicuously absent.

It's the same scene. And yet, it isn't.

Pearl District & Halloween

A couple events got a bit lost in the shuffle of all that happened in October. Before November gets too far ahead of me, I figured I better record some of the fun times that happened the last two weeks of October.

First of all, when my sister had planned on just being in town for a few days (rather than what turned into two weeks), we made a date to take a trip into the Pearl District of Portland.

If you're going to the Pearl District, and if you were an English major in college, then you are required to go to Powell's Books. It's a rule. Trust me.

Those are two bags of books Andrea is carrying there (yes, she's carrying my bag because I had to carry the camera). I picked up a couple of children's books, as well as The Year of Magical Thinking (I had to have my own copy after listening to the audiobook from the library), The Things They Carried (my favorite Tim O'Brien book which I had loaned out and not received back), and a few copies of Angela's Ashes that I'm giving to my Irish lit students when the semester ends.

Naturally, all that book shopping at Powell's left us mighty hungry, so we walked down to the street for a little vegan fare.

I had seen Blossoming Lotus written up somewhere, and decided that we needed a new experience since I've never been in a vegan restaurant before. We were not disappointed. The food was so yummy, and I would definitely go back (oh, if only I lived closer and I'd get it for take-out!). I had the black bean chili burrito, and Sis had the Incan Bowl. Yum yum yum. Big portions too!

After lunch, we headed over a block for some cupcakes at Cupcake Jones.

They were good. I'm more a light and fluffy cupcake kind of girl, so these seemed a little heavy for me. But you know. Chocolate. Yum.

A sunny October afternoon in the Pearl with your bestest sister? Fabulousness.

As for Halloween fabulousness, we had a penguin named Bingu ("Bingu," she said, "like Bingo with a 'u'") and a fairy princess ballerina ("Fairies are my favorite! Princesses are my favorite! Ballerinas are my favorite!").

Yes, in fact, both the costumes are from Sydney's ballet recitals. (Hooray for being able to reuse costumes that cost us a small fortune!)

When I was a kid, I was always a little jealous of my suburban friends at Halloween time. There are no streets to trick-or-treat on around here unless you feel like walking up long dark driveways only to be met by someone who refuses to give out candy on the basis that Halloween is the Devil's holiday. Now that I am older, wiser, and have experienced the joys of suburban living, I have learned the trick that rural kids can do in order to get themselves candy: drive to the suburbs!

We trick-or-treated around Jason's parents neighborhood, which will probably be our tradition from now until eternity. I will not be denied my miniature Snickers bars. Oh, and yes, the girls had a grand time too.

Week 263: Big Boom Bash

I had every intention of posting pictures yesterday, but then I got caught up in another flurry of unpacking and organizing and when I was all done with that, Jason and I had to go out for dinner and movie. And consequently I now have a small crush on Ryan Reynold's character from "The Proposal." Quite an entertaining movie. But of course I've loved Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds for years and years.

But back before the movie, the dinner, and the organizing, there was a party.

And we here at the Family Farm seem to enjoy having parties.

Tyler and Sarah hosted their 2nd annual Fourth of July party, and while people would have naturally come anyway on account of all the fun and food, this year there wasn't even any competition from Ft. Vancouver's massive fireworks show since it was canceled this year. 

There was a ridiculous amount of good food, although for some reason I mostly just ate dessert. I tried to eat a hamburger, but the carmel corn was calling my name.

And the strawberry-rhubarb pie. And the yellow cake with chocolate frosting. And even the shiny top blueberry cobbler that I brought (which you can see pictured above in all its blueberry goodness). I was a bit disappointed that I evidently didn't cook the cobbler long enough, but it's pretty hard to go wrong with blueberries and three cups of sugar.

The girls managed to get in a few bites of this and that but were all in all having too much fun with the trampoline, the bounce house, the wading pool, and golf cart rides. Really. How can food compare to that?

But once it got dark, and the mosquitoes started nibbling at my legs, then we all settled down to watch some fireworks. I had decided earlier in the day that I would attempt to photograph the fireworks. I pulled out my mini-tripod, checked out some instructions from Ree the Pioneer Woman, and set my camera on the appropriate settings.

Earmuffs were optional. Glow sticks, however, were not. (Jules managed to bite not one, but TWO glow sticks and consequently ended up with glowing teeth and lips. TWICE. That child...*sigh*.)

I really have no business trying to photograph fireworks with my point and shoot camera. And yet. That didn't seem to stop me from trying.

I love those sparkles! I don't think I photographed this "correctly" but those sparkles make me happy. Like little fireworks fairies, yes?

I had a little bit of trouble getting my lens pointed in the right direction at the right time. Not helping matters was that I couldn't see a thing out of my viewfinder because, um, it was dark. And also, the camera was panicked about the lens having to stay open for several seconds to capture the photograph, so it was kinda freaking out.

Pipe down, camera. That's what I had to say. And then I had to go eat some more cake just for kicks.

Of course, I managed to not capture the really best parts of the fireworks, but hey! I had fun. Maybe I'll try it again when we're at Disney World next month (they have a terrific fireworks show). But first I have to figure out what exactly is the point of photographing fireworks to begin with...

Maybe I'll just eat some tasty Mickey Mouse dessert and call it good. I totally know what the point of that is.

In Memory of the Greats

Several months ago, a distant cousin of mine happened upon my blog (Hi Kathy!). We've exchanged a few emails about family news, and last week she sent me some great family pictures of my great-grandparents and my grandpa.

Since my mom is a genealogist then I've seen a lot of pictures of my ancestors over my life. I'm pretty sure that even on the day I was born my parents whipped out a few black and white photos and explained how to determine cousins from second cousins from first cousins once removed. I could be exaggerating, but it's a highly plausible scenario.

And yet.

I never get tired of seeing pictures of my family.

Especially the informal ones like this one of Grandpa-Great Ed Larson (on the far right) wearing a silly hat.

Or is it a silly man wearing a hat? Either way, it makes me feel good that my grandpa-great along with those other men--all of whom, save one, I'm related to--had a sense of humor. It's nice to know those farmers there in Sanish, North Dakota didn't take themselves too seriously.

Kathy also sent me a few other pictures of Grandpa-Great with Grandma-Great.

(In my family we call all our great-grandparents Grandpa-Great and Grandma-Great. My daughters call my grandma Grandma-Great, and it's the perfect title in every way.)

 

The small smile on Grandpa Ed's face, the way Grandma Mary is resting her hand on Grandpa's knee...it's just lovely, don't you think?

The last picture that Kathy sent me was of my grandpa.

 

Even though Grandpa passed away more than four years ago, a little something caught in my throat when I saw this picture. Oh, how I miss my grandpa. Now that we're living at the Family Farm every day, memories of my grandpa bubble to the surface more frequently. Seeing my dad mowing the grass and tending the garden remind me how Gramps used to do that.

He was my daughters' Grandpa-Great, but he was my great grandpa.

 

I remember you today and every day, Grandpa.

*

Who are you remembering today?

Week 255: Three out of Four Stars

When Jason asked me what I wanted to do for Mother's Day, I was vague. "I don't know." One moment I'd mention the zoo. The next moment I'd suggest Burgerville for lunch (and can I just say that now that we are in the hub of Burgerville-land, I know I will gain 20 pounds consuming their milkshakes. And fries. And Tillamook cheese burgers). But mostly I'd just shrug my shoulders.

In case you didn't know--but probably do if you have children--shrugging shoulders is rarely a good answer. It doesn't do anybody any good.

The one thing I did know: I wanted to sleep in; I wanted puffy oven pancakes; I wanted a card.

This allowed my morning to play out perfectly. I slept in and woke to the smell of baked deliciousness smothered in syrup. Sydney gave me the card, and since she had picked it out then it was, naturally, a singing card. She adores singing cards and would get them for everyone she knows for every occasion of the year, and I would generally comply if they were just a little bit less expensive. So the adorable card sang me a song, and we all danced around to it, and then as it ended, I pushed the little "PS" button and heard Syd's sweet recorded voice: "Happy Mother's Day, Mom! We love you!"

And my eyes teared up a little, and I was delirious with love. The sunlight streaming through the windows, the mug of hot tea, the dancing, the song, the voice from the card, the laughter of the girls--it was just what I wanted.

That's what I want to remember most about Mother's Day. That moment.

Unfortunately, for a lot of the other moments of the day I was in an inexplicably bad mood. It wasn't Jason's fault, although in poor form I took out most of my agitation on him. We picked at each other, and I was a beast. I very much did not deserve a holiday dedicated to me.

Even now, my chest is tight with angst over the day. I was--to put it bluntly--torn in two different directions. One the one hand, I wanted to do nothing. Absolutely nothing. I didn't want to see anybody. I didn't want to do anything or go anywhere. I just wanted to take a nap and drink tea.

But on the other hand, my youngest brother was in town from Seattle, and I wanted to see him. Jason's parents were coming over, and we wanted to have them over. We are so grateful for my mother-in-law's presence in our life. Sis-in-law Sarah was having a dinner shindig, and I wanted to see her family. None of these things conflicted with each other for time. The afternoon and evening played out perfectly.

Except.

That part of me still wanted to do nothing. And so I was grouchy. Bad Mama.

When the day was finally over and I crawled into bed, I was relieved. It was too hard to have a day where I was supposed to do whatever I wanted to do because I'm really not that good at deciding what I want to do. I smirk when I think of my bond with skunk cabbages: I was totally skunky. In a stinky way.

Fortunately, I have the singing card to remind me of that moment before I ruined everything.

And fortunately I also have these pictures that Sarah took of my brothers and me. Andrea was in Hawaii, so didn't make the photo-op, but the three of us hammed it up for the camera. The fedora is...inexplicable.

 

We don't know where that fedora came from, but it makes for a good prop.

 

What is most unusual about this picture is that Tyler, my younger but not youngest brother, is giving a regular, nice, pleasant smile for the camera. Of the three of us, he's the most likely to make a goofy face at the camera. And yet here? He left Jake and I to look like the goofy ones. (And, yes, I'm posting this picture as penance for my Mother's Day attitude.)

 

I love these guys. Which is good since Tyler and I get to be neighbors until we drive each other crazy. And even when that happens we'll still probably stay neighbors.

So, on the one hand, I didn't get what I wanted for Mother's Day. But on the other hand, I got exactly what I wanted and more.

Rejoicing for Easter

 

Jules has it right: Easter day gives us a lot to smile about. 

With Love

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you, dear friends!

(Here's our traditional Valentine's Day family photo taken on the property where we're building our house. Per tradition, I sent out Valentine's Day cards instead of Christmas cards. Non-per tradition, I evidently packed my address book away, and so I had to rely on the phone book for addresses. For those of you who usually get cards and didn't get one this year, you are not forgotten! It's just been a crazy year, as you probably know. If anyone would like a belated card, email me your address (using the email link on the sidebar), and I promise to get one off in the mail.)

Hope you all have a lovely day!

xoxo 

Year in Review

I thought about cramming 2008 into 30 seconds, but brevity never was my strong suit. So, I bring you 2008 in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it. I cry every time I watch it, which is to be expected I suppose. (The song was chosen not for its lyrics, but for its popularity in our house.)

2008 in Review from creature bug on Vimeo.

We built a backyard, went to Pasadena, went to the East Coast, enjoyed our backyard, went to the aquarium, put our house up for sale, sold our house, said goodbye to Rebekah the World's Best Nanny, moved into an apartment, moved out of that apartment, moved into a new apartment, finalized house plans, perfected our commute along I-5, became property owners once again, welcomed a new member into our extended family, and at 7:51 this morning Jason, Sydney, my grandma and I are flying to Orlando where we will spend the week at Disney World.

It's been quite a year.

Stressful at times--many times--but so often with the hope of the joys 2009 will bring us: a new house, new jobs, closer to family, a certain someone who gets to be a flowergirl in June and a kindergartner in September. Wow.

So much of what many of you have shared this year has resonated with me. Oh, you make me laugh. And you make me cry. And sometimes, the stories I read change the way I see life. Here are some of the stories--from blogs and from newspapers--that have caught the deepest parts of my heart this year.

• Logan and Jack--whose lives are nothing short of miraculous.
• Matt Logelin, who tragically lost his wife the day after his daughter was born. For seven months I have been reading his blog, and it always reminds of how life doesn't always turn out the way we hope.
• Longtime blog friend London Southern Belle had a successful IVF treatment, and she is now expecting twins. Such joy!
• Such sorrow comes in the form of reading of Emilie's passing. She wrote shortly before she died; and then her husband wrote on Christmas Eve. I only knew her from her blog, but I wept at the loss for her husband and two little boys.
• Closer to home: a graduate from the college where I teach was killed in a helicopter crash last summer, along with eight other men. Another graduate was seriously injured in this month's bank bombing. Tragic reminders that small schools are not immune to great sorrows.
• I don't suspect I will soon forget the thrill of seeing Michael Phelps win eight gold medals at the Olympics, but the Oregonian got it right when it named last spring's memorable softball game between Western Oregon and Central Washington as the best sports story of the year. It happened months ago, and I still get all weepy with joy when I read about it.

And in the midst of such sorrows and joys there is just the regular day to day living that happens every day. Reading other people's life experiences teaches me to be thankful, to be humble, to trust God. I am sure that 2009 will teach me many of the same lessons, and it will also be one amazing year.

Happy New Year to you all. Thanks for being part of my 2008, and here's to 2009.

BTW, I'm kicking off the New Year at the happiest place on earth. I think it's a good sign, you know, dreams coming true and all that.

Good Tidings of Great Joy

Merry Christmas, dear ones! May your Christmas day be a lovely one.

*

  

*Click for larger, better resolution version*

Scattered Flurries

Have you heard? We have snow.

~*~

The snow is beautiful, but the city is not quite equipped to handle it. Thusly, the mail has not been delivered for a couple days now, nor have any of the presents I ordered online. The packages are stuck up north in a warehouse in Kent. Well, one is stuck in Hermiston, which is no better since I-84 has been closed for a few days now. Good thing the delayed presents are for adults, who are understanding.

~*~

When Andrea, Sarah and I went out on Sunday, I forgot to mention a bit of excitement we witnessed. As we were driving down the road, we saw two snowmobilers drive out from a side street, cut across four lanes of traffic, and head down the road. A police car followed behind, lights on. The snowmobilers turned onto another sideroad, but one of the guys flipped his snowmobile and fell off. The police car pulled up beside him, but the guy started up his snowmobile again and tried to get away, really only managing to ram his rig into the police car. The officer hopped out of his car, threw the guy to the ground, and cuffed him. It was crazy insane.

~*~

The girls stayed overnight with Jason's parents last night, and so Jason and I decided to go out for dinner. We drove across town to a Baja Fresh, but it was closed due to the weather. Went across the street to Red Robin. Closed for snow. Down the street to Applebees. Closed for snow. Feeling desperate and hungry, we begrudgingly stopped at Burger King. Out of lettuce. Seriously not a good dinner.

~*~

Made up for the dinner disaster by playing Scene It? Seinfeld edition with my siblings. If you are a Seinfeld fan (which all of us are), the game is quite a hoot. Finishing Seinfeld quotes, watching episode clips, and finally putting all that Seinfeld trivia to good use? What's not to love? Giddyup!

~*~

Fortunately, our flight to Orlando isn't until next Tuesday, and the airport should be fully open by then. My sister was lucky that she flew in to Portland from Denver before either city had airline problems. She flies out on Sunday, and all should be well by then. Hopefully.

~*~

More snow is expected tomorrow. I feel awful for those whose families are going to be prevented from spending Christmas together. We have friends whose adult children are stranded in an airport in California because their PDX flight was canceled, Diane's son is trying to drive up from California, Margaret has to pick up family, Inkling has family who wanted to drive into town, and the list goes on. Send them warm thoughts to melt the ice away.

~*~

Even now, my sister and I are stuck here at the farm because the two vehicles that can drive around in this weather are being occupied. So, we're going sledding. And we haven't lost power. And all our family is nearby. Hooray for that.

~*~

And hooray for happy snow pictures. Hoping all you PacNWesters are keeping warm and safe. Snowy kisses to you.

(*click photo for a larger version*)

Make that Three Weeks of Christmas Vacation

Over at PBN, they're wondering how people are coping with the holidays and the stress and the too many cookies they're eating. Well, maybe they're not wondering about too many cookies. I think that's just me. Wondering. How I keep eating Christmas cookies (note to self: stop eating so many cookies).

When I asked Jason how we're handling this season, his remark was "take an extra week off from work." And that pretty much sums it up. Even though I think it's a bit of a shame that students missed out on these school days (because it doesn't do them any favors in raising our math and science scores, now does it?), it was very handy in creating a nice relaxing holiday buzz. We hung around. We slept in late. Actually, I ended up sleeping in every. single. morning. because Jason just happened to be awake around 8 am anyway, so he gave me the week off. Saint.

And the snow/ice/freezing rain/ARCTIC BLAST (that's what the weatherpeople call it) doesn't faze me much. I am exuberantly reckless when it comes to driving in the snow. I don't know why, and Jason won't let me drive when the weather is really bad because I get kind of strung out on adrenaline and impatient with other people on the road. Nevermind that I have lived in the Pacific NW all my life and should hate driving in the snow; there's just something about it that makes me want to show off my mad driving skills. "Let me drive in the snow!" I cry. "Give me the keys," says he. And so I do. Except tonight I did get to drive to the grocery store in the snow. Very exciting.

I would be less exuberant about poor weather if it meant loss of electricity or getting stuck in traffic. That doesn't really sound like much fun to me.

Having today off was especially nice because it took us approximately FOUR HOURS to pack for the two weeks we are staying at the farm. There is literally nothing of value left in the apartment, we've packed it all.

• The laptop and assorted technical gadgets
• Clothes for both winter weather (here in Oregon, er, Washington) and warmer weather (the week after Christmas we're spending in Florida where it was SEVENTY-SEVEN DEGREES today)
• Christmas presents
• More shoes than I can count
• Groceries
• And *drumroll* THE CHRISTMAS TREE

Yes, we packed the tree. We stripped the paper snowflakes off, hauled the tree out the door and threw it--still adorned with Christmas lights--into the back of the truck. The tree handled the 70-mile drive quite nicely, and within a few minutes after arriving, Jason had it set up in its tree stand, bedecked with ornaments and glowing with Christmas lights. It warms my heart to no end to know that our poor tree didn't get hauled off to the recycling center today and gets to enjoy its full moment of glory.

So, here we are. Spending the holidays near our family for the first time in our married lives. No arranging driving schedules (just as well, since the weather is supposed to be snowy and icy and terrible all week). No dividing our time equally between sides of the family. No forgetting Christmas presents at home 70 miles away (like we did last year; my apologies, again, to my sister).

We're here. On the farm. With our family, our dog, and our Christmas tree. That's how we're keeping it simple this year. Well, that and the extra week of Christmas vacation didn't hurt either.

***

This post is participating in Parent Bloggers Network's blog blast highlighting awareness for FFDA, "a non-profit organization that offers support and assistance for folks who are feeling overwhelmed, both at the holidays and all year long. Their free support groups for moms, as well as a plethora of other helpful services, might just be the helping hand some folks need to get them through the holidays so that they can enjoy a completely healthy and happy new year."

An Early Christmas Present

Last weekend, Jason surprised me with my early Christmas present.

No, not another trip to Maine (and wasn't that the best surprise present EVER?).

It's the ever so cute, simply adorable, pretty as can be Flip Video Camcorder!

  It's ORANGE! And I'm smitten with it.

I had casually mentioned to Jason that we needed a little video camera that would take better video than our camera. Our camera is nice for pictures, but its video quality is less than stellar.

So, the tricky guy ordered it at Amazon and gave it to me (WRAPPED! IN CHRISTMAS PAPER!) last Saturday. I've been playing with it all week long. I'm just tickled with it. It has a USB plug right in the camera, so all I have to do is plug it in, and download the video. I can add music, some silly little graphics, and there's even a button to upload the video to YouTube. It's all a person could ask for (well, except that a person would eventually want to get the nicer software in order to insert pictures and really control the length of the video, but otherwise, it's quite clever).

I won't be opening any presents on Christmas day, but that's okay because I'll be video-ing everyone else opening Christmas presents.

And just for fun, here's a little video I put together of the girls.

I never get tired of Coldplay. I also never get tired of seeing Sydney dance. And right now, I'm definitely not tired of my little Flip Camera. I just want to pinch its cheeks.

Week 233: One in 8 Million

When we boxed up a large majority of our earthly possessions last summer, we didn't have a really good idea of what we'd do when the holidays came along. Which is to say, we didn't know how the whole decorating thing would work. I let it slide that we didn't decorate for the beginning of autumn.

Or Halloween.

Or Thanksgiving.

But to not decorate for Christmas? Um. No.

I got a little bit twitchy thinking about it and almost felt compelled to go shopping for a Christmas soap dispenser, which by the way, I'm not particularly fond of (on account of having to put soap into the dispenser, and then when Christmas is over you have to take the soap out, and I end up wasting soap and wasting time cleaning out all the blasted little crevices inside those Christmas dispensers and for the love of mistletoe and holly it just makes me so mad, which I think is counter-intuitive for Christmas soap dispensers, but I digress...).

So even though for all of about 2 minutes we thought of not getting a tree, in the end it seemed so utterly ridiculous to not get a tree. Afterall, Oregon is the leading Christmas tree grower in the country. No one can top the 8 million trees that grow here. (North Carolina is a distant 2nd with 3.5 million.) We felt it was our civic duty to go buy one. Supporting the economy and buying local and all that.

It's fine if you don't get a tree, but we just had to. It's who we are.

Just like last year, we went to Tucker's Tree Farm the weekend after Thanksgiving, although unlike last year, we didn't have a saw, so we let the nice chainsaw-wielding guy cut it down for us. Very gentlemanly of him.

 

 

Also unlike last year, we don't have any ornaments to put on the tree. While in theory we could unbox all our Christmas stuff, we didn't. Because it would have been a lot of work, and really exhausting, and there's no reason to go and exhaust ourselves for the sake of jolliness. That's so not jolly.

So.

We turned to plan B.

I gave Sydney a small budget, and we headed off to Walmart where she picked out some twinkly lights, a box of ornaments, and a star for the top of the tree. The ornaments may be plastic, but they have glitter. The star may have only cost $6, but Sydney never fails to proclaim how beautiful it is. 

We made paper chains and snowflakes, and for once in my holiday life, I didn't micromanage at all.

 

The ornaments are hung low. The paper chains are relatively short. And the glitter and tinsel are everywhere. I don't have to scold anyone to be careful, or don't break, or watch out. It's fabulous.

We also made a quick trip to the craft store (because any trip with Jules where a million breakable things are within reach has to be quick), and got all the necessary supplies for our Advent calendar. (Afterwards I saw that this style was listed as an idea at Amanda's Best Advent Calendar list.)

 

The girls decorated the envelopes, and I helped string each one up on twine with mini-clothespins. Each morning, as we turn over the previous day's envelope, we think of something we are thankful for from the day before. And our words of thankfulness are what get "tucked" into the envelopes.

Sydney told me how she wanted me to hang the calendar.

 

It makes me smile.

 

We don't have our wreath or Christmas dishes or our beloved Christmas lava lamp. We don't have our traditional ornaments hanging from the tree (although if I miss them too much, I can always click back to the ornament page I made a few years ago). We won't even put up stockings here at the apartment.

But we have gingerbread cookies. And eggnog. And Christmas music.

And one of the best Christmas trees ever.

That's the Way Things Happen on the Polar Express

December 3rd has been circled on our calendar for many weeks now, and all creatures great and small had been looking forward to the day with great anticipation.

For on December 3rd we were taking a ride on The Polar Express.

Our destination? The North Pole, by way of the Mt. Hood Railroad, departing from Hood River, Oregon. It's a very scenic route. Lots of trees. Very little snow.

Sydney and Clover were beside themselves with joy, racing alongside the train, staring up in wonder at the conductor as he called out "Tickets, please! Tickets!" Oh my stars and snowflakes, it was everything these little 4-year-old cousins had dreamed of.

If you aren't familiar with the book or the movie, well then, you are missing out (particularly if you haven't read the book...it's a classic). Fortunately, Sydney is not only familiar with the book (and even possesses her own autographed copy), she knows the movie (which she can only watch with someone sitting next to her because it's a bit scary) and the soundtrack. It's no coincidence that she wears a blue robe, just like the boy in the movie.

The train ride perfectly combined all three as the songs from the soundtrack played over the sound system, as the story was read, as the conductor came by to punch tickets, and as the attendants wearing big white chef's caps passed out cookies and hot chocolate.

  

As the train raced along the mountain, little eyes peered on out into the darkness looking for wolves and signs of Santa. They might have been looking for wolves because I told them they were there. There might have been a bit of panic until I reassured them that there weren't really any wolves. Just rocks. Very, very friendly rocks.

And those who weren't looking outside were cuddling up with Grandma-Great, whose lap was definitely preferred over Santa's. Good thing Santa is secure in his jolliness or he might get a complex from all the babies who see him and scream.

 

Neither Jules nor Toby were particularly interested in sitting on Santa's lap, but Sydney and Clover did, both telling him that they wanted "a spinny dress" for Christmas, both giving him a hug. And with a wink and a nod, he wished them a very merry Christmas and gave them each their own silver bell. Even the littlest girls got bells, which Jules enjoyed very much. Not once did she hit anyone with that bell. Seriously. She treasures it.

Two hours after the train set out, we returned from the North Pole, our cameras filled with pictures and our arms filled with children who couldn't stop talking about the trip. After a stop at the North Oak Brasserie for a delicious dinner, we made our way back down I-84, humming Christmas carols as we drove.

 

And as we drove, little girls dreamed of elves and bells and hot chocolate and cookies, wondering if perhaps high above them Santa was disappearing into the cold, dark polar sky. Magic.

Week 232: A Different Kind of Holiday

We've said it before, Jason and I, how different it feels to have a house at the Family Farm. (By way of reminder, we spend our weekends living in my grandma's old house in Washington, whereas we spend our weekdays living in an apartment in Oregon.) We drive up there, park our car in the carport, unload our bags, and walk into the house which suddenly transforms into "home."

There's our milk in the fridge. Our mail on the counter. Our clothes hanging in the closet. When we get tired there's no prolonged goodbyes with family and then making the hour-plus drive back to Salem. We simply brush our teeth, and go to bed.

To be sure, it's not always easy because sometimes the milk is sour, and sometimes the clothes get left at the wrong house. But our families are an ocean of hospitality as they feed us, the guests who never bring anything to the table. And my mother-in-law has taken it upon herself to clean the house during the week while we're gone because, as she says, "It makes me feel better knowing that I'm helping you." Saints, all of them.

Sometimes it feels a little weird, like we're in a vacation house except...not. Or like we're visiting, except...not. But most of the time--especially now that the holidays are upon us--it feels like a relief. No dividing up the hours between the families, or trying to get a child to take a nap in an unfamiliar bed. We're already there, in our temporary part-time home dreaming about the days when our permanent long-term home will be built (and by way of reminder on that, we're breaking ground the beginning of spring).

And so when my sister and her friends drove in Thanksgiving morning after the 20-hour drive from Colorado, we were there to hug bleary-eyed her. Her friends no doubt thought she and I were crazy as we alternately made faces and meowing noises at each other. And though I spent a lovely and delicious Thanksgiving meal with Jason's family, there was no rush to squeeze in a few hours with my sister before we made the drive home. I just got to hang out with her and figure out exactly what those lyrics are to the first song in Beauty and the Beast. "Bonjour!" we all sang loudly, late at night, no worries at all about where the girls were sleeping.

For as stress-inducing as a the dual-living was for the first couple months, the arrangement will more than makeup for itself during Christmas. As soon as Jason goes on Christmas break, we'll be off, headed up to our Washington home, where we will start to learn exactly how it feels to spend the holidays right next door to our family instead of navigating multiple hour-long trips. There will be new traditions, and traditions that will skip this year because so much of life is boxed up, waiting to be revealed next year in a new home.

Even though I fret about how they're adjusting, somehow the girls never worry about how life is at the Family Farm, even if Sydney wondered the other night, "How will the angels know where to watch over me?" "They just know," I said. "But how?" she asked again.

"Because," I said as we both drifted off to sleep, "wherever we are, God is."

Five Kernels of Corn

"And cultivate thankfulness." (Colossians 3:15, The Message)

One of the first phrases that I teach my girls to say is "Thank you." It starts out forced: "Say 'Thank You.'" It moves to being prompted: "What do you say?" And now quite often--although certainly not always--it's habit. Jules even completes our part by saying, "Thankyouwelcome," one long word of politeness.

No one told me this was a good or bad idea, it was just seemed like the thing to do. Obviously, not everyone agrees with this parenting technique (because what parenting technique is universally agreed upon?). I was in a parenting group one time and some parents chafed at the idea of forcing their kids to say thank you. They modeled it for their kids, definitely. But they wanted the expression of thankfulness to be genuine, not prompted or forced. If they aren't thankful, they said, they shouldn't fake it.

Being genuine is certainly ideal, but not very often is a small child genuinely thankful for the cup of water you give her. My experience tells me that most good habits start out forced.

Brush your teeth.

Don't push. Don't hit. Don't bite others.

Say thank you.

I've heard it argued that Thanksgiving Day is artificially pumped with thankfulness, forcing us to be thankful when we'd rather not. I like it, though. I like that there's a day set aside for thankfulness because it's all too easy to get in a pattern of accepting the blessings without acknowledging them; or worse, forgetting the blessings altogether. I think President Abraham Lincoln knew what he was doing when he set aside a day for Thanksgiving. The nation was at war, his executive cabinet fought with each other all the time, and he was a man prone to deep and dark depression.

And yet.

He knew.

Cultivating thankfulness is important.

Especially when we don't want to. When it's hard. When our nation struggles, when our lives our in turmoil, when the future is uncertain.

Even on those days that I'm more grumpy than genuine, I've made an effort this year to mentally take stock and thank God for all the things that happen each day for which I am thankful. It was one of the habits that got me through the months of September and October when my world was chaotic and stressful.

So this year, as I continue our tradition of the Five Kernels of Corn, my heart is already in the habit, even if forming that habit wasn't always easy or fun. 

• I am thankful for my job, where I get to teach a fun subject, encounter amazing people, and see the power of words constantly played out.
• I am thankful for my husband who has been more patient with me than I deserved.
• I am thankful for my faith in God and the power of prayer that sustained me through my darkest hours and provided for me in times of need.
• I am thankful for Sydney and Julianne, who daily test the limits of my kindness but never the limits of my love.
• I am thankful for the milestone in my education; even if in the grand scheme of things it's not life-changing, I am very thankful to have completed it.

These are the five kernels I'm planting this year, and no doubt next year will bring a new crop of thankfulness, cultivated from another year of sunshine and rain. And you? Any kernels of corn you'd like to cultivate? I never tire of hearing what other people are grateful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Princess & the Puff

My little magical creatures headed out tonight to gather their treats and celebrate the evening at a Halloween party hosted by a teacher from Jason's school.

   

It's Jules first time out, and since she is a candy addict, I imagine that this may rank up there as one of the best days of her life so far. (What? What's this? Who's giving out candy? Everyone that we know is giving out candy?! I'll do whatever it takes! Yes! I'll wear that. No! I won't wear the hood.)

Even Jason got in on the spirit of Halloween and dressed up as Dennis Rodman, complete with tattoos, sunglasses, and shaved head (aaaaaaaahh!). It was too frightening. No pictures of that.

Also frightening?

Me, stuck at home, reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. Ugh.

I don't even have any candy to keep me company. Now there's a mean trick indeed.

Ah well. I'll sneak some treats when the little princess ballerina and Puff the Magic Dragon come home. It'll be just enough sugar to keep me going for a few more hours. 

 

Hope your evening is filled with plenty of treats and friendly goblins to keep you company.

Word of the day: Campestral

It's that time of year when children all over the country don their boots and hats, and trod the fields in search of the elusive pumpkin that perfectly blends of the spirits of harvest celebration and spooky terror.

Or, if you're like us, you'll just throw on some tennis shoes, muddle around in the field for a few minutes half-heartedly looking for a pumpkin that meets the criteria of being not too big, not too small, and not too squishy. Pumpkins are okay, but we are more entertained by all the peripherals of pumpkin patches: petting zoo, corn maze, treats.

Plus, after spending the last few weeks enraptured with the acres and acres of pumpkins being grown across the street from my school, a traditional pumpkin patch can't quite measure up.

Tractor rides, however, are always good fun.

And picking apples never ceases to be exciting. Especially after getting a lesson on the proper way to pick apples (rotate and lift the apple up, and then pull down), Sydney can't wait to share her newfound knowledge with her cousin.

Really, we're all about climbing hay bales and singing tunes from The Sound of Music.

 

The hills are alive? Ah Maria, you underestimated the joy of Mt. Hood of Hay.

 

In fact, let's forget the pumpkins altogether. Just give us donuts and cider.

 

That's what really makes us sing.

Five Kernels of Corn

"Give thanks, for the Lord is good!"

Last year, we decided to start the tradition of the Five Kernels of Corn. The tradition is based on the story that during one of the winters after the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims faced severe starvation. They rationed out their corn so that they each received five kernels of corn. For each Thanksgiving thereafter, they placed five kernels of corn next to their plates to remind them to be thankful for all that they had received.

I have so much to be thankful for this year, yet when I see the five kernels of corn next to my Thanksgiving plate I will share these things with my family:

• I am thankful for my faith in God that got me through this year of losses and blessings, difficulties and accomplishments.
• I am thankful for my husband who has consistently been an encouragement to me in the past (very moody) months.
• I am thankful for my MOPS group--my group of mom friends--who have been a tremendous support to me this year. Through them I am learning to form relationships again and remember what it feels like to have friends.
• I am thankful for the two-and-a-half years I've had with my sweet daughter. Soon she and I will have to learn how to share our time with others, but my heart is overwhelmed with how much love I have for her and how thankful I am for the time we two have had together.
• I am thankful for Sydney's relationship with her grandparents. This year I have watched Sydney learn to fall in love with her grandparents, finding such joy in spending time with them. It blesses my heart to no end.

Every year will bring new things to be thankful for, but this year, at this moment, these are the things that fill my heart with gratitude. And if you found a kernel of corn next to your plate, what might you say?

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Week 129: Some holidays

Gosh, how I love these two. I don't need Thanksgiving Day to remind me to be thankful for them.

***

On Sunday, I complained to Jason that our neighbors put up their Christmas lights (complete with reindeer). "Too early!" I said.

And yet, today, as I drove into our driveway on returning home from class, Jason was on a ladder.

Putting up Christmas lights.

He also managed to convince me to let him go get our Christmas tree this weekend. In his defense, he is driving up to the mountains to slay our mighty tree and the snow levels are getting low enough to make driving difficult. So going early seems to be the better answer than waiting.

The discussion leading up to my agreeing consisted of me repeating the same phrase over and over:

J: Why don't you want me to go get the tree?
Me: Because it's too early for Christmas!
J: Is there a particular reason why it's too early?
Me: Because it's too early for Christmas!
J: Why don't you want the lights up?
Me: Because it's too early for Christmas!
J: Why can't I listen to Christmas music?
Me: That, you can do.

But after a bit of self-reflection, I realized that I no longer care too much when it comes to Christmas-y stuff. Before Thanksgiving, after Thanksgiving. Whatever. It's all part of Jason's favorite time of year, and if it makes him happy to start the festivities early then that's okay. My complaining had less to do with the arrival of Christmas, and more to do with the whole unknown time-table surrounding the holidays this year. I like to plan things. I like to put things on the calendar. When it comes to the holidays, I want to make sure that we're spending the right amount of time with each respective family, as well as getting in our own family traditions.

And frankly, having a baby "sometime between December 15 and December 30" makes my holiday planning guide quake in fear. When will we do Family Shopping Day? Where will we spend Christmas Eve?? What time will Jason's parents arrive on Christmas Day?! WHAT IF I DON'T GET MY SHOPPING DONE??! (Oh, who am I kidding...I'm glad to have a reason to procrastinate on the shopping.)

Four days before Thanksgiving, and I was having a melt-down about Christmas.

However, between then and sometime today I came to grips with reality: you can't plan everything. Even if you aren't having a baby, you can't plan everything. But since I am having a baby, then I really can't plan everything. I need to just let it go.

Let it go.

Let it go and let it snow. My mantra for the holidays.

This December will be different. Some traditions will go undone. Some gatherings missed. Some family events will go on without me. I give myself permission to feel sad about some of this stuff, but I also am trying to remember that some things are beyond my control. You might say that having a baby is more exciting than any of the other "somes" that happen, but still (and only weeks away now) I'm not in excited-about-baby mode. That's okay too.

The lights are up, and this weekend the tree will go up. I have no idea beyond those two things what will get accomplished, and *deep breath* that's okay.

I'm letting it go.

(and hoping for snow)

Chocolate Hangover

Ugh. Too much candy. I'm ready to eat carrots and celery for the rest of the week.

I am always a bit overambitious in how much candy we'll need for Halloween. As if somehow this year we'll get a mad swarm of children all clamoring for chocolate, and what if--horrors!--I had to give them fruit snacks instead.

So last week when I bought a few bags of candy bars I gave myself stern instructions not to eat any of it before Halloween. Especially because, I warned myself, I am not supposed to eat chocolate because it interferes with the absorption of iron (and I am in much need of iron, remember?).

The trouble with fun-sized candy bars is that it's very easy to believe you're not really eating that much chocolate. And 3 Musketeers are mostly whipped up chocolate--really, hardly any chocolate at all if you think about it--so a couple of those couldn't hurt too much.

By the time yesterday rolled around, my four bags had dwindled to...less than four bags. I thought about going to the store to get more candy, but after some consideration I figured that if we really did run out of candy then we'd just turn off the lights and hide. Or go to bed. Either one would be an acceptable option.

Of course, we only had our usual 10 neighborhood kids so we ended up with a giant punchbowl of candy leftover. Living at the end of a dark cul-de-sac, at the bottom of a hill, where we are the only ones giving out candy, doesn't seem to appeal to kids. Sydney and Jason went out trick-or-treating when he got home from work, and that was quite the exhilarating experience for her. This year was her first time out in the neighborhood, and she was more than willing to show off her door bell ringing skills, although less so on saying anything at the door. If you listened really hard you maybe could have heard a whisper of "tick-er-feet" from her, but mostly she just stood there with her bag open, eyes wide. She's not really a big fan of strangers, or even, for that matter, a big fan of candy, but she was willing to whatever it took to get to the next house so she could ring the doorbell.

Since it was turning out to be such a quiet night, then we did end up closing down the candy shop a bit early, and the three of us drove up the street to a neighboring housing development to visit some church friends. When we got to the top of the hill, we could see that this was evidently one of the hot spots for Halloween. Parents were dropping off kids at the top of the hill and then meeting up with them at the bottom. Two vans full of kids dropped off probably 30 kids who nearly trampled us down as we walked to our friends' house. It was a bit chaotic, and not quite the slow pace that our street was experiencing. Sydney was more than willing to head back to the car after we were done visiting.

I like Halloween because I like the neighborly aspect of it. Gives us all a chance to say hello, and meet the new families. Depending on how long we live here, Sydney will have quite a different Halloween experience than I did. We never had trick-or-treaters come to our house when we were growing up. (That's what happens when you don't have any neighbors!) We still dressed up though, and some of my favorite memories of Halloween are of my grandpa driving us around to friends and family in town so we could show off our costumes and get some candy.

But for Sydney, she'll get to have at least a few more years of walking up the street on Halloween night, visiting with neighbors and meeting up with friends. As for yesterday, her favorite part was watching the other kids and going out with her daddy. Getting to dress up as a princess was also rather exciting too. She did end up with quite a nifty stash of candy, but she won't eat it, and after today, I don't think I'll each much of it either. A week of snacking of candy bars has done me in, and I need some real food in my system. I think my sweet tooth is pretty well set.

At least until next month when it'll be time for some Christmas cookies.

Week 126: Sing a Song

We have recently discovered one of the advantages to having a piano: Sydney has learned to recognize musical notes. Of course, she can't actually read musical notes. Seriously. She's only two. We aren't even dedicated enough to work that hard on getting Sydney potty-trained, let alone have the crazy notion of trying to teach a toddler to read music. But, yes, she knows that musical notes either should be played on the piano and/or sung.

As the saying goes: With knowledge comes power. Who ever met a toddler who didn't like power?Sydney has taken full advantage of this knowledge and used it mightily in her favor. A couple weeks ago, she rediscovered a book hidden among the scads of books that she owns. I don't exactly know where the book came from, although I suspect Jason's mom since she is in the habit of finding all sorts of books for Sydney, plus giving us the books that her boys owned (and the copyright on the book is 1979). I'm appreciative of books. I am. Book lover. Book collector. Hooray for children's books. Rah Rah. But this particular book has worn out its welcome with Jason and me.

The book? Wee Sing Children's Song and Fingerplays. Or as we call it around here: We Sing Until We Go Crazy. It appears from Amazon's listings that there is a newer edition than the one we have, so I can't comment on the contents of that book. But I can tell you that this particular version is Sydney's most favorite, most adored, most sought after, most desired book in the whole wide world. At least for the moment.

She won't do any of the fingerplays, but turns the pages quickly and knowledgeably to each song that she wants sung.

First page: Eensy Weensy Spider (only we say, Itsy Bitsy Spider). Sydney says: "Mommy! Sing this!" I sing. Before I even finish, Syd has placed reservations on my time: "Sing a song." She turns deliberately to the next page that shows musical notes--"Hickory Dickory Dock"--and commands again, "Sing it!" If I pause for even the slightest moment, there is trouble. "Sing it. SING IT" Siiiiiiiiiing it!!" If she loses her place in the book, there is panic. "Where's John Jacob? Where's Old MacDonald?!" Peace is restored when she finally finds the page she's looking for.

My little musical tyrant. So adorable I can hardly wait for Jason to get home from work before quietly suggesting to Sydney that it's "Daddy's turn to sing songs."

And so our days are packed full of singing "Where is Thumbkin," "This Old Man," "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt," and numerous others. There are songs I've never even heard of that we now sing on a consistent basis. "Little Peter Rabbit" (sung to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic), some sort of Good Morning song, a song about One Elephant Went Out to Play, and even a weird song about a Little Green Frog who says Gung.

Even though at first I did all the singing, Syd the Singer now joins in most of the time. Even when I have been relieved of singing duty, and can still hear her humming through the songs, singing Hush Little Baby quietly to her dolls or wandering down the hall muttering "Jimmy crack corn and I don't care." I heard her talking in her sleep the other night, and wasn't the least bit surprised to hear her say, "Pop goes the weasel," before falling silent again. Sometimes now I'll chime in when I hear her singing only to be snubbed with "No, Mommy. No." Okey dokey, then.

Oh, I may complain, but of course you know that my music loving heart is just eating this all up. I may get tired of the demands the song book places on my time, but in the end I'd certainly rather have Sydney asking to be sung to than, say, asking for cartoons.

Plus, in 5 years when she complains about me parading her and her sibling in front of guests to sing songs, I have my excuse all ready: "You started it my dear."

Happy Halloween, from the Creature Bug Castle and its very talented Singing Princess.

Feel Lucky

I got a bit lucky this morning...Sydney stayed the night at my parents' house so I got to sleep in (although that didn't prevent me from waking up exhausted anyway). And she's staying tonight at my in-law's house. I have to say, never before have I been so grateful to not have her at home.

Hope your St. Patrick's Day is a grand one. Drink a Guinness for me.

May those who love us love us.
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles,
So we'll know them by their limping. --Irish proverb