The Motherhood Manifesto

I get to see another movie tonight, only it's at the library and so far 18 other women are going. There will be food! Here's the blurb about it:

An engaging new documentary, The Motherhood Manifesto, presents moving personal stories combined with humorous animation, expert commentary and hilarious old film clips to tell the tale of what happens to working mothers and families in America.

The film illustrates how enlightened employers and public policy can make paid family leave, flexible working hours, part-time parity, universal healthcare, excellent childcare, after-school programs and realistic living wages a reality for American families. Featured people include:

• Dr. Deborah Richter, a Vermont doctor and advocate who has seen patients die because they didn’t have health insurance.

• Kiki Peppard, a Pennsylvania mother who has been battling discrimination against moms for the past decade.

• Selena Allen, who had to return to work four days after she gave birth prematurely.

• Sharon Dorsett, whose son’s illness bankrupted her family even though the Dorsett’s had health insurance.

• Jim Johnson, a conservative Republican businessman who found that flexible hours and family-friendly policies can increase a company’s profits and success.

• Joya Chavarin, who knows what California’s new paid family leave law means to mothers.

• Republican pollster Frank Luntz who says that “lack of free time” is the most important issue for women with children.

• Democratic Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, a former welfare mother who works tirelessly to help working mothers.

• Angenita Tanner, a childcare provider who takes in children from families too poor to afford childcare.

I'm excited!

We baked some ornaments (Sophia was a little confused at first and tried to eat one---it's just salt, flour, and water but not tasty). They are now painted and ready to hang. We have paper chains and cranberry/popcorn chains. The gingerbread house just needs candy and I will take a picture.

O Christmas Tree!

We bought a huge fluffy tree for $20. Get this. They also deliver for free. The only problem with that is, we aren't sure when they will deliver it. I think it's supposed to be this weekend, but it didn't come yesterday. The price was so great, that we also got a $15 wreath. Apparently we can write it off on our taxes (which I'm sure we won't, ha!) because we are buying them from the Northfield Ambulance Depot. I guess the trees are donated to them? I should find out.

We are in the process of making a gingerbread house from scratch. I have never made a gingerbread house, period. I have the walls and the roof made. I made stained glass windows. Today we have to glue it together and possibly decorate it, but I think that will probably happen later. The dough is tasty and light but it puffed up way too much. We're just going for fun here, but next time I'm going to try a different dough recipe. If I rolled it out any thinner, it would have fallen apart as it was also a very soft dough. I think I need a dough with fewer eggs. Fiona is very excited but she wants to eat all the candy decorations.

We had decided there would be no fires in the wood stove this year because we could just not find firewood and Sophia insists on getting behind the gate. But lo and behold! I found firewood and Doug stacked it all up (the only place to put a cord of wood or two is right in the driveway). Doug also bolted the gate to the wall, so Sophia is really blocked away from the wood stove. Now we have toasty fires. It's also nice to have in case the power every goes out. I hope we never have a nasty ice storm (as has happened here before, of course, but it was before our time here), but it's nice to be prepared. On that note, we need pantry supplies!

And on a last and even more exciting note, I finally ordered snowboots for Sophia. Now if it would only snow!

Media Surge

On a media related note, I actually got to see Casino Royale, the new Bond movie. I really enjoyed it, but this new Bond is rather, uh, buff. It's sort of odd. The movie also seemed a lot more violent. More action and less witty reparte. Not that there aren't some cute lines in the movie. And Daniel Craig is a good Bond. I think he's perfect for being "early Bond". Doug sent me out for time alone and it makes such a difference to get away for a few hours (that was a long movie!). I also got to stop off before the movie at the toy store and the book store. I need to get two very cool children's books for the girls (almost 5 years old and 2 years old). Any suggestions? We have a tradition where we leave a wrapped book on the edge of their bed for Christmas morning and we write a little something and the date on the inside. But it has to be a very cool, special book and I'm totally stumped this year.

I ended up getting Richard Dawkin's The Ancestor's Tale which is a look at evolution starting from the present and working back to the beginning. It is a really thick book. I just read The God Delusion and I was really impressed with it. I actually read it very slowly (I usually speed read through things--I can't seem to help myself) and could not put it down at the same time. His name was bugging me because it sounded so familiar and then I read that he wrote The Selfish Gene which I read when I was at UT Austin. Most book stores don't seem to have anything by Dr. Dawkins except the recent bestseller, so I was pleasantly surprised to see something different. It's not the book I would have picked out from a list, but it is something I do want to read. It's just going to take me a very long time.

God Damn It!

Fiona is sleeping in her own room now. I do not know how long this will last. I am dying now to paint her room and make it more her own...if only the farking wallpaper wasn't there! How I hate wallpaper.

I must confess to you all that I went to Hellmart (ahem, Walmart) today. I hate Walmart, ok? I don't know where else to go for some things, however. It's fairly rural here. I really only went for Christmas lights for the porch (they were already out of the hanging blue and white ones! I had to get just white.). Anyway, one reason I hate these big stores (I know Target must not be much better, but I have to say I like it a lot more than Walmart. Alas, there is no Target in Vermont.) is that I walk in for one thing, and if I'm not careful, I walk out with a lot more. That is what I did today. Well, Hershey's Kisses have all these cool flavors all of a sudden. They appear to be seasonal. Then I saw the chocolate mint candy canes. I got Fiona new bed sheets for Christmas. I got an Elefun game I've been meaning to get for them. Some play dough for the stockings. Some holiday cupcake papers. Damn you, Walmart.

I'm eating wonderful turkey pot pie made by Douglas last night. He mixed the turkey with carrots, leeks and potatoes (All hail the mighty leek!) in a veloute sauce, then put the leftover stuffing on top of that and some of the leftover gravy on top of that. Then he made biscuits and put them on top of that. It's real comfort food.

I did a tea swap with some far away friends and I just got some Hazelnut Lipton. This person is in Canada (thank you, Chantal!) and I am wondering if there is any in the U.S. It's pretty good! I don't usually sweeten my tea (unless it's Chai), but I did submit to adding some chocolate syrup along with my milk to the tea. It's good without the chocolate, too, though. I love that the back is in French. Maybe I can get more next time we go to Montreal. Really, I should go to a grocery in Montreal anyway, just to compare.

Fiona has started saying "goddamnit" on a regular basis. We've told her it's okay to say at home, but not outside the house or when we have guests. This prompted a slew of "goddamnit"s so she could try it out (I suppose). We then told her we would appreciate it if she did not use the word gratuitously. Yes, she asked what that word meant. I've discovered that there are many, many words I have a very hard time actually defining. Unfortunately, Sophia is a little tape recorder. She says everything Fiona does. It is actually very cute but you just know it's going to pop out at a very inconvenient time.

It's time for some homemade butterscotch pudding.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was low key around here. I roasted at turkey at 450 for crispy skin (I could eat a sackful of crispy skin), made buttermilk mashed potatoes (good, but not as good as the usual hazelnut brown butter ones), whole wheat parker rolls (and for freak's sake--I forgot the salt! I did this once when Annie and Andrea were eating turkey day dinner with us and I made these beautiful challah rolls...that tasted like ass. So they look nice but you chew on them and think to yourself...what is off here? It's the salt. So I slathered butter on them and salted the top. It didn't really help.), creamed leeks (heavenly), gravy, and stuffing with bacon, apples, and dried cepes. I love stuffing. Oh, I also made some cranberry relish. Very cheerful, the dainty cranberry.

It was the first Thanksgiving in a while where we haven't had any friends visit. Fiona was sort of sad about this but we did some little crafts together for the table. When 2 PM came around, however (we ate early this year--I like this. It means we can eat dinner all afternoon and evening), Fiona decided on peanut butter and jelly after smelling the stuffing and tasting oh-so-faintly of the cranberry relish. Doug had made two pumpkin pies the night before. One we ate for breakfast that morning and the other we mostly ate on Friday. Apparently, Fiona also does not like pumpkin pie. Sophia does, but she fell asleep at her highchair at dinner time. Later, she gladly ate all the dishes of that dinner.

And on a completely unrelated note, I've decided we need a new couch. We have two very beautiful couches that came down to me through my Grandmother. Well, one is a love seat. They are both antiques, however, and not exactly durable. By durable I mean "meant for the hard wear that two young kids put on them". They both have wood trim and wood legs. One of the wood legs (the couch) is nearly broken off. It is heartbreaking. So the plan is to somehow move the couches into the storage room formerly known as the study (this is also known as the Wasp Room, if you have read my posts from last year). This room is collecting all sorts of things that aren't great to have out with the kids (ok, let's point fingers here--with SOPHIA. Although neither child is exactly gentle with the couches). I have dreams of something very cushy that you could sleep in, if you needed to. Something that will undoubtedly be covered with a spare bed sheet for a slipcover!

Catching Up

Ok, so let's see. I've spent the weekend trying not to cough up my respiratory system. Fiona also has a cough, but she's had it for 6 weeks now and we actually gave her antibiotics for it which did...nothing. Yes, she had it in Texas, but back then it was mostly at night. Now it's all the time. It's not really a bad cough and it's short in length, but it sure is persistent. I think we may have an allergy test done.

We have a new CAR! The Subaru (1999 Legacy) was turning into quite the money pit (I won't even list it all here because it is too depressing) so we just traded it in before we had to replace the clutch (and who knows what else). Not really wild about the Subaru dealership here, anyway. The HONDA dealership, however, is very reliable and seems honest. So we bought a 2007 (!OMG!) Civic. I call her Pippi (I called her Pippi before Fiona named the new parakeet Pippi in case you caught that). She's dark red. That's what was on the lot. It's an LX because now I am spoiled and I like the power locks and windows. I don't like that I can't do the windows when the car is off, though. There should be back-up for that. I still can't believe it--especially since we just paid off the fracking Subaru and now we'll have another car payment. It is really nice to have a reliable car, though. Our other car is a 1994 Honda Civic that Doug and I have had since before we were married (shh). He has 207,000 miles on him and we've never ever had serious problems with him (there was that one time he didn't start at all, but it was easily fixed--and I think it cost about $250). I am not even sure we've replaced the clutch...ever. I better ask to make sure. Oh, and the new car is an automatic. I usually insist on manual, but I don't feel so strongly about it now.

I will try to take pictures later. The inside looks a little like a starship to me. It's kind of odd. It didn't smell like new car. It didn't really have a smell. I'm sure it does now.

Fiona's new parakeet, Pippi, is green. Fiona is also starting a terrarium which is in the fridge for 8 weeks. I honestly had no idea there was a chilling period.

Sophia is really belting out the sentences. She adores Fiona more and more and now Fiona clearly likes to have her own time and space alone now and then. Not at night, however. They do play a lot together and they still put on those unicorn costumes or their fairy wings and fly. They use the play kitchen a lot. Fiona will bake and cook and Sophia goes inside the play kitchen under the sink and pops the sink out so it looks like half a person coming out of the sink. That is something I really need to get on film to post. She stays there the whole time. Oh,they also make pizza. Sometimes Sophia brings me something in an oven mitt for me to taste.

The Travel Tome

Whew, ok...where to start? We are back from Texas and we had a fabulous time! We went to see Corinthian and Ellen Aim get hitched. We all went in costume...there are great pictures on Ellen Aim's blog and Triana's (see the sidebar on right for the blogs). This picture is the lovely bride herself! My mom made the gorgeous dress.

I guess I will start at the beginning. We got up at the ungodly hour of 3:30 AM and trucked on down to Dartmouth Coach in Lebanon, NH. The bus was very clean, they showed good movies and I was impressed. I also discovered Sophia gets motion sickness on the bus. Good thing we are seasoned parents and had a change of clothing for her. Too bad I didn't have any for me. I also had Dramamine with us, but I thought I'd be using that for the plane. I should mention here that we were traveling with only carry on luggage and the huge Britax car seats. I mailed our costumes and clothing to my parents' house.

Our flight didn't leave until 10:15 (and it takes about two and a half hours to get to Boston airport from Lebanon) but with rush hour Boston traffic and the increased "security" at airports, I thought it would be just enough time. Rush hour traffic did suck, but the security line went really quickly. I would also like to cheer for on-line check-in. I printed out boarding passes and since we had no luggage to check, we sailed right on the plane (after checking the stroller--a.k.a car seat transportation--at the gate). It's true, though, at security everyone takes their shoes off...even 2 year old Sophia who was wearing her little leather Robeez (just a sort of slipper/shoe, very comfortable, flexible, and hard for kids to take off--ha ha!). All jackets come off. Even Fiona's fleece layer. I totally forgot about my tiny Swiss army knife on my keychain and that went through undetected. Oh well. It's really small.

The plane ride was hell. Sophia and Fiona were next to each other in their car seats (for a variety of reasons, we decided not to check them with the stroller)(I am now reading through this and I want to clarify that I do indeed mean the car seats and not Sophia and Fiona). Since these seats put them higher up, Sophia's feet naturally came to the middle of the seat in front of her and she kept kicking the seat in front of her the whole time, despite our best efforts. Thankfully, that person was very understanding. The kids slept for the last hour of the plane ride. They actually were not interested in the DVD player. They were interested in all the wrapped dollar store treats I had in my carry on, however. That was a great idea and I also recommend that.

At the DFW airport, which is way too big for its own good, we took a bus to the car rental place. Let me just say Thrifty isn't that and look out for all sorts of stomach dropping fees. I also somehow rented a tank, and I blame myself (and my travel agent) for that. At least we felt very safe.

At last we were at my parents' house and Fiona was thrilled to be there. Sophia warmed up pretty quickly. I felt like I hadn't been in Denton in years. Oh wait! That's because it had been years! The rest of that day and Wednesday are a bit of a blur (I'm also finishing this entry about a month later, by the way). We went to the North Park Mall with Alex and got there way too early for the LUSH party. We had a pretty good time, though, and Alex introduced me to the heavenly evil of the Starbucks Pumpkin Latte. Thankfully, there is no Starbucks here (actually, there are at least 2 in Burlington, incredibly). We meet up with Triana and look at Christmas LUSH goodies. I was very good and bought nothing (mostly because Doug went on a bit of a spree for me when he was in Montreal a few weeks before!). However, despite my RSVP, LUSH did not have me down on the guest list, so while I did get my free goodie bag, I did not get one for Alex. That was really lame. Triana got on the list, but she called twice. I mean, how hard is it to take names down? Honestly. Sorry, Alex. I'm making you your own goodie bag.

Then the cake making! Triana and I had great fun in Ellen Aim's kitchen (They have a fabulous house that is very nicely painted. Alas, that I did not sample the legendary hot tub. Another day.). Ok, here is one of the cake:



Looking at this, I am pretty sure that this cake picture has been cropped to hide the part where the goddamn strawberries kept falling off because the buttercream was melting in the heat.

I screwed up the buttercream the first time. I did the "Neo-Classic Buttercream" from the Cake Bible, which is a wonderful recipe and, I thought, nearly foolproof. Nope. It's not. All that butter. All those eggs. The chocolate. I weep still. The second batch was divine. The chocolate dipped strawberries kept leaping to their demise during the wedding, however. Next time: either store the finished cake in the fridge until the last minute (a perilous task, however) or ice the cake at the last possible moment with many people watching you. I am used to people watching, so I should have done that. Oh well. I was otherwise pleased with the cake (a butter cake with lots of red food coloring, strawberry jam in one layer and raspberry in the other, and triple sec syrup) and I believe the bride, groom and guests were as well. Triana made these hilarious finger cookies (the recipe came from the eGullet forums) and the famous eyeball cake. I must show you more pictures.





The wedding itself was perfect. I loved reading Ellen Aim's and Corinthian's account of it (his blog can be found if you go to Ellen Aim's. I am too lazy to link.) Fiona was the flower girl (and I hope there are pictures of her somewhere!) and did an amazing job---not only was she the first to come out, but she had to walk out into a crowd of strangers, who were all wearing costumes! Doug and Sophia spent most of the wedding outside. I only cried a little during the vows. I think that is because I couldn't see Ellen Aim's face. They both did so well and the minister they got was really good. (I have to confess here that I totally blubbered through the vows at my own wedding. I cry at everything. I am utterly hopeless.) The barbequed boar was delicious as was the homemade pumpkin ale made by a friend of the newly wed couple. I was surprisingly not that hungry, however. That happened to me while I was working, too. At the end of the day working on the line, I would be happy with a bowl of rice. But I digress.

The happy couple went on their honeymoon (Dallas, then Austin) and Triana went home to Austin. We spent the rest of the trip with my parents and Alex and went trick or treating with Doug's brother Matt's family in Keller (near Ft. Worth). Fiona and Sophia have cousins there, Taylor, 13 and Sydney, 7. Fiona is completely smitten with Taylor. She wants to call and write him all the time. Every day. He is very sweet. Still, I've been curbing things a little so he doesn't get overwhelmed! At the first house we went to, Sophia went right in when they opened the door. That was rather alarming, but she wised up after that. Sophia and Fiona were both unicorns. Here's Sophia:



I forgot to mention the costumes we wore to the wedding! So the kids were unicorns and I was a genie (some thing I picked up at Jo-Ann's fabrics with a purple wig) and Doug wore his fabulous cape (that he made!) and Ren-fest style leggings and shirt with sexy boots. Here's a picture of me, Ellen Aim, and Alex. Alex is wearing the Lolita Gothic style. She looked amazing!



Oh, and dig those roses. So fragrant and the most amazing roses ever. The color was also amazing.

We did go to the Ft. Worth Zoo with Matt's family and Fiona got to feed and hold the parakeets (and by the way, we now have a second parakeet named Pippi---she and Sweety are getting along wonderfully!)


The trip home was uneventful. At the airport, they didn't board people with kids and other people who need assistance first (which I have never seen before). So that was interesting because we weren't even the only people using carseats on the plane--in fact, also Britax--and putting carseats on the plane with everyone else on board is not easy or enjoyable for anyone involved. Thank you, American Airlines. Oh, and they do feed you, but you have to pay four bucks for each snack tray. I did buy one on the way down to Texas even though I had more than plentiful snacks with us. I wanted the "meat stick". It's ok to laugh at this. Yes, I know what's in (or probably in) the "meat stick". I don't care. Rather, I do care, but I needed meat. Sophia slept for most of the plane ride. Fiona had her turn with motion sickness on the bus (no change of clothes this time! At least we were on the next to last leg of the journey). Our '94 Civic got a crack all the way across on our drive home.

It had been too long since our last visit and I am so thankful we were there for Ellen Aim's wedding. I think Fiona wants to live in Texas (I think she really just wants to be closer to our families!) Sigh, so do I!

Sophia is TWO!

Here is what I wrote about her birth:

"The evening of the 17th I had irregular menstrual like cramps. I thought it might be leading up to the real thing so I called my friend Ame who was going to be at my birth and the birth center to give everyone a heads up. I went to bed at nine.

On October 18, 2004 I woke up at 1 AM with a contraction. I piddled around, worked on the computer, had some tea. They were very regular but pretty weak. I could talk and walk through them. They got a little stronger so I thought I'd call the birth center. The midwife called me back and said she would sleep at the birth center but to call and come it when it felt right. I took a bath and thought it couldn't hurt to go to the center since the contractions weren't stopping but were still really mild. So I woke everyone up at about 3. We got to the birth center at about a quarter to four. My contractions were quite a bit stronger. I was on the monitor for about 15 minutes and only had 1 full contraction and a half one but then they let me get into the tub anyway (THANK GOD. I just wanted to be in the tub). Oh, I was 5 cm dilated.

I loved being in the tub. I got in at 4 AM. My sister put in a CD: Jan Garbeck's Officium. After that we listened to B-tribe's Sensual Sensual. There was a 3rd CD but I didn't really hear it at that point.

I don't really remember much at this point. I will have to ask the midwife. I do think it was pretty regular until about 5 AM or so? (A guess) I do know I moved around a lot more in the tub trying to find the right position--the baby's heart rate went down if I laid on my left side, so I avoided that. When I was at 9 cm and thinking how bad this was (but I wasn't begging for mercy just yet!) the midwife said I was almost fully dilated and I wanted to cry! I wanted to hear it was almost over!

I felt a lot of pressure and I think what happened was that as soon as I was dilated, I pushed! The baby's head came right out! There was NO break and NO crowning. Just intense holymother-something-is-coming-out--they said one push and her head was out but you know, I think it was really two or three. It was so fast I swear it felt like I was going to just bust open. (And I did tear a teeny bit. One stitch which she would not even have done but she said she figured I'd be on my feet a bit more this time... ) It felt like I was thrashing around and begging for help. I felt very desperate and not in control at all. It was SO weird to feel how strong my uterus was! I felt like I was just along for the ride and could not get off. I don't think they liked how I was breathing but everything was so strong and intense and I felt so helpless. My mom said she could hear me from the parking lot.

As soon as the baby's head came out, it was much better and I didn't want to push anymore. The midwife firmly said I should push the rest of the body out now and I did and she same right out. As soon as that happened, I felt instantly normal. I felt elated and surprised! My baby was so beautiful but also SO tiny (Fiona was over 8 pounds) and SO dark! She had this head full of dark hair, darker skin than her sister, and dark eyes. She had perfect little nails that reminded me of doll nails. Her skin was very dry looking and peeling.

I swear she smiled.

Then she cried for a bit and I held her close and we wrapped her up and just hung out for a bit while the water from the tub drained. She nursed a bit--maybe 15-20 minutes later? She was born at 6:22 AM. When we saw she was a girl, we gave her the name of Sophia Tyne.

The placenta plopped out with a token push maybe 5 minutes after her birth. It was very peaceful after the birth and she has been nursing really well. Recovery seems to be much faster this time, too.

Fiona was there for some of the birth. My contractions weren't as productive when she was there, so she spent most of the labor with my mom in the playroom. She missed the head coming out (it took the midwife by surprise, too! She said "oh there's the head!") because she was having a poopy diaper change (ha! so typical of life) but she saw her sister coming from me out of the water into my arms. She did keep coming in the room to check on me (after the REALLY loud noises she kept asking if the baby was here yet?) and to talk to my friend Ame who explained the noises and what was going on. She would leave when she saw that everything was normal and all right. She has been very sweet and curious about her new sister but has become quite possessive of her daddy and is acting out a bit more in small ways."

I am so glad of the presence of the people there...Doug, Fiona, my mother, my sister Ellen Aim, my friend Ame, and the midwife who not only delivered Sophia, but also delivered Fiona, and most unfortunately, is no longer practicing at the birth center. It's a real loss; she is a fabulous midwife.

Happy Birthday, Sophia.

They're Taking the Hobbits to Isengard!

Now I must infect you with this. I'd say this is work-safe.

Tagged

Ok, let's see if I can post something! I have posts started, I swear, but not finished. So look in the next 2 days or so for prior posts. Doug left about 2 PM Friday for a conference in Montreal and he won't be back until Monday at about dinner time. Fun this is not.

Ok, let me do this thing I was tagged for by Ellen Aim!

1) Would you bungee jump?

No, I would not. Not with a box, not with a fox. Not in a house, not with a mouse.

2) If you could do anything in the world for a living what would it be?

I would travel the world and eat and write about it. Or I would open my own cafe--kid friendly.

3) Your favorite fictional animal?

Totoros.

4) One person who never fails to make you laugh?

One person? Hm. There is more than one, but I'll say Ellen Aim.

5) When you were 12 years old what did you want to be when you grew up?

I don't think I knew what I wanted to be. 12 was not a good year for me. I just wanted friends.

6) What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

It varies. I might nurse Sophia. I might sneak downstairs for tea. I might use the restroom. I might fein sleep in the hopes that others will go back to sleep.

7) Have you ever gone to therapy?

Not yet.

8) If you could have one super power what would it be?

I like the flying super power. Yes, I'll take that, although transporting sounds good, too, and I'd like that this month, actually.

9) Your favorite cartoon character?

Favorite? I guess right now I really like Bob and Weebl.

10) Do you go to church?

No, I do not.

11) What is your best childhood memory?

The best? Hm. I agree, I think it has to be Christmas mornings. I have other good memories, but they are sort of vague. That could be sleep depravation at this point, however.

12) Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?

No.

13) Do you own a gun?

No.

14) Have you ever hit someone of the opposite sex?

I think I slapped a boy in nursery school or first grade. I was trying to be playful. Yes, I am totally embarrased by this.

15) Have you ever sung in front of a large number of people?

Does junior high choir count? Oh, and some play in elementary school. That's it.

16) What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?

Eyes and shoulders.

17) What is your biggest mistake?

Not flossing enough.

18) Say something totally random about yourself.

I am wearing 4 rings.

19) Has anyone ever said that you looked like a celebrity?

I've been told I look like Katherine Hepburn, which makes me feel great. I don't really think I do, but that's ok. I'm also a LOT shorter.

20) What is the most romantic thing someone of the opposite sex has done for you?

Doug often takes the girls out or entertains them while I take a bath. That's real love. It really comes down to the little things every day that is true romance for me. That sentence doesn't really seem right, but I'm leaving it. I do still remember the huge jasmine plant Doug brought to me at work while we were in Florida.

21) Do you actually read these when other people fill them out?

Yes, I love to read other peoples' responses, especially if I know them.

Compost Happens

Whoa, sorry about the pause there! It's been busy while I try to do everything before our Texas trip. Not only are there things to do for the trip itself, but everything we want to do before the onset of winter should also be done before the trip (well, except firewood, which we may or may not be able to get at all because, once again, we slacked off on getting that done early). For instance, we bought about 100 bulbs and planted them in a newly made bed with compost we made over the past year! We got some beautiful tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, crocus, and muscari. Hopefully, the deer and moles and other digging creatures will stay away. I guess I don't have to worry about the daffodils, but we have mostly tulips. I love tulips. I am so tickled by the compost; that it actually worked. Actually, it worked but there were still egg shells and avocado skins in there. Everything else became dark moist soil. Very cool!

So Doug is in Montreal from Friday afternoon to Monday evening/afternoon. Sophia has a cold and is apparently teething. She is very needy and clingy. Fiona's saucy. I'm bored and I'm lonely and I hate business trips. Soon we will all be going to Texas, which I'm very excited about, as long as the getting there and back part of it goes smoothly. I just realized that they won't be able to use those trays on the airplane because they'll be in their ginormous Britax car seats. They are really big. They take up a lot of room. I'd check them at the gate, but there is a safety reason for little ones to be in car seats, so I'm tempted to sacrifice convenience for safety. I hope we don't piss off too many people, but there you go.

Next week is our last full week here but Fiona has two days off school for teacher workdays or something. Our parent/teacher conference is Thursday. Fiona's friend Ellie's parents offered to watch Sophia and Fiona so both Doug and I could go. I hope that works out for Sophia! Well, if it doesn't, we'll just bring her, I guess and hope for the best.

We don't seem to have wasps inside (yet?) but Doug has been more active with the wasp poison in the attic this year. I have no idea what I would do without Doug, because I am way too chicken to do this. I can barely GO in the attic.

I got pumpkins for carving but I just have to find the energy to do it. I got ingredients for birthday cake (Sophia turns 2 on Wednesday!) and I suspect it will be a mini version of the wedding cake. No strawberries, though. They are god-awful up here. They are crunchy and half white. Yes, I bought some out of desperation.

Triana

Last Thursday through Sunday, we had Triana up for a visit and what a time we had!  After picking her up at the airport, we took Triana to the Wayside Restaurant for a lovely lunch and a maple creme pie.  I would like to point out that this is also a very child friendly restaurant--not always easy to find!  Friday, after we picked Fiona up from school, we all went out for pizza, then down to King Arthur Flour and the Montshire Science Museum.  At King Arthur, I got some faboo blue-iridescent sugar and food coloring made by Americolor, the red of which I'll be using on Ellen Aim's wedding cake (hey, she wants a red cake!).  I also got some Whole Grain Chocolate Fudge Waffle Mix.  Ok, look, I never EVAH buy a baking mix, but Triana has given me some of their mixes, and I love to use whole grains in my baking (and King Arthur is really pushing the whole grains in their products, I suspect because they have a whole grain cookbook out now.)  You know, for a non-yeasted waffle batter, it is totally scrumptious.  Triana also bought me this whisk.  It looks very cool and I can't wait to use it!  Doug made fried chicken either Friday or Saturday night.  It's all a blur.  I think it was Saturday.  I can't remember everything, I may have to come back to this post and add on things!

Saturday Triana and I dashed to Vermont Chocolatiers, then everyone went to the farmer's market, Ben and Jerry's factory outlet, and the Adams Apple Orchard and Farm Market for apple picking.  Sunday we just chilled because it was cold and rainy.  Doug and Fiona went to the open house at the school while Sophia and I took Triana back to the airport :(  Oh well, we'll get to see her at Ellen Aim's wedding in a few weeks!  Expect plenty of blog enteries about the anxiety of taking a trip with two energetic kids.  I really am looking forward to it, though.  We haven't been to Texas in far too long.

By the way, my MySpace profile has now been made private, so if you want to see it, I believe I either have to add you or you have to invite me. I am not sure; I'm still figuring it out. If you don't want to bother, don't worry. It will remain fairly static, I'm sure, and you won't miss anything if you just stick to this blog.

 

MySpace Sheep

Ok, there is no potluck at all. There is now an open house on Sunday. So Doug will take Fiona and Sophia and I will take Triana to the airport---and Triana arrives tomorrow! Squee! I have to clean out the room she'll be staying in.

Ok, I have caved and I now have a MySpace account. I did it out of curiosity and because once it's up, I don't think I have to keep up with it so much. I have a hard enough time trying to write here everyday!

The playdate with Fiona's friend yesterday was awesome! They played so well and Sophia napped nearly the whole playdate. Playdate days are so much easier--even when Sophia doesn't nap.

Jeepers Peepers

No potluck yesterday. They cancelled due to rain. It's moved to the 1st, but we're taking Triana to the airport then. I switched dishes with someone and she is making a vegetarian chili and I'm making vegan cookies.

Yesterday we did go to the library's centenial birthday party and had cake and punch. Fiona got a $10 book store gift certificate for winning the poster contest in her age category. Her picture was taken, too, so I'll have to pick up a Northfield News to see if it got in.

Yes, Triana will be here Thursday through Sunday and we are so excited! I heard on the radio that peak foliage is coming up, so she will be just in time for that. I think we'll have to peep and pick apples. I have no idea when we are going to make this practice cake. A lot to do in four days! People who come up to Vermont to look at the autumn foliage are called "Peepers", which I find amusing.

Fiona said her tummy hurt on the way to school today, so we're still dealing with that. Now it seems more like either a food intolerance (she just had a huge bowl of cereal with milk) or maybe anxiety over school. I am not sure what to do at this point. It's hard to get a four year old to talk about her feelings.

Happy Autumn!

It must be all that cool air because it's a quarter to 8 AM and Sophia is still asleep. Naturally, I have an eye appointment this morning, but Doug is taking the day off so all should be well.

We're going to have some sort of little autumn party (just the family!) but I am not sure what to do now. I already made cupcakes, but that was just because. They are coconut and they are very nice but I forgot to put vanilla bean in them (I'm out of extract). The cupcakes look more like spring than autumn. I will mention here that I am a coconut fanatic. I made chocolate tapioca pudding the day before with coconut milk and it was sort of like a almond joy pudding (I also put almond extract in). Fiona didn't like it--I thought it was probably the texture, which I admit may be an acquired taste--but she said it was the taste. It was not that sweet, more bittersweet, which is why it was so good, of course. Oh well, more for me. Sophia inhaled it. This is the sand connoisseur, however. But back to the autumn celebration. Maybe we'll go for a hike if it doesn't rain and then come back for spiced cider? Make some sort of craft with leaves? I am not all that crafty--I have to find craft guides and use the internet to come up with projects for Fiona. Plus we can't keep ALL her crafts and I feel like a horrible mother throwing any piece of paper she draws on away. Believe me, I have. I've had to, okay? Leave me alone!

So this weekend is Fiona's school potluck, which includes both schools, and I find that odd because the two schools aren't exactly close to each other and the parents don't know each other and the kids don't know each other so why...? Anyway, before that is the local library's centennial birthday party which we are going to because Fiona won the poster contest in her division. I'm making "Chili Non Carne" from Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything which will probably end up pretty different from the recipe because...it's chili. It's not even real chili. It's spiced beans with condiments and chips. I like that, but it's not chili. I don't even know why I am using a recipe. What can I say, I love cookbooks.

We Can Dance if We Want To

School went well today, but Fiona went up to nap of her own will (Sophia not so much, of course). She still seems not quite back to her old self, but hopefully that won't be long. She's scheduled to have a play date with her friend, Ellie, at our house next Tuesday. Ellie's dad volunteered to pick up Fiona with Ellie and drive them here. I think it will be okay. Ellie has the same kind of car seat Fiona does (I'd drop Fiona's car seat off with her in the morning, like Doug used to do for me). Fiona is going to be crazy at the idea of going home in Ellie's car. Now I just have to figure out what we should all have for lunch.

Doug bought Fiona her own pair of tap shoes, so Fiona has been wearing those while Sophia wears the shoes Fiona has been borrowing from the school. Tap tap tap on our wood floors! I think Sophia would really like a tutu similar to Fiona's. Too bad we'll be taking the tap shoes back tomorrow!

I watched the entire season of House, Season 2 and now I'm left with nothing until whenever the third season comes out on DVD. Doug needs to catch up, so House is back in the queue on Netfux. Wait. I bet I can see it on iTunes. Damn you, iTunes!

Back to School

Due to popular demand, here are pictures!



Here's Fiona in her new dance duds.



Sophia taking a break from raking leaves.



Fiona resting in the leaves.



Fiona's back at school today and I'm just waiting for the phone to ring. She has a cough but it is really mild and seems to happen just at night and in the early morning. I gave her some OTC cough syrup which I never do unless she needs to sleep at night. So I met the other class's teacher's assistant and I didn't get a great first impression. She introduced herself, which was good points, but then her manner with Fiona was sort of impatient and distainful. It's sort of a vague impression I got and it may be a false one. Good grief, though, the day is just starting. I can sound like she did, but it's usually about 4 PM. It was pick up and drop off time, so we did need to act in a timely fashion (Fiona likes to chat and show her teachers things and she hasn't been there in 4 days now, including the weekend) but just something in her manner didn't sit well with me. I'll give the benefit of the doubt this time, but the next time I should say something. I am just not sure what.

Last Monday morning--or maybe this was Sunday night--we knew she wasn't going to school, as did she and she said she needed her special things, which were: "1. Ginger Ale (editor's note: I think this is the first time she's had ginger ale), 2. Crackers, 3. Hot Soup, 4. Show, 5. Snuggling, 6. with Daddy, 7. with Mommy if it’s a work day" in that order, with the numbers. Glad to see where I stand, ha!

Dying of the Cute

Ever have those days where you just lounge and gaze at the chaos that is your home? Yep, that is today over here. Fiona did throw up, so that's mostly the reason. No apple picking. We hope to go later, especially with Triana in late September. The TV has been on every minute of the day. I rented movies (we don't have broadcast TV, so we rely on our DVD/VCR contraption).

I keep forgetting to mention two things. One. I got most of my hair chopped off and it's now at my chin line. I may get it shorter. I have this really thick, curly/wavy, tends-to-frizz hair. I always get the comment from hairdressers: "Wow. You have a lot of hair". It was pretty long, down to mid back or so. Now I can actually get my fingers through it in the shower while conditioning it. And it's also a lot lighter (in weight). I splurged and got highlights, too. Copper and blonde. Maybe I'll post a picture. Maybe not.

Two. Fiona is taking dance classes! She started last Thursday. Yesterday (when I could swear she was totally better) we went out after Doug got off work and bought her a very blue long sleeved leotard, black tights, black ballet shoes, and this totally adorable blue tutu that isn't foo-foo so much as it hangs in strips and has blue roses on the ends. She loves all of it and she, naturally, is so freaking cute--so much so that I can't even bear it. Sophia joined in and said "Oh, Feenona! Cute dress!" Hard not to buy two. We still need tap shoes, but we are borrowing the school's for now.

After today, I would like to put the TV in the attic for a few months. It won't happen, it's too heavy, but maybe I could hide it...

An Autumnal Update

Whew, what a week! It's not over yet, either.

This was the first week of school on the regular schedule with all the kids. Fiona had a good time, she says, but I got a call from the teacher Thursday saying Fiona was having some behavioural problems...screaming, inappropiate body language (that is not exactly what she said, but the gist of it...I know what she means, I think---when she doesn't like what you have to say, she pushes her hands out at you and makes all sorts of colorful faces, maybe covers her ears, turns away, etc), crying, defiant, bothering the other kids at their work. Really, nothing that sounded unusual--she acts like this at home from time to time. We had a gentle talk with her about expectations at school and Friday was much better. Sigh. I am so over the screaming tantrums. We're at the end of the so called rope. I know the saying "this too shall pass" but WHEN? She is four and a half. I love that she is independent and questioning and assertive, but I want her to use her powers for good.

The weekend before was the La Leche League (LLL) "baby sale" where we sell clothes, toys, and gear and it looks like it will be our best year ever. Doug is working probably all day today (a Saturday) which sucks rocks and there is a LLL meeting Tuesday on weaning which is usually a pretty popular topic, and is fresh in everyone's minds after the baby sale (the LLL meetings, not weaning!). I am exhausted. I don't go to the October meeting because there is just too much going on that month, but October is also filled with delights. At least October will be fabulous in that we finally get to visit my family and I get to see Ellen Aim and Cornithian tie the knot but the weekend (or two?) before that, Doug is off for work again to Montreal. He said he would stop in at LUSH for me, so that will be nice!

The girls have had some sort of tummy bug, but so far it's only meant messy diapers and knowing where the bathroom is at all times. Sophia seems to be "aaaah done!" with that, but now Fiona's tummy hurts. She certainly hasn't been eating any raw bagged spinach. Or any spinach for that matter. I think she is getting better, but the length (a little over a week now) concerns me. I guess we will see where we are Monday.

We're hopefully going apple picking tomorrow where they should have fresh tiny warm doughnuts and maybe some animals. Tomorrow is supposed to be about 80F which is unseasonably warm. We may or may not be going with one of Fiona's classmates. We went to the farmer's market today, just the three of us and it went okay. Fiona picked out some little artichokes (which I am not sure what to do with, but she loves the artichoke leaves from the "big" artichokes...I guess I'll show her where the heart is, and we'll go from there and maybe toss it with pasta...) and wanted blue potatoes, but none were to be found. I got some mizuna, mixed basil, ham steak (say that like Homer Simpson, I can't seem to say it any other way), eggs (I forgot we already have 2 dozen so we're going to have lots of egg dishes and baked goods this week!), flat leaf parsley, chantrelles (hooray for autumn!), POBLANOS (I nearly got down on my knees), and vibrant fresh flowers. Today is gloomy and cool, so I needed the flowers. I'm going to take a page from my friend Ame and try to have fresh flowers around more often in the winter. Winter is just so dark and colorless. It doesn't have to be, though! Fiona ate an apple samosa and a pumpkin sugar cookie, Sophia had a veggie samosa and the same kind of cookie, and I had a turkey samosa. I will really miss the farmer's market! It's over in October.

Fiona picked out some bulbs and I hope to pick out more and get them planted with her help in a few weeks. This year I swear I will stash away some bulbs so I can force them. We slacked and did not order firewood in the spring/summer, so now we're having a hard time (again) finding some. I even wrote where we got it last year on the calendar, but they did not call me back this year.

The leaves are definitely changing, but we aren't at peak yet. The compost pile will be so happy to have some leaves in it. If I can just get out there and rake them up...

Hydrogen Sulfide "Burps"

The other day, Fiona and I went to get Sophia after her nap. As she sat up, she farted. Fiona laughed and said "Sophia's bottom burped!"

After another nap, Sophia and I were reading How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?. She pointed to all sorts of things, saying their name. Then she pointed to T. Rex and said "T. Rex!". She'll be two on Oct. 18. I think she pointed to and said "Stegosaurus", too, but I am not 100% about that. She said "T. Rex" twice, however (correctly).

Yesterday, we marched in the Labor Day parade in our little town of Northfield--we were with the Library. I had great trepidation about this because I don't like marching in front of a lot of people and crowds...doesn't sound good, right? But it was fun. Fiona dressed up in her unicorn costume and she was a big hit. She stayed in Doug's arms or on his shoulders. I pushed Sophia in her stroller while carrying a sign (that said "Storytime"...we most of us had signs with something we liked about the library). Sophia was totally relaxed and even waved to people.