Things have been a bit crazy over here in the Wannabe Hippie household. We’ve had family in from out of town, two sick girls, two sick parents, a dog who is having some odd health issue we can’t figure out and countless home projects that just haven’t been done. Right now my husband is trying to fix a roofing issue before the rain comes while I bake brownies for a party we are going to tonight. When did staying up ‘till midnight become such a task? Right, kids. Everything changed when we had kids. How could it not?
But hey, my house is actually clean and I hear my tiny girl giggling at the bigger one. They are “talking” softly to each other, Lily using words and Anya using noise. Lily keeps talking about the nummy chocolate mommy is making. That’s my girl. I let her lick the spoon as there were no eggs in the recipe (it’s vegan) and with chocolate smeared all over her face and top section I laughed at her mess, sending her off to change her shirt.
This is the spirit of the season. Mess, laughter, stress, sick kids… chaos theory really thrives this time of year. I just keep reminding myself that I don’t push the river, the river pushes me. Go with the flow and let it be. Live in the present. And of course, the biggest of the mama mantras: This too shall pass.
The baby is crying and my toddler is yelling “ALL DONE!” from the potty. I must away. Have a great new years night and stay safe! We’ll see you all next year!
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
7 months old
Dear Anya,
You were busy this month, girl. You were all into the skills, figuring out how to sit up, crawl, get a couple of teeth, try solid foods, pull yourself up to stand (!) and win hearts all over the place. You have become so much more than a baby in these last couple of weeks, developing a sense of humor and finding your voice. You love to touch my face, pinch my lips, pull out my hair or slide a finger up my nose. While exploring my freckles you’ll babble and blow bubbles, telling me all about what you find in my gaze (and in my nose). It’s like you know all about me and are trying to explain it to me slowly, in words only I can understand. We are learning each other, discovering every inch of love we share and I am constantly amazed at how you mirror me, making me love you all the more and showing me how to better love myself through your adoring coos and touches. And oh how you make me laugh! You are a comic through and through and have amazing timing. Just the other day you looked up at me through a blanket Lily had draped across your head and when I offered you the opportunity to nurse, did a perfect double take, the beats timed like a pro and sending me into gales of laughter.
You have also become a shepard of grief, finding ways to push through our loss this year and heal hurt hearts. My mom was telling me that while at the farmer’s market last week she noticed someone selling Pink Lady apples. She turned to her friend and said, “Oh, I have to get some of those for my mom, they’re her favorite!” and then, just before she picked up and apple she added, “but I don’t have a mom anymore.” Her heart broke again and she told me that she felt like an orphan, so lost with the passing of her mother.
But when I see her take you into her arms, that empty orphan part of her fills just a little. The grief around her eyes slowly turns to laugh lines and while caring for you or your sister her heart doesn’t seem so heavy. I know she’ll always feel the loss but I’d like to think that with the help of my beautiful daughters she won’t always feel so alone.
This month you also enjoyed your first drum circle (out of the womb, anyway) and I delighted in watching you grip the beater, smacking that drum with the rhythm you wouldn’t expect from one so tiny. You got to meet tons of family at the big shin-dig full of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends and second-cousins-twice-removed. Not to mention the overflow of blinky lights and wrapping paper thrust in your general direction. I can’t tell you how many times I had to scoop paper out of your furiously working little mouth.
And let us not forget your foray into the eating world. THAT was a mess. But the dog has never been more excited, fearing she’d never see the high chair again when we put it away from Lily’s use. Once more she stands at attention through every meal, just waiting for an errant scrap or her chance to clean out the seat at the end.
Today we took you to the beach and I plopped you down in the sand, trusting you wouldn’t try to eat the whole beach. You squished your hands in the wet sand and rubbed them together, relishing the rough grit and the way it fell through your fingers. Your sister was always so clean, not wanting to get dirty and crying bitterly when she did. You seem to dive into mess, embracing your environment to the nth degree. I used to get all stressed out and try to fix it immediately but now, with over two years of parenting under my belt, I let it be and simply laugh, whipping out the camera to document your antics.
This month has been hard on me for so many reasons. But you are not one of them. I am constantly reminded how very good I have it and have you and your sister to thank for that. Keep on rocking on.
I love you,
Mama
You were busy this month, girl. You were all into the skills, figuring out how to sit up, crawl, get a couple of teeth, try solid foods, pull yourself up to stand (!) and win hearts all over the place. You have become so much more than a baby in these last couple of weeks, developing a sense of humor and finding your voice. You love to touch my face, pinch my lips, pull out my hair or slide a finger up my nose. While exploring my freckles you’ll babble and blow bubbles, telling me all about what you find in my gaze (and in my nose). It’s like you know all about me and are trying to explain it to me slowly, in words only I can understand. We are learning each other, discovering every inch of love we share and I am constantly amazed at how you mirror me, making me love you all the more and showing me how to better love myself through your adoring coos and touches. And oh how you make me laugh! You are a comic through and through and have amazing timing. Just the other day you looked up at me through a blanket Lily had draped across your head and when I offered you the opportunity to nurse, did a perfect double take, the beats timed like a pro and sending me into gales of laughter.
You have also become a shepard of grief, finding ways to push through our loss this year and heal hurt hearts. My mom was telling me that while at the farmer’s market last week she noticed someone selling Pink Lady apples. She turned to her friend and said, “Oh, I have to get some of those for my mom, they’re her favorite!” and then, just before she picked up and apple she added, “but I don’t have a mom anymore.” Her heart broke again and she told me that she felt like an orphan, so lost with the passing of her mother.
But when I see her take you into her arms, that empty orphan part of her fills just a little. The grief around her eyes slowly turns to laugh lines and while caring for you or your sister her heart doesn’t seem so heavy. I know she’ll always feel the loss but I’d like to think that with the help of my beautiful daughters she won’t always feel so alone.
This month you also enjoyed your first drum circle (out of the womb, anyway) and I delighted in watching you grip the beater, smacking that drum with the rhythm you wouldn’t expect from one so tiny. You got to meet tons of family at the big shin-dig full of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends and second-cousins-twice-removed. Not to mention the overflow of blinky lights and wrapping paper thrust in your general direction. I can’t tell you how many times I had to scoop paper out of your furiously working little mouth.
And let us not forget your foray into the eating world. THAT was a mess. But the dog has never been more excited, fearing she’d never see the high chair again when we put it away from Lily’s use. Once more she stands at attention through every meal, just waiting for an errant scrap or her chance to clean out the seat at the end.
Today we took you to the beach and I plopped you down in the sand, trusting you wouldn’t try to eat the whole beach. You squished your hands in the wet sand and rubbed them together, relishing the rough grit and the way it fell through your fingers. Your sister was always so clean, not wanting to get dirty and crying bitterly when she did. You seem to dive into mess, embracing your environment to the nth degree. I used to get all stressed out and try to fix it immediately but now, with over two years of parenting under my belt, I let it be and simply laugh, whipping out the camera to document your antics.
This month has been hard on me for so many reasons. But you are not one of them. I am constantly reminded how very good I have it and have you and your sister to thank for that. Keep on rocking on.
I love you,
Mama
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Self Portrait Tuesday
In the car... completely alone. No kids, no husband, no dog. Just me and some very loud music. Hell yeah.
More self portraits by clicking the logo below:
More self portraits by clicking the logo below:
Monday, December 26, 2005
Sunday, December 25, 2005
All I Want for Christmas...
You know that song, “All I Want for Christmas Is My two Front Teeth”? This morning after we opened the last present, Anya gave us all the final gift: her second tooth. She now has two front teeth poking outta her lower gums.
And those of you not familiar with the song check out this version sung by the ever-so-talented and handsome Count von Count. Yes, from Sesame Street.
And those of you not familiar with the song check out this version sung by the ever-so-talented and handsome Count von Count. Yes, from Sesame Street.
Christmas Morning
Open that one Lily. Ohhhh! Nice! Can you wipe the baby’s nose, hon? Lily, don’t wipe your nose on your dress. Lily open one? It’s Daddy’s turn, Lil. Wait. YAY! Underwear! Stop sitting on your sister. Anya, don’t eat tissue paper. Nose! That’s MINE! Not Mommy’s turn, LILY’S TURN! Do you need to go back to sleep? I hungry. Lily, don’t take that away from your sister! Press the button. LILY, don’t wipe your nose on your dress. YAY, kitty get it! Nose! Gah! Cat eating ribbon! Oh yeah, Old School. Let’s play Mommy’s new CD! Hey, that’s Daddy’s new CD! Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells. Lily’s open that one? Where’s Sister? For goodness sake kid, stop wiping your nose on your dress! Get off Anya! Open the box, Daddy! No picture me, Mommy! Press the button. Waaaaa! Nap? NO NAP! No more presents? All done. YAY!
Friday, December 23, 2005
how to make spaghetti squash
Let the squash sit around until it starts to mold.
Look at it and hurmph a bit, and then put it back in the basket in the kitchen.
Realize that although you just went to the grocery store, you have nothing to eat for dinner.
Pick it back up and get out a knife.
Screw the cutting board, it’s no big deal.
Split the squash lengthwise, gouging a hole in counter top and/or hand, ladies choice.
Start cutting away at the moldy bits.
Give up after three or four and figure you’ll just work around them when the thing is cooked.
Dig around in the cabinets looking for an appropriate dish to cook it in.
There is no appropriate dish; make do with what you have.
Lay the cut side down in the awkward dish, one half kinda resting on the other, and throw in a little water; cover with cling wrap.
Wonder how long you’re supposed to cook it.
Shove it in the microwave and guess at five minutes.
Nope.
Five more minutes.
Not quite.
Five more minutes.
WHOA THERE, that’ll do.
Notice that when you cook it a little too long it will implode and then form a cling wrap shrink wrap. Nice.
Remove from the microwave – with hot pads – and set on counter top.
Carefully unwrap.
I said CAREFULLY, dammit.
Try to turn over squash.
Burn your belly when it splashes.
Curse loudly and in front of the kids.
Wait, where’s the kid that can actually talk?
Search for toddler.
Find toddler staring at daddy in the shower, trying to figure out what the dangly bits are and why daddy has them.
Shoo her back upstairs and retackle the steaming squash.
Ouch, hot!
Dammit!
Finally scrape the shells clean, mostly avoiding the moldy bits.
Mostly.
Pour some pasta sauce over the top and present to family.
Watch with a smile while the husband eats it all up and growl with annoyance when your toddler eats three bites with gusto and then demands cereal, claiming she doesn’t like it.
Try, very very hard, not to say, “I cooked this for you, dammit. EAT IT!”
Accept your role as domestic goddess and eat your meal.
HEY, it’s actually quite good!
Look at it and hurmph a bit, and then put it back in the basket in the kitchen.
Realize that although you just went to the grocery store, you have nothing to eat for dinner.
Pick it back up and get out a knife.
Screw the cutting board, it’s no big deal.
Split the squash lengthwise, gouging a hole in counter top and/or hand, ladies choice.
Start cutting away at the moldy bits.
Give up after three or four and figure you’ll just work around them when the thing is cooked.
Dig around in the cabinets looking for an appropriate dish to cook it in.
There is no appropriate dish; make do with what you have.
Lay the cut side down in the awkward dish, one half kinda resting on the other, and throw in a little water; cover with cling wrap.
Wonder how long you’re supposed to cook it.
Shove it in the microwave and guess at five minutes.
Nope.
Five more minutes.
Not quite.
Five more minutes.
WHOA THERE, that’ll do.
Notice that when you cook it a little too long it will implode and then form a cling wrap shrink wrap. Nice.
Remove from the microwave – with hot pads – and set on counter top.
Carefully unwrap.
I said CAREFULLY, dammit.
Try to turn over squash.
Burn your belly when it splashes.
Curse loudly and in front of the kids.
Wait, where’s the kid that can actually talk?
Search for toddler.
Find toddler staring at daddy in the shower, trying to figure out what the dangly bits are and why daddy has them.
Shoo her back upstairs and retackle the steaming squash.
Ouch, hot!
Dammit!
Finally scrape the shells clean, mostly avoiding the moldy bits.
Mostly.
Pour some pasta sauce over the top and present to family.
Watch with a smile while the husband eats it all up and growl with annoyance when your toddler eats three bites with gusto and then demands cereal, claiming she doesn’t like it.
Try, very very hard, not to say, “I cooked this for you, dammit. EAT IT!”
Accept your role as domestic goddess and eat your meal.
HEY, it’s actually quite good!
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
whispered kisses
Lily had a little trouble getting to sleep last night. About half an hour after Mark tucked her in, we found her sitting in one of the Lily sized chairs on the deck, feet swinging while she looked up at the moon. I’m all for star gazing, but if there’s one thing we know about Lily, it’s that she needs her sleep; she’s a cranky bear without it. So Mark took her back to her room and got her back into bed, lying down next to her to help her to sleep. Wouldn’t you know it, but he dropped off almost immediately while she lay awake. He awoke to find her inches from his face, hands cupping his cheeks as her little moon face peered into his.
“Love you.” She whispered and planted a kiss on his chin. “I love you” and a kiss for his left cheek. “Love you much” a kiss for his other cheek. “I LOVE you” said a kiss to his nose. On and on she went, raining kisses all over his face as she whispered her affections for her daddy.
What I wouldn’t have given to have been him last night; if only for those precious few moments.
“Love you.” She whispered and planted a kiss on his chin. “I love you” and a kiss for his left cheek. “Love you much” a kiss for his other cheek. “I LOVE you” said a kiss to his nose. On and on she went, raining kisses all over his face as she whispered her affections for her daddy.
What I wouldn’t have given to have been him last night; if only for those precious few moments.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Reflection
How the heck did another year go by? The whole time I was growing up I thought people were insane for prattling on and on about how the years go by so fast and “my, how you’ve grown!” Guess what I do now? I caught myself in mid sentence with a child I know and apologized for being grown up. Seriously, it’s kinda freaking me out. But then, all this stuff about becoming an adult is freaky, so I guess I’m right on track.
Anyone not know that we now have two kids? That’s right. This May we had a beautiful homebirth with our second daughter, welcoming Anya Isabella into our family. She is the most laid back, easy-going kid I have ever met and am thrilled to have the honor of waking up next to her sweet, smiling face every morning. Lily is taking to the big sister role beautifully and we’re enjoying watching them figure out how to play together. Lily frequently attempts to eat her sister up, complete with chomping noises and declarations of, “ummmm, nummy!” She is a (mostly) gentle, (often) sweet big sis and except for when Anya grabs her hair and starts pulling at her curls, seems to think her little sister is a great toy.
Some of you might remember that last year I went back to work while Mark made the switch to stay-at-home-dad. I loved working at the Globe and Mark and Lily were thick as thieves, spending days together and hitting up playgroups. This worked wonderfully for all of us right up until the point that we had another baby. Since Mark cannot lactate, we’re back to having me at home while Mark is doing gigs and some residential carpentry work. He even had time to put in the deck we had to rip out a year and a half ago! Can’t tell you how thrilled I am that we no longer have a big gaping hole and instead have something Lily can run around and around (and AROUND) on. We’re able to spend quite a bit of time together, which – since we happen to like each other – actually works for us.
There has also been a fair bit of traveling for us this year. In February, Mark and I made a get-a-way to Idyllwild to celebrate his birthday, snuggling around my very pregnant belly in a snowy cabin in the woods. In March, Mark’s grandfather turned 90 and we made our way up to the Bay Area to celebrate with family. His brother Mike even made it over from England for the big event and we were able to spend time with him while he visited us here in San Diego. April shuttled us off to Arizona for Ken & Mary’s wedding and September had all four of us taking a trip to Disneyland to celebrate my birthday, where we met up with friends Vikki and Jeff. Apparently that wasn’t enough for us, so we bought a minivan and took a road trip in October after Anya and I got back from a side trip to Colorado. We made it to Northern California for Halloween with Mark’s mom and family and enjoyed taking the girls (both dressed as pumpkins) trick-or-treating in the historic town of Grass Valley. The week after Thanksgiving our home had to be tented for termites, so we took advantage of my uncle’s cabin in Palomar for a long weekend. I’m tired. We’re hoping to stay put through the rest of the holidays. With all the parties, we’re certain to be exhausted anyway!
We also suffered the loss of a deeply loved family member this year. My Grandma Margaret died in August and will be so deeply missed. We think about her often and try to see Grandpa John whenever we can (not nearly enough, of course). I feel so fortunate that Lily got to spend some time with her and she and Anya got to say hello before she passed. I’ll never forget my toddler taking her great-grandma by the hand and urging her over to the window to watch a summer thunderstorm; the wonder in both of their eyes as Lily discovered something new and Grandma saw the world through Lily’s eyes. I see flashes of Grandma in Lily every once in a while and it always makes me smile.
On August 31st my step-sister Rebekah and her husband Chris welcomed new baby Nichole into their family. She’s a beautiful, perfect little creature and I cannot wait for my daughters to play with their cousin. She and Anya are only three months apart, so we all hope they will be close friends as they grow. Over the last half of the year we’ve established a weekly breakfast with this crew and really enjoy this time with family, looking forward to watching the girls run around us in circles.
Life continues to be sweet and for that we feel very lucky and very grateful. Our family has grown, our home is slowly being put into sorts and we are happy. We sincerely hope your life is treating you as well and look forward to hearing about your adventures in the year to come.
Cheers,
Elaine, Mark, Lily and Anya
Anyone not know that we now have two kids? That’s right. This May we had a beautiful homebirth with our second daughter, welcoming Anya Isabella into our family. She is the most laid back, easy-going kid I have ever met and am thrilled to have the honor of waking up next to her sweet, smiling face every morning. Lily is taking to the big sister role beautifully and we’re enjoying watching them figure out how to play together. Lily frequently attempts to eat her sister up, complete with chomping noises and declarations of, “ummmm, nummy!” She is a (mostly) gentle, (often) sweet big sis and except for when Anya grabs her hair and starts pulling at her curls, seems to think her little sister is a great toy.
Some of you might remember that last year I went back to work while Mark made the switch to stay-at-home-dad. I loved working at the Globe and Mark and Lily were thick as thieves, spending days together and hitting up playgroups. This worked wonderfully for all of us right up until the point that we had another baby. Since Mark cannot lactate, we’re back to having me at home while Mark is doing gigs and some residential carpentry work. He even had time to put in the deck we had to rip out a year and a half ago! Can’t tell you how thrilled I am that we no longer have a big gaping hole and instead have something Lily can run around and around (and AROUND) on. We’re able to spend quite a bit of time together, which – since we happen to like each other – actually works for us.
There has also been a fair bit of traveling for us this year. In February, Mark and I made a get-a-way to Idyllwild to celebrate his birthday, snuggling around my very pregnant belly in a snowy cabin in the woods. In March, Mark’s grandfather turned 90 and we made our way up to the Bay Area to celebrate with family. His brother Mike even made it over from England for the big event and we were able to spend time with him while he visited us here in San Diego. April shuttled us off to Arizona for Ken & Mary’s wedding and September had all four of us taking a trip to Disneyland to celebrate my birthday, where we met up with friends Vikki and Jeff. Apparently that wasn’t enough for us, so we bought a minivan and took a road trip in October after Anya and I got back from a side trip to Colorado. We made it to Northern California for Halloween with Mark’s mom and family and enjoyed taking the girls (both dressed as pumpkins) trick-or-treating in the historic town of Grass Valley. The week after Thanksgiving our home had to be tented for termites, so we took advantage of my uncle’s cabin in Palomar for a long weekend. I’m tired. We’re hoping to stay put through the rest of the holidays. With all the parties, we’re certain to be exhausted anyway!
We also suffered the loss of a deeply loved family member this year. My Grandma Margaret died in August and will be so deeply missed. We think about her often and try to see Grandpa John whenever we can (not nearly enough, of course). I feel so fortunate that Lily got to spend some time with her and she and Anya got to say hello before she passed. I’ll never forget my toddler taking her great-grandma by the hand and urging her over to the window to watch a summer thunderstorm; the wonder in both of their eyes as Lily discovered something new and Grandma saw the world through Lily’s eyes. I see flashes of Grandma in Lily every once in a while and it always makes me smile.
On August 31st my step-sister Rebekah and her husband Chris welcomed new baby Nichole into their family. She’s a beautiful, perfect little creature and I cannot wait for my daughters to play with their cousin. She and Anya are only three months apart, so we all hope they will be close friends as they grow. Over the last half of the year we’ve established a weekly breakfast with this crew and really enjoy this time with family, looking forward to watching the girls run around us in circles.
Life continues to be sweet and for that we feel very lucky and very grateful. Our family has grown, our home is slowly being put into sorts and we are happy. We sincerely hope your life is treating you as well and look forward to hearing about your adventures in the year to come.
Cheers,
Elaine, Mark, Lily and Anya
Monday, December 19, 2005
party all the time
I’m trying to type while Anya sits in my lap and flails at the keyboard. It’s a challenge, to say the least. With all the milestones and the tooth appearance, she’s been a clingy monkey and my body actually aches from lugging her around everywhere. It’s nice to be wanted, but for goodness sake, kid: get off! And poor Lily has been having a rough go of it lately as we keep going out to these holiday parties and keeping her up past bedtime. This makes for a very cranky girl in the morning. Although right now, fresh from a nap, she is amusing me by sitting on the potty and calling out, “Poop!” every time a poop exits her butt. At least, that’s what I assume is going on in there, I was told to “STAY!” Oh, and there goes Anya, crawling for the dog water dish.
Good times.
All this makes it so I feel pretty good about leaving my children this evening. One of the companies Mark works for is having their party tonight and it’s no kids allowed.
Bless them.
We’ll get all dolled up and hang out with swanky peeps while enjoying a kickin’ blues band at a cool downtown club. It just sounds adult, doesn’t it? I’m being all ghetto though and on this kick where I’m refusing to shave my legs until… you know, I don’t actually have a goal. I’m just not shaving. I managed to put together an outfit that’ll fly; hippieish without actually showing off the furry legs. I’ll be good and put on make-up, though. Gotta keep my face guessing… don’t want it to get all complacent and stuff. When a good face goes complacent, it’s really ugly. Yes. I just made that up.
In any event, I gotta go work on making myself purdy. Pray for me.
OH! And our party on Saturday night was a blast. You SO wish you could have been there.
Good times.
All this makes it so I feel pretty good about leaving my children this evening. One of the companies Mark works for is having their party tonight and it’s no kids allowed.
Bless them.
We’ll get all dolled up and hang out with swanky peeps while enjoying a kickin’ blues band at a cool downtown club. It just sounds adult, doesn’t it? I’m being all ghetto though and on this kick where I’m refusing to shave my legs until… you know, I don’t actually have a goal. I’m just not shaving. I managed to put together an outfit that’ll fly; hippieish without actually showing off the furry legs. I’ll be good and put on make-up, though. Gotta keep my face guessing… don’t want it to get all complacent and stuff. When a good face goes complacent, it’s really ugly. Yes. I just made that up.
In any event, I gotta go work on making myself purdy. Pray for me.
OH! And our party on Saturday night was a blast. You SO wish you could have been there.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Food/crawl/craft/crazy
Encouraged by this article (so generously shared by this fabulous Peach) we’ve decided not to take the puréed path of baby food to which the majority of this nation seems so dedicated. With Lily, I made mashed foods at home, but not a whole lot as she really did prefer to work on her own when it came to food (and every other thing on the planet, but that’s beside the point). I have never purchased or fed either of my kids a jar of store bought baby food and for some reason, that makes me insanely happy. I have no intention of breaking that record, so little jars be damned!*
Yesterday, while dining at my moms, we stuck Anya in the high chair and gave her a spoon to eat. She gagged herself (with a spoon!) countless times as she inspected every last micron of that thing with her mouth. After a while the spoon just wasn’t giving her the love anymore so I reached over and scattered a handful of cooked peas on her tray. Her coordination still isn’t brilliant so she mostly smashed the peas around the tray and smeared them on herself. Not a single one made it into her mouth which was what I had expected.
Today we tried out some small chunks of banana. There must be something particularly satisfying about smashing banana in your fist because that’s pretty much all she did, her little fist opening and closing with a wet sticky sound. She almost got a little bit in there, but was thwarted by her hand moving in one direction and her mouth moving in another. Then she smeared it in her hair and giggled happily. Maya, who was thrilled to see the return of the highchair, sat directly under the baby and just waited for a morsel or two to drop, practically knocking me down in her haste to get to a scrap of banana that fell farther then she anticipated. Damn dog.
She’s also getting good at crawling, although it’s still pretty funny to watch. Here she is crawling to Grandpa:
Finally, we did another couple of crafts for Solstice today. We made some spirals for the tree and did some tin can candle holders (saying that makes me think of the cancan, DANCE!). Kinda a cool little project, actually. You take any old tin can and peel off the label, then fill it with water and stick it in the freezer. Make a new label and draw on it whatever pattern or image you want the light to show. Once the water in the can is totally frozen, rewrap the label, get yourself a hammer and nail and smash little holes to form the pattern. The ice keeps you from flattening the can, so don’t skip this step. I’m going to try putting some tissue paper around them for color and will get a shot tomorrow at the party. In the meantime, check out some photos on making them:
*Sorry, my kids have been crazy lately and I have had precious little time alone. This makes me a little crazy and when I do get some time to sit and blog with BOTH hands, I act like a freak. It’s why you love me. Because you do love me, right?
Yesterday, while dining at my moms, we stuck Anya in the high chair and gave her a spoon to eat. She gagged herself (with a spoon!) countless times as she inspected every last micron of that thing with her mouth. After a while the spoon just wasn’t giving her the love anymore so I reached over and scattered a handful of cooked peas on her tray. Her coordination still isn’t brilliant so she mostly smashed the peas around the tray and smeared them on herself. Not a single one made it into her mouth which was what I had expected.
Today we tried out some small chunks of banana. There must be something particularly satisfying about smashing banana in your fist because that’s pretty much all she did, her little fist opening and closing with a wet sticky sound. She almost got a little bit in there, but was thwarted by her hand moving in one direction and her mouth moving in another. Then she smeared it in her hair and giggled happily. Maya, who was thrilled to see the return of the highchair, sat directly under the baby and just waited for a morsel or two to drop, practically knocking me down in her haste to get to a scrap of banana that fell farther then she anticipated. Damn dog.
She’s also getting good at crawling, although it’s still pretty funny to watch. Here she is crawling to Grandpa:
Finally, we did another couple of crafts for Solstice today. We made some spirals for the tree and did some tin can candle holders (saying that makes me think of the cancan, DANCE!). Kinda a cool little project, actually. You take any old tin can and peel off the label, then fill it with water and stick it in the freezer. Make a new label and draw on it whatever pattern or image you want the light to show. Once the water in the can is totally frozen, rewrap the label, get yourself a hammer and nail and smash little holes to form the pattern. The ice keeps you from flattening the can, so don’t skip this step. I’m going to try putting some tissue paper around them for color and will get a shot tomorrow at the party. In the meantime, check out some photos on making them:
*Sorry, my kids have been crazy lately and I have had precious little time alone. This makes me a little crazy and when I do get some time to sit and blog with BOTH hands, I act like a freak. It’s why you love me. Because you do love me, right?
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Too quiet
Lily exploded this morning, driven insane by lack of sleep and an intense need to cause harm to someone, anyone; better if they cannot yet run away from her wrath. She didn’t get to bed last night until after 9pm because we were out late smoking crack trimming the tree at my moms house after a delightful dinner. When we got home I wrestled with an angry Anya while Mark put Lily down, gave her a snack and wandered off. WHAAA? It’s bedtime you dork silly sweet man; get that freaky child into bed! I finally had to yell and threaten ask him nicely to put her to bed as there was no way in hell I was getting Anya asleep with all that craziness running around.
Lily was up by 6am, running rampant in her room and hooting at the dog. By 7am she was trying to take over the world using nothing but the sheer power of her voice. By 8:30 I was wrestling her into her bed again, demanding she sleep or stop acting crazy. She has done neither. Since Anya finally went down for her nap (after much moaning and crying… after all, her sister was trying to kill her) I remanded Lily to the little playroom and put on The Jungle Book. It’s now very very quiet and while I know I should go check on her, I’m just a little afraid. If she’s happily watching the movie my appearance will make her jump up and attack me with a force I just can’t handle without full body padding. And if she’s unhappy… I just don’t know that I have the energy to deal with it. Damn, I should have opened the curtains so I could look from across the deck, but nope, I’m just not that smart.
I have a stack of presents I need to get into the mail and a house to ready for our big Solstice Party; a party for which I already have 50 RSVP’s. The house looks like a toddler, an infant and an apathetic mother live here. Oh wait, that’s who actually lives here. Weeeeeeee!
Wish me luck. May the child not cause the world to implode. May the infant not be cranky. May the apathetic mother figure her shit out and clean up the house or mail presents or do any ONE of the tasks so desperately needed around here.
Lily was up by 6am, running rampant in her room and hooting at the dog. By 7am she was trying to take over the world using nothing but the sheer power of her voice. By 8:30 I was wrestling her into her bed again, demanding she sleep or stop acting crazy. She has done neither. Since Anya finally went down for her nap (after much moaning and crying… after all, her sister was trying to kill her) I remanded Lily to the little playroom and put on The Jungle Book. It’s now very very quiet and while I know I should go check on her, I’m just a little afraid. If she’s happily watching the movie my appearance will make her jump up and attack me with a force I just can’t handle without full body padding. And if she’s unhappy… I just don’t know that I have the energy to deal with it. Damn, I should have opened the curtains so I could look from across the deck, but nope, I’m just not that smart.
I have a stack of presents I need to get into the mail and a house to ready for our big Solstice Party; a party for which I already have 50 RSVP’s. The house looks like a toddler, an infant and an apathetic mother live here. Oh wait, that’s who actually lives here. Weeeeeeee!
Wish me luck. May the child not cause the world to implode. May the infant not be cranky. May the apathetic mother figure her shit out and clean up the house or mail presents or do any ONE of the tasks so desperately needed around here.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
We have our ways
This morning at 6:30am Lily came creeping into our room and crawled into bed to snuggle. Yesterday she had had a rather traumatic pooping experience, telling me first that her tummy hurt and then that her bottom hurt. I told her it sounded like she had to poop and lead her into the bathroom, promising she’d feel better after she did.
“Bottom hurt. Feel better.” she moaned as she sat on her tiny throne. I read her books while she grunted and we talked over her day while she whimpered. We discovered Anya’s tooth while she shivered and made the poop happen. It was like a whole little drama, right there in the main house bathroom. Thank goodness it had a happy ending, with a mountain of stinky poop and a relieved toddler. “Feel better!” she smiled. “Hallelujah” I thought. But there was still something about her that had me digging out a bowl to vomit in, just in case.
This morning, as she lay wrapped in her father’s arms quietly sucking her thumb and pulling her ear, I watched her profile against her dad: hers small and rounded, his angular and long. They slept like this for about an hour while I kept encouraging a boob into Anya’s mouth, trying to buy some more sleep for all of us. Lily finally sat up and said, “I want Mommy” so I reached out to touch her curls, stroking my hand down to comfort her little face. Mark got up with her and as they bopped around the bathroom, my mommy sense finally came through. She threw up. And then she threw up and then hey! there’s some more bile! Weeeeeeeeeeee!
But that was it. She’s been fine the rest of the day, happy and playing; a little clingy, but not so bad. Part of me wonders if I willed it to happen with my suggestive little vomit bowl or if I somehow knew it would, but just missed the timing. Chicken or egg? And how do we know? I have my theories but I want to hear what you think.
“Bottom hurt. Feel better.” she moaned as she sat on her tiny throne. I read her books while she grunted and we talked over her day while she whimpered. We discovered Anya’s tooth while she shivered and made the poop happen. It was like a whole little drama, right there in the main house bathroom. Thank goodness it had a happy ending, with a mountain of stinky poop and a relieved toddler. “Feel better!” she smiled. “Hallelujah” I thought. But there was still something about her that had me digging out a bowl to vomit in, just in case.
This morning, as she lay wrapped in her father’s arms quietly sucking her thumb and pulling her ear, I watched her profile against her dad: hers small and rounded, his angular and long. They slept like this for about an hour while I kept encouraging a boob into Anya’s mouth, trying to buy some more sleep for all of us. Lily finally sat up and said, “I want Mommy” so I reached out to touch her curls, stroking my hand down to comfort her little face. Mark got up with her and as they bopped around the bathroom, my mommy sense finally came through. She threw up. And then she threw up and then hey! there’s some more bile! Weeeeeeeeeeee!
But that was it. She’s been fine the rest of the day, happy and playing; a little clingy, but not so bad. Part of me wonders if I willed it to happen with my suggestive little vomit bowl or if I somehow knew it would, but just missed the timing. Chicken or egg? And how do we know? I have my theories but I want to hear what you think.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Milestone bonanza!
On Sunday we went to make a quick visit at my sister’s house. They’re re-doing the kitchen and it is currently a big empty room with bare floors and wires sticking out of the walls. GREAT place to visit with a toddler and six-month-old. Since they have a three-month-old, it’s actually pretty sectioned off, so after saying hi to my dad I left Mark with him to talk wall goo and took the girls into the living room to chat with my sis. I set Anya down on the floor between us as Lily ran around gleefully exclaiming random facts. A couple of minutes later my sister looked down at Anya, the up to me and asked, “Did you sit her up?”
“Nope. Hey Lily, did you help sister sit up?”
“No. Look! Kitty!”
“I guess she figured it out.”
Anya has also just about mastered crawling. Still not a graceful action, but she can get across a room before you know it. Just the other day I set her down in the dining room to cut some food up for Lily and next thing I know she’s falling down the two steps into the living room. I swear, I wasn’t looking away that long.
And just now, while I sat with Lily in the bathroom (sometimes she needs some company when pooping), I discovered a brand new addition to our little family: Anya’s first tooth. Smack dab in the middle of her lower gum, you can feel it more than see this sharp little ridge giving us the go ahead for solid food. She kept me up ALL NIGHT LONG last night and has been making snot and droll to excess so I’m not at all surprised to find the little pearl. Once the snotty nose chills out, we’ll try some banana or avocado and make the milestone party complete.
Guess I need to make some additions to her List of Firsts.
“Nope. Hey Lily, did you help sister sit up?”
“No. Look! Kitty!”
“I guess she figured it out.”
Anya has also just about mastered crawling. Still not a graceful action, but she can get across a room before you know it. Just the other day I set her down in the dining room to cut some food up for Lily and next thing I know she’s falling down the two steps into the living room. I swear, I wasn’t looking away that long.
And just now, while I sat with Lily in the bathroom (sometimes she needs some company when pooping), I discovered a brand new addition to our little family: Anya’s first tooth. Smack dab in the middle of her lower gum, you can feel it more than see this sharp little ridge giving us the go ahead for solid food. She kept me up ALL NIGHT LONG last night and has been making snot and droll to excess so I’m not at all surprised to find the little pearl. Once the snotty nose chills out, we’ll try some banana or avocado and make the milestone party complete.
Guess I need to make some additions to her List of Firsts.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Tidbits
I haven’t had much time to sit still lately, what with all the homecoming and hair tearing going on. Mark got back late last night after a delayed flight to find his crazy wife sitting on the couch rocking an asleep baby and muttering to herself. He really ought to stay home; you know, for the children. I was really really foolish and tried to stop taking my SAM-e while Mark was away and so things went really really badly for me mentally. I was one of those moms you have every right to fear. I had a better chance at holding it together when out in the world with other people and only came this close to bawling at Porter’s mom at the library. I’m back on the stuff now and need to go order more. Like now.
In any event, Mark and I stood there holding each other in the dining room while I tried desperately to find his scent under the stink of Vegas. Somewhere under the smoke and hotel soap was my husband and I was gonna sniff him ‘till I found it. And sniff him I did.
ANYWAY!
I missed filling you all in on some fun details in the last week, so lemme see if I can jam them all in here, in no particular order.
All done for now. Sorry for the length, but hey, I was really crazy there for a while and it’s just so nice to be sane(ish) again! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
In any event, Mark and I stood there holding each other in the dining room while I tried desperately to find his scent under the stink of Vegas. Somewhere under the smoke and hotel soap was my husband and I was gonna sniff him ‘till I found it. And sniff him I did.
ANYWAY!
I missed filling you all in on some fun details in the last week, so lemme see if I can jam them all in here, in no particular order.
- Lily has learned a new phrase and I just about pee myself every time I hear it: “Oh my gosh, my sweater!” I hear her mutter as she roams around her room looking for the errant garment. “Oh my gosh! I spilled!” she cries as rushes to the bathroom to get a rag. And she says it so delicately… like it’s a fragile little phrase that will break if spat from the mouth harshly. It’s so adult and yet so childish, I just want to eat her head.
- In a fit of distraction the other day I asked Lily if she wanted me to paint her nails. She had no idea what I was talking about as I have never painted my nails in her existence and so answered, “yeah, sure” (another new phrase, yo). I let her pick the colors and she brilliantly went with blue for the fingers and a lovely shade of pink for the toes. No, I do not know the actual name or brand, I wasn’t paying attention. I actually knew a woman in England whose mother had the job of naming cosmetics. Apparently she was famous in this set for “Electric School Bus Yellow.” Whatever.
- Yesterday Lily thought it would be fun to run around after me in the dark on our property as I scrambled to make the house look less like crazy people live here. I was taking out the trash, Anya in one arm and Lily tripping after me, as I lugged a big ol’ bag of yuck out to the shed. In the past week and a half Lily has grown an inch (seriously) and this has made anything involving coordination impossible. She has fallen down more times than I can count. This time she went for a nice road rash look… on her forehead. I swear, if it weren’t for arnica we’d be investigated for abuse. Poor little thing screamed bloody murder and it was all I could do to comfort and treat her without the world ending.
- I took Lily to a five-year-olds birthday party. It was insane. Children everywhere and yet not a single injury. My friends are masters of the universe. It’s the only explanation. It made my head spin with all the whirly little people and cake and dress up clothes. Lily slipped into these little shoes and fell in love. The Women’s Studies degree in me was all, “Dude, that is SOOO not right! Take those stupid things off your child before she ends up totally subservient to some punk ass kid!” and the girly/mommy bits of me was all, “Awwww, that is so cute! Take another picture! OMG, she’s adorable! LOOK at my kid, she’s clearly the cutest one IN THE WORLD!” It was a very confusing experience.
- We were all ready to introduce solids to Anya when Mark got home (so one could stay behind with Lily if a trip to the hospital was to be… yes, I am that paranoid) but she has a cold and it’s really hard to gage if a child is having an allergic reaction when they can’t breathe anyway. We went ahead and dug out Lily’s old high chair and have started having her sit with us at meals. She is a social little thing and since eating is one of our big social activities, the least we can do is make her part of the party. She’s loving it. BIG. She sits there in her little chair banging her spoon all over the place and shrieking with glee. Very cute.
- Today we made salt dough ornaments. Very simple to make and very fun results. We haven’t had time to paint them yet, but I am very pleased with the way they turned out. BONUS: the kneading and rolling and cutting of dough kept Lily distracted for HOURS. All you need to do is take four cups flour and mix in one cup salt (I sprinkled a little cinnamon in there to make ‘em smell good while baking, but totally not required), then add in a cup and a half of water, working with your hands until you get a nice dough consistency. Roll them out and use cookie cutters or hands to make cool shapes. Make sure you punch a hole in them so you can hang them up and then bake at 250 degrees for about two hours. FAB-U-LOUS. After they cool completely you can paint with acrylics and, if you so desire, cover in clear nail polish and sprinkle with glitter. Or whatever, we haven’t got to that part yet, but I’m all a twitter with what it could be. Here are some nice shots of our work.
All done for now. Sorry for the length, but hey, I was really crazy there for a while and it’s just so nice to be sane(ish) again! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Pipes
I ran the garbage disposal this morning and had to shut it off in a hurry when it started to make the noise that means the world is about to come to a very icky and wet end. It’s done this before and since I didn’t know what the noise meant last time, the failure to shut it down quickly resulted in a carrot bits explosion that had me picking shreds of orange fiber outta the ceiling for a month. These things always happen when Mark is out of town.
Anyway, I started removing pipes and clearing the line, but couldn’t get the U shaped pipe to come off. Since it’s full of soupy looking water, it’s pretty safe to guess that a large portion of blockage is downstream from there. I called my dad and he’s going to come over at lunch to help me get it sorted out. A call to Mark told me where to find the pipe snake. I hate that I can’t fix this on my own. At least it makes my dad feel good to help me; otherwise I’d be sobbing in my cereal at the moment.
Meanwhile, Anya’s got more snot coming out of her pipes. I actually used the hated snot sucker device on her and was shocked at the sheer volume of goo that I liberated from her nose. And the drooling! Wow. I have never seen this much ick on my baby, ever. She was even born cleaner than this. Thank goodness everyone has been sleeping pretty well.
Just have to hold it all together for another 36 hours.
Anyway, I started removing pipes and clearing the line, but couldn’t get the U shaped pipe to come off. Since it’s full of soupy looking water, it’s pretty safe to guess that a large portion of blockage is downstream from there. I called my dad and he’s going to come over at lunch to help me get it sorted out. A call to Mark told me where to find the pipe snake. I hate that I can’t fix this on my own. At least it makes my dad feel good to help me; otherwise I’d be sobbing in my cereal at the moment.
Meanwhile, Anya’s got more snot coming out of her pipes. I actually used the hated snot sucker device on her and was shocked at the sheer volume of goo that I liberated from her nose. And the drooling! Wow. I have never seen this much ick on my baby, ever. She was even born cleaner than this. Thank goodness everyone has been sleeping pretty well.
Just have to hold it all together for another 36 hours.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
What do today?
Lily: What do today, Mommy?
Me: What did you do today, Lily?
Lily: Kiki and Jeff have lunch.
Me: Yep, and did we go to the library for story time?
Lily: Yeah! Kids. Stories.
Me: And we saw Athena and Olivette and Porter and played with the books.
Lily: Yeah, Porter. [pause] Man came to house. Lily cried.
Me: The man from the gas company came and turned on the heat for us. Tomorrow we can have hot showers and won’t have to be cold!
Lily: Lily not scared.
Me: You did cry a little, huh. You were tired and wanted mommy to come back from talking to the man and showing him the water heater.
Lily: Yeah [fake cries], I cry like that.
Me: Yep. And did Mommy yell too much today?
Lily: Yeah. Mommy tired. Go sleep, Mommy?
Me: I have some work to do, but yeah, I need more sleep. I’m sorry I yelled today.
Lily: Lily yell too.
Me: Yeah, you did get a little upset too. Maybe we all need more sleep.
Lily: Anya [which she pronounces On-nah] sick. Mommy hold Anya and hold Lily and Mommy say, “It OK. I know, baby.”
Me: It was a hard day for all of us. I’m missing Daddy.
Lily: Miss Daddy. He work. Home soon.
Me: In a couple of days. I love you.
Lily: I lub you.
Me: Hug and kiss? [I get both] Tomorrow we’ll have a better day and you’ll get to go see Grandma and Grandpa for a while.
Lily: YEAH! Mama and Papa! [giggles]
Me: Goodnight, my lub.
Lily: Sleep, Mommy.
Me: An excellent idea.
Me: What did you do today, Lily?
Lily: Kiki and Jeff have lunch.
Me: Yep, and did we go to the library for story time?
Lily: Yeah! Kids. Stories.
Me: And we saw Athena and Olivette and Porter and played with the books.
Lily: Yeah, Porter. [pause] Man came to house. Lily cried.
Me: The man from the gas company came and turned on the heat for us. Tomorrow we can have hot showers and won’t have to be cold!
Lily: Lily not scared.
Me: You did cry a little, huh. You were tired and wanted mommy to come back from talking to the man and showing him the water heater.
Lily: Yeah [fake cries], I cry like that.
Me: Yep. And did Mommy yell too much today?
Lily: Yeah. Mommy tired. Go sleep, Mommy?
Me: I have some work to do, but yeah, I need more sleep. I’m sorry I yelled today.
Lily: Lily yell too.
Me: Yeah, you did get a little upset too. Maybe we all need more sleep.
Lily: Anya [which she pronounces On-nah] sick. Mommy hold Anya and hold Lily and Mommy say, “It OK. I know, baby.”
Me: It was a hard day for all of us. I’m missing Daddy.
Lily: Miss Daddy. He work. Home soon.
Me: In a couple of days. I love you.
Lily: I lub you.
Me: Hug and kiss? [I get both] Tomorrow we’ll have a better day and you’ll get to go see Grandma and Grandpa for a while.
Lily: YEAH! Mama and Papa! [giggles]
Me: Goodnight, my lub.
Lily: Sleep, Mommy.
Me: An excellent idea.
Crap crap crap
Late yesterday I noticed Anya had a bit of a runny nose. By bedtime she was a mess and just pissed enough to tell me all about it. She’s all stuffed up and snotty and just really having a hard time. Luckily I got her to sleep long enough for me to go corral Lily who, despite the fact that she had gone to bed an hour ago, was still running around in circles and changing her clothes every three seconds. I lay down with her for a bit, talking softly and then told her I was going to go check on Anya and come back in a while. She finally fell asleep waiting for me and, unlike last night, had no nightmares or pee accidents. Anya ended up sleeping on my chest as I sat up all night… it was the only way she could breathe. I am so tired and the house is so cold and all I want to do is throw things at the wall while making an evil noise. I’m seriously considering calling my girlfriend who is a nanny and begging her to come over for an hour or two so I can take a nap. She probably won’t be able to do it and I’m afraid that if I ask and she says no I’m going to start bawling. Sometimes the threat of being rejected is harder than just living through a difficult day.
I keep telling Lily not to touch Anya, ‘cause she sick. So now Lily is wondering around the living room repeating, “I want sick! Sick sick sick!” Little freak.
On Tuesday’s we go to story time at the Library and then get lunch at Ikea. Can I handle it? Should I go with a sick baby? Will I go insane if we stay here all day? Can I make a single decision on my own today? I want my husband to come home. I want to be less depressing. Waaaaaaaaaaa!
I keep telling Lily not to touch Anya, ‘cause she sick. So now Lily is wondering around the living room repeating, “I want sick! Sick sick sick!” Little freak.
On Tuesday’s we go to story time at the Library and then get lunch at Ikea. Can I handle it? Should I go with a sick baby? Will I go insane if we stay here all day? Can I make a single decision on my own today? I want my husband to come home. I want to be less depressing. Waaaaaaaaaaa!
Monday, December 05, 2005
Crossed wires
My first day without the second shift (aka Mark) went remarkably well considering I hired a friend’s daughter to come hang out with the girls. I even got to go do groceries without Lily running around in circles. When I was cracking open the wallet to pay the domestic goddess stand-in for her time Lily asked to have a dollar. So I handed one over and explained what you do with money, “You buy things at the store. What do you think you’ll buy?”
Some serious thinking gave us all a lengthy pause; this child wasn’t going to rush her first financial decision. “Ummm… socks! Yeah, Mommy, I want to go buy socks! Bye bye!” and out the front door she went. It was cold so she came back. I guess clothes were on her mind. Today she was too cold to get changed when she awoke so over her jammies (tee shirt and red sweats) she put on a purple and green painting dress, lime green socks, her pink all stars and a green sweater. She’s styling.
Speaking of cold, by four pm today I was beginning to wonder if the gas to the house would ever be turned on again. Mark had told me that the termite company would arrange for SDG&E to come out and get the gas flowing. So I called the termite company to try to get some sort of ETA for heat. They politely informed me that Mark was supposed to arrange that; they just arrange to get the gas turned OFF.
Son of a motherless goat.
I got on the horn with SDG&E and set up for them to come tomorrow, but hey three days without a shower is so very weeeeeeeeeeee! And the girls? Oh they could use a bath; it’s been more like five days for them. And cooking? I pulled off a meal tonight with the toaster oven and microwave! And it was good, dammit.
The nice lady at SDG&E tried to tell me that I had to be home when the dude arrived but instead I informed her I’d leave him a nice note and a way to get to the hot water heater so he could light the pilot light. Ain’t no way I’m going to spend my second day hanging around the house with two stinky kids in the cold.
Hanging strong, yo.
Some serious thinking gave us all a lengthy pause; this child wasn’t going to rush her first financial decision. “Ummm… socks! Yeah, Mommy, I want to go buy socks! Bye bye!” and out the front door she went. It was cold so she came back. I guess clothes were on her mind. Today she was too cold to get changed when she awoke so over her jammies (tee shirt and red sweats) she put on a purple and green painting dress, lime green socks, her pink all stars and a green sweater. She’s styling.
Speaking of cold, by four pm today I was beginning to wonder if the gas to the house would ever be turned on again. Mark had told me that the termite company would arrange for SDG&E to come out and get the gas flowing. So I called the termite company to try to get some sort of ETA for heat. They politely informed me that Mark was supposed to arrange that; they just arrange to get the gas turned OFF.
Son of a motherless goat.
I got on the horn with SDG&E and set up for them to come tomorrow, but hey three days without a shower is so very weeeeeeeeeeee! And the girls? Oh they could use a bath; it’s been more like five days for them. And cooking? I pulled off a meal tonight with the toaster oven and microwave! And it was good, dammit.
The nice lady at SDG&E tried to tell me that I had to be home when the dude arrived but instead I informed her I’d leave him a nice note and a way to get to the hot water heater so he could light the pilot light. Ain’t no way I’m going to spend my second day hanging around the house with two stinky kids in the cold.
Hanging strong, yo.
Mountain photos
It’s still really cold here but we’re holed up in the little room next to Lily’s with the space heater on full blast and The Jungle Book on the tube. Thanks to the joys of wireless internet, I am able to get the cabin photos up.
Lily thought the cabin was our new house and didn’t get that it was only a visit. She wanted to stay. The cat thought the place was great, seeming to enjoy the cabin more than our home in the city. The dog romped her little heart out and we made good food, lots of laughs and had a blast. My mom and her husband came up for a night as well and we loved having them with us.
Wish you were all there! The place is big enough. One of these days were all gonna have to meet up there and have an internet free blogging party! Weeee!
Click on the photo below for a slideshow of our trip.
Lily thought the cabin was our new house and didn’t get that it was only a visit. She wanted to stay. The cat thought the place was great, seeming to enjoy the cabin more than our home in the city. The dog romped her little heart out and we made good food, lots of laughs and had a blast. My mom and her husband came up for a night as well and we loved having them with us.
Wish you were all there! The place is big enough. One of these days were all gonna have to meet up there and have an internet free blogging party! Weeee!
Click on the photo below for a slideshow of our trip.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
COLD
We have no hot water, no heat. When you get your house tented they have to turn off the gas; you know, so your house won’t explode. The tents came off the house late Friday and the gas company really hates to work on weekends so we have no heat or hot water until sometime on Monday when they decide to show up. Why are we back from the mountain then? I’m glad you asked! Mark is heading out on a gig today and wanted to get back home in time to get the house in order (put all the food away, replace chimney cap, reset the porch, etc). So here we are.
It’s not so bad, really. Mark made eggs on his camping stove this morning and we giggled at each other over mugs of hot tea, heated in the microwave. Lily – apparently impervious to cold – is running around in a dress and jammie pants, having a blast trying to put things on the baby. Anya is currently sporting a washcloth on her head. At least it’s a dry washcloth.
Tomorrow it’ll just be little ol’ me as Mark will be in Vegasliving it up working. He’s gone for the better part of the week and I am soooooo dreading it. He used to travel for work all the time, but these days he’s mostly doing residential carpentry jobs. I have had to do very little single parenting since Anya came along and so am looking at the week with terror, wondering how I’ll make it all fly. I know by weeks end I’ll have a whole new respect for parents who have to do this on their own 24/7. Hopefully I won’t go insane.
Sorting through pictures from the cabin now and will see what I can do about putting together a post about our little vacation. It was awesome, just so you know. More later.
It’s not so bad, really. Mark made eggs on his camping stove this morning and we giggled at each other over mugs of hot tea, heated in the microwave. Lily – apparently impervious to cold – is running around in a dress and jammie pants, having a blast trying to put things on the baby. Anya is currently sporting a washcloth on her head. At least it’s a dry washcloth.
Tomorrow it’ll just be little ol’ me as Mark will be in Vegas
Sorting through pictures from the cabin now and will see what I can do about putting together a post about our little vacation. It was awesome, just so you know. More later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)