Santa Visit 2011...

After my last posting we need something more light-hearted. 


Today I took the kids to visit with Santa. They've been preparing for this moment for quite a while. The conversation went something like this:


T Rex: Hi Santa. How are you? How is Mrs. Claus?

Santa: Thank you. I am well and Mrs. Claus is baking me cookies at home at the North Pole.

T Rex: I've been wanting to tell you about the new foods I've been trying.
Santa: Really? Well, you're the first child I've had that has wanted to talk about that and not toys. Tell me about those foods.
T Rex: I like spinach and I tried papaya but I don't like it.

Santa: That's great. Mom, has he been a good boy?

Me: Exceptional.

Santa: Tell me, what would you like for Christmas?

T Rex: Just two things. A scooter and a Jeff Gorvette.

Santa: Wonderful.

T Rex: Here's a snuggle and now Sister wants to tell you what she wants.

Bebe Sis: No, not sit, Mama. Hold me. Hold me.

Santa: Come now, young lady, what do you want for Christmas?

Bebe Sis: Coupe Cart.

Me: Here's the translation, Santa. A cozy coupe shopping cart.

Santa: Oh, so she can go shopping with her mama.

Bebe Sis: Yes, shopping with Mama. Bye, bye, Santa...'Mas. (translation - " 'Mas" means Merry Christmas)
T Rex: Thank you, Santa. 


I know our son sounds SO polite. He is actually a pretty polite little kid. His sister is really polite - I've never met a child who says "thank you" and "welcome" so much.  However, when we talk about Santa, it's often a way to remind the kids to be on good behavior so I think T Rex was trying to be really polite and sweet so he stayed on the nice list.


When it was time to get a photo it was actually quite a chore. I had to be cropped out of the photo so it's a close up - you can really notice the difference in eye color between the kids. (Love genetics - always keeps things interesting. We're still debating as to where those blue eyes came from.) In the end, I did not think the "official" photo was very good. It will probably go right into their books.

The distance photos were my favorite. I love how the conversation was captured.

 

Always an adventure with the kiddos but so many wonderful and priceless memories.

Buttons

Photo courtesy of my niece - permission obtained.

When I was a kid, my Grandma Moda, as I called her because I could not say her full last name, had a tin that seemed to be eternally full of buttons. This was my mother's mother. 

From a very early age I remember being dropped off with her and Grandpa. My mom who was recently divorced and worked during the day as a preschool director and went to community college at night taking child development classes. Grandma and I hung out. She had no toys. Usually I would "help" her make tortillas and then enjoy the fresh ones with some of her style pinto beans. Or even better than that - her cream of wheat. Occasionally, I would get to go explore Grandpa's tool shed and help him fix something but usually I would stay close to Grandma - she had the good food and the buttons.


She lived in a horrible part of town. To put it in perspective when I took T Rex Dad to see her at her home after we were newly married we showed up and he stated, "Ah it's not so bad.... There's only one bullet hole in the house..."   I inquired of Grandma where the others had gone. She stated, pointing to the living room around the wood burning stove, "Well, this wall caught on fire so all the walls were replaced."  Drive by shootings were not that common but they were also not uncommon. Still she continued to live there because she remembered when it was a charming little neighborhood where everyone knew everyone. Oddly, I never felt unsafe there. I am sure my mother had some reservations about the location, but as far as leaving her toddler daughter with someone, she could imagine no one more competent than this woman who had raised 8 children and birthed 12 (high infant mortality in those days).


Grandma Moda had a huge love of animals and seemed to always be taking in strays. She seemed to always have a couple of different cats. For many, many years she had a sheep dog she called Gringo. He was huge. I always chuckled when he would try to sneak into the house when someone came in from the back yard. Rarely did he get in because she would stop him at the door, pick him up, and carry him back out the door. May not sound too impressive unless you factor into the equation she was four feet seven inches tall and about 78 pounds. She was smaller than the dog. Toward the end of her life she carried a came. I recall picking her up and helping her into the vehicle. In doing so, it was clear she did not need the cane but it was more of a highly effective defensive weapon. Think Yoda - tiny, unassuming, yet powerful and strong. Strong physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually (she was deeply religious and a dedicated Catholic). 

She also had no teeth. Well, technically she did but when I about five years old and asked her where they were she took me to the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. Inside in a glass jar were her set of false teeth. Goodness, I had nightmares about this for years. She felt bad for scaring me but also chuckled. She was a bit of a jokester, too.


Grandma and Grandpa were also people of little means. They seemed to always give whenever they received. It left them with little to their names, but they seemed to always get by.  I never received a Christmas gift from them. I do remember they would hide money in my bag for me to sneak into my mom's purse when they knew she was struggling to make ends meet. Grandma knew my mom would refuse the help. When I graduated from high school she gave me a quilt entirely hand sewn and made with various scraps and pieces of her old dresses. Today I will not even use it because it is too highly prized.

As I said, Grandma had no toys but she had a tin of buttons. When we were not cooking or cleaning, she would pull it out and let me sort through it looking for interesting ones. My favorite, though, was to try and guess how many were in the tin and then empty it out and see how close I was. It always seemed the tin had different buttons. I could never figure this out. Years later I realized she had about 6 different bins full of buttons which she would rotate through.


I still love collecting buttons. I still enjoy going through other people's button collections. To this day I have yet to encounter a woman with as much compassion and forgiveness matched with hard-working and happy demeanor. When I was older she would always cry when we parted company. She lived for her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. Rarely could she travel to them as she never learned to drive but she always prayed for all of them. 


It's been almost five years since she went to heaven and let me tell you, I'm not sure how He survived without her for nearly 99 years. I do know that someday when my time comes, it will be one sweet reunion. 


For now, though, I will have lots of memories many of which I am reminded of when sorting through tins of buttons - either my own or someone else's. 

This above portion was written months ago but it just did not seem finished. Now it does. Keep reading...


Until recently, I had no buttons from Grandma's collection. Well, remember that incredible gift my sister gave me? This is it...

She made a Christmas tree decorated with buttons from one of Grandma Moda's button tins. I had no idea she even had these. I am still in awe when I look at it. I've actually really missed Grandma lately and this has a nice reminder of her . Now I have a piece of that happy memory.

A Day of Treats and Rare Treats...

For my birthday celebration with my family I asked that my mom and sis come over for the day so we could make tamales and Christmas treats and then end the day with dinner. On Saturday morning, we started our cooking and baking. If you want a refresher on this annual holiday baking, you can go here. We did have one person, a teacher friend, that came over to help with the beef tamales. It was quite the process and my hands were always occupied or full of masa hence few action photos.

The ladies washing corn husks.

While we worked, T Rex Dad took the kids on an outing to Hobby Town USA and a meet up with the lady making the baby doll cradle for Bebe Sister's gift. It's perfect - so excited and she doesn't suspect a thing. What a guy managing those two kids and not a single potty accident! 


By lunch time, the tamales were done and T Rex Dad arrived home with sandwiches for all. (Seriously, what a guy!) We enjoyed our lunch together, our tamale helper went home but not before she left a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me, the kids and T Rex Dad took naps, and Mom, Sis, and I started the sweet treats making portion of the day.


Cake balls can sometimes cause me a bit of stress so this time I prepared them the night before, chilled them outside (yes, it's that cold), and then when we were ready I just needed to dip them in chocolate. It went much smoother this time around. My sister, using her mother-in-law's unbeatable sugar cookie recipe, started on those. We listened to some traditional Christmas hymns and carols - love Mr. Bing Crosby's "Oh Come All Yea Faithful". The baking part actually went quite fast. It was the packaging portion that took a while. My sister is incredible when it comes to presentation of gifts. She kept thinking up ideas and I just kept crocheting and tying. The finished products were most pleasing.

We had a couple of eager taste-testers, too. (Sugar cookies for T Rex and chocolate cake balls for Bebe Sister.)

We found these little gingerbread house boxes. With those we included a battery operated tea light so when the goodies are gone it can be lit and serves as a decoration. I also made various crocheted snowflakes and stars as ornaments to go along with the packages. (See my lovely flowers in the background? Another are treat.)

Around this time T Rex Dad and the kids woke from their naps. T Rex was a great helper. Bebe Sister was more interested in Dada snuggles. Later when my nephew arrived the kids were very excited to rough-house and play ball.

While my sister and I were baking my mom made fresh flour and corn tortillas. She rarely makes corn, which I actually prefer, so this was a rare treat. Did I even mention my mom has her own tortilla business? She does and is becoming quite famous in our little city. Seriously, these are amazing tortillas. Back on topic, dinner was oh so delicious. We get tamales about once or twice a year usually reheated from the frozen ones we've made. Fresh and hot - wow and a rare treat!


My brother-in-law stopped and picked up caramel and chocolate apples from our local chocolate factory. Another treat. Again, we usually have these once a year. We enjoyed dinner conversation and proceeded to gift opening. T Rex was more than happy to help. My mom crocheted me a beautiful angel and found some antique hair accessories as I've been wearing my hair up quite a lot, particularly when working at the clinic. My nephew added some more Christmas tunes to my playlist, and my sister...wow! Her gift was the rarest of rare treats.


I actually have a blog post that I wrote months ago but I have not published it. It just did not seem finished or completed. Without going into details, I'll work on posting it later this week with a photo of the gift. It was the best gift my sister has ever given me and let me tell you over the years, particularly as a kid, she gave me some pretty cool ones. It's not diamonds or money or anything of significant real value except to a select few individuals. I look forward to sharing more with you. 


It was indeed a day of many, many treats. Thank you to all who made it possible. I look forward to sharing my actual birthday with my two little kid treats and my sweet, sweet husband. How fortunate and blessed I am.

Alas, December...

I'm trying to like December more. Really, I am. 


Some day I hope the month is not fraught with hectic schedules and frantic hustle bustle. Add to this impending finals and a toddler who is struggling with napping in her new bed. Seriously, potty training is a piece of cake compared to transitioning out of a crib. They don't cover this in any of my child psychology books or my pediatric texts. Guess I'm on my own.


We have managed to have a nice celebration for T Rex Dad's birthday as well as put up the tree. First, though, I took the kids with me to the Christmas craft show. I think I'm becoming a higher level parent as I managed to take them through the show without them breaking anything and no major melt downs or potty accidents. Actually, we all had a delightful time and I found the baby doll cradle I want for Bebe Sister's gift. $15 - wonderful deal. I'm restoring one of my old baby dolls for her. More on that later. Honestly, there was not much there I wanted. I suppose my craft skills are evolving to where I can usually make most things I want for the kids. Most of the Christmas gifts for the kids are homemade this year. More on those later, too. I've just been so busy crafting in my limited free time there is not much time for anything else. Hence the lack of blog posts. I'll catch up, though. I still want to post that info on pediatric UTIs, as well as, the info I researched on shingles.

At the craft show - huge interest in the flocked tree.

We celebrated T Rex Dad's birthday with a blackberry pie and a gift from the kids. Honestly, the best gift was they did not reveal the chosen present ahead of time. Asking a four year old to keep a secret like this is quite an undertaking.

After T Rex Dad's birthday, we can officially start Christmas decorating. We're keeping it very simple this year. We have our small tree. My mom made the kids a very kid-friendly Nativity set. The kids love to carry around the Baby Jesus. Today I found him in the doll house in a cradle and later in the doll house swing.

Here's my advent calendar I made for our family. It's actually a spool holder for thread. Each day the kids add a star. I have 25 stars all different colors. At the top are a Joseph and Mary. 

Here is our finished tree. It is about 4 feet tall, if that, and prelit. All this saved us quite a lot of time with tree trimming and selecting a tree. I wish we had more time to plan an extending outing to choose that perfect tree and then bring it home and string lights on it. Alas, too many obligations. I guess I just cannot say "no" when a friend or family member comes into town and we haven't seen them in several months or even years. I'd rather see them and enjoy their company than invest time in a tree that will have to be tossed away when the holidays are past. Though, I am sad we did not visit our favorite tree vendor and let the kids run through the trees and enjoy the warmth of the fire. Also, our special Christmas angel is staying in storage for fear of damage due to little hands.

Alright, back to school work. Plus, I have a dinner to prepare for some friends we haven't seen in ages. It will be oh so wonderful to have them. I told them to wear clothes they don't mind getting dirty as T Rex Princess may decide to paint the table with mashed potatoes or fling some meat loaf. She's in rare form these days! However, all is forgiven as she is sitting next to me as I type, eating a stick of cheese and saying, "Mama, luv you...much." 


How about T Rex? He is at a great age - not without challenge but today before naps I thanked him for being an amazing kid and thanked him for being born. He replied, "Thank you, Mama, for having me in your tummy."


December may be hectic but it's these kinds of moments are what life is about - not trees or decorations or even birthdays. I won't miss the food flinging or the two hours to induce a nap. But I'll take them all as it also includes the amazing moments, too.

Thanksgiving 2011

Our day of thanks...


A little parade watching in the morning - the last 5 minutes - just in time to see the giant Kermit the Frog and Santa. T Rex was more impressed with the giant frog than Santa (whom he adores so that is saying something). Bebe Sister was just impressed to see a video.

While they watched, played, and ate breakfast, I began my pie baking. Did I ever mention I learned to make pumpkin pies from a professional pie baker? I did. While the pies cooled, we cleaned the house and the kids had naps.

There are some benefits to having a large crowd. One can "out-source" everything. I would love to say I cooked everything but I did not. I know my limits and as hosting the giant family gathering only happens every 8-10 years, I wanted it to be perfect but there was no way I would be able to pull it together on my own with my school obligations even during the break.


Enter my sister, technology talent manager by day, hobby event planner by night. Remember that baby shower she and I threw this past spring? Well, this could certainly rival that event. She and my mom cooked the core of the meal - turkeys (yes, there were two), stuffing, gravy, and pomegranate salad and brought them over before everyone else arrived. She even supplied center pieces to go with the lovely flowers my mother-in-law brought over. I thought the table looked lovely set for 20 people

Bebe Sister thought the whipped cream beater was delicious.

Others in the family arrived - it was a combined event with both T Rex Dad's family as well as my local family. Everyone brought a dish or two. In fact, I only baked two pumpkin pies and everything else was brought in -  green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, 4 dozen rolls, more pies, veggie platter, in addition to the stuff my mom and sis already brought. Even our Thanksgiving prayer and food blessing was "out-sourced" to our nephew who is minister at his church. T Rex Dad took this photo calling me the "officer in charge". 

The food was all delicious. Before we had dessert, we sang "Happy Birthday to T Rex" in celebration of his birthday. He, like his mom, struggles a little with big crowd situations. Thus, I had to coax him out of his box fort in the playroom. In the end, Auntie J's sugar cookies (remember, T Rex does not do cake), candles, and opening presents peaked his interest enough to overcome his shyness.

We enjoyed cookies and pie and played some party games - Turkey BINGO, Thanksgiving word search, and chopsticks racing - T Rex Dad still continues to be reigning champ but Uncle Doc is quickly catching up to him. T Rex played his first round of Turkey BINGO but once he won, he wanted to continue playing with his newly acquired toys, particularly those that involved cars.

A major holiday is not complete without a homemade dress for Bebe Sister. She wanted her dada to pose with her for this photo. There is a belt and bonnet to go with her dress but she strongly declined wearing them. In fact, she hid the bonnet and I still cannot find it.

It was a beautiful evening and event. I think everyone had a great time. We have so much to be thankful for and how wonderful to have an entire day to reflect with loved ones. Plus, a huge thank you for all the help I had with the food, decor, games, and clean up.


Oh, I also have to say how thankful I am that the washing machine decided to die again after all the laundry was caught up. This time, however, it seems to be an issue that T Rex Dad can repair. 


Today is my sewing Black Friday - I spend the entire day crafting Christmas gifts. I look forward to it every year. I cannot wait to show you all the fun projects. 


We hope you and your family had as lovely a day as we had.

Cookie Baking...

The past few weeks have been quite busy. I've had many school projects, papers, and other obligations. I cannot believe the vast knowledge I am gaining. What has been tough is being away from the kids. When I finally had some time with them during the day I asked what they wanted to do. Both exclaimed - COOKIES!!! Then T Rex ran to the pantry chanting, "I'll get the flour, Mama..."


Sugar cookies (not frosted) are a rare type of cookie T Rex actually will eat. Bebe Sister? Well, she has yet to meet a food or soap she doesn't like to eat. How she maintains her 24 lbs figure I do not know but that girl can eat. In fact, we could not share any of these cookies because we were not sure how much of the dough she tasted and licked before it was rolled, cut, and put into the oven.


We each chose a cookie cutter shape to use. I selected a turkey shape utilizing the kids' great-grandma Besta's cookie cutters. T Rex wanted to make trains and Bebe Sister wanted to make dinosaurs (she is really into dinosaurs and has the best little dino "roar"). I pretty much let the kids do it all. Yes, it was a huge mess but I needed to thoroughly clean the kitchen and mop the floors so it worked out well. (I'm working on being more patient with little kid messes. I give myself a B+ for dealing with this one and it was a big one.) 


I'm learning that parenthood is not about teaching my kids but rather learning from them. I believe when the kids are grown and gone I will look back and realize they taught me far more than I ever taught them. Hence, I am trying to embrace this and just go with these little messes. Trying being the operative term.


Here are the photos:

This little one is becoming quite naughty and mischievous. Watch what she does with the flour...

Enjoying the warm, out-of-the-oven cookies...

By the way, in case anyone was hanging on the edge of their seats as I was, the washing machine is officially fixed - 3 weeks, $600, and 2 missed naps later it is humming along and the laundry pile is finally shrinking noticeably.

11th on 11-11-11

This week, on 11-11-2011 T Rex Dad and I celebrated our 11th engagement anniversary. We were engaged on 11-11-2001 at a wonderful fondu restaurant named Mona Lisa.

Yesterday our wonderful neighbors D&M watched the kids and we went to the same restaurant and sat at the same table where the event took place. We even had the same server we had 11 years ago.

There we celebrated with our favorite fondu dinner for two - garden salad, Old World cheese and bread,  meat/shrimp, and dark chocolate dessert. 

Three and a half years ago we wrote messages to each other, placed them in a bottle and the restaurant kept the bottle for us. At dinner we opened our bottle.


Here are some photos of us getting ready to leave and then at the restaurant. The middle photo was me wanting to take a little different photo utilizing the mirror in the Board Room where we had our private dinner.

As always we left feeling like we at far too much. The food is so delicious one cannot help oneself. Sadly, though, the restaurant is closing at the end of the year so this will be our last anniversary celebration there. We knew the day would eventually come when we could not celebrate there. However, we do have so many wonderful memories and photos. The food, though, I am not sure it is replicatable.

All the 11's was completely unintentional but we will certainly remember all the number alignments. Maybe it will bring us just enough luck to get the washing machine fixed tomorrow. If not, then luck to purchase another that will not break after 5 years. 


The luck did hold with soap making, though. I made a really huge batch and initially it did not set up. Then I chatted with a chemist friend who suggested adding a bit more lye - with T Rex Dad watching the kids, I did the lye add-in and mixed everything together. Thus far the batch seems to be wonderful. I was concerned the combo of lavender and frankincense would be weird but I had to combine the batches when adding back the lye. Actually, the combo is wonderful. 


Thank you to my sweetheart - for the beautiful engagement 11 years ago, the years since, and the wonderful anniversary celebration.