UUUUUGH. I'm still recovering from stuffing myself stoopid last night, but I wanted to go ahead and list the faves and raves that made last night so special. Oh, and there were one or two items that I'll definitely vote "no" on if theyre on the Thanksgiving ballot next year.
The Good:
1. Uncle Dan's turkey---roasted to perfection for hours, scarfed down in nanoseconds, as it should be.
2. The creamy brussells sprouts. A new twist for me this year, but surprisingly easy and especially enjoyed by our resident veg head Liv.
3. The company---my sweet MIL, sis-and-bro-in-law and their kiddos can't be beat.
4. The after-dinner-offer: My sis-in-law temporarily lost her mind and invited Liv and Nate to spend the night, so I didn't have to break up the Wii party that was still raging at 7 p.m.
5. The Thanksgiving night selection on cable. Moonstruck for the grown-ups, and Home Alone being DVR'd for the kidlets.
The Bad:
1. The stinking, rotten cold/flu virus that wouldn't go away. Mark relapsed just in time for Turkey Day, leaving him home with nothing to look forward to other than a Nyquil-indused coma. He did resort to the Afrin so he could taste the big plate of food I brought home for him.
2. My attempt to crisp-up the graham cracker crust for my pumpkin cheesecake backfired. I pre-baked it about 5 minutes too long and it was hard as a rock. The filling was yummy, though, so I wasn't completely mortified.
3. The distance, illnesses and financial strains that kept some people we love away, and we from them. Next year will be better.
4. That second- -or third- -loaded plate of food, that left me having to sleep propped up on three pillows. What? Was? I? Thinking??!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Et Tu, October?
I haven't stopped to journal anything going on in awhile; there's been a lot going on but not much I can really put out there on the innernets.
Let's just say October, which is normally one of my favorite months of the year, was not very kind to Casa Pellin in the year 2008.
But, moving forward, we still have our health, our children, our home, and our slightly intact minds, so we're soldiering onward. And November, which is already almost over, gives us lots of good excuses to get our eat on, among other wonderful things.
So, my mind has gratefully turned toward food. Isn't it great how food is always there to comfort us? Um, I guess that's a good thing, right? This year for Thanksgiving I'm thinking of trying something different with sides; I've seen a recipe for creamy brussels sprouts with bacon and another for cauliflower au gratin that I want to try. And I'll give Mr. Nate $5 if he tries even just a taste of them!
Other random, POSITIVE updates:
1. Liv is taking an "Acro-dance" class this year and really enjoying it. She was getting bored with the tap/ballet routine but didn't want to stop going to her regular studio. This was just the shot in the arm she needed to stay interested. The format is all floorwork, with the kids mainly doing handstands, somersaults and other tumbling exercises to music. Fun for Liv, fun for me to watch.
2. Nate has two best-buds, Rowan and Jake, that he talks about all the time. And get this---he always uses their first and last names whenever he refers to them. Very formal. Like we don't know WHICH Rowan he means, after he's told us the story about how he and Rowan planted pumpkin seeds in egg cartons for the 99th time?
He also made his first phone call to his friend Elena yesterday after school. Hi-larious. Mark and I tried not to die of cuteness overload when he said, "Hello. This is Nafaniel Pellin. May I speak to Elena please?"
3. My dad has two invitations to Thanksgiving dinner back home. One pre-Thanksgiving meal at my aunt's the night before and then a restaurant buffet lunch the next day with another aunt's family. I am super relieved about this and also a tad jealous!
Let's just say October, which is normally one of my favorite months of the year, was not very kind to Casa Pellin in the year 2008.
But, moving forward, we still have our health, our children, our home, and our slightly intact minds, so we're soldiering onward. And November, which is already almost over, gives us lots of good excuses to get our eat on, among other wonderful things.
So, my mind has gratefully turned toward food. Isn't it great how food is always there to comfort us? Um, I guess that's a good thing, right? This year for Thanksgiving I'm thinking of trying something different with sides; I've seen a recipe for creamy brussels sprouts with bacon and another for cauliflower au gratin that I want to try. And I'll give Mr. Nate $5 if he tries even just a taste of them!
Other random, POSITIVE updates:
1. Liv is taking an "Acro-dance" class this year and really enjoying it. She was getting bored with the tap/ballet routine but didn't want to stop going to her regular studio. This was just the shot in the arm she needed to stay interested. The format is all floorwork, with the kids mainly doing handstands, somersaults and other tumbling exercises to music. Fun for Liv, fun for me to watch.
2. Nate has two best-buds, Rowan and Jake, that he talks about all the time. And get this---he always uses their first and last names whenever he refers to them. Very formal. Like we don't know WHICH Rowan he means, after he's told us the story about how he and Rowan planted pumpkin seeds in egg cartons for the 99th time?
He also made his first phone call to his friend Elena yesterday after school. Hi-larious. Mark and I tried not to die of cuteness overload when he said, "Hello. This is Nafaniel Pellin. May I speak to Elena please?"
3. My dad has two invitations to Thanksgiving dinner back home. One pre-Thanksgiving meal at my aunt's the night before and then a restaurant buffet lunch the next day with another aunt's family. I am super relieved about this and also a tad jealous!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Happy Thirty-Everything Day To Me!
Flowers, compliments of Cousin Holly. Variety-slice cake, by Harris Teeter. Plastic fireman hat that magically appears on kitchen table every night, compliments of Nate.
My Thirties In Review Thus Far, A Prayer List of Thanks
1. Thank you for my babies---I wanted them much earlier, but the timing, when it came, couldn't have been more perfect.
2. Thank you for letting me turn thirty-nine. I haven't been taking care of myself lately, and I rush around through life all too often not thinking or looking or stopping nearly as often as I should---I'm amazed I've made it this far!
3. Thank you for my sweet H, and for helping us become homeowners (twice), and for somehow allowing us to continue to listen and hear eachother over life's everyday noise.
4. Thank you for my dear friends and exended family---the Daddy who sent me a sweet card and called me after the kids were in bed, the mother-in-law who knows the greatest gift of all is to keep the kids overnight once in awhile (thanks again!), the uncle who e-mails beautiful photos of butterflies, bears and riverfront views that make me homesick, the cousin who never forgets to send me a silly card, the other cousin who sent me gorgeous, autumn-colored roses. They inspire and sustain me.
5. Thank you for all the other people in my little speck of an orbit that make my world keep spinning around: my hilarious co-workers, our kind, ever-generous neighbors and fellow church members.
6. And, oh, thank you for my big cup of coffee every morning. Of which I'm gonna need a double dose of if I don't get to bed.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Happy School Year!
My resolutions for Aug. 2008- June 2009:
1. I will make sure that each child's bookbag is thoroughly checked for forms that need signing each night.
2. I will NOT give in to last-minute requests of a packed lunch as I'm heading out the door to work. The school menu is on the fridge and is discussed approximately eleventy times per day. It is not my fault if you decide at 7:59 a.m. that, although you're not sure what dumplings are, the thought of them makes you heave.
3. I will allow enough time each morning to get two kids adequately prepared for their school day before I head to work. Whatever amount of time I think that will be, add another 25 minutes.
4. I will ensure that there is a breakfast alternative to Pop-Tarts available each morning. I'm just over the Pop-Tarts in general and they leave the kiddos hopped up and starving 30 minutes later. I don't mean to hate on the Tarts, and we may very well resort to them later, but for now I've gotta try to do better.
5. I will start preparations for bedtime at least a half-hour prior to the actual bedtime, thus allowing time for a relaxed storytime and toothbrushing routine, instead of turning into Mrs. Yeller McYellington from Yellville.
6. I will graciously thank my husband each day (or at least weekly) for agreeing to be the Bus Stop Dad on our corner for the second year in a row!
1. I will make sure that each child's bookbag is thoroughly checked for forms that need signing each night.
2. I will NOT give in to last-minute requests of a packed lunch as I'm heading out the door to work. The school menu is on the fridge and is discussed approximately eleventy times per day. It is not my fault if you decide at 7:59 a.m. that, although you're not sure what dumplings are, the thought of them makes you heave.
3. I will allow enough time each morning to get two kids adequately prepared for their school day before I head to work. Whatever amount of time I think that will be, add another 25 minutes.
4. I will ensure that there is a breakfast alternative to Pop-Tarts available each morning. I'm just over the Pop-Tarts in general and they leave the kiddos hopped up and starving 30 minutes later. I don't mean to hate on the Tarts, and we may very well resort to them later, but for now I've gotta try to do better.
5. I will start preparations for bedtime at least a half-hour prior to the actual bedtime, thus allowing time for a relaxed storytime and toothbrushing routine, instead of turning into Mrs. Yeller McYellington from Yellville.
6. I will graciously thank my husband each day (or at least weekly) for agreeing to be the Bus Stop Dad on our corner for the second year in a row!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Bye-Bye Bobby: The End of an Era
It all started at around 10 a.m. July 2,2003. That's when my sweet sister-in-law, Beth, came into the hospital room where I was snuggling with Nate, who was just under sixteen hours old.
She placed a 12x12-inch square of velvety,baby-blue fabric in his hospital bassinet. It was a brand-new "lovie" blanket; her daughter had one as a baby and as comfort objects go, she assured me it was the best. Because of its size, it was totally portable and could easily be stuffed into a diaper bag, and the material was so silky and soothing that it had an almost magical effect on a cranky baby.
She encouraged me to cuddle with it a bit so Nate would pick up my scent on the blanket. When I did, I could see what she meant- - -I remember all too well the calming sensation of the satin trim of my childhood blanket between my finger and thumb, how it made the world just slip away. I gently laid the lovie on Nate's chest.
Here was our first sign: he clutched it right away, and fluttered his tiny eyelids as if in recognition of an old friend. Newborns are so between two worlds anyway, so maybe that blanket just reminded his soul of its previous heavenly home. Who knows, but from that moment on they were darned near inseperable.
That blanket, named "Bobby" by two-year-old Liv (we still don't know why) was dragged everywhere with Nate and got him through the transition from crib to big-boy bed. I hate to admit it, but we relied on ol' Bobby as much as he did at times. Concerned about how Nate will handle sleeping over at Grandpa's for the first time? No worries, we've got Bobby. Afraid the baby will get restless on the five-hour road trip? Pack that Bobby. NOW.
Nate referred to Bobby as a "him," a living, breathing best bud. Bobby couldn't be left outside because he might get cold. Bobby can't be left in the hamper all night because he might get scared. Bobby's dirty and needs a bath. Bobby was almost part of the family, and eventually became a permanent fixture on Nate's pillow, ready for nighttime duty.
Until two weeks ago. That's when Nate decided that as bonafide five-year-old, he didn't need Bobby anymore. He instructed Mark to "take it to the Goodwill store so another baby can buy it." Mark nodded in agreement, then came downstairs and gingerly handed the tattered piece of blanket-trocity over to me and said "We're supposed to be taking this to 'Goodwill.'" He used air quotes. I love it when he uses air quotes.
"I think Goodwill will ban us from ever donating anything again if we drop that thing off." I said. We decided the top shelf of the guestroom closet, waaay in the back, would do for now.
It hasn't been an ultra-smooth transition. Nate has asked for an extra hug or two at bedtime "Because I miss Bobby," but for the most part he's really moved on. But this means that our baby has taken one more giant step to big-boyhood. Maybe it's us, the parents, who aren't truly ready.
I want my Bobby.
Monday, July 28, 2008
I want some cheese with my whine.
Monday at my desk, 3 p.m.
OK, it totally should be 5 by now. . .
Wishing I was on vacation like last week, visiting my dad and other extended fam.
I miss my babies and wonder what they're doing right now. Husband included.
I don't want to cook when I get home, but that would mean succombing to pizza, fast food or subs and I dropped $109 at the bright, shiny overpriced grocery store yesterday so I know I gotta.
Nate is currently on restriction from TV until at least Wednesday (too much emulating what he sees on Spongebob---don't ask). Must shoo children outside while I cook. Maybe I can throw a bag of Skittles under a shrub and start a scavenger hunt? Hmmmm. . .
I want to play with the kids but dinner is top priority when we walk in the door at 6, so play comes later. Also, N just got a super cool set of plastic handcuffs (they click open with no key, my mama didn't raise no fool) complete with police badge and ticket book from the dollar store, the retailer of shame. It was his treat for being good at the dentist last week. We've certainly gotten our money's worth out of it, though; he's played with little else since he got it. But dinner preparation will be quite prolonged unless I get him out of the kitchen, or else I will be placed "under arrest" about 49 times. Olivia, Mark and I have all been dragged in to jail (which is currently located in the laundry room) by Deputy Nate at least twice a day each in the past week.
That dentist trip reminds me: No Skittles. I wonder if they'll go after a bag of Baked Cheetos. . .
OK, it totally should be 5 by now. . .
Wishing I was on vacation like last week, visiting my dad and other extended fam.
I miss my babies and wonder what they're doing right now. Husband included.
I don't want to cook when I get home, but that would mean succombing to pizza, fast food or subs and I dropped $109 at the bright, shiny overpriced grocery store yesterday so I know I gotta.
Nate is currently on restriction from TV until at least Wednesday (too much emulating what he sees on Spongebob---don't ask). Must shoo children outside while I cook. Maybe I can throw a bag of Skittles under a shrub and start a scavenger hunt? Hmmmm. . .
I want to play with the kids but dinner is top priority when we walk in the door at 6, so play comes later. Also, N just got a super cool set of plastic handcuffs (they click open with no key, my mama didn't raise no fool) complete with police badge and ticket book from the dollar store, the retailer of shame. It was his treat for being good at the dentist last week. We've certainly gotten our money's worth out of it, though; he's played with little else since he got it. But dinner preparation will be quite prolonged unless I get him out of the kitchen, or else I will be placed "under arrest" about 49 times. Olivia, Mark and I have all been dragged in to jail (which is currently located in the laundry room) by Deputy Nate at least twice a day each in the past week.
That dentist trip reminds me: No Skittles. I wonder if they'll go after a bag of Baked Cheetos. . .
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