Trifecta

2011 marks the third year in a row in which we have moved over Thanksgiving weekend. This one is different because it wasn't our choice. But we can't fault our landlord for wanting to move out of his kid's house and back into his own. It just would have been nice to not have to change our address on everything for the third year in a row!

Friends welcomed us into their home and family for a Thanksgiving feast. It was just the break we needed from moving and cleaning. And since this move prevented our own family trip east to be with my family, it was nice to sit around a crowded family table, pass plates around, and listen to the kids and parents tell separate versions of the same stories. The table was beautiful and the food was excellent. But I think my favorite part was that there were so many people crammed around the table that we were hip t0 hip in chairs from all over the house and patio. It was a "more is merrier" table that I am thankful my little family unit was able to be a part of.

We like the new house. Our stuff is everywhere, but that's to be expected. The house is a little smaller than the one we just finished cleaning today but it's in a nice neighborhood in a good school zone and it's clean and it has lots of closets and it has a back yard. I'm already planning our first party.....a 4-year old's 5th birthday coming up in 3 weeks.

Our neighbors on the left put up holiday lights this year. It's quite the display and they have at least another day's worth of work before it's done. Makes me think of this pic I found on Facebook a few days ago:

We'll get there. First we have to decide where the major pieces of furniture will live. We think we need to swap the living and dining rooms from where we told the movers to place things. You didn't think we'd do it any other way, did you Max?

Rapture? I think not.

We got a last minute invitation to go to dinner with two couples, one of which we've known almost as long as we have been here and are about to say goodbye to (they're moving to New York). I call a friend and coworker to babysit. She's in. House cleaning frenzy - GO.

45 minutes before the sitter is scheduled to arrive, she calls. Her cat is puking up blood and has a cracked tooth. A quick vet visit later and the cat has a serious infection in its gum and needs to have the tooth pulled. Problem is the cat is almost 17 and has asthma so surgery isn't an easy option. Yikes.

Quick call to NY-bound friends....can't make it. Rain check soon please?

I didn't shave my legs and put on mascara for nothing. Fiona, go put on matching clothes. We're going out to dinner. As one of our favorite places to enjoy a family meal out, Settebello in The District never fails us. The special tonight was the Raphael with salame, basil, and roasted onions. Yum. Then we went to the Carousel for a ride. Or four. Free all summer. Sweet!

We had previously made the decision to forgo the gelato at Settebello and hit Ben & Jerry's instead. Fiona got her vanilla cone and we were happy to stroll through the shopping village. There was music; it was getting louder. Oh, look. Bubbles. Lots and lots of bubbles. Fiona actually stopped in her tracks and leaned backwards to make sure she saw what she thought she saw. BUBBLES!

And dancing green lights. And kids. And....and....and a man giving out free bead necklaces. Preschooler heaven on earth. Fiona found the girl that was sitting at the table next to ours at Settebello. We did the adult thing and introduced ourselves to her parents while the girls ran all over the place. Hi. Are you originally from here? Do you have favorite playgrounds in the area? Do you come here often?

The dads indulged the girls with spinning and lots of Ring Around the Rosy. A thought ran through my head.....I hope we don't have to leave in tears again. The last time we left the dancing and music there was a meltdown. Another girl was practicing her cartwheels. All I saw was her foot whack my kid's face and two girls crash to the ground. Anthony rescued her from the play area and brought her to me. And then there was blood. Fiona had her first bloody nose. Awwww....her first bwoody nose....

Anthony has left the scene to gather paper towels from the restroom. I turn to follow and...oh..god...what is that warm.....PUKE! all down the left side of my body. And we're walking.....puking....walking.....bleeding.....all that fussing about not getting pizza sauce on her dress seems a bit ridiculous now. The other mom whom we just met followed us to the girls room to make sure Fiona was alright. She had wet wipes in her purse. Good woman. I would have asked if we could trade numbers if I wasn't covered in vomit. Hi. Can we be friends? I don't usually smell like this.

We get to the car and there's no way I'm sitting in a wet pukey shirt all the way home. The teenagers making out in front of REI won't mind if I take my shirt off in the parking lot. Like I care at this point. It's one of those moments when giving a shit about what other people think goes out the window because it's more important to minimize the spreading of the puke stink. I already happen to know how hard it is to get that special kind of stink out of a seatbelt.

Fiona did really well considering she got clocked in the face. She got a quick shower and a dose of Advil before passing out in the bed that she is making by herself these days (high five to Gran-E on that!).

At the end of the day, we have a clean house, we did not have to go to the emergency room, we did some serious family bonding, and we have a working washing machine. All's well that ends well. Or something.

The Evil Genius of a Mommy Mind

Her: Are we there yet?

Me: Not yet.

Her: Are we there yet?

Me: Nope.

Her: Are we there yet?

Me: Stop asking me that.

Her: Are we there now?

Me: Stop asking me that.

Her: Now?

Her: Now?

Me: Mike Wazowski!

Her: Wahahahahahaha........

Fiona on 8-1-10

Sunday morning projects

April 2010

I find it hard to believe May starts on Saturday. I've been in Nevada for 6 months. To celebrate I got a hair up my butt and made Anthony help me hang things on the walls this week. Yes mom and dad, we have put things up in the first 5 years. I know, you're stunned. We even moved some furniture around. Should have listened to Max form the beginning - he knows how to lay out a room.

Fiona continues to surprise, motivate, and exhaust us. Last week she suggested that a bird we saw on a walk was a condor. We know she learned about condors from Diego, but it was quite the head-spinner when she said it. Her first visit to the dentist went very well. She has been instructed to floss between her molars every day. So I am now flossing. Occasionally. Since she is a mimic with a wicked memory, we have to be very careful what we say in front of her. Deep down, I knew all that Pig Latin practice in elementary school would come in handy. Though I know now that my teachers were also bilingual. And then there's the manipulation. She's really honing her stills. The stalling, the testing of limits - the latest technique is "I want to hug you and kiss you all over." Really? Oh okay, love me. Oh, that tickles and makes you giggle? Weeeee! More! Weeeee! Wait, what were we doing?

When it's quiet in the house we are never quite sure what we will discover. Apparently bears have to go potty too.

Easter present - a Little People camping set we picked up at a friend's garage sale. Score!

And the basket o' candy...

More booty from the garage sale: mega blocks. Check out the froggy picnic Anthony built.

No sweetheart, this is not a good hiding place.

This outfit includes pajamas, panties, a tee shirt, a sweater, pants, and socks. Hey, all the parts are there. Cant't see the tee shirt? It's under the sweater. Around her waist.

Huff 'n Puff

This morning....

I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your cheeks up.

.......... ............. .............

It's not working.

Way to hold your own Dolly.

Just another example of the child sponge brain.

Me: Would you like cream cheese or peanut butter on your bagel?

Fiona: Not peanut butter. That sucks.

A piece of the past, present, and future.

Sunday we met up with a colleague of mine, her fiancée and his roommate's dog, Red. The guidebook says something like "if you've reached the Hacienda Hotel & Casino, you've gone too far." No kidding....the unmarked turn off is the last turn before the Hacienda's parking lot. Good thing we had that guide book - we'd have ended up in Arizona. But we made it to the parking lot just as Fiona drifted off to sleep in the back seat.

Historic Railroad Tunnel Trail in Lake Mead Recreational Area. 2 miles and change in each direction. 5 tunnels. Lake Mead. And a blue sky full of fluffy white clouds. The trail and tunnels were used to take equipment to the Hoover Dam construction site. Other than minor elevation from the parking lot, it's a level walk on compacted gravel. Four and a half miles is a lot to ask of a three year old so we didn't go beyond the tunnels. But you can walk or bike to the scenic Hoover Dam Visitor Parking Deck.

A view of the Lake Mead Marina.

Looking back at Tunnel 4. Notice how low the water level is on the lake.

Railroad tie from the old tracks.

Per Fiona, this is a volcano but it isn't exploding.

Thank you, climbing walls at every playground in the city. She was not pleased when we made her stop climbing so we could hike back to the car. But she got to have her first pee in nature shortly after this and was sufficiently distracted.

Four of the five tunnels have timber supports at either opening. Here and there you can see drill lines in the tunnel walls from where dynamite was placed.

Across the way on that ridge are old bootlegging trails. We've been told there's a peak from which you can see the Strip and Lake Mead.

A wee little rock cairn we found along the trail. I experimented with different camera settings. In the bright sun the night-time setting gave this lighting effect.

Interesting color and formations in the rock below the trail.

Again with the night-time setting on the camera. There were a few sailboats on Lake Mead that day. This one is for Anthony who is still mourning the sale of his Buc.

Should you find yourself in Nevada, this is a great walk, view, history lesson. Just make sure you don't leave the granola bars in the car.

The next move.

It's time to share my family's next move with you, dear readers. We are moving to Henderson, Nevada. Short version is that I got a job with a nonprofit services company based there and I start work on Weds. That's right - just a few days from now. Our house in Richfield has been on the market for 2 weeks. The 2 weeks before that were chaotic with projects and preparations for getting the house ready to sell. The garage is filling up with boxes and bins. And I am writing this post in a hotel room alongside I-80 in North Platte, NE. I left Minnesota today. Anthony and Fiona will follow me when the time is right. For the next 3 weeks my mom is with them to help with the transition. That's the short version.

I don't yet know how to write the long version. But you can believe it's full of emotions, to-do lists, and difficult decisions. It has been a whirlwind of a month since I accepted the job. So....I drove 640 miles today. I cried before I even got to the river just a few miles from the house. But then I saw a gaggle of geese flying south alongside the highway and I felt reassured that I was headed in the right direction. I am confident this is going to be good move for me and my family. It's just incredibly hard to leave.

As I drove south and then west I watched Fall go in reverse. There are still some gorgeous colors in western Iowa (which is much more hilly than I thought it would be) and eastern Nebraska. I drove by signs pointing to Nevada, IA and Henderson, NE. As I entered Nebraska it started to rain but soon I could see the back end of the front and made it through to the sunny side. Once you get west of Lincoln, the highway speed goes up to 75.....and just when you get excited about setting that cruise control there's one construction zone after another.....one stretch was the longest 9 miles of the day. I was behind a horse trailer those 9 miles. Nine. Miles.

High points: I played Monopoly at McDonalds for lunch and won a free breakfast sandwich. I had a surprisingly good dinner at Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant in North Platte tonight. And I saw license plates (excluding semis) from MN, WI, IA, MI, IL, NE, OR, MO, FL, CA, UT, CO, NJ, SD, and Ontario. I think it's a requirement that you spot an Ontario plate on a road trip in the U.S. I swear - every time there's someone from Ontario on the road.

Oh, and I saw some swans, shaggy ponies, and llamas....I think they were llamas.

Tomorrow I hope to make it to Salina, Utah. For now....I crash.

What part of the soul is chicken soup good for again?

I love it when a post writes itself as I am washing dishes on a random night of the week. But let me start with a list of things one should not give a toddler to eat in a home that is on the market and has to be clean as a whistle at every waking moment.....breath.....soup, raisins, edamame, juice boxes, milk, goldfish, rice, and water. Did I mention soup? Yes. We had chicken soup for dinner. It was tasty too. Fiona even ate it. And then it crashed to the floor by way of the table, her pajamas, and the fabric covered seat. I really hate wasting good chicken soup. And I really hate wasting it when a prospective buyer is coming to the house at 9am the next morning. So I send her off to her room to take off her soppy pajamas and proceed with the clean up and dishes. This is where the post writes itself.....

Gayly she bounds into the kitchen in only her diaper.

Fiona: I'm naked! I'm naked!
Me: I see that. Please go put on clean pajamas so we can read stories. (To myself: I bet she'll pick the bicycle shirt. She loves that thing.)

Ever so proud of herself she re-enters the kitchen with her very large Tour de Cure team t-shirt (her bicycle shirt; the most favorite thing she has) and a pajama shirt on as pants - both legs through the neck hole.

Fiona: I have it on backwards!
Me: No hon, that's a shirt, not shorts. (I'm such a buzz kill.)

She hops off and back again, this time with her lime green Pancremaniacs team t-shirt (her other most favorite thing) on backwards, over the bicycle shirt. Her legs are still through the neck hole of that poor pajama shirt.

Me: Fiona, please put that shirt back in your drawer and pick out stories to read. (I hope she doesn't take everything out of that drawer and make a mess in there too.)

Back to the kitchen she flies with ALL of her pajamas in her arms. All of them. So I finish up the dishes and go see what else is out of the dresser. Fortunately the chaos is contained to only the 4th drawer with pajamas and burp rags. But her soppy soup pajamas are smack in the middle of the pile so now there are three sets of pajamas that have chicken soup on them.

She eats 4 bites of chicken soup....well, anything...for dinner and goes completely gonzo hyper. Every night. Anthony isn't home tonight so I was hoping for a quiet night sans the 3 hour bedtime routine we've gotten ourselves into. Child won't go to sleep until 10pm - I don't get it. Let's just say I was happy to give her Benedryl for her massive eczema flare up tonight. She's been out of bed 3 times since I put her in there. Sadly, that's an improvement.

Oh, and as soon as the showing is over tomorrow I'm taking up the candy bowl. So not worth the struggle every waking minute.

Paying in the yard on a crisp fall afternoon

Jo liked the pumpkin. And yes, for those of you who were at Camp Bearberry in August, that is the raspberry hat I made for Fiona. She grew last week and it don't fit no more. Sigh.

Fiona was happy to have a friend to play with today. The neighbor boys are on vacation for 2 weeks and sitting in her stroller watching me weed the garden....well, that sucks. Those girls chased each other around until they got good and hungry. Aunt Heather came over tonight too. She has the Auntly touch I tell you. Both kids were calm when she was in the room. When it was me trying to put them to bed - I wouldn't call them calm so much as not calm.

And...she's making Fiona a new hat. It will match the new sweater she made for Fiona. It's good to have Auntlys who love you that much, isn't it?

The payoff doesn't always match the input.

When you put energy into something, the payoff isn't always what you expect. Here are three examples from my home:

1. Canning tomatoes. A friend of mine gave me a huge bag of gorgeous tomatoes from her garden. Then my neighbor brought over 7 or 8 more. I had, from what I could tell, 4 different varieties. I washed them. I par-boiled them. I peeled them. I seeded them. I chopped them...and onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. I cooked them with red wine, bay leaves, tomato paste, olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano. I pureed them in the blender. I cooked them down to a thicker-than-soup consistency. I added fresh basil. I canned them. And this is what I got out of it:

There's another jar only 2/3rds full. I was hoping to give a jar to each tomato-sharing friend, but again this is all I got! We're having pasta tonight with the non-processed jar. That was a lot of work. I sterilized 5 jars. Wishful thinking. But I'd never done this before and now I know it's not like pickles. With pickles you get a lot of jars. Oh. Before I forget, I had to go to 3 stores to find canning lids. Why no one carries canning supplies this time of year I cannot explain.

2. Potty training. Suffice it to say I've been living under a rock for several weeks. I have no idea what's going on in the world. But I can tell you what motivates my child to learn to use the toilet. In the last few weeks, we went from the big potty to the potty chair and back to the big potty. We're on our second style of tracking chart. We've used stickers, stars, balloons, happy & sad faces, and in moments of sheer desperation, candy. There has been a lot of laundry. A. Lot. Of. Laundry. And running errands with child in undies takes no less than twice as long as with child in diapers. But unlike the experience of canning tomatoes, this has a big payoff. We are close to only using one diaper or pull-up a day (night time protection). Wow, the dollars that aren't being deposited into the tills of big box stores! Fiona is learning about her body. Today she was leaning over herself so far to watch herself pee that she lost balance and fell into the toilet. Balance is one of those things that make a very big difference in one's life. And now that she sees where her pee comes out, I think she's more interested and impressed with herself. She is becoming more independent and has even gone to the potty by herself (without prompting and she washed her hands!) a couple of times. It's getting better. It's slower than I hoped it would be, but it's getting better. We have to be close to a toilet at all times so for at least the next several weeks I expect to continue looking at the underside of this rock.

And when you live under a rock, it's imperative to amuse yourself. Behold! I made a tutu:

The Great Minnesota Get Together 2009

This year Fiona and I went to the State Fair without Anthony. I'm still paying for last year with him. We tagged along with the Wandering Moos on the twins' first birthday. We saw lots of animals, rode the Carousel twice, sampled fair food that wasn't all on a stick (!), and saw a cow get milked. Here's the photo log of our day....

Husband's birthday

I planned a little surprise adventure for Anthony's birthday this year. Fiona and I picked him up from work early and took him to Theodore Wirth Park in the northwest part of the metro. It's the largest park in the Grand Rounds system and we'd never been there. So we stopped at a geographical marker along the parkway for a photo op:

Then we parked at one of the two golf courses, unloaded the bikes and pod, and went for a very hilly bike ride. Anthony had to take over pulling Fiona in the pod...ugg, that was hard. After the ride we drove over the Wirth Lake and had a picnic dinner on the beach. Putting aside the traffic in our view to the right, the mucky water in our view to the left, and the goose poop all over the beach it was a fun picnic. I made curried chicken salad and served it on croissants. Lemonade, strawberries, and marbled cheesecake squares rounded out the meal. Fiona got to check out two new playgrounds. It was a big night!

Anthony got a titanium link bracelet for his 37th. Looks good, no?

I can't make this stuff up.

More of FiG's organizational work. I did not see this being built nor did I do anything to it before taking its picture. If you are anything like me, you will notice that the stacks of bowls are not even. Symmetry is not always the goal. Clearly.
My next potty training strategy: a success chart on FiG's bedroom door. It went up tonight. We already have a system that rewards her a star for #1 in the potty and a balloon for #2 in the potty. So I explained tonight that we will start putting her stars and balloons on this chart and at the end of each day she will get a prize if she has stars or balloons on the day. Her first response: "What do I get?" A few minutes later she wanted to earn a star, so she did her deed and I taped a star to the chart. She freaked. FREAKED. Apparently a star on the chart is NOT the same thing as a star in hand. Oh, we are going to have to work on this.

How does the clean up song go again?

During the final party prep, FiG was unsupervised in the basement for a little while. This is how she passed the time. Such an organized mess. TV, you're fired.


When asked to clean up her room, FiG brings everything from her room and commingles it with everything in the living room. This is just a phase, right? Right?


And for your entertainment (and mine): A-Mo, the Daddy Worm.

Channeling Carrie Bradshaw

I'm in New York sitting next to a window typing on a laptop drinking an Ubu Ale in the dark. The particulars are different, but it's the best impression I can muster. So let's see.....I'm on vacation with my family at Lake Placid, NY. We've rented a house that fits all 11 of us. It's right at the lake shore with a dock and pontoon boat to boot. We're here for a week. I have a feeling that time will fly by....especially if I take a 3-hour nap every day! My kid was the only one to have a (colossal) melt down today. As long as we can keep it that way, it will be a good week.

It's been a long time since I've posted to this blog and my two biggest fans happen to be my mom and her friend, who has known my mom since before my parents were married, so you can imagine the grief I'm getting over my Facebook activity and subsequent lack of blogging. See comments on my last post for reference.

Right.

Life has taken an interesting turn since my last post. I stopped working at the end of June and have spent time since then getting to know my life in a new way. It's my summer of fun: play dates, lunch dates, and vacation dominate the calendar. But there is still work. Sure, there's the potty and manners training, the Weeding Project of 2009, and the cooking and cleaning. What is perhaps the most surprising, though, is the work on me, myself, and I. It's nice to have some time to think about who I am, how I treat myself and those I love, and if I'm happy with me. So it's been an interesting summer.

I am looking for another job but have chosen to be deliberate about it. I spend most of my time in my search networking and interviewing people and organizations. I'm trying to find the best fit. My last job wasn't a good fit in the last year I was there, and it sucked the life out of me. I suppose this is my summer of recovery too.

Not to mention milestones: my last day of work was my 10th wedding anniversary and I turn 35 this week.

I think I'm having Facebook withdrawal....and I need another beer. Later....

Steely Danielle, this one's for you.

On the way home after school today:

Me: We're having a salad for dinner.
FiG: Pizza!
Me: Oh, I know you like pizza. Should we have some rice balls?
----
Me: I like rice balls. Do you?
FiG: I like rice balls.
----
wait for it...
----
FiG: Does Daddy have rice balls?

Burgers: A Great American Growth Spurt

Burger joints are popping up left, right, and center here....and I suspect all over the country. But in the Twin Cities these new burgers are a departure from what I've come to know as a classic TC eat - the Juicy Lucy. There's considerable debate over who makes the best Juicy Lucy. But since I've never eaten a Juicy Lucy and my homemade version is turkey stuffed with brie and a slice of Granny Smith apple on top, I won't comment more than to say the Juicy Lucy is a known standard throughout these parts.

So back to the new guys on the scene. A-Mo and I have recently tried Five Guys and Smashburger - two new suburban establishments peddling meat and potatoes in two very different ways. Five Guys is really about simplicity - to the point that their food is served in a brown paper bag even if you're eating at the restaurant. The cooking is open for viewing, which amuses and distracts cranky toddlers. The menu offers only a few choices; alas, no brie. They make a tasty burger, though next time I'll forego the lettuce and tomato as they just made things slippery and the grilled onions were too far to the raw side of things for my liking. Hot dog was split down the middle and grilled - yum. Fries aren't really worth mentioning.

Smashburger caters more to families and those seeking a different version of an old favorite. For example, they offer multigrain buns, veggie frites (carrots, green beans, and asparagus fries), salads, and malts. I built my own burger and it was good, but I swooned over those ordered by others in my party - those with gooey cheese and bacon to be exact. Perhaps the best part of the meal was the Smashfries. Knocking Twin City Grill off the top of the heap, these fries are my new favorite french fries. Tossed with olive oil, garlic, and herbs, they are indeed a different version of an old favorite. And they will have me going back for more.

The social experiences for my one visit to each are polar opposites from one another. Five Guys = my little family unit, shove it in as fast as you can because The Toddler is getting antsy. Smashburger = three couples, 4.5 kids, two men (we call them "uncles") for The Toddler to flirt with, and adult conversation not focused on our restaurant exit strategy.

I think we'll give both another shot. In the meantime, here are some pictures of our Smashburger outing last weekend, courtesy of Christie and her "new" camera.