Eulogy for a Birthday Cake

This is a photo of my birthday cake. Yes, in addition to being the last day of November, and last day of NaBloPoMo, November 30th is my birthday.

And, no, the birthday cake wasn't meant to have this lovely charred appearance. But, no matter. I love this cake. Why?

This is the cake that Max thought of for my birthday ("I want to make Mommy a cake, and it should have cherries in it, and I want to put sprinkles on top.")

This is the cake that Aaron made for me, from scratch - Cherry Upside-down Cake. And before its quite extended "warming" time in the over, I'm sure it was delicious.

This is the cake that made my brother rush over and turn off the oven, in an act of selfless fire prevention. I'm so thankful for his quick response to our frantic call.

This cake is a symbol of love and generosity. My husband loves me and wanted me to have a wonderful birthday. My dear, sweet little boy wanted Mommy to have a cake with cherries and sprinkles. My darling baby girl smiled the sweetest smiles at me today, and would have eaten this cake with glee. My brother didn't complain once but jumped into action and rushed over to save the day. I love this cake.

As if that wasn't enough love for one birthday, I also got to sing along with Mr. Richard at our Roots & Shoots class, have a delicious lunch with Jenny, decorate gingerbread houses with my mom and Jenny, receive loads of wonderful phone calls and serenades, watch the lighting of the downtown Sanford Christmas tree, and end the day with a "surprise party" planned by Max (he hid behind the coffee table, Aaron hid behind the kitchen island, the house was decorated by the birthday fairies and they jumped out and yelled SURPRISE!).

Whew. That's a lot of love for 33 years. I feel so very blessed by it all. Thank you.

A Birth Story

Tonight I went with my friend Heidi to a screening of the documentary The Business of Being Born. You may know it as the film that shows Ricki Lake giving birth to her second child, but it is so much more than that.

It was... awesome! Moving, informative, inspiring and empowering. Although I am a self-professed "crunchy" mama, and have done lots of research on birth, homebirth and unnecessary interventions, the facts and opinions presented in the film were still more shocking than I expected. For goodness sake, the hospital where I gave birth to Emma had a c-section rate of more than 37% last year!

The disgraceful situation of birth in the United States must be resolved, and I am so glad to have seen this film, surrounded by other concerned or curious women, men, mothers, fathers, activists, midwives, doulas, lactation consultants and students. I hope it inspires others to spread the word and educate about birth options and the concept of "normal" birth, which does not take place in a hospital.

I understand that before too long, it will be available for purchase through Netflix - I highly recommend that you see it, no matter who you are.

And let me just say, moms, you are awesome! You rock and your bodies rock and your babies rock. It is amazing what we, as women, can do!

Sock Monkey Depression

We took Max to see Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium tonight. He's been asking to see it, and has done a terrific job with his responsibility chart this week. It is nice to be able to have some special time with him (thanks to Oma and Aunt Sissy for watching Emma).

The movie was better than I expected, especially after reading a couple of negative reviews. I loved that it was not as constant-motion-manic-energy as most "kids" films these days. But, I honestly think it was more suited for older children and adults than young kids.

Max liked the movie a lot, but my sweet and sensitive boy couldn't stop talking about the sad sock monkey. At two points in the movie, the sock monkey reached out to hug the accountant character, but he moved away before the monkey could hug him. This made Max inexplicably sad. He has such empathy. It bothers him most to see characters being emotional injured or ignored - the sadness of a hug incomplete was overwhelming to him.

Of course, the monkey did get his hug in the end, and Max got lots of hugs and kisses too....

Love/Hates for today:
Love cuddly naps with Emma under my down comforter.
Love holding hands with my big boy and hearing him tell me that he's "growing" now.
Hate hearing that "growing" means he no longer likes Tracy Turnblad and the music from Hairspray.

He'd better not grow out of ABBA.

At Least The House Smelled Good

Cooked a turkey last night. Well... let's try that again.

Overcooked a turkey last night.

It is only the second or third turkey I've ever made, and in the interest of full disclosure, my mom helped out quite a bit with getting it ready (removing the stuff, stuff other stuff into the hole where the stuff was, touching the raw turkey, you know, just some little details).

Raw poultry is a big reason why I was vegetarian for a while.

Anyway, I overcooked it. It looked beautiful, but was dry and chewing a piece caused all of the moisture in my mouth to be sucked out. It kind of ruined the dining experience for me. Sigh.

We have a ton of turkey leftover, but I really wasn't in the mood to eat it again tonight, so I fell off the wagon and got drive-through. Need to make sure that doesn't happen again. It is expensive and gross, and totally NOT worth the time and energy I think I'm saving. Duh, Jenny.

On a positive note, Max loved the turkey. Said, "Mommy, this is the BEST turkey I've EVER had!" What a sweet little liar.

Ring...ring...no answer

OK people, my email is DOWN. I'm working on resolving it, but in case you are trying to reach me, don't email me. Call me on my cell phone. Try telepathy. Hopefully this will all be resolved soon. Check out Aaron's blog at www.cyberlizard.com for details.

Sorry - and thanks! I didn't know how dependant I was on email until I didn't have it.
Yay 21st century!

Sthuuck? SSthuuck! SSTHUUCK!

A Christmas Story is one of my family's favorite holiday movies. My Dad loves it. My husband loves it. My in-laws love it. My sister loves it. It cracks everyone up and we can all recite lines from memory. But up 'til now, I haven't let Max watch it.

Now, we are really pretty lenient about what sort of movies Max watches. We control the quantity part rather strictly, but we've been more relaxed about content. I have a friend who doesn't let her kiddos watch most Disney movies because of questionable themes and messages (it does seem like one-parent households are the norm with Disney), but, honestly, we've been lax about stuff like that. Until I discussed the topic with my friend, I didn't think about the subtle messages or even the overt stuff.

For example, Max loves movies and has been a big fan of pirates ever since riding the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at WDW. So, we let him see the Pirates movies. And, he's seen most of the Disney movies. Now that he's five and understanding more of what he sees on the screen, though, we're definitely screening movies more. A movie rated G is automatically OK, PG is one Mommy and Daddy have to check on, and we've told him PG-13 movies are for 13-years and up.

So that brings us back to A Christmas Story. Honestly, I've avoided showing it to Max because of the gun topic. We are definitely anti-gun in our household. We don't allow gun toys, or pretend gun play in the house, and Max knows our views and rules for playing with others. That said, we've discussed what guns do, and what they were used for in the past. He knows that some of his cousins go hunting, and he knows that some people choose to have guns. But, he also knows exactly what the rules are in our family.

After taking a family poll (Meemaw, Poppy, Papou, Nana, Oma, Uncle Ernie and Aunt Ker-bear all ayes) and discussing it, we let Max watch the movie with us last night. Needless to say, he loved it. We paused it quite a few times to answer questions, like "what's a furnace?" And, we discussed the gun issue, and how times are different now than they were when the movie takes place. But it was a lot less dramatic than I thought it would be. In fact, today's discussion has mostly revolved around "Mommy, that wasn't the REAL Santa that was mean and stepped on Ralphie's face, right?"

Sweet Max. I love him so much.

And It's Not Even December

Phase One of the Operation Christmas Preparation is complete - the tree is up. Not completely decorated, mind you, but it is out of the garage and up in the living room. We've unpacked about half of the holiday boxes and have a good number of ornaments on the tree.

Actually, this is the earliest we've had our tree up in years - I can't remember the last time we put it up on Thanksgiving weekend. I'm feeling very accomplished after this weekend. We got a lot of cleaning and sorting done, and the holiday stuff should be done in a few days, then we'll be able to put all of the boxes back in the garage and just enjoy the atmosphere.

We made hot cocoa tonight and watched a Christmas movie. Yay for us. We've made a commitment to really enjoy the holiday season this year, instead of getting all wrapped up in the commercialism and shopping craziness. It seems that our strategy is working. I know I feel a lot less stressed than I usually do as December first approaches.

Now to work on those cards....

Better Late Than Never?

It is that time again. Guilt time. Time to hurry up and try to get it done, fail, then just push it to the back of your mind and feel guilty. Ah, I feel the slow tightening of the stomach and burning in the chest that is full-strength guilt. It is that time of year again.

It is Christmas Card time.

But wait. You know what? I say NO to the guilt this year! I say hold on one second! I take your guilt challenge and I rise to meet you, christmas card monster! I WILL get my cards done this year. I WILL address the envelopes. I WILL actually mail the cards this year. I WILL!

(Now all I have to do is find all of the addresses.)
Sigh.

National Leftovers Day

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I loved sharing the yummy food and good conversation with my Dad, Nancy and our family. I made way too much food. (Note: tripling the recipe is not really necessary unless you are feeding a lot of teenagers.)

We had a fantastic family experience on the way home - we sang Christmas carols at the top of our lungs (specifically, Jingle Bells by the Barenaked Ladies - awesome song!) I love singing together - it is something I remember fondly from my own childhood, and I love to hear Max singing in the back seat.

Today we visited Oma and cleaned house a bit. Just the tip of the iceberg, but we're trying to get things ready to put up the holiday decorations. Here's hoping we'll have the tree up with plenty of time to enjoy it.

And no, I didn't go shopping at 4:00 in the morning. I'll camp out at Ikea, but waking up at 3:00 am to shop is just crazy! ;-)

Happy Birthday to my FIL. And love to all of you!

I'm a REAL Fairy Godmother!

Our dear friends Maggie and Kirk gifted us with a huge honor this week. They asked Aaron and I to be godparents for their son Jackson! We were thrilled and amazed and so grateful to be asked, and of course we accepted! Yippee!

And, lest you think that my overuse of exclamation points means that I don't take this honor seriously, I'll have you know that I absolutely cherish the role of godparents. I looked it up online, and especially liked this definition:

"The (particularly) modern definition of godparent is an individual chosen by the parents to take a vested interest in raising a more complete human being."
- Wikipedia's entry on godparents

That really speaks to me.

I have a wonderful, close relationship with my godmother, my Aunt CC. She's been a trusted confidant and friend to me, as well as a surrogate parent at times. I'm so thankful for her role in my life.

I'm actually the Nouna (Greek for godmother) of Aunt CC's son, my cousin Jonathan. I am honored to fill that role for him, and I hope I've done a good job. I became his godmother when I was about 16, and it is a very meaningful relationship to me.

And now all of my magical fairy godmother powers are going to be unleashed on sweet little Jackson! Boy, he doesn't know what's coming. :)

Pie Meditations

Tonight I'm making a pie while I watch one of my new favorite shows about a pie maker, Pushing Daisies. Ironic, isn't it?

I'm amazed how much my cooking has improved over the last year - I'm making four things for Thanksgiving at Dad and Nancy's house tomorrow and I haven't panicked once. I haven't even had to call my cooking hotline. In fact, the cooking hotline had to call ME to check on me and make sure everything was going alright. (My cooking hotline is my friend Jenny, and I seriously lit up the phone lines last year calling her literally every five minutes, maybe every two minutes. I think she was feeling lonely this year.)

OK, OK, FINE. I did have to call my mom one little insignificant time. But how was I supposed to know when eggs were officially beaten? They don't teach this stuff in school anymore, people.

Enjoy Thanksgiving with your family tomorrow. Or your friends. Or your significant other. Or your in-laws. Or whoever happens to be nearby - dog, cat, fish, whatever. Give someone a big hug and say "I'm thankful for you." (Please don't hug the fish too hard.) And while you're at it, take a long look at yourself and say "I'm thankful for you too." I will be counting my blessings and spreading the love tomorrow, and I'm starting with myself.

I love you Jenny Rebecca Spiliotis Wadley. You're a good person. Thanks for being you and thanks for buying the expensive, comfortable underwear instead of the cheap stuff. You rock.

The Thanks before we give Thanks

Feeling a little low tonight. I'm in the mood to have a really good cry, then watch Pride & Prejudice and eat chocolate to cheer myself up.

I don't enjoy these yucky moods - I feel like I'm viewing my life through the eyes of a particularly stern instructor and finding myself failing in all areas. Sigh. I'm so glad it is Thanksgiving this week. I have so much to be thankful for, and I love this holiday for reminding me.

Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite days of the year. I love spending time with family, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (LOVE that!), and preparing and eating a delicious meal (turkey, stuffing, and cranberries, oh my!) At Thanksgiving I have the whole Christmas season laid out before me, sparkling and emitting a rosy glow, just waiting to be unwrapped and enjoyed moment by moment.

Here's to enjoying and being thankful for each moment this season.

Yes, Virginia, the post office DOES accept credit cards

Max wrote his very first letter to Santa Claus yesterday. He drew a picture of Santa, complete with beard and hat, on the front of a folded piece of paper, then wrote "Dear Chris Kringle" on the inside. He's been doing some DaVinci writing (mirror writing, he writes backward from right to left, with all of the letters backward but otherwise correct - he doesn't realize that he's got them backward) so Santa may take a few minutes to decipher it, but I'm sure he'll appreciate the effort.

He then had me add the rest of the message: "Please bring me Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots and a teeter totter for Christmas. Thank you very much, Max Wadley." We addressed it to Santa at the North Pole, put a stamp on it and Max took it straight to the mail box.

He also decided to give Santa a present, since Santa gives presents to everyone else but probably doesn't get many himself. So, Max selected a nice... pen.... and wrapped it up in Transformers wrapping paper. Daddy and I convinced him to just have the present waiting for Santa with his cookies and (chocolate!) milk on Christmas Eve, instead of shipping it to the North Pole.

I mean, he's coming all this way anyway, right? It would be wasteful to spend all of that jet fuel to deliver a present when he's coming on eco-friendly reindeer power. And have you ever checked shipping costs to the Arctic Circle?

Max is such a sweet, considerate little guy. He really thinks about others and finds special ways to make them happy. I'm so blessed to be the Mommy to this amazing kid. And I'm so blessed to be one of the few adults I know who really, truly believes in Santa Claus. Thanks, Santa, for helping Max remind me about the magic of this special time of year.

Max with Santa 2006.

Triangle Man Hates Cheese Grater Man

The day-in, day-out tasks have gotten to me a bit lately. As everyone who knows me well is aware, I am generally a slob. I have grandiose organizational plans, but seldom follow them through over the long term. Instead, we follow a cleaning system that goes something like this:

house is messy - oh crap someone is coming over - mad dash around house to clean it up - promise we'll never let it get like this again - Yay! house is clean so we don't have to spend time cleaning it - house quickly gets messy - oh crap, house is a sty, how do we let it get like this.

This system hasn't really been working for me lately. I've noticed that my emotional and mental health suffer when the house is a mess. The condition of the house, and the enormity of the task facing me to clean it, weigh on my shoulders and bring me down.

So, I've decided to do something about it. A while ago, I started using the Sidetracked Home Executives system of index cards to plan my daily tasks. I never fully completed the process, so although the cards seemed to work well for me, I wasn't using them to their full potential, and wasn't able to get back on track after we went away on a trip.

I'm challenging myself to get back on the wagon, finish my cards and recommit to using them. In the meantime, I'm going to try to find the meditative zen in my mundane, everyday tasks. Doing the dishes today felt peaceful when I approached the chore with an attitude of:

This is doing the dishes - I do this joyfully every day to help keep the house clean and take care of my family,

instead of my regular attitude of:

I've got to do the dishes AGAIN?! Didn't I just DO the dishes? I HATE doing the dishes! Who INVENTED the cheese grater anyway? Argh!

Here's to daily household chores as meditation. Goodness know I could use some more of that anyway. Now, if only I didn't have to clean my bedroom to find my index cards. :)

Meatballs Revisited

Back to Ikea, this time with our friends Theresa, Marc and Rafael. I think today was even crazier than Wednesday, at least for me. Of course, I didn't have to fight traffic on Wednesday, since I was already there. It took us 45 minutes to get to the store and park, once we got off the interstate. Yikes. Since moving to a "small town" part of Orlando, I really have no patience for traffic jams. I was mad, but Aaron was a great cheerleader and got me calmed down.

We had "fun." That is, it was actual fun for me, and absolutely not fun at all for Aaron. He even said to me, "my doing this should prove to you that I love you." Aaron does not like shopping. Hates it, even. And he also dislikes crowds & commotion and loud noises. Therefore, although he likes Ikea, this was not a good time for him.

Max loved it - he got to play in the play area and hang around with his friend Maddy and Aunt Theresa, Uncle Marc and Nouno. Emma had fun once we realized she was desperately thirsty & got her some water. After that she was easygoing. Theresa and Marc are her godparents, so it is always nice to have Thea and Theo spend some time with her.

Dinner in the restaurant and more looking and shopping until we closed the place. Actually, they officially close at 9:00, and we didn't leave the parking lot until 10:15. We all made it home with a few goodies. I was planning to get a down comforter and I got one - a little nicer one than I had planned, but I know I'll enjoy it. I'll try it out tonight since it is a little chilly and we have the windows open.

Boy, it is probably not at all interesting to hear all of this blah blah blah about my day, so I'll just finish with a few more highlights.

Can you believe it? We ran into our friends Matt and Jan, AND Heidi and Rich at Ikea! Now this is the second time we've run into Heidi there. It is amazing to turn a corner and see friends in such a crowded, crazy place!

And, before all of the Ikea nonsense, we had a very important event to attend today - the 3rd birthday party of our nephew Timothy. His birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year, so his mom (Aaron's sister), Sarah, threw him a party today at Orlando's Blanchard Park. She rented a pavilion right next to the playground, so the kids had an great time running around and swinging and wearing the adults out. It was awesome to be able to visit for a bit with Aaron's family, and I loved watching the interaction between Max and Emma and their cousin. I'm feeling so blessed that we live close, so that we can spend this time together.

Happy Birthday Timothy!

Too Little Too Late

Sometimes I push myself over the course of a few days, then crash. That's what is happening tonight I think. I did a new class at the Y this morning that really made me sweat (good thing). Then we had a busy afternoon of playdate and running errands, then we went to Downtown Disney to visit the Lego store so that Aaron could spend his birthday money. (Speaking of my lego-obsessed husband, visit his new blog at cyberlizard.org!)

It has been a long day, with several meltdowns and a long bout of car screaming by Emma. On top of less than five hours of sleep last night, and I'm done.

So, that's all for now folks. Too little brain power, too little sleep, too late to drink coffee and make it all better. Good night.

What Concrete Camping Looks Like

Here's a shot of our campsite, with Max, Emma & Uncle Ernie hanging out.












When Daddy visited us after work, he brought the laptop so that we could watch a movie.












We spent a lot of time chasing Emma.













And a lot of time just having fun together being a family.

Wadleys in the News

We Wadleys have had a couple of moments of fame recently, as reported in our local newsmedia. First, Max and I were interviewed by Florida Today when we went with Nouno and his friend Gerald to watch the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery in October. Check out the article and photo of my favorite astronaut here.

And, our camping adventure at Ikea was regarded with disbelief, horror, and simple curiosity by many. But the reporters definitely seemed drawn to the crazy lady who brought her two children to camp out. We appeared on the TV news on Fox35 and Channel 6, and you can find us in photos online at tampabay.com and other places. We were even filmed for a blog on Ikea loyalty.

The Orlando Sentinel ran this article, which doesn't mention us in the story, but don't those blurry figures in the background of the photo look familiar?

The Sentinel gave Ikea a lot of coverage, so you can also see this page which includes a thumbnail of Emma on the right. We show up a couple of times in the video and photo galleries.

OK, well, that's our 15 minutes of fame gone. Hope it was well spent.

I put the I in IKEA!

Well, I did it. They said I was crazy, but I took the kids and my brother Ernie and we camped out for two nights at Ikea Orlando to be in line for the grand opening. Yes, we did win a chair (one for me, and one for Ernie) and got some other free goodies (pillows, toys and stuffed animals for the kids, water bottles and frisbees and t-shirts), but honestly, I didn't take two kids cement camping just for a $90 chair.

The event had its UPS (meeting other Ikea fans, and realizing how broad their demographic is, and how much we all have in common, despite our differences) and DOWNS (some over-tired children, a limit to how much fun you can have in a parking lot, and sleeping on concrete when our air mattress sprung a leak). But, overall, it was rewarding to be with a bunch of other people who are also excited about Ikea, and surprisingly fun to have two full days without TV, with only books, a couple of toys, a frisbee and each other for fun.

I think it would be awesome to do this kind of experience without the kids too. In fact, we were pretty much the only people camping with kids. We were interviewed by lots of media - and apparently we showed up on the news a few times. I'm glad I didn't see those.

The opening was AWESOME! And, Max got to be the first official child in the play area - the first jump into the ball pit! He was so excited about that!

Now, I've got to cut it short because I am running low on energy after the last two days. I'll try to post pics tomorrow.

Camping @ Ikea

This entry is being posted by proxy. I am currently camping out for the grand opening of the Orlando, FL Ikea store! If you were lucky enough to be watching the 10pm news on Fox 35, you would have seen my amazing interview. My extremely wonderful, enormously supportive, amazingly handsome and incredibly intelligent hubby is making this post for me. [ed. These are her words, I swear.]

I'll return with a full update after the opening tomorrow.

Happy camping!

Robot in the, uh, metal

As I promised the other day, here are a couple of photos of the robot that Max and I made for Aaron.

Sexy Brits

I am a bit of an anglophile (a person who greatly admires England and things English, though my own personal use of the definition tends to include all of the United Kingdom as well as Ireland... and wait, I'm a big fan of Paris too, but I guess I definitely need another term for that).

I love England. I dream of living there for a time at some point in my life. Growing up, I was really drawn to Great Britain and all things British. One of my favorite trips EVER was traveling around England, Wales and Ireland with my husband and my sister for 10 days in 2000 - it was a dream come true, really. I also visited London again in 2005, but just for 12 hours - not nearly enough to satisfy me.

I love British movies, books set in Britain, British TV (I love you BBC America!), British Grocery Stores, driving on the left, British sore throat lozenges, British humor, British food (well, OK, NOT any of the "puddings" that include blood, and I could never get over the "kidney" in the "steak & kidney pie", which were decidedly NOT kidney BEANS)... the list goes on, but is by no means comprehensive. I mean, I've only visited twice and I can't hardly begin to know the whole country. Let's just say I am a BIG fan.

I find myself especially attracted to British men, specifically actors, more specifically SEXY British actors. I LOVE the accent... give me an English, Cockney, Irish, Welsh, Scottish accent and I'm swooning! I love the general, completely stereotypical look (even the stereotypical teeth, honestly) of a handsome British man.

Who, specifically, do I find to be a SEXY British actor/character? Well, Mr. Darcy has to top the list, so Colin Firth takes top honours, both as Fitzwilliam Darcy and Mark Darcy. Also, David Tennant is currently high on the sexy list. (I think I need a Doctor! Actually, make that TWO Doctors... Christopher Eccleston is damn sexy too.) And Hugh Grant comes in there somewhere, and that really adorable guy in Wimbledon (but not as the scary albino in The DaVinci Code). And now, a new British actor has made the list - Burn Gorman, who plays totally sexy Owen Harper on the totally sexy Torchwood.

Mmm... got to go re-watch Torchwood.

Life of a Superhero

Normally, I am a mild mannered woman, wife, mother and laundry workhorse. However, you may not know that I have an alter ego. When exposed to the awesome scrapbooking spirit and energy of CKU (Creating Keepsakes University) last month, I transformed into a scrapbooking superhero, a member of the League of Super Scrappers... I am...Rub-On!

(As in Bradman & Rub-On... get it? Like Batman & Robin, but scrapbooking-related? Get it now? Sigh.)

My friends and I formed a "dorm" for CKU. (OK, for the non-scrapbookers out there, CKU is a scrapbooking event that includes three days of classes, vendors and scrapbooking sessions. CKUs are held in various places around the country a few times a year; this was my first one, and I was psyched!)

Back to our dorm and my super powers. As I mentioned, we were the League of Super Scrappers - Bradman & Rub-On, The Embellisher, Wordy Woman, Maximum Exposure & Glue Gal. We submitted a song for the dorm song contest, and were selected to perform at CKU. (Yay! We were SO excited!) We put a lot of time and energy into our costumes and choreography (yes, we had choreography) and had the best time getting ready for the performance.

And... drum roll... we WON! We won the song contest and got a standing ovation and thunderous applause (well, at least it sounded thunderous to us). We felt like total rock stars! We were even asked to pose for pictures! Wow - that 15 minutes of fame is a total rush. Even better than singing in the cruise ship talent show (yep, did that too).

All of this backstory (whew) just to tell you that a video of our performance is on YouTube! Now, it isn't flattering, but it is fun, so if you're interested, check it out. And have a super day!

Just under the wire

Here we are Friday night quick blog post hope this gets in by midnight we took Max to see Bee Movie very funny and great message we loved it good night everyone. Whew.

Photos!

I know, I know, no negativity tonight. So how do I word this? Apparently, I am brain-challenged (that's the nice way of saying I'm a stupid-head). Apparently, I have been able to post photos in my blog all along. Apparently, I use the word "apparently" too much. So, here's a test. I don't have a photo of Robot yet, so here's another recent favorite. Enjoy, and prepare to "see" more of us in the future!

Some positive thoughts

OK. it has been a tough week so far. I've been doing my share of complaining about everyone being sick, having tons of sicko laundry, etc. So, tonight I am trying for a negative-free zone on my blog.

Have I mentioned how adorable and fantastic my two children are? Max is so caring - he really took care of me today when I started feeling ill. He brought his doctor kit and checked me out, and gave me all sorts of therapies. He is creative and funny too - he loves to make up stories, and adapt stories that he's heard. We're currently reading Alice In Wonderland for the third time, so there is a lot of story potential there. And, he's taken my lead in making up songs. We make up silly songs about things that are happening each day. So, the other day I made turkey bacon for breakfast, and I made up an annoying "Bacon.... I'm makin' bacon" song. Today we made up a song about diarrhea. Can't get any funnier than that.

Emma is so interested in following me around and making me laugh! She LOVES shoes! She will bring them to me and make me put them on her, then she'll wear them around the house all day. She especially loves her new crocs (they are pink and so cute on her). She'll also give me her hand to hold while we're walking now. At home, she's really enjoying opening drawers and cabinets and taking things out. Apparently, she also enjoys putting things IN. We looked for the TV remote for over an hour before we found it in one of her favorite drawers. Emma also gives wonderful, tender hugs and kisses now. Just love that!

See, I'm just all-over warm and fuzzy thinking about those two! I've gotta try this positive thing more often. :)

On this day...

33 years ago, my dear hubby was born! We celebrated in a low-key way today. Aaron went to work, went out for lunch with the work team, then came home to a find a "fancy restaurant" at home. Meemaw picked up food from the wonderful German restaurant in downtown Sanford, FL (The Willow Tree - it is awesome!) Then she helped Max become "the server" and he served us dinner. He was adorable - even had a towel on his arm. Yummy food, and so much less stress than eating out at a restaurant.

Presents were limited this year, by choice, as part of our simplified living goals. Max picked out a Star Wars action figure for Daddy, and "helped" Emma choose a laser light strobe keychain. I gave a new Wii game, Big Brain Academy, which is fun and educational for all of us. I also signed Aaron up for the Pencil of the Month Club. Yes, my husband actually collects pencils. He is a pencil fanatic. If you ever need a pencil, you know where to come. And, no, we don't allow mechanical pencils into the house. ;)

The BEST gift though, by far, was Robot. Robot is, well, a... robot, designed and built by Max, with a bit of help from me. Max came up with the idea all on his own, because "Daddy LOVES robots!" Max had definite ideas about what he wanted in the robot, and many early designs had to be modified ("but Max, Mommy doesn't KNOW how to make it turn left and walk to the door... sorry, honey, I don't know how to make it respond to voice commands... no, Max, I don't think that just putting in a bunch of wires to make a brain will make it walk... Max, Mommy was a liberal arts major.") Finally, we worked out that Robot was going to be more decorative than practical. But, he still had to have a brain, a head to cover the brain, and, most importantly, Grabber Nabbers. (If you don't know what a Grabber Nabber is, ask any five-year old.)

We headed to the coolest store to get supplies (specifically, Grabber Nabbers) - Skycraft Surplus! After looking around at the endless glass jars full of teeny light bulbs and bin after bin of coils, springs, motors, cords, wires, solder, and even clip-on sunglasses, we selected a bunch of neat things that looked robot-y. Then, we discussed final design and assembled. The finished product is really awesome, actually. I will try to post a photo of it tomorrow. Needless to say, Aaron was thrilled and Max was totally in his element, explaining and demonstrating all of the Grabber Nabbers. If only Robot could do these birthday dishes....

Arrgh!

I have been having a very arrrrgggghhh day. You know, that's the sound of ultimate frustration that Charlie Brown makes when he's having ONE OF THOSE DAYS. (Incidentally, I played Lucy VanPelt in my high school production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and I am still very close friends with Linus and Snoopy.)

Anyway, back to my day. Suffice it to say that it started with a whiney, still-sick boy and ended with a cooking CRISIS. (At least that is the term I used when I called my friend Jenny for help. I got her voice mail. The voice mail didn't have any useful advice for me.)

I hate it when circumstances prove that I've been a daft twit. I especially hate it when the circumstances in question involve cooking. I am not very confident in the kitchen, though I've really been making an effort lately. And today, three little, tiny words printed in microscopic font really shook me. Those words were: "REFRIGERATE AFTER OPENING." Actually, the words weren't really all that tiny, and they were printed on both the side AND top of the jar, but somehow I've missed them the last FOUR times I've made my family my delicious (and arguably deadly) Shepherd's Pie.

Ah well, I looked a crisis in the eye today, and I'm still standing (as are the other members of my family who ate the allegedly poisoned previous pies, thank goodness). Today's lesson? PAY ATTENTION! :)

Blessings times two!

What a week for babies! This morning, my friends April and Mark welcomed twin girls to our beautiful world. (Though, honestly, April did all the work.) Sophia and Olivia join their big sister Isabella and the three of them are going to charm the world, one unsuspecting cynic at a time.

This makes November a full-fledged nutso birthday month. Let's see, we have, just in my circle, at least the following: Kayla (11/04), Sophia and Olivia (11/05), Hubby Aaron (he'll be 33 on 11/07), my Yiayia (11/08), Isabella (11/10), my wonderful stepmom Nancy (11/13), stepbrother Zak (11/14), nephew Timothy (11/22), father-in-law Michael (11/23), and crunchy mama me on 11/30. And I know I'm forgetting someone.

I got to visit Lisa and Kayla in the hospital this evening. Or should I say, I visited them in their suite at the Ritz? It was very polished and plush in that hospital room. When I arrived, Lisa had a warm glow about her, and looked really wonderful. She explained that she'd just had her MASSAGE. Oh, well, sorry, excuse me, I was looking for the ragged, red-eyed new mother who keeps mumbling about cheese and ice chips. Sorry I got the wrong room.

Seriously, after my shock over the massage wore off, it was lovely to visit with Lisa and visit Kayla in the NICU. She was sleeping so peacefully, and is just beautiful. Hopefully, she'll join Mommy in the suite tonight, then I can visit the red-eyed, sleep-deprived version of Lisa tomorrow. Honestly, though, Lisa will probably be the same - she always has a big smile and a cheerful, positive attitude. I asked her how her drug-free labor was, and she said with a huge grin, "Well, I won't lie to you. It really hurt! So, how is Max feeling? Can I get you anything?" You go, Lisa.

Blessings!

There's nothing like a sick child to make you appreciate how HEALTHY your children are usually. Max is sick today - tummy bug, and it is so hard to see him feeling bad, but in a selfish way, so nice to have him need me so much. He calls out for me when he's feeling bad, even if Daddy is holding him. Since he's been in a big Daddy mood lately, today was reassuring that he still needs his Mama.

We helped our dear friends Jenny and Stan move today - they bought a fabulous compound in the "country". Not really country, and not really compound, but a big lot with lots of land and a beautiful home complete with workshop, storage rooms, office and (best part!) a CROPPING PALACE!!! Meant to be a mother-in-law apartment, but since the MIL decided to move into the main house (really), it gets to be the cropping palace for ME! Well, maybe not just for me, but I do get to request some specific snacks to be stocked in the cropping kitchen. Jenny is going to be so spoiled, and lucky me, I live close enough to pick up some spoiling by proximity. Wonderful place - congrats guys!

Also, my lovely friend Lisa had her baby this morning - Kayla Rose arrived at just after 5:00 AM, and she was six weeks early! Surprise! Mommy did so well - I'm so proud of her and impressed! Birth is an amazing thing, and our strong, awesome bodies are incredible! No drugs for Lisa (not that she didn't want an epidural, no matter what I, her crazy crunchy friend, said - labor went too fast) and only four hours of labor - Lisa's body totally knew what to do and did it so efficiently. Big Brother Alex is one of my favorite people - I know he's going to love having a little sister. Congratulations big time to you two (three!)

Ok, this post is already long, so I'll save my other topic for tomorrow, but here's a teaser - what do Owen, Mark, Fitzwilliam & The Doctor have in common? Hmmm....

So many blessings today - I am thankful for the opportunity to appreciate them. Namaste.

Stupid challenge

So tired. Must sleep. But wait, I have to post. Aaron was right when he suggested I post at 2:00 AM last night so I wouldn't have to worry about it today. We went to Epcot and walked for hours and I'm beat. But, I dragged my sore feet to the computer and I'm posting, OK? Are you happy now?

Actually, I'M pretty happy about it. This is like writing in my brand-new journal TWO days after Christmas. For those of you who aren't me, I'll explain. I LOVE journals. I love diaries. I love the idea of writing my profound thoughts each day, chronicling my life and everyday moments and thoughts. I am drawn to the beautiful journals in the bookstore - so many lovely themes and designs, all destined in my mind to be the vessel for my deepest secrets. Alas, it is not to be. Each entry begins the same - "I've tried this before, but this time I'm really going to stick to it and write every day," or "I'm finally making a commitment to keep a journal - this is day one and I'll see you on day two." Poor journals. They rarely see DAY TWO. It isn't them, of course. It is me. Sigh. They look beautiful on my bookshelf though.

Now that I think about it, I've treated blogging the same way. There are a few entries of "I know I haven't posted in a while, but I promise...." All of those broken promises.

Well, this time I promise nothing. Don't get your hopes up. But I'm glad I posted tonight.

Nabloporbno

I mean, NaBloPoMo. What is this crazy thing, you ask? Well, it is a month-long challenge to post on your (or my, as the case may be) blog EVERY SINGLE DAY. Yikes! Well, luckily, it is November 2nd, and I just now heard about this fun thingy from my wonderful friend Maggie. Luckily, because, since I already missed November 1st, I have already FAILED! Whew! Now all of the pressure is off and I'm free to just fulfilling the challenge for the FUN of it. Yay. Fun is good, and I need more of it in my life.

NaBloPoMo (try saying that three times fast) reminds me of NaNoWriMo, which is National Novel Writing Month, which is another big challenge that happens in November (write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days). My husband completed NaNoWriMo in 2005, go Aaron!

Now, go ME! We'll see.... ;-)