Unlimited Tater Tots

Friday, November 06, 2009

Halloween 2009...And a New Camera

After missing out on 2 months, we are finally back in business. Chris spent hours and hours looking for the perfect camera that fit all our photography needs as well as budgetary limitations and it finally arrived. It is cute and black and takes fantastic pictures...if I could learn how to use it right. So everyone give a great big shout-out to the newest member of our family...the Canon Power Shot SX120. (I just copied that right off the box...no idea what it means.)

So Halloween was appropriately documented. Although as I was looking through the pictures tonight, I realized we have NO pictures of JC in his costume. Not one. I promise he is still in good favor...don't be alarmed by our embarassing lack of documentation. And he looked so cute...

Halloween festivities started a week early with Maryn's amazing Halloween party (This will show you pictures from the last couple of years worth of parties...no pictures from this year but we are anxiously waiting!) (And she is one of the artists at his company...she does amazing work!) And when I say "amazing", it doesn't begin to do it justice. She is a co-worker and friend of Chris' and every year she throws a big Halloween festival...her house is decorated from nook to cranny with fabulous trinkets and toys, her parties always have a "theme" (this year was fortune-telling...even had a real, fake fortune teller who was amazing!), the food is delicious, the activities charming, and she pulled all of this off after being sick with kidney stones for a week. As we were leaving, JC mentioned he wasn't feeling well, and by morning we had ourselves a sick boy. MC was close on his heels and HB and I joined the festivities the next day. We all had a variation on the fever/cold/cough. And maybe sometime I'll tell you how I tried to take my 3 sick kids and 1 sick self to the county building to get H1N1 shots and how the line wound all the way through a parking garage and down the street. We waited for 10 minutes and after listening to HB hack away and watching MC's little teeth chatter, I packed them back up and decided I'd rather go home and suffer.

We missed lots of school, watched 2,000 movies, and drank enough hot chocolate to give Stephen's hot chocolate a serious financial boost. (I simply must recommend the Pumpkin Spice and Orange Creme flavors!) We braced ourselves for Halloween...

By Saturday, we were all feeling lots better and ready for some serious fun! JC and MC both chose to be Harry Potter this year. Neither one seemed bothered by the other one choosing the same thing...and they had a fabulous time waving their wands at each other and casting horrendous spells. HB was a pink fairy. Not a princess fairy, not a queen fairy, just a pink fairy. She was very specific. Halloween afternoon we attended a lovely soup lunch and caramel apple party at CeliAnne and Josh's house. It was an amazing fall afternoon. We took the new camera out for a spin in their front yard...

I was Alice in Wonderland.

HB as a "pink" fairy.

MC as a fantastic spell-casting Harry Potter.

More pink fairy...now don't think I'm prejudice because there are a million pictures of the pink fairy. She was the only one I could get to come out and take pictures with me. The boys were too busy fighting off dementors with their cousins to be bothered with a photo shoot.

Magical fairies in the forest...

Looking down the rabbit hole.

One of the beautiful surprises I found in Wonderland.

Alice and a little pink fairy.

My girl.

Daddy's little girl.

One of the handsome Harry Potters.

Cousins. Glorious cousins.

My beautiful niece.

After a lovely afternoon, we headed home to attend our next social engagement...our neighbors across the street threw a great Halloween party complete with bobbing for apples, sugar cookie decorating, a little spooky house, yummy food, and games. It was really fun! Hooray for energetic, fun neighbors!

Well, the time had finally come. I loved that daylight savings was late this year. It was still light outside when we headed out for trick-or-treating and it was perfect. The lighting was perfect, the trees were perfect, the weather was perfect...I had an amazing time going out with the kids. Usually Chris takes them out but he was kind enough to stay home and pass out the treats and fix the chili while we covered the area. It was so fun! I felt like I was in a movie...all the kids and parents out, the fantastic houses that are decked out, the people sitting out on their front porches and around fires, seeing all the kids in their costumes, watching Thriller and drinking hot chocolate in one neighbor's front yard, walking up to the "Haunted Mansion" with its decor and fog creeping over the grass, going to the "spooky" house and seeing the blow-up houses and hearses, getting King Size candy bars and using the potty at our dear friend's home...it was magical and wonderful. My 3 children walked further than I thought humanly possible. And by the time we got home, they were wilting. But their bags were full and the candy flowed freely. It was a great Halloween!

And to make it absolutely perfect, Superman showed up at our house.

I have such a crush on the man of steel!

And on a side note to the Halloween festivities, JC earned his wolf badge/award last night at Pack Meeting as well as one golden arrow and 4 silver arrows. We are so proud of him! He has worked hard and accomplished so much over the last year. He loves scouts and I'm so glad! Plus who can resist a handsome boy in uniform??

Me getting my wolf pin from my son.

The newest Wolf recipient.

And the customary wolf being stamped on your back with flour...there are some elements of this program that are still a huge mystery to me!

Annual Carving of the Pumpkins

Click to play this Smilebox scrapbook: Carving Pumpkins 2009

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Thursday, October 22, 2009

More Cupcake, Less Laundry

My new philosophy for living a good life.

More of these...

Less of this...

Today I threw a very impromptu birthday party for a dear, wonderful friend! Her birthday was last Saturday and it just hit me this week that this was a woman who needed a party. And party we did.

I got on the phone. I called friends...wonderful friends. I told them to drop everything they were doing and come eat lunch. And they did. I went to Costco and got croissants, chicken salad and big, huge, enormous cupcakes. Friends brought salad, apples and caramel dip, pumpkin bars and macaroons. And by golly...we got ourselves together and had ourselves a feast. HB gave everyone sparkly, rhinestone crowns that we found in the Halloween box and I broke out the leaf cups, plates, and napkins. It was a delicious lunch for a Thursday afternoon. And it was a party. A party for a spectacular lady...a party for a group of spectacular ladies because who couldn't use more parties and less housework? As I drove off toward the school to go read to a class of adorable 1st graders, I felt so full and satisfied...not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. I once asked my dear friend, who was born and raised in Bolivia, what she missed most about her country and her response has stuck with me for some time now. Of all the things to miss, she said what she missed most was the relationship women enjoy there. Every day her mother would prepare lemonade and a treat of some sort for the friends that would stop in to visit. Not scheduled, not planned and yet expected and welcomed. Everything would be set aside for a friend. And the day would be a total success...not because all of the housework was done and the "to-do" list checked off but because the most essential, important things in life had been attended to. Your relationships...your friendships...your life lines secured.

I wake up every day with a calendar FILLED with things that need to be done. I have endless to-do lists taped to cupboards and cabinets and the refrigerator. I'm always jotting things down. And sometimes I feel like if those lists aren't completed, then I haven't succeeded in my day. If someone stops by or calls, I've been interrupted. Time is ticking and my list is waiting. But do you know what is funny? My lists are always there. And they aren't good friends...they cause me stress and make me ignore things that are really more important and once I cross something off the list, it usually goes right back on because it needs to be done again. I go to the grocery store and as I'm unloading the groceries, I think of something I forgot and then I start a new list. The laundry gets washed, folded and put away and before the day is through, there is new laundry to be washed. Do you see what I mean? The list is endless.

But today my friends and I had a party in the middle of the day and it changed my whole attitude for the rest of the day. I felt happy and relaxed. I'd eaten a cupcake at 1:00 p.m. and it was pure delight! Lunch only took about 90 minutes but what a gift. I laughed, I listened, I talked, and I felt truly uplifted. So here is my new motto...more cupcakes, less laundry. Maybe not literally but metaphorically. Every day I want to sit and really talk to a friend. I want to talk to a friend with nothing but my friend on my mind. I want to sit as long as she needs me to sit and I want to walk away feeling like I've really listened. I don't want to care about what didn't get done. I want to care about what REALLY got done and how it changes me. I want more cupcakes at noon and more parties on a Thursday and I want to care less about how clean my house is. I want to care more about people than errands. I need better balance.

So to all the women who came and ate cupcakes today, thank you. I appreciate all of you. I'm so blessed by your friendship. I'm so blessed to live in this neighborhood. I'm so blessed by your joy and many gifts. Please feel free to stop by anytime...I'll have the lemonade and treats ready.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Leaves and Laughter

Today my husband took off work and our children were out of school.

Today we slept in and woke up to the excited giggles of children with no school and a whole beautiful day ahead of them.

Today we all put on our "running" clothes and went out for a run around the neighborhood. HB rode her bike and the boys were so tough and we made it. The air was cool, the neighborhood so quiet. It was still and beautiful.

Today we went and played miniature golf as a family. It was silly and fun and we laughed and cheered our way through the "ghetto" golf course. I won. It made it even sweeter.

Today our family ate Cafe Rio burritos and salads up the canyon at a picnic bench surrounded by beautiful autumn trees and a bubbling river. We played hide n' seek and ate chocolate chip cookies. The sun was warm, the air touched with a tiny bit of autumn chill, and the colors brilliant. How could you not believe in a Supreme Creator as you look at a landscape that fills a soul with so much peace and joy that you can't do anything but stand still and be amazed.

Today my husband and 3 beautiful children held my hands as we walked down a path surrounded by trees of brilliant greens and yellows. We threw the leaves in the air and collected autumn specimens. We played at the base of a waterfall and explored rocks. Shoes got wet, feet were cold, but hearts were happy.

Today we drove up a canyon to a beautiful resort where we stopped for a moment to look again at the mountains and hear the river and smell the air. It heals. Something in me was made whole again today. My little inner teacup was filled to overflowing.

Today we drove through the mountains...in one canyon and out another and we marvelled at where we live and what we have been given.

Today I played a board game with my husband and oldest child. I won...again. Today has definitely been my day. I also beat the whole family at our game of Quaker at dinner. I'm on a lucky streak...

Today my oldest son and husband fixed the whole family a big pot of chili for dinner. It was delicious. Then my husband did the dishes. He is amazing.

Today was perfect. Absolutely perfect. I wouldn't have changed a single thing. I spent a day celebrating the people I love most in the most ordinary ways. And yet today did not feel ordinary. It felt magical and uplifting.

Today I saw beauty in its purest form...beauty created by divinity. Pure, untouched, inspiring, gentle, brilliant, breath taking, awe inspiring. Today I didn't do housework or run carpool or go grocery shoppping.

Today was a miracle.

Thank you.

Monday, October 12, 2009

My Gift

Seven years ago I was handed a gift.

I received the gift a little early...5 weeks to be exact. It caught me completely off guard. Scared me to death and then took my breath away with the sheer beauty and joy of it. For 7 years this gift has brought me joy. Not the fleeting kind like the toy you get on Christmas morning and forget about by Christmas night. Not the kind that breaks or ends up in the trunk on the way to DI while the kids are at school so they won't know it is gone. No, this gift is permanent. A forever gift. Doesn't get any better than that.

Moments after my Matthew was born, the doctor brought him over for me to see for the first time. (C-section...) I looked at that face and cried. The doctor asked me if we had a name picked out and without really remembering when it was we had chosen the name, I answered Matthew. She asked if I knew what that name meant. His name means "gift from God". It truly was meant to be his name.

Matthew had several health challenges during the first 2 years of life. When he was born, he had not suck/swallow reflux. He was failing to thrive at 2 weeks and had to be whisked to an occupational therapist to learn how to eat. On top of that, he had terrible acid reflux. Next was RSV followed by terrible ear infections, tubes, respiratory infections and complications, clogged tear ducts, abnormalities with the facial bones resulting in tubes that had to inserted in his little eye ducts, a hernia in the "nether regions", etc. And yet if you asked me to describe my baby boy, he was sweet and patient and gentle. Time after time I had doctors comment on his disposition. I had the strong sense that despite the discomfort and downright misery of some of these conditions and procedures, he knew and understood that people were trying to help and care for him. He was snuggly and giggly and had big round cheeks that made me want to gnaw on them and big, big blue eyes. Oh, he was delicious.

So where have 7 years gone? He is every bit as delicious. He still has round cheeks but I suspect he'd be violently opposed to me gnawing on them. His eyes are just as big and blue and they still make my heart skip a beat when he looks at me. His hair is thick and wavy and full of cowlicks. He is strong...physically, emotionally, spiritually. Matthew is filled with imagination. He loves to play. He is very social. It physically hurts when he doesn't have a party going on around him. He loves his friends. He is smart. He knows so much about so many things. (I won't tell you how he was telling me all about Mesopotamia the other day and after I finished nodding and saying "Wow", I had to go google it. Pathetic.) He is tender hearted. Matthew always worries about where everyone is and how they are doing. He doesn't leave for school every day until he has hugged and kissed me and told me he loves me. Then he blows kisses and waves until the car turns the corner. Every morning at 7:00 a.m., he comes and climbs in bed next to me and we snuggle. He still loves to snuggle. And he loves grandmas and grandmas and uncles and aunts and cousins. He loves his dad and brother and sister. He loves stories and light sabers and riding his bike. He is adventurous and fearless. He wants to do what is right. He is very, very picky about his clothes. He is a constant source of wonder and joy in my life. I am so grateful for this gift. Every single day.

Happy birthday my boy! You have made me so happy. You make me love being a mother. I love playing with you and being with you and loving you. You are a joy!

P.S. We had a fabulous birthday party! Matthew chose the theme and laid out all the details. We had a "Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire" birthday party that involved 18 guests (did I mention my boy is very social?), wand making, potion mixing, cupcake decorating, dementor tag, dragon duels, obstacle courses, and a trip at the end to Honey Dukes candy shop? Yeah, it was fun. With Matthew, it is never, ever boring. But remember how my camera broke last August? Still not fixed...or replaced. So you will just have to put on your little mental caps and imagine all the fun. And if you hate that, I'm accepting donations for a new camera. If you see my wealthy benefactor, tell him/her they better get in gear. I've got needs!

Thursday, October 08, 2009

I take that back...

So the problem is fixed when I type the blog and hit "view blog" and it shows me the blog I have just typed. But if I try to view my entire blog, it goes back to being broken. I'm so frustrated! Taylor...Todd...someone help me! Please!

Miracles Do Happen...

I just posted my last traumatic post and when I hit "post" and went to "view my blog"...it was fixed! FIXED! How did that happen? Why did that happen? I really would love answers to these questions, but right now I have pictures to post and a blog to write. I promised.

Traumatized

I haven't been neglecting my blog...I have been traumatized by it and therefore cannot return until the trauma has been treated.

One day I logged on and found my side bar mysteriously moved to the bottom of my blog. I ignored it hoping it was a quirk of technology and that blogspot would do right by me and fix it. Never happened. Every day I log on hoping for a miracle and every day it is still broken. And my OCD personality cannot overlook it and move on with life. So if anyone knows how to fix this silly, traumatic problem, I'd be most grateful.

And then I can post pictures of the fabulous Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire party we had...and how handsome and grown-up my MC is. But really...I'm obsessed with getting my sidebar back!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Tea Parties

Meet our new BFF...Fancy Nancy!

HB and I are are very inspired by Fancy Nancy. We own lots of her books. We like discussing all the ways she finds to be fancy. We love her fabulous (that's a fancy word for great) vocabulary. And then we like giving it a try ourselves.

Exhibit A: Spring 2009

HB and I purchased the book Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire. We read it. We studied it. We decided we needed an adventure. And off we went.

Our inspiration.

HB...explorer extraordinaire! Hat...check! Sunglasses...check! Snacks packed in Hello Kitty lunchbox...check!

The excited explorers, ready to begin their adventure through the jungle aka the grand garden at Thanksgiving Point.

The flowers were breathtaking. We couldn't stop smelling them or taking pictures of them. We will spare you the hundreds of random flower pictures and just focus on our favorites.

My fancy girl in the flower garden.

No matter how big my fancy little girl grows, I will never forget the feel of her hand in mine. I love that hand and how loved I feel when she reaches for it.

You mark my words...this girl is going to change the world. She is amazing!

We discovered a secret garden with a fountain.

HB took her journal and colored pencils with her. When she saw something amazing, she would plop down on a bench and draw a picture of it. She even drew a picture of all the benches in the gardens. And then she would write a sentence. I'm telling you...PBS Kids programming is doing its job in our house!

More sketching and writing.

The flowers.

No trip to the gardens is complete without a roll down the big hill.

The fountain in the "Italian" garden.

Dancing on the amphitheater stage. I like to call this my "Saturday Night Fever" move.

It's in our blood.

Well, our adventure was spectacular! So imagine our complete delight when a trip through Target the other day brought us another Fancy Nancy adventure to savor. The latest in a series to make your life more "fancy":

HB wasted not a second. She quickly filled out several invitations and invited her friends to a tea party (much to my surprise...guess she forgot the part where it helps to ask your mom so people don't show up expecting tea and find your mother in pajamas lounging on the couch). She spent 2 days preparing for the event. First, she made placemats out of 12x12 pieces of scrapbook paper with a portrait of each guest and their name. Then she made paper butterflies for them to decorate. Next she found little gold crowns downstairs in the "mystery" drawer and set them out with fairy stickers to be decorated. Since her mother is a teapot/teacup junkie, we pulled out some of the fancy teapots for decoration and decided to use the fancy tea cups to drink strawberry lemonade out of. Then we made fabulous pink cupcakes with very pink frosting. And voila...a tea party for princesses. We had so much fun!

The table set for guests!

Ready for strawberry lemonade and cupcakes!

They each got to decorate their own cupcakes and not a single sprinkle was spared!

I forgot HB also made very fancy fans out of napkins! This book is spectacular...trust me. No detail is overlooked and princesses of any age can do the projects.

The princesses had such delightful manners and were very charming!

These princesses could really down the lemonade! We also had cucumbers from the garden, apple and pear slices from someone else's orchard.

Is there anything better in this world than pink cupcakes with sprinkles?

All our tea party friends who were willing to make room in their busy schedules for an impromptu afternoon tea rendevous! We love girly friends...and that they can pull out princess dresses on a moments notice!

The tea party was followed by dancing in the family room and silly face pictures.

Sweet friends. HB is so lucky!

And no proper tea party is complete without some wild jumping off the couch!

Running, jumping, dancing, and sipping "tea"...all in an afternoon's work for a princess.

Just pure fun.

So here is the lesson I'm learning. Motherhood is filled with lots of work...hard work. There are houses that always seem to need cleaning, bathrooms with wet towels, dirty dishes, unmade messes, sticky floors, and children that need wiping, changing, eating, homework, cleaning, etc. But if those are the only moments, then it would be a dreary job indeed. What makes motherhood truly a spectacular experience is the balance...deciding that once in a while you aren't going to clean but you are going to grab your kids and set out on an adventure. It doesn't matter where...anywhere. Someplace where you can laugh together and play together and create the memories that will sustain each of you for a lifetime. And sometimes you can ignore those dirty dishes and just throw an impromptu tea party...or make a pie...or jump on the beds for no good reason. So when you start feeling frustrated with your job, just stop what you are doing and change directions. The fresh air and new perspective does a heart good.

Oh, and don't forget to invite us. We love an impromptu adventure!

P.S. Just so you don't think I'm favoring the girl species, the boys happened to be at school during both of these particular adventures. I promise they get lots of fun too!