Thoughts of an Incurable Midwesterner

Gabriella

2009-10-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

I wanted to let you all know of an opportunity created by Megan at Sorta Crunchy. She has organized a raffle to support the Vega family, whose four year old daughter, Gabriella, has had a stroke while waiting for a heart transplant. This beautiful little girl is the same age as my oldest daughter, and it breaks my heart to see her and her family go through this tremendous trial. When I worked at a pediatric hospital before my girls were born, I had the opportunity to know and work with several families whose children had suffered strokes. This is not an easy thing, folks. Recovery can be slow, tedious, and very expensive. My thanks to Megan for making a way for us to offer our support to this family.

You can find details of the raffle here.

As an aside: there are thousands of families in our country, and millions and millions around the world, whose children are suffering from life-threatening diseases and medical conditions. Only a tiny fraction of these families have the means, whether personally or through insurance, to cover the high costs of treatment. There are some social service programs in place to help, and I am so grateful for them, but they are not enough. Any time you can help, in any way, you lighten the load and offer hope to a tired, frightened, hurting family. Please don't underestimate the value of your contribution. The handmade donation boxes at grocery store counters for local families; the change boxes at McDonald's for the Ronald McDonald House (this is a GREAT organization); raffles and charity auctions; craft fairs for medical charities; the list goes on and on. There is ample opportunity to help. We are fortunate enough to have a top pediatric medical center in our area, where I worked for the five years between college and babies. They operate several thrift stores in the area, the proceeds of which go to their Uncompensated Care fund. If you buy a lamp from their store - or donate a lamp to their store - you are actually providing a child with medical services that they would otherwise be unable to afford. Every offering helps a family.

Good Mail

2009-10-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

I want to document my experience with today's mail. It was all good. All of it. It contained a magazine, a thank you card for my oldest daughter, a birthday card for my youngest daughter, and a check. And that's all. No bills, no junk mail, no statements. All good. I don't know if that has ever happened to me before, and I don't know if it will ever happen again, so I'm committing the memory to writing. Let the record show, on this tenth day of October, in the year of Our Lord 2009, our mailbox contained only good things.

A Culinary Vocabulary

2009-09-23T16:09:00.001-07:00

In the last 24 hours, my four year old daughter has made the following food-related statements:

I need to try tofu, eggplant, and woolly mammoth. [No idea]
Do we have any reggiano? [oregano]
I found a Kick. [singular form of "Kix"]
May I have some Nut Cracks? [Cracker Jacks]

June

2009-07-03T22:49:00.000-07:00

We tried new foods.
We found a lot of baby spiders on our slide.

We watched plants grow.

We attended the last day of the first year of preschool.

We slept a little.

But mostly we were awake.

We rode a train.

We bounced.

We said goodbye to one beloved teacher.

And "see you next fall" to another.

We balanced.

We colored pictures.

We made special gifts for special people.

We made silly faces.

We played with balloons.

We rode tricycles.

We played school.

We played with cousins.

We went to VBS.

We learned to sit up and stay that way.

We were attacked by flamingos.

We were cute.

We resurrected a rose.

We learned to crawl.

July: Bring it on! We're ready.

Weird.

2009-06-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday night. Both girls are asleep. My husband isn't due home for another ten minutes. I'm sitting in the living room...alone. Weird.

Car door.

Well, it was a weird five minutes.

Signs of Summer

2009-05-21T21:43:00.001-07:00

Today

2009-04-04T22:45:00.000-07:00

Today my sweet husband took care of our girls while I slept in after a rough night with restless children. He does this frequently. I am blessed.

Today I made two cups of coffee and drank one.

Today my family attended the annual Easter Egg Hunt at our church.

Today I watched as a life was saved. A man, a friend's father, had a heart attack. Right there, seated a few seats away from us, as we watched a yo-yo artist perform. I watched as two women, nurses, there with their families, started CPR, courageously and systematically kept him alive until paramedics arrived. He was not breathing. He had no pulse. I saw people rally to care for the children, mine and my friend's; to call 911; to clear the hundreds of chairs from the room; to pray. I saw the paramedics work with amazing skill and presence of mind for what seemed like an eternity, performing horrible, sickening, life-saving procedures. I saw my dear friend fall apart. And all I could do was hold her hand. I saw a group of people - friends, strangers, my husband - who drew upon a strength of compassion that transcended the helplessness of horror to do what needed to be done. I heard a lead paramedic whisper to his crew, "Just sixty more seconds". And within those last sixty seconds, we all heard, "They got a pulse."

I don't know what will happen next. I don't know whether the man will survive the aftermath of this attack, but I know that he survived this afternoon, and that he survived because of courage and compassion. I wish I had something profound to say about it, some epiphany. I don't. I have raw emotion and confusion and wonder, questions about aging, convictions about preparation and responsibility. Maybe as time goes on I will be able to glean some clear wisdom from this experience. Right now, though, I just want to pray for my friends, hold my girls, and lean on my husband (who has already had a lot of people lean on him today).

Pi(e)

2009-03-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

photo by pauladamsmith

One day last year, my husband came home from work and happily told me about all the pies that had been consumed by his colleagues and himself that day. Said something about it being "pie day". I thought it was a good idea, a nice diversion from office life, and good for them for their creative morale-boosting efforts.

One day last year, a friend of mine invited me to a National Pie Day celebration at her home. I wasn't able to attend, but I thought it was a great idea. I mean, who doesn't like pie?

Last week my husband lamented aloud the fact that he wouldn't be able to visit his old colleagues (having since left that job) during their pie fest, because the day falls on a Saturday this year. Bummer.

Today I saw a note my husband had written, indicating that he was trying to decide what kind of pi to make on Saturday. I asked if he meant to spell it that way. He said yes.

My friend is a pastry chef. (And may I encourage you, if you have not done so already, to find yourself a friend who is a pastry chef. They're just good people to know. Like mechanics, only their work areas smell a lot better.) She celebrates National Pie Day.

My husband is an engineer. He celebrates Pi Day, which is of course on March 14.

It all makes sense now. Either way, there's pi(e).

All in the family

2009-03-05T16:06:00.000-08:00

I try not to publicize my kids' names all over the Internet, but for those of you who know us personally and already know their names, I thought I'd share an interesting tidbit. We chose the spelling of our youngest daughter's name because we liked it - nothing particularly spectacular there. We've already taken some heat for it, too. At a routine lab visit, the registration coordinator who was doing our intake gave me an annoyed look and said, "Any other weird spellings I should know about?" Thanks, lady.

On to the cool part.

We recently discovered that Andy's great-grandmother's middle name is the same as our daughter's first name - and it's even spelled the same way. We had no idea. Cool, huh?

Not on our watch.

2009-03-03T22:20:00.000-08:00

"...researchers have focused on the influence of the social environment on children's math and science achievement. Very early on, boys are given the chance to tinker with toys or objects (for example, building blocks, Legos, racing cars, and simple machines) that involve many of the principles inherent in math and science. Girls often lack these experiences, so they enter math and science classrooms feeling insecure about their abilities. Girls then begin to believe they cannot do math and science as well as boys."*

* Reprinted with permission from the National Network for Child Care - NNCC. Jovanovic, J. and Dreves, C. (1995). Math, science, and girls: Can we close the gender gap?. In Todd, C.M. (Ed.)., *School-age connections*, 5(2), Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service.

Ordinary Celebrations

2009-03-01T22:17:00.000-08:00

What a great weekend. My husband and I weren't able to go out for Valentine's Day or my birthday a couple of weeks ago, so we postponed and went out this past weekend instead. Now that I think about it, our Saturday was very similar to our typical Saturdays during the first three years of our marriage - that would be before children. We wandered around an antique store for a while before going to lunch. We ran a few errands. (Yeah, I know. Not romantic. Just a heck of a lot easier without children.) We browsed a bookstore and had dessert and coffee. Then we went home to find our oldest daughter coloring pictures with Grandpa and our youngest daughter sleeping in Grandma's arms. Perfect. It made me realize, as dates always do, that we really need to make more of an effort to get out, just the two of us, more often.

Later in the afternoon, a dear friend who recently moved out of state and was in town for the weekend stopped by to meet the baby. She is expecting her own baby in a few months. I am pretty excited about that. She'll be a great mother.

Today was another great day. After church this morning, we went to "Uncle Chris' store" (as it is known 'round these parts) and fed the ducks at the pond. When we got home - well, we quit our parenting class. We've been attending a parenting class on Sunday nights, which has been really good, except for the timing. It makes our Sundays long and stressful, and the girls are awake way too late. We finally decided it wasn't worth it. I've got to say, it was really a relief to resign from the class. We turned our free evening into Family Night. Andy made pizza, which we ate in the living room (we don't eat dinner in the living room at our house) while watching Sleeping Beauty. Andy and our oldest daughter built some pretty amazing block sculptures. We finally counted and sorted the contents of our daughter's piggy bank (or, as she calls it, her pickle bank, which is indeed a pickle jar) into Giving, Savings, and Spending. The contents included pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, toy money, stickers, and buttons. Andy took her to the store where she bought her very own bag of Chips Ahoy with her very own money - 16 quarters and 4 dimes. I'm sure the cashier appreciated that.

I know this weekend was really nothing to write home about (although apparently it is something to blog about), but it was really great. My house is not clean (although my MIL managed to do all our laundry and clean our windowsills and blinds while she was babysitting) and I did not cross much off the to-do list. Come to think of it, I didn't even write a to-do list. But my husband and I spent time together. We spent time with our kids. We spent time with a friend. I'll put off the to-do list for a weekend like that any time.

Breaking up is hard to do.

2009-02-20T19:41:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about this blog. I'm not hanging up the blog. I like writing it. But I've realized that there are two distinct groups of people who read it. There are my friends and family, those who know me personally, and there are people I've encountered through other blogs that I read, primarily crafting and family/mama blogs. And in a way, I write to both.

Then I started thinking about the blogs that I read. I read two kinds of blogs, and they correspond, not surprisingly, to the people who read mine. I read the blogs of people whom I know personally, friends near and far, as a way to keep in touch with them and because I care very much about them and what is happening in their lives. I also read the blogs of people whom I do not know in real life, but who share my interest in crafting or my passion for family.

So then I was thinking about how I don't read the "family update" blogs of people I don't know. About how the people I've met through crafting and family* blogs are not reading to keep up with my personal life. About how my friends, except for maybe a couple, are not reading to see what I've been sewing. Small as it is, my readership is divided. Which finally led me to the decision...

It's time to split the blog.

I'll keep this one much as it is now. It has always been primarily a personal blog, the comings and goings of my family, things I find interesting or amusing, general life happenings. Not much will change around here, really. I just won't be posting much about my (or anyone else's) creative endeavors.

To accommodate my desire to write about creative domesticity, I've started a new blog. (Yes, yes, I started a new blog once before and it quickly went by the wayside. I blame morning sickness.) You can find it here or in my sidebar. That is where I will post sewing, crochet and other craft projects; home projects; birthday and holiday ideas; ideas and thoughts on raising children, making a home, and being a mindful global citizen. Pretty normal crafty mama blog business.

Of course you are all welcome to read whatever you want. One, the other, both - whatever strikes your fancy. And of course there will be some overlap. I can't compartmentalize my life so precisely. I am excited to separate the two, though. I've always felt a strange uneasiness about this blog somehow, like I'm trying to combine two things that weren't meant to be combined. I've wanted to join more wholeheartedly into the crafting and creative family blog community, but have also wanted to have a place to just talk about things of interest to my family and friends. Divide and conquer.

I hope you'll join me at one place or another!

*I don't have the right descriptive phrase to differentiate well between what I've referred to here as family update blogs and family blogs. I count family update blogs to be those written by individuals who want a place to post family stories, pictures and updates that will be of interest to their loved ones, and as a way to chronicle their daily life. I count family blogs, or mama blogs, to be those usually written to a wider audience, dealing more with the commonalities of families - specifically mothers - in general. These naturally contain stories of individual families, but usually within a context of issues that concern families and mothers at large. Craft blogs are another creature altogether, and are pretty self-explanatory; but many family/mama blogs double as craft blogs, as mine will do. Does that make sense?

Spelling Lesson

2009-02-19T21:23:00.000-08:00

What do these letters mean to you?

PRNSAS LAU

Nothing?

What if you were three years old?

And you had recently watched your cousins play this game?

Still nothing? Here's a hint:

Okay, it's a big hint.

Yep. My girl was making cards tonight (one of her favorite activities) and she asked what she could write. I told her she could write whatever she wanted. "How about Princess Leia?", she asks. Sure. And by golly, she wrote her little heart out. It was so great to listen to her sounding out the letters, trying to figure out the sounds. "Prin. P-rrrr-inn. Innn. N!"

Prnsas Lau.

We'll refine later.

Fish

2009-02-18T23:18:00.001-08:00

"Look, Mommy, I made a fish!"

Indeed she did.

29

2009-02-15T21:37:00.000-08:00

I am 29 today. The last year of my twenties. Weird.

We had a busy weekend planned, so I really didn't expect to celebrate my birthday today (we have plans later in the month), but my wonderful husband made it a really great day. It included an Andy-made breakfast, lunch out with my in-laws, three cards from my husband and daughter throughout the day (one of which was so perfect it made me cry; one of which included a gift certificate to a local quilt shop), and a birthday cracker topped with a tea light from friends in our parenting class. And my girls were good-natured all day long. It was a good day indeed.

And now I am watching Everybody Loves Raymond and drinking a glass of wine. I think this is a very good start to 29.

"There is too much butter on those trays."

2009-02-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

My three year old loves this show. Cracks me up.

Do you think that's weird?

Charitable Knitting

2009-02-05T21:41:00.000-08:00

Last week I posted about a way to use your old greeting cards while contributing to a good cause. I like the idea of using every last bit of any given material, especially when doing so can help others. Today I came across a way for you knitters (you know who you are) to use up odds and ends of yarn while again helping someone out. Even if you are not a knitter (I'm not), you'll want to click on this link. Maybe.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7844193.stm

I double dog dare you to take your, um, contributions to the post office and ask the postal employee to package them for you.

Edit: I just saw that they accept crocheted versions as well, so I could actually contribute!

Today...

2009-02-04T15:17:00.000-08:00

...is a good day. Despite a nasty cold, the kitchen is clean, the laundry is going, the taxes are filed (thanks to my husband), my oldest daughter had a good quiet time, I had an encouraging talk with the pediatric nurse, there are groceries in the house (again, thanks to my husband), our insurance policies are updated (umm...thanks to my husband - have I done anything?!?), and a workout has been completed. I can't complain.

Let Kids Be Kids

2009-01-27T22:46:00.000-08:00

Tonight on TV I ran across a child beauty pageant. I only watched it for a moment, so I can't really tell you much about it, but it appeared to be some sort of mother-daughter contest. The show was called Toddlers and Tiaras. I was sickened by what I saw. Little girls, toddlers, younger than my own daughter, all dolled up in sequins and heels and jewelry and makeup. Adults cheering. Trophys and cash awarded.

Parents, what are you thinking? These are your little girls! Do you not see the damage you are doing? Teaching them that people will like them if they are pretty. Teaching them that being glamorous is being successful. Teaching them that makeup and glitter make them more beautiful. Come on! This is abhorrent.

I will take tangled hair with bits of jelly in it over sprayed and pinned curls anyday. My daughter's cheeks are pink because she runs outside. If her lips are bright red, she has been eating a popsicle. Her high heels are about 12 sizes too large - because they're mine. She does have some dresses that sparkle, it's true - two of them have fairy wings, all of them have tutus, and most of the time they are worn in some combination with a superhero costume, Curious George glasses, and a stethoscope.

The older my kids get, the less I am inclined to criticize other parents. But this? This is wrong. It's just wrong. It is exploitation of one's own child. It makes me sick.

(I may have to delete this post if I start getting weird search engine traffic. That happened once before due to an innocent combination of words...it was creepy.)

What to do with all those cards

2009-01-26T20:46:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time throwing away greeting cards. It seems so wasteful. I have saved way too many over the years. (Just ask my husband.) These days I only save those that have real sentimental value to me, but I still feel badly about throwing away any card that someone spent time and money to send to me. I recycle them, but still...

Today I finally found a great way to recycle those cards in a way that makes me feel that their life is not too short. St. Jude's Ranch Recycled Card Program accepts greeting card fronts and, through the efforts of their children and volunteers, turns them into new cards which are then sold to benefit the Ranch.

Please note that they don't accept all cards all the time, so don't use them as a garbage disposal. Right now it looks like they are taking all-occasion greeting cards through the end of February. Check it out!

The One Where I Talk Politics

2009-01-20T12:20:00.000-08:00

I don't usually talk politics on this blog, and I'm not really going to talk politics today. After watching the inauguration this morning, though, I've been thinking about our new president and the effect he has had and will have on our country.

Here's the thing. I didn't vote for Obama. I live in Washington, so my political views make me something of an outsider. There are just a few issues on which I cannot compromise, and I cannot knowingly vote for a candidate whose policies will go against my beliefs. I am happy to report, however, that I maintain good relationships with friends and relatives whose viewpoints differ from mine.* And, since I live in Washington, I am used to my candidate of choice not getting elected.

That said, I am not depressed today. I watched the inauguration with interest (my husband taped it for me while I took our daughter to preschool). I think President Obama has already managed to lift the spirits of countless Americans who previously felt that our country would only get worse. There is something to be said for that. The big question is whether he will be able to follow through and validate those hopes.

There is also something great to be said for the joy felt today by those who fought so hard for equality. I would imagine that today represents the long-awaited fulfillment of a hope that saw them through years of great oppression and injustice. My heart filled when I saw the footage of the woman at the National Civil Rights Museum, tears streaming down her face as she watched the inauguration. Obama may not be my first choice for president, but I do believe that today is a great and significant day.

So I enter this new presidential era with my usual mix of hope, curiosity, and skepticism. It's how I think about most political beginnings, regardless of the politician. I'll be praying for President Obama and his administration, for wisdom, honesty, integrity, courage and humility. I'll teach my daughters to respect him, to speak respectfully of him.

My husband said it best when, a few hours after the inauguration, he looked up and said, "Hey, look, the world hasn't been destroyed." I don't think the new administration is going to bring our country into some golden age of happiness and prosperity for all; neither do I think it will usher us into doom and gloom. Life will go on.

*Several years ago, when I was still in the workforce, some coworkers and I started talking politics. As we exchanged viewpoints and it became known that I leaned to the right, one coworker went nuts. She called her sister right then and there, right in front of me, and said, "You're not going to believe this! You know Holly, my coworker? She's Republican! Yes, she is! I know! And I thought she was cool!" She was only half-joking. I don't claim a party affiliation in general, and I told her that, but I couldn't bring her out of her shock. It was pretty funny.

Weekend Happenings

2009-01-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

Tonight I find myself tired (and why am I up writing a blog post rather than going to bed?) but content. This weekend we attended the children's Christmas program at our church. It was snowed out twice in December. Okay, so we didn't actually attend the full program. We went for the first fifteen minutes, when the preschoolers sang Go Tell It on the Mountain and Away in a Manger. Here's our little lamb trying to reach her tail:

I spent much of the rest of the weekend rearranging furniture. Does anyone else do that for fun? It's a contagious habit. I caught it from my mother-in-law. Sometimes it becomes quite serious, moving beds and dressers and sofas and such. This can result in exhaustion, backaches and severe eye-rolling, all on the the part of my husband. This weekend I presented with only a mild case of bookcase rearranging. My husband only had to move one piece of furniture for me, one of the larger shelves, and I moved the others around until I was satisfied with their placement. Good times.

How was your weekend?

We've Come A Long Way, Baby

2009-01-17T16:46:00.001-08:00

Yesterday my daughter and I were discussing talent. I told her that people are good at different things. "Like you are good at drawing", I said. She responded, "Yeah, and Daddy is good at working on his computer. [she actually said "his poctuter"] And Sister is good at playing with her toys." "Right. And what do you think Mommy is good at?", I asked.

She thought for a minute. "Um. You are good at cleaning things up."

Great.

Road Construction

2009-01-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

The thoroughfare closest to our home has been under construction for seven months. It was supposed to be under construction for "Summer 2008". We haven't bothered to wash our car in months because we drive home on a gravel road every day. This week the road is finally being repaved. This is great news. The delays, on the other hand, are not so great.

Today my daughter's little friend came home from preschool with us. I picked the kids up at 11:00 as usual and headed straight home. At the entrance to the construction zone, the flagger (with whom I now chat quite easily, after months of seeing her every day) informed me that they were paving the intersection leading to my home, and it would be 30-45 minutes before she could let me through. I was frustrated, of course - why hadn't they told me when I left that they were closing the road to my house? But I smiled and said I would be back in 45 minutes. The kids and I turned around and went to get lunch. Taking two hungry, energetic three year olds, both of whom needed a restroom, to lunch was an interesting challenge, but we made it. I was just thankful that the baby was home with my husband, and that I had fed her just before leaving the house.

45 minutes and three lunches that made me cringe later, we returned. A new flagger informed me that he couldn't let me through for....another 45 minutes. By this point the kids really needed a restroom. (Did I mention that neither of them will use a public restroom?) I was certain that I would be spending the afternoon cleaning carseats. My blood pressure went up a bit, but I complacently turned the car around and parked at a nearby high school, trying to figure out what to do. I called my husband, who was home waiting to take the car to a mechanic's appointment. He was stuck, carless, with an infant who was going to need to eat soon. I was stuck in a car with two preschoolers who couldn't understand why we weren't going home to play as promised.

Ten minutes later, my husband called back. He had walked down the road and spoken with the flagger assigned to our intersection. I don't know what he said to the man, but the outcome was, "You can get through now". We had to drive around the long way, about three miles instead of half a mile, but we got through. We rushed the kids inside, sent one to one bathroom and the other to the other bathroom, and...they made it. Thank goodness for strong little bladders.

I still think they should have informed us that they were going to close access to our road for hours. But we're home, we're fed, and the carseats are still dry. All is well.

Experiences

2009-01-11T16:18:00.000-08:00

I don't know where this originated, but, having blogger's block as I have had, I thought I'd give it a go.

Bold indicates experiences I have had; italics indicate experiences I would like to have; regular font indicates experiences that are not on my life to-do list.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (unless Mt. Erie counts!)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Sunday Afternoon

2009-01-11T16:16:00.000-08:00

So happy to be sewing again.

Golden Days

2008-12-18T22:38:00.000-08:00

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

~Robert Frost

These newborn days are going by oh, so fast.

Life Today

2008-12-17T20:43:00.000-08:00

In my kitchen:

Cranberry Cornmeal Biscotti
Trader Joe's Panettone
Liberally Decorated Sugar Cookies
Cinnamon Bread

On my nightstand:

Deconstructing Penguins by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone
Beautiful Boy by David Sheff
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Seams To Me by Anna Maria Horner
Positive Discipline by Jane Nelsen, Ed.D.

On my to-do list:

so many thank you notes
so many birth announcements (it's not too late, right? She's only ten weeks old...)
wrap, wrap, wrap

On my mind:

my brother spending his second consecutive Christmas in Iraq
anyone in the Seattle area who is without shelter in this bitter cold weather
friends spending their first Christmas away from loved ones, in a foreign country, where Christmas is not celebrated

The Comings and Goings of a Two Month Old

2008-12-17T20:36:00.001-08:00

While her activities have not been as varied as her sister's, the Little One has been quite busy herself. Mostly she has been doing a lot of this:

Being super cute.

The Comings and Goings of a Three Year Old

2008-12-17T20:14:00.000-08:00

The blog has been quiet, I know, but life has not been. Here is a glimpse of what our three year old has been up to these past few months. (In reverse chronological order.)

Her first "gingerbread" house.

Sorting the Christmas ornaments. What, you don't wear a fairy/angel/princess/ballerina costume while you decorate?

Thanksgiving hugs with her cousin.

Helping Grandpa rake the leaves...over and over and over again.

Ready for the Pumpkin Party at preschool.

Christmas Cheer

2008-12-13T09:13:00.000-08:00

Most of you have probably already seen this, but just in case you missed it, check out Straight No Chaser's 12 Days of Christmas. It is sure to bring a smile to your face. Thanks to Bob for originally posting about it last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway

2008-12-12T21:57:00.000-08:00

It's a little late to mention it, but...The Lil Peanut Patch is having a fun 12 Days of Christmas contest, highlighting quite a few (twelve to be exact) unique businesses. The drawing is tomorrow, so hurry up! I found some great gift ideas that I've tagged for future reference.

O Little Town

2008-12-08T23:05:00.000-08:00

Last week my daughter learned, "And Jesus grew in wisdom" as part of her Cubbies memory verse.

Today, as we were reading a Christmas story, I asked her if she knew where Jesus was born. She didn't hesitate.

"In Wisdom."

Thanks

2008-12-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

[Above: two of my greatest reasons to give thanks.]

Ah, Thanksgiving. What a magnificent holiday. The food, the family, the friends, the food, the laughter, the memories, and the food - what's not to love? (According to my sister and husband, what's not to love is all the pumpkin. Too bad for them that they are wrong!) We spent the weekend in Oregon with my four younger sisters and their families, and we had a great time.

About a week before Thanksgiving, I started writing in a journal again. I just finished this particular journal. I started it on November 20, 2000. An eight year journal. My first entry documents that "Andy and I are dating". The last entry, November 22, 2008, documents that "Andy and I have two children". Wow.

So I finally finished up the last few pages of my eight-year journal. I had been thinking a lot about gratitude, and was thinking in terms of New Year's resolutions and how to show more gratitude in 2009. Then I realized that it was ridiculous to wait until the calendar turned before beginning my personal gratitude challenge. Why not start now? So I did. I started keeping myself awake for a few minutes longer each night (sleep is a precious commodity right now) and writing down some of the events of the day that had blessed me in one way or another. I have found this little exercise to be so uplifting and clarifying. Here are some of the things that came to mind as I was reminded of just how blessed I really am:

11/19/08. Today I was blessed by: friend sending a bag of her pumpkin cookies home for me; daughter reciting her Cubbies verse and earning her patch; baby sleeping for seven hours and then going back to sleep quickly.

11/20/08. Today I was blessed by: a cheerful traffic flagger; Caffe Ladro coffee and barista; daughter's preschool teacher calling her "Angel"; daughter's Cubbies leader telling me that daughter was very well-behaved at Cubbies last night; daughter drawing a picture of her "sad feeling"; baby smiling as she fell asleep; receiving order of children's books from preschool; finding a funny CD that Andy left in daughter's CD player as a gag; dinner out with my family, both girls happy throughout meal.

11/21/08. Today I was blessed by: friendly staff at doctor's office; vision & hearing [I was struck by how horrid it would be to lose either sense]; an apologetic flagger; daughter wanting to learn all of her Cubbies verses, and wanting to know how to spell all the words; daughter spelling "apple" with no prompting [we had told her how to spell it several days prior]; daughter recognizing by sight only her memory verse from last week; Andy cleaning out the pantry; thinking about the love represented by the many items handmade by loved ones in our home; looking through photos of our trip to Austria a few years ago.

11/22/08. Today I was blessed by: girls collecting food outside the grocery store; Andy making a detailed grocery list; pre-mixed formula and having a clean bottle in the car; my sister's invitation to stay with her over Thanksgiving, saving us the cost of a hotel; teaching daughter the "I've Got the Joy" song; clean diapers; a good latte.

I continued this exercise in a new journal, which I haven't been able to find since we returned home from Thanksgiving weekend. A few other blessings, written in the missing book, are: the baby sleeping for nine hours one night (the first time she has truly slept through the night); a person very dear to me very ecstaticly sharing the news of her pregnancy; a friend driving sixty miles one way to bring us a "new baby" meal; a great Christmas tree farm; and an unexpected note in the mail from someone I barely know.

There are just so many things for which to be thankful. They're everywhere! I have read that, once basic needs are met, money and possessions have nothing to do with happiness. Neither do status, education, appearance, or career success. The factor that happy people have in common is gratitude. That in itself is something for which to be grateful! Anyone, anywhere, at any time, can cultivate gratitude. This is a tremendous gift.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Faith Development

2008-11-16T22:32:00.000-08:00

My daughter's understanding of religion is budding. When saying grace at dinner, she either thanks God for everything under the sun, or she thanks Him for the elephants at the zoo. We find this both sweet and amusing. Some of her other recently expressed thoughts on religion include:

She and I were looking at pictures in her child's encyclopedia, and we came across a drawing of Thomas Edison working on a light bulb prototype. She asked for details. I said:
"That's Thomas Edison. He figured out how to make light bulbs, so now we can have lights in our house."
Daughter: "Oh. He makes lights for us? Oh! Just like God makes lights!"
Me: "Um...yes. God also makes light."
Daughter: (pointing to picture of Edison) "Mommy? Is that God?"

This morning we visited a nearby Lutheran church. My daughter enjoyed the colorful banners and stained glass windows, neither of which we have at our church. She found one banner depicting the sacrament of communion. Pointing to the chalice on the banner, she whispered reverently (we were, after all, in church): "Mommy? Is that an ice cream cone?"

In the car recently, my daughter was playing with an old set of keys. She dropped them on the floor of the backseat, and I twisted and stretched from the front seat to get them for her. I warned her to be careful, because I would not pick them up if she dropped them again. Naturally, she dropped them again. My husband reminded her of my warning and she seemed to resign herself to not getting her keys until we got home. She sighed and said: "Maybe God will help me get my keys. He's here, you just can't see Him." Then she prayed that God would help her. Yeah...needless to say, she got her keys back.

At the Lutheran church this morning, my daughter enjoyed "reading" the bulletin. It was a good 15 pages long. The front cover had a picture of a stained glass window depicting the parable of the master who entrusts his servants with his talents. It was a very traditional picture, white beards, long robes, fiercely authoritative figures. At one point my daughter couldn't find the bulletin amongst her other papers, and she asked, "Where is my God magazine?"

I find her understanding of God to be sweet and sincere. Is her understanding really much less than mine? I have, after all, only 25 more years of learning than she does. In the matter of eternity, how much difference does 25 years make? Perhaps her understanding is better than mine. She accepts God's love for her without question, without shame, without guilt. She is not afraid to question that which she does not understand. Faith like a child. I hope God smiles at my understanding of Him, feeble as it is. I hope He finds it to be sweet and sincere.

photo by woowoowoo

Lady Grey and Sew Mama Sew

2008-11-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

Andy and I are discovering how precious few moments there are during the day when one or the other child does not need our immediate and focused attention. Precious few. Right now our oldest is having her afternoon Quiet Time and our youngest is (gasp!) sleeping. I know this moment is fleeting. There are three loads of laundry ready to be folded, two more ready to be washed. There are scads of thank you notes to write, and there are birth announcements to design. There are maternity clothes to be sorted, stored, and returned to friends (do you hear the Hallelujah Chorus? No? Just me? Huh.), and toddler clothes to be washed and stored. There are many neglected friends awaiting email responses.

There are things to do.

Naturally, then, I sat down with a piping hot cup of Lady Grey tea and started browsing Sew Mama Sew's Handmade Holidays Flickr pool. Ahhh. Relaxation. I don't know how many handmade Christmas gifts will come from our home this year - realistically not very many - but it's fun to see what other people are making and giving.

Okay, break's over.

Vote

2008-11-04T12:15:00.000-08:00

Did you?

photo by vaguely artistic

Domestic Therapy

2008-10-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

I'm all for formal counseling when the occasion calls for it, but I think there are times when less expensive forms of therapy can be substituted. Like cleaning the shower.

During our oldest daughter's quiet time and our youngest daughter's cat nap yesterday afternoon, I cleaned the shower. It was awesome. It was one of those times when experts would have advised me to "sleep while the baby's sleeping", and indeed that is the advice I would likely have given to another mother. My need for sleep is very real right now*, but yesterday afternoon I had a greater need. The need to clean. It wasn't even so much a need to have a clean shower (although there was that). It was a need to clean the shower. Asking my husband or mother-in-law or a friend to do it, which I know I could have done, wouldn't have fulfilled the real need. I should mention that I generally loathe cleaning the shower. It's just about my least favorite chore. Yesterday, though, it was just what the doctor ordered.

Tomorrow I hope the doctor orders Starbucks.

*Not as great as my husband's need for sleep, which is going largely unmet as he insists that I sleep during the baby's most wide awake hours, 12:00-2:00 am. I might be spoiled.

Curiosity

2008-10-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

After having been told for probably two years that she should not drink bath water, my daughter arrived at an inquiry. As I was washing her hair during her bath the other day, she asked quite indignantly:

"Mommy, why are you putting the water that is yucky for me to drink on my hair?"

Our Newest Someone

2008-10-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday evening we welcomed our beautiful Baby Girl into the world. She is practically perfect in every way. (Movie reference? Anyone?) Delivery was wonderful - no, truly. Is it weird to say that I enjoyed it? It was quiet and peaceful and not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, and really rather pleasant. (Yes, I've delivered before, but by c-section, so this birth was a totally new experience for me.) And yes, I was heavily medicated. I don't know if I would use words like "enjoy" and "pleasant" if I had not been. Anyway...we are all healthy and doing fine and very, very happy. The proud Big Sister is so gentle and sweet with Baby. It is clear that her world is a little shaky right now as she is pretty sensitive and emotional (much like her mama), but that just means that we have all the more reason to snuggle with her.

Lest you think we mindlessly dress our children in the tackiest clothes possible, I will explain the picture. In preparation for Baby, we read The Baby Sister by Tomie dePaola many times over. When Tommy learns that his mother is going to have a baby, he requests a baby sister with a red ribbon in her hair. When his parents bring the baby home, sure enough she is a girl and she has a red ribbon in her hair. When my oldest daughter heard that, she immediately requested that her baby sister have a green ribbon in her hair. Green is my girl's favorite color. The request stayed consistent, and so we decided to make an effort to accomodate it. Well...it's challenging to put a ribbon in the hair of a newborn. Baby has a fair amount of hair, but it is still newborn fine, and we didn't want to tie a bow around her head (strangulation hazard and all). So we finally decided that we would attach a green ribbon to her hat. It worked wonderfully. Her big sister was pleased.

We're home now. Life is really good. We're just taking things slowly, easing into the life of a family of four. Our girls are beautiful and fascinating, and while we are still working through some challenges that come with parenting two (surely we'll be working through those challenges for many years to come), we are finding that the girls bring us tremendous joy and delight. I am incandescently happy. (Movie reference? Anyone?)

Miscellany from daily life

2008-09-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes our daughter says things that keep my husband and I in stitches. My favorites of her recent quotes are:

"My Daddy is a good finder, is he? Yeah, he is. He is a good big pepperoni finder."

"Mommy? Could you do me a favor? Could you please pick up Mommy and Daddy's room for me?"

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It's time for a new purse. I'm not a big fan of shopping for accessories. Shoes, purses, jewelry, makeup, belts - it's not that I don't like the items, it's that I don't enjoy shopping for them. But my purse has had it. I've thought about getting a new one for quite some time. Mine is pretty small and I am not able to carry some things that I would like to carry with me. A bigger one would be nice, but I guess that preference alone was not enough to make me shop for a new one. Then the purse fell into the toilet. That's right. It was a very clean toilet, but a toilet nonetheless. Still I did not feel entirely compelled to replace the purse. Then I managed to set the purse into a pool of blue paint. Yep. A brown suede purse with a brown leather base that is now sky blue. That should do it, right? I should go get a new one. But I did not. I carried around a too small, water damaged, blue painted purse. Yesterday, fate stepped in. The strap of the purse broke. I can no longer carry it on my shoulder, and clutching it while also clutching my preschooler's hand is not a feasible option. I suppose I could pin the strap, but I'm not quite that stubborn. I will get a new purse. I'm thinking Etsy.

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I have two and a half weeks left until my baby is due. This morning I received a phone call from my OB's office. My OB has had an accident and has broken both of her arms. Needless to say, having two broken arms is quite inconvenient in her line of work. (I can't say that I can think of too many occupations that would accomodate two broken arms easily.) She was the only reason my husband and I chose the particular hospital that we did. She is a fantastic doctor. She delivered our older daughter in what turned out to be an unexpectedly traumatic and dangerous situation, and she did a stellar job. Now we have to decide whether to simply see her medical partner for our remaining two weeks, or to find a new doctor altogether. So far I have cried at the frustration caused by this turn of events, and I have laughed at the utter ridiculousness of it all.

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I have joined my husband in playing Fantasy Football this year. This fact might lead you to believe that I am a big football fan. Not so. I don't dislike football. I just don't know much about it. I grew up in a Big Ten basketball household. No, I joined Fantasy Football out of a desire to understand this sport about which my husband is so passionate, and to spend Sunday afternoons with my husband. And you know what? So far it has been fun! Of course I haven't had to do anything. Mid-morning Sunday I ask, "Was I supposed to change any injured players this week?", and he says, "I took care of it." This is a very good thing for me, since I can correctly match all of eight NFL players with their respective positions, and seven of those are quarterbacks. Yeah, I'm savvy that way.

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Today I am envying my friends who have delivered their children a bit early, which seems to be most of them. Most of the babies I know have decided to arrive before 40 weeks. All of my sisters delivered early. I have five friends who have delivered babies this year, and every one of them went early. I probably shouldn't complain yet, though, since I have two weeks to go and therefore cannot say that I myself will not go early. I suppose I should pray that I actually do not go into labor just yet, not until this whole finding a doctor with functional arms thing is resolved. I'm also fighting resentment over the "second births are so much easier" standard that I keep hearing, since my doctor told me that my body will not recognize this as a second birth, given circumstances surrounding my first birth. Kind of makes me feel like that first labor was wasted - except for, you know, the beautiful child who resulted from it.

I'm not bitter.

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Coffee time.

Welcoming Autumn

2008-09-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Autumn is here! I feel fortunate that, in the Pacific Northwest, autumn usually arrives right around the time the calendar says it will, give or take a week or two. When my daughter and I woke up yesterday morning, I decided that we would pay attention to the changing of the seasons.

We started the day with oatmeal and maple syrup. "Porridge", my daughter calls it. So good.

Then we made a seasonal necklace. I had originally picked up this little bead kit to throw in the special "Big Sister" activity box that we'll be bringing to the hospital with us. We want our oldest daughter to come and meet her sister in the hospital, but we also know that she will only be interested in looking at the baby for so long. Thus her very own special box.

Unfortunately, I neglected to pack the bead kit right away, and she found it. That's okay, though. It turned out to be a great first day of fall activity. She was a lot more successful at stringing the beads than I thought she would be. Just look at that concentration.

Success! She was one proud three year old.

After beading, we took a trip to the library to stock up on fall books. Apparently some parents plan these things in advance (not I), because most of the seasonal books were checked out. We did manage to find these middle three books, and then we added the classic stories on the top and bottom of the stack. We also stopped by the local fruit market and picked up a bunch of miniature pumpkins. For the rest of the day the pumpkins were arranged, rearranged, stacked, scattered, and played with. At one point they became a family of pumpkins, all with their own voices, traits and identities. Later in the evening they became a gift that she "maked-ed" for her baby sister. Right now they are all in individual gift bags, in a row in the corner of the living room, apparently awaiting the arrival of baby sister.

The idea of making a gift for her sister originated with this dual shower that some friends threw for us last night. Another friend is expecting her child during the same week that we expect ours, so our mutual friends held a shower for both of us. I was afraid that my daughter would not quite understand that the gifts were for the baby, or that she would understand and would be upset by it, but she was fine. Thus her sudden urge to make her own gift for her sister, which we encouraged. All in all, we had a great first day of autumn. Summer passed quickly, but this year I was ready for fall. I just might have to pick up some more miniature pumpkins for seasonal decor, though, since my original bunch are now in gift bags.

Secondhand Pregnancy

2008-09-15T22:54:00.000-07:00

It is fairly commonly known that pregnancy can affect a woman's mind. Unusual forgetfulness, confusion, and distraction can all make appearances during pregnancy. This is sometimes referred to (by the mothers themselves) as "Mommy Brain", "Baby Brain", or "Pregnancy Brain".

But can pregnancy affect the minds of those who are not pregnant? I think it might. Tonight I encountered two gentlemen who seemed to have lost their ability to speak sensibly.

The first gentleman tried to help by picking up a bottle of water for me. Would not let me pick it up myself. I do lift a 29.5 lb. child many times each day, but apparently the water bottle (and I'm talking Aquafina, not an office water cooler) was too much. I thanked him. Then he made an attempt at polite conversation. I think. It went like this:

Man: Well, you already have a girl, so this one must be a boy.
Me: Oh, no, we're having another girl.
Man: Oh. Well, the important thing is that you're able to praise the Lord no matter what happens.
Me: [trying to connect his two statements] Yes, I suppose that's true.
Man: We had three girls and then we had our boy.
Me: Huh. He was pretty outnumbered then.
Man: Yeah. We decided to go ahead and have him circumcised.
Me: [blink. blink. Certain that my own brain missed a synapsis. Did not compute.] Is that right? I'd better get this water to my daughter.

I'm still not sure how that conversation even happened.

Then just a few minutes later, an acquaintance approached me and said, "I didn't know you were expecting! When are you due?" I replied, "In about 3 1/2 weeks." A man standing near us had apparently overheard our conversation. I did not know him at all. He leaned over, looked at my belly, and said, "Whoa! Have you been working out? Because you are about to lose some weight!"

What does that mean? Can anyone tell me what that means? Did he say "Whoa!" because I am mammoth, or because he was surprised that I only have 3 1/2 weeks to go? And the rest of his statement...I...what?

It is at times like these when I am grateful that my mother taught me to smile and be polite.

T - 25 Days

2008-09-15T22:32:00.001-07:00

With 25 days remaining until Baby is due (not that the due date means much), I find myself falling asleep and waking up with the question, "What do I need to do to be ready to leave for the hospital today?" on my mind. I'd really rather not leave with the house a wreck, the laundry undone, or job tasks unfinished.

This past weekend, the answer to my question was peaches. As my husband mentioned, we bought a couple of boxes of peaches at a local fruit market. About 50 pounds of peaches. Peaches are at their prime for about one day. If we were to leave 50 pounds of peaches on the counter - or even in the fridge, on the unlikely chance that we had that much room in there - for two or three days while we took care of other matters, such as giving birth, we would likely return home to mushy, potentially moldy peaches covered in fruit flies. Appetizing, yes? So we processed them as fast as we could.

They were turned into peach crisp:
They were turned into jam:

They were frozen:

They were canned:

And of course they were eaten. Delicious.

There are still 36 peaches in the refrigerator, awaiting one more full canning session. I am determined that we will not lose a single peach of our 50 lbs. I don't like throwing away food. So tomorrow, somewhere between morning preschool and an afternoon doctor's appointment, canning will happen.

The Power Of Words

2008-09-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

photo by Windy Angels

I've been thinking about words lately. Powerful little creatures, words. I think words are among the most misused of our resources. We use too many of them, we use the wrong ones, we use them carelessly. It's a shame. Here are some things I've noticed about words recently:

Excuses and explanations. I have a friend who does not make excuses. She does not seem to have a need for explaining herself. Last week she and I were both part of a group that had been asked to provide one volunteer for an ongoing job. Nobody wanted to do it. We all provided reasons for why we could not take the job - except this friend. She just said, "No" and left it at that. She and I serve on another team together. We had a meeting recently. When asked if she would be able to attend, she said, "Yes, but I have to leave at 8:00." No explanation as to why. She just had to leave at 8:00. The end. I love that. I love that she doesn't try to explain herself. She just gives her answer and leaves it at that. No outs. No maybes. Her word is true, and she doesn't need to explain her reasons to anybody. This is not just true of her "no", either. If she says, "Yes", then you can just know that she means it. She'll be where she says she'll be, she'll do what she says she'll do. She doesn't need to justify her decisions. It's refreshing.
Lyrics. Trying to describe a song when one does not know the lyrics is difficult, somewhat pointless, and frustrating to both parties. My sister recently tried to describe a song to me. She thought that I would like it, since I am the mother of a young child and am expecting another child soon. But she didn't know the name of the artist or the song, and she couldn't remember the lyrics or melody. These are all key components of songs. She said, "It's something about golden ringlets and...umm...how cute they are when they're sleeping...and...how fast they grow up. It's so sweet!" I'm sure the song is lovely and touching, but I simply couldn't relate to my sister's level of emotion when discussing the song, because - well, I'll admit, just the phrase "golden ringlets" doesn't leave me in a state of great emotional vulnerability. So there we were, she so excited and emotional about the song, and all I could say was, "Huh. That sounds nice."
Language development. My daughter brought a crafted foam frog home from church today, the kind of preschool craft that hangs over a doorknob. I asked her what her frog's name was. She said it was George Eastman. Then she corrected herself and said the frog's name was George Eastfrog. He is not a man, you see, but a frog, so he couldn't have the name Eastman.
Meaning. Have you ever noticed how often we say things that we don't mean? I'm starving. That is the ugliest thing I've ever seen. I hate this computer. We don't really speak plainly. Plain speech, like a true and simple "yes" or "no", is refreshing. One thing I catch myself saying frequently is, "I can't believe..." I can't believe how big she's getting. I can't believe we graduated so long ago. I can't believe how many times that telemarketer has called. Not true. I can believe all those things. When I am intentional about my speech, I try to say, "I can hardly believe..." or "It is hard to believe..." I think this implies that belief is still attainable, but that the object of belief has somehow amazed me or caused me to reflect upon the quick passage of time.

Speaking of the power of words, I'm hearing a plaintive "Mom-mYYYYYYY!" from the other room, so I had better respond to it.

September 11

2008-09-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

I received this email from my brother, who is a 1st Lieutenant serving in Iraq. I share this with his permission.

"Well it is September 11th, and I have been deployed for 10 months. We have a flag in our compound here and we lowered it to half staff this morning. Over here we take each day one at a time, but days like today make what we are doing even more important.

I work with building the new Iraqi Army. We are trying to build an Iraqi military that can take the fight to insurgents, which they are doing more and more. We also are training them to treat the people right. This country was ruled by an iron fist for thirty years and it is difficult to get them to take personal responsibility or to take charge in the absence of orders. We are getting there slowly but surely.

In the spring I met a young Iraqi private, his name was Joseph Najim Abdullah. He was a bright kid, he said he was 18 but likely he was no more than 16, not much older than our Joe [our youngest brother]. He was one of our basic trainees, and when we did our testing he scored well. He scored high enough that he was going to be placed in the communications school. That was until violence flaired up in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City. Half of that basic training class was pulled from training 3 weeks into their 5 weeks of training, sent to an Iraqi division given a rifle and sent into the fight. In April Joseph was killed by a sniper in Sadr City. Joseph represents what is good about this country, young men not much different than us, standing up and volunteering to fight for what they believe in. Our mission is to train them and prepare them for the worst they might face. Sometimes we do it in spite of bad decisions from the Iraqi govenment, like the choice to take soldiers not even through basic training and throwing them into the worst neighborhood of Baghdad against a determined, experienced insurgent force.

I don't usually reflect, but today is a special day. I am sure for those back home it is easy to get wrapped up in the election coverage and who is right or wrong. For those of us over here it really doesn't matter who is President, it is about the people serving next to you."

As so many have said, regardless of what you think about the war, you must - you must - support the warrior. Please don't forget.

Photo by jbdjbdjbd

The Worst First Day

2008-09-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

Today is a very important day in our home. Today was the first day of school (unless you count this, of course). And, if I may be so bold as to say so, it was a disaster. I don't even have any pictures to show you. That's how bad it was. No pictures of the first day of school.

My Munchkin started preschool this morning. It's just preschool. She's just three. It's two mornings a week for two hours each morning. It's not a big deal. Right?

It really started last night at the parent orientation meeting. My husband and I found it ironic that the literature we were given stressed that young children need plenty of sleep, about eleven hours a night - but we were kept in the meeting until 8:30. After picking our daughter up from the home of the friends who were watching her, and then going through our regular bedtime routine, this meant that our daughter was not in bed until 10:00. Yeah. That's late for a three year old.

This morning she woke up at 6:00, distraught and tired. She climbed into bed with us. Knowing that she was exhausted, I let her sleep as long as I dared: 8:00. Then we had to wake her up. If you have kids, you no doubt have experienced the phenomenon of being awakened by an exuberant child earlier than you would like on every morning, except those mornings when you have to be somewhere. Then the child wants to sleep. That's just how it works. So we woke her up at 8:00, and she was cranky and slow-moving. I brushed her hair while she ate her yogurt. That went well. That is the only thing that went well. She finished her breakfast and we told her to try to use the bathroom. She didn't want to. We made her anyway. She tried, crying the whole time. She didn't go. Since she woke up dry, this did not bode well. (You know what's coming, don't you?)

She continued to cry as we dressed her. This, by the way, is not normal for our child. She's usually pretty easy going and happy, especially in the morning. We suspected that she was acting out of nervousness, which made it a little difficult to know how to react. She cried until she was buckled into her carseat...and then she was fine. I was a mess by that point, feeling angry and disappointed, but not wanting to display those emotions to my daughter and make her any more anxious about the day.

We arrived at the school just on time and entered the classroom with the other families. Today's class was only one hour, and parents were to stay with their child. We met the teachers and some of the other families. One of my daughter's friends from church is in her class, and the two of them promptly settled themselves at the puzzle table together. She decorated a crayon-shaped name tag, writing her own name. She was thrilled to find a toy kitchen and probably would have spent the rest of the morning there, had circumstances allowed it. We were feeling pretty good about the whole thing at that point. I had calmed down and decided to forget the challenges that we had faced at home. Then...she turned around and gave me the "uh-oh" look. It was too late. She was wet. She was clearly not pleased about this happening, and neither were we.

She's not completely potty-trained. We know this. I spoke with the preschool director last week and was very open with her about this fact. She was kind and helpful. But, despite being not quite completely trained, our daughter has never had an accident away from home, not since she started wearing regular underpants. Plenty of accidents at home, but never away from home. For this reason, we have not been too worried about her potential success at preschool. But today, on the first day of school, she stood in her classroom and had an accident. We again stayed calm, trying to make this day as happy as possible for her. Andy ran home to get a change of clothes. I know...we should have had one with us. We have had a change of clothes in the car for weeks. I brought it inside earlier this week. My daughter and I waited in the hallway of the school until Andy returned. This would have been okay if we had been alone. We weren't. The preschool director and another mom were in the hall, and when the director asked if she could help with anything, I lost it. The whole frustrating morning - the exhausted child, the fight to get her ready, the way everything went exactly opposite of the way I had pictured it, and then the accident - I was unable to juggle it all in my heart any longer. I cried. The director tried to comfort me, no doubt thinking I was an emotional mom who couldn't handle her child's first day of school. I guess that is technically correct, although it really wasn't about my daughter growing up or gaining independence or not needing me or anything like that. Or if it was about that, it was not at a conscious level. For me, it was about having a rotten morning. It was about feeling angry and disappointed and embarrassed. It was about sitting out 25 minutes of a one hour class session. The director was so kind, but when I feel like that, I don't want to be comforted, at least not in public and by a stranger. I want to be left alone. Left alone, I can compose myself. Being "ooh"-ed and "there, there"-ed over simply opens the floodgates. It was terrible. At one point I managed to say that I really was fine, and the director said, "Oh, I know, you're just hormonal"...which sounds condescending, but it wasn't. She's right. I'm 35 weeks pregnant and haven't slept a comfortable, uninterrupted eight hours in weeks. I'm tired and, truly, hormonal. I was not this emotional during my first pregnancy, but this time around...well, my husband is a wonderfully patient man.

My husband got back with the change of clothes, we changed said clothes, and we joined the rest of the class for the closing circle time. Well...Andy and my daughter joined the class, I took a few minutes alone in the restroom to finish my cry and make myself presentable. Then we were fine. My daughter was happy and interacted with her teachers and the other students just fine. They had all the parents leave the room at the end of class, a sort of strange attempt to practice the usual pick-up routine and to find out which children would react poorly to having their parents leave. One poor little boy ran out of the room wailing. I felt so badly for him. During the entire hour, he had clung to his mother, who kept trying to push him away and make him play with the other children, saying things like, "All of the other children are good, and you are bad. You need to be good like the other children". Yikes. Poor kid. Anyway, our daughter had no problem with us leaving, never has, so at least we had reassurance about that.

She has been fine ever since then. Happy. Dry. Obedient. I'm sure she was tired and anxious, and I want to be sensitive to that. One of these days, I'll look back on today and laugh...right? Well, maybe not. Maybe this morning was just a life lesson, teaching me once again that the best-laid plans of mice and moms often go awry. Of all the lessons my children have taught and are teaching me, this is the one that is reviewed most often. Some days it is easier to accept than others.

The bottom line is that today was the first day of preschool, and my daughter enjoyed herself and is excited to go back. And that's what matters. And to make the day brighter for both of us, I baked sugar cookies when we got home. The dough was not homemade, and I don't care.

How To Make Mama's Day

2008-08-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

We're sitting at the breakfast table, my little ("I'm not cute, Mommy, I'm a big girl") girl and I. We're eating real cereal and grapefruit, pretend eggs and hotdogs, drinking real chocolate milk and coffee (respectively), and real water from tiny china cups. We are surrounded by the contents of her "hair things" tin, a collection of ponytail holders, barrettes, and clips. The smallest of the ponytail holders, used when she had just barely enough hair to hold any sort of accessory, are now our rings. Pastel blue, purple and pink elastic rings. She is wearing her cute yellow and pink pajamas, her hair in complete disarray. I'm wearing shorts and my husband's tshirt (because I never bothered to buy maternity pajamas...maybe next time), no makeup, hair not even brushed yet. It's a typical family scene, one that I would never allow an outsider to see, but still comfortable and normal and right.

And then, in the midst of this quiet mess, knowing that my appearance is quite unpresentable to the rest of the world, my girl looks up at me and smiles for a moment. She says, with the newly developed stutter, "Y-y-y-y-y-y-you are so pretty." I smile back, tell her that she is beautiful, and reach out to touch her face. She grabs my hand and hugs it. And life is perfect.

My (Half) Productive Weekend

2008-08-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been noticing that the number of days until Baby's arrival are fewer and fewer, but somehow the number of things to do before she arrives keeps growing. Hm. So this past weekend, my husband and I went to work. I still can't really cross anything off the "Pre-Baby To Do List", but at least several items have been started. This weekend we:

acquired a dresser for Baby (but it is still empty)
acquired and washed fabric for Baby's valances (but haven't started sewing)
washed Baby's clothes (but haven't folded or put away)
picked out diapers* (but haven't ordered them)
registered for Baby stuff (but this one was never on the To Do list, so I can't cross it off. We decided at the last minute to register because so many people were asking what we needed, and all we could come up with on the spot was "pacifiers"...and we didn't really want to end up with 57 pacifiers.)

Now I just need to keep the momentum going and get these jobs finished. With just over six weeks to go, I'm feeling the crunch of preparing for Baby, keeping up with things at home so we don't end up leaving for the hospital with piles of laundry or dishes undone, and the slightly sad, nagging feeling that these are the last few precious weeks we will have alone with our oldest daughter, weeks that we should cherish and not waste. And over all these things is the umbrella of excitement and joy. In just over six weeks, our daughter will be here! We will finally meet this child for whom we have hoped and waited, prayed and cried. I know there are many, many people out there who have been hoping, waiting, praying and crying for their child for much longer than we have, and my heart goes out to you.

Six weeks. If my husband and daughter can live with me in my crazy emotional state for that long, then we'll be good!

*We're going cloth this time, people! Say a prayer for us...

Kid-Friendly Summer: The Zoo

2008-08-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

The zoo is a fantastic summer activity for the whole family. When I was a kid, we lived about 100 miles from the nearest real zoo. I seem to remember going every few years, which means we were only there a handful of times. Now I am fortunate enough to live pretty close to a great zoo, and we try to visit at least once a year.

My husband's company picnic was at the zoo this year, which means that we got free parking and admission, as well as lunch. This made for a very frugal day trip. Even if you don't get in free, though, the zoo can be a pretty inexpensive activity. At our zoo, you can park on the street instead of the pay-to-park lot. We found $2.00 off admission coupons on the zoo brochure at a tourist brochure kiosk. Packing your own lunch (and water!) would be a cost-saving way to go as well. For our trip this year, we paid only for a child's wagon rental (because we were silly and didn't think to bring a stroller) and for a ride on the carousel.

Hippos crack me up. They are so ugly. Truly. And they look so blubbery and clumsy and slow - and then they open their enormous mouths and you realize that they could snap you in half with one bite. Wild animals leave me with the same sense of awe as does the ocean. They are amazing, they are intriguing, they are (sometimes) beautiful (not hippos). But they are wild. I think a respectful and reasonable fear of wild animals is healthy.

At our zoo, there is an enclosed area wherein visitors may hand feed giraffes. The giraffes come right up and eat out of your hand. It's pretty cool. These animals, for as big and fast as they are, are amazingly mild. I don't really know if all giraffes are mild-mannered, or if these zoo inhabitants are unusually so due to their captivity and constant exposure to humans.

My daughter loved the butterfly exhibit. The butterflies are housed in a huge greenhouse full of aromatic plants. There are dozens of varieties of butterflies. As you enter the exhibit, there is a sign that reads, "If a butterfly lands on you, enjoy the moment!" A zoo employee inspects visitors before the visitors leave the exhibit, just to make sure there are no stowaway butterflies attached somewhere.

The carousel provided a nice, shady break from walking on a hot day.

The zoo offers so many interesting things to look at. Like rocks, for instance. I believe this photo was taken at the tiger exhibit. More than any other exhibit, this one made my mother's heart beat a little faster, remembering the tragedy at the San Francisco Zoo last winter.

The flamingo exhibit was the last on our zoo circuit, and the most anticipated by our daughter. Her requests for the day were to see the butterflies (check), the pandas (our zoo doesn't have them), and the flamingos. I was surprised to learn that these flamingos are not native to lush tropical beaches, but to barren Chilean regions ranging from high altitude lakes that drop to temperatures as low as -22 degrees F, to equally barren coastlines. No warm beaches and lush palm trees for these birds. We spent about 2 1/2 hours at the zoo and I would say we saw about 75% of the exhibits. We also had lunch. Renting the wagon was a good move for us as it allowed us to move at an adult's walking pace, not a three-year-old's pace. It also meant that we didn't have to carry all our stuff, and my daughter didn't tire nearly as quickly as she would have if she had been walking the entire time. A word to the wise: If you are seven months pregnant and you decide to visit the zoo on one of the hottest days of the year, be sure to bring plenty of water.

The Birthday - Party

2008-08-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

It's official. She's three.

Andy and I knew for months that we wanted to get a little kitchen as the third birthday gift. We searched high and low. I really didn't want plastic. I wasn't pleased with any of the department/discount store options. There are some amazing wooden kitchen options online, but they were entirely too expensive. Then we found this one locally on craigslist. It is in great condition, was not too expensive, and (we realized after we purchased it) is the same kitchen that our church has in our daughter's Sunday School classroom. It was a great middle of the road option for us.

Our daughter immediately went to work preparing a feast for us. Hamburgers and tea, anyone?

Later in the morning, our party guests arrived. Blowing out the candles on the cake was a group effort. And yes, there is a Cars candle on an otherwise non-themed, girly cake.

This year she got into opening gifts. Last year...not so much.

Some super cute friends joined in the festivities.

I love this wrapping paper. I loved it so much, in fact, that we copied the idea as we were wrapping outgoing birthday gifts that very evening.

Three year olds can do so many special things that two year olds cannot do. For instance, three year olds can put on and snap their raincoats without help. She might be four before she realizes that wearing a long rubber coat indoors in the middle of August is not the most comfortable option. We (and she) had a great time. And now my baby is three.

Kid-Friendly Summer: VBS

2008-08-07T11:24:00.000-07:00

A great (and inexpensive) summer activity for kids is VBS (Vacation Bible School). Most churches offer some sort of VBS. In an effort to draw in more of the neighborhood children in addition to the kids from the congregation, our church has put on a sports camp in lieu of VBS for the past four years.
This was the first year that my daughter was old enough to attend. Sports camp is for K-6th grade, but a group of very talented teenagers run a "mini camp" for 3-5 year olds at the same time. My daughter was a few weeks shy of three at the time, but she was deemed "close enough".

The mini-campers played simple versions of basketball, soccer, and football. They also participated in other outdoor activities, such as the giant parachute.

No VBS would be complete without song time, including motions, of course.

The bouncy house was a huge hit with the little kids. My daughter talked about it every day.

The older kids got to choose between soccer, basketball, and cheerleading. They had real coaches who provided instruction, assisted by volunteer coaches from the congregation. On the last night of sports camp, the kids play a game against their coaches. Amazingly, the kids always win.

Every VBS I have ever experienced has included snack time and some sort of story time. Our mini-campers learned about "All creatures great and small" this year. The older kids had a weeklong theme of "Undefeated". I didn't sit in on any of their devotional times this year, but in years past the nightly devotionals have included an inspirational story of a real-life athlete and a personal story from one of the coaches, all tied in to a Christian principle.

And of course there is always some sort of program for the parents. Here are the mini-campers doing their "cheer". "God made sky, God made the sea, God made everything, He even made me!"

VBS is a great way to spend a week of summer. The environment is fun, community-oriented, and safe. Parents typically have the option of staying to help or of dropping their kids off. Some churches have VBS during the day; others offer it in the evening. In our area I have found that evening programs are more common; when I was growing up, we always went during the day. You can find local VBS programs by visiting the websites of churches in your areas, or by searching online for your town/state+Vacation Bible School. Not only does VBS provide your kids with great activities and time with friends, but it also has the potential to give you a break. My husband and I ran errands (efficiently!), prepared for a garage sale, and even went to dinner with friends (whose kids were in the same VBS) during our free evenings. And our daughter slept amazingly well that week!

The Birthday - Invitations

2008-08-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

My daughter's third birthday is coming up in just a few days. How did that happen? She was due three years ago today. She did not arrive three years ago today. I remember those few extra days felt like an eternity.

My husband and I decided to keep birthday party preparations simple and inexpensive. I had originally planned on using the watercolor notecards as invitations, but then I came across Wordle. It's really a fun (and rather addictive) program. My husband tells me that the technology is very simple and is used frequently to sort words, searches, and categories by popularity. Indeed, since being introduced to this technique, I have noticed its use all over the Internet. As soon as I started playing with it, I knew we had found our invitations.

I fiddled with it for quite a while, trying to find the right colors and configuration. You can choose font and palette on Wordle, but the word order is randomized, so I had to click through a lot of options before finding one that looked right. I typed in my daughter's name and the word "Birthday" multiple times and every other word only once. That made "_____'s Birthday" prominent.

Once I found a configuration that I liked, I turned it over to my husband. He found a photo from the 4th of July (our girl making silly faces and holding her first sparkler while wearing her pajamas), edited out the background, and put it together with the Wordle cloud in Photoshop. He printed it on 4"x6" photo paper, I printed party details on plain copy paper and used double-sided tape to attach it to the back of the photo, and...we were done. It was really easy (except, I will say, the Photoshop editing. I don't know that it was really difficult, but it was time consuming. Thanks, sweetheart.)

These were fun to make. My daughter loves them. She has her own copy and she calls it her "picture of me with the words".

Easiest Notecards Ever

2008-07-22T11:26:00.001-07:00

I don't know if other parents struggle with this, but I have a hard time throwing away my daughter's artwork. I know I can't keep it all, especially now that she is producing several pages each day. So last night I decided to repurpose some of her art.

I started with a giant watercolor painting, similar to this one, that had been sitting around the house for days. We have a roll of butcher paper for large art projects, and when the paints come out, the kitchen table is pretty well covered in the butcher paper. This makes for large works of art.

My paper cutter, glue stick and I spent some quality time together, and the result was these notecards. One painting yielded seventeen cards.

These will be used for my daughter's personal correspondence - thank you notes, birthday greetings to her friends, letters to grandparents, etc.

The only supplies I used were a stack of plain white notecards that I've had for years, a glue stick, a paper cutter, and my girl's watercoloring. And now we have an easy way to send both greetings and her artwork to grandparents who never seem to have enough of those things.

Kid-Friendly Summer - Feeding the Ducks

2008-07-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

The end of July might be a bit late to begin a series of kid-friendly summer fun posts, but better late than never, right? We've been having a great summer, and I thought I'd share some of our fun (and inexpensive) activities with you.

One of my daughter's new favorite activities is feeding the ducks. We are fortunate in that we have weekly errands to a local shopping attraction that features ducks, chickens and rabbits wandering amongst the stores. We always visit the duck pond, and have recently started bringing old bread to feed to the ducks.

She had so much fun, sometimes throwing one bread cube at a time, sometimes an entire handful, sometimes dropping it gingerly into the water, sometimes throwing it as far as she could. We also had the opportunity to incorporate a good citizen lesson as the plastic bread bag very nearly ended up in the water along with the last bread cube.

The ducks seemed to appreciate the free lunch, too.

Vacation

2008-07-20T22:53:00.000-07:00

There have been so many great things going on in real life lately that I haven't had time to blog about them. I like that. Andy and I, along with my sister and her husband, had a wonderful few days of vacation. We spent a few days in Victoria, B.C., which is just so beautiful. We walked (and walked and walked), visited museums, toured a castle, ate entire meals without cutting any person's meat but our own, and even went to a late night movie. Andy and Adam thought it was great fun to take pictures of all things Canadian. You would think that I mean things unique to Canada, but no. I mean things like Canadian dogs, Canadian firetrucks, Canadian street signs. If we had been visiting from some distant locale, this wouldn't have seemed so odd. But we live a mere ferry ride away; a long ferry ride, but still, that is the extent of the trip.

Here my sister and I are marveling at the small size of 100 year old ball gowns. Even my size 2 sister was in awe. Thank goodness for the obliteration of corsets.

After Victoria, we spent a couple of days camping. Our daughter was with us for most of this time. It was quiet, restful, and very pleasant. The weather was perfect. The roasted marshmallows were superb. We roasted one for our daughter, but she insisted that it was "dirty", and would only eat "clean" (i.e., raw) marshmallows.

It took us a few days to get back into the swing of things at home, as it always does, but ultimately we came back refreshed and ready to take on our list of summer/pre-baby projects.

Amazing Quilt Giveaway

2008-07-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

You've got to check this out. Okay, if you're into quilts, you've got to check this out. Old Red Barn Company is giving away a beautiful quilt. You can see it and enter to win it here. The contest even provides an opportunity to practice your cinematography skills.

Here is a little preview:

Beautiful.

I'm So Ready For This

2008-07-08T09:04:00.000-07:00

Isn't she sweet? This is my daughter at naptime a few weeks ago. She really is sleeping. Who knew little children actually slept in such picturesque positions? This is not how I found her this morning, however. Nope. This morning she was sitting up in bed, ready to go...at 5:30. My daughter doesn't get up at 5:30. She's more of a 7:30/8:00 kind of kid. I don't get up at 5:30 either. Add to that a frustrating day of parenting yesterday and a late night last night, and you will find that I am functioning quite poorly today. And I'm pregnant, so I can't even fake coherence with coffee.

But there is hope! My sister and brother-in-law will be arriving tonight, and we will go on vacation. Vacation! Our daughter will be with us part of the time and with grandparents part of the time, and that sounds just about perfect to me. (I need a break, but I don't like being away from her for more than a couple of days.) We have no agenda. We know where we will be staying and how we will get there, and that's it. It will be wonderful.

So all I have to do is make it through today and keep telling myself that it's okay if the house isn't spotless before we go. That is okay, isn't it?

Very Funny

2008-07-05T00:13:00.000-07:00

This made me laugh. Not so much the verbose description, but the summary. I am sunrise? Really? No one who has ever lived with me would describe me as such. My mother has teased me for my entire life about not being a "morning person". My college roommates knew better than to ask if I wanted to get up for an early morning workout or cup of coffee. 8:00 classes and then 8:00 meetings were the most dreaded events on my calendar. My husband knows that the best way to pamper me is to let me sleep in. But the Internet! Ah, the ever reliable Internet. It knows. I am sunrise.

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary.

You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward.

Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts.

All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?

A Day At The Farm

2008-07-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

Warning: Image-Heavy Post

We spent one morning last week at the berry farm. Sadly, they did not have their own berries. Our late spring delayed the strawberry crop by weeks. The farm was able to truck in strawberries from another local farm that had better luck, but they weren't very good. However, we still had a great time exploring the farm.

The attractions included various modes of transportation:

Slides of all sorts:

Creative tire swings:

A sampling of American architecture:

Here's my girl quietly listening to another child's sermon:

Inflatable tunnels/preschool hair salon:

And, of course, a giant spinning strawberry ride:

This was dubbed the "big, big strawberry with the steering wheel table". What could be better?

All in all we had a great day, even without the berries.

The Beach

2008-07-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

We went back to the beach a few days after our first visit. This made for one very happy little girl. Playing in the "river" turned out to be the most enjoyable activity. Water, waves (sort of), treasures, and no fear of being swept out to sea. (Okay, so maybe that was my fear for her, not so much her own fear.)

You've got to have the right shades for the beach. These are her Bono meets Curious George glasses.

Walking with Mommy.

Stinky, slippery seaweed. Not as stinky as the wet dog who showered us just moments later.

Walking with Daddy. Aren't they sweet?

Time Flies

2008-06-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

(Enjoying a chocolate chip cookie that she helped to make.)

I just realized that, along the spectrum of time, my daughter is as close to high school as I am. I graduated eleven years ago. In eleven years, she will be beginning high school. *Gulp*

[This is a little hard to believe. Right now she is running in circles around the laundry basket yelling, "Bears love honey! Bears love honey!"]

Local Life

2008-06-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

Last night my family and I decided to get outside for some fresh air, so we went to a local farmer's market. Our goal of walking for exercise was pretty well negated by the fact that we came home from the market with a scrumptious marionberry pie. Hm. Oh, well. We also brought home some beautiful flowers. I love farmer's market bouquets...so bright and big and varied.

While at the market, our daughter found the ocean. Yes, that's right. With her sharp eye and keen sense of direction, she was able to locate the largest body of water in the world. She was quite proud of herself. (Okay, so it was Puget Sound. It's still part of the Pacific.) Unfortunately, "the ocean" was not within walking distance, which disappointed our little girl, so on the way home we detoured to a nearby beach. It is less than five miles from our house, but in our three years of living here, last night was the first time we had visited (although Andy and I had been several times before we moved here). Isn't that pathetic? Our daughter was so excited! She threw rocks (and sand...lots and lots of sand) into the water, found seashells and pretty rocks, all but destroyed her sandals (so glad she happened to be wearing sandals!), and was fascinated that "the ocean got [her] hands" as she played in some gentle waves. My husband found a dead crab, which was another object of great interest. There was also a drunk man who appeared to be standing in the woods yelling at himself, which, you know, always makes for an interesting time.

It was such a pleasant evening. Beautiful weather, pretty flowers, delicious pie, the ocean, and a little girl's wonder. It doesn't get much better than that.

The Mississippi

2008-06-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

Please remember to pray for those affected by the Mississippi River flooding.

I lived in the Upper Mississippi River Basin during the flood of 1993. I lived in central southern Illinois, about equidistant from the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Our immediate area, being about 60 miles from either river, was not flooded, but the areas along the rivers were devastated. It was supposed to be a flood so terrible that it would statistically occur only once every 500 years. This year's flooding has already broken the 1993 records in some areas...only 15 years later. Many people who have spent the last 15 years rebuilding their homes, farms, and businesses are preparing to lose them (or have already lost them) again. It is a terrible tragedy.

Friday Potpourri

2008-06-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited about this. Have I already posted a photo like this? I may have. I bought this fabric four months ago...on the very same day that morning sickness set in. I didn't even wash and iron it until a few weeks ago. Now I'm ready for it. This will be the beginning of my daughter's "big girl" quilt. I am sorry to say that I never made her a baby quilt. My mother-in-law did, though, and it is beautiful and cherished. My girl received ten other handmade blankets (quilted, knitted, crocheted, and fleece) within her first six months of life, and has received a few more since then, so she certainly is not lacking in that department. But those blankets are all receiving or crib sized, and now she sleeps in a twin bed, so it's time for a new blanket.

The Weed Patch has joined Bella Dia's Thoughtful Friday posts. Check out The Weed Patch's blog to see what is inspiring them this week.

I finished Jack and Jill last night. In its storybook way, it is all about beauty, goodness, duty, health, and sincerity (like all of Alcott's children's books). Very refreshing. Now I have to decide what to read next. It is best for me to only have one book waiting at a time. Any more than that and I have a terrible time deciding which to start.

My unborn child appears to have acrobatic aspirations. I felt only the lightest flutterings for a long time, and then suddenly she decided to make her presence known. Now there is a steady barrage of kung fu going on.

My two year old child was more than happy to take a nap today when I read Daddy's email to her saying that he would bring home a special surprise for her if she took a good nap. I have it on good authority (from Daddy himself) that the surprise will be new whiteboard markers. Daddy is, as our daughter herself said, "gene-uh-us". (genius)

My girl has recently learned to write her name. I really wish I could show you all, but I do try to not post her name all over the Internet for all the world to see. You'll just have to trust me on this one. Her signature is really, really cute. She first wrote it on Mother's Day. We were at a restaurant waiting for our dinner, and she was drawing. She said, "I will write my name now". We said OK, not thinking anything of it. Then she wrote her name. I was astonished. Granted, if you didn't already know her name, you probably wouldn't have been able to decipher it from that first autograph. (That probably means I would be safe in posting it. But I won't.) Now, however, a month later, it is quite legible. I won't be asking her to sign for packages any time soon, but still...

That's all for now. Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there!

Now that's more like it

2008-06-12T20:01:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, after naps (for both of us), the sun finally made an appearance. We went outside as soon as we could.

She has been waiting for this.

Now, at 8:00 at night, clouds are moving in again. I won't speculate, though. Anything could happen while we sleep tonight. I'm just thankful for this afternoon.

Summer, or the lack thereof

2008-06-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

While I have been racking my brain for indoor activities to keep my little one's mind and body occupied this past week and a half (of rain, rain, rain), she has effortlessly found her own amusements. Rowing her boat with Lambie and Monkey. A smiley face stamp makes a great oar.

Practicing her ballet positions.

My personal favorite - making play dough people. This one appears to be directing traffic.

Meanwhile, my husband and I have started the process of making room for Baby. There is plenty of room in our house for four people, but, as usually happens, stuff has grown to fill the space. We just have to get rid of some stuff. This is usually a pretty fun task. Who doesn't have extra stuff? Toys, books, clothes, gadgets, furniture, linens, dishes - all are being examined with a critical eye. Is it beautiful, useful, or loved? No? Out with it! My baby sister is about to move into her very first apartment, so hopefully she'll be able to put some of these items to good use as she sets up house for the first time.

It's not all work around here, though. I'm choosing to trust the calendar over the weather, and thus I believe that summer is mere days away. (This is a real exercise in faith, since it is after noon and currently 54 degrees outside. It's 90 degrees in my hometown in Illinois right now.) We're planning weekends away and days at the beach, we've booked barbecues and jam canning days (will there be berries???), and I've picked up a few summer reads: Jack and Jill by L.M. Alcott (one of my favorite childhood books, as all her children's books were); Mr. Darcy's Daughters by Elizabeth Aston; and Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (this one was recommended to me by my dentist, of all people). I will proceed with summer-like behavior, despite the weather. So we'll probably end up wearing sweaters and boots to the beach instead of bathing suits and flip-flops, and we're more likely to come home with frostbite than suntans. I will not be shunned by summer.

Rainy Wednesday

2008-06-04T21:20:00.000-07:00

Today was Day 2 of dreary, rainy, soggy weather. This shouldn't be a problem here in western Washington. Two days of rain is nothing. But I have a two year old daughter, and since spring arrived (finally) and she has tasted the joy of playing outside every day, two days of indoor-only play is torturous to her...and thus to me. Yesterday, Day 1, wasn't so bad. It rained heavily all day, but I had an engagement in the morning which allowed my girl to play with a group of children for a few hours. In other words, we got out of the house. Today...not so much.

So here's a look at our indoor day. I should note that the day was broken up every few minutes by this conversation: "Can we go outside now?" "No, sweetie, it's too wet." "Oh. I will wear my raincoat." "No, sweetie, it's really wet." "Oh. Can we play chalk outside?" "No, sweetie, chalk doesn't work when it's wet." "Oh."

The first order of the day: Fix the magic wand. My girl is a do-it-yourself princess. When her magic wand is broken, she pulls out her socket wrench. Bet she could change a tire on a pumpkin coach, too.

Does this look like a guilty face or what?

Yep. Caught red-handed with a bag of cookies in the closet. I only wish I knew how many cookies were in the bag originally. Guess she really worked up an appetite with all that wand repair.

She was so disappointed that we couldn't play hopscotch outside (and even more disappointed to look out the window and see that the rain had washed her beloved hopscotch clean away). Mommy to the rescue! Ten sheets of construction paper + crayons + duct tape = indoor hopscotch. My girl arranged them herself. None of this ridiculous tiered stuff like the outdoor hopscotch pattern that I made for her. Just a good old straight line, one through ten.

And yes, as the photos indicate, she did stay in her pajamas all day.

We did make it outside late in the afternoon, pajamas and all (just her - I got dressed this morning), much to my daughter's delight. There were some great puddles out there, and we couldn't let them go to waste. The neighbor's dog had the same idea. Too bad I didn't get a picture of that. Anyway, I had a very happy daughter after that. I love fresh air.

The Real Reason

2008-05-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

Blogging has been a rare activity for me over the last few months, and I blame this young lady entirely:

Yes, it's true! We have another girl on the way. She should be here by mid-October. I'll have to come up with a better blog title than "my daughter" for our oldest child now.

The first trimester was a most unproductive time for me, aside from growing a healthy baby, of course. Thus the lack of blogging. If you could have seen my house, you would know that it was an unproductive time for cleaning and house projects of any kind as well. Now we're well into the second trimester, morning sickness has subsided, energy has returned, the weather is brighter and warmer, and we know the baby's gender, so...it's time to get ready! We are very excited.

There's No Place Like Home

2008-05-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

Heidi has a post up about her love for Kansas. It makes my heart ache. I miss the Midwest! And she's right, the beauty there is very different than the beauty elsewhere. Here in the Pacific Northwest, which is known for its natural beauty, we have stunning views of majestic mountains, open water, islands, and magnificent forests. Even the cityscapes are attractive. It seems that our early city planners and builders took great care in incorporating urban development into the idyllic natural setting. (They did not take such great care in planning traffic flow through and around those urban developments, but hey...you win some, you lose some.) It's beautiful here.

But the Midwest...oh, I just miss it. So calm and peaceful, so untouched compared to our country's coastlines. I think my favorite part of Heidi's pictures is the gravel road (or driveway). It brought back so many memories - trivial memories, really, just nostalgia, but somehow still so powerful. I remember that we had to drive with the windows up over gravel roads on dry days, because the dust was too overwhelming to drive with the windows down. And if we encountered another car approaching a bridge on a gravel road, we had to pull over, because only one car could cross at a time. And drivers waved to other drivers on gravel roads, no matter whether they knew each other. Paved country roads were called blacktops, to differentiate them from the gravel roads. I lived on the Thompsonville blacktop.

We grew tomatoes and corn fit for kings. We took wild roses and blackberries for granted. We breathed thick honeysuckle air all summer long (and now I find honeysuckle-scented products in bath product stores! Who knew anyone would try to bottle it?). We heard bullfrogs and crickets and owls all night. We tried to get the mockingbirds to imitate our own calls, unsuccessfully of course. And I didn't think about any of these things until I had left them behind.

Am I romanticizing life in the Midwest? Of course. It's where I grew up. It's a very nostalgic place for me. It is full of memories of the simplicity of childhood, of not having a schedule, of having few responsibilities and worries. Most people, I think, look back on their childhoods in this way. I just happened to leave the Midwest right before I left childhood, so my yearning for the one is muddled by nostalgia for the other. But I still miss it.

Thanks, Heidi, for the memories!

Before You Wake

2008-05-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.axpdf.com/wake/index.htm

My brother in Iraq sent this link. Please remember our military men and women in your prayers.

Such A Good Day

2008-04-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

Today really was a good day. So many little things happened that just made it good. After going back and forth for weeks about whether we would be able to make it to an upcoming retreat, tonight we received confirmation that we would indeed be able to attend. We found a great deal on a bunch of gifts that will cover the majority of our daughter's friends' birthdays this summer. We're all sick - I know that doesn't sound good, but there were good moments. My daughter played contentedly by herself while I rested on the sofa for quite a while. Even the times when she wanted my attention were good. Twice she asked to climb up and snuggle with me, which was so sweet. Once she woke me up by rushing into the living room with a pom-pom and shaking it with all her might directly in my face. Shocking and a bit frightening, but so cute. Another time she woke me up by coming quietly up and sticking a thermometer in my mouth. I'm sick, you know, so she had to take my temperature. She calls thermometers "fevers". I guess she has heard the word fever associated with thermometers so often that she just thinks that's what they are called. It may not help that I just taught her that the "clock" in the refrigerator is actually a thermometer. It looks nothing like a "fever". Anyway. Let me tell you, you wake up fast when a two year old sticks a thermometer in your mouth.

I hope you had a good day as well. Minus the sickness, of course.

My Cave Explorer

2008-03-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

Quite some time ago, when my daughter had just learned to walk, I picked up a set of Childcraft How & Why books at a garage sale. I had no expectations of my daughter being interested in them for several years, but my siblings and I had a set of children's encyclopedias when we were growing up, and I loved them, and was pleased to find such a good set for my own family's library. And so they have been sitting on my daughter's bookshelf ever since.

Recently my daughter became interested in the books. They have colorful pictures and good photographs, and she likes to make up her own little stories about pictures that she sees. She started asking to read these books at bedtime, instead of her usual rhyming books or Winnie-the-Pooh. So we flip through the pages, I point things out to her, she asks questions, we make up stories.

Lately she has had a very difficult time falling asleep at naptime. (Please, please don't let this be the beginning of the end of naptime! I need her naptime!) I'll walk into her room an hour or two after tucking her in, and she'll be wide awake. Sometimes I hear her scrambling to get back into bed as I approach the door, and she'll be sitting there looking perfectly innocent, or will even be feigning sleep (poorly; she tries to snore), but her light will be on, her books scattered across the floor, her humidifier turned on. She doesn't cover her tracks well. For the most part, I'm okay with her "reading" or playing quietly in her room. If naptime evolves into quiet time, that's all right.

Today, an hour and a half into naptime, she started knocking on her door (she can't open it herself; she knocks when she is awake), sobbing. I knew she had not fallen asleep yet, but she doesn't really cry much unless she is hurt or really tired, so I went in prepared for either a minor injury or some time in the rocking chair. Turned out to be the latter. I opened the door and my sobbing two-year-old ran into my arms, holding her encyclopedia, crying, "Mommy, I can't find the stalagmites and stalactites! I can't find them!" Huh. So we sat in the rocking chair, I looked up the "Cave Exploration" pages of her book, we read about stalagmites and stalactites, and I tucked her back into bed.

I hear new parents sometimes ask why no one told them about all the problems they would encounter as parents. I think the answer is simple. Each individual child's crises are unique. Nobody can predict them. Who knew I would ever be called upon to comfort a child who couldn't find her cave formations?

Recent Sayings

2008-03-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

Two year olds say some pretty funny things. Here are some of my recent favorites:

[Daughter hands me a picture she has drawn.]
Me: Oh, thank you so much! I love it!
Daughter: Oh, you're welcome! I so need a jelly bean!

[To man walking behind us at grocery store]
Daughter: What's your name?
Man: My name is Paul. What's your name?
Daughter: [blinks. Points to her father] His name is Andy.

My husband pointed out that this is a pretty good strategy for a two year old. She still gets to learn the names of all those around her, but does not have to reveal her own name. Instead, she makes it known that her father is close.

[To cashier at same grocery store]
Daughter: What's your name?
Cashier: My name is Penny.
Daughter: Oh. You know the Henny Penny book?

[To college-aged medical assistant during my medical exam]
Daughter: [in authoritative tone] Doctor, you need to be quiet. My mommy is taking a nap.

[To her father at the dinner table]
Daughter: Mommy thinks I am a slimy worm.
[What I had actually said was that she was a wiggle worm]

[Actual words to the song: "No room in the inn, No room in the inn, but you will find room in my heart"]
Daughter: No fish in the inn, No fish in the inn, but you will find a fish in my heart!

Daughter: Daddy, do you want to play a guitar or a woodpecker?

Thinking Again

2008-03-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

The other day I was reading through some of my early blog posts. Seems that my two year blog anniversary has passed. Anyway. I was struck by how the posts have changed. Two years ago it seems that I was...well, thinking more. Or perhaps thinking about a wider variety of things. That may not be true; maybe it's just that I was writing about a wider variety of things. I'm not sure. Regardless, reading those old posts and thinking about the things that were on my mind two years ago made me yearn for deeper, richer thinking.

I started thinking about the books I've read recently. They haven't been trashy books by any means, but for the most part they have been practical living sorts of books - books on parenting and marriage and the like. Books with good ideas, but not wholly original ideas, as the authors would lead the reader to believe. For the most part they are rather poorly written and wordy. A well written pamphlet could relay the same information as the 300-page book. They use eight metaphors to explain a concept that is already straightforward and easy to understand. They are tiresome.

I browsed my bookshelves in search of a promising book that I have not yet read. I came across C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce. You really can't beat C.S. Lewis when it comes to originality, good writing, and clear thinking. I had not realized that The Great Divorce is a story. I had thought it to be one of Lewis' apologetics books. I'm sorry to say that it had been sitting on my shelf for years, unread, and then reading it took just an afternoon.

Then I read a few blog posts that whet my appetite for better reading and thinking even more. Bob wrote an interesting post on books, and the post continues into the realm of thinking in general in the comments. Then I found that all of Hansoniana's January posts deal with this issue as well.

I'm sitting here watching a very squirmy little girl on the floor. She has her feet on the floor, her head and hands on the floor, and her rear in the air. "Look, Mommy, I made a tunnel!" My days with this little girl are full. For her, there is nothing mentally tepid about our life. We read a lot of books. We learn about shapes and numbers and motion. We practice pulling up to put pants on and pulling down to take them off. This morning we talked about the difference between a shadow and a reflection as we found our shadows on the ground and our reflections in the puddles. We add new words to our vocabulary (well, to her vocabulary) daily. My husband and I are constantly amazed by how much she is learning, and how quickly. I'm sure all parents feel the same way. But I need to remind myself that an intellectually stimulating day for my two year old can still easily leave my own mind unexercised. That doesn't mean I have nothing on my mind; rather, it usually means I have way too many things on my mind, leaving no time or room to think about any one thing very deeply.

Just something I've been thinking about.

Poached Eggs

2008-03-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

This morning I made my favorite breakfast for myself. Poached eggs on toast. It may not sound all that appetizing, but I love it.

My daughter is funny about eggs. She loved them when she was spoon fed and we found egg yolks to be a convenient and good source of protein for her. She even ate them when she first started picking up finger foods and feeding herself. (No whites until she was a year old, don't worry.) And then, without warning, she hated eggs. Couldn't stand them. We boiled, poached, scrambled, fried. We put them in fried rice and ramen noodles. We tried calling them things other than eggs. She would have none of it. Eggs were the only thing that Andy and I could put on our own plates without our daughter asking for a bite. This went on for nearly a year and a half.

Then a few weeks ago she started eating eggs again. Completely out of the blue. You would never know that the child had ever disliked them. We are thrilled.

So this morning, long after my daughter had finished her own breakfast, I made myself some poached eggs on toast. Two eggs, two slices of toast. I ate the first one and then called my mother-in-law. (Why did I call my MIL in the middle of breakfast? I guess I'm just used to eating in shifts.) While I was on the phone, my lovely egg-eating daughter climbed up to the table and ate the entire second piece of toast and egg. The whole thing. It took her about three minutes. I could hardly believe it. She asked for more, but she got some fruit instead.

My days of eating eggs without being asked for a bite are over. Now there are no sacred foods in our house. But at least she's eating eggs again.

Still Here

2008-03-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

I think I have another post entitled "Still Here". How unoriginal of me.

Yes, I am still here. I just really haven't felt much like blogging lately. Things are good, life is full but not too busy. Spring is coming - have you noticed? Tiny flowers are making their way through the soil (and I wish them good luck in our yard - unless a plant is covered in thorns, the squirrels will eat it), tiny songbirds are everywhere, and the neighbors have started mowing their yards again. Our neighbors like to mow at night. Nearly every night from early spring until mid-autumn, someone around us uses a lawn mower after dark. We cannot figure out why. My husband mows during daylight hours, which we considered quite normal until we moved into this neighborhood.

Well, I am still not in a blogging frame of mind, so this is all the post I'll write today. Just wanted to pop in and say hello.

Shoe

2008-02-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

Today's mail just arrived at my house. I wanted to get it from the mailbox, but didn't want to open the squeaky door to the closet that houses my shoes because my dear little one is napping, and her naps have been of questionable quality lately (too short, no nap at all, etc.). I knew I had a pair of shoes in the living room. Looking, looking. Oh, there's one shoe, in the middle of that pile of blocks. Good. Now, where's the other? Looking, looking. Oh. Of course. There it is...on the coffee table. Why wouldn't it be on the coffee table? Doesn't everyone keep their stray shoes on the coffee table?

Tell me, o ye parents whose toddlers are no longer toddlers: Will my house ever be clean again?

Quiet Happenings

2008-02-09T18:43:00.000-08:00

If you were a 12 year old girl, would you like this bag? I'm helping with an event for 5th-8th grade girls, a day where they (and their moms) can ask questions and learn about all sorts of things that girls just entering their teen years might wonder about. Skin and hair care, makeup, what's happening to their bodies as they hit puberty, etc. We're hoping to clear up some myths, assure girls that what's happening is normal and okay, and open the lines of communication between mothers and daughters who might need a little help.

Our goal is to make it a really fun day. We'd like the girls to walk away feeling grown up and a bit pampered, so we're giving them each a "goodie bag". The contents of the bag have yet to be determined, but I'm working on prototypes for the bag itself. This is the drawstring version. A zippered version will be next. The fabric is from Deb Strain's Daydreams line for Moda.

I love having a toddler. It's such a great excuse for doing things like hanging 8-foot paper heart garlands...and egg carton hearts...and pipe cleaner hearts. The others are Hardanger and pewter, so no excuse needed.

I love this girl.

(The coloring of the egg carton cups used in the aforementioned egg carton heart.)

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Saturday

2008-02-03T14:42:00.001-08:00

We spent the weekend with Andy's folks.

Feeding the birds with Grandpa.

Girl time with Cousin A.

Cousin L.'s birthday party. Cupcakes, hamburgers, and lots and lots of dogs (real and play).

Friday

2008-02-03T14:29:00.001-08:00

Friday was a fun day. We played with the rice box, a new favorite pastime.

This, apparently, is how one makes a "snowy mountain".

We practiced showing our emotions through facial expressions.

This is "Surprise".

"Happy".

"Sad".

Fun mail. This is a sort of craft challenge package.

New fabric. I'll be making about 30 small bags for an event I'm helping with, and we've chosen black/white damask with hot pink accents as the color scheme. Should be fun!

Family movie night. We each get a pillow, a blanket, and a stuffed animal. Good times.

Thursday

2008-02-01T12:30:00.001-08:00

Thursday was a day of little picture-taking. We were invited to a lovely visit at the home of my friend Beth, whose daughters are some of my daughter's best friends. I love watching my girl play with other children. I'm from a large family and was never without a playmate, so it's a bit sad for me to see my daughter get older and older as an only child.

A regular afternoon nap just didn't happen. The nap pictured above happened around 6:00 in the evening. Yes, that made for a very late bedtime. She napped on my bed, which is a treat for her. It was very dark in there when this picture was taken; I was mean and used a bright flash. When my daughter woke up (at 7:30 pm!), she climbed into my lap and said, "I sleeped in Mommy's bed for a whole week!" I'd love to figure out her understanding of the word "week".

This book is one of my favorites right now. It is a collection of lullabies, and there is a famous work of art to correspond with each lullaby. It is a beautiful book. I like looking at it with my daughter. She sees things in the art that I wouldn't notice, like cats hiding in corners, yellow shoes, shadows.

We do a lot of singing at my house during the day. I really enjoy the way we learn new songs around here. When we're learning a new song, we will sing it every which way - loudly, then quietly, quickly, then slowly. Repetition aids learning, but can be boring if it doesn't include any variation. Once we've learned the song pretty well, we move on to mixing up words. For example, I'll sing, "Twinkle, twinkle, little cupcake...", and my daughter will immediately jump in and say, "No, not cupcake! Star!" I reply, "Ooooh! Star!", and thank her for helping me learn the correct words. This works remarkably well. It's fun when we read, too. When we're reading a familiar story, I'll stop a few words short of the end of the line. My daughter finishes the line for me. She takes great pride in this, and I love hearing how she emulates the intonations she has heard me use.

Two is a very challenging age, it's true. I don't think it would be entirely out of line to give parents of two year olds (and three and four year olds, I'm told) prescription steroids so they can keep up with the 28 pounds of perpetual energy. (Yes, I'm kidding. Sort of.) But at the same time, it's such a fun age! It is amazing how quickly they learn, how much they understand, how many discoveries they make. My daughter amazes me with her perception. If I say "ow", she'll ask I'm okay. If I'm being quiet or I seem distracted, she'll say, "Mommy, are you having a sad day?" She's so innocent and sweet and wonderful. She wears me out, yes, but I wouldn't trade this time for anything.

Wednesday

2008-01-31T09:11:00.001-08:00

At first it was hard to believe that Wednesday was a photo-worthy day.

It seemed that I spent the majority of the day on the phone. I'm not a phone person.

But I did do a little bit of cutting.

And a little bit of sewing.

And there was some vacuuming between phone calls.

A friend's homemade banana bread. Yum. And yes, it's half gone already. Hey, it was a miniature loaf.

Tuesday

2008-01-29T21:07:00.000-08:00

Every morning starts with at least one cup.

A new hairdo.

For me, too.

Chinese food. Or at least what Americans think of as Chinese food.

Monday

2008-01-28T22:13:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland.

Blue skies, freezing temperatures, and 4-5" of snow (that's a lot in western Washington).

It's especially a lot when you're 35" tall.

The world's cutest and least effective catching position.
Also works as a bear imitation.

We couldn't play all day, though. Monday just wouldn't be Monday without laundry.

"Seriously, Mom, do you ever put the camera down?"

A snow day is the perfect opportunity to get some things done around the house - like hanging this shelf. It's finished to look "rustic" - you know, sanded a little bit so the wood shows through the paint? I'm not convinced. It may get a coat of paint. We'll see.

Paperwork. There's no time like the present.

Sunday

2008-01-28T21:40:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoons are pretty quiet at our house. This is a good thing, because Sunday mornings and evenings have a tendency to be kind of hectic. Here are a few glimpses of our Sunday.

Toddler collage art.

See, saving magazines does come in handy eventually!

"Mom, you're disrupting the artistic process. Again."

Devil's Food cupcakes, compliments of my husband. That's just about as good as it gets, folks.

Facing My Fears

2008-01-24T10:10:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Holly and I hoard fabric.

I do. I love textiles and oftentimes view fabric the way others view art. I love the textures, the colors, the design. A really beautiful piece of fabric, alone or combined with others, can take my breath away in the same way that an amazing painting can. Does that seem odd? I guess I view textile arts as, well, just that...art. And paying attention to the details of textile art has actually helped me to appreciate other forms of art more. I can't claim to understand it all. I'm not an artist and have never taken an art class in my life (I opted for an art history class to fulfill my Fine Arts requirement in college). But learning about fabric has given me a greater understanding of and appreciation for design elements, color, and detail. Now I can see a perfect joint in a woodworking project that my husband has done, and I am amazed by how beautiful it is.

But back to my fabric hoarding. My fabric stash is disproportionately large in comparison to the amount of sewing that I do. I tend to save things anyway. I'm not sure if that habit goes back to my childhood, when my family didn't have much in the way of material goods. That's all fine and good, but there is a difference. When you don't have much, you really use the things that you do have. We didn't throw much away when I was a kid, but we didn't stash things, either. We used everything. Now I am an adult and there is, thankfully, no struggle to have my material needs met. I'm still in the habit of saving everything. The difference now is that I don't need to do that. Our daily needs are met without a tremendous amount of scrimping. All those things that I save...they just sit there, largely unused and taking up space. My fabric collection is no exception. In fact, it is the reigning queen of the packrat kingdom in my house.

I have fabric that I am afraid to use because then it will be gone. Classic packrat, yes? You would think I'd grown up during the Depression, not the 1980s. Well, I've recognized this bad habit and have decided to change it. So here are some pictures of things I've made entirely from my stash. The top picture is a small tote bag. I had intended it for a young friend's birthday, but I'm not thrilled with some of the details (I used the thread that was in my machine, white, when orange or yellow would have looked so much nicer for the topstitching), so I think it will be my daughter's library bag. The second picture is of some throw pillows made from a vintage tablecloth. I really love embroidery and bought the tablecloth because I just loved the careful details. Naturally, it did not fit my table. It sat on my shelf for months. Then I measured the designs and ironed the cloth in preparation for cutting it. Then it sat on my ironing board for days. I sometimes hesitate to cut into new, mass-produced fabric in my stash. Imagine my hesitation to cut into a vintage, handmade piece! But I finally did. I cut out 12" squares, added borders, and attached soft pink envelope backs. I think that this was a good exercise for me. Now instead of having a beautiful but unused tablecloth, I have two very functional, pretty pillows. I won't be keeping these particular pillows for myself, but that's beside the point.

Still Here

2008-01-23T09:05:00.000-08:00

I am still here! Didn't mean to be away for quite that long. Life has been busy these last few weeks. I'm always frustrated with myself when our schedule gets too busy. We try to keep close tabs on our time, to not let ourselves get so busy that we're too busy for the things that are really important. We try to be available for and flexible with appointments, meetings, etc. I used to work in a medical clinic, and I remember how difficult it was to work with patients who said they needed their appointment to be on Wednesday at 3:30. No exceptions. Not only did that make it nearly impossible to see them (a lot of people seem to think that doctors are just sitting around waiting for patients), but it also made me feel kind of sorry for them. I would hate to have such a rigid schedule! And so I try not to.

The danger in having a flexible schedule, though, is overcommitment. (In the early days of staying home with my daughter, people would comment on how wonderful it must be to have so much free time. I always tried to gently tell them that my time was flexible, but it was not free. Free time to me meant deciding whether to watch TV or read a magazine. Flexible time meant deciding whether to run errands or give the baby a bath first.) I have not yet come to a place where I immediately recognize my own flexible plans as being just as valid as scheduled appointments on the calendar. If I have planned a day at home to clean and do laundry, and someone asks me to do something, chances are that I'll say yes. Or, more often, I'll agree to an event on a "free" day without paying attention to the fact that it's the only free day for two weeks. That's when my first priority, my family, suffers. We suffer not only from lack of clean clothes and dishes, but also from lack of time together, relaxed time to just enjoy one another. When we're rushing from activity to activity, errand to errand, then our precious few minutes in between at home are spent getting ready for the next calendar event, and we miss out on quiet meals, toddler tea parties, jam sessions with kazoos and tambourines, even slow-paced trips to the mailbox with stops to examine pinecones, squirrels, and rain puddles.

(Our daughter discovered that she could "make hands" after eating a piece of sticky lemon cake.)

I certainly don't want to sequester myself or my daughter at home all the time. We need to pursue friendships, to take educational opportunities, to give of our time in a charitable capacity. In fact, I think that it is altogether possible to spend too much time at home. But the effects I'm feeling right now aren't from too much time at home. You would think that, two and a half years into this stay-at-home role, I would have mastered the art of time management. I haven't. I'm afraid that somewhere in my mind, despite the fact that I believe this job of parenting is important and should take top priority over every other role that I have, there is still a nagging whisper that says I can do parenting and homemaking tasks any old time. It says that setting aside time to play outside with my daughter is a luxury that should take second seat to a meeting at church. It says that the things on my "Home" to do list should come after the things on my "Work" and "Church" to do lists. This leaves me feeling stressed, cranky, dissatisfied, and unorganized. There is an abrasive, unhealthy tension when stated priorities don't match active priorities. I always feel calm and content when I take care of my family and my home first. Of course, that's not to say that other commitments should be neglected. I believe firmly that once we commit to something, we need to see that commitment through. (Provided, of course, that it is not a harmful or immoral activity.) I also don't mean to say that we should forgo outside activities just because we don't feel like doing them. I really believe that service to others, whether formal volunteer work or baking a batch of cookies for a burdened friend, is very important. I believe that, for Christians, corporate worship and involvement in a local congregation is important. For those with kids in school, I believe it is important to be involved in your child's school. Those are some things that we shouldn't ignore because we don't feel like doing them. But there has got to be a balance, you know? We don't have to be on every volunteer board, every church committee, every school trip. Overcommitting doesn't get things done! (I have strong opinions on the popular idea of multi-tasking, too, but that's another post.)

(sigh)

I'm really rambling here, and probably not making much sense. Does anyone know what I mean? Jane at Yarnstorm recently quoted her former English teacher as having said, "You don't know what you're thinking until you can say it." I like that. By that standard, though, I only sort of know what I'm thinking on the subject, given the blathering of the last few paragraphs.

I need to go and wash those lemon cake handprints off my front window.

Cleaning Out

2008-01-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

Everybody wants more space, but nobody wants to give up their stuff. ~ Andy

I'm in purging mode. The new year usually does that to me. I think it's mostly due to the space that comes at the end of the holiday season. November and December are full of special events on the calendar, special foods, special decorations. Come January, the calendar opens up; we renew our commitment to eating simple, wholesome foods; and I, for one, am always amazed by how open and clean and bright the house looks once the Christmas decorations come down. All that space is refreshing and light and freeing, and I am usually inspired to find even more of it. Thus, purging.

Andy and I attacked the play room this past weekend. It was terrible. It had become a big toy closet, and our daughter rarely played in there. In one of those lovely moments of congruence, we started talking about creative and imaginative play, child development, and the value of order in a child's life. I believe that play is a child's work, and that children play and learn better when their environment is orderly and beautiful. So we went to work. We filled two big bins of excess stuff - one with toys that are good but too young for our daughter (to save for any future siblings), as well as current toys that we'll rotate through the playroom; the other with toys of which to dispose. Every remaining toy was given a home. It is amazing to already see a big difference in the way our daughter plays. Now that Mrs. Potato Head has all of her parts gathered in one place, our daughter plays with it frequently. She has spent hours putting together her train tracks and her USA floor puzzle. She has been riding on her rocking horse, which hadn't been used in a really long time (too hard to rock a horse when it is surrounded by toys).

It's really great to be able to use that room in the way we had originally intended. We implemented the rule that our daughter cleans it up every night before bed, which she thinks is great fun. Now I'm inspired to do more in there...I'm thinking her original artwork on the walls, maybe a bin of colored rice, a more attractive way to store her books...this may quickly become my favorite room in the house!

This is The Day

2008-01-07T10:12:00.000-08:00

Today is the day which I have been dreading for more than two years. Today I am armed with juice boxes, paper towels, a stack of size 2T pants, a pile of training pants, Clorox spray, carpet deodorizer, and treats.

Today we start potty training in earnest.

Heaven help us.

New Year Sewing

2008-01-03T14:35:00.000-08:00

I've made my list of things I want to make this year. Neither of the items below are on the list, and yet they are the only things I have made so far in 2008. Hm. Maybe "focus" should have been my resolution? Yesterday my daughter asked for a tool belt. I'm not sure if she saw her father wearing one or if she saw one on TV or what, but she wanted one. So I made one for her. It is very girly, but a tool belt nonetheless. She was excited at first, kept asking what I was making, wanted to try it on as soon as it was done. Then she put one of Daddy's screwdrivers in a pocket, leaned forward so the screwdriver was poking (and hurting) her leg, and immediately declared that she no longer liked the tool belt and wanted to take it off. Ah, well, 27 seconds of entertainment is better than nothing.

This pillow is made of the same fabric from which I made my daughter's curtains a while back. The "E" didn't turn out the way I wanted. If you're thinking, "Hey, that E looks an awful lot like a transposed 3", well, then, you're right. Since using fusible applique requires that you cut out the reverse image of what you want the finished applique to be, I decided to take a shortcut and just use a big 3 for my E. Even my two year old, the recipient of the pillow, took one look at it and said, "Oh, there is a three on my pillow!" Yeah.

The end of the year.

2007-12-28T16:32:00.000-08:00

Ah, Christmas. It was lovely. It always is. I hope you had a lovely Christmas as well. On Christmas Eve we took our daughter on her first boat ride, a trip across Puget Sound on a Washington State Ferry. We spent some time in the town on the other side, eating lunch and walking around, but mostly the trip was just for the experience of the ferry ride. Our daughter loved it. She was enamored by the "bubbles" (foam) in the water; the trees that "fell down and broke" (driftwood); and the fact that cars could drive right onto the "big, big boat". It was a good day.

Christmas Day was beautiful as well. It took opening just one gift for our daughter to understand that, hey, all those packages under the tree have something fun inside! She was perhaps, um, just a tad bit spoiled. If not by us, then certainly by her other relatives. I may have been a bit spoiled as well. My husband surprised me with tickets the The Nutcracker. I have wanted to go for years. We went last night, and it really is as beautiful as everyone says it is. It's just...beautiful. The opening dance scene, all the guests and children at the party - wow. I wish I could find a painting of that scene, although I can't imagine that a painting could ever do it justice, since so much of the beauty is from the movement. It is, after all, a ballet. Thank you, Andy, for such a wonderful Christmas gift! One thing that took away from the serenity of the performance, but added greatly to the comedy, was the woman sitting next to me after intermission. She carried with her a heavy aroma of alcohol. A smidgen more and her aroma would have been an odor. Throughout the second act, whenever a piece of particularly famous music began (which is frequent in The Nutcracker), she yelled, "Yeah!" or "Yes!" (Think arm and fist pumping in the air.) I thought about congratulating her on apparently recognizing the music, but thought that might be rude. I am glad that she seemed to enjoy it so much. I know I did.

And now Christmas is over. We'll be taking our tree down this weekend. Now I am looking forward to 2008. I know that, in the progression of time, January 1 is arbitrary. There is nothing about the day that makes it different from any other day, no reason that we should start new habits or break old ones on that day any more than we should on any other day of the year. I know that it's psychological. I'm okay with that. Psychology is a powerful thing. January 1 provides a good measure of progression for our personal goals. It's much easier to remember how long we've been working on something when we begin on January 1 than it would be if we began on, say, August 19. (Unless that happens to be your birthday. It's not mine.) And so I have started my lists. Disciplines I want to develop, books I want to read, quilts I want to make, habits and values I want to instill in my daughter, skills I want to learn. They won't all become New Year's resolutions or goals. I make huge lists and then narrow them down to the things that I really want to focus on, a (hopefully) realistic number of goals.

2007 has been a year of much progress and some setbacks, much joy and some worries, much happiness and some heartache. In short, it has been a normal year, made up of the normal ebb and flow of life. I'm glad to have had the privilege of experiencing this year, both the good times and the bad, and I'm hopeful about what 2008 will bring.

Dance (and Bow) of my Sugar Plum Fairy

2007-12-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday!

2007-12-22T11:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband! Okay, so his birthday was yesterday, but we're celebrating today. An afternoon movie and an early dinner out - pure luxury to parents of a two year old!

Holly and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

2007-12-19T14:46:00.000-08:00

It wasn't really so bad. It just felt like it at the time. The recipe was a large portion of toddler wilfulness, a dash of holiday shopping crowds, a sprinkle of poor professional service (does McDonald's count as professional service?), and a spider-dropping-from-the-car-ceiling-in-front-of-my-face-while-I-was-driving-down-the-freeway thrown in for good measure.

Then I got home and, during the eight minutes of my daughter's nap (truly), read this post at Write, Mama. Write. I appreciate so much of what she has to say. Our children are just about the same age, so I can relate to many of her parenting experiences. She is a thoughtful, intentional parent, and she likes to read, write, and sew. All the makings of a good blog, in my opinion. Anyway, I was encouraged by reading the post. I was also inspired to find a chance to go to a bookstore by myself.

Christmas Joy

2007-12-14T10:46:00.000-08:00

Does it get any better than this? This is my daughter, mid-laugh, with strawberry jam smeared all over her face. She thought it was great fun. I agreed.

This is the Christmas wreath she made for her grandparents. (It was still hiding in the camera when I wrote the previous post.) She has had such fun with those pompoms! I wish I had a picture to share, but I don't. I'll still tell you the story. My girl lined up all of her Little People characters, each in their own chair (or stroller, bed, table, etc.), and then gave them each a tiny pompom for a ball. Then she went down the line and threw the "ball" for each of the characters. They were playing Circles, a game that my daughter made up. We play it almost daily. It was wonderful to watch her playing so imaginatively.

Today is a quiet day. The last few days have been kind of busy, so I appreciate this slow-paced day at home. Today is full of laundry, gift-wrapping, prepping packages to mail - all of those things that I never think to schedule time to do, but still must be done. With any luck, I'll get a little sewing time in as well.

Highlights

2007-12-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas is well underway here. The house is decorated inside and out, the gift shopping is nearly done, Christmas baking has begun, Christmas music is playing, and pictures of Christmas' past are up. My daughter believes that her first Santa picture, taken when she was four months old, is a picture of Santa Claus and Baby Jesus.

I don't have beautiful Christmas pictures or crafts or tutorials to share, as I've seen all over other blogs. Maybe later. (Probably not.) We have really been enjoying the season, however, and I thought I'd share a few recent highlights with you.

Our daughter participated in her first Christmas program (first program of any kind) on Sunday night. She refused to wear the sheep costume that the well-intentioned program directors tried to force her into. I knew she wouldn't wear it. She hates dressing up. That's the primary reason why we didn't go trick-or-treating this year. Costumes bother her. So...I knew she wouldn't do it, and I am not going to force my daughter to wear a costume just so I and other adults can say, "Ooh, how cute!" I'll make her wear a coat against her will; I will not make her wear a sheep costume. Anyway. So I did my part - knowing it would be futile - and tried to calmly talk her into wearing it. Nope. So I informed the program director that if she wanted a happy two-year-old on stage, she would have to settle for a non-costumed two-year-old. That is when all adults involved in the production, and some who were not involved, surrounded my daughter, apparently believing that they held some magical influence over her that I do not hold. One mother used comparison guilt: "Look at my son, he's in his costume. Don't you want to be like him?" (Incidentally, that particular little boy was carried off the stage screaming.) I sat there holding my daughter, doing my best to deflect the pressure being placed on her by the well-meaning, intimidating adults. She was not misbehaving. She was not throwing a fit about it. She was just saying, "Mommy, I don't want to", over and over again, in a scared little voice. And I sat there, holding her, asking the other adults to please leave her alone, all the while wondering why in the world we put such pressure on our children. She's two. Leave her alone. In the end, my little girl walked calmly to the front of the church in her Christmas dress and sheep ears headband (but no costume), sat on the stage steps, ate her animal crackers (one teacher wisely brought a bowl of animal crackers to, um, encourage the younger children to remain on stage for the entirety of the two preschool songs), clapped whenever the adults clapped, and adorably shouted out, "Happy birthday, Jesus!" during a quiet moment between the two songs. I was proud. Of the four two-year-olds in the program, one wore the costume and stayed happily on stage the entire time; two did not wear costumes, but stayed happily on the stage the entire time; and one wore a costume, but was carried off stage screaming bloody murder. So I think my girl did just fine.

Hm. I hadn't intended to write a book about the Christmas program costume incident. All that just to say - my daughter's first Christmas program was precious.

Another recent highlight was my daughter making wreaths for her grandparents. We picked up two chipboard rings from a craft store, along with a big bag of pompoms. She has been having a great time. She dabs the ring with a glue stick, then pushes a pompom onto the glue with all her might. So far, about three pompoms have stuck. I hope Grandma and Grandpa like minimalist wreaths. Well, we'll work on it. Mommy might help out with a hot glue gun.

Another highlight: pigtails. We've done barrettes, we've done the sides of her hair pulled into a ponytail on top, and we've done a ponytail. This week we tried pigtails. I love them! They're cute, and they're clean. My daughter has an amazing ability to get food in her hair, which makes for - well, really gross hair. Pigtails keep her hair clean. They're fabulous.

And, the last but not least highlight: Last week, my husband was told that he "personifies the servant heart of a ninja". These words were spoken during a Christmas party by an elder in our church. He was speaking in a very serious tone, and everyone was kind of nodding and listening reverently, until he said "ninja". Then the room erupted with laughter. He went on to explain that Andy serves in a variety of ways, always professionally and thoroughly, but in a quiet manner that does not draw attention to himself. And this is true. I was very pleased that my husband received such a compliment, and very proud that the words were accurate. Good job, honey.

Handcrafters' Holidays: Traditions

2007-12-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

Here is the rest of my response to the Sew, Mama, Sew! Handcrafters' Holidays Meme:

What is your favorite family holiday tradition?

~Growing up, my favorite tradition was baking. My mom always baked candy cane cookies, Russian tea cookies, fudge, and Clifford tea cakes. Christmas was typically the only time of year that she made those particular treats. We always got to help. The candy cane cookies were the most fun - rolling and twisting the dough into perfect (or not-so-perfect) candy cane shapes. Another sweet Christmas tradition in my home was the filling of the candy dish. We only kept the candy dish full at Christmas. Every year my parents would fill my grandmother's pink Depression glass candy dish full of old fashioned hard candies, which we counted as a great treat.

Have you started any new traditions with your family that you didn't practice growing up?

~We give our daughter a special dated ornament each year. (Of course, this is only her third Christmas, so this tradition has not yet stood the test of time!) I don't have any of the ornaments from my childhood, even the one or two that were "mine", and I wish I did. With that in mind, we plan to give our children each an ornament every year, so they'll have a starter set when they have their own homes and trees.

What do you love most about the holiday season?

~I love the spirit of Christmas. I love that people tend to be kinder and more generous during the holidays. I love the coziness, the music, the gatherings of friends, the wonder, and the memories. I love searching for and finding the perfect gift. I love having cards and letters and packages from distant loved ones delivered to my door. I love that people are willing to include generosity to strangers in their busy holiday schedules, like the girls who just came to my door collecting canned goods for a food bank, the cheerful bell ringers who greet me outside every major store, and the people who arrived at church this morning carrying wrapped gifts for families they do not know.

What do you like least about the holiday season?

~I dislike holiday advertisements that would lead us to believe that we need more stuff. Big screen TVs will bring your family together? A new minivan will make your kids get along with each other? Come on.

Anyone close to your heart that you'll be missing this year?

~My big brother. I actually never get to see him and his family at Christmas, so that aspect is not unusual. This year, however, he is serving in Iraq. This leaves me feeling both sad and proud, and my heart is with him as well as with his beautiful wife and children in Colorado.

What is your favorite holiday food?

~Just one?! Sorry, can't do it. My favorite holiday foods include lefse - a Scandinavian dessert to which I was introduced upon marrying into a Norwegian family; Christmas cookies in general; peppermint lattes; and this year I've really been enjoying gingerbread (of the cake variety, not the cookie variety).

Do you have a great recipe to share?

~Indeed I do. This is my great-(great?)-grandmother's Clifford Tea Cake recipe:

1 c butter

2 c brown sugar

2 eggs

1t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 c nuts (walnuts or pecans)

3 1/2 c flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Stir together dry ingredients and mix w/butter mixture. Add nuts. Mold dough into a log and chill at least two hours or up to overnight. Slice and bake for 9 minutes in a 300 degree oven.

I just copied this recipe straight from the recipe card, no adaptations. 300 degrees sounds a little low to me. You might want to play around with that a bit.

Thanks to Sew, Mama, Sew! for a fun meme!

We interrupt this blog to bring you a tip.

2007-12-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

When Friend #1 announces her pregnancy in a room full of people which includes Friend #2, who has been unsuccessful in her attempts to get pregnant...don't turn and stare at Friend #2.

I'm just saying.

And now back to our regularly scheduled less personal blog.

Handcrafters' Holidays - Gifts

2007-12-03T14:11:00.001-08:00

The wonderful women over at Sew, Mama, Sew! have invited us to participate in their Handcrafters' Holidays Blog Meme. I've enjoyed reading the responses of other people and decided to join in the fun. Sew, Mama, Sew! has broken the meme into two categories - Gifts and Traditions - and I will respond to the questions in two different blog posts, just to make it a little easier on myself. And so, without further ado, here are my thoughts on Gifts:

Do you have a favorite gift that you love to give?

~I really like to try and customize gifts to the recipient, so my favorite gift to give changes each year. Usually my favorite gift is a compilation gift - a gift basket, a kit of some sort, etc. Compilation gifts this year include a dress-up box for my niece, an Advent calendar for a friend, and a storybook/pajama combo for a soon-to-be two year old. My all-time favorite compilation gift was made two years ago. We made penpal kits for our then six year old niece and nephew. We included cool pens, markers, notepads, stickers, envelopes, and - the most special to the children - stamps.

If you're making gifts this year, what are you making?

~ What I'm actually making and what was on my list to make are two different things. The "want to make" list is much longer than the "am making" list. So far I have made an Advent calendar for a friend. It is pictured above. I borrowed the very excellent idea from Allsorts. I've also made a baby-themed wreath for the door of our church nursery, but, silly me, I forgot to take a picture! Oh, but it was fun to do. Miniature bottles, a rubber duck, a teddy bear, a train, some alphabet blocks - I had a great time making it. There are a few other projects in the works that I cannot mention for fear of alerting the intended recipients. I also hope to try my hand at this penny rug for the end table, Allsorts' Elf Clogs, and Montessori By Hand's Paper Clip Ice Skates for gift toppers. And hopefully a few wreaths for my own house. We'll see.

Do you have any good stories about handcrafted gifts you've given or received?

~ Andy and I received several beautiful handcrafted items as wedding gifts. A gorgeous wooden tray, a plate made by a master blacksmith, hand-dipped candles, a beautifully knitted blanket. We treasure them all. One gift, though, had us confused. It was a package of small, pink and white, crocheted...shapes. Had they been square, they would have been approximately 6"x6". We looked at them, studied them, turned them over in our hands, and could not figure out what they were. In our thank you note to the creator, we simply thanked him (yes, him) for his beautiful handiwork. We figured they must be kitchen linens of some sort, so we tucked them in the back of our linen drawer. One day I pulled them out and showed them to Andy's mother, who immediately pronounced them washcloths. You see, Andy and I were young and naive and still thought all washcloths had to come from a department store. I remember thinking, "Really, yarn washcloths?" I tucked them back into the drawer until one day, more than a year later, I fell behind on the laundry and ran out of washcloths. Having no other choice, I pulled out the pink and white wonders and washed my dishes with them. I've never gone back. They are fantastic! They work so well. They are still my favorite washcloths. Once they wear out, I'm going to have to make myself some more. And they'll have to be pink and white.

Do you have any great gift compilation ideas?

~Ooh, I should have read through the whole list of questions before I started answering. Well, as I mentioned before, I love giving compilation gifts. Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

a complete diaper changing kit (clearly this one is very recipient-specific)
a storybook paired with a related item. I'm giving Llama, Llama, Red Pajama along with a pair of classic red flannel pajamas. Other variations could include a storybook with a related stuffed animal, a themed quilt, or a movie.
a complete cleaning kit. My mother-in-law gave one to me for my wedding shower, and I gave one to my sister for her wedding shower. We included all sorts of cleaning and household supplies, and then wrote a letter using all of the names of the supplies. "Your husband may not always be Mr. Clean, but remember your Pledge to give him your All, and you will find that each day will Dawn with renewed Cheer and Joy." That sort of thing. It makes for a good, practical gift, and a great laugh at the shower.
a penpal kit, as mentioned above. Stamps, notepads, markers/crayons, pens, stickers, all in a school box.
a Wedding Survival kit. Not exactly holiday related, but still a fun gift. I gave this as a shower gift several years ago and included a small sewing kit, a pair of pantyhose, Kleenex, Tylenol, a miniature bouquet of silk flowers (in case the florist forgets the throwaway bouquet, as happened at my wedding), chocolate, and duct tape.
One of the best compilation gifts I have ever received was a New Parent Survival kit, given to me at my daughter's baby shower. My friends and family included Tylenol, magazines, tea, lotion, bath salts, and unmentionable things that recently pregnant women need but don't know that they will need, among other things.
a "Beach Baby" kit. For a September-born baby, we made a summer kit of things that would fit him the following year - a pair of swim trunks, sunscreen, tiny little sunglasses, and arm floaties.

In making this list, I realize that I don't give a lot of Christmas compilation gifts. I seem to give them more for showers and birthdays. Maybe that is because I am only giving to one person on those occasions, and thus have more time to devote to the creation of the gift.

Name one thing on your personal wish list.

~Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. I have this book from the library right now. It is one of the best sewing idea/pattern books I have seen.

Do you make and sell things that would make fantastic gifts?

~Not yet. Etsy may be in my future. We'll see.