If your birthday is this week

This can be an inspired year, when many creative ideas come to you. You may be especially drawn to writing, speaking, or teaching what you know. While you may be in touch with a new direction you want to take, there are several adjustments you will need to make in order to move forward. It is time to alter any need for approval from others that keeps you from fully expressing yourself. This is a subtle way of giving away one's power, and will feel increasingly uncomfortable as you observe how it interferes with your expansion and personal fulfillment.

---Pam

Today's events

Today Graeme and I hauled stuff to the basement, assembled two sets of shelves, cleaned up the kitchen, set up the Roku and piled up empty boxes.
Vivian had two baths, her favorite activity, and somehow in the middle of the night I did something to make my left shoulder ache.

Update: here are a couple pictures of the results of the day, with a bonus of kids-in-sunshine (because they are wonderful).

Saturday

The rost is simmering, and Graeme is waiting his turn to make a batch of cookies while Ethan finishes placing the cherry cookie dough on the sheet.

We are wondering how many cookies it takes to fill the Companion Cube Cookie Jar. Later we are headed to see the student production of Les Miserable at Patrick Henry.

A little perspective, if you please

I am not a Stay At Home Mom.
I don't do homeschooling, and my house isn't nearly as neat as I wish it were.

• I work 40+ hours a week in an office in a career.
• I transport three children to three different places every morning.
• I pack lunches and supplies for the toddler every weekday morning.
• I work out (mostly) every weekday morning and once on the weekends.
• I read at least one book a month (sometimes as much as a book a week, even).
• I knit. Right now the average is about one project a month, and by project I mean garment.
• I host friends over at least once a month.
• My son hosts friends over for D&D about once a week.
• I drop the teen and 'tween boys at karate four times a week.
• I play with my daughter one-on-one for an hour while my sons are at karate.
• I cook, mostly organic, usually scary nutritious, often from scratch (less lately than I used to and less than I would like to).
• I do laundry and the dishes.
• I clean bathrooms and floors.
• I take out the trash.
• I send email and keep in touch with my friends, both local and long-distance. Even if the message isn't a long one, it is heartfelt and that much comes through.
• I haven't baked much in the last six weeks, but before that we were making most of our own bread. And soups. And they were amazing.
• I manage the medical and other appointments for us all.
• I pay the bills, mostly on time, even.
• I am working on organizing stuff, and doing a pretty good job of it, but it's not nearly done yet.
• I decorate for the holidays.

So can I stop giving myself crap now for feeling as though I don't do enough?

The Dawn of a New Day

While I am walking to Mount Doom, I have gotten some good advice, not the least of which was that I shouldn't be putting my heart rate above 150 given my recent history. So when I tried the elliptical machine this morning and saw a rate of 147 after only three minutes, I bailed and headed back to my friend, the bike. Alessandra joined me, and we went another 4.5 miles today, still on Stock Road, but into the rolling hills part. A sense of foreboding is peppering the day as we approach the forest.

Also, I am hungry. I mean, ravenous. I don't even like bananas, and I nearly knocked the produce guy down trying to get one after biking this morning. I ate it while the children had their breakfasts and I made Vivian's lunch. I started with orange juice and the banana, and I really haven't stopped yet. I'm having flashbacks to when I was on the swim team back when I was 15.

The children continue to be fantastic. [Although Ethan was a little disappointed that the election results mean we will not be moving to New Zealand, he can live with it.] Ethan and Graeme are continuing to rack up Level One points in the mornings, and by being helpful in the evening. I'm looking into karate classes for them at their request.

Wait. What?

Can I grind up some of our pepper flakes?
Sure.
Later:
Hey, Mom, do we have rubbing alcohol?
Yes.
Later
Do we have cayenne pepper?
Wait. What are you making?
Homemade pepper spray.
Oh.

Thus it begins again

Graeme cooked dinner last night while I bathed Vivian. I felt totally spoiled, and as we sat watching a bit of evening television, I began a capelet for Vivian. The solid yarn is the leftovers from a scarf I made a few years back and the rainbow stripe is a bonus skein from Three Irish Girls. I'm looking forward to see how it turns out.

Sunday

Listening to Ethan work piano finger exercises and just proud as can be. The exercises are difficult and tedious, but he is doing a great job and being careful to learn the correct form as well as simply Getting It Over With.
Watched the meteor shower from a truck bed with comforters and hot chocolate in the pre-dawn chill. It was more adventuresome than spectacular but still a great time. The cold seeped into the back injury and I have been creaking all day. Still totally worth it.
I took measurements for both boys' upper body. Graeme said, "Why are you doing this? I don't want a sweater." I smiled and asked if he still wanted me to make him a cape. He replied by holding the measuring tape without question.
The sleeves to the Fathertime sweater are nearly done. After that, a little bit of work on the neck remains and then it will be ready to wash and block. Given that it is my first garment with real shaping, I'm pretty excited.
Every time I wear the capelet out, I get comments, questions and compliments. All of that is a completely surprising by-product, and is reaffirming of the time I put into it.
Back to work tomorrow. Apparently it has been weighing on my mind more than I realized, as all my dreams this morning after the stargazing were filled with work meeting and were weird beyond the pale. Fortunately, I doubt tomorrow's reality will be able to hold a fraction of the strange that my subconscious came up with.

Little Miss Creeper

Vivian has been playing with Graeme's armor. I think they have been playing too much mindcraft. Am I the only one who sees this in bright green?

Rocking out with the cello

First batch of bread in the new house

Thick, crunchy crust. Moist, steamy insides.
Totally Graeme approved.

New & Noteworthy: Graeme wrestled in a city-wide tournament this weekend. We had to leave the house at 6:15 in the morning and the whole shebang wasn't over until after 5 p.m. After that, I pretty much collapsed; even watching television was too much effort.

Outside my window today:
No snow yet, though the conditions are just right, except for being about ten degrees too warm. Perfect for staying at home making cookies and sweets and drinking hot chocolate and egg nog.

Things that make me happy:
The way Vivian loves to touch the Christmas tree but always pulls her hand back afterward. She tilts her head to the side and looks at the tree intently, as if to study why it feels that way. It is beyond adorable.

On the kindle:
I’m still in Dance of Dragons. So far I have Vivian's sinuses to thank for having gotten any read at all this past weekend, as I ended up unable to fall asleep between her bouts of can't-breathe-please-save-me sniffles. So far I'm about a third of the way through.

Recent Episodes:
Grimm
Legend of the Seeker

I'm going through withdrawal for Once Upon a Time. The next episode isn't until the second week in January, and Graeme and I really need to know what happens next.

Movie of the Week:
A Christmas Story

On the menu for dinner:
Christmas Eve: Ham, potato salad, macaroni salad, sweet potato casserole, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin roll and iced cream. Your choice of lemonade, iced tea and coffee.

Otherwise, it's anything in the crockpot.

On my To Do List:
Snickerdoodles, Sugar Cookies, Peppermint Patties, Apple cake, Spice cake and Carrot cake.


Recipe I want to try soon:

• Homemade Worcestershire sauce. Don't let the marshmallow recipe fool you; the sauce recipe is at the bottom of the page.
• Strawberry Cheesecake French Toast. Does this not sound perfect for a Christmas Morning breakfast?

In the craft basket:
Still Nothing.

Looking forward to:
Elf Christmas wrapping and stocking stuffing.
Christmas morning with the children.

Tips and Tricks:
If you dust a bit of powdered sugar through a sieve on top of anything, it suddenly looks more expensive.
- Chef Nigella Lawson

Post of the week:
Homemade Peppermint Patties

Blog Hopping:
Whole New Mom. I just discovered this site and I'm in love. See the Powdered Sugar recipe. Or the Homemade Vegetable Soup Broth recipe. Or heck, just about everything sounds like something I want to try if I haven't already.

Worth a thousand words:


Lesson learned the past few days:
Order flannel pajamas early in December or not at all. Waiting until the 19th is right out.


On my mind:
Flannel pajamas.


Thought of the week:
Don't wast too much time wishing, hoping, and being envious; it'll make you bugnutty. -- Penn Jillette

Snow Day Fun

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The First Football Game of 2009-2010 Season

Ethan and Graeme and I had a wonderful time at the first ball game. Just at the end, he decided to show his brother the *awesome* vantage point he had found and ended up clothselining himself into a cervical collar and an ambulance ride. He was fine, and quite lucky. And all the high school cheerleaders came to make sure he was ok.

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g on the rox

This was Graeme on the Marines' climbing wall at the West Virginia State Fair back in August
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IMG00119.jpg

Receipt for Graeme's doctor visit today
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The happy couple

September 24, 2008 The ceremony was beautiful, with Rev. Claire coming to the house from Charlottesville and David's family coming up as well. The sun was setting, the air was crisp and the mountains were beginning their autumnal glory as we exchanged vows and rings. What a fine day.

Happy Birthday, Graeme

Graeme is officially eight years old today.

This picture was taken on May 10th, when he and David were walking back from the garage after having put up the delivery of a ton of lime for the fields. Working outside or in the wood shop are his favorite things, and especially when he gets to do them with David. I'm the best mom ever, of course, but there's something even more special about a dad. On Sunday evening, they made the round shield he has been asking for forever, and the design elements are being dutifully worked out.

This year for his birthday, he wants a Star Wars Jengo Fet voice-changing helmet with matching blaster. I'm not even certain where to get such a thing, let alone if I would let him have it.

My how the years do fly.

a matter of mindset

It’s a matter of mindset. My whole outlook right now can be summed up as a matter of will: I refuse to freak out. Ethan’s schooling troubles have gone from bad to worse to worst this week. On the one hand, this is troubling, of course. On the other, it’s relieving: I have decided I simply refuse to assume responsibility for Everything and have started communications (with the school’s full support) at various special educational facilities in the valley. So far I’m favoring Minnick, but as yet it is not a foregone conclusion. The school staff and David and I are having a meeting next week to determine where Ethan will be placed and how soon we can get him started. This is good news to me, not bad; it means that I am not the only one looking into alternatives anymore, that I am not the only one saying “this is not working.” So there – I feel as though I have more support than ever, frankly. David and I continue to work on our relationship, and this week we have covered quite meaningful ground. For his part, I have total sympathy: it can’t be easy to be invaded by three people with large and distinctly different personalities. And yet he has been, and has fallen in love with each of us. His life would be far simpler without our involvement, yet he has decided that the love and caring is more worthwhile than irritating, even when it is a hassle. Happy New Year. An online prediction for the upcoming Year of the Rat claims:

The year 2008 will be a year of possibilities, a time of progress; although, it may not generally be spectacular. Those who take the biggest risks could be disappointed. Everyone should, nevertheless, add something new to their lives.

For me, I predict that my life will smooth out (or ‘smoothen,’ as Graeme is fond of saying), and that this family will solidify and move forward in a way that is both meaningful and powerful. We’re cool like that.

the latest from the weed patch

This morning while i was in the garden checking on the tomatoes, the vacationing neighbor was shooting a high-powered rifle repeatedly. Now, i'm certain that he was merely working on his new sight, or perfecting his trigger, and certainly was not after the many trespassers on Deer Highway, but it really disturbed me that he was firing near the Pine Forest where the boys had recently been playing. I know we are allowed to shoot, but what are the guidelines for shooting near occupied land? Mo sent along a link to local ordinances in Virginia, and Craig is notably not on it. So i suppose a good old fashioned drop-by-to-say-hi is in our futures this evening. The tomato news is that while we don't have any ripening as yet (congrats, Mo), we have several on the vine that look quite lovely. And to think it only took 32 plants to get a few! The beans have a poor showing; after Graeme and I finished weeding the bed there are only a half-dozen plants at best. The peas aren't doing well either, and I'm wondering what we can do: do we weed and wait, do we tear it up and plant something else, do we make it the world's best cat box? I put the questions to Morris, who was most helpful and full of advice. So now it seems that we will be replanting beans and scrapping the peas, which is fine with me. The beans we planted were from last year's seed purchase, so we might need to get some more of those. I like the burgandy ones best, and some pole beans are always nice. I'd also like to get some delicata squash seeds in the ground -- they are my favorite -- but i have No Clue where to buy them (if i could find a squash, i'd buy it, eat it, and plant the seeds). Perhaps Agnew will have some. I also would like to get the pumpkin seeds in the ground for Halloween, even if we don't harvest them for actual eating. The beets from last year's seeds seems to be doing quite well, and if early shoots are any indication, we'll have beets by the bucketload. The spinach (curent season seed purchase) is duking it out with the weeds, and i'm not going to sweat that crop so much. It's a shame, since i'm big on spinach and was really looking forward to making some spinach-artichoke dip, so it looks like a trip to the market is in order. Mo says it, like the peas, are an early or late crop and that i should try again in the fall. I'm a fan of weed barrier fabric, but even so weeds would still happen. I'm not certain what the horses got into, but it has been coming up in droves in all our beds. The cow manure will be a godsend next year. We set out three new beds that we plan to plant with potatoes, so i'm betting we'll be in Agnew soon. Will pick up some seeds then, tear out the peas and keep in mind that cool crops doesn't mean "july." I have some onion seeds for planting in the fall. We also have some serious garlic going on, Russian Red and elephant varieties. We didn't get it in soon enough to harvest or anything, but will leave it in the beds over the winter for harvesting next year. With the deer being what they are (read: p.i.t.a.), i'm thinking of building a low garden wall. it's not fool proof or anything, but it can be pretty, and i'm seriously invested in the garden. It's silly in a way, but there is a lot of me in the beds. The boys and I go out every morning, and I've come to really look forward to the roses and flowers and vegetables. Since the roses and lilies were a deer buffet, the vegetables have been getting most of my attention (that, and all the weeds that seem to spring up in the beds overnight). I checked on the roses this morning, and it seems they will recover, but i doubt there will be much in the way of blooms for several weeks, if then.