Final Fall Post (Now That It's Almost Christmas)

Over the past several weeks, I've gotten a touch tired of seeing our Halloween pumpkins glowing on my blog each time I scroll down to look at updates on other peeps' blogs. Time to push those pictures down, make one final post about fall and then welcome the snow, winter, Christmas season, etc...

During the 1st full weekend of November and one day later in the month, we worked on cleaning up the billions of leaves in our yard. I'm sure the number isn't really that high but take 5 maple trees, several aspens, and a number of Japanese maple trees (and neighbors' leaves that blow into the yard) and you're sure to have one serious pile of leaves to jump in. Claire was actually a huge help, probably filling a good 2+ bags with leaves on her own. All I had to do was rake or sweep them in to piles and she'd dump them in the trash by the armful. Hudson, on the other hand, wasn't so keen on the task and took some convincing (aka threatening) to get involved...and only on the last day when we were close to being done with the whole thing. I should have roped him in sooner. Oh well - he got to see his 3-year-old sister get a bigger allowance than him. Maybe next time he'll remember that! Over the course of the 3 days that we spent working in the yard, we managed to fill over 20 huge black trash bags. Thankfully our town happily comes and picks them up if you call. Saved us the headache of hauling the bags or gradually getting rid of them with the trash each week!

Mid-month, I took Claire to the Living Planet Aquarium. I had heard mixed reviews - some people love it, others think it's so-so, and I've talked to a couple of people who didn't care for it at all. I figured that we had to give it a shot and decide for ourselves. There are a few great exhibits (the octopus and petting the rays were my favorites) but all in all, I'm in the so-so category myself. I'm sorry but it just doesn't compare to places like the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Steinhart Aquarium at the Academy of Sciences in California. I've been spoiled in that regard my whole life so it was hard for me to be thrilled with Living Planet. Claire, however, was happy and enjoyed seeing everything and I'm sure we'll go again sometime. Hudson still doesn't know that we went without him and I'm going to have to make up for it...

Lastly, we have the 1st real snow of the season. We finished up the aforementioned raking and yard work on the 18th and the next evening, the snow started falling. We had a few inches in a very short time and as it continued to come down, we all bundled up and went out to play. The kids had a blast "sledding" down the little hill in our backyard and Max and the kids made a snowman. We even went for a walk around the neighborhood and we adults couldn't help but giggle at the people who thought that they were going to make it up one of the hills in our neighborhood in their sedans and minivans (plows didn't make it to our street for a while).

Between that storm and a couple since, we've already had a couple feet of snow up here this year. Certainly makes it feel like winter is on it's way. Or at least it did until we got up into the 40's and low 50's over the past few days. Our yard is almost completely free of snow. The remnants of our snowman are one of the last signs of the white stuff out there...I'm thinking that my daffodils and other bulbs might pop up one of these days. Oh well. I know another storm will bring more snow soon enough. At least all the Christmas decorations are up, there are lights up on peoples' houses, and holiday music is playing on the radio!

More festive/seasonally appropriate posts to follow soon...

LIST: Wishful Thinking Christmas List

Wow - I haven't done a list (let alone a post of any sort) in a very long while! Time for me to repent...

Tonight we had the kids write letters to Santa Claus. This was Claire's 1st year writing one (okay - she dictated and I wrote) and Hudson's 3rd. They were both very psyched about it and are excited to get responses from the big man in a week or two. And no, it's not me that does the return correspondence...we happen to have Santa's address and he writes back every year. Good deal.

Now, while the kids have no problem coming up with a list of the things they'd like to get on Christmas morning, I've always had a hard time coming up with anything to tell my hubby or my parents. But this year is different. I've come up with a few things that I'd really, really, really like to receive. It's not a very long list but unfortunately, I'm afraid that everything I want is more or less out of the question...

MY UNREALISTIC CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

• Uninterrupted showers for one whole year. I'd even settle for a month. No one opening the door or coming into the bathroom. No child: asking me what I'm doing, begging for a snack, letting me know that they're bored, or wanting to hang out. Oh - and no ringing phones that leave me wondering who called for the rest of the time I'm in the shower.
• Someone else to do all of my cleaning, laundry, cooking, and dishes. For free. Without prompting. Without complaining. Do you know how many projects I could finish up if I didn't have to, well, do my job as a wife and mom?!
• For my children to get along more...preferably all the time. They're pretty good but there's room for improvement. My sister and I were laughing about this one the other day because mom used to say that we could give this to her as a gift. We'd say that it didn't count and wasn't a present. She'd respond that it would be to her. Now I understand.
• For chocolate, bread, ice cream, pastries (all baked treats in general), butter, and everything else that tastes good to be completely carbohydrate, sugar, and calorie free. It would be very helpful to me as I try to shed some pounds. Very helpful indeed.
• A mute button for my kids. It seems like anytime that I'm on the phone, Max and I are trying to talk, or I have something to say to them, one or both of my kids (who were completely oblivious to my existence for the 30 minutes prior to that moment) have to start yelling, talking, asking questions, etc. I know that duct tape was invented for a reason but a mute button would be so much quicker for me and less painful for them.

I think that's about it...it's not asking all that much, is it? I'm only asking for a measly 5 things for Christmas. None of them has to be wrapped and no one has to spend a dime. Pretty please?!

Halloween 2010

In spite of the kids and I having colds and Max seemingly trying to get one, we had a great Halloween weekend. After lunch on Saturday, we brought a number of pumpkins in off the front porch and went to work. Max and I spent way more time and energy and got way more enjoyment out of doing pumpkins than the kids did. For the first time, we made Hudson stick his bare hand inside his pumpkin to try and pull out some of the innards. I couldn't stop laughing after seeing his face. He was beyond disgusted and didn't find it half as amusing as we did. Claire, on the other hand, was smart and before we could make her stick a bare hand in, she grabbed one of the little scoops and happily gave cleaning her pumpkin a shot for a minute. After that, the two of them stayed in the kitchen just long enough for someone (me) to clean out their pumpkins and to watch someone (me) carve them according to directions. Then they were off to the basement to watch a show while Max and I did our pumpkins.

Both Max and I started out just doing a regular carved pumpkin - mine freehand and Max's from a template he found online. After that, I didn't want to stop so for the 1st time, I gave "shaving" a pumpkin a shot. All I did was our last name on one of the two ginormous pumpkins we got at the pumpkin patch but even without hollowing/cleaning it, the process was somewhat tedious and quite time consuming. I was really happy with the results, though, and I'm thinking that I'll go more extensive in my shaving/carving next year. In addition to the one with our name on it, I also hollowed and shaved a small white pumpkin. You can see in the picture that the area around the ghost is very thin). Max shaved a cat and a leaf on two other pumpkins. In the end, we had a total of 8 carved and/or shaved pumpkins (obviously not all pictured). And just like everyone else, we lit the candles and took pictures of our finished pumpkins...

Our pumpkin family (l-r): Max, Claire, yours truly, Miles, and Hudson. And yes, Hudson's pumpkin has a uni-brow. It started out with two normal brows and then he asked me to make them "attached" and was thrilled with the result. Still cracks me up.

Living in Utah, when Halloween falls on a Sunday, everyone goes trick-or-treating on Saturday night. The forecast called for rain that evening so before dinner, we got the kiddies all dressed up in their costumes and drove them over to Max's parents' place for the 1st stop of the night. We also got Miles ready for the festivities (not that he was going anywhere) with bright orange skunk stripes down his back. We were hoping to find white hairspray at the store but no such luck. Maybe next year. Anyway, it absolutely poured the entire time we were at Grandpa & Grandma's place. At that point, we were figuring that regular trick-or-treating might be out of the question. However, spending time at their place and then taking time eating dinner at home gave the weather enough time to change its mind. By the time we headed out the door for the rest of the evening, it had pretty much let up. We only had to use our umbrellas for the first few houses and after that, the only hitch was the cold wind.

Our favorite trick-or-treaters and the best skunk ever.

All in all, we had a great Halloween (or Halloween Eve...). My only complaint is that shortly after the kids went to bed, the doorbell rang. It was 9:15. We had been home for a good 45 minutes and hadn't seen a single trick-or-treater that entire time. I opened the front door and before they could shout out the traditional Halloween greeting, I quietly informed the visitors that our kids were asleep. They apologized, quietly took some candy, thanked me, and then headed to the next house. They're very lucky that my foot didn't meet their behinds on their way down the walk. Now, is it just me, or is 9:15 too late to be letting one's kids out to beg for candy? Please humor me and take the poll on the upper right corner...I'm curious as to whether I'm being lame or not.

Hope you all had a very Happy Halloween!

Happy Cousins

As if my kids don't look white enough already, my oldest brother Matt (who is also extremely white like me) and his olive-skinned wife and kids came to visit last week. They were going to stay with us for their whole trip but well, you know how people say that they avoided something "like the plague"? Yeah, our house pretty much was the plague for a few days before they came into town and a few days while they were here. We were sad not to have them around more but were very happy that we finally got well enough to have them up for an evening in the middle of their trip. We hadn't seen any of their family in close to 18 months but everyone was quick to pick up where we left off. While we adults had fun chatting, Hudson and Ethan (H is about 18 months older) had the time of their lives playing together and Claire was happy as could be tagging along with the "big girls" Anna and Abby. I just wish that we lived closer to each other so that these get-togethers could be more frequent.

Now take a look at the picture below. For those of you who don't know, here's the question of the day... How far apart in age are Hudson and Abby?



Answer: Just a touch under 3 years. Abby is about 9 1/2 and Hudson is 6 1/2. He obviously looks younger in the face but he's got a couple of inches on her and out-weighs her by about 8 pounds. I just love looking at the two of them together. Hooray for tall boys and hooray for super cute tiny girls (we taller/bigger girls envy you and your tiny selves)!

Slightly Large Pumpkins & Fall Mantle

I promised pictures of the fatty pumpkins we picked up at Pack's Pumpkin Patch so here you go. The one in the upper picture is a little on the tall side for Claire to perch on and the taller one is about right for Hudson to sit on (it's the one that was over 80 pounds). These two shots also include two of my favorite gourd pics for this year...one looks kind of like a swan and the other a giant apple or green pepper. We don't see these varieties every year so I was tickled to find them at the patch this time.

I also FINALLY got my fall mantle done in the living room. It's been done for over a week now but I've been dragging my feet in the photography department. I know I did a shot of my harvest mantle last year but I like this year's layout better (not to mention that we didn't have anything hanging over the new mantle last year).

Some of the pieces are repeats and have been for years: the pilgrim and Indian figures, the fake berries and a handful of little fake pumpkins, the dried Indian corn, etc. But the gourds and real pumpkins are new every year. This year I have a few new favorites. One is the green and orange pumpkin in the picture just up from the bottom. Another is the teensy tiny white pumpkin I found at the market the other day...it's in the bottom picture, situated between two fake pumpkins and is only about 1 1/2 inches tall. So cute! I also love the super bumpy/warty gourd on the top right. I've always thought that those were really fun.

Halloween is still up all over the house but my Thanksgiving/harvest/fall mantle is one thing I can't help myself on...I want it up as long as possible and it always comes down within a few days after Thanksgiving. There's just something about the warm colors that comforts me.

RECIPE: Italian Beef Sandwiches

I know you've all been checking my blog on an hourly basis waiting for this recipe. So here you go...

ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICHES

2 cans beef broth + water to make 3 cups total liquid

1 tsp. each:

• salt
• ground black pepper
• dried oregano
• dried basil
• onion salt or powder
• dried parsley
• garlic powder

1 bay leaf

1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian salad dressing mix

1 (5 lb.) chuck or rump roast

Combine beef broth, water, and all spices (including dressing mix) in a saucepan. Stir well and bring to a boil. Place roast in slow cooker and boiling dressing mixture over the meat. Cover and cook on Low for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. When finished, remove and discard bay leaf. Shred the meat with two forks, discarding any large pieces or ribbons of fat. Serve on toasted french or sourdough rolls with juice from the meat on the side for dipping.

NOTES:

• Without exception, I ALWAYS use Campbell's Beef Broth. It's double-strength and there really is a difference in flavor.
• I use Good Seasons' Italian Dressing mix...you can find it near the ranch dressing packets at the store.
• To toast the rolls, I split them in half and toss them directly on the rack in a 350 degree oven for a good 5-10 minutes. This allows the whole roll to get toasted and crunchy on the outside rather than just the top (as would happen if you broiled it).
• My favorite way to dress up my sandwich: Put mayo on both sides. Pile the meat on one half and top with a slice or two of provolone cheese (my kids like it with cheddar). Throw back in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts. Top with iceberg lettuce (and tomato if I'm in the mood). Yum.

I would have pictures to post on this one but every time I make it, I'm too preoccupied with eating to think about getting the camera out...

Hope you like it as much as we do!

2010 Fall Mountain Drive - Take II

After our pumpkin patch excursion the other day, we decided to give our fall drive and hunt for fall colors another try. This time: success! We packed up the family (complete with our friendly mutt Miles) that afternoon and headed up the mountain. Mother Nature is apparently has somewhat of a split/multiple personality problem when it comes to colors changing this year...some trees were still green, some were vibrant and beautiful, and some had already changed and then dropped their leaves. But the show was far better than it was a few weeks ago and I was happy to get a few pictures of the changes this time around.

In addition to snapping shots of the colors, we stopped at our usual spot to take a short walk/hike and let the kids and the dog stretch their legs. Miles probably thought he had died and gone to heaven...pure bliss for him to run around and explore. It was a bit windy on top (hence my stylin' hairdo in the shot with Max) but the perfect temperature and a very beautiful day.

Next up: the long-promised recipe for Italian Beef Sandwiches. Drooool...

Pumpkin Patch!

Yesterday we went to our favorite pumpkin patch (another one of our annual fall traditions). We've been meaning to go for a couple of weeks but as we all know, life doesn't always allow us to make and keep plans. When it came down to it, our going yesterday was a last minute decision but it ended up being the perfect day to go. While we had to wait for a cart to become available, it wasn't very crowded, it was the perfect temp outside, and there were plenty of beauteous pumpkins waiting for us to find them.

As usual, the kids made a bee-line for the hay maze and had fun exploring for a while. We then went to our favorite place to find some pumpkins: the outer reaches of the farm. We always head for the road less-traveled and tromp through weeds, thistles, and countless pumpkin vines until we find what we're looking for.

In the end, we walked away with 94 pounds of pumpkins, 3 large gourds, and 9 smaller gourds and mini pumpkins. Then, after loading up the beast and just prior to driving away, we decided that we "needed' to get one or two of the huge pumpkins that they had on display out front. We ended up with two of them weighing in at a total 120-something pounds. That makes for a total of over 200 pounds of pumpkin. The larger was 83 pounds and the other was 40'ish. It was one of those days that I was extra thankful to have a husband who is willing and able to lift heavy things...they would have killed my back! We're considering carving one of the big ones for Halloween but I'm just not sure yet (I'm the "scooper" and I have to think long and hard about whether I really want to dive in to that task). Either way, at least one of them will adorn my front porch until Thanksgiving is over.

I haven't taken pictures of the porch with all its pumpkiny glory yet (and yes, pumpkiny is now a word). Nor have I completed my fall mantle with the smaller gourds that I purchased. I'll get the mantle done, take pics of both, and that post will follow soon.

You Can't Judge An Ear...

A few weeks ago I picked up a few ears of local corn to have with dinner. I was shucking them and everything was fine until I came to prepping this beauty:

Now tell me...what in the world am I supposed to do with THAT? Apparently you can't judge an ear of corn by its husk or the perfect looking kernels peeking out at the top.

2010 Annual Fall Mountain Drive

Every fall, we take a drive up into the mountains right by our house to take in the fall colors. We went up too early this year to see any really great colors but the weather was PERFECT and we enjoyed hiking around and taking in the scenery. Hudson was a trouper as always and while Claire started out walking on her own, she quickly changed her mind and took the easy way...on her daddy's shoulders. I wish I had an option like that. Hiking up to the main peak nearly does me in every year. Thankfully I'm always the one behind the camera so I use that as an excuse to stop and rest every 3.8 feet or so ("I need to get a good shot of this!").


We may try to get another drive in to catch some colors this year if the weather is good. If we do, there will be a second annual fall mountain drive this year. Otherwise, better luck to us next time!

RECIPE: Lemon Pepper Chicken

My sister introduced me to this fabulous recipe ages ago (I think I was just out of high school...maybe even before that). It's an easy recipe that's a hit with just about everyone, including my picky daughter.

LEMON PEPPER CHICKEN

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp. seasoning salt (Lawry's)

2 Tbsp. lemon pepper

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup butter or margarine

Wash chicken and pat dry. Place each piece on wax paper and gently pound to about 1/4-inch thick. Combine flour, salt, and lemon pepper. Dip chicken in lemon juice then coat with flour mixture. Heat butter in a large heavy skillet or electric skillet. Add chicken and cook over medium heat until golden brown and chicken is cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels to remove excess butter.

NOTES:

• We usually use chicken breast tenders instead of breast halves. No pounding out necessary, they're easier to cut into bite-sized pieces for the kiddies, and they cook faster.
• If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: use fresh lemon juice. No juice in a bottle or cheesy plastic lemon thing allowed.
• Use butter, not margarine. Seriously...why did I even put margarine up there in the first place?
• In order to avoid burning the butter, use clarified butter instead of just tossing a cube in the pan. For those of you who have never done so before, here's what you do. Completely melt the butter in the microwave. Allow it to cool for a bit and it'll separate. Use only the darker yellow portion (the lighter stuff is fatty) for cooking. While it can burn or brown, it doesn't do so nearly as quickly as regular butter. You can actually refrigerate it until it's hard and then use a spoon or knife to separate it. But the 1st version is good for a quick fix.
• Don't drain the chicken on paper towels. You're wasting precious butter.
• We serve this over steamed white rice. I actually spread the rice out on a platter, put the chicken on top, and then pour a bit of the drippings from the pan over the whole thing. Evil, I know. But so very tasty.

Next recipe...Italian Beef Sandwiches (drooooool).

2010 Brain MRI & ENT Appointment

I had my annual MRI for the tumor in my noggin and a hearing checkup today. As I mentioned last year, I'm somewhat of a basket case for a good week or two before the big day. I worry myself sick thinking about how rotten MRI's are, the possibility of the tumor(s) having grown, my hearing having gone downhill, etc. This year wasn't much different in terms of the days following up to my appointments but thanks undoubtedly to the prayers of many dear family and friends, today went beautifully.

The waiting room was packed when I got to Imaging and Neuroscience (first time I'd seen more than just a couple of people in there) and I assumed that I'd end up waiting a while. And I did. When they did finally call me back, they gal said I could wear the wire-free sports bra I brought along and that I could leave my underwear bottoms on. Not that you want to hear about me going into an MRI with or without any unmentionables on but this was very welcome news as last year, they required that I leave both off. Another happy thing was that when I inquired as to whether or not I'd have to have wear a horribly constricting brace over my breastplate like last year (read: hardly able to breathe...forgot to mention it in last year's post), I was informed by the tech that my particular MRI scan doesn't require said brace and that whoever set me up last year shouldn't have put it on. Another sigh of relief. One final bonus to this year's MRI: my own iPod. If you read my post from 2009, you'd know about my previous music experience there. This year was much improved with me listening to songs from Glee while wiggling my toes to the beat and trying really hard not to sing along. Between my precious Valium pill, listening to my own music, and feeling calmer than ever, this was hands down my best MRI experience yet.

After getting out of my MRI late, we rushed up to the hospital (ate my brown bag lunch of a sandwich and grapes on the way) for my hearing test and to meet with my ENT. I always wonder how much I'm missing/failing on my hearing test and was happy to have the tech inform me that there had been no changes since last year. We had to wait a while to see my doctor but when we did, the visit was short and sweet with him telling me that while the MRI showed a variance of about 1mm since last year, it's well within the range of normal (measurements aren't always exact and the system isn't perfect) and he's confident that there hasn't been any growth. And this means...the tumor in my brain/inner ear and I get another year off. Come next September, I'll be a bit of a wreck for a couple of weeks before we go through all of it again. But as my mom says, if we have to have this whole process happen every year and find out that the tumor hasn't grown every year, we'll take it.

Next week I'll be seeing my Neurologist about possible problems with the tumor at the base of my spine. I've been having numbness/tingling in my right leg off and on over the past few weeks and anytime a patient has these symptoms, he wants to meet with them. I have noticed that it's less noticeable (if there at all) when I get more rest and sleep so I'm hoping and praying that nothing more than a quick appointment and discussion is needed. Crossing my fingers that we keep the current plan of an MRI of my back and neck next fall. We'll see...

Home Canned Gold

Some years back a dear friend and neighbor taught me how to can peaches. I vowed to can every year after that and while life hasn't always allowed that, I most certainly love it when late summer rolls around and I'm in a position to do so. I love pulling out my canner, my pretty quart jars, and all the canning gadgets that my hubby bought me a few years back.

This year was my 1st time canning in two years. I managed it when Claire was just over 1 year old but overdid myself. At the time, it was less than a year after my back and brain surgeries and my body didn't care for standing on my feet all day. I'm thinking that last year the memory of the pain that canning caused back in '08 was still too fresh so I didn't really give it much thought. But this year, nothing was going to stop me. Especially considering that I had the perfect opportunity to pick up a 1/2 bushel of beautiful peaches while in Brigham City.

I spent a good chunk of the Monday and Thursday after going to Peach Days canning those beautiful Suncrest peaches. I am a touch meticulous about prepping them...in addition to pitting and peeling them, I also cut out the center of the fruit where the "grippies" around the pit are. This year at the suggestion of a couple of friends, I tried briefly boiling a number of the peaches to make peeling faster/simpler. Being the weirdy that I am, I hated it! Some of the peels were easier to remove but I found the fruit to be slippery, some of them were hard to halve because they were so slick, and I didn't like the cooked texture of the outermost layer. So back to my hand peeling with a soup spoon (my favorite trick). The prepping is always the most time consuming part but from there on, it's smooth sailing with getting the jars into the canner(s) and then kicking back and letting the stove do it's thing.

I now have 12 gorgeous quarts of home canned peaches sitting in the storage room in my basement. A perfectly lined up shelf of pure gold that won't be touched until I'm good and ready and the memory of the hours I spent working on them has faded a bit. But when they do get pulled off the shelf...oh, how sweet it will be! Peaches for breakfast in the winter and fresh peach cobbler at a moment's notice. Mmmmmmm!

Brigham City Peach Days

Two weekends ago, I packed up the kiddies and drove up to Brigham City for its annual Peach Days celebration. I'd never been before but one of my sisters-in-law's mom is from there and it's been a tradition for their family since time began. They go up every year and make a day of it. So we tagged along for the fun this year (minus the parade...too much crazy even for me), heading up around lunch time.

We got our vittles at the ultra-packed outdoor food court. And the food wasn't just about peaches. Burgers and dogs, Navajo tacos, peach cobbler and peach/fruit pies, Japanese food, a variety of cold drinks and smoothies, fried Coke (what?), fried Twinkies, spiced nuts, scones, etc. I seriously can't remember everything that was there. All I know is I got a salad for me, pizza for the kids, and an amazing peach cobbler to share.

After lunch we wandered around the vendor/craft booths and then took the kids and got going on the real stuff: rides. They started out on this fun little "train"...metal barrels made into cars pulled by a darling older man on a 4-wheeler (with a rainbow umbrella hat to keep the sun off his face). Smiles all around on that ride. After that, Hudson got to enjoy a few trips down an enormous inflatable slide before we headed to the main carnival where we squeezed a whopping 3 rides into 90+ minutes. The kids went on a little caterpillar roller coaster and a UFO ride and then Hudson and I went on the ferris wheel. Claire fell asleep just before we got to the front of the line so she stayed on solid ground with my sister-in-law's mom and my baby niece while we rode. At the end of the day, we all went to Maddox restaurant/steak house for a relaxing sit-down dinner...always a welcome thing after a day on one's feet.

I'm really glad that the kids and I went up for the festival. But next time I go, I'm going to remember a few things:

1. Get more than 1 peach cobbler and try to get one that has more peaches than cobbler.

2. Bring sunscreen...I was a LOBSTER when the day was over. Thankfully I realized my forgetfulness soon enough to cover the kids who in turn mostly avoided getting burned.

3. It may be bigger and heavier but take the good camera!

4. Pack a few easy snacks for the kids so that I don't have to spend a month's pay on food.

5. Dose the kids with a good sedative before going to dinner. They somehow ended up MORE wired at dinner after a long afternoon in the sun. I'm kidding about the sedative. I promise. But I really was ready to pull my hair out by the time dinner was over.

The Green Door Poem

The Green Door Poem

I wanted to paint our front door.
Tired of the primer, I was.
So I gathered up some swatches,
As one ready to paint something does.
I flipped through every single one -
Found a lovely shade of green.
Showed it to my hubby...
He too was rather keen.
We hired a trusty painter,
He bought the color and did his job.
And when we saw the end result...
Well, it's a miracle I didn't sob.


Our front door was sure green alright.
A lovely springtime shade.
And before even 12 hours had passed
I said, "Changes must be made!"
I picked up all new swatches,
Went through them carefully.
Picked out another color and prayed
"Please don't let the neighbors see."
But the split-pea soup color had to stay
For days 'til the painter came back.
In the interim whenever I saw that door -
I wished that time would turn back.
Now the door has been painted...again.
And this time? Sweet success.
An olive green that we can live with and love
And I'm no longer a mess.

Fin.

P.S. New posts on the past couple of weeks coming over the next day or two and more painting, recipes, etc. to follow!

My Girl Is A Preschooler!

Today was Claire's 1st day of preschool. Considering how shy she was at orientation last week, I was a little nervous about how she would deal with the real thing. Always being one to do things on her own time, she completely surprised me today when upon getting out of the car, she happily walked up the driveway towards the other kids, only turning around to say "bye" when prompted by her teacher. Ahhhh....sigh of relief!

My baby girl all ready to head off into the exciting world of preschool.

I felt somewhat lost not having anyone at home with me and I'm glad that I was scheduled to help out in Hudson's class for a bit while she was at school. After that, I had time to run a few errands and get a little bit done at home before picking her up. Strange feeling but I'm sure I'll get used to it...

When I picked her up, Claire was every bit as happy as when I dropped her off earlier. She talked about snack time (banana, cookie, and water), recess, holding onto the rope on the driveway, washing her hands, and doing the Hokey Pokey. All good things. What can we say?

PRESCHOOL ROCKS!

First Day of 1st Grade

Hudson started school back on August 23rd. He is positively in LOVE with being in 1st grade. He gets to eat lunch at school (what could be better?), takes a "secret snack" for energizing himself before the 1st of 3 recesses, and gets to be at school all day long.

Here's my boy all geared up and ready for the walk to the bus stop the 1st day of school:

Claire will have her 1st day of preschool next week....picture(s) to follow!

More Vacation Pics - June & July 2010

After our wonderful week on Balboa Island at the end of June, we headed up the coast to my hometown to spend a week with my parents. We couldn't make that drive without stopping in Santa Barbara for lunch at Brophy Bros. in the harbor. We arrived at a good time and were able to get a seat on the balcony where we watched boats come and go and the goings on along the docks. One delicious meal of clam chowder, house salad, cheeseburgers, and fries later (we didn't all have all of that...different combinations for each of us), we were on our way up north.

While staying at my parents' place (and in between Claire and Hudson's taking turns having some sort of flu), we spent our days doing all sort of fun things....

There were several trips to our favorite park in town, Oak Meadow. While they have some nice, newer play structures, there are things that haven't changed since I used to play there when I was a kid. There's the real airplane that they've gutted and cemented in, the old fire engine, and the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad. As they were when I was little, those three things are still the biggest attractions there. Not only did we spend time at the playground and take a turn on the railroad, my mom and I took the kids with us when we went on walks between Oak Meadow and Vasona a couple of times.

One of our first days there, my mom and I took the kiddies downtown to the Town Plaza Fountain. Hudson had no problem soaking himself from head to toe in no time. Claire was a bit more timid but eventually got in there and had a grand time as well. It was the perfect activity for a hot day (great for the adults, too...we sat in the shade under the big redwood trees).

The first weekend we were there included the 4th of July. Claire was just starting on the upswing from being sick and we kept the day rather low-key. Even though we weren't going anywhere or seeing anyone, I got the kids dressed in their patriotic duds and we spent the late morning and early afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather.

One of our favorite activites out there is to go to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We went twice this trip, once with both of my parents and the other time with my mom. Claire wasn't old enough to really enjoy it last year so it was fun watching her as she "got it" when we went this time. We did go to Gayle's while we were over there the 1st time but alas, they were out of Princess Cake that evening so no pictures from that stop.

Another favorite day from our visit was when my dad and I took the kids to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo. It's an oldie but goodie that has been around forever. They recently overhauled the place, though, and the changes are amazing! While many of the attractions are the same (little zoo, petting zoo, rides, etc.), they added an incredibly enormous and amazing play structure and completely face-lifted the whole place. It was so fun to go there and watch my kids enjoy a place that I used to love.

Now, a trip to my hometown just wouldn't be right without a day trip to the city. Important note: Please don't call it San Fran, Frisco, or anything else like that. It's San Fransisco or the city. Period. Anything else makes us Bay Area natives cringe. Anyway...we started out with a trip to Golden Gate Park where we met up with my sister and her kids at the Academy of Sciences. This is another place that has been completely renovated in the past few years. I hadn't been since before we had Hudson and boy, was I ever impressed with the changes! They have an amazing multi-level rainforest exhibit with all sorts of rainforest creatures (ginormous orb weaver spiders included...yuck!), a T-Rex skeleton in the entry way, an incredible aquarium with species from all over the world, etc. After visiting the Academy, we went to Union Square and San Fransisco Center for our usual shopping and a great dinner at one of the best food courts ever.

Now, our trip didn't just consist of days spent away from home and out and about. Most days were spent close to home (which included the aforementioned trips to the park) and at home for the most part. The kids had the time of their lives riding in the John Deere truck, running in the sprinklers (or hose spray), eating ice cream, playing dress up, digging in the sandbox, reading with their grandparents, and washing my car (my favorite). We also took part of an afternoon and visited a very dear friend of ours, Inger, who lives in my hometown. She's an amazing lady who immigrated from Norway in her early 20's and I can never get enough of her Norweigan-New York accent, her smile, and her company.

Well folks, that's finally it. The last of the pictures and details that I'm posting on our month-long excursion to California. And it only took me just over a month to get it done!

Now to catch up on the 1st day of school, our weekend with Max's family, etc....

Ouch...and Happy Birthday, Claire!

A week ago tonight, we woke up at 1:30 in the morning to the sound of Claire screaming like she'd never screamed before. I ran into her room and was surprised to find her bed empty. With my darn deaf ear I couldn't tell what direction the crying was coming from so I turned on the lamp and was surprised to see her kneeling in the middle of the floor (glad I didn't trip over her as I came in!). She was grabbing at the neckline of her nightgown on the left side and assuming she was having a night terror, the first thing I did after picking her up was pull it off. We couldn't get her to settle down and after a few minutes, we realized that she was very much conscious and responsive and very much in pain. After watching her movements and reactions to them, I guessed that it might be a broken collarbone but at the same time thought it unlikely. But we just didn't know and being naturally worried with her behavior, screaming, etc., we soon called Max's brother and he came up and stayed with a sleeping Hudson while we took Claire to the ER. The doctor fairly quickly said that he thought it was indeed a broken collarbone based on her sensitivity to touch and movement on that side. They gave her a shot of morphine in the leg to help ease the pain. In reacting to the shot being administered, poor Claire managed to get her left arm out of my grip and reached for her leg, causing her collarbone to hurt horribly again (sobs, screaming, etc.). We waited for the morphine to kick in and then they took us off to radiology for a couple of x-rays. Claire was good as gold sitting upright on the little bench while they took the films but it was obvious that the morphine wasn't doing the trick as she trembled and quietly sobbed from the pain during much of the process. Sure enough, though, the pictures showed a nice clean break right through the center of the bone. They told us that it's the most commonly broken bone in the body and that they see it all the time. We ended up going home with her arm in a sling with an Ace bandage around her torso to keep it in place, a prescription for kiddie Lortab, and a note to call our doctor for a follow up in the next few days. The first couple of days were pretty rough for her but watching her now, you wouldn't guess that anything was up if it weren't for the sling and body wrap. It's amazing how quickly kids rebound!

Showing us all how to work the sling look (about 13-14 hours after the break).

After a few days of getting used to being less independent than normal, my baby turned the big "3" over the weekend. As my mom says, it goes from the terrible 2's to the tumultuous 3's to the ferocious 4's. Even though she's most definitely following that path, we still love our Claire and we'll keep her (at least for the time being).

For her birthday, Claire decided to forgo her normal daily manifesations of her age and was most pleasant the entire day. After we sang to her in the morning, she kept singing various renditions of Happy Birthday to herself all day long. She talked about it being her birthday, enjoyed repeating that she was 3 years old, and repeatedly asked to open her presents. That evening we had family members from both sides come and joing us for cake and ice cream. Everyone enjoyed dessert, the adults had a nice time visiting, the 5-and-up group took turns on the trampoline, and Claire and the other 3-year-old cousin present spent their time doing girly things. Claire was thrilled with her little party and was excited about all of her gifts. A couple of the things she really loves are her flowered pink sunglasses (lenses flip open to the side...so cute!) and a big pink birthday sign/card that she refers to as her "newsletter". However, the most popular present of the night - let me take a bow - was her shiny pink tutu, "jeweled" crown/tiara, and pink star wand. She has worn them regularly since and enjoys asking me to put them on her frequently (when I'm in the restroom, when we're leaving the house, right after she's taken them all off, when it's time for bed...you get the idea).

Happy 3rd Birthday, Claire!

P.S. Per our follow-up with the pediatrician, the body wrap comes off tomorrow and she'll just have to wear the sling for the remaining 4-5 weeks. Hooray!

Balboa Island - June 2010

At last, a promised vacation post with a plethora of pictures. They're all crunched into collages but that counts, right?

At the end of June, we met up with my immediate family and my extended family on my mom's side for a fabulous week on Balboa Island (some other folks were either at the Newport Coast Villas or in houses on the peninsula but we were fortunate to be on the island itself). The house that my parents rented for most of us to stay in was in the PERFECT location. Third house from the beachfront on a quiet street, a 5 minute walk from downtown, and a 5 minute walk from the ferry over to the peninsula. In addition to the great locale, we were fortunate to have the best weather EVER while we were there. Every day was in the low to mid 70's - far cooler than normal for the summer months. Forget this post...I'm going to pack my bags and go back!

We all had a most marvelous time, starting with a chunk of the 1st afternoon there spent on the little beach just down from the house. My kids initially went into the water up to their knees (Claire a little further) in their clothes so we took them back and suited them up. We have one niece who couldn't wait for her suit to arrive from the villas where their family was staying and she went in the water in her jeans and tee shirt. First up to her knees, then to her waist, and then up to the top of her shirt. I cringe thinking of how uncomfortable that must have been with those clingy wet, saltwatery clothes (though she sure didn't seem to mind!). The kids all had a blast making drip castles, digging in the sand, wading and/or swimming (or scooting around on body boards) in the water, and soaking up the sun.

One of our evenings there, we met up with my sister and her family (minus her eldest daughter who decided that girls' camp was more important - and fun - than hanging with us) at the Fun Zone. It's a great little stop just across Newport Bay (large waterway on that saide of the island) on the Newport Peninsula. No, it's not a coincidence that Claire and her cousin Becca are in the same outfit. The girls love dressing alike and considering that my sister and I like a lot of the same clothes for our girls, it's not too hard for us to pull off. We obviously failed in the hair department that evening, though, as Becca had pigtails and Claire's hair was mostly down. Poor communication on our parts. The girls were tickled to have pictures taken in their little outfits and we all enjoyed watching Ben on the big-bounce/stunt trampoline. Most of us went on the ferris wheel, and then we took the ferry back over to the island and walked back home.

On another day, we went and rented a boat with my sister and my baby bro and his family. My middle brother also came with his family but arrived later than we did and rented their own boat. It was a very exciting ride with maximum speeds reaching something like 10 mph. Wow...good thing I didn't wear a hat. It was actually a nice little thing with an iPod jack (thanks for the tunes, Jordan!) and a table with cup holders in the middle. We took off right around lunch time and having not eaten, the setup made me wish I'd brought snacks/lunch with us. It was a nice, relaxing cruise around the harbor and a couple of the little islands there. The kids had fun climbing around the boat and when Jordan and Steve weren't driving, Ben and Hudson each got a turn steering the boat. Hudson was all business when it was his turn...serious stuff. I'm bummed about the washed out picture of Hudson and Becca on the lower right but I just had to put it in. They're our two little peas in a pod...born exactly 2 months apart and the greatest of friends. Oh - and please note that we succeeded in having Claire and Becca match outfits and hairstyles that day. I'm so proud of us.

Towards the end of the trip, we spent another afternoon down on our little beach. This time my middle brother's five kids came over for the party so we got a picture of all the kids together (minus my eldest brother's kids...we were sad they couldn't come on the trip). This time they all worked together and made some sort of water city or sand city or something like that. It had drip castles all over with a few bridges and lots of streams running throughout. The best part? It kept them happily occupied for a solid hour or more. I'm all about my kids being self-entertained so that I can sit back and be lazy!

At the end of our afternoon in the sand, my dear friend Becky came to visit for a bit with her two darling little boys. Becky and I have known each other since the beginning of time (I think that's about accurate). She was one of my best friends when we were in early elementary school and then her family moved to another part of California. We kept in touch off-and-on throughout the years but she's always been a great friend. It was a short visit as she got caught in traffic on the way and we were headed to dinner shortly thereafter but it was SO good to see her for the 1st time since Hudson was a baby. Both of her boys are so very cute and I'm fairly certain that her baby loves me. I think I may steal him next time we get together. Thank you again, Becky, for coming out to see us!!

Our last night on the island, we made our final trip (of many) downtown to get Balboa Bars at Dad's - the best and ONLY place to get them - and then took a walk around the island. I love a good bar with everything and Max always goes for the rainbow sprinkles. Hudson started the trip out with bars like Max gets and then soon switched to rainbow sherbet cones instead. I love the shot of him and Becca with their cones...obviously happy kids! While on the walk, we stopped briefly at the place on North Bay Front where there is a dinosaur statue in the front yard (those of you who also vacation there know the place). A couple of the kids got pictures with the dino and while he was excited at the notion of doing so, Hudson changed his mind when it came to getting up close and personal with the beast. I just love his posture and the look on his face.

In addition to all of our morning and evening walks around the island, consuming of Balboa Bars, and visiting with my family, we had fun going to Corona del Mar (our favorite body boarding and body surfing spot), spending time with extended family, going shopping, swimming at the villas, and kicking back at the house. Oh - and one night, when Max and I took our kids and Becca to dinner, Hudson fell asleep while we were eating. Probably the 2nd time he's ever done that...guess he was a bit tired!

I don't think a single one of us was ready to pack up and go at the end of the week but all good things must come to an end. But we took that thought and decided that it didn't have to come to an end just yet. And we headed up the coast to my hometown...

Rewind: Spring Swimming Lessons

Approximately 2 1/2 months ago I was good enough to put together a collage (okay...Picasa did the dirty work) of pictures of my kids on the last day of their pre-summer swimming lessons. Then I let the collage sit and never did a post. Can you tell how fabulously organized and focused I am these days? Yeah. I amaze even myself.

So here I now sit, all geared up and ready to do vacations posts and I suddenly realized I never did get that one about swimming lessons done... I'm going to try to keep this short (HA!) so I can actually move forward and get some more recent stuff on here.

Starting back in the spring, I put Hudson back into swimming lessons and took one session of Parent & Tot lessons with Claire. Hudson has always been happy to get in the water with anyone who will go with him. On the other hand, shy Claire took some coaxing and even with me was a bit nervous about the whole lesson thing at first. Then she realized we were in the water, got comfy, and thought she could swim without my assistance. I tried letting her sink a few times to get the message through and apparently she thought it was some sort of joke because to this day, she still wants to go off on her own. Anyway...at the end of the Parent & Tot session with Claire, our instructor suggested that she be moved up to Preschool Level 1 in spite of her being under age by a few months. The aquatics director approved the move and with Hudson turning 6 around that time (and therefore graduating from the "preschool" aged classes), both kids made a jump into the next level of classes in mid-April.

On the first day of lessons, they were announcing the teachers for each class and, knowing that Claire was the only Preschool Level 1 student, I figured it wouldn't matter who we got because she would basically be getting private lessons. No such luck. As soon as Claire saw that her instructor was - wait for it - A GUY (named Mitch), she buried her head into my legs, begged to be held, and started crying. In spite of the fact that he was sweet as could be, obviously experienced with kids, and nothing more than a huge teddy bear, I'm sure it didn't help that Mitch is probably 6'3" (maybe taller?) and a sold 275+ pounds. It was a battle of epic proportions to get her in the pool that day and in the end, it took Hudson and a girl teacher getting in the water with her to do the trick. She only spent about 1/3 of the time in the water but cried for 3/4 of the time. Super. Supposedly it happens "all the time" but I was thoroughly embarrassed. At the end of the day, they offered to rearrange things a bit and when we came for the next lesson, they had combined two classes so that Claire would be in the water with a GIRL named Lauren (Claire lovingly referred to her as a "babysitter") and Mitch while they jointly taught her and two little boys. Starting that 1st day and all throughout the 5 or 6 week session, Claire would randomly tell me, "I don't want Mitch." Playing with her toys? She didn't want Mitch. Going to bed? She didn't want Mitch. Getting dressed? Going to the store? Eating dinner? She didn't want Mitch. You get the picture. While she never did warm up to poor Mitch (let alone allow him to hold or help her), by the end of the session she did get to the point where she'd actually talk to him or give him "knuckles" or "five". And I even managed to trick her into being in a picture with him. She's going to be repeating Preschool Level 1...precisely ZERO surprise there.

Hudson, on the other hand, was true and faithful to his outgoing nature and was totally thrilled with his two teachers (one of whom was Mitch...time block after Claire's lesson). Really nothing to tell here. He loves the water. He loves swimming. He loves people. He loves being in the water while swimming with people. He graduated to the next level class without batting an eye. The end.

The session ended in the middle of May and neither of my kids have been in lessons since. School was ending, we went on a "2 week" vacation (turned into 4 weeks as previously mentioned), and then when we had been home for 1 week, my sister and her kiddies came to visit. All very much fun and most fantastic but I'm eager to get my kids back in lessons. Hopefully going to get them (re)started next week. We'll see...

Let The Vacation Posting Begin

This is one of my all time favorite sights and it just so happens to be in one of my all time favorite places in the world.

Just sorted through hundreds of pictures from our trip to California. I have all of my pictures from the 1st week of the trip set aside and ready to play with in Picasa. Vacations posts coming soon with loads of pictures. I promise.