christmas!

Ah, Christmas! We had a super Christmas month around here, one of the best Decembers ever. Mostly because I said no to a lot of things this year, like Christmas cards and goodie plates for every single person we know and elaborate homemade gifts. And blogging, too, apparently. I said yes to a whole lot of amazon shopping and saved my gigantic self the bother of actually leaving the house. It was great!

I did this in part because I am enormous at 7 months pregnant and mostly because I couldn't say "no" to the ward Christmas party that I was responsible for this year. You know, because Young Womens presidents who are 7 months pregnant have a lot of time on their hands... and that's all the whining I will do about that. It is over and it was reasonably successful and hopefully I will be in charge of a different activity next year. Like no activity whatsoever. Just kidding! Sort of...

So here are a few highlights from our magical laid back December:

We got our tree from a tree farm this year. Talk about the best of both worlds! We have tried to both ways - tree lots and BLM-style - with varying degrees of success. Tree farms are 100% guarantee! Everywhere you look there are gorgeous trees, just waiting to be cut. All you do is wave your little flag, and a nice man with a tractor and a chainsaw shows up, and there you go! Sam really loved the tractor and the chainsaw.

We made our annual gingerbread house, courtesy of Costco.

On Christmas day, we opened presents galore, went to church, opened a few more presents, and spent the rest of the day relaxing in our sweats, eating delicious food (like cheese! Thanks, Dad and Miranda!), and wishing the day wouldn't end.

Eve's favorite gift: a box full of Warriors books.

One of Sam's favorites: his new robe, courtesy of Grandma, that just happens to look a Jedi robe. Especially when paired with the light saber lollipop that came in his stocking.

Eleanor's hands-down, no-doubt-about-it favorite: the life-sized cheetah stuffed animal that she has yearned after for almost two years. Like Eve said, "This HAS to be from Santa because there is no way Mom and Dad would spend that much on a stuffed animal!" True story. Santa is very savvy with the amazon Black Friday deals.

To prolong the fun, we surprised the kids with a day-after-Christmas overnight trip to see the magnificent Christmas lights at Shore Acres State Park in Coos Bay, Oregon. All the awesome pictures of the lights are on Jared's camera, but I think the highlight for the kids was spending hours in the hotel pool.

I am a little sad to see this December end, especially since I did such a poor job of documenting it in pictures and blog entries. But it's nice to think this is the last Christmas I will spend pregnant and that just one year from now our little guy will be bopping around and joining in all the festivities with us. Makes me excited for 2012! Merry belated Christmas, everyone!

sick day

We are having one of many sick days around here today. Thanksgiving was perfectly lovely - we had several good friends over and ate way more than we should - but then got hammered with an unpleasant bug about two days later. Nothing too nasty (or stomach-y, thankfully!) - just enough to give everyone a fever and make us want to lay around and watch TV. So kind of what most people did last weekend, just with a fever.

I thought we had kicked it, but Sam woke up this morning with a terrible croupy cough and nose running like a faucet. And I woke up at 4:45 with a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep, mostly just because I am too big to sleep like a normal person (yay, pregnancy sleep!) So we are definitely having a stay-at-home day today.

It's actually been pretty great. Fun to hang out with Sam, especially. We spent a blissful morning drinking cocoa and playing many many rounds of Candyland. I hardly ever get to do that kind of stuff with him because we are always running around like crazy things. It was nice to put all that stuff on hold today and pretend that I am not responsible for the ward Christmas party next Saturday (la, la, la - I can't hear you!)

Before I get back to said paperwork,I wanted to answer a few questions you had about our impending addition. We are told to expect a boy, which is awesome. Two of each - I couldn't have planned it better. And I am due March 1. But because of the size (enormity?) of Sam, I seriously doubt I will be permitted to reach my due date. So I optimistically tell everyone I am due in February. Also, it is a Leap Year next year, so I would like to stay far away from delivering anywhere near March 1...or, rather, Feb. 29. I would prefer not to be on the local news right after delivering a baby. One of many reasons.

To prove that I have no pride and that this blog is not about pretending that my house is always clean or that I am always showered, here is a picture of me I found on our camera a few days ago:

See? I really am pregnant! Only pregnant ladies look this radiant in the morning.

unusual migratory patterns

That is the sight we woke up to on our front lawn this morning. Impressive, no?

Or, should I say, scary! I discovered our unseasonal little flock last night on my way to bed and it kind of freaked me out. I had just turned off all the lights and was passing the front door when I caught a glimpse of a beady little eye staring in through our front door window. I was a little freaked out.

So I went to the window to discover thirty plastic flamingos in my yard! Flamingos that must have been placed there in the brief hour between when I closed the living room curtains and when I stood up to go to bed. A brief hour where I was sitting in my absolutely silent living room, reading, mere yards from my...um...yard! I don't know what I found more eerie - the total bizareness of it or the perfect stealth in which it was performed.

Maybe it's just me - okay, I'm pretty sure it's just me - but there is something really sinister about thirty plastic flamingoes appearing randomly in your yard late at night! They look extra eerie in the dark, I promise. So I made Jared go outside and see what it was all about (there was a suspicious looking note on one of their necks. The ringleader, I assume.)

Apparently, it was a cute little prank/fundraiser put on by our local high school orchestra. (Yes, I know..."orchestra" kind of kills any scariness. "Drama club" may have been slightly more threatening.) You donate to their trip fund and they will place the flamingoes on the yard of your choosing. So we were lucky enough to be chosen by some jokester friend. And that's pretty much how you get them removed, too, so it's kind of extortion. But at least for a good cause.

My kids thought it was hilarious - "Just like Gnomeo and Juliet!" said Sam. So they apparently have a more finely tuned sense of humor when it comes to practical jokes. Just wait till it gets dark! Then we'll see who's laughing.

*Update: So I was in the living room all night again tonight and, when I got up to turn off lights and head to bed, the flamingos were gone! I was kind of bummed, actually. The "ransom" note said we had two days to pay up, so I was waiting until it stopped raining tomorrow to get our moolah back out there in it's ziplock baggie. Sadly, they flew off a day early. *sigh* I miss them already.

back from the dead

Wha-wha-what???!!! Can it really be true? Almost exactly 5 months to the day, I have decided to return to blogging. Both my readers, I command you to rejoice! I have missed you!


I would like to now present some thoughts called In My Defense. In my defense, one of the main reasons I began my blog in the first place was to keep in touch with Maryland friends and to let my parents see pics of the grandkids while they were in another continent for 3 years. But when my Maryland readership dwindled (sniff, sniff... where have you gone, sweet friends? I promise I am reading your blogs, even if only as a lurker. Let's throw off the shackles of our lurker-hood! Let's begin again!) and when my parents came home in July, I lost some of my motivation. But now that I have a dear friend who moved to Texas, I am beginning to get some of it back.


Also in my defense, I have read maybe 30 Newberies since we last chatted and - not going to lie - that thought is a little daunting.

Still in my defense. our ward went through some big changes in July and it was like starting my calling all over again after perfecting it the past three years. I was stressed out and cried some. Or a lot. Anyway, I had some mega YW work on my plate for a while and was barely managing to read my Entertainment Weeklies from cover to cover, much less blog!


And one more thing in my defense - I finally gave in to pressure and got a Pinterest account. Pinterest is like a drug - a really pretty, endlessly regenerating drug.

Oh, and one more teensy thing in my defense...


I know it's tempting to look at the kids in this picture - they are cute in their Halloween costumes, I agree. Also, I hope Sam looks at me like that for the rest of his life. But let's direct our attention to my belly and the fetus skeleton on my wacky shirt. Hooray! Baby!


I spent a good chunk of the summer feeling pretty miserable, but kind of hit my stride again about a month ago. It looks like I will have to change the name of my blog to thirtycents in a few months here...

summer 'beries

We are off to the library where I will inevitably pick up some fresh Newberies (I took a break for a month or so, but I'm ready to jump back in.) So, in the mean time, some reviews:

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (1998)

A gut-wrenching story of 14-year-old Billy Jo growing up in the middle of the Oklahoma dust bowl. As if that weren't hard enough, Billy Jo, her mother, and unborn brother suffer through a terrible, maiming, guilt-riddled accident that permanently alters the course of our heroine's life. Told through a series of free verse poetry, the book never dips into sentimentality, but simply and elegantly crafts the standard tale of hope triumphing when it seems that all hope is lost. But this time there is nothing standard about it. I would love to read more by this author.

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (2002)


The first Newberry winner about Korea! Woot woot! Sadly, not a super awesome one but still pretty solid. Just like a kimchified version of Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze but not quite as funny, despite it's more recent publication date. A young orphan becomes an apprentice to a grumpy vase maker and hopes to one day get the chance to design his own masterpiece. Kind of bugged that the author used names like "Crane Man" and "Tree Ear" for her characters instead of their traditional Korean names. Smacks of orientalism, which is weird since the author is herself Korean. We do have one of her picture books, however - Bee-Bim Bop! - and it rules the school.

Criss Cross by Lynn Rae Perkins (2006)


I had a love/hate relationship with this book. I loved the characters - they were quirky and funny and were an achingly sweet reminder of early adoloscence. I loved the dreamy, contemplative tone of the book - it really seemed to capture the essence of the self-absorbed, universe-expanding ruminations of a thirteen-year-old. Now that I think about it, I really did like this book quite a bit so maybe "hate" is a strong word to voice my objections. I just really have a thing about gimmicky literary techniques and this book is FULL of them. A whole chapter written in haiku, another written in a question-answer format; cutsie little hand-drawn illustrations scrawled in the margins. Seemed a little try-hard and little late to the post-modern party. But now that I think about it, this is exactly the kind of thing a tweenie reader would get a kick out of. And while it is geared toward an older audience - the main characters are 14 - it is honest, thought-provoking, and beautifully written. With the wealth of trashy tween books out there that hightlight cliques and crushes and vampires, Criss Cross stands out as an example of what these kids could be reading instead.




Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars (1971)

I don't particularly care for this brand of 70s book. Seriously, did you see the cover? Don't these kinds of books give you the creeps like they do me? Maybe it's just because I have such a Pavlovian response to The Bridge to Terabithia, and this book is cut from the same cloth. I just hate the descriptions of the hair, the clothes, the sneakers, the cars, the TV shows... I can almost see it with the same grainy sepia quality that all movies from the 70s are steeped in. This book just felt like a made-for-TV movie or after school special. Teen Sara is the middle child between a gorgeous older sister (of course) and a mentally handicapped younger brother (okay, I didn't see that one coming, but I applaud Byars' taking it to the next level!) She hates her gawky body (no!), doesn't know how to talk to boys (suprise!), she resents her parents' divorce (shocker), and lives with her surly aunt? grandma? Whatever. The book covers one day in Sara's life - a day that her little brother wanders off to find the swans nesting on the lake for the summer and doesn't return. By the end of the book, the brother is found and Sara learns to care about someone other than herself. The book ends as she departs for a party at a boy's house. Mission accomplished!




Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James (1927)

While the title of the book provided plenty of laughs, the book itself did not so much. At first, I was astonished at how boring it was. And then I was astonished at how depressing it was. Though the book does gain some significant street cred when you learn that Will James was an actual real-life cowboy in his youth. And then it loses some when you learn that his real name is Earnest DuFault and that he is Canadian. Oh well. Easy come, easy go!

school's out!

Hooray! School officially ended last Friday and I am so excited to spend this summer with my kiddos. They all seem big enough to really do things with and, if we have another little one, this will be the last summer like this for a few years. The kids are pretty excited, too. They have cooked up all sorts of plans - craft projects and science experiments and campouts and recipes to try. Should be fun.

They even said they wanted to do some sort of homeschool-y type thing with me (their idea, not mine, I assure you!) so I have an elaborate plan in the works that should take shape by the end of the week. I'll post more on that later. Or, if it's a total flop, I will never post about it and we will pretend this paragraph never existed.

In the spirit of all this excitement, we decided to throw a little "block party" on our cul de sac for all the neighborhood kids on the last day of school. Nothing big - we had popcorn and popsicles and lemonade, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and a water balloon fight. I have to say, it was pretty awesome and a perfect way to usher in summer. We cranked some summer tunes (Bob Marley) and let the kids eat their way through 5 boxes of popsicles while running around like maniacs.

I have now earned my Mother of the Year patch and can now be a total slacker mom for the rest of the summer. Go watch some TV, kids!

Eleanor and friends cooling off in the back of the van, post-water balloon fight.

Sam and buddy, Gabe. They wear their goggles everywhere.


Eleanor and neighbor/friend K munching on popcorn

Eve demonstrating how pipe cleaner bubble blowers rule the school. They work way better than the ones that come in the bottle. So easy to make, too.


And when the party started to die down and the heat got to be too much, what did the big kids do? They did what all hot-blooded American youth would do! They came in to play chess and Legos.

My one over-achievement, but they are so cute I had to post a picture. I made little party favors shaped like rockets - they say "Have a blast this summer!"

I'll admit, putting this together did take some effort and it would have been easier not to. But it was so worth it when Eve pulled me aside and gave me a sticky popsicle hug and said, "Thanks for throwing this party, Mom." Rare words from my undemonstrative eldest! And then when Eleanor ran up to me, soaking wet from water balloons and beaming from ear to ear, saying "This is the best party ever!" I hope it's a good omen of the happy weeks to come.

memorial day fun

This year we made our annual Memorial Day pilgrimage to MacGregor Park, a fun spot right along the Rogue River. It has a cool nature walk right next to the water, an interesting interpretive center, and a killer playground. And it is about 40 minutes away, so it feels "trippy" without having to drive too far. A perfect combination!

Sam was recently hired by the coast guard.

A bird's nest

We ended with a stop by Sonic for some happy hour slushies. They were well-received.





And then a BBQ with friends.

A really great Memorial Day weekend and such a fun way to kick off the summer. Now I just need the weather to get the message....