December Album: Happy End of 2011

making merry

The top three reasons to make merry this Christmas (pictured):

It’s Leo’s first Christmas, and he couldn’t be cuter.  And, actually, he’s becoming quite a handful himself.  What?  Not this sweet face…

He is into EVERYTHING.  He can climb stairs with ease – if the gate is not up, he will make it to the landing and start messing with my stone rooster up there.  Eep.  He likes to open drawers and empty them (napkins, bibs, bowls, toys).  He loves to lean on my laundry baskets full of clothes and start tossing all of the clothes out.  He loves taking every magnet off of the refrigerator.  My house has been ransacked repeatedly.  Serenity now.

He eats a TON.  We jokingly call him “fourthmeal”, referring to the fact that when Leo is at CityKids, he eats three meals and THEN comes home and has another with us.  What an appetite. 

He is finding his voice.  Leo yells when he’s hungry, when he’s frustrated, when he’s done eating, and when he loses a toy (or it gets taken by his overprotective – controlling? – big sister).  It adds to the mix of yelling that occurs between his siblings when they are playing or when they are arguing.  So there is constant cacophony.   I know, I said they are all three reasons to make merry.  And so…

Leo’s stocking is complete!  After finishing it, I decided that we’d all get some flare this Christmas.  Why not?  I got back into crocheting and since my sewing room/closet is the staging area for our new bathroom upstairs, crochet seems a perfect solution to my urge to create.  I’m amazed that all of this was found for free online: Christmas tree, poinsettia leaves (inspired by this picture), mittens, wreath, and holly leaf.  Half the fun is hunting down the patterns.  And there’s so much more…  Some day, I’ll give back, but for now I’m appreciative for all who freely share their patterns.

I also decided that with all the Douglas firs in our neighborhood, the kids and I would collect fallen leaves and I would make our first annual winter wreath.  It was super easy.  I have this branchy-wreath thing hanging on our door already, and it made a perfect backing.  Just needed some wire and cutters.  Voila!  I also used some holly berries from our neighbor’s tree that poke through our fence. 

   

Aside from the wreath and the stockings, I managed to put together a Christmas card holder that makes me happy every time I look at it – because it keeps filling up with sweet photos and thoughts from dear friends.  This I made by wrapping felt and ribbons on a cork board I’ve had since our college days at Texas A&M.  I made it frantically one morning while the kids were doing crafts and Leo was asleep.  The kids love it too. 

   

Best way to display cards ever.  I should look at this every time I’m grumpy.  It’s so darn heartwarming.

Now, make merry!

ornamental sentiments

Dean asked me recently what my favorite ornament is.  Wow, what a question.  I hadn’t really thought about it before, but when I did, all of my favorite ornaments are tied to a memory.  It was nice sharing them with him.  Here are my favorites:

Venetian Blue glass ornament from our trip to Venice in 2001 (a few weeks after September 11), for a friend’s wedding in Tuscany – I told Dean there were so many beautiful glass ornaments in the shop where we bought this that it was almost impossible to pick one;  the hollowed out and carved squash from Maui on our trip a year ago;

   

the clay Fetish Bear, bought in Taos because it was the name of our room at the Bed & Breakfast on our honeymoon there; a painted clay miniature bowl from Mexico (not really an ornament, but I couldn’t resist that year buying a bunch and giving some of them away as ornaments – it reminds me of all the little clay plates and bowls in Frida Kahlo’s kitchen);

   

the all-leather cowboy hat from a Christmas shop in San Antonio that I love visiting (my sister Rita also bought us our star tree-topper there) – plus it’s just so darn cool-looking; the pewter Faneuil Hall ornament that was purchased in Boston after Matthew and I were engaged there;

    

one of many woven straw ornaments from Panama (my birthplace) from my Granny’s collection – this type of ornament also adorned my family’s Christmas tree growing up, so it holds a dear memory for me; and finally, the olive wood Bethlehem ornament that I bought from a church craft sale here in Portland because all one-piece, and it’s just so simple.

   

By the way, his favorites are Winnie-the-Pooh, Humpty Dumpty, and Captain America (all Hallmark editions, given to him by my Aunt Carrie – she knows how to pick ‘em).  Fiona loves all of her Santas (also given by Aunt Carrie) – especially Santa in the boat and hot-air balloon. 

It was one of our best conversations in a while.  Aren’t ornaments the best?  I love unwrapping these ornaments every year, along with a flood of memories.

Thanksgiving resolution? SERENITY NOW.

I admit, I'm ready for resolutions again.  Maybe it's a sign that I need to get back to list-making.  My recent yoga comeback (which has happened every day but twice!) re-invigorated a little self-reflection about the year of JOY.  It has been a challenging word for me to self-regulate all year, to be completely honest.  I don't mean to sound ungrateful - there is indeed SO MUCH in my life that gives me reason to be joyful - I just believe I'm lacking a critical prerequisite to do so holistically.

I've noticed more and more recently, that if I want to embody joy, I must first embody: calm. peace. relaxation. tranquility.  It hit me this year in October, my crazy time of year, as I'm running around like the proverbial chicken, trying to fulfill birthday and Halloween expectations (my own, probably, above all), within four hectic weeks.  It's next to impossible to feel joyful during the most joyful circumstances, without some inner peace.  Yeah, I need to chill out.  Yoga is helping me to realize some moments of meditation - to clear my mind, stretch my body, and let my tensions melt away.  I haven't done this all year!  How can I hope to emanate joy to those around me when I am not at peace, physically and emotionally?

For this new year (and why wait until the new year?), I'm taking a second cut to holistically embody joy, because it is such a worthy and wonderful virtue - I am once again excited about this goal!  Even more importantly, I will first seek to embody peace.  Ommmmm....

October Album: my pumpkins

October is always an eventful month, starting with Matthew’s birthday, and ending on Halloween, with Dean turning 5 right smack in the middle – so much to celebrate.

Here we are!  A family photo in one take – this was photographed on Matt’s birthday at the kids’ school open house. 

This month, Leo loves to stand!  He is upright constantly, where he can get a better view and get into everything.  He’s also cutting some more teeth!  October brought one bottom tooth, for a total of three, and he’s definitely showing signs of some top teeth.  It doesn’t stop him from being incredibly active, but he lets us know when it bothers him.

  

For Halloween, we celebrated with three pumpkins – Dean and Fiona both wanted scary jack-o-lanterns (Dean’s has the goatee), and we made one winking one with three bottom teeth for you-know-who.

Costumes were pretty snappy – nothing homemade this year (who am I kidding?  Have I ever??).  Here’s Dean trying on his Darth Vader costume. 

  

We got to dress them up for school this year, too, which they loved.  Matthew and I LOVE this photo of Fiona’s class.  All of the princesses are in taffeta and rhinestones, and our own sweet Buzz Lightyear, the prettiest Buzz there ever was.  Fiona doesn’t just want to dress like her favorite character.  She wants to BE him.  To infinity and beyond.

On Halloween night, we tried to set our kids on the steps with their costumes, but Leo wouldn’t have it.  So, even though I’m unadorned, it’s the only way we could capture my three pumpkins.

What fun :) 

a brighter day

I felt a little guilty writing such a grumpy post over the weekend.  My pregnancy is definitely slowing me down; at the same time I am feeling the pressure (self-imposed, of course) to complete some projects before the baby is born and to get the kids moving outside despite the unending rain.  Not exactly great odds for me,when I am trying to summon my inner (and outer) joy.  BE. JOY.  To top it off, I knew I had a long day ahead of me on Monday, a day in which Matthew not only doesn't have the holiday; he is skiing after work into the evening in a charity fundraiser.  Waaah me.

So, today, JOY be summoned - in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. day - we took advantage of the free zoo day, we met a friend and her son, and we had a wonderful time!  The sun even came out!  We got home for a late lunch, a long nap, the kids enjoyed a nice bubble bath, a pajama party and we watched "Finding Nemo".  My favorite kind of day.

 

JOY for the New Year

Happy New Year!  What a year!  2010 started out with a New Year's party, posole, and the goal to spend more time with friends and family.  This year we hosted New Year's again, complete with posole and an East Coast countdown for the kids, who didn't quite make it to midnight.  Matthew even led the kids (13 of them!) in a practice countdown (so they'd know what to do - all of them were 4 years old and under) with percussion instruments and kazoos.  Fun times.  Oh, how New Year's Eves have changed...

2010 was an unpredictable year.  I started out with so many goals, and changed course so many times.  I accomplished some of the goals, some not so much. We were able to complete our will, make the final payment on our Subaru, plan our trip to Hawaii to celebrate 10 years of marriage, and figure out a way for me to earn my project management certificate.  Whew.

And then the beginning of my pregnancy spurred a halt in the completion of anything (which lasted a few months).  When I found out that we would become a family of FIVE in March 2011, all my energy seemed to evaporate as this new reality sunk in.  I waited almost 18 weeks before I let the cat out of the bag publicly.  There were so many questions I anticipated that I wouldn't know the answer to, and I really didn't want to hear the questions, e.g. Are you going to stop working?  How much time are you taking off?  Are you going to get a new car?  Are you going to move to a bigger house?  What are you going to do about daycare?  On and on...  I still get the questions and I still don't know all the answers, but it just doesn't matter.  In this two-kid town of Portland, we will have three kids.  Done.  We bought a mini-van, and I kind of like it.  We'll have three kids in daycare for a few months until Dean is in kindergarten, and we're not the first family that has done it.  So freaking what.  Somehow we'll manage.  After all, I am #3 child in my family of SIX, and if my parents were ever freaked out about having three kids when I was born, and then one more after my brother was born, I never knew it.  We were normal.

As I was coming out of my pregnancy brain coma, I worked on Fiona's baby album (which I managed to complete before she turned two!  Yay!), and I started getting excited about the baby in my belly.  Holding Fiona for the first time, introducing her to her big brother, taking her home and bathing her, feeding her, watching her grow and change and develop into a feisty little girl - it all happened quickly and naturally.  She and Dean are now peas in a pod.  So our pod will get a little bigger.

We started sharing our news finally this fall, and I actually was surprised by all of the support (why was this surprising?).  We took some steps back into our social scene, hosting parties to celebrate Matt's, Dean's, and Fiona's birthdays, and we even were convinced to throw another New Year's bash.  My creativity was sparked when my mom visited in November.  She and I were a bustling sewing team, creating skirts and dresses for Fiona, and trading tips on the best sewing blogs (me) and how to fully appreciate the power and skill of my Bernina (Mom).  I have been on a crafting frenzy since she left.

I'm back, and I'm enjoying this sudden burst of energy.

2011 holds so much promise.  My sister issued a one-word challenge for the new year, of one virtue or attitude that we should try to embody.  I immediately thought of JOY.  This new year began with both my children and my husband celebrating joyfully among friends, making all kinds of happy noise to welcome the new year, and the baby in my belly responded with kicks and movement.  For the moment, no one was worrying, anticipating answers to all the unknown questions or challenges of the upcoming year.  It seems so simple, but after the last few months, I want this self-reminder to be jubilant - in thanksgiving of the present and hope for the future.  I will try to embody this feeling of joy.

Santa’s workshop

For Christmas this year, we made a felt board for each of the kids with three different stories and some people, paper-doll style. I found silhouette images online, printed them out, cut some templates, and went to town.  I never usually work with felt, but this is fun!  Matt made the boards with thin plywood and we glued the green felt backing.  The only sewing required were the pouches in the back to hold all the pieces.

Three little pigs:
Three billy goats gruff (does everything come in threes?):
Little red hen (OMG she has three little chicks!  totally subconscious):
Dress-up! 

each felt board has a pouch in the back:
     
playing with the boards on Christmas day:
They were getting creative, mixing and matching the pieces.  Dean thought that the wolf and the dog should play together, the people should live in the house with a cat, and the little red hen story needed a pig. 
I am such a fan of homemade presents.  I also somehow managed to sew three pajama sets for Dean, a knight tunic (Matt designed the special “D” shield), and a skirt for Fiona. 
    
Is it nesting?  Last year we cranked out a kitchen with a cart, a faucet, some door knobs, and leftover marmoleum from the kitchen floor – all of which was collecting dust in the basement.  That was all Matt’s creation, though I sewed some play food with leftover fabric scraps.  Check out the spaghetti, bacon, eggs and pancakes with butter!  I think we just like pretending to be Santa’s workshop.
  (see how little she is!)

I’m definitely back in my sewing and crafting groove for now – one last hurrah before baby is born.  Now it’s time for more curtains.