Day After Thanks

Tom is grateful his stress-dream didn’t come true – the turkey didn’t fall on the floor.

Ella is ecstatically, supercalifragalistically thankful that her Big Sister is here for a visit.

Sophie is grateful for one particular visitor, who fed her lots of birthday cake.

Porter is thankful for all the extra belly rubs.

I’m grateful for family. Those that visited, those we Skyped with, and those we kept in our thoughts.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Something New

I didn’t have nearly enough going on right now, what with the mass amounts of homemade Christmas gifts I ridiculously thought would be done by now – so I decided it would be a really good idea to learn a new skill. I’ve been going to a knitting club now for about 4 months, but we’ve been working on a charity project that involved crocheted blankets, so there wasn’t much actual knitting going on. This was fine with me because knitting completely intimidates me. Two needles with all those stitches – it just seemed like a pathway to eternal frustration. But our dear, unofficial leader of this club was absolutely determined to teach each and every one of us how to knit. No matter how much every one grumbled that crochet was so much easier.

So we started last month, learning the basics: casting on, and the knit stitch. That was it. A simple scarf was the goal – a perfect practice piece. I was skeptical, but went for it. I decided to make my scarf on a smaller scale – Ella has a pink crocheted scarf that I made her last year, so I figured Sophie needed something as well. I felt clumsy with two needles, and ripped the project out 4 times before finally finishing it.  I had a few panicked moments (stitches falling off the needles can cause you to hold your breath until they’re back on) and two spots where I’m not exactly sure what happened because it looks a little off – but all in all, I enjoyed it. By the end, the stitches became more natural and my hands are getting used to the movements. And now I’m finding myself coveting yarn, wooden needles and eying patterns, wondering how long it will take until I can make that, and that, oh! and that!

I think I’ve come to the realization that I’m slowly becoming my mother. I have a long way to go before I can even start to match any of her skills, but I couldn’t be happier.

Check, and Check

I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to post pictures of the bathroom and hallway re-dos – maybe because when we admit they are finished, we have to move on to the basement? Who knows. I figured I should get to it though, before more brain cells die (motherhood does that to you) and I forget completely.

Our hallway bath has actually been mostly done for a long time. The wallpaper was stripped and the room was painted before Sophie was born. We had considered replacing the vanity and mirror, and it took a lot of frustrating research to figure out that we just had to work with what we’ve got. Both would need to be custom ordered and we just weren’t willing to put any extra money there when we had other, higher priorities. So we finally re-hung the old mirror and scouted out accessories.  I went to 20 different (seriously, I did) stores and returned the first two shower curtains before finally finding one that worked. The artwork isn’t anything special – we got it at a discount warehouse and will probably at some point replace it, but the colors matched and that was the hard part, so they are staying for now.

Before:

After:

That bathroom was the biggest pain in the neck to strip of wallpaper. Ridiculously hard. Tom and I spent hours, scraping and scraping, a half an inch at a time. It was at that point that we finally decided to buy a steamer, which helped, but I know that by the time it was done Tom was definitely ready for the several month break (Sophie was due soon) that we had planned. Along with painting, we switched out the cabinet hardware and the faucet. I had plans to try and paint the little random green and pink tiles in the floor, but ended up covering the majority of them with bath mats. Plus, with the new shower curtain and the neutral color on the walls, they don’t really stick out.

The hallway was a more recent endeavor. We finished it a few weeks ago, right before our anniversary. More wallpaper removal, and a couple of attempts at wall color (sample-sizes are so worth the $3) which ended happily. We kept the closet doors the way they were, but brightened up the trim. The light fixture was replaced, and we added a new rug and a new entryway table. The table is my personal favorite – we bought it for our anniversary gift to each other, from an Amish-run furniture store in Lancaster County.  The painting above it is a scene from Zion National Park (where we spent most of our honeymoon), done by a Utah artist. I may or may not have swiped it from my parents. Shhhhh! The long wall is currently empty – I’m hoping to fill it with some of my very talented brother-in-law’s photos of the southern Utah desert. Hint. Hint.

Before:

After:

More pictures, with notes, on flickr.

We Even Have Two Books About It

If the gypsies come knocking at our door tonight, they may not walk away empty-handed. Tom and I are living in a world that revolves around pee. I’m currently sitting in a basement that smells like dog-pee, despite the intense labor from Tom, to remove it. I also spent a good half an hour this morning trying to rid our bedroom rug of additional dog-pee (and just to clarify, it’s actually marking – we do let our dog out to go potty). Everywhere I go, I can smell it. Nothing we do seems to work. No product that claims to rid your home of urine smell has lived up to its standards. Tom even got this secret recipe to make your own cleaner. Didn’t work. Letting the dog live with gypsies might work, but they haven’t asked yet.

And then there’s The Children. Sophie has leaked out of her diapers 3 times this week. The expensive diapers. So even though she’s no where near the weight limit for that size, I put her in a size bigger. She leaked. And Ella. Oh Ella. 2 days ago I had had it. I had tried every suggestion known to man to get her potty trained. I waited for her to decide she was ready (but she kept changing her mind), I bribed, I begged, I yelled, I bought the Dora Sticker-Reward chart AND the Dora panties (which are way more expensive than the Hello Kitty ones). It wasn’t happening. So – I talked to her. I said, “Ella. Tomorrow you will stop wearing diapers. No more diapers. Do you understand?” She said, “Yes Momma, I’m a big girl.” Okay, it’s settled then.

The next morning came and I took her to the bathroom. And I don’t understand it. This child agreed with me that she was a big girl and there would be no more diapers, but the sound emanating from her lungs did not in any way sound like co-operation. It sounded more like, AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGGGGHHHHNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO! NOPOTTYNOPOTTYNOOOOOO! And in that moment, there was a tiny SNAP! in my brain. I sat her on the toilet and said, “Ella, you are not leaving this bathroom until you have gone potty.” I got some toys for Sophie, and we sat down on the bathroom floor and waited. And waited. An hour later, she went.

Big congratulations! Stickers! Potty Dance! Pull-ups! Yay!

And then two hours later, we went through the exact same thing. The screaming, the waiting, and finally the joyful dancing. I was pretty sure that since I was being consistent, things would get easier and easier. They did – at least a little bit. By the end of the day, she told me she needed to go, and there was no arguing and about a 5 minute wait. But then the next day, we went right back to where we started. And pretty much the same thing today. It seems that the morning is the worst, and the rest of the day is just hit or miss. But she’s always excited and happy when she goes, and she lasted an entire day today with no accidents in honest-to-goodness-real-underwear (although she had a pull-up on for a nap, which also stayed dry). So I’m just baffled.

I know this is probably a terrible way to do this, and if I were a popular blogger, I’d get all sorts of hate-mail about how I’m traumatizing my child. But there’s no turning back now – after all – who does she think she got those stubborn genes from? I’ve had so much more practice…

Still Teaching, Still Awesome

So about 2 weeks ago, we were all sitting at the dining room table and somehow ended up watching a YouTube clip of Mr. Rogers learning about break dancing from one of his neighborhood friends. Ella was completely enthralled. After watching it several times, she decided to give it a go. I tried to find my best break-dancing-music on my iPod – which is hard, because I have a Shuffle and have no idea what’s really on there. We settled on Beck, but it took her a while to actually do anything besides lay on the floor, so the playlist switched over to Bush’s Glycerine – which didn’t really fit with a backspin, but definitely worked for Sophie’s preferred dance method.

And I recorded it all for your viewing pleasure…

I Heart You III

My bella Ella,

Your entire life has been chock-full of big changes. I’m hoping that things settle down now for awhile, but this last year was no different than the past two. We moved in to a house, and you got a shiny new Baby Sister. The house was no big deal for you. You loved the process of looking and once we made the final decision, you couldn’t wait to move in and explore. Compared to our apartment, this was a palace, and the novelty of having our own yard again was a natural high.

We made sure your new room was YOUR room. You were kind enough to approve all my choices regarding paint and decor, including your own little flock of birds, to keep you company. And when we decided to switch you into a twin-size bed, in order to move the crib into the nursery? No problem! Bring on the change! You slept in that bed the very first night and haven’t looked back since.

We were really hoping that attitude would prevail with the addition of your new baby sister. That you’d accept the changes and roll with the punches. All in all, I think you’ve been more than accommodating. After all, this new person did demand lots of time from not just Mommy, but Daddy as well. You did ask several times when Sophie was going back to the hospital – mostly when Daddy was holding her, but you finally accepted that she was here to stay. And you’ve taken your duties as Big Sister very seriously. You’re vigilant in showing her new signs for words like “more” and “all done.” You’re a pro at rolling-over-instruction, dance lessons, and even help with feedings.

Your love for your little sister really gets me. The way you play with her, just to get her to giggle, could melt even the Grinch’s heart. I get all veklempt when I see you put your arm around her and say, “love you, Soph.” I know, as a sister myself, that those days will most likely disappear for awhile when she attempts to borrow your favorite shirt or throws an ice skate at you – and sometimes I wonder if you’re trying to be sneaky and smother her with your intense hugs – so I’m enjoying this time for as long as it lasts.

Some days I wish I could see in to your brain. It must be working constantly, at a million miles a minute. There are times when you tell me something that I know we haven’t talked about in over a month, but you repeat it like it was yesterday. Despite the fact that 99% of your time-outs are for NOT LISTENING, you have an increasingly freakish memory. This has really manifested itself in your love of music. You are very quiet when we introduce a new song, absorbing it all until you can repeat it back. Sometimes I wonder if you just zone out, thinking about Dora this and Diego that, and then you’ll start singing the words to Sound of Silence – in key, of course.

And speaking of Dora and Diego – you LOVE LOVE LOVE those shows. I wasn’t all too happy about this (I much prefer Yo Gabba Gabba or Sesame Street) but then one day you turned to us at dinner time and counted to 10, IN SPANISH. Dad and I just sat there in stunned silence until you repeated it again, holding up your fingers as if to say – duh! – I was COUNTING, people – pay attention! You’ve also started watching Ni Hao Kai Lan, and who am I to stand in the way of you speaking English, Spanish AND Mandarin? We do still limit your TV-time but I’ve stopped complaining about your choices – if hearing that inane backpack over and over again helps you become multilingual, than so be it.

I enrolled you in a class at our local rec center this year, in an attempt for both of us to hopefully find friends. Luckily, it worked. You have now had a handful of successful play-dates with your new BFF and I have a fellow mom to commiserate with on the ups and downs of Life With a Toddler. I’m hoping that this continues because it’s made our new home feel more like, well – home.

Tonight I tucked you in and told you the story of your birth. 3 years ago today, you were handed to me and instantly turned my life upside down. As I gave you your final goodnight hug, I started to cry, and trying to hold it in, made a pathetic, whimpering sound. You gently patted my back and said, “Excuse you Momma. Excuse you.” Then you smiled that bewitching smile, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and asked if I could please leave the door open on my way out. I walked out of your room, where you lay, tucked in to your big-girl-bed (safety rail down and all) with your flashlight and books. As I sat down on the living room couch, I let the last 3 years wash over me, and I cried – something that I’m certain I’ll do again and will also, in the future, certainly embarrass you. But I promise that if you are privileged enough to have children of your own, you’ll understand and maybe even forgive me for that time I wept in front of your prom date, while taking a million holographic (because that’s totally the next new thing) pictures of my “birdie girl.”

Love,

Momma

For Those Of You Celebrating On The ACTUAL Holiday

(Sophie really needs to pump up the participation level-although, those cheeks do take a lot of effort to maintain…)

All Hallow’s Eve…Eve…Eve

There are things in life that just have never occurred to me – like the idea of not trick-or-treating on Halloween. Of course, in Utah, if it falls on a Sunday, they celebrate it on Saturday – which is strange enough – I don’t really think passing out candy is going to offend the Lord, but whatever. Anyway, that’s the only exception. Tom told me that growing up they ONLY trick-or-treated on Sunday (the Sunday before the holiday) and that seemed even more strange. Turns out Harrisburg does the same thing. Except it’s the Thursday before. And no one has been able to give me a real reason as to why they do it that way, or why it’s not even consistent around the state.

So my point is – we went trick-or-treating last night. I volunteered to take the kids so that I’d have a good excuse to dress up (and I was the only parent dressed up – but they were all lame party poopers) and I had a great time. This was Ella’s first real trick-or-treating experience and even though we only went around one block, she was dragging her pumpkin home, filled to the brim with treats. This was mostly due to people handing her 5 pieces at a time. It was a slow night, so everyone was generous, and they also included some extras for her baby “brother.” (Yeah. I’d really put a boy in a tutu. Come on, people.)

I let Ella decide what she wanted to be this year and she immediately chose a penguin. Sophie was destined to be a ladybug, so we didn’t ask her. I had a jailbird costume for Porter that I’d scored for 50 cents last year so he didn’t really get a choice either (I think he mumbled something about wanting to be a cowboy – I’m not sure.) And I recycled my favorite costume – a gypsy outfit that Kari made for me 6 years ago.

The original plan was to make both of the girls’ costumes. I scoured websites and fabric stores for a good penguin pattern but in the end was only able to find one in a size 4T and up. I figured I could try to make it work, but I was nervous about the adjustments and how it would look in the end. And then I ended up finding the most adorable Macaroni Penguin costume at Gymboree. And it was on sale for $10. So I sucked up my “I’m super crafty” pride and bought it. I was thrilled to find out they have pink feet because I’d also just purchased a pair of Converse sneakers in the right shade, for Birdie’s birthday. And I think I redeemed myself in the crafty area by researching the correct food for that particular penguin and then making a stuffed krill, instead of opting for the easier- to- make- fish.

Sophie’s costume was relatively easy since I’d made something similar for Ella’s first Halloween. A tutu and stuffed wings that tie on with ribbon. The extra addition came in the form of antenna. I made a headband and then attached some poofs I cut out of felt, with pipe cleaners. Wha-la! A princess ladybug is born!

I’d say the night was a hit, considering Ella has asked me several times when we are going again, and she’s already talking about next year’s costume. (A peacock, or a princess, apparently.) Sophie was pretty disappointed that she couldn’t eat the candy, but settled for a nibble of krill. Porter is still claiming his innocence, and I’m feeling very restless all of a sudden…like maybe we should put all our belongings in a wagon and wander around, playing the tambourine and buying spare children…

(Lots of pictures on flickr)

Thai-Style Pumpkin Soup

This was passed on to me by my friend Bethany. She found it while looking for recipes with ginger (if you didn’t know, ginger is a good sick-season-food – boosts your immune system). I loved the taste I had at her house, and then when I made it tonight, I loved it even more. Not only is it super-fast, easy, and delicious – it’s ridiculously low in Weight Watchers points. 2 per serving, to be exact. TWO! So I served it with a nice big salad and some toasted whole-grain bread with a touch of olive oil and garlic. Even with 2 pieces of bread, my points for the night were 5. This is the first time in what feels like months, that I have left-over points after dinner.

Thai-Style Pumpkin Soup

It says this yields 6, 1 cup servings. I found that it made closer to 8 cups, so we based our WW points on 4 servings of approx. 2 cups each

INGREDIENTS

• 2  (16-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1  (15-ounce) can pumpkin (puree)
• 1  (12-ounce) can mango nectar
• 1/4  cup  reduced-fat chunky peanut butter (we used Simply Jif creamy, and it tasted great, but Bethany made it with chunky and the peanuts give it a nice extra texture)
• 2  tablespoons  rice vinegar
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  minced green onions
• 1  teaspoon  grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2  teaspoon  grated orange rind
• 1/4  teaspoon  crushed red pepper (I bumped this up to 1/2 tsp. to make it a little extra spicy)
• 1  garlic clove, minced or grated
• Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

DIRECTIONS

• Combine broth, pumpkin and nectar in a large Dutch oven, and bring to a boil. Whisk in remaining ingredients, except for the cilantro.
• Cover and let simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with cilantro if desired.

Bethany’s Notes:
1) Using a large pot works just as well as the dutch oven.
2) Mango nectar is available in the Spanish section of most grocery stores…it is in an aluminum can and looks like soda pop.
3) Rice wine vinegar is available in the Oriental section. I couldn’t find rice wine vinegar. I used rice vinegar and it seemed to work out ok. You definitely need to add it though for the sweet and sour effect. (At Walmart, I actually found it next to the regular vinegar – and I only found rice vinegar as well – maybe it’s the same thing? Not sure.)

Enjoy!

(I forgot to take a picture, so I borrowed this one off a website that had the same recipe. Mine really did look that good, though. Promise.)

Currently Reading – Birdie Edition

Finally got ourselves over to the public library after a several-month hiatus. Here are Birdie’s reviews of the favorites:

Momma: Ella, which was your favorite story in this book?

Ella: The Pants Story (What Was I Afraid Of) is a good book. He was afraid of the pants but he says “hi pants!” now.

Momma: We liked this book, didn’t we? It shows you what you are supposed to do, and what things you aren’t supposed to do. What are your favorite No No’s?

Ella: Drawing on the puppy, and putting toys in the potty.

Momma: What are your favorite Yes Yes’?

Ella: Wearing Daddy’s hat.

Momma: You said this was your favorite book, what did you like so much about it?

Ella: He eats lots of food and he gots a stomach ache.

Momma: His tummy didn’t feel good, huh?

Ella: No, Momma. He gots a STOMACH-ACHE!

Momma: Okay….what’s your favorite picture?

Ella: The cocoon.

Momma: Why?

Ella: Cuz it gots stripes.

Momma: Sounds like a good reason to me. Thanks for your book review. We’ll do it again next time.

Ella: But Momma!

Momma: What?

Ella: Porter’s favorite book was Personal Penguin.

Momma: Okay. Thanks, Birdie.

(Porter had no comments as to why he preferred the penguin book.)