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.

iheartfaces

I truly love this photo, and Henry's eyes are smiling almost more than his mouth.  Love this kid.

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.

2010 by the numbers

This post is brought to you by me, with thanks for the inspiration from Danifred!

1: set of chest x-rays done on Maria
1: set of tooth x-rays done on Henry
0: x-rays previously done on either child prior to 2010

73: posts on this blog in 2010
130: posts on this blog in 2009
365: posts on my new photoblog this year, which explains the dramatic drop

3: trips to Sea World
0: times we saw the full Shamu show because of a) the trainer that died a few weeks before we went the first time; b) the brand new 6 day old baby killer whale was too new to hear the music and sense the activity of working animals; and c) they still won’t do the show as it was originally created because trainers are no longer allowed in the water with the killer whales
0: times I cared about not seeing the full show, since I love Sea World anyway

2: awesome neighbors who moved here in Sept.
1: awesome neighbor dog who only barks when necessary, and not because she is bored
3: awful neighbor dogs who bark at all hours and are sadly neglected, but not neglected enough to be taken away by animal control

7: inches Maria’s hair has grown this year
2: maximum number of hours she will keep a hairclip or elastic in
4,650,892: clips and elastics lost in corners around the house

4: wheels required for Henry to comfortably ride a bike for most of the year
2: current number of wheels required for Henry to race around the neighborhood
12: approximately how old he looks as he rides away from me

72: books read in 2010
2: times I read each of books in the Outlander book series
0: times I’ve been tempted to refer to Timon as Jamie Fraser  <grin>

3: times I cried on Christmas Eve and Christmas day combined – a) while watching Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on PBS; b) reading The Littlest Angel on Christmas Eve to the kids; and c) opening the gift from my parents of 4 photos in a frame taken in each season of the tree Timon gave me for a wedding gift
27: books the children received as Christmas gifts!
∞ : how much I love my family, near and far.

last visit to sea world…

…for the foreseeable future, at any rate.  Our passes expire on Friday, and we ended up going three times this year.  For FL residents, the year pass costs the same as a one day ticket, so we definitely got a bargain.  Maria didn’t feel well, so Timon stayed home with her and Henry and I enjoyed my favorite theme park day of all time.  The weather was gorgeous, the crowds were very manageable, and we had a great day.  

Henry got to meet Shamu…

…and be surrounded by an aquarium full of fish!

We got to see the baby killer whale again, now a few months old.   They named him Brian.  Doesn’t that seem weird?  Brian.  Brian the KILLER WHALE.  Huh.

We saw this gorgeous ocean weed leafy sea dragon…



…and these beautiful (and very terrifying) jellyfish.

 
Henry got to ride the Polar Express…             
          
…and tell Santa all his Christmas dreams.


  
We saw some hungry and persistent seals…

…and Henry got to meet the stars of the dophin-whale-acrobat-high dive-birds-extravaganza.  I LOVE seeing this show.  It’s like Cirque du Soleil or something.  

We saw some really lovely Christmas trees, as well as an outdoor light and music show with the trees on the lake.

Before we left, Henry got to enjoy some snoap (snow made from soap bubbles)!


  Oh, and I was there, too.  The whole time.  Don’t believe me?  Fine, I’ll show you.

Here are some things I observed during our time there:

• They make maternity wetsuits.  Either that, or those things are really stretchy.  Poor trainer at the dolphin-whale extravaganza was squeezed into one so that she could toss fish at the obedient dolphins.  It was adorable.
• Even if the salesman holds it so the writing is backwards, more than one idiot person will still drop $25 on a “Sea World Christmas Celebration – Where The Season Meets The Sea” fleece blanket. 
• season passes are really awesome – you don’t feel rushed to see it all in one go, because you can get back to the park another time.  Henry and I saw things we hadn’t seen the other times we were there, but we still had time to see our favorite shows, go on a ride, meet Santa, and much more in the 7 hours we had that day. 
• We did Sea World instead of the zoo this year (the zoo is much closer).  I am glad we took a year off from the zoo, but I’m REALLY looking forward to going back.  We hope to go on Sunday afternoon – I’ve missed my siamang gibbons!

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.

Noel

Noël   by Anne Porter

When snow is shaken
From the balsam trees
And they're cut down 
And brought into our houses 

When clustered sparks 
Of many-colored fire
Appear at night 
In ordinary windows 

We hear and sing
The customary carols 

They bring us ragged miracles
And hay and candles 
And flowering weeds of poetry
That are loved all the more
Because they are so common 

But there are carols
That carry phrases 
Of the haunting music
Of the other world 
A music wild and dangerous
As a prophet's message 

Or the fresh truth of children
Who though they come to us
From our own bodies 
Are altogether new
With their small limbs
And birdlike voices 

They look at us
With their clear eyes 
And ask the piercing questions 
God alone can answer.

winter snow

It’s finally cooled off here, hopefully for the rest of “winter.”  Enjoy this gorgeous song along with me, will you?

xxx

My favorite part of Christmas as a young person was always going to my grandparents’ house on Christmas Eve.  Now, my grandfather died when I was six, so I don’t have too many memories of him.  But the house is so amazing and full of meaning for me – My sister, cousin Ben, and I really enjoyed introducing Henry to some of those things this past summer (the laundry chute, the pantry with the sliding door where we played elevator, the coffee table that looks like a spaceship… anyway.  Here is a partial list of what is typically present on Christmas Eve at Gram’s:

• chicken soup on the stove
• plastic cups with Peanuts characters on them (these are still in use after about 30 years – we watched, horrified, one time as a newish family member started to throw one out in the yellow garbage can)
• giant shrimp cocktail tray on the kitchen table
• rolls and cookies made by Anna, MaryLiz, and others
• Hershey’s kisses
• snake skins (real, found in Gram’s basement) strung on the tree *shudder*
• The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (in English AND Latin) on the living room table
• sausage made by either my dad or Uncle Richard, sometimes both
• stuffed Mr. & Mrs. Claus, standing watch by the stairs so no snooping kids will wander up to look for presents
• MaryLiz’s chocolate peanut butter balls
• a large box of Russell Stover’s chocolates on the table, picked over and the gross ones left behind
• lots of singing
• many, many laughs

I miss it, a lot.  I’m committing here and now to spend Christmas Eve 2011 enjoying all of the above.  It will be Gram’s 88th Christmas on this earth.

And with that…

xxix

THANK HEAVENS.  You all helped me out a lot with the questions you’ve left for me.  I’ll combine my mother’s and Barb’s tomorrow, and today I’ll answer Mr./Mrs. Anonymous’ question about the funniest thing that ever happened to me.

The problem with answering this question is that typically, “funny” is a relative and situational state of being, and as such doesn’t translate very well to re-telling.  But one story immediately came to mind and every time Timon and I remember it, we laugh our heads off – but at the time, the only laughter to come from us was of mortifying embarrassment. 

About a week before we got married, we were sitting around my parents’ dining room table with a few guests after dinner.  We don’t recall why it came up, but the subject turned to uvulas, that dangling teardrop-shaped part of your throat.  Timon chose to speak up, but he misspoke and said vulva instead of uvula.  One might imagine how hilarious the assembled family found this remark, but poor Timon was so embarrassed that he was practically choking on his own uvula.  I have a large (and some might say intimidating) family to get to know.  This wasn’t an auspicious moment for my soon-to-be husband.

One more reason I love Timon so much is that he has not only survived the initial years as a member of my extended family, but I can honestly say he holds more than his own with them.  Our generation of married descendants of Dorothy and Carmine seem to have chosen fairly well.

xviii

Hello Maresi,

So today is your thirty-#$%rd birthday. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you how special you are to me and how much joy you bring to my life. Words cannot fully express the happiness I feel when I think about our marriage and the family we have. But I want you to know, you are my one true love and I will love you forever.

I will never forgot when I saw you for the first time as you were loading the back of your friend Katie’s green VW. I am glad you keep finding reasons to "do rounds" through the dorm hall I was staying in during my lunch hour thus allowing me to offer you a sandwich and eventually ask you on a date.

I can hardly believe that summer was 12 ½ years ago. I cannot get over all the joy, happiness, tears, and laughs we have experienced and shared together. And thru it all my love for you continues to grow and increase exponentially. Every day I think I could not possibly love you anymore than I already do, but I always seem to fall in love with you a little more each and every day. Every day you never cease to amaze me, bring a smile to my face, or warm my heart. There is something in the way you laugh, smile at me, or act silly with our children that causes an indescribable sense of joy in my heart. I could not think of a more caring, loving, beautiful, compassionate, and wonderful woman to spend my life with.

You are so important to me and I owe so much of who I am to you being in my life. Thank you for loving me and being a part of my life.

Love,

Timon

xvii

Almost every year I decorate our house for Christmas on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Well, yesterday my sister-in-law Amy and I went over to church to help decorate over there and then it was raining in the afternoon, so the outdoor lights did not get put up as usual.  I put them up today instead, along with the stockings.  My mom made all our stockings, mine is close to 33 years old.  Timon’s is the biggest, probably because she loves him best.  <grin>

Will someone please leave a list of questions you want answered in the comments, so I’ll have some things to post on the 29th and 30th?  A special guest post is coming tomorrow, but I’ve run out of ideas.

xxvi

Scenes from Thanksgiving:

xxv

Today’s things to be thankful for:

• good food
• good family
• good neighbors
• not crying over a broken irreplaceable wine glass
• sweet potato souffle
• gorgeous flowers on the table
• using my grandparents’ silverplate flatware from 1943
• using Timon’s grandparents’ china set from the 40’s
• Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on tv
• laughing a lot
• eating under an oak tree and not having acorns fall into the food
• leftovers
• the place cards Henry made
• love all around

xxiv

I love my husband so much.  Do you know that we have been together for over 12 1/2 years now?  Married for 9+ years and two kids later, and he’s still not sick of me.  Even when each of us is acting like a total asshat, even when we’re exhausted and the kids are making us want to run away, we have chosen to stick it out.  Reading TIME magazine’s cover story about marriage got me thinking that if people spent at least the same amount of time planning and preparing for their marriage as they do planning and preparing for their wedding day, many more couples would stay wed.  Marriage is how we learn about selfless love, about how Christ loves us, and about how we are to sacrifice for another to whom we are devoted.  There have been many, many times where I fail to learn these lessons.  Timon has failed sometimes, too.  But when we get it right, when we are quick to apologize with humility, when we swallow our pride and put the other one first, when we are affectionate and demonstrative with our feelings… it’s overwhelmingly awesome.  And I’m writing this down during this season of Thanksgiving so that in the inevitable cold, dark and distant times, I’ll have it to look at to remember what on earth we’re hanging in there for.  Second only to my love for God, Timon is the love of my life.

xxiii

I went to renew my drivers license today.  I made the observation that the parking lot of the Tax Collector’s office would be a gold mine for identity thieves, since new regulations require you to bring along every conceivable personal identity document.  I brought my passport (if I hadn’t had one, I would have needed my birth certificate), my social security card, my W2 and voter registration (to prove my address – most people who don’t live in a church-owned home could bring utilities), and my marriage certificate.  I don’t want to give identity thieves ideas or anything, but if they were to hold up people in the parking lot at gunpoint, they’d make off with an entire life’s information on the spot.  Perhaps most importantly, my new picture looks great!  I’m so much more pleased with it than I was with the old one, in which I resembled Michelle Duggar a bit too much. 

The in-laws have arrived, Auntie Amy has arrived, and preparations have begun.  I bought our biggest turkey ever (20lbs!) and can’t wait to get that thing in the brine and into the oven around 11 on Thursday morning.

xxii

Photo shoots for this year seem to have come to an end… I drove out to a beautiful park across the state yesterday right after church to meet up with Barb and family.  They were perfectly adorable and there are some WONDERFUL photos as a result.  I won’t be sharing them here but if you are friends with me on FB, there should be some up there in the next couple of days. 

I will hate verra, verra much to pack this lens up and return it to its rightful owners.  The speed, focus, and light you can get with this thing is unreal.  I am going to miss you, AF-S Nikkor 35mm 1.8.  I truly hope I will meet one of you again, sooner than later.

Mimi & Papa are about to arrive literally any minute.  I suppose I should get off the computer then, hmm?

xxi

The winner for my favorite comment of all time was left by the lovely and talented duo of Emily and Chad on this post, and I hope you’ll all click over and read it.