I have to say that I do feel a bit of relief with the end of Christmas. No more worries about what gifts to get anyone, what needs to be cooked, who is coming over, tackling the excess of dishes, etc.
My Aunt Patty came up from CA to spend Christmas with us. She took a bus up and after a bit of miscommunication, we picked her up at the Greyhound station 2 hours after she arrived. Needless to say, it will be a story that she will tell over and over again.
We had Salmon Chowder for dinner on Christmas Eve, and as tradition, Santa came to visit while we went out to look at some Christmas lights. Upon arrival back home, Lola and Sidney were presented with a wagon and a note from Santa. He stated that there was one gt he could not fit under the tree, upon which Lola exclaimed, "It's a trampoline!" Indeed it was. Out there alone in the backyard. When presented with it and an opportunity to jump, her reply was, "No," and "Is Santa still here?" We came back in and let the kids tear into their gifts. Lola looking for more and more. Sid getting caught up with each gift.
We have a habit of going overboard. And another year, we did. It was fun and in the spirit. We all received gifts we wanted, things we never thought of, and stuff we love and won't give up. Lola has taken over my new bed and body warmer. Ah, I love it. Warm feet every night in bed and a perfect solution to my sore neck (which I received after Lola climbed into our bed way too early one night.)
Lola was also gifted with a modern day, decent digital camera that lacks a good screen. She tens to want to center her focus where she can see, but we are trying to get her to understand that it is not working properly. Here are a few of the better shots....and she does take some good photos.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
A moment
It's bright and early Christmas Eve, a big storm is coming, Morgan should be on her way back from grocery shopping and I'll be getting ready for work soon. I'm sort of sore from building a trampoline and a wagon last night for the kids' Christmas, the stretching of the springs and the pumping up of the wagon tires I think was what did it. Aunt Patty got in yesterday to visit for Christmas. Waiting for Morgan to return, I did some web surfing a bit a got all caught up in this site. All these "top xx" lists of odd things. Strangely compelling. So that's what's happening right here, right now. Morgan's home, time to get ready.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
More videos
These are guaranteed to make you smile and/or laugh. Two new videos on Sids page and one new one on Lola's page. Good stuff.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
New photos
Finally loaded some new pictures. See Lola's Album, Sid's album, and a few in Miscellany.
There are some more movies to come, but for now, check this magnificent collage of our kids dancing. It probably won't get linked from the other pages so this is your only chance to click on it. Do it now!
There are some more movies to come, but for now, check this magnificent collage of our kids dancing. It probably won't get linked from the other pages so this is your only chance to click on it. Do it now!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Hell hath no fury
Wow, keeping up some semblance of a regular schedule of posting amusing anecdotes here is getting harder and harder. Between family, the store, and now the holidays descending upon us, blogging keeps getting pushed further and further down the priority list.
I'm here to tell you about what happens when a four-year-old cumulatively loses about 4 hours sleep in a weekend. We had people over on Friday and Lola was up late being the life of the party. Then Saturday, we went to dinner at friends and she stayed up late with her DG who was babysitting. So last night, the trifecta was completed and Rayna and Kelly came over for dinner. We were determined to put Lola down and hour early, at 8pm, because she didn't even get a good nap. We started at 8. Over the course of the next hour, we bargained, scolded, spanked (yes, we spank, but it's pretty rare and really just for these most hellish occasions), coerced, and generally fought with our daughter. She wants Dada, she wants Mama, she wants milk, she's cold, she's hot, her head hurts. One thing after another, the games get played. And Dada gets more and more frustrated and pissed off. The screaming reaches a crescendo and another round of spanking. Eventually, Lola got so upset she threw up in her bed. And then on her floor while we were stripping the bed. Great. We took away her little Christmas tree. Finally, after what felt like hours of battle, she settled in and went to sleep. Let us never schedule a weekend like this again.
In other family news, we're gearing up for the holidaze, the (real) tree is up, stockings are hung, and "we'll tell Santa if you're naughty" threats are tossed around casually. I can only think of two things that might comprise my list, so I should really be thankful for all I have and don't lack. EcoReno is joining in - Morgan's building a trash Christmas tree to show off during the CalAve merchants' annual Holiday Stroll (in which we are participating). Winter is a mere two weeks away according to the calendar, but we have yet to see any real snow, and people are still riding bikes outside.
Library work is its typical self, but we're circling our wagons for yet another cut to the budget. People are now getting concerned about layoffs, but they are still telling us that's the last possible option. I'm feeling pretty solid and lucky to be able to feel that way - we're seeing more and more people we know, or one degree of separation away, that are impacted negatively by the state of the economy. If someone could please turn things around, now would be a good time to do it.
Been drinking some interesting beers lately. Between two friends, I secured three bottles of The Abyss this year, as well as some Hallertau, and one precious bottle of Palo Santo. As long as we're talking festive, Morgan and I got a chance to go out to a movie recently, saw the new James Bond movie. A little disappointing as a Bond movie, acceptable as a movie, and enjoyable as an opportunity to go out for an evening.
Not much else to report really, so I'll sign off here. I've got some EcoReno blogging to do too, so take a look there if you'd like. We did just buy a new camera since the old one started failing, so I'll have a whole slew of new photos of kids and holidays and stuff to post soon, but for now, check out this cool website.
I'm here to tell you about what happens when a four-year-old cumulatively loses about 4 hours sleep in a weekend. We had people over on Friday and Lola was up late being the life of the party. Then Saturday, we went to dinner at friends and she stayed up late with her DG who was babysitting. So last night, the trifecta was completed and Rayna and Kelly came over for dinner. We were determined to put Lola down and hour early, at 8pm, because she didn't even get a good nap. We started at 8. Over the course of the next hour, we bargained, scolded, spanked (yes, we spank, but it's pretty rare and really just for these most hellish occasions), coerced, and generally fought with our daughter. She wants Dada, she wants Mama, she wants milk, she's cold, she's hot, her head hurts. One thing after another, the games get played. And Dada gets more and more frustrated and pissed off. The screaming reaches a crescendo and another round of spanking. Eventually, Lola got so upset she threw up in her bed. And then on her floor while we were stripping the bed. Great. We took away her little Christmas tree. Finally, after what felt like hours of battle, she settled in and went to sleep. Let us never schedule a weekend like this again.
In other family news, we're gearing up for the holidaze, the (real) tree is up, stockings are hung, and "we'll tell Santa if you're naughty" threats are tossed around casually. I can only think of two things that might comprise my list, so I should really be thankful for all I have and don't lack. EcoReno is joining in - Morgan's building a trash Christmas tree to show off during the CalAve merchants' annual Holiday Stroll (in which we are participating). Winter is a mere two weeks away according to the calendar, but we have yet to see any real snow, and people are still riding bikes outside.
Library work is its typical self, but we're circling our wagons for yet another cut to the budget. People are now getting concerned about layoffs, but they are still telling us that's the last possible option. I'm feeling pretty solid and lucky to be able to feel that way - we're seeing more and more people we know, or one degree of separation away, that are impacted negatively by the state of the economy. If someone could please turn things around, now would be a good time to do it.
Been drinking some interesting beers lately. Between two friends, I secured three bottles of The Abyss this year, as well as some Hallertau, and one precious bottle of Palo Santo. As long as we're talking festive, Morgan and I got a chance to go out to a movie recently, saw the new James Bond movie. A little disappointing as a Bond movie, acceptable as a movie, and enjoyable as an opportunity to go out for an evening.
Not much else to report really, so I'll sign off here. I've got some EcoReno blogging to do too, so take a look there if you'd like. We did just buy a new camera since the old one started failing, so I'll have a whole slew of new photos of kids and holidays and stuff to post soon, but for now, check out this cool website.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Ho, ho, ho
Up until about April of this year, Lola thought every random sound or someone at the door was Santa and would freak out. I mean panic, run, take cover. Her fear had subsided, but we don't ever tease that random noises are Santa either. It was strategy, I swear. I was trying to teach her that he is so far away that time of year and that there is no way he would come seek us out anyway.
She exclaimed about 10 days ago that she wanted to go and see Santa and tell him what she wanted. She kept saying, "I won't cry." I said that we could go on Sunday and she asked when she was going everyday after. So Sunday came and we made our usual game plan of errand running and other miscellaneous tasks that we tackle on this one day we have off together. We headed out and ended up eating lunch at Port of Subs in Shopper's Square. As we were sitting there, I realized that they probably had a Santa and we could avoid the whole annoyance and turmoil of going to Meadowood and pick up our Christmas tree from the Boy Scouts. And yes indeed, there was a Santa who sat very alone and idle as we approached. We had to detour to wash hands, but Lola gave a wave and a big," HI SANTA," as we walked by. She even asked the lady in the bathroom if she was going to see Santa and proudly announced that she was going to go and tell him what she wanted for Christmas and again, that she wasn't going to cry.
As we prepared for our meeting, Lola was asked by the gentleman working Santa's Workshop if she knew what she wanted for Christmas. She told him she wanted a trampoline. He told her to go ahead and go tell Santa. She quickly answered, "You go tell him."
We made our way over to the man in red and as we approached, I felt a bit more weight and tugging on my shirt. I looked down to find Lola clawing at me and whispering not to leave her. I encouraged her and told her it was fine. I even plopped Sid down on Santa's lap to prove how easy and okay it was. Uh, no. Sid started to get red and slowly looked around to take it in. I knew he was only going to last about another 20 seconds before he reached break down. He just quickly put his arms out to be picked up and every attempt to put him back on Santa's lap for a picture was more clawing and grabbing on for dear life. Lola was still hanging on one leg and refused to even stand alone at the side of Santa's chair. There was no way she was going to sit on that lap. There were some AWFUL photos taken of me with the kids, neck bent in an awful position, with Santa. Lola was finally bribed with three candy canes (she calls them candy cans) to sit on Santa's lap, but only after they put a stool six inches away so that I could sit right there. We got two quick shots and she was off in the blink of an eye.
These are the pictures that we got:
Yay. Done and easy. No lines or crowds.
As soon as we hit the parking lot, Lola asked if we could go see Santa again!
She exclaimed about 10 days ago that she wanted to go and see Santa and tell him what she wanted. She kept saying, "I won't cry." I said that we could go on Sunday and she asked when she was going everyday after. So Sunday came and we made our usual game plan of errand running and other miscellaneous tasks that we tackle on this one day we have off together. We headed out and ended up eating lunch at Port of Subs in Shopper's Square. As we were sitting there, I realized that they probably had a Santa and we could avoid the whole annoyance and turmoil of going to Meadowood and pick up our Christmas tree from the Boy Scouts. And yes indeed, there was a Santa who sat very alone and idle as we approached. We had to detour to wash hands, but Lola gave a wave and a big," HI SANTA," as we walked by. She even asked the lady in the bathroom if she was going to see Santa and proudly announced that she was going to go and tell him what she wanted for Christmas and again, that she wasn't going to cry.
As we prepared for our meeting, Lola was asked by the gentleman working Santa's Workshop if she knew what she wanted for Christmas. She told him she wanted a trampoline. He told her to go ahead and go tell Santa. She quickly answered, "You go tell him."
We made our way over to the man in red and as we approached, I felt a bit more weight and tugging on my shirt. I looked down to find Lola clawing at me and whispering not to leave her. I encouraged her and told her it was fine. I even plopped Sid down on Santa's lap to prove how easy and okay it was. Uh, no. Sid started to get red and slowly looked around to take it in. I knew he was only going to last about another 20 seconds before he reached break down. He just quickly put his arms out to be picked up and every attempt to put him back on Santa's lap for a picture was more clawing and grabbing on for dear life. Lola was still hanging on one leg and refused to even stand alone at the side of Santa's chair. There was no way she was going to sit on that lap. There were some AWFUL photos taken of me with the kids, neck bent in an awful position, with Santa. Lola was finally bribed with three candy canes (she calls them candy cans) to sit on Santa's lap, but only after they put a stool six inches away so that I could sit right there. We got two quick shots and she was off in the blink of an eye.
These are the pictures that we got:
Yay. Done and easy. No lines or crowds.
As soon as we hit the parking lot, Lola asked if we could go see Santa again!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Busy and about to combust
It has been 4 years since I have slept in. (Sorry to any of those w/o kids - it is worth it!) This was preceded by late night and early mornings followed by early mornings of work. What can I say? I worked on a golf course, so it was work and then play and then led into a long night of.....socializing? Hey, it all led me to meet and marry Marc. Best thing that ever happened until the birth of our children which has led to no sleep, which leads me to this blog about an even bigger loss of sleep.
I was so lucky to stay home with both kids for as long as I did. I also feel lucky to take this opportunity to start a business for the benefit of their future - both environmentally and (hopefully) financially! But with this great endeavor has come a lack of sleep. Who cares that I fall asleep at 9pm right after Lola goes to bed and am facing away from Marc, convince him that, no, I am really not sleeping. I don't care that I drag myself out of bed and let the shower wake me up or that I depend on caffeine. Even being told that the microwave breaks down the caffeine molecules (thanks, Paige) has led me to drink cold coffee as to not lose any source of energy. What does bother me....blood shot eyes. Gross. At first I thought I might have to fight off a nasty eye infection as I have done it before. I am horrible about my contacts. Nope. No pain, just a lot of redness. A lot. I had to stop and think about it. I thought it was a mythical thing. Something that some people experience, but for me, it only existed in cartoon format. That was until yesterday. And going to bed, I crossed Marc's path ask him why his were so red....same thing...tired. I tried to get to bed even earlier, and the half hour really helped and the redness has subsided, thankfully.
I was so lucky to stay home with both kids for as long as I did. I also feel lucky to take this opportunity to start a business for the benefit of their future - both environmentally and (hopefully) financially! But with this great endeavor has come a lack of sleep. Who cares that I fall asleep at 9pm right after Lola goes to bed and am facing away from Marc, convince him that, no, I am really not sleeping. I don't care that I drag myself out of bed and let the shower wake me up or that I depend on caffeine. Even being told that the microwave breaks down the caffeine molecules (thanks, Paige) has led me to drink cold coffee as to not lose any source of energy. What does bother me....blood shot eyes. Gross. At first I thought I might have to fight off a nasty eye infection as I have done it before. I am horrible about my contacts. Nope. No pain, just a lot of redness. A lot. I had to stop and think about it. I thought it was a mythical thing. Something that some people experience, but for me, it only existed in cartoon format. That was until yesterday. And going to bed, I crossed Marc's path ask him why his were so red....same thing...tired. I tried to get to bed even earlier, and the half hour really helped and the redness has subsided, thankfully.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Princess party photos
As Turi describes in his post, we had a joint birthday party for Lola and Sofia last weekend. The theme was Fancy Nancy, and everyone turned out in all their fanciness. And thus, a new album is born.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Finally, a real update
Geez, this has been a long time coming. I actually had to make a list of all the "stuff" that needs to be blogged about here and updated for you, my loyal readers. And for the ages. It's getting late, I multitasked my way through updating photos while watching The Office, so I'm going to try to keep it sort of concise and just get it all out there.
This blog started as a sort of extension and continuation of a paper journal that Morgan and I started trying to keep up with after Lola was born. We'd write in it occasionally with updates on her growth and what was going on in our lives. After a while, we got lazy about keeping it up, and since I was trying to keep up with photos on the website anyway, I figured this could be our own virtual journal to look back upon someday and see what our life was like "back then". So, in that spirit, some of this is just recording events for the sake of recording them, more than actually putting it out for you crowds (that's a joke, feel free to laugh) of readers in the here and now.
So, since last I really wrote....
My 37th birthday has come and gone. Fairly uneventful, not really a landmark. We went out for killer sushi at a new place on 5th St., "Sushi Lover". Overindulged and enjoyed all of it. Thanks to Turi, David, Bart, Max, Maggie, Rayna, Kelly, Carol, and Paige for sharing the evening. Two words: Renee Chips. If you were there, you know what I'm talking about.
EcoReno is clipping along. Never having opened or run a new business, we don't really have any basis of comparison, but we seem to be doing OK; customers every day, some days more than others, plenty of people interested and giving positive feedback even if they don't actually buy, advertising seems to be working, and perhaps our most visible mention in the press appeared today. It's all really happening. During the good times, it feels like this could really be the start of something successful and good; other times, I think "What's the worst that can happen? It doesn't work out, we have some debt, life goes on." So there you go. It certainly has made our lives much busier in a lot of ways, and trying to keep all our schedules and commitments and goings-on straight is probably the worst of it. So that's not bad.
Halloween. Lola was a ladybug, Sidney was a pirate. We hit Raley's for trick or treating one night, did some real neighborhood trick or treating another, and I busted a punk spray-painting a fence. Pretty standard fare, little fanfare, and the candy continues to haunt our household with its sugary evil.
Grandpa Dave came for a really nice visit, providing a good excuse for a few days off for me and plenty of eating, drinking, and being merry (usually in the form of board games). Perhaps the only real major outing was a drive over to Nevada City, allegedly to see fall colors, of which there were few. A nice little day trip regardless. And it's just nice to hang out and enjoy family time, even if you're not doing anything touristy or special, just doing everyday errands and lounging is made more enjoyable by the presence of visiting Grandpa. Maybe he begs to differ.
And last, perhaps most recordable for posterity, we had a little election this week. This is almost certainly the election I've had the most strong feelings about in my lifetime so far. I have felt the most amazing feelings of hope and cautious optimism the last few days. I didn't realize how....glum? grey? cloudy?...the last 8 years have felt until it lifted. I sincerely hope we haven't put too much of a burden for the future on the shoulders of our next leader. It truly feels like he has become our leader in the true sense of the word, not just "president" (from 'preside' which doesn't really have much meaning to us in our everyday lives. We need to be led, not presided over.) I really, really, really have such hope for the future yet mixed with fear that we've just put too much faith in this man. He is still just a man, and despite being arguably the most powerful man in the world, his power does have limits and he is not able to turn lead to gold. I think I am caught up in his election coinciding with Lola's birthday, the dawning of a new regime colored blue, feeling like we're close to the bottom and we've nowhere to go but up, and wanting this king among men to lead us to a better future. Please oh please, let it come true. I won't blame him if miracles don't happen, but I hope optimism has some power to help make the change that needs to happen. (On a less philosophical, more tangible note, I am glad to see how many officials I wanted to see win, did indeed win. Some lost, some questions failed, but overall, on both a local and national level, Tuesday, November 4, 2008, may someday prove to be the day that things got better. Cross your fingers with me.) I sort of rambled my way through this topic because I've had a lot of strong feelings the last few days and they've been hard to put down in clear words. Today I read a very good post by a friend that hit the nail on the head in a lot of ways. Read it now.
OK, now that you've made it this far, you are rewarded with more than words. Picture updates!
Nothing else of note - nothing read, watched, or listened to worth mentioning right now. Supper Club ate, joint Princess birthday party coming up, next update when it happens. And I'm out.
This blog started as a sort of extension and continuation of a paper journal that Morgan and I started trying to keep up with after Lola was born. We'd write in it occasionally with updates on her growth and what was going on in our lives. After a while, we got lazy about keeping it up, and since I was trying to keep up with photos on the website anyway, I figured this could be our own virtual journal to look back upon someday and see what our life was like "back then". So, in that spirit, some of this is just recording events for the sake of recording them, more than actually putting it out for you crowds (that's a joke, feel free to laugh) of readers in the here and now.
So, since last I really wrote....
My 37th birthday has come and gone. Fairly uneventful, not really a landmark. We went out for killer sushi at a new place on 5th St., "Sushi Lover". Overindulged and enjoyed all of it. Thanks to Turi, David, Bart, Max, Maggie, Rayna, Kelly, Carol, and Paige for sharing the evening. Two words: Renee Chips. If you were there, you know what I'm talking about.
EcoReno is clipping along. Never having opened or run a new business, we don't really have any basis of comparison, but we seem to be doing OK; customers every day, some days more than others, plenty of people interested and giving positive feedback even if they don't actually buy, advertising seems to be working, and perhaps our most visible mention in the press appeared today. It's all really happening. During the good times, it feels like this could really be the start of something successful and good; other times, I think "What's the worst that can happen? It doesn't work out, we have some debt, life goes on." So there you go. It certainly has made our lives much busier in a lot of ways, and trying to keep all our schedules and commitments and goings-on straight is probably the worst of it. So that's not bad.
Halloween. Lola was a ladybug, Sidney was a pirate. We hit Raley's for trick or treating one night, did some real neighborhood trick or treating another, and I busted a punk spray-painting a fence. Pretty standard fare, little fanfare, and the candy continues to haunt our household with its sugary evil.
Grandpa Dave came for a really nice visit, providing a good excuse for a few days off for me and plenty of eating, drinking, and being merry (usually in the form of board games). Perhaps the only real major outing was a drive over to Nevada City, allegedly to see fall colors, of which there were few. A nice little day trip regardless. And it's just nice to hang out and enjoy family time, even if you're not doing anything touristy or special, just doing everyday errands and lounging is made more enjoyable by the presence of visiting Grandpa. Maybe he begs to differ.
And last, perhaps most recordable for posterity, we had a little election this week. This is almost certainly the election I've had the most strong feelings about in my lifetime so far. I have felt the most amazing feelings of hope and cautious optimism the last few days. I didn't realize how....glum? grey? cloudy?...the last 8 years have felt until it lifted. I sincerely hope we haven't put too much of a burden for the future on the shoulders of our next leader. It truly feels like he has become our leader in the true sense of the word, not just "president" (from 'preside' which doesn't really have much meaning to us in our everyday lives. We need to be led, not presided over.) I really, really, really have such hope for the future yet mixed with fear that we've just put too much faith in this man. He is still just a man, and despite being arguably the most powerful man in the world, his power does have limits and he is not able to turn lead to gold. I think I am caught up in his election coinciding with Lola's birthday, the dawning of a new regime colored blue, feeling like we're close to the bottom and we've nowhere to go but up, and wanting this king among men to lead us to a better future. Please oh please, let it come true. I won't blame him if miracles don't happen, but I hope optimism has some power to help make the change that needs to happen. (On a less philosophical, more tangible note, I am glad to see how many officials I wanted to see win, did indeed win. Some lost, some questions failed, but overall, on both a local and national level, Tuesday, November 4, 2008, may someday prove to be the day that things got better. Cross your fingers with me.) I sort of rambled my way through this topic because I've had a lot of strong feelings the last few days and they've been hard to put down in clear words. Today I read a very good post by a friend that hit the nail on the head in a lot of ways. Read it now.
OK, now that you've made it this far, you are rewarded with more than words. Picture updates!
- New Lola photos
- New Sid photos
- New miscellany including Halloween, Nevada City, and Grandpa Dave
Nothing else of note - nothing read, watched, or listened to worth mentioning right now. Supper Club ate, joint Princess birthday party coming up, next update when it happens. And I'm out.
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