Little Tiny Hangers

Things that make me smile on a day like this

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:10:00 +0000

The view of the pristine, snow covered neighborhood first thing in the morning.

The feeling of accomplishment in the sight of my neatly shoveled walks and drive, still early enough to let the sun help melt away the remnants (At least, it would have been early enough, had the temperature risen above the single digits. Oh well.)

The sound of my brother-in-law's voice on the phone, asking if he can come and take my two oldest girls for the afternoon. He's pulling them around on a sled and playing with them in the fort he built as a surprise for them even as I type.

The knowledge that my mother-in-law has spent the day baking her fantastic array of Christmas cookies, and the hope that perhaps my children will come home with a few after they "help" her when the need to warm up from playing the snow.

Two tins of home made chex mix stowed way in the pantry toward the weekend.

A warm home, comfy clothes and a cold can of Coke.

I sound a little humbug when I talk about winter weather usually. The work of dressing kids is multiplied, as is the laundry and the mopping and other manual labor (read: shoveling). But I appreciate the beauty of this world God created in all its seasons. And there is so much to be thankful for. Something that is made crystal clear when the weather reminds us how hard life could be. Think of those poor pioneers who first settled this land! I cannot imagine what life must have been like for them. I think I'd be sad to live somewhere that had no snow. I'll try to stop complaining and enjoy it.

Check, check and check

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:08:00 +0000

Finished - a whole slew of over-the-top sugary treats for the kiddies at the party.

Finished - a big box full of home made cheesy breadsticks (which according to the directions can keep for up to a week at room temperature - PLEASE let that be true!)

Finished - the first of Ruth's two dental appointments to get cavities filled. Sad. Marianne lost her first tooth; Ruth got her first couple cavities.

You will realize that last one is a pretty serious accomplishment if you've seen the weather reports for this part of the country lately. I drove way to the south end of town (okay, so "town" isn't all that huge, but it was still a good 10 miles) to the dentist with my car sliding on the packed snow and in constant fear that I might not find enough traction to get rolling again after each red light. But I really want to get these dentist appointments done in 2009 so we can use the money in our medical savings account to cover the deductible.

I also managed to get in a darn good workout today, as I shoveled our walks and driveway not once, but twice! (I did it once yesterday afternoon as well). My back is aching and I'm contemplating the joys of a hot bath and a glass of red wine... but my craft project for the upcoming bible study gift exchange is calling to me. I think I'll compromise and have the glass of wine while I sew. My apologies in advance for any crooked seams.

Items of interest

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:28:00 +0000

Finished... A quadruple batch of "Spiced Beef Empanadas", made and frozen, to be cooked for our party next weekend. Recipes including words like "can be frozen for up to one month" and "bake from frozen" and "keep warm at 250 degrees" are my friends as I plan for this event. I'm trying to do as much ahead of time as possible to allow for the most enjoyment of my friends' company as possible.

Lost... One tooth. Somebody thinks she's big stuff now that her first one has come out. She wiggled it non-stop for about two hours, and her labors paid off.
See how tiny that gap is? That's because her teeth are jam packed in there. She had a dental cleaning yesterday, and the dentist reminded me for the third time that we should be setting some money aside now for the braces to come.

Keeping me up late... Other than the requisite fairy-ing required in response to the above "Lost" item, I've been sucked into some craftiness! I can't post pictures yet because the products are gifts-to-be. But I worked up one of these items, saw how easy and cute it was, and now I'm on a roll. I'm trying to whip up three of them for a gift exchange the day after our upcoming party. Brilliant, I know. I have a back up gift idea in case I can't pull the crafty fun off in time.

Brrrr!

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:48:00 +0000

At first, when Marianne and Ruth asked if they could go outside to play before quiet time, I said, "No way! It's freezing!" (Seriously, it's 23 degrees as I type). But then my brain started working and I realized that they weren't asking ME to play outside. So I told them to get their coats, hats and gloves and head out back. Some days, it's really nice to have kids old enough to do their own thing. Now I'm getting the kitchen cleaned, with Meg's "help", before quiet time, so I might actually get to rest a little this afternoon myself! Or get some appetizers prepped and frozen for the big party coming up.

I can hardly believe they're still out there, though. It's really stinking cold. This should assure good naps all around!

The best laid plans

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:08:00 +0000

I baked two big batches of cookies today and stashed them away in tins for my upcoming holiday bash.

The kid assigned to bring treats to God Teens tonight walked in empty handed (and I'm sure still has no idea that he missed his cue).

The downside is that I have to bake that many more cookies in the next week and a half.

The upside is that I don't feel too bad about having just a couple more while I work on our household finances tonight... because I'm going to have to bake some more anyway.

Copy-catting

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:34:00 +0000

Renee doesn't know this, but I'm doing a huge amount of my Christmas shopping by stalking her around etsy. She's such a cool sister-in-law to have. I'm not actually buying the exact same things she is (most of the time), but I like letting her do the hunting for me. She's way better at it than I am!

Okay, I'm not really doing ALL my shopping that way, but I did make my first etsy purchase a week or so ago from a site Renee recommended. And I've made several more purchases from etsy since. I get this good feeling inside from shopping etsy - like I'm helping some stay-at-home-mom be able to stay home. I'm sure that's not actually the case for most of the shops I've purchased from, but I like the feeling of buying things that are handmade by someone with whom I'm doing business, rather than made in a country thousands of miles away by small children.

I &hearts dinner guests

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:06:00 +0000

We had a coworker of Nathaniel's over for dinner tonight. She's the administrative assistant for his group and she's leaving in couple weeks for a new job. He thought it would be nice to invite her to dinner before she goes, as she's offered him a lot of support over the years. It was fun, but there are several reasons that I was especially happy about having her to our home!

For starters, it forced me to have the house tidy and the table set for dinner by the time Nathaniel got home from work. It probably sounds ridiculous to many of you, because I often feel like most of my mom-friends are way more organized than me, but for the past few weeks I've found it nearly impossible to have things together when Nathaniel gets home. Usually he walks in at the pinnacle of the day's chaos and I'm begging him to help clear the table and get dishes down because Meg is screaming for food and I'm in the throes of final dinner prep. I hate that. It makes me feel like a failure for the day overall, even if I've accomplished a lot of good things during the hours he was gone. It was refreshing to prove to myself that I CAN have it together.

Secondly, the house is tidy! I know that was sort of covered in the first point, but this time I'm excited because tomorrow is our God Teens meeting, and the house is already clean! All I have to do is keep the girls from playing in the living room or dining room all day, or from making a mess in the bathroom, and I'll be all set. How hard can that be?! Ha! If all else fails, there may be some extra afternoon cartoons tomorrow.

As an added bonus, I have a lot to get done in the next week and a half for a big Christmas party we're hosting. Having the clean house for God Teens taken care of will give me the day tomorrow to work on errands or food prep for the party. Hooray!

Having a dinner guest was a big win-win. Win. Win. All around. I love when I actually feel like I'm ready for the next day. Now I just have to get all the laundry folded before bed so I don't have that hanging over my head. Here's hoping it doesn't take more than an episode or two of some tv show via Netflix to get it done.

Why they love Grandma's house

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:08:00 +0000

This the To Do list that Grandma Sherri put together for the girls when they spent the weekend with her while Nathaniel and I traveled to Savannah. Notice that they did not get around to "Do Chores". Surprise surprise. Oh, and they actually did "Bake cookies", they just didn't get it crossed off the list. For the most part, they accomplished all the tasks they set for themselves. (Don't feel too bad for them that they didn't get around to #6, because they did #14 instead, which was really a better and cooler coffee shop experience for them).

Incredible!

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:53:00 +0000

I used to be on the ball, but now I feel like I'm always the last to arrive, or in this case the last to report on the fun!

My friend Aubrey and her husband, Jeremy, hosted a house concert last night. I'd never heard of such a thing, but I sincerely hope this is not the only one I ever attend. They invited a group of artists into their living room. They rearranged all their furniture, provided excellent food and drink, and allowed a crowd of their friends and family to invade and enjoy.

And BOY DID WE! The musicians were truly amazing. Sarah Sample, Paul Jacobsen, and Ryan Tanner are all performers individually, but also collaborators and friends. I've had a couple of Sarah's cds for a year or more, courtesy of Aubrey, so I knew I loved her music. The men were new to me and a wonderful discovery. Check out Aubrey's and Renee's posts for more about the show. As Nathaniel said tonight, it was wonderful to be able to enjoy the concert without a noisy crowd to listen over. Especially given how beautiful their harmonies were. Seriously, perfection. I wouldn't have wanted to miss a note! (I think the glockenspiel may have been my favorite part, but maybe you had to be there.) Check out the musician's sites for music samples, or download some of their stuff from iTunes. If you enjoy folk music, you won't be disappointed. If you want some song recommendations, drop me a note and I'll tell you my favorites.

Thanks again, Aubrey, for the new experience! And thank you Sarah, Paul and Ryan for the wonderful show. I love my new cds already.

In which I risk sounding like a Savannah tourism ad:

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Nathaniel and I spent the past weekend in Savannah, Georgia. Kid free. His parents very graciously volunteered to watch the girls so that we could escape for some much needed grown up time, and use up some flight vouchers that were nearing expiration. Our choice of destinations was almost, but not quite, random. I'd been to Savannah once previously for about two hours when my college roommate and I stopped there for lunch on a roadtrip. The town was lovely in an old, historic, almost eerie way, and I'd always wanted the opportunity to visit. Nathaniel just wanted somewhere as unlike Vegas as possible this time. Savannah, you fit the bill!

We stayed at a fantastic bed and breakfast, the Eliza Thompson House. It's a home built in the mid-1800s, in the middle of the historic district of Savannah. With the exception of a trip to the beach on Saturday, we parked our car and walked for the entirety of our stay, which is precisely what I'd hoped to be able to do. It was our first B&B experience, and I really enjoyed it. They offered not only breakfast, but a wine and hors d'oeuvres hour before dinner, so guests could visit and discuss dinner plans, followed later in the evening by coffee and dessert. There were a lot of guests who sat in the sitting room and visited, but they were very clear when we arrived that we were welcome, also, to take wine or coffee or even breakfast up to our room with us if we preferred more privacy. I wasn't sure which way we'd go, but people were very friendly, and we ended up socializing even more than I'd anticipated. It was a great way to get restaurant and sight-seeing ideas since we hadn't planned anything specific in advance.

We spent our first afternoon wandering the streets of Savannah fairly aimlessly, to get a feel for the layout. The next morning, we took a trolley tour to learn more specifics about what to see. After that, we spent the rest of the day walking from square to square, re-visiting the homes the tour guide had pointed out, and taking photos along the way. I pieced my favorite photos of homes, fountains and monuments into a mosaic/poster. It was Nathaniel's idea to do so, with the thought that we might actually print it up and make wall art out of it. This is a rough up, which I'm sure Nathaniel will roll his eyes at before making something much nicer of the same photos (like he might actually spend time adjusting color in the pictures, or cropping them, which I did not). But I wanted to share this since it's easier than uploading so many pictures individually. If you click on it, you can see a larger version to see the pictures in more detail.

That evening, Friday the 13th, we took a walking "ghost tour". It was interesting and our tour guide had good delivery, but we'd chosen a less-cheesy/dramatic tour option so it wasn't too over the top. Oh, and the fact that they let you wander the streets with beer in Savannah makes the tours a little more fun. (Though by the time the tour started we, as old people, had switched to a giant coffee to keep us awake rather than alcohol).

On Saturday we drove to Tybee Island. We checked out the beach briefly, before visiting Fort Pulaski. It was a little more interesting to me than usual, as there were film crews there setting up to shoot some scenes from an upcoming film of Robert Redford's, called The Conspirator. I don't know much about the movie, but I suppose we'll have to see it now! (They weren't shooting yet, so no famous people to spot there, though I heard later that they were shooting elsewhere in Savannah while we were in town.) The fort had a good guided tour, followed by some guys in Civil War garb teaching about guns of the era and shooting them off. Good stuff. Here are a few pictures from that.

(everything in the grassy field is movie props - normally it's an empty parade ground)

Before heading back into Savannah, we took the recommendation of a couple at the B&B and stopped at "The Crab Shack" for lunch. Wow. You know how some restaurants try to be classy? This was the opposite of those places. They had embraced their tackiness and were rejoicing in it.
It was really fun, and it allowed us to try a whole lot of seafood I'd never tried before. This is Nathaniel's "sampler platter for 1".
I ordered a chicken sandwich to make sure there was something I would actually enjoy eating. But I did try everything on the platter, including mussels, crayfish, shrimp and two types of crab, plus sausages, potatoes and corn. Turns out just about anything dipped in melted butter is edible! The middle of the table was cut out with a trash can underneath so you could just chuck your refuse as you made it. Brilliant.

We spent the rest of Saturday further exploring the city and photographing more beautiful homes and squares. We attended mass at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist (the church pictured in the poster above), which was beautiful! We wrapped up with our fanciest dinner out followed by watching the last half of the Notre Dame game back at our hotel. At least the dinner part was fun.

Sunday was mostly a travel day, with a large chunk of time spent in the airport in Chicago, but when you're enjoying adult conversation and not wrangling kids, even that can be a lot of fun. The vacation was fantastic. The kids had a great time, and the grandparents are still alive, so I guess I'd say it was an all around success. If you ever have the chance to visit Savannah, I would highly recommend it (though probably not the best place in the world to try to see with small children).

Oh, and we happened across a fantastic Catholic book store called Saints and Shamrocks. We actually didn't realize at first that it was a Catholic bookstore, as the window was full of ND gifts and imported Irish goods (though the "Year of the Priest" poster should probably have tipped us off). But we were amazed by the shop once we went inside and ended up buying more than we needed, including an awesome silver celtic advent wreath that I can hardly wait to get out! The woman who owns the store was wonderful and chatty and gave us our restaurant recommendation for our last dinner out. I wish I could have spent more time in the shop, and it half makes me want to open my own someday! Very well done! When they get their website up and running (it's currently in the works) I'll have to pass the address along. In the meantime, I've become a fan of theirs on facebook and they post some items there. Not to take away from our local Catholic bookstore, which I LOVE, but this one had a little something extra for us, as Notre Dame fans.

My one regret about our trip to Savannah was that I didn't read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil before we went. I'm definitely adding it to my book list. The fact that John Cusack is in the movie meant I did see it once, but it's been years so I hardly remember the premise, and a lot of the tours focus on the events of the book (a true story). There are many very obsessed fans making a sort of pilgrimage of their trips, to see what they can of the Garden sights. I'm not hoping to get that into it, but it should be extra-interesting now that I've spent some time in the city.

Her priorities are in order

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:55:00 +0000

Ever since Ruth was little, she's known when she's reached the point that she NEEDS to get some sleep. She used to fall asleep on the tray of her high chair if lunch stretched on too long. Then, when she was older, out of the high chair and able to use words, she would announce sometimes even before lunch was served that she was ready for her nap. We'd put her sandwich in the fridge for later and she'd head straight up to bed, crawl under the covers and be out long before Marianne finished eating. It was a beautiful thing!

Now, at four and a half, she STILL takes a good afternoon nap daily. I'm talking an hour and a half. Sometimes more. Praise God that we were able to get the girl into the morning pre-school or I don't know where we'd be now, missing out on all that important sleep.

Today we had a mob of kids over for a playdate. (You think I'm joking, maybe, but it was three other mothers and myself, with a total of 12 kids present. Three more kids were at school). By the time their friends left, both Marianne and Ruth were looking a little worse for the wear. I told them to pick out some books for quiet time while I got Meg settled down. When I came back to the living room and asked if they had their books, Ruth said "I went potty, but I didn't pick out any books. I won't need any today". So true! By the time I finished reading them a story, she was curled up on her pillow with drooping eye lids.

She's a girl after my own heart, to be sure.

Memories

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:41:00 +0000

The other day I was walking in the rain... maybe I was picking up Marianne or Ruth from school. I can't recall. Someone complimented me on my umbrella. It was Nathaniel's umbrella. It may be the second like it that he's had, but I honestly can't remember. What I do remember vividly, was that it was under that umbrella (or one nearly identical), while walking with Nathaniel one rainy night on campus, that I first told him that I loved him. Isn't it funny how some memories stand out like that, like you were just there. We were in the parking lot where bookstore basketball used to be held, behind Badin, nearly to Howard. The rain was coming down and we paused to talk before he dropped me off, as it was after parietals (the magic hours during which no members of the opposite sex are allowed into the single sex dorms). It wasn't the most romantic place to break the news to him, but it had been a long time coming, so I thought I'd just get it out there...

A couple months before, he'd told me he loved me. In fact, we'd only known each other a few weeks, and been dating an even shorter time. Clearly, he was braver about these things than I - and more decisive. We were walking from my dorm on the path behind Corby Hall toward the grotto. He stopped me near the giant sycamore tree that so many students have sat in and carved on, and in which we sat together numerous times after. He kissed me for the first time and then told me he loved me. See what I mean about decisiveness. The upperclassman across the hall advised me to get out of that crazy relationship as quickly as I could. But I wasn't so sure in either direction yet, so I stuck it out. I'm glad I did.

A million more memories flooded over me as I walked under the big plaid umbrella. Nathaniel and I have been married now for over nine years, together for over fourteen. There are a lot of details I don't remember from those years, but the vivid memories are, I suppose, the ones that mattered most. It's been almost fourteen years now since that first "I love you" and I'm sure I've said it nearly a million times since. I'm not planning to stop anytime soon.

Another girl!

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:27:00 +0000

Congratulations to my sister- and brother-in-law, April and Arthur, who welcomed this morning healthy baby girl - Sophia Thérèse. We could not be any happier for them! It's likely to be several weeks before we have the chance to meet Sophia, but we'll be praying for her and her family in the meantime, and wishing them all the best during this time of transition and adjustment to the new little ruler of their home.

Arthur is Nathaniel's identical twin brother. He and April now have their own set of three girls. Which leads me to musings on the genetics involved... this is a much discussed topic among our family on Nathaniel's side. As most of you know, we have three little girls. Nathaniel's twin has three little girls now (hooray!). The only other brother of Nathaniel's who's been married long enough to have kids is Phil. He and Renee have three little boys. So, what are the chance that we'll ever get a boy, if we continue to have children? And what are Renee's chances for a girl if they have more kids? Are we really each stuck in a gender rut? Given that my mother-in-law had six boys before her first girl (followed by one more boy and one more girl), I'd say the gender-centric child bearing runs in the family. Not that I have any urge to "keep trying till you get a boy". Personally, I'm perfectly happy with my little women. But it's interesting to think about. And as for Nathaniel's most recently married brother, George... I think the first time he and Anna find out they're expecting, they're likely to be on the edge of their seats to see which gender their babies will all turn out to be!

Congratulations, Arthur, April, Lucy and Mary! We can't wait to meet Sophia!

Halloween 2009

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:12:00 +0000

As mentioned previously, we had an atypical Halloween this year, complete with a cold weather camp out that was attended by a portion of our family. In order to allow the girls a trick-or-treating experience and to give them a chance to use their costumes, I took them to the Children's Museum's trick-or-treating event on Thursday night. It was... fine. It was a long line of children moving from one teenager with candy to the next over two floors of the museum, then emptying into the basement floor to play. Of course, the basement floor got more and more packed as the night wore on, till it was well beyond anything I've ever witnessed on a visit during daytime hours (thank heavens!). The costumes of the employees/volunteers were uninspired and themes to go with the different sections of the museum were nonexistent or out of order. But the kids had a good time and came away with a pretty sweet bag of treats. I wish I had paid for Meg to have a trick-or-treat bag as well, because they gave away coupons for Noodles, Valentino's, Paint Yourself Silly and others. Lesson learned. We hung out and let the kids run wild around the prairie dog tunnels and theater area for nearly an hour, then headed to a coffee shop, where the kids ate their treats and Renee, her mother and I got treats for ourselves.
The mime school prepares for their big show; or, the girls preparing to don their costumes.
The spider and the pumpkin. My first foray into store bought costumes. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I just love being able to say, "Yes, actually, I did" to the "Did you make those?" inquiries. It's a pride issue. If you're a sewer, you know what I'm saying. I figured the time I'd spend creating these choices of costumes was worth way more than what the store was charging, though. Plus, the girls LOVE them, so it's win-win-win!
The ballerina-bumblebee, or something like that. I hadn't bothered getting Meg a costume but saw this one the weekend before Halloween. I couldn't resist. It has wings and antennae, but she's one. The chances of keeping those on? Right.
Our crew of costumed kids at the Museum. From left to right, Elliot, Ruth, Meg, Marianne, Henry, William and Simon (the son of my friend, Erin).
Ruth and Marianne slide into the big chair near prairie dog village at the Museum. The hats are, by far, my favorite part of these costumes. That pumpkin beret is top notch.
Meg playing in the same chair. I had to keep her a little closer than the other girls because I was afraid someone would trample her in the crowd. Luckily, the draw of a few stairs leading to a giant chair were enough to keep her entertained.
The coffee shop we descended upon got more than they bargained for with our troupe of sugared up kids! The college kids working the joint were extremely friendly, though, and even brought over a bowl of candy for the kids to pick from. NuVibe downtown. I recommend them if you need a coffee on your way into or out of the Children's Museum. And let's face it, you probably do.

*****

Nathaniel headed out Friday afternoon with the older two girls to join his family on their annual camp out. Right up to the line he was asking whether I was SURE I didn't want to come along. Really, no. I like camping, and I hope we can go next spring or summer. But I was very content to sit this one out. I spent Friday night cleaning out our basement storage room, assembling some new shelves and putting everything back away. It was a lot of work, but I was excited to have a quiet night to get it done! (Meg goes to bed at 7:15, so even with the quality time we spent together she took up very little of my night).

Saturday, Meg and I drove out to Indian Cave to join the campers. We spent a beautiful day exploring the park and visiting with family. By the time Meg and I got back home, it was well past trick-or-treating time in the neighborhood. I hadn't had any plans to participate in the festivities, but any guilt I might have felt for hiding in the house with the porch light off to avoid the local ghouls and goblins was removed.

We did let the girls dress up in their costumes again on Halloween night and trick-or-treat around the campsites. I was really surprised by the participation! There was only one other group of kids dressed up at the campground, but almost every campsite had a big bowl of candy sitting out, and the campers would come to the road to pass candy to the kids. They made a very impressive haul, given the circumstances.

I hope you had a wonderful Halloween with your own little princesses and wild things. My favorite moment this year has to be when I was driving the girls home from the Children's Museum outing and the older girls announced that they had decided "next year we're going to just trade costumes. Okay, Mom?" You betcha! I should make them sign something on that, so they don't forget...

Packing

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:39:00 +0000

This weekend is the big family-Halloween-campout. I was sort of game when the topic came up a month or so ago, but I'm wimping out. It's pretty much official. I'm packing now for Nathaniel to take Marianne and Ruth camping, while Meg and I spend some quality time in the warmth of our home. As I gather camping supplies, there's this tiny part of me that wants to go. I really do love tent camping! But then there's the baby and the coldness... I love summer camping, preferably near a body of cool water in case it gets too hot. It's not like I haven't taken babies camping before. As a matter of fact, Ruth was almost exactly Meg's age on her first weekend campout. Marianne camped twice the summer before she even turned one!

At nine months:
And at ten months:
(Gratuitous baby pictures of Marianne included both as evidence of camping experience, and because I'd meant to include some with her birthday post yesterday but was feeling too lazy to pull out the old cds.)

It's just that trying to coax small children to sleep when it's freezing is not so much my idea of an ideal weekend. And, as silly as it sounds, the idea of losing the "extra" hour of sleep on the night of the time change makes me very sad. Not that Meg will really let me enjoy it - I'm sure she'll be up at six instead of seven on Sunday morning.

The bottom line is, Meg and I will join them for the day on Saturday, but I'm just not feeling up to the overnights.

I'm off to finish packing supplies and food for the brave ones. Say a little prayer for them that it goes well - that they can stay dry and warm reasonably well rested.

Six

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:11:00 +0000

I keep making cracks within Marianne's ear-shot like "No WAY can there be a SIX year old in the house. There are no kids here anywhere near THAT old!". Mostly I do it because it cracks her up and she'll argue and argue with me that SERIOUSLY! She's SIX now! But also I really find it more than a little hard to believe. It's true, though. I remember the night I went into labor with her. I couldn't believe I could REALLY be in labor because it was the night before my due date and that was all too convenient. Lo and behold, just after noon the next day she was born, right on time.

I wish she could have retained some of that timeliness. Now she's the one always making us late. She can't go upstairs for a pair of socks without getting distracted for fifteen minutes along the way. Poor Ruth is ready for school 20 minutes early every day, but she's arrived on time to walk up with her class maybe three times this year because Marianne just can't get ready and out the door.

I hardly know where to start in reviewing the past year of Marianne's life, but the biggest change has to be in knowledge. She's learned so much! She now reads simple books well, and we're starting to move on to chapter books. Give the girl a Dick and Jane reader, and she can read it cover to cover with only an occasional pause to sound a word out. She does basic math, like adding and subtracting, in her head. Oh, and the occasional bit of multiplication and division... and she knows some fractions. ("Sure, Marianne, I'll save you a donut or two from the bag." "I want a quarter of it, Mom! We should each get a quarter of the bag, and then we can each share a little with Meg but she doesn't need that much.") She completed a 4-square Sudoka style game the other day with no help other than an explanation of the rules. She is constantly amazing me with new math and reading skills.

When I was in Newport a couple weeks ago, she wrote the following note for me. The spelling is phonetic, and she was apologetic for it when she gave it to me, but I told her I couldn't imagine a more wonderful "card".

(Click on the picture to see a larger version, if you'd like to try to sound it out on your own.)

Translation, with corrected spelling and with punctuation added based on how she read it to me:

We're praying for you Mom. I hope you had a very good trip. I'm glad you came home in 3 days. I love you, Mom. We missed you a lot. I hope you had fun. You are the best mom everybody's seen before. I'm glad you are my mom. We had fun while you were gone but we're still glad that you are home. I'm glad you are my mom. Love, Marianne and Dad and Ruth and Meg. By Marianne. For Mom.

She's a very emotional little girl, and we struggle often with her temper, but her ability to express herself helps (usually) and when she wants to let you know how much she loves you, she does so eloquently and passionately.

*****

Marianne's birthday was a full day of celebration. We started out with play time and lunch at Chuck E. Cheese, followed later in the day by dinner of her choosing (chili dogs, green beans and cheese puffs), then a family party for dessert and gifts. She reveled in every moment of it. Then just before bed she burst into tears and lamented that it hadn't been fun at all. Sometimes I seriously think there's a 16 year old's angst trapped in this little person.

Marianne and Ruth love Chuck E. Cheese, and as goofball as it all is, I love it to. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but when we go on a weekday morning, it's so quiet and easy. There were one or two other families there, but we pretty much had the run of the restaurant. I could focus on keeping Meg entertained and out of trouble without having to fear for the safety of Marianne and Ruth as they ran around the games. And, most importantly, Marianne had a BLAST.

It wasn't Meg's first time at Chuck E. Cheese, but it was the first time she was big enough to want to participate. She couldn't get enough of the baby rides.

My mom gave me this centerpiece/game a couple years ago as a joke for my birthday. I finally remembered to pull it out again for Marianne's party. The castle has a little box inside that asks Disney Princess trivia questions and you touch the pictures on the table cloth to pick your answer. Out of control. And clearly a huge hit with the 4 to 6 year old girl crowd. (William and Henry were less entertained.)

Marianne had very specific plans for her birthday cake. "Yellow cake with lemon frosting. Or lemon cake with yellow frosting if that's easier to find." How about lemon cake with lemon frosting? "NO!" Oh, and "sprinkles to make a big six. The star kind of sprinkles." Who's a princess? That's right, Marianne is. She'll learn to be even more specific next year, though, because her yellow cake with lemon frosting had lemon zest in the frosting, and it turns out she doesn't like the texture of that. So she's just been eating the cake out of her slices and tossing the frosting.

Marianne opening her gifts while Meg makes claim to the chair in use as HERS, thank you very much.

The gift Nathaniel and I picked out for Marianne was a blast from the past - a Lite Brite. She'd seen a "bright light" at some friends' house and thought it was about the coolest thing ever. We got the "cube" version so that she and Ruth can play together, and so far Marianne has been very cool about allowing that. Actually, if there'd been someone else in the house to take the picture, you could have seen Marianne, Ruth, Nathaniel and me all working on Lite Brite pictures here. Good, clean family fun!

Happy Birthday, Marianne! I love you, my big girl!

ps

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:30:00 +0000

Also, today is Marianne's SIXTH birthday! I have a six year old. Whoa.

More on that soon, as it's too late to give it the time it deserves.

Not my favorite sort of surprise

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:28:00 +0000

We made it through the spring and summer rains with barely a drop of water in the basement. Now here we are in late October and there are three channels of water running across the floor from rain seeping in through the concrete walls. Argh. Thankfully the water seems, so far, to have all found a harmless path to the floor drain. Let's hope that holds, because the rain is still coming down.

October at its best

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:05:00 +0000

I love Autumn! I even love the word "Autumn", but that's not really important for this post. What is important is that, despite a cool wind, it was a beautiful Autumn weekend, and we took advantage of that the best we could.

Marianne had a fieldtrip to a pumpkin patch on Friday (her first real fieldtrip, with a bus ride and sack lunch and everything!). Her outing included a hayride, which was a point of contention, because the girls have gotten shot down for hayrides a couple times this year. First there was George's wedding, when we missed the hayride because of bad timing on our part, and then last week we were supposed to have a God teens hayride event (if I haven't mentioned God teens yet, I'm sure I will before long), but it got rained out. Ruth was pretty upset to hear that Marianne was actually getting to go on a hayride, but she wasn't. With that in mind, we decided to make a family trip to a pumpkin patch on Saturday afternoon, and make sure the hayride happened.

There was a lot of drama getting there, including a five year old's tantrum over, well, we're still baffled by what it might have been over. But we persevered and good fun was had. We went to Roca Berry Farm, the same place we berry picked a couple months ago. For pumpkin season, they have haunted houses, and goats to pet and a corn maze. Way more stuff than we got to. Oh, and of course, they had a hay ride. We let the older girls each pick a pumpkin, and they went for nontraditional choices. Since we already had a couple standard pumpkins at home, that worked out well. Below you can see Meg climbing in pumpkins that were bigger than her, and most of the family on our return hayride with our pumpkins of choice.

On Sunday, Nathaniel suggested we take a family walk to the sunken gardens that aren't too far from our house. Far enough that it was a bit of a daunting idea. Nathaniel walked there with the girls one other time, but since I was in labor that day - I had Meg later that night - I had opted not to join them. This time, I pushed Meg in the stroller and we let the older girls take their razor scooters. Man! You can get some real exercise when the girls are on those things because they fly! It's all I can do to catch up to them when the stop at the corners to wait for me.

We made it to the gardens and wandered long enough for me to take a few pictures. Most of the flowering plants have been removed for the winter, but it's still a very pretty garden with fountains, pools, winding paths and statues.

Today I'm off to Sam's Club, which doesn't exactly continue my trend of enjoying the fall weather, but I'll make up for it by kicking the kids outside to play this afternoon. Maybe I can convince them that raking the leaves would be a fun activity!

Flashback: Meg's 1st Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Sam got his photos to me a week or so ago, and I thought Meg's 13-months birthday (if you will) was the perfect time to flashback to her party and share the pictures I'd promised.

We opted for a monkey theme in honor of Meg's favorite stuffed animal, her monkey. I made the invites on a whim, but I think they turned out pretty cute. Marianne said she was impressed, as she was helping assemble the cards, so that's something.

The party was a small affair - just local family, and mostly just the younger set till the end of the party when Andrew and Sherri got home from a weekend retreat. I still wanted it to be fun for the kids who were there, though - my girls and William and Henry. I came across this Curious George game at Target a couple weeks before the party, so picked it up for entertainment. Then, to mix it up, I put together a little scavenger hunt to lead the kids to the game. It was a fun idea that I definitely plan to reuse at future parties. I took objects that were obviously from specific rooms (but just to be sure they'd standout, I put brightly colored tags on them with monkey stickers, so the kids would know which object was the next clue). Then I mixed them up in odd rooms of the house, leading the kids on a crazy hunt all over. So, for instance, when they saw the diaper, then knew to go to Meg's room. In Meg's room they found a whisk, so knew to head for the kitchen, and so on till they eventually found the game. It was sort of a weak ending to the game - candy would have been more exciting! - but the kids had fun and wanted to re-hide all the clues and play again later. After games, we ate, and had cake and opened gifts. Typical, but a great time. Now, on to the pictures!
Meg, watching the game playing excitement from the comfort of her new chair. Thanks, Grammy and Papa!
Henry came dressed in costume for the party. He was sort of the party mascot, though Meg couldn't really catch him to snuggle him the way she does her own monkey.
Meg enjoyed reading a book with Uncle Sam while the big kids played (and Mom worked on lunch). She had a great time being passed from aunt to uncle to aunt throughout the party.
Henry and Meg enjoying some pre-lunch snacks. There were peanut-butter-banana-crackers for appetizers, though Meg didn't have any of those. We saved her first peanut butter taste for something worthier (and till after she was officially one, because if you have to take your kid to the hospital for a pb reaction, you want to look like you were at least sort of following the guidelines).
The bigger kids LOVED the new game. It helped that it had animal masks as props for certain tasks.
Lunch time! We had a low key meal of corn dogs and veggies. I tried out a new punch recipe with pureed bananas. It was very tasty, but could have used a slug of coconut rum to really round out the flavor.
The cake was chocolate chip banana with chocolate frosting. It was a little overly dense, but tasty. I made this monkey cake just for Meg, and had another cake for the rest of us. Meg is fan of cake, so she took pretty quickly to munching this one, but as you can see, the squashing and smearing of frosting is way more fun than actually consuming cake.

Meg was pretty wiped out by the end of the cake event, especially since it was already past her nap time. But we cleaned her up and moved her back to her cushy chair for some forced gift opening.
She really was not interested much in the gifts. Luckily, she had two older sisters there to ooh and aah over the presents for her.
This picture is from the end of the party. It made me laugh because it shows the size of Meg's new chair. My mom accidentally ordered the size up from the ones the other girls have, and my running joke now is that Meg has her first piece of dorm furniture ready to go! It's a very comfy chair. And handy for the whole family!

Happy birthday, one last time, Meg! I love you and I can't believe how fast you're growing up.

She walks!

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:36:00 +0000

Today, Meg is 13 months old. Whenever people ask how old my kids were when they learned to walk, I say that Ruth was around 11 months, and Marianne was closer to 13. It seems that despite all her similarities to Ruth in physical appearance, Marianne wins this "she's most like me" comparison this time around.

Feel free to listen without sound, so you don't have to hear me cheering Meg on, or the background music courtesy of PollyPocket.com, which the "big girls" were playing a few feet away.

Sadly, Nathaniel is out of town most of this week (since about 15 hours after I arrived home on Monday), so he's having to see this for the first time via the blog as well. I did call and let him know in advance, and also to verify that she hadn't been walking all weekend and he'd just failed to inform me.

{sigh} There's no longer a baby in the house. Now all we have are toddlers and preschoolers and school kids. Oh my!

Love it

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:46:00 +0000

My friend, Heather, commented on Facebook that she was considering scrapping her blog and just rolling with Facebook as her chosen source for life sharing. One of her friends responded with this analogy, that I think is absolutely perfect:

...the formats are so different. FB is like Headline News and blogging gives you at least NPR, if not print media, coverage.

That struck me as so right on. I love it.

Consider this your postcard

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:27:00 +0000

l. to r., Kelly, Bridget, Ginny and me

I arrived home this afternoon from a relaxing and beautiful weekend in Newport, RI. It was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with girlfriends and take a breather from motherhood. Kelly and Bridget spent the weekend touring historic mansions in the area (I think they managed to hit six or more), while Ginny and I focused a little more on lounging and walking along the beach.

The photo above was taken on the lawn of Rough Point, the one house Ginny and I joined them for. It was built for the Vanderbilt family but is most well known as one of Doris Duke's homes, if you're into that sort of thing. It was mostly an art tour, with a lot of explanations of which painter's works were displayed and who the subjects were and which Ming Dynasty pieces were oldest. Beautiful, but a little dry compared to the other homes, according the experts in our group.

As a group we also attended a high tea, a winery fall festival and tasting, and we all went out together for several lovely dining experiences. In addition, Ginny and I walked a good portion of the "Cliff Walk" along the shore near the timeshare we'd rented. Stunning views of the ocean and the mansions.
Not least importantly, I slept in till 9am two mornings in a row! Oh happy day!

As a perfect ending to the trip today, a crazy flight plan went unexpectedly well. I was supposed to have a three leg flight from Providence to Detroit to Minneapolis to Omaha (ugh, I know!). I flew as far as Detroit with Kelly. When we arrived and checked the board for our gates, we discovered that she was still running on time, but my next flight was delayed over an hour and a half. Kelly spotted a Detroit to Omaha flight that was boarding right then, and suggested I see if they could help me out so I wouldn't get to Minneapolis late and end up stranded there. The woman who helped me was a little skeptical, but very friendly, and in the end delayed the flight ten minutes or so to get me sorted out and on the plane - in business class, no less! Lovely. I arrived home three hours earlier than planned. It was a wonderful way to wrap things up.

I had one strange, though not unpleasant, moment on the plane when a woman passed my seat and plopped her tiny baby into my arms, mumbling with an accent what amounted to, "Hold him while I use the restroom". I can totally understand the need, if she was traveling alone with children, but it caught me off guard. The baby couldn't have been more than a couple months old and was adorable and quiet, but it was still odd.

For all the fun I had this weekend, I have to say the best part was the look on the faces of Marianne and Ruth when I drove up to the house. They were waiting for me on the front steps despite the chilly weather, and they lit up! They hugged me over and over, telling me all the time how much they loved me. It's good to be missed.

Long weekend

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:07:00 +0000

As I've alluded to a handful of times, I'm off this weekend to spend a few days with some college girlfriends. One of them I saw less than two years ago, but the others... I can't actually remember exactly when I last saw them! Isn't that terrible? Saying "less than two years" like it's not very long is bad enough, but seriously. {sigh} That's life, though, right? Especially with a handful of kids. It makes catching up with friends a challenge.

I can't wait to head off, well before "bright and early" tomorrow - I'll likely be at the airport checked in by "bright" given the late sunrises these days. We're converging on Newport, Rhode Island. An interesting choice made by someone other than me... I'm happy with anything. I can sip wine and relax with friends anywhere! I'm sure I'll have more to say when I return on Monday evening.

To my friend Emily, who had to cancel her trip late in the game, I'll miss you! I'm so bummed you can't make it, and not JUST because I lined up my flights to get as much extra time with you as possible and now have to fly alone, although that stinks, too!

Marching In

noreply@blogger.com (HangerMom) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:29:00 +0000

A little pre-halloween dress up fun took place this weekend at our parish picnic. The girls wanted to participate in the saints' parade, and chose saints easy enough that I hardly had to do any work. Just a quick run to the dollar store for some armor and a little scissor work with posterboard and... Voila!

St. Michael the Archangel and Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Photo courtesy of Renee.

Note to self for next year - hold off on face painting till after the parade for a better effect.