Sunriver

We're having a super relaxing week in Sunriver, despite a crappy day skiing today--actually the worst weather I've ever skied in with winds up to 65 mph on top.  It was so bad they shut all the lifts down at noon (no refunds, of course).  But the kids absolutely loved ski school, even with 30 mph winds at the base, which made the day worth it for me.  I cannot wait to take my first run with them (in much better weather).

Happy New Years!  Hoping 2009 brings wonderful things.

Bliss

I wish there was a way to bottle this day.

This probably won't be news to you, but I am a girl with an "anxious temperament."  A compulsive worrier.  Always have been.  Jodi and I like to call it OCD (because she shares the same genes as me) but really, it's just your garden variety anxiety.  Sometimes it's in remission, and sometimes it's with me like a fly on crap.  

When Kolby and I were engaged, I worried.  Like ya do.  Especially when I was trying to fall asleep.  He gave me a wonderful little trick.  He told me that when I was laying in bed worrying, just daydream about our first little Christmas together--all the wedding craziness behind us, our first tree, our little apartment, the music playing.  And it was perfect.  It calmed me and put me to sleep every time.

I have used  Noel Therapy every since.  I don't know why it works, but it does.  Last year was probably the most stressful Christmas of my life.  I don't care what you say,  unemployment SUCKS!!!  (Granny Coons, if you are reading this, I'm sorry and I'll take an IOU on the mouth-washing).  We had decided that if Kolby didn't have a job by Christmas, we were expanding the job search beyond Portland.  So last Christmas, all wrapped up in anxiety and assuming we'd be moving, I started daydreaming about our next Christmas in Seattle (because it's almost Portland), in a little house (because homes are so expensive here!), hunkered down with just our little family, enjoying a lovely little worry free Christmas.

And here we are.  Today has been perfect.   Tomorrow I'll post some videos and pics.

What's the opposite of doghouse?

So you know the Doghouse video that's been going around? The one with all the guys in the dungeon/doghouse for getting their wives practical gifts instead of jewelry?   I'm all about practical gifts.   Especially when they are as impressive as the Christmas gift Kolby gave me early, knowing I'd want it with all this fun we're having being snowed in.

It's this gorgeous little camcorder that I didn't know I wanted and needed:

It's smaller than my cell phone.  We have a camcorder, but it's such a process to film something and then get it to DVD, so we rarely use it.  But this little thing is so slick.  It works just like you'd hope:  I push that little red button and it starts recording.  Then I plug it into my USB port on my computer, and it uploads my videos.  Making this video took minutes.  

I'm already wondering how I survived this long without it.  

Yet another reason to love the internet

Look what my newest Facebook friend sent me last night.  

Once  Madeline recovered from seeing Grandpa without a mustache, she said, "Awwww!  Your mom is so pretty!  And your dad is so cute!"

Kelly and I were trying to decide when this photo was taken.  It was before 1977...I'm thinking that Mom might be pregnant with me or with Jodi in this photo--not that she looks pregnant, but I think the only time I've ever seen my non-mustachioed dad, it was in a photo when he was holding one of us as a newborn.

How cute are they?!  

  

Kelly just sent one more to me...this sweet one of Grandma and Grandpa.  Got me all teary...I miss them.  

Seeing these pictures with their house in the background reminds me of the times when we were all there and the cousins would be playing in the basement and we'd reach that point of gleeful hysteria that only kids can reach.    

Seriously, I'm so grateful for Facebook and family blogs!   I feel like I'm getting to know my cousins again after so many years of not seeing each other.  And these pictures have probably been buried in boxes in Kelly's mom's basement for 30 years.  I'm so glad she's unearthed them for us.

Not quite sugarplums

Last night when Kolby was wrapping up the bedside concert series with Poncho and Lefty, an old crowd favorite, Amelia mumbled very sleepily, "I was just thinking about what Poncho and Lefty looked like.  Poncho was the blue one."  

Kolby said, "Ya mean he had blue eyes?"

"No.  He was the blue fuzz ball."

"The blue fuzz ball?"

"Yeah.  And Lefty was the green fuzz ball."

I love that moment of fading into sleep when fuzzballs makes perfect sense.  

The Red Coat

"Can we go out and play?  Can we?  Can we?"

"Really?  Okay, whatever.  I'll put on my coat first."

"Yeehaw! So what if I'm wearing this stupid coat she got off the clearance rack for 99 cents at Old Navy."

"Oh my gosh. It just tastes so good on my nose.  I can't get enough of it."

"It doesn't get much better than this.  I hope it's like this all the time at this new house without a real yard." 

"I wonder if I could qualify for the Olympic dog sled team if she let me train?  I think I'm meant for something bigger." 

"I'm so exhausted.  If those kids climb on me right now, I swear I'll bite 'em." 

Judgement Day

Report cards arrived today. 

Kolby gets an A+ for patience.  I have a much lower tolerance for kids climbing all over me. (There's about 242 similar pictures before this one.)

Mia is proud of herself.  (See that shy smile?) She's doing great!  She's learning to read, good at math, making lots of friends, and getting more confident in public speaking.

Madeline is a great reader (just finished the 4th Harry Potter!), good at math even though she doesn't pay attention, gets along famously with all the kids in class, but needs to work on the paying attention part.  (Not new information.) 

Sibling Rivalry

While I can't outdo my sister on the quantity or quality of snow, I can outdo her on something else.  This message was posted on the school district website this morning:

All district schools are closed today, December 17, because of uncertain weather forecast and safety concerns for students and staff.  

That's right.  We might not have gotten one new snowflake, nope not even one,  since our HUGE winter storm you saw this weekend, but today we're staying home out of FEAR of more snow.   Yesterday Madeline came home and said her teacher told them if there's snow they might be out of school until January 5th.  The school closure this morning makes me think that's a very real possibility. So HA!  Beat that!

Wait.  Why was I gloating about that?

 

Too much noise

There's a book Kolby loved as a kid called "Too Much Noise."   The story is about a man, Peter, whose house was too loud--the floors creaked, the wind blew, the teapot hissed, etc.  So he goes to a wise man and the wise man tells Peter to get a cow.  And then a goat.  And then a dog. And it goes on.  And of course, the house just gets louder.  Then the wise man tells him to get rid of the cow, goat, dog, etc. and when it's all gone and just him and the house, he realizes his house isn't so loud afterall.  It's actually quite nice.  The floor makes a lovely squeaking sound.  The wind blows melodiously threw the trees.  His teapot hisses joyfully.  

Kolby and I were talking last night and decided we're feeling like Peter.  After living with a cow, a dog, a donkey, a hen, and all other manner of worries for the last couple of years, it just feels so blissful to return to normal--going to work, cleaning the house, working out, making dinner. All that stuff that seemed so painfully mundane a few years ago, and now it just feels so quiet.  And peaceful.  And lovely.  

Although to be honest, I can't imagine I'll ever really enjoy laundry.

I guess it worked

From the melodramatic weather forecasts, I was expecting a little more.  I should have remembered that the Northwest gets excited about anything other than more rain.  Or showers.  Or occasionally rain showers.  So three days of snow translated into just a few hours.  But luckily (?) it's staying cold enough that the "snow" is sticking around for the kids to play in today.

We have had a deliciously lazy weekend.  Today has consisted of hanging out by the fire, reading the newspaper, eating pancakes, playing in the snow, a little Scrabble, some exercise (in the form of Wii) and not a whole lot else.   Although we did come to a decision.  "I'll go.  I'll go.  I'll go."  We needed little more nudging than a lazy morning with snow outside to decide Sunriver is exactly what is called for after Christmas.    So it's settled.  I called Kristin to tell her and she answered the phone with "You're calling to say you're coming to Sunriver.  I knew all you needed was some snow!" Rumor has it, Portland is getting the real thing today.  A genuine (please pronounce it "jen-you-wine") snow storm.  I saw pictures of the lifts at Meadows and Timberline up and running and wanted to cry.

By the way, who let us take this dog from Utah?  She is one blissed out dog today.  Having a full on snowgasm at the park.

And the kids thought the snow was okay too.

Snow Dance

There's snow in the forecast in Seattle for the next three days.  We're doing the snow dance to encourage it.  Our ski resorts are still bone dry, and our whole happiness depends on skiing this winter.

This video was actually shot while Kolby was working from home one day right before we moved.  Madeline was dancing to the hold music while he waited for a conference call to begin.  It's been passed all around Microsoft, and apparently people copy her amazing moves when they hear the hold music begin. I'm so proud. 

We're all dancing like this today!  Snow, baby, snow!!!  

Separation anxiety

I think life is catching up with us.  This morning Madeline was dragging more than usual, and when we were heading out the door for school I noticed she looked awful.  I asked what was up, she said she didn't feel good, so we rushed Mia to school ("Oh no!  But I don't want to go to school if my sister's not there too!"), and came back home.

I'm pretty sure it's a mental health day.  As we chatted, it sounded far more emotional than physical.  "It's just that my stomach hurts and I'm feeling stressed from all the pressure."   All that pressure of being eight years old.

She'd been handling the move just fine, seemed to be adjusting like a champ.  Then a few weeks ago I was late picking her up from her after school drama class.  Seven minutes late, and she was in tears when I got there.  Now whenever she goes anywhere she wants to know what time I'm leaving the house, how long the drive is, and what time I plan to be there.  And it has to all work out so that my ETA is five minutes before she needs me.  Seriously?  Third grade and I've only been late picking her up once?  Girl knows how to lay on the guilt.

Now she doesn't want to go to drama anymore, but for more reasons than just her mother's complete unreliability.  The whole world is unreliable.  The original teacher left for a funeral 4 weeks ago and hasn't been back. They meet in a different room every week so she worries that I won't know how to find her.  And apparently the replacement teacher is always 15-20 minutes late,  and there's lots of boys in the drama class, so it's mayhem until the teacher gets there, and even then the teacher has no idea how to manage the classroom.  (We're dropping this activity.)

And then there was that day last week when she was sick and they couldn't reach me.  "Mom, can you imagine being sick in the nurse's office for 90 minutes and not being able to reach your mom?"  Like I said, this girl is good.

There was also a little trip to the principal's office last week that we won't mention.  At least that wasn't my fault. 

So all this pressure.  It's a lot.  I was hoping that Madeline would somehow dodge the anxiety genes threaded through her DNA.  But I think we've triggered them.

Maybe a day staying home to play Wii will help.   (You can just go away if you're going to judge me.) 

When Photoshop is useless

When I look at Michelle's blog and Facebook photos, I feel a little bitter.  Caid is still too young to be a turd when the camera comes out.  She just flashes that gummy grin, twinkles those eyes, and her momma has a dozen adorable pictures.

Let me just give you a glimpse of the photo session I attempted with my two little darlings when we went Christmas tree shopping this weekend.

There is a reason why I stopped paying for professional photos for them.  

And many moons ago I promised to post a picture of my all time favorite mug.  

And while I'm at it, how about a few pictures of the Northwest?  This is the view I've had out my kitchen window the last few mornings.  

And this is taken from the top of the hill as I drop down to our street (where that car is).  What you can't see is the mountain range in the distance.  This is very typical of Northwest suburbia--just loads and loads of fir trees.

This is taken from part of the neighborhood where I'd like to buy.  I would LOVE having water views.  Aaaah.  This is Lake Sammamish.

A picture of Turkey II, our gay pride turkey who managed to make it to school without being eaten by the dog.

And this.  This is just really really sad.  This is what's happening with my big plans for a season ski pass.  Pathetic.  

Our list

This year, living in a new place, we're losing a few traditions.  Kolby and I are feeling horribly guilty about it.  We haven't felt too guilty about the move--it was necessary.  Gotta feed the family. But we are feeling bad about the holidays this year.  We were talking about our traditions the other day with the girls and got a few sad "But we always..." comments from them.  We are especially feeling guilty about not taking the girls to Sunriver this year.  

We've spent the week between Christmas and New Year's in Sunriver with friends every year since Amelia was born, and it feels so cruel not to go this year.  And I guess I'm not fully convinced we won't end up caving in and decide to go....even as I write this I'm thinking we should.  Money shmoney.  Economy shmeconomy.  No we shouldn't.  We can't.  I just remembered all the stuff we have to pay for after Christmas (trip to Utah for the wedding, Disney World, ski school, etc.).  I feel a little like Cameron in Ferris Buehler right now.  

I never noticed Cameron's house before.  That's exactly the style of house I want.  I think I need to rent that movie again.

Anyway, we usually make a list in early December of things we want to do during the holidays. Traditions, I suppose.   This year, some will be tweaked for location.  But here it is--the list.

• Tree shopping, decorating, etc.  (doing this today!)
  
• Bake gingersnaps
• Make gingerbread houses with friends
• Go shopping downtown at night to see all the lights and crowds
• Make Swedish pancakes on Christmas morning
• Visit Santa (usually do this when we are in the city)
• Watch  "A Christmas Story" and "Elf"
• Listen to our Christmas tunes until we can't stand to hear them for another 11 months
• Fight over who gets to put the next ornament on the advent calendar

And new for this year:

• Go iceskating in downtown Bellevue park
• Visit the light show at the Botanical Gardens
• Watch the boat light parade on the beach
• Make Pam's pastry wreath

We usually go to the Nelson's for Christmas Eve.   Christmas Eve was always a big party night for me growing up (white elephants and Bingo at Grandma's house), and the Nelsons have been wonderful enough to include us in their family so our kids have had that same experience.   I feel bad for the kids that we're going to be up here on our own this year.  Christmas Eve sounds so lonely!  

So we're still in discussions about what the holidays are going to look like.  Kolby has to take some vacation time, so that will be nice to have him home and relax a bit.  We'll head to Portland for a couple days.  Catch a movie on Christmas Day.  Do some skiing if it ever decides to snow.  Or maybe we'll just go to Sunriver.  

Guilt

So with all this fabulous spare time, I was just so busy enjoying it that I missed six phone calls from the school about my sick crying child in the nurse's office.  My very hard working husband was sitting in a very important meeting, but answered the second call he received, and swooped in to retrieve our eldest child, only to find that our youngest had joined her, both girls with their heads in buckets.  (How's that for a run on sentence?)

I arrived home from a lovely trip to the gym to find my husband and two sick children cuddled on the couch at 1:00. 

He went back to work.

They're feeling much better. 

It's been a fun day.

(In my defense, my cell phone doesn't get any reception in the gym.  I know you think I use that excuse for everything, but seriously,  AT&T coverage sucks in Bellevue!)

Now my fabulous life of leisure can begin

I finished my class today! Actually, I finished all my work for my class today. I still have to show up, but I'm officially coasting through to next Tuesday, the last day of class.

Now what? The next six months with kids in school all day and no classes for me. I suppose I have those pesky nursing school applications to deal with. And the ski slopes. And doing something about the Little Garage of Horrors. Aaaah. Even that sounds nice.

So in honor of Spare Time, (and because I just ran into this on a very old friend's blog--how I love the Internet!!!) I just Typealyzed my blog, and apparently my blog personality is this:

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

And oh yeah, they swear like sailors and overuse punctuation.

Maybe I made up that last part. But there you go.   Enjoy my blog of soft fabrics and sweet smells and be happy I'll never confront you for thinking it's crap.