Ahhhh....

National Blog Posting Month comes to an end!

Thanks to the Milk Moms for coming up with some interesting questions to help ease me through those dry spells.

Although it is sometimes tough to keep the posts coming every day in November, I always really enjoy catching up with what is going on with all of your lives.

Happy November.

The World Through Zoe's Eyes

We just recovered the camera that Zoe has been taking pictures on since shortly after Mia was born. There are a few photos taken by Mia, but the large majority were taken by Zoe. Here is a glimpse of the world through her eyes. This Kodak Gallery has been significantly trimmed down. There were nearly 700 photos on the initial memory card.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp;jsessionid=D765545B5DB69FB1606248E90697C697.ecom302_main?sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharee-_-Images&_requestid=390373

Thanksgiving 2011

Family. Good food. Good fun.

Favorite Family Time

One of my absolute favorite things to do is listen to Scott play the guitar. Even better when the family joins in.

When you get to the end of the video, you'll hear Mia starting to ask me for markers. When she approaches me and sees what I'm doing, you can hear her say, "That's cute." I thought so too.

Another family music video. So fun!

Ballet Story time

This year the girls attended two ballet Nutcracker story time events. The book store and a local ballet studio host the activity. There are some small crafts, then Nutcracker story time led by the ballerinas in their fancy costumes, followed by short performances from each dancer in the Nutcracker ballet. Everyone really enjoyed it.

Zoe and Mia are sitting in chairs in the front row with a friend.

What Do I Remember From My Wedding Day

Here's another question posed by my fellow NaBloPoMo pals: What do I remember about my wedding day?

Scott and I were married in Miami, Florida where I grew up. We were married in a beautiful old hotel called the Biltmore in Coral Gables.

Scott and I were heavily involved in the planning. When it was time to find a dress, my mom and I went shopping together. I don't like clothes shopping very much unless I'm really in the mood which is a rare occasion. After going to a few stores, we found a dress that we both loved. The problem: it was over budget. My mom and I went out to the car to talk about the price and what to do. We called her mom, Grandma Ann, for guidance. Grandma said if we loved it and I felt beautiful in it, we should go for it, and that if we were going to be over budget on one thing, that was a good thing to be over budget on.

This counsel ended up being extra special because my Grandma died suddenly of a stroke before my wedding day. When I got dressed, my mom and I both felt like she was there with us, and she would have loved it.

Scott and I had already been dating for five years and knew each others friends and relatives well by the time we were married. May 24, 1997 was a beautiful day.

I remember my mom saying that we can do all the planning we want, but once we get to the actual day we need to just roll with it, "nothing can go wrong." By this she meant that anything that does go wrong isn't a problem. It'll be what it will be.

This helped when the flower person showed up, but then had to leave because of some type of "flower related emergency" before she set up the flowers. As a result, we had about half the flowers that we ordered. I don't think I would've noticed if I hadn't been told. I also thought the tables looked even prettier with candelabras, a few flowers and the picture frames.

It also helped when we were getting ready in a suite that the hotel offered us, and the elevator leading to the room broke. The poor older photographer was pale and breathless by the time he hiked up the stairs to take our pictures in the room.

Mom also reminded me that when I put my dress on, we realized that the slip lining underneath wasn't hemmed enough. She ended up on the floor in her lovely dress hemming mine at the last minute.

Scott and I had printed old black and white photos of us with most of the guests and put them in all different kinds of frames on the tables. The guests were encouraged to take any that appealed to them. I remember enjoying seeing the pictures and people taking them.

Our ceremony broke with tradition in several ways, so we had decided to try and stick with the tradition of not seeing each other before the wedding on the actual day. We thought this was kind of silly because we had been living together already, but we were trying to keep some tradition.

When it was time to get dressed, we were in separate rooms in the hotel, and I was having my hair and make up done by someone. Given that I rarely wear makeup and I spend very little time on my hair, this was intended to be a luxury. I remember telling the make up guy that I really wanted it to look natural, and he agreed. I was totally shocked when I looked in the mirror. I thought I looked like a clown and wanted all the make up off. My mom insisted it looked good, and I decided I needed to see Scott for a true verdict before I scrubbed my face clean.

Instead of coming in to the dressing room, he and I sat on opposite sides of the door and he held my hand around the door and told me he was sure I looked beautiful. He was so calming. Reflecting back on this memory also reminds me of several moments during each of Zoe, Mia, and Sophie's births when I was in labor. He stayed true to our commitments while being very reassuring and gentle.

So we maintained the tradition of not seeing each other prior to the ceremony that day, even with my freak out, but only barely.

I remember waiting for the ceremony to start and standing in a small room apart from the entrance and pacing up and down with my hands on my hips breathing deeply. This nervousness shouldn't have been a surprise because I was equally skittish about getting engaged. When we got engaged, we agreed to renew our vows every five years to reaffirm our commitment and take stock of what was working well and what we could improve in our relationship. I was always 100% confident about marrying Scott. My nervousness was about marriage in general. My dad joined me in the waiting room and was very reassuring and supportive.

Once I made it down the aisle to Scott, I was good to go.

Our ceremony was exactly what we wanted. We exchanged cookies and ice cream and beer and decaffeinated coffee. We had our relatives read. We used a quilt with squares made by our guests. We stomped the glass together. The rabbi had an excellent sense of humor. We laughed and cried.

We had choreographed a dance that was fun, and the food and the music were both really good. I did not want videographers because I generally find them intrusive, but we did have one for part of the time and now I think I need to go find that video and watch it. We also don't have any online photos, but I copied this one from our photo album:

In just a few months, Scott and I will be renewing our vows again as another five year mark approaches. It will be our fourth time exchanging vows.

Guest Blogger - Thanks Giving

As part of NaBloPoMo, I invited Scott to write a post. Here is what was on his mind:

Dear Zoe, Mia and Sophie:

Hi. This is Dad. Mom asked if I wanted to be a guest blogger this month, and I was happy to contribute. I wasn’t quite sure what to talk about at first, but then it quickly occurred to me that there are two items in particular that I am grateful for. First, through this blog, you mom has done such a wonderful job of keeping track of all the fun stories, activities, milestones, and little details that would otherwise be but distant and distorted memories of ours down the road. It’s such a joy to be able to look back on your respective childhoods from birth to the present and revisit those memories from the various stages of your lives. Keeping up with the blog is an arduous task that requires discipline, time, commitment, creativity, thought, and humor, and I wanted to thank your mom for not only possessing those attributes but combining them to have documented the wonderful journey of parenthood, during both good times and difficult ones.

Secondly, this week marked a major milestone and the end of an era. Your mom officially ended her nursing career. I’m not referring to her hospital work, but….breast feeding. Before you were all born, we did a lot of research (which was, and continues to be, conflicting). It was evident that breastfeeding would benefit your health now and in the long term, so we jointly made a commitment to make it a priority. While I completely supported this, obviously the brunt of the responsibility would fall on your mom (although I would often joke that “I would if I could”). While it was a wonderful bonding time for her with each of you, providing you with private time and nurturing from both sustenance and soothing aspects, it was a full time commitment. I don’t think either of us could have anticipated that or to what extent. Your mom went through great measures to structure her (and sometime my) life around the nursing schedule. While working full time and managing life’s daily activities, she scheduled meetings, coordinated your respective activities, chose flight times and made other decisions that were all based on nursing. This involved lots of very early mornings, late nights, and times in between. I helped with logistics but owe her my gratitude as well for keeping this commitment equally for each of you. None of you ever used a bottle and I can’t think of one missed feeding in the 20+ months of nursing for each of you. She resisted medication when she was legitimately sick hoping not to jeopardize your health from potential side effects. In addition, she also pumped and stored a chest freezer’s worth of milk so you would continue to get the breast milk through your second birthday. Her breast pump has enough frequent flier miles for a free first class ticket, and I hope the person who bought it cashes that in. Through breast feeding, we also met and have maintained many friendships, supported the Breast Feeding center, and encouraged other new moms to stick with it and seek resources and help when needed. To celebrate this milestone, I have made a generous donation to the Breast Feeding Center for Greater Washington where it all began, and a special thanks to Pat for her guidance and encouragement.

Great job Laurie! Thank you for your dedication and the opportunity to document this in our virtual book of life.

Love,

Dad

Card Shark - Grandma Barbara Comes to Town

My mom has become a ruthless card player. Her friends will get together and play from morning until dinner time several days a week. Zoe was no match for her. Like taking candy from a baby.

Jenny

Another question from my NaBloPoMo friends was to describe the most important event in your life (other than having your children).

I have had several significant events, many very positive, but the one that popped in to my head most immediately occured in 1987 when one of my closest friends Jenny was in a car accident.

As a teenager, Jenny was one of my dearest and most genuine friends. She knew exactly who she was and was as comfortable as a 17 year old can be with herself. I remember sitting on her bed eating Oreos with our hair in big rollers. Being camp counselors-in-training together at Coleman. Her wearing her long silver lame' skirt at SEFTY events. I planned to make a gold lame' one to match. She was so kind but had a surprisingly wicked sense of humor. She had a close boyfriend and we had lots of long conversations about whether or not she planned to be intimate with him. That is what I believe we were discussing in this picture on the diving board. (I couldn't figure out how to separate this picture from the ones below it.) I'm in the red top and she's in blue. I'm sure my memory is flawed at this point, but I remember sitting up there with her for hours talking about life and about her boyfriend.

I have no idea who took that picture. It surfaced after she died and friends starting sharing memories and photographs.

After her accident, the early reports seemed optimistic. I remember being encouraged to wait a day or two to visit so that she'd be more alert. When they moved her from one hospital to another and her brain started swelling and she died, I was stunned. (It was around that time that another friend's father murdered two people at his bank and commited suicide after the stock market plummeted.) This became a very fragile time for me. My outlook on life was shaken.

The year 1987, and especially my friend Jenny, have had a profound effect on who I am today. It took a lot of courage and compassion over the years to keep in touch with Jenny's parents. I remember telling Scott on a road trip that we needed to drive through Alabama to go visit Mr. and Mrs. R. That was a hard trip. I approach "the hard" now pretty consistently. I believe that going through "the hard" is almost always better than going around it.

My values around community and connection also have some roots here. Coming together with others, doing what it takes in connection with others to bring healing are important to me.

I also learned a lot about the importance of advocacy, education and communication when it comes to the medical system and health-related events.

There is also some element of the importance of fiscal responsibility that is tied in here. Having funds tucked away in times of emergency proved valuable during this time, in order to get to Jenny's funeral for example.

This year I am going to the 50th anniversary reunion of the camp where Jenny and I went together each summer. They designed an area we call the "Jenny Garden" which I've been back once to visit. I'm excited to see my old friends. I also still carry sadness for Jenny and will have her in my heart when I'm at Coleman this August.

PS - This could have also been my "gratitude" post (another NaBloPoMo question) because I am very grateful that I knew Jenny and had her in my life.

Unprecedented

I am a world renowned procrastinator when it comes to packing. I am the person who is packing at midnight the night before a trip and who tries to take a small carry-on to Africa for a three week trip in multiple climates.

I will do almost anything before packing.

As a result of significant motivation, an unprecedented event occurred this week. Hence, exhibit A:

I had all the girls clothes identified and folded (including what to wear on the plane) SUNDAY NIGHT for a trip that is taking place FIVE DAYS LATER on FRIDAY. Trust me, the all caps are earned here.

My negative motivation? Packing is so dreaded that I often do it last. However, there was something even more dreaded so packing came first.

My positive motivation? My mom and Ed are coming for Thanksgiving and I do not want to have to fuss with packing instead of visiting with them while they are here.

Way to go me :) (Now I just have to get my clothes in a bag by Friday.)

Thanksgiving Preparations

Zoe and Mia, you decided to help spruce up the house for Thanksgiving by painting a few of the pumpkins that were on our front steps. It all started out mildly enough. Two small pumpkins. Focused, careful effort.

The project grew from 2 to 6 painted pumpkins which you both seemed very pleased with.But apparently, this was just a base coat, and these pumpkins were not fancy enough. After the pink pumpkins were dry, you insisted that they needed much more attention. You dug in to the effort with serious gusto.

We now have several wildly painted pumpkins that will no doubt be decorating our house for an extended period of time.

You spared one tiny pumpkin that had been nibbled by a squirrel from the painting project. We took this one with us on a hike in to the woods and left it by a hole in a tree for a raccoon to find and enjoy this winter.

Sophie - Twenty Months

My sweet Sophie, twenty months already!

This is such a fun age. You want to join all the activity and now that you only nap once a day, you usually can. You can also communicate so much more easily that it makes playing together even more of a treat.

You especially like to sing, read, and play peek a boo. You totally crack yourself up with your games which is a hoot. It's pretty typical for you to call out "peek a boo" from behind a chair and then break out in uncontrollable giggles. This game can go on for a long time.

You also like to count. You count when we go up stairs, and you like to count up to ten in Spanish.

You routinely call for the potty and want to sit on it. Whenever you walk in or near a bathroom and see the toilet, you immediately turn around and back up all the way to the toilet calling "potty, potty". It's pretty funny. I know that we're supposed to take advantage of any "interest", but I'm not at all ready to potty train. You have however successfully gone on the potty a couple of times.

Whenever I'm walking by you, you like to grab me around the knees and hold on. I have your mouth marks on all my pants at around knee height. That's a hard mark to explain.

You're growing in lots of other ways too. Longer hair, more teeth, using a cup without a lid with decent success.

Happy 20th month Sophie! We're having so much fun with you!

Love,

Mom

Brain Lint

Well - I'm stumped. No topic today. I'll just mention a few of the things swirling around in my brain ...

1. Mia got bumped up on the wait list, and we get to go to the GI specialist today. She's continued to complain of stomach pains for nearly two months now, including two calls from the school nurse. I am SO relieved that we are headed in to see the specialist. Celiac testing has already come back negative.

2. I am knee deep in the middle of some significant work demands but swimming closer to the surface now. Tired, but beginning to feel some relief.

3. Zoe is asking "big" questions these days and making broad comments reflecting her increasing exposure to others and different experiences. Last night, she got out of bed and said, "Mom, every time I close my eyes I think of death but I can't imagine myself dead."

4. Sophie has more new teeth and is absolutely hilarious these days. Stay tuned for a post on her next monthly milestone.

5. How much do people spend on kids birthday parties? Seriously. I wanted to have some type of active or gymnastics party for Mia of maybe 6-10 kids. I'm getting quotes back from places for up to $450. Sheesh! I'm going to blow up a moon bounce in my living room and call it a day if I don't find something that seems more reasonable to me soon.

6. I adore Ashlawn's principal. I just wish the county weren't getting so over-crowded. It really makes for scheduling issues within the school. Zoe and Mia eat lunch at 1PM. That doesn't bother them, but it makes me hungry just thinking about it. It's so hard to apply what we know works best with kids and education with so many constraints on time and resources.

7. I hope my grandpa is having a good day and that his wife's crazy children continue to let him see her.

8. I would love to go skiing and beaching this winter.

9. So proud to see little Zoe in the Arlington Food Assistance Center newsletter. Every person really can make a difference at any age.

10. I'm getting a massage tonight. :)

Where Were You on September 11, 2001?

I'm reaching back in to the list of questions posed by my NaBloPoMo peers for inspiration for today's post. The question: Where were you on 9/11? What do you remember about the day?

On September 11, 2011, Scott and I lived in a condominium in a high-rise in Rosslyn, VA just over the bridge from Georgetown and a short distance from the Pentagon.

I was driving to work and talking to my colleague Marny on my cell phone when she started saying things that didn't make good sense like "Laurie, how close are you to the Pentagon? Do you see planes? What's going on?" I was driving close by the Pentagon but hadn't seen anything and didn't know what she was talking about.

I hung up with her and started searching for news on the radio. When I arrived at the office, one of our Corporate leaders Mark was there. We started getting news reports about the plane at the Pentagon. Then, there were reports of car bombs going off in D.C. and of a plane headed towards Congress. I remember looking at Mark and saying: "This is so much bigger than we can even imagine now. I think you should send everyone home that wants to leave."

I was able to reach Scott by phone and confirm that he wasn't at the Pentagon where he occasionally worked. His mom was on the runway in a plane heading from DC to the west coast when the Pentagon was hit. They were grounded. She got the last rental car in the lot, and met me at my office. From there, we all made our way back to our place in Rosslyn.

I was very lucky to have reached Scott by phone and coordinate with his mom. The phones were down much of the day and communication was difficult. This increased fear because we couldn't reach others to confirm their safety or location.

Watching reports of the plane crashes and of the buildings in NYC falling was horrible. The replays were just as disturbing as the initial viewing. There was some relief that there weren't additional attacks in DC as had been thought, but the news of the four plane crashes and their impact was astonishing.

I was quickly called up by the Red Cross where I have been volunteering for years. We were rapidly briefed at the Arlington Chapter headquarters which had taken a command position because of their proximity to the Pentagon. From there, we were bused to the Pentagon. It was probably late morning when I arrived and it was night when I left that first day.

We were broken up in to two person teams initially to go scour the area and follow the DMH (Disaster Mental Health) protocol. At one point I was assigned to the "morgue" which was a makeshift area where they planned to house any retrieved bodies. I was told that they were short-handed of people to go in the building to help in retrieval. They gave me a HAZMAT suit and I got dressed and we were in formation to enter the building when a plane flew overhead in the restricted space and a loud evacuation was ordered. We all ran off the property and across the high-way. They thought the building was about to be struck again. Our knees were knocking for a few minutes after that.

When we made our way back to our positions, the retrieval process was deemed moot, and we were told we could get out of the HAZMAT suits.

I also remember President Bush arriving after lots of staging had been done to hang the flag off the roof and have his entrance and the camera angles line up with the flag so they'd have the perfect photo opportunity. I was in the line of people for him to shake hands with when he entered for his picture.

A few days later I was called up by NOVA (National Organization for Victim's Assistance) where I had also been volunteering for several years. I went with a small team to New York City to work with an organization who had lost employees in the attacks. I spent four days there. I mostly remember how stunned everyone was. How "high alert" everything felt. I also remember seeing the occasional worker show up in high heels, so in denial or out of touch with the scene. It was no place for heels.

I came back from NYC and realized that as hard as the engagements had been, I was deeply blessed. Being on site, meant that I watched next to no television that first week. I think the experience was much tougher on people at home glued to those horrible images and the graphic reporting.

I have several friends who work in the buildings impacted. None died. One of my closest friends from high school and her husband were both aspiring high rollers in the finance world. They walked out of the twin towers and kept walking for hours to get home. They immediately quit their jobs, moved to Connecticut, and had a child a year for four years straight.

I also remember thinking that we had a huge opportunity to come together for healing and for peace, not only as a country but as a planet. The outpouring of care and concern across the globe was profoundly touching. We're still very much in the aftermath of that day. I hope that the healing and peace are in still in sight.

More "Paws to Read"

We're still doing this program at the library and loving it! Zoe has bonded with her dog Sam, and she's moved on to reading different types of books to him. I thought it was funny to read a book about a dog to a dog.

Ten Good Things

At the moment, things are feeling a bit out of control. Instead of wallowing in my own silly self. I'm using this post to list ten good things in no particular order and of wildly varying weight.

1. Our front door light is still working. It had been broken so long that Zoe and Mia were telling strangers our house had no lights. Ruth's dad helped fix the decades old wiring, and it hasn't shorted out in over a week. Cross that off the list.

2. I didn't yell at any of my neighbors today even though I wanted to for a variety of reasons. That self control is a good thing on days like today.

3. I am still finding time to exercise. That is my own time every day. My therapy. My meditation. Even when the kids are downstairs playing while I am on a machine.

4. I no longer have Crisco in my house, and we had a "do over" from our yuck birthday cake for Zoe. I was really happy with how these turned out.

5. I have dinner ideas for at least two nights this week. (Now I'm grasping here, but it is a relief to not have to think about what's for dinner at 5:30PM. Maybe I'll get a few more ideas before Wednesday too.)

6. I have some very kind friends who pitch in in a pinch.

7. We had stunningly beautiful weather yesterday.

8. We found the packaging for our Halloween decorations, and Scott took the decals out of the windows yesterday.

9. I have a good job and good clients who value me and tell me so.

10. Most importantly, other than minor coughs and sneezes, my kids are healthy and so are Scott and I.

Ok, I feel a little better and also a little like crying. I blame at least part of this to hormones. Proof of that is that I actually almost cried at the Nutcracker preview at the bookstore this weekend. Pathetic.

Sophie-Mia Speak

Mia: (Coughing)

Sophie: Bless you

Mia: Sophie, you don't say "bless you" when people cough. You say 'cover your mouth'.

Sophie Sings

Whenever someone turns on a song that Sophie recognizes, she's quick to sing and do hand or head movements. She'll also sing Happy Birthday and Twinkle Twinkle to anyone in ear shot. I've wanted to video her singing for some time, but somehow manage to miss the moment.

This week, I finally captured her singing the Music Together song, "Me, You, We" from the Bells Collection.

Celebrities and Trips

As we cope with keeping up with a post a day throughout the month of November, my friends have come up with a list of questions that we can all consider on certain days. I'm lagging way behind in addressing any of them, so here's a quick post about two of them that were offered up this week.

The earliest celebrity I remember having a serious reaction to was Michael Jackson. My friend J.M. and I would try to get all the dance moves down, and I loved singing all the songs. I thought he was the most creative and talented writer and performer. I used to fantasize that he would "discover" me and take me away on tour and I'd be a singer and dancer.

The trip(s) I most want to take include: Antarctica and Israel/Egypt/Jordan. When we were traveling in Ecuador and the Galapagos, we met some friends who were going from there to Antarctica. I really, really, really, really wanted to follow them, but Scott and I both had to get back to work and it wasn't in the budget either. Boo! Since then, my friends who have been remark that it's a place that pictures can't capture. Whatever your beliefs about global warming, there are parts of our world changing that will likely never be the same again. I hope I get to see Antarctica before that time.

Israel, Egypt, and Jordan I bulk together because they are each so special and so close together that it would be a shame to be so close and not see them all. Greedy? Maybe. I love exploring culture and history. I have explored very little in the middle east and hope to do so some day.

Feng Shui?

When I was in graduate school, I remember talking with a client who had just met with a feng shui consultant to review her home. She had been really taken aback by the consult. The feng shui expert walked through her home and then asked if she was single. She replied that she was. The expert then asked if she wanted to be or if that had been a problem for her. It was indeed a problem for her. The consultant noted that all of the images in her home were of individual women. There were no pictures of couples or groups of people.

Hearing her describe her troubles in relationships, and the profound impact that this home feng shui consultation had on her impacted me as well. I began to look at images and colors in my home more carefully too. Even now, years later, if I look at a picture or piece of art for consideration, I take a double look at what image it will reflect back.

Today I was lying in bed and looked up at the headboard. Scott and noticed this knot of wood at the same time.

To Scott and me, it looks like a peace symbol. That's exactly what I want reflecting back at me when I'm falling asleep.

Fighting Hurricanes

When Zoe was born, my mom and her husband Ed were very excited to welcome a new Miami Hurricanes fan in to the world. Miami football has a long tradition in our house, and they were so enthusiastically hopeful that it would continue from Virginia that they sent a baby Hurricane onesie right away.

The onesie I could put on Zoe. As she grew, they urgently sent new Hurricane clothes, but she was old enough to have a voice and wanted nothing to do with new the toddler outfit. It collected dust. As she grew, they hopefully (recklessly) sent another outfit that was larger. She rejected it. It gathered dust.

These outfits by the way are not consignment treasures, but off the rack at the pricey University gift shops. The waste!

Mia came along. She too tolerated the onesie, but completely rejected the dress up clothes.

Perhaps in their budding youth, they already knew that they had no interest in being a cheerleader. Maybe they were waiting for football outfits instead?

Today, imagine my surprise when I came home and Sophie was wearing this:
and chanting "hip, hip, hoorey!"Mom, Ed, you may just get your money's worth after all.

This post is dedicated to my mom on her birthday, today. She just may be heading to a Hurricanes game to celebrate.

Wordless Wednesday - Redemption

Fall Leaves - November 2011

I forgot who much spontaneous play happens when kids are left to their own devices with tons of leaves on the ground. Fortunately for Zoe, Mia and Sophie, our house is completely blanketed by them.

Their fun is my excuse for not finishing the raking.

Cooking and Stomach Flu Update

I'm 99% sure these two aren't related but who can ever know for sure?

All cooking projects went off very well, except one. See exhibit A:

This is three abandoned layers of cake and icing. I went to bed after the first two were tossed. I determined that it was Scott's recipe, he's a chef, he can fix it. Apparently the challenge was great. Recipes from the 1940's that require serious amounts of confectioner's sugar (as in an entire box) followed by unspecified amounts of Crisco and sweetened condensed milk are hard to follow. Ultimately, around midnight, we settled for this (which I am purposely not showing in close up out of respect for Scott because it is indeed pretty ugly):

Ah, relief. Happy child.

Sort of. That stomach flu that kept Sophie up vomiting from 8PM to 2AM two nights ago kept Mia up all night vomiting the next night. For some reason this reminds me of my friend Fiona's posts about lice, although I'm sure I have it way easier with a stomach flu. Waiting to see who in my house falls next. Hmmm, who ate the pink cake tonight?

Zoe - 6 Years Old

Zoe, this was a year of firsts for you. First time riding a bike without training wheels, first time diving off the diving board, learning to read, tying your shoes, and the list goes on. You are so eager to learn new things.

You also want to master them right away. This causes frustration, and sometimes you'd rather not try, but you can't help but keep trying and your persistence and hard work pay off. When you tried playing a violin recently and you were able to make some pleasant sounds, you were so proud and enthusiastic. The effort was so worth it.

You're in a new school this year too. We attend the neighborhood public school. I've been so relieved at how easily you transitioned to the Montessori class. You are finding your niche with friends and enjoying the "specials" like Spanish and physical education. You are most excited about the library though. You have your own library card and get to check out books each week.

Your understanding of the world around you is much greater, and you ask more complex questions, such as "how did the first man and women get on planet earth?" I need to find some kind of book with simple answers to big questions that every parent should know.

You're more contemplative too. You want time to read and write and listen to music without interruption.

You are curious about most things. You especially enjoy bike riding, spending time with your friends and your sisters, coloring, reading, baking and celebrations.

Here's a look back:

Just home from the hospital

Your first birthday. Eating off the red plate that is reserved for family member's special days.

Celebrating your second birthday in Miami, Florida with Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Ed.

On your third birthday. Enjoying the new red wagon from Grandpa Randy and Grandma Mickey.

Happy to be four at your painting birthday party.

Celebrating at your fifth birthday party.

Just about to be six. Halloween October 2011.

Zoe, I have loved celebrating you and with you. Happy birthday.

I love you.

Mom

Cooking - A Day in the Life

Seems like we've been cooking a ton lately. Something about the fall season inspires lots of cooking with apples and pumpkins. But that's not all.

There's Zoe's birthday for one. I was so busy patting myself on the back for getting way ahead of things and cooking three tasty loaves of zucchini nut bread for her class ahead of schedule, that it didn't occur to me that even though they're allowed nuts for lunch, they aren't supposed to bring snacks with nuts to share. So, yesterday I baked three new loaves of zucchini bread sans nuts. Here is my freezer full of bread:

And, for her birthday, I'm going to attempt to bake the famous grandma Janet's pink cake. That's tomorrow.

Tomorrow won't be dull in the cooking department for sure. Not only is the pink cake a feat to be taken seriously, but Aimee has asked for a cooking lesson on Grandpa Ed's apple pie. She's bringing over a bag of apples and we'll be baking again.

This week we also had the bright idea to make egg rolls. Given the fact that Scott and I are pretty much operating on fumes at the moment, I don't know why we were inspired to have a dinner menu that involved so much preparation. Needless to say, we opted for something simpler than home-made egg rolls during the week. But with all the ingredients purchased, and the week slowly moving in to our rear view mirror, we decided to go ahead and cook those today too. Zoe shredding carrots while Scott chops:

And viola, the final product: These came out phenomenal. For anyone who ever wants to make egg rolls, I have a recipe to share.

All this cooking came on the heels of Sophie having a horrible stomach flu and being up half the night puking. Seriously, she was heaving from about 8PM to 2AM when she finally fell asleep for three hours. When we called the doctor around 12AM, he told us that there was a bad stomach flu going around and to just try to offer her about 1 or 1/2 teaspoon of water ever so often so she didn't dehydrate.

Sophie's illness meant that everyone really enjoyed the relatively zen activity of cooking, but no one had much interest in food most of the day.

What Do I Miss....

This is a tough question: What do I miss from my life pre-kids? At first hearing it, I instinctively assume that I'll quickly rattle off a long list of things I miss. But when I start to think about it more thoughtfully, the list is relatively short and qualified.

First, I have a serious travel lust. I thoroughly love experimenting with new cultures, immersing myself in other experiences and places, and learning about all different types of people. But while I may not take the length or frequency of trips I took pre-kids or trips that have an element of risk to them, I have been very fortunate to travel, with and without kids, to interesting and wonderful places. Since Zoe was born, I've been to Turkey, Russia, China, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Hawaii, etc. I can hardly complain about not traveling. It's different, but it's certainly not gone.

Second, the level of spontaneity in my life has declined. Scott and I used to routinely meet up after work on a whim for drinks, dinner, a movie, or whatever. We rarely planned in advance, and still managed to take trips, have groceries in the house, and get out and about with friends. While I'm much less spontaneous, on reflection, I can't say I miss it too much because the consequence of not planning is so much greater now. If I don't consider nap times or snack needs when I run out of the house, I am likely to pay for it later. It would be nice to head out with Scott for a drink on a Friday night from work on a whim though.

Third, I do miss the luxury of sleep. This is very different from the nesseccity of sleep though. All three kids sleep through the night, most nights, from between 7PM-8PM (depending on the kid) to 5:45AM to 6:30Am (depending on the kid). So, technically speaking, I could get my 8 hours a night without a problem. But I almost never go to bed by 10PM, and I deeply miss sleeping in on the weekends. Even if I wake up on my own by 7AM, it would be very nice for once to wake up on my own. And, I can't stand always waking up while it's still dark out. I know this is a relatively brief window in my life though, and I'm sure I'll miss these wake-up calls before I know it.

And, that's pretty much it. There are lots of moments when I miss owning my body and not being tugged on all the time, but not in any significant way.

Mia Speak

Mom: Mia, how was your day today?

Mia: It was good. I worked. But, then, somebody passed gas and they said they farted.

____________

Mia: Mom, I wish I could hug you all day. And then, when it is time to sleep, I can just lay down on top of you.

Mom: And, what happens when you get hungry?

Mia: I would just rest my plate on your shoulder.

____________

Mia: Dad, does everyone have eye brows?

Dad: Yes. Everyone has eye brows.

Mia: Even our babysitters?

Wet Heads

The girls have been completely fascinated by my special powers of balancing a towel on my head after a shower. They seemed to have thought that I was some mad and magical combination of comedian and super girl. They loved it. A perfect distraction during any morning routine.

I blew the mystique of it all by teaching them how to do it. It was worth it though. You can see the pride in their faces.

Love Note

Zoe often writes short stories on the white board table in the basement. Sometimes the stories are funny or about her day. Sometimes she practices writing silly words and using them in a sentence. This week, I went downstairs to get something, and found that she'd left us this note.

Thank you Zoe. We love you too.

Halloween Round Up - 2011

2 parades

2 rounds of trick or treating

3 kids: 1 clown, 1 princess, and 1 sugar plum fairy (+ 1 football player mom and 1 booger nose-masked dad and some friends) =