anticipating christmas

i know, christmas is past, but i wanted to post this now while all our memories are fresh! yours and mine, because i hope your post a response!
we've spent most of the month of december sick and in attempts to keep things simple, i just haven't been on the computer very much.
heading into christmas this year i had two things in mind; simplify and create more meaning to the holiday. i wondered if these two things could co-exist, but they were both very necessary for us.

the kids are still really young, but i realized that this year there was so much more talk about presents. i'll be the first to say that i love the gift-giving of christmas, but i don't want that to be the emphasis for us. i was hoping for something we could do, enter into, be a part of, engage with, to help us/them understand christmas at a deeper level.

(my creative and precious friend, lb, who sells her goodies over at fashionablylate

led an art session a couple years ago where i got to make this lovely advent calender. )

last year a friend showed us her advent activities for her toddlers and i decided we would practice advent this year. naturally, i waited until after thanksgiving and was up late november 30th working on the project, so next year we'll make some changes,

but,

we did it!

i made a list of 24 activities that would help us anticipate christmas. activities that would focus our thoughts on the broader meaning of christmas, to remind us that the anticipation can be just as exciting. i divided the activities into three groups; simple, short projects were white, (like coloring a christmas picture and having a picnic under the christmas tree), slightly more time-consuming activities were green (making an ornament for someone, a garland, or decorating cookies for neighbors), and big ticket items or ones we wanted to do as a family were red (putting up the christmas tree, going sledding as a family)

since i waited until the last minute, i simply wrote the item on a piece of paper and rolled them up. we picked one out of the bowl each day. next year i'd like to make a numbering system so that i can have a little more control over which particular item is chosen each day.

one of the favorite activities was making this garland out of recycled christmas cards.

we also made an advent wreath. four candles represent the four sunday's prior to christmas, the center candle represents the Christ candle, christmas day. there are many words given to the four candles, and it seems there is no wrong answer, so we called the first candle LOVE because first there was love. we love because he first loved us. God sent his son because he loved us.

the second red candle we called HOPE. love gave us something to have hope in, something to hope for, filled us with hope!
the third candle we named JOY. having hope and experiencing love brings joy. Jesus gives us a reason to rejoice.
the fourth candle we called PEACE.
the final candle, the large white one, was the JESUS candle. the fulfillment of our waiting.
we lit the specific candle during dinner each night for the entire week following its introduction. some nights it felt more like we were lighting the candle and that was it. other nights we actually had conversations about the word, or about advent, or waiting, or anything! it was fantastic!

the most exciting thing was to realize that even though we were adding something to our day, another activity, it the season actually felt more peaceful.

what have you done to make christmas more meaningful? naturally, i am thinking about preschool aged appropriate, but really want to hear about family traditions for all ages of children!

NYC

nearly seven years ago we tied the knot. our honeymoon was brief, but sweet,a mere two days at a B&B, after which we both had to return to work. we promised ourselves that we would have a series of minimoons for the rest of our marriage, rather than be disappointed that our first was so short.
we finally got away!
our good friends, chris and jess, have lived in NYC for six years. our desire to go visit them has been great, but there has always been something holding us back - not enough money, no time off, too late in the pregnancy, small baby who doesn't sleep, baby to old to make it fun, two babies,.....
when we found out our friends were finally moving back to the midwest (!!!) we knew we had to make a visit happen, even if i went alone (which had a delightful sound to it!). we had also hoped to have a little family vacation to celebrate the end of self-employment. we settled on a little family weekend away to Duluth and a minimoon to NYC!
did i mention we had never left our children for more than two nights and one day? we did get to Lutzen, just hubby and i, last summer for a weekend, but i didn't consider that a minimoon since he was working and our time together was dependent upon other people's schedule. i worried a little about our kids that weekend, but more for the suffering of our friends who were waking up with claire at O-Dark thirty.
this trip was free of worry, knowing the kids would be happy as clams with their grandparents!
this was a vacation!
it was about being together, uninterrupted conversations, eating really good food, exploring all day, dressing up and not having to worry about greasy fingers, seeing a Broadway musical the night before it wins the Tony, observing styles that will not reach us until next year, not eating dinner before 8pm every night, having dessert from the Chocolate Room every night (yes, we did), "man games" between chris and steve, crazy good food, interesting archetechture, ...
it was what we had hoped it to be!

ode to the man

self-employment ended last week.
after 15 years of being his own boss, the hubs finally felt ready to let someone else be the boss.

it feels appropriate to acknowledge a few of the unique and varied jobs he has created for himself over the years.
it was around first grade when he felt like the school bus needed some organization, so he created bus monitors and delegated the role to different peers. this lasted a few weeks until the bus driver realized what was happening and called it quits. his mama could see leadership right from the start, even if the principal felt it necessary to reprimand the little problem solver.
later, he and some friends had a booth at school where they would find out the answer to any question (remember, this was long before google)
he ran his own lawn mowing company, painting company, residential remodeling company, business management company, property management company and home diagnostics company (the final four simultaneously!)
seems like problem solving really was the core of what he enjoys. when the economy threw him a curve ball, he swung hard and scored a couple new business ventures out of the deal. he seems to thrive when there are problems to solve. unfortunately, running four businesses left little time for us as a family, and the constant management lead to a level of stress that we didn't enjoy.
he was ready to swing a hammer for another construction company in exchange for free mental space, time to create, time with the family. what he got was so much more!
after just one week of putting out the word that he was in the market for a job, he got a call.
last week he started working for a residential design-build company. he will, naturally, working on business solutions to help them run more efficiently. he has an office, a paycheck, and evenings and weekend off!

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
evenings feel like vacation!

no, he isn't around during the day to join us for lunch. he can't pop in to help me lift something, he can't run to the kitchen if i leave the house without turning off the oven. i can't take off an run a quick errand after i put the kids down for a nap. we don't get to end the day early, or watch a movie in the afternoon while the kids rest. we can't push the snooze button too many times. we've enjoyed these perks.

we've traded them in for a different set of perks; paid time off, weekends to do our own projects, someone else bearing the weight of responsibility, consistent paycheck and wearing a different set of clothes. i'm thinking we need to make a quilt out of all these gray SMS t-shirts and carharts.

i am so proud of him. so grateful for the years of working so hard to make things happen. so impressed with his creativity, diversity and ability to bring an idea to fruition. i am so thankful that others recognize talent and value it.

so here's to my man!
and here's to working for the man!

i WON!

i recently was reacquainted with an old family friend, nicole, who blogs over at deliajude
simply creative crafty mama! i am really enjoying her blog, which is chuck full of craft, food, joys in daily life, and inspiring photography! last week she had a little giveaway and I WON!! the package arrived this week, very delightful! jackson was almost as excited as i was to open the pretty packages.
he loved the lavender tape with gold dots, and salvaged it to tape twine (from the wrapping) to make a clothesline in his bedroom where he can hang some special pictures

included were

• three spools of colorful twine, (which you can find over at her etsy shop)
• a vial of wishes
  
• chocolate bar (which i am eating right now with my afternoon cup of tea)
  
• a book So Few of Me, by Peter Reynolds (seems to have been written for my husband!)
  
• a little blank book
• a charming garland (she is the creator of the garland-of-the-month club) made from vintage sheet music

"it's like christmas for you mom!" jackson exclaimed, sincerely excited for a gift for me!
my mom, the compulsive contestant, will be thrilled!
thank you nicole!

i heart him.

i really love this kid.
he has been wanting to sew, knit, craft as long as i can remember.
today he completed his first hand sewing project. so proud are we!
he picked the fabric, purple felt and a red print, light blue embroidery floss.
he chose the project, a heart for his auntie tiff's birthday. interestingly, my friend, nicole had posted this very project she did at a kids craft class she held, so it was helpful to have a little photo to lead us.
he did all the work (except for the final tie) he persevered when it was so hard and mom didn't have a thimble. his work was even, careful and really pretty impressive for a first sewing project for a 4 1/2 year old.

best yet, and striving for a better score!

the entire family was up at 4 something this morning.
i was confused.
the bright side of it all was that claire had the longest sleep, uh, since i can remember. a full straight 7 hours. she was up at 4, but thankfully went back to sleep for a bit.
hubby was restless and gets this way some early mornings. it doesn't make sense to him to just lie in bed, awake, so he goes to work.
jackson had to pee, was thirsty, and since everyone else was awake, he must have thought it was morning.
i think i was the only one who really, really wanted to be in bed!
really.

we've begun a new sleep regime with claire, in hopes of better sleep. she gets a bedtime tonic, a mixture of calcium and trace minerals in a little juice. our hope is that this will help calm her muscles, fulfill any mineral deficiency and keep her asleep longer.
we also began Hylands, Calm Forte 4 kids. this is a homeopathic treatment specifically for night terrors, growing pains, sleeplessness, general restlessness - any of which could be an issue for the little one. they are easy to slip in her mouth during a night waking and they melt in her mouth.

we are hanging onto hope, still claiming that quiet night.

lady time!

alright ladies! it's that time of the month, and while i hate the excuse of PMS, that might give a reason for extra sensitivity, extra sweet craving, more tea drinking lately. but this month has been particularly different for me, because of success with my natural response to the natural flow of things!
i've been using the keeper for almost a year, and finally figured out how to use it well. this fall i made my own pantyliners, so the mix has been nearly delightful! nearly. still ranking highest in emotion is thankfulness that i am not pregnant for another month!
i chose the dark flannel fabric intentionally; feminine, but won't easily stain. i used a little recycled windbreaker for the water-resistant liner, the flannel i used for the liners was used for our home birth with claire, which has a nice little full circle of femininity to it.
i love the softness of cotton around me but not inside me, sapping me of any extra moisture! i love not throwing away the extra garbage every month!

simple light

maybe a little energy is returning.
perhaps a little hope.
telling the kids about our friday night power outage became the new story. they were in bed and missed out on all the excitement of rummaging around for candles, headlamps, checking with tenants, preparing for the worst, then full power in just over an our. but the story was so full of excitement, rich in mystery, and prompted a candlelit dinner last night.
that is the beauty of children. simplicity. we don't need crazy movie story lines. ours is crazy enough. and just a smidge of a story can be made into something big and wonderful.

when i listen to those little ones, i am actually helped in my return to simplicity.

a challenge in feeding myself

this morning i felt productive enough to pull out the sewing machine and finish a couple projects. the kiddos were playing so well together.
but this is why it is hard to do any major crafting with them awake:

they are magnetized to the project i am working on.
claire actually climbed on to the table and laid down behind the machine so she could watch the needle. jack was sorting my sewing machine tools and began cleaning the machine with the dusting brush.
thankfully, no ones fingers were impaled by a needle, no pins were stuck into the motor, the machine is spotless, and the project was finished (a little wrap around dress/shirt for claire).
i think it is sweet that jackson has a favorite stitch on my sewing machine, #17, and recognizes #5 (zigzag) on a person's clothing.

top ten million things for the week

1. art stuff with kids - we have been doing so much craftiness together!
2. sewing and knitting - i have been sewing again, for fun! its fantastic - i'll try to post some pics
3. my first eggnog latte of the season - it is gone too early after the holidays, and never here soon enough, but this week the coop started serving! not much going on? i prefer to say that i appreciate the little things!
4. fall color - our early snow made me fear we wouldn't actually get any fall color, but it turned brilliant this week! and now we will have leaf "clutter" for the next few weeks.
5. pumpkin patch - an adventure with our neighbors on a perfect fall afternoon
6. supper club - afternoon freedom (an entire post will be dedicated to this glorious breakthrough)
7. amazing conversations with the kiddos (quotes to follow)
8. remembering to take my vitamins - or training my kids to remind me as they remember to take theirs
9. apples from our friend transformed into a winter supply of dehydrated apples, apple crisp, applesauce and soon, apple pie!
10. badger balm -soothing a former 1/5-2 hour bedtime routine (including multiple calls for potty breaks and reminders) into a slick book-smooch-snuggle-goodnight!

Circus Week, Santa Cruz

we just returned from a week of bliss in santa cruz. my two good friends from seattle reunited for the first time since jack was a babe. we have talked about it since i moved, referring to the gathering as nothing less than a circus. it was. we cosied up in a three-bedroom condo with six adults and three children.

highlights include:

• spending really good time with wonderful friends!
  

• sunshine
  
• two days with just one child!!!
• seeing jeremiah's art - wow! i wish i had taken a couple more photos. he builds surfboards, paints them incredibly. he had a series of art on display at the local coffee shop - really fantastic stuff using a mixture of paint, fabric, paper, glass...wow. claire loved playing under this little table, beside one of jeremiah's surfboards and beneath a painting.
  

• diverse beaches - one had endless sand, another was rocky and full of muscles, seaweed and treasure-hunting, another was a small beach right up to the cliffs - beautiful, remote feeling.

• seeing baby A while he is still so little!

• time to talk, actually complete conversations, with two precious friends
• really good coffee, every morning. i am looking into buying an aeropress
  
• a walk in the redwood forests - the serenity only slightly interrupted by the dog carriage and doggy bjorn.
• really amazing meals - chicken "fish" tacos, gourmet pita pizzas, fancy sausage hogies...

• a ridge walk along the coast - reminding me of the cliffs of Dover
• donuts

• first family vacation - we love visiting family in seattle, but this is the first time we've travelled to see friends! it was so good to play, to rest, to catch up.
  

• watching our kids experience the ocean for the first time. jack was careful, hesitant and certainly didn't want to get cold in that water. he loved looking for treasure (sadly, our sandbox just isn't revealing the same quality of treasures) claire couldn't get enough - she'd sit right down in the chilly water, in her clothes. she didn't want me to hold her hand, because she wanted both hands to dig in the sand. sand in her butt, sun on her cheeks, and freezing legs, she was a happy napper at the end of the day.
  

my favorite quotes of the week?
claire, "switch sides" instead of mama's milk, milk please, or just plain milk, its right to switching sides.
jack, "i need to call my dad. my OTHER dad, he's home, smoking"


and then to return home to spring, lovely!

simply crocs, and contests

one of my favorite blogs, simplemom.net, is celebrating 10,000 subscribers!
that is crazy. i think maybe 10 people read my blog, hey!
anyhoo, she is celebrating in my style! spreading the word about something great.
i got my first pair of Crocs while i was prego with zoom. they were given to me by my two good friends. my first thought? geeez, those things are ugly, at least they are pink. oh! you mean the pink shoes i am STILL wearing, right now, in fact!? these would be the ones!
it didn't take more than a couple minutes to realize how absolutely cushy comfy they were. they have become our house shoes, and mine are finally wearing thin. i've actually been considering a new pair, but there are so many wonderful color options and new styles! so when i saw that simplemom.net was having a little giveaway with Crocs, i jumped.

i guess i am a compulsive contestant, just like my mama taught me.
who, by the way, is in route as we speak...hurrah for grammy time!

but seriously, simplemom.net has saved me many a time, with organization ideas, meal planning, and general helpful ideas.

the long winter

spring is here.
zoom keeps reminding me. i guess i need it.
while the snow is gone, and the temperatures allow us to go outside (sometimes even without a coat!!) it still feels like we aren't quite there.
this has been a long winter. weeks of snow haven't even been the worst part - i love the snow! having two kids inside a lot, that has been hard. but it feels more like we are in a winter season of life. friends who have travelled this road before me have assured me that this time, with kids in the toddler years, really are the hardest years. it does help to hear that. sort of. i'm still tired. i still loose my patience. i still feel frustrated at how long it takes me to check things off our list. (yes, my brown christmas wreath is still hanging on the front door.) i sometimes feel smothered by my babes, even though i love them terribly!
the glimpse of green is good.
the hope that we will penetrate this frozen ground and plant a seed...soon!
zoom and i worked on seed tapes. we got the idea from Organic Gardening mag. you "paste" seeds along a strip of newspaper using a flour/water mixture. spacing them appropriately for the variety, these strips are ready-t0-go when planting time comes. we tried a few things - at least we get to play garden right now.
my precious ones have been sitting in slush puddles, willing the sand to soften just enough to dig a ditch big enough for the little dump truck to drive.

the unveiling

for months we have talked with zoom about getting him a new bed.
hubby decided to make the bed and the more time went on the more creative he became. zoom helped collaborate on the design; what was going to be a simple bed turned into a climbing bed (with holds to get into the bed) and finally an excavator.
Earthvator
they have spent hours together in the shop working on this project and added at least one other project along the way - a workbench for zoom
before christmas we moved him into the new room, and since the bed wasn't ready, he slept on the mattress on the floor.
our friend, and fabulous artist, carole, painted the bed. she has done beautiful work all over the city and world. it is a piece of artwork!
yesterday we moved it into his room and he spent the first night in his new bed. the black squares on the end are climbing holds, as are the dual purpose drawer handles! there are 6 large drawers and the large opening is a great spot to hide! we might end up putting hooks for hanging coats or a couple shelves in the back, but for now it provides a great spot for both kiddos!

check out this detail! i love the little butterfly, tucked in with the clouds (the red is his sheet)

and this is the control panel, right by his pillow. zoom told me he was going to have an ipod in his excavator. i thought he misunderstood carole, but nope, there is the receiver, right next to the cd player :)

she'll be all night long!

we initiated the sleep regime on accident.
while staying with my parents, zoom got to sleep in the famous "twin beds" (a bunk bed taken apart so the beds are just a foot off the floor). his room was at one end of the house, right next to my parents. hubby and i, with the girl's crib in our room, were at the far other end of the house. it worked out great for grammy to wake up with zoom and have their special time. the first week the girl did her normal gig, waking up every couple hours or so. i put off nursing as long as possible, but ended up with her on the floor (our bed was not big enough for all three of us and she is so wiggly that i was really afraid she would roll right off). thankfully, the parents have a great sheepskin rug that made a great bed on the floor.
one week into our visit, my parents were out of town for a few nights. this left zoom at the far end of the house by himself. we could have moved him into a closer room but for the, now famous, Longest Night of Sleep Ever.
after a long day with the siblings, we finally got the kiddos to naps around 4pm. at 6 zoom was still asleep, and we decided to let him sleep. we were on vacation, so if he woke up at 10pm and wanted to hang, we could handle that. i took the other twin bed in exchange for a night off with the girl. around 2am zoom woke up to pee, but went right back to sleep until 8am!!! ahhhhhh, sweet sleep!
thus initiated hubby's sleep regime with the girl. he had no boobs to pacify her. she could see that i wasn't' in the bed. she listened to her daddy, who rubbed her back, whispered to her and continued to lay her back down! since things seemed to go so well, we tried that another night. and another. by the time we left seattle i was back in bed with hubby and he would talk to her from bed, "it's bedtime, lay down". that's it. she would give a little grumpy cry and flop back down.
hubby has continued to be the nighttime parent since returning home, and things have gone from good to great! the first few nights she woke up a handful of times, but the interactions were moments. the past two nights she has slept from 8pm to 8am, SOLID!
PTL indeed!

happy new year - and end of year summary

things have been so busy lately, there have been so many things i have wanted to post about, but my time at the computer has not taken priority.
here are some of the fabulous year-end events:

• the girl turned ONE!
• we saw our cousin in a play, then spent the next few weeks practicing being elves
• spent hours playing hide-and-seek
  
• we were snowed in, in seattle. we dreamed about that kind of snow growing up there, but it was the only truly white christmas i have ever experienced in the northwest!
• we had a fabulous two weeks vacation in the great northwest!
  
• initiated the new sleep regime with claire
  
• celebrated four family birthdays AND christmas in one efficient evening
  
• spent time knitting
• spent time reading
• did i mention we were on vacation, with at least two adoring grandparents at almost any given time?
• discovered hulu and arrested development
• slept in "a few times"
• managed to attend great aunt pat's christmas eve's eve party without breaking any antique christmas decorations or zoom dipping into the loaded eggnog!
• learned how to play UNO and Go Fish!

happy new year to all and here's to a fantastic 2009!!

Five Fabulous Years!

it was five years ago this afternoon that we tied the knot. i scored big time. it remains my favorite wedding of all times!
sadly, these days it is a pretty big deal to say we've been married for five years! i am so thankful for a man who continues to pursue me, challenge me and support me! i would do it all over again!