book 5

Here we are on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon – the sun is shining, the windows are open (although I am cuddled up under a fuzzy blanket) and the kids ARE BOTH ASLEEP.  *sigh*

Yesterday I finished The Scarlet Contessa: A Novel Of The Italian Renaissance, by Jeanne Kalogridis.  It was all right, and if you like Philippa Gregory’s English historical novels (such as The Other Boleyn Girl), you would like this one, too.  It’s the mostly true story of Caterina Sforza.  I have to confess to skimming rapidly through some of the more boring parts.  So, if you read it and are bored to death, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I was able to finish this book yesterday because I was able to laze about most of the day.  Timon got up and made pancakes with Maria for us all, and she was so cute as she “helped.”  After a while Timon said that she decided to cut out the middleman (the pancake) and just eat the blueberries.  When he flipped them she would exclaim “Wow!  Awesome!”  In the afternoon Timon and Henry played the LEGO Star Wars video game.  During one section, Henry paused the game during one rough firefight with the stormtroopers and told Timon “WE HAVE TO KILL THE BAD GUYS, DAD!” in an extremely serious tone.  Well, then.

book 3 (ok, and 4, too)

Ok, I know.  It’s the 11th of January and I’ve already read 3 (ok, 4) books.  How does a busy wife and mother of two who works full-time outside the home do such a thing?  Well, you should know that I read exceptionally fast, and that I read for a couple of hours each night, typically.  For reference, I read each of the last three Harry Potter books (896, 652, and 784 pages) in one full day (about 11 hours), given that I literally relinquished all duties, parenting and otherwise, for the day.  (Thanks again, Timon!) 

ANYWAY.  I finished Let The Great World Spin, by Colum McCann.  I LOVED this book.  It’s one of those novels that intertwines a bunch of different stories – at first it’s difficult to see how they are connected but in the end it all comes together.  The main connection revolves around the (totally real) story of Phillippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers.  This book is really, really, good.  (Side-note and additional recommendation: See the documentary about Petit called Man On Wire.  We enjoyed it a lot.  You won’t believe what this dude did to make it across that distance 1000 feet in the air.  The movie is like a love letter to the towers, and when the kids are old enough I can’t wait to show it to them to better understand why they were chosen as targets on 9/11.)

I also finished A Friend Of The Family, by Lauren Grodstein.  This book was very highly recommended by a cousin of mine (she’s a publisher and editor, so she reads A LOT, probably more than me).  I wasn’t blown away by it – the story was interesting and it had a good premise.  A father of an only child wants to protect his son and attempts to do so at all costs, and he ends up paying for his impulses.  My problem with the book was that it was at nearly the very very end that the point was made, and I felt like I was strung along a little, like it was stretched out unnecessarily.  One thing that may have affected this for me was that it was REALLY late last night and I had about 30 pages left, and I was rushing through to the end so I wouldn’t have to wait until tonight to finish it.  Maybe one day I’ll read it a bit with a bit more leisure and I’ll enjoy it more.

Still not a whole lot going on here – Henry got his first yellow (!) today at school and that was quite a shock to all of us.  He entered the house in tears, fearful of my reaction.  We thankfully all stayed calm and he’s restricted from TV and video games until the weekend.  Maria was NOT pleased when I sent her to bed tonight, and could be heard grumbling about how dreadfully she’s been treated (“Mommy NOT NICE”) – for about 2 minutes before passing out for the night.  Adorable.

Tonight I’ve been writing this post, watching L&O: SVU, listening to Timon snore on the couch, and resolving to NOT begin any new books until Thursday.  Nighty-night.

book 2

I just finished Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, by Jon Krakauer.  Oh my stars, was that a difficult book to read.  If you don’t recall, Pat Tillman was a player in the NFL who joined the army after 9/11.  His story was hijacked by the media and portrayed him as someone he was not, and then he got killed in Afghanistan (apparently accidentally) by a member of his own unit.   Then the Army and the U.S. government attempted a cover-up.  This book has made me worried for America.  Consider this:

“[We are] eliminating the alpha males from our midst, and at a dizzyingly accelerating rate.  But in Muslim countries, the alpha male is still alive and well.  While we in America are drugging our alpha males with Ritalin, the Muslims are doing everything in their power to encourage their alpha boys to be tough, aggressive, and ruthless… We are proud if our sons get into a good college; they are proud if their sons die as martyrs.
To rid your society of high-testosterone alpha males may bring peace and quiet, but if you have an enemy that is building up an army of alpha boys to hate you fanatically and who have vowed to destroy you, you will be committing suicide…”

I’m not saying I agree completely with the above quote – just that it has me thinking.  Even though I was left sickened and saddened after finishing it, I highly recommend this book. 

Ooooookay.  Not much new going on in La Casa Marrón, other than Henry explaining to us what the Federal Reserve is and Maria spontaneously bringing an empty plastic bottle to the recycling bin unprompted.  With citizens like these, there may be hope for America yet.

book 1

Ok, so I just figured out what will get me to post here more often.  Every time I finish reading a book, I’ll write about it here, along with a family update.  Sound good?

I know, it’s only Jan. 2, and I’ve finished a book already?  Don’t worry, it was a v. quick and easy read.  Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies (she plays Det. Stabler’s wife on L&O: SVU) is the memoir of her marriage’s dissolve, due to her husband’s affair with a colleague.  It was pretty good but seriously depressing for the most part.  It made me grateful for Timon, for my only guess at his reaction if a co-worker tried to entice him would be that he would be extremely embarrassed and speechless.  (Not to mention that this would be also highly, highly unlikely, since he has mostly straight male co-workers.)

Today we went to the zoo for the first time in a very long time – it was wonderful!  The baby siamang gibbon has turned into the most adorable toddler of all time.  Maria really liked the budgies (Australian birds) and nearly had one in her hot little hand before it flew away.  Henry’s favorite of the day was the white tiger.  I love our zoo – and I especially love having a membership (thanks, Mimi & Papa!!!) because we don’t feel like we have to spend a very long time there to justify the ticket price.  And next week, they’re no longer going to charge for the rides, which is SO nice.  Maria can ride the carousel and Henry can go on the flying bananas to their hearts’ content.

my kids are hilarious

MMM! CHOC-OH-WIT!!!

Henry’s dream comes true.

oh, henry.

I generally think both my children are pretty dang fantastic.  Today Henry did two things that just blew Timon and me away completely. 

He and Maria were fighting over a book and Timon came in and told them that they needed to share, and then said, “Geez, I’m gonna cut the book in half if you can’t share.”  Henry piped up and said “Just like the wise King Solomon did!” and then proceeded to tell us the entire story, using the exact words, from 1 Kings Chapter 3 of the two women that each claimed the baby as her own and Solomon decided to determine which was the real mother by threatening to cut the baby in half.  (If you aren’t familiar with this story, it’s a doozy.  It’s one of those things that makes the Bible so hard for some people to believe.)  We asked him if he learned that in Sunday School and he said no, he had read it in his Bible.  Well, then. 

Later, as I was enjoying a Christmas party with the women’s group from church, Timon asked the kids to wash their hands for dinner.  Apparently there was some mischief in the bathroom, resulting in Maria falling from the stool by the sink and getting a black eye along with a fairly serious cut on her chin.  As Timon was attending to Maria, Henry was very emotional and kept repeating, “That’s my sister!  I don’t want her hurt! That’s my sister!”  *sob* 

That’s why the picture below means so much to me.  That’s why it was worth every single miserable second waiting to conceive Maria.  That’s yet another reason why my heart aches for Amy and her parents.  I love you, Peter and Greta and Katherine and Phil and Amy B. and Courtney and Lee.

vii

Our pastor spoke a couple of weeks ago about not getting what we think we need or desperately want right away.  It got me thinking – what do I want?  What do I think I need, right now?  One of those things I’ve mentioned before is our desire to have more children.  Both Timon and I are from families with three, and we are definitely set on three and probably considering four (whether or not the 4th comes out of my body is open for discussion).  But we are in a holding pattern right now.  Our home is maxed out as far as squeezing people in, and there are no prospects for moving visible on the horizon, mainly because that would involve a job change.

So, we wait on the Lord, and for what he has planned for us.  I have to trust that my body will work properly (HA.) when the timing of everything else is right.   Many people I mention having more children to have already presumed we’re done since we have a boy and a girl, and have already replaced Timon and me, world population-wise.  But there are still a couple of seats empty at the table.

iv

LISTS IN PROGRESS, episode 1

Things I want to do with my kids before it’s too late:
(crossed out items are done or nearly done)

• get a dog
• travel around the country in an RV
• meet a President
• give them more siblings {grin}
• record each year in daily photos
• make a giant snowman
• visit Alaska and Hawaii
• grow a successful garden
• read the Harry Potter series with all of them individually (Henry & I are on book 2)
• read the Chronicles of Narnia series with all of them individually
• meet a professional baseball player
• see a shuttle launch
• show them what a good marriage looks like
• go meet Juan, our sponsored child in Guatemala

to my daughter on her 2nd birthday

Dear sweet baby girl Maria,

I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that it’s impossible for you to be two years old.  It was just minutes ago, after all, that you came flying into the world, in your own way, in your own time, whether or not anybody was around to catch you.  I’m glad I was laying sideways on a bed, instead of on my back, feet in stirrups, with no bed underneath to support you on your way into the outside.

There is something so different in parenting you, my daughter.  I tend to be a softie with you.  Your sweet little grin and sparkly blue eyes make it awfully hard to be as consistent with you as we should.  But I still think you’re turning out ok.

Potty learning is underway and you seem to be catching on.  The princess unders seem to help a bit – you nearly always insist on wearing them instead of a diaper.  You (and I’ll take the risk of jinxing things here by telling the internets) have begun eating nearly everything with gusto.  We measured your height tonight before bed and you’ve grown an inch and a half since March.

Your speech is becoming clearer and clearer.  It’s way more advanced than your brother’s at this age, but I chalk that up to having him chattering away every minute of every day.  You must make yourself understood so that you can hold your own with him.  Fortunately you still seem to get along with each other well.  Sharing a room still works out ok.

 

Darling Maria, I love you so. 
Love,
Mama

Summer 2010 Trip #3

Yes, we’ve been on three trips this summer.  My sister-in-law got married in June in Alabama, my cousin got married in July in Connecticut, and last week we went to south Georgia for a meet-up with Timon’s parents. 

We went to a state park that’s just barely over the state line that was on a lake.  The cottages there are great – AC, full kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms.  Also: satellite tv, which we barely used but was handy in checking baseball scores each evening and on one rainy afternoon Henry got to watch All Dogs Go To Heaven. 

 
The kids were fantastic in the car on the way up.  We’ve been blessed with good car travelers.  And now that I’ve typed those words, we will PAY DEARLY on our next road-trip.  We cooked a lot of good food while we were there, which, when you have absolutely nothing else to do other than read a book or go swimming with your kids, isn’t the chore it seems to be at home.  And THE BEST PART OF IT ALL was that there was a (cue angels singing) DISHWASHER!!!  Perhaps you’ve always had a dishwasher and this means very little to you.  But I’ve lived without a dishwasher in my home since I moved out of my first apartment in 2001.  And seeing as how the cottage was on a lake, with a screened-in porch, and was bigger than my own home, the dishwasher pretty much put it over the top to where I very nearly refused to leave. 

Maria enjoyed cutting wooden fruit and helping Mimi in the kitchen, first supervising the shrimp deveining, and then snapping beans in half.

 
 

Henry loved fishing with his daddy, taking solemn self portraits, and snuggling with Maggie the dog.  [He really, really wants us to get a dog.] 

 

   
I’m ready to go back.  Who wants to join me?

we laughed, we cried, etc.

In case you need a good cry, listen/watch this song by Steven Curtis Chapman.  His daughter was killed in an accident last year.  Her name was Maria.  This song pierces me and scares me and gives me hope and it's gorgeous. 

Now, if laughs are all you're after, check this one out.  This video reveals aspects of my children's personalities that are very interesting. 

{tap tap tap} {feedback squeal} Is this thing on?

Um, yeah!  I certainly didn’t intend to be away from the ole blog for this long.  Whoops!  I tell you, it’s so hard to come up with the daily photo, and I admit to spending more time catching up with people via facebook than remembering that I started my whole internet presence here in this place, and therefore it deserves some attention.

Any-hoo, there’ve been a few things I’ve felt like writing about lately, and so I’ll cram them into one post because I’m not sure each should have a post of it’s own, and seriously, I clearly cannot be depended upon to post here regularly, so!  Before I forget everything, here goes!

1. Did anyone else see the most recent episode of The Deadliest Catch?  I have always loved that show (not least because Wanted Dead or Alive is the song over the opening credits).  Well, knowing that Capt. Phil passed away before this season started airing has made every episode a bit strange; I mean, we’re watching this guy’s last moments on earth.    And in the first half of Tuesday’s show they showed his son acting strangely, sleeping when he should be on deck, then once he got out there, I said to Timon, “He’s high.”  Timon didn’t think so, but the kid fell into the hole on deck where they put the crab in the tanks.  Then at the end of the episode, it showed Phil in pain, going below to get some of his pain medication, and he caught his son stealing his pills.  Oh, it was so horrible to watch the kid try to dig out of that hole, and you could see how awful it was for Phil.  The whole thing just made me really, really sad.  When you think that not long after this happened, Phil dies – oof.  I just hope they made things right with each other.
   
   
2. Summer vacation is upon us, and this is the first summer that Henry hasn’t had some kind of full-time care.  He’s going to come to work with me on Mondays and Thursdays; Tuesdays he and Maria will go to their surrogate grandparents’ house, Wednesdays they’ll go to Maria’s other caregiver’s home.  Fridays the three of us will go to the library and one of the city pools.  I’m hoping that we can get in a good routine.  We have a couple of trips scheduled and I CANNOT WAIT to get up to Connecticut in July for a cousin’s wedding!  Mainly to see this kid and these kids and that other kid (my niece Julia, who is internetally anonymous, basically).
   
   
3. Maria’s saying a lot of words now.  It’s time for another guessing game, dear reader mother readers!  I’ll put down the things she actually says, you guess in the comments what you think she means to say.  Ready?  OK!
1. Cup!
2. Bee-bee
3. Shores
4. pah-ee
5. mo
6. ee
7. pee-pee (no, it’s not what you think)
8. Ah-ooo
9. saw-saw
10. bess-ooo

All right!  And this post only took me 3.5 hours from start to finish!  (ok, so I took a considerable break in the middle to do Vacation Bible School.)  Be good to each other.

today

7:01am    Eyes snap open, look at the clock.  Stretch, get out of bed, go to the bathroom, and head to the kids’ room.

7:05am    Rub Henry’s back and tell him good morning.  He does his typical rolling over onto his stomach in an attempt to stay in bed.  Maria is stirring, and I pick her up to realize the front of her pjs are wet from diaper wicking out the top.  I groan since our washer is broken, and this is just another pee soaked item to stink up the house until I get a chance to do laundry.

7:10-8:00am  Get Maria and Henry breakfast, set out their clothes, shower, and get dressed.  I shove down a grapefruit (too sour) while sitting at the table with Timon.

8:15am    Out the door with both kids.

8:20am    Drop Henry at school.

8:28am    Drop Maria at her caregiver’s house. 

8:35am    Meet Timon back at the church to give him ice for his work cooler.

8:40am-12:35pm    Settle in the office for the morning.  Clear out emails (and ok, Google Reader, too) (ok, and update my FB status, too), decide what the plan is for youth tomorrow night, pick praise band songs for the week and send the email to the band.

12:40pm  Walk home for lunch, realize just how bad the pollen has gotten (REALLY BAD, FYI). 

1:30pm    More work, this time reading some work materials.  Also deal with drama-filled work emails.

2:40pm    Realize the diapers MUST be washed today, laundromat is the choice at the moment.  Gather up those, plus another load to wash while I’m there.

2:43pm    Leave with laundry in back of car to get Henry from school, run into praise band member, discuss drama.

2:51pm    Get in car line, pick up Henry.  Go to Walgreens, pick up prescription for Henry, get cash to use at laundromat.

3:15-3:45pm   Arrive at Maria’s caregivers.  Henry is ushered into the kitchen for a massive snack, since they like to spoil our children (in the nicest possible way).  Chat for a while.  Leave with large hunk of cake in hand for tonight’s dessert.

4:00pm  Get to laundromat, obtain quarters, start diapers in one machine, clothes in another.  $1.75 for cold wash, $2.00 for warm or hot!  Pray that the necessary part for our washer arrives PRONTO, since who can afford the laundromat?!?

4:10-5:00pm  Observe older man who might just be folding laundry for the very first time, judging by his skill at it.  Feel sad because perhaps his wife has recently become unable to do the laundry after a lifetime of taking care of her husband.  Chase children around in futile effort to contain them at the laundromat.  Finally remember the stroller is in the car, get stroller, put Maria in stroller for Henry to push around the aisles.  Learn that despite my long-standing assertion that removing diaper inserts prior to washing is unnecessary, apparently some will not come out in the laundromat washer.  Discover this after both wash cycles have completed and we’re getting ready to leave.  Decide they’ll get fully clean next time.

5:15pm    Get home, see Timon is already home, am thankful for the help bringing everything (including large hunk of cake) in the house.  See he’s already done the breakfast dishes and thank him as profusely as is possible with the level of fatigue I experience.  Put diapers in the dryer, which currently works.

5:20-6:40pm   Prepare, eat, and clean up from taco night dinner.  Get Maria dressed and diapered for bed, not planning to put her straight to bed at 7 but she comes out of her room saying “nigh nigh” to her daddy, and walks back over to her bed.  Refuse to look a gift horse in the mouth, and put her to bed.

7:00pm   Post to the photoblog.  Watch the Rays’ lineup get introduced.  Watch the beginning of the game while typing about my day.

7:36pm  Type these words.

A look into the future:
7:50pm   Consume part of large hunk of cake.

9:00pm   Change channel to LOST, during commercials rotate between Rays game and UCONN women’s basketball attempting to win the NCAA championship (they’ve got pretty good odds). 

10:00pm  Change channel to USA, watch Vincent D'Nofrio’s last episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.  During commercials rotate between basketball and Rays (if they’re still playing).

11:00pm  BED, no matter who the heck is still playing whatever.

Easter

 
Maria’s ready to hunt for some eggs.

Henry found a giant egg with a Cars puzzle in it!

She only had to be guided a little – she knew what to do.

 

 
Yes, it’s very sunny today – why do you ask?

Can you stand the cute?  No, I didn’t think so.

lunch date

We had a lovely lunch date with Miss Elizabeth.  She brought her mother, too, which was nice.  Here is evidence of our good time:

Christmas Day

I woke up around 5:30 Christmas Day for some unknown reason.  It did give me a little time to put the breakfast casserole in the oven so that we could eat before opening presents.  The kids got up at their usual time of 7:15.  Henry was super excited to come see what Santa left under the tree (and in the case of his new fish, beside the tree).

He hath named him Skit.

We opened up our stockings on our bed - Maria was in fine spirits, thankfully.

Henry was thrilled to receive the number one item on his list for Santa – walkie talkies!  He has barely put them down since opening them.  He also got a cool Super-Why computer notepad (from us), and a real wooden baseball bat (from a lovely couple in our church).  V. exciting.

 
 
Maria was thrilled with her present from Henry, a Princess Presto doll:

And she also loved her new outfit and hairbows from Nana & Papa.  It was a good dress for dancing, too:

  
After we all ate homemade pizza for lunch, napped, and had a delicious ham dinner, we drove out to see some really neat Christmas lights across town.  I didn’t spend too much time being sad over not being in CT with my immediate and extended family, but they were on my mind and heart all day long.  It was still a lovely, lovely Christmas.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve I made sure to get a photo of Maria in her dress early in the day.  You’ll see why in a second.  I mean, isn’t this a PRECIOUS dress?  It would be just perfect for her cousin Julia next year, if it weren’t for the Velvet Ban in their house.  (Blame her mother.)

Aaaaaaaand THIS is why I made sure to take a photo of her while she was in good spirits.  The service ended around 8 and Maria was READY FOR BED, as you can see here:

 

She cheered up slightly for a quick photo with her brother in their matching jammies: 

Photos from Christmas Day coming tomorrow…

MAH BAYBEES

They are adorable.

twenty-sixth

Scenes from our Thanksgiving:

Henry, catching sight of Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Maria, acting out the “Mommy’s little PIGGY!!” mashed potatoes scene from A Christmas Story. 

twentieth

GAH I'm so glad there are only ten more days of this daily posting... Today's events of note:

• Maria was well enough for daycare! YAY! She seemed excited when she got there, and when I brought her home after naptime, she slept for another two hours. I guess she had fun.
  
  
• Timon and I ate lunch with Henry at school today - that means two cafeteria meals in roughly 18 hours. Let's just say last night's turkey dinner was FAR SUPERIOR to today's mexican pizza.
  
  
• In the last two hours I ripped one of the two pairs of pants I feel good wearing and look decent on me... I am NOT PLEASED; and locked Maria and me out of the house. Well, I guess technically it was Timon who locked the door, but it was me who went next door to movie night at church without my house keys. The beauty of living in a church-owned home? The extra key kept by the church.

Up tomorrow: pancakes! House cleaning! Praise band practice! Nap! Blog! I wouldn't mind if SOME BABIES WOULD GO AHEAD AND BE BORN ALREADY, either.