Random Silly Pics

I was going through Picassa the other day and found a bunch of old photos of Nora from before I started this blog. I thought I'd start sharing them. Looking back really warms my heart!

This one isn't silly so much as just plain cute. I took this a few weeks prior to starting grad school. She was so pretty, and I loved posing her. Actually, looking back at this does make me laugh. I had forgotten how her hair used to stand straight up! I feared she'd have to have a crew cut. How wrong I was, she did inherit her Aunt Stephanie's gorgeous locks after all. This was taken in August of 2005.

BLIZZARD!!!!

It was billed as the storm of the century. I don't watch network news yet still managed to hear the buzz. A major snowstorm was set to hit 33 states and bring the nation to a halt. Forecasters were calling for up to 20 inches of snow where we live, and 24 inches in Chicago. The hype was palpable. Snowpocalypse 2011 was due at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 1st.

While I usually ignore such warnings because they're more hype than help, something told me to listen this time. I told the girls we were in for major weather, and to expect that we'd be stuck in the house for a day or more. The day before the blizzard the we went to store to stock up on PB&J, baked beans, and other non-perishable snacks. We had plenty of water and plenty of gas. I dug out the sleeping bags in case it got chilly, and asked Ryan to bring in 20 logs in case we lost power due to ice and high winds. And then we waited (and laughed heartily at all of the funny stuff people were saying... I saw reports of Yeti sightings!)

The snow started falling at 8:15 Tuesday morning. I sat alone in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, watching the flakes drift here and there. It was really beautiful, and it started piling up early on. At noon our city declared a state of emergency, and asked everyone to get off of the roads asap. Emily got home from school ok, and we went to pick up Nora. By 2:00, the blizzard had started. Driving was pretty scary, considering the wind was whipping the snow, which was coming down in considerable quantity and was very powdery in consistency. It was the worst visibility I had seen (or hadn't seen???) in town. Since we were out and about, we picked up Ryan as well, who was asked to leave work by 3pm.

It snowed, but life went on. Nora played My Little Pony. Emily demanded to play Angry Birds. Dinner was normal. The girls and I wore footie jammies and watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in honor of the bizzaro weather. Emily went to bed at the regular time, and Nora and I enjoyed a roaring fire. By 9:00, Nora snuggled close to me because the wind was whipping not only around, but through, the house. The drafts were especially drafty, and snow managed to get onto the enclosed front porch. Nora and I turned out the lights and watched the snow. Maybe it would be more accurate to say we watched the wind. It was amazing...we heard the rumble of the wind as it approached, and when it reached a roar you could see the wind in the road. Snow came blowing and swirling, there were eddies and mini tornadoes flying by the house. Then the sound would lessen, and the snow would fall rather than blow, until the next gust. It reminded me of watching the waves come ashore. Nora felt like Dorothy.

Ryan woke me up the next morning and told me to look outside. HOLY MOLY!!!! We got 18.7 inches of snow. It was everywhere. I've never seen so much snow in all my life. The look on Nora's face when we opened the back door to a mountain of snow was priceless. SNOW DAY!!! Weeee!!!!

The dog and I were out at 8:45 am. She was a little confused, since she usually doesn't go in the front yard, but we couldn't get to the back. The snow made it on our covered stoop; the dog didn't know where the stairs were! We tromped through the snow laughing (and barking). Lacey kept getting stuck; I couldn't believe it was up to my knees. Some of the drifts were as high as my shoulders. I plodded a path to the backyard so Nora could come outside and play. As soon as I had snapped some pictures, I went back inside to fetch her. We played for about 30 minutes. She made snow angels, and pretended that the drifts were ocean waves that she "surfed", although it appeared she spent more time paddling than standing. Once we were too cold to play longer, we went inside.

However, the sun came out around noon, and it was so lovely I couldn't bear to stay in the house. Ryan had gone out to shovel the drive, and when I checked on him, I found him helping our neighbor Alex. We share a driveway, and due to the way the wind was blowing, the drifts had piled on her side, leaving our side bare in areas. I got a shovel and pitched in, because all together we had 3 cars to dig out. It was fun, helping out. We could hear other neighbors shoveling and laughing and snow-blowing too. By this time, the whole neighborhood had come alive. Nothing like a good natural disaster to bring people together.

Once the drive was cleared, I took both girls out to play. Emily was overwhelmed by the snow, because in places the drifts were higher than she was. Poor little girl got stuck more than once, but she had a good time. Miles joined in, and we spent another 60 minutes outside. Nora and Miles made a serious of moats and castles and islands. They had mapped out the backyard quite extensively before a pretend earthquake came and destroyed their village. Even prior to the "earthquake", I can say I was, for sure, absolutely exhausted by 3pm. It was an incredible 24 hours.

PS Thursday was a snow day too!! Weeeee!!!!

Snowpocalypse 2011

January 2011 in Pictures

The month of January came and went in the blink of an eye. With the holidays over, things returned to as normal as they can be around here. The girls are back to school and enjoying it immensely, Nora's first adult tooth popped through the gum behind the baby tooth, and I found out I would return to teaching. The biggest change has been that we've taken Emily out of Montessori on Fridays, since I am at home all day long. That was a sad decision, but financially necessary. Since there aren't any real stories to write about, I'll include a few snippets below.

We spent New Year's with my best friend Lisa, her hubby Bob, and their children Shane and Sarah. Nora managed to stay up till midnight, and here we are! Ryan and I were beyond exhausted, but Nora continued to jump up and down till about 12:30.

The girls and their Dad had a dance party one evening after Ryan got home from work...too much fun!

Emily and her iPod!!! She managed to sneak it into bed, and we didn't hear her playing Bejeweled until 10pm! You can see also that (1) she still prefers sleeping in a nest rather than in a neat and tidy bed and (2) she has the lantern in bed with her as well, presumably to help her see as she continues to sneak around hours after bedtime!!!

During the month of January, Nora and her classmates did their first research project. Nora was given the task of learning about the Emperor Penguin, and then making a poster to share with the preschoolers at the Montessori. The funniest part of the entire experience, for me, was when we watched March of the Penguins. There is, at the beginning, a mating scene, but its tastefully done. As we were sitting there and I was thinking, "OH NO!!! I should have previewed this before showing it!!!", Nora said, "Look Mom! They're dancing!" PHEW!!! After the movie we made the poster. Nora did most of the work, although I made the big "P" with glitter. The kit of letters I purchased only had one "P", which isn't enough when you're doing a project on emPeror Penguins.

Resolution 2011

OK....maybe a post on New Year's Resolutions 21 days after the fact is just too untimely, and should be scratched. Actually, I've written and re-written this post over the past few weeks, but it hasn't been satisfactory until now. This year I am really serious about the resolution, the chance for a new beginning, but I wanted to be sure I actually know what it is I want from 2011 before posting it publicly.

*****

I spent most of the wee hours of January 1st crying my eyes out. It dawned on me that my dear Grandparents would not have the opportunity to see the new year, to make the changes that needed to be made, to explore and learn and see where life could take them. Their story is over now. Someday that's going to be me too, and that really depressed me. I've continued to think about it since then, and have tried to put some perspective on the whole thing. This ride we call life, the unknown that we call death, does not function to make us feel depressed, not really. It's there, I think, to make us get our act together. Once you lose someone you love, you realize you don't have an unlimited amount of time. To think so is actually rather dangerous. (Several artists on my Matchbox 20 Pandora station have underscored this point recently, I think, to make sure I'm paying attention).

OK Rob, I hear you...my world is really burning to the ground! But now what? Ryan asked me what I wanted to do with 2011, and I came up with a big old blank. Nada. That is simply unacceptable, considering the above realization. Since then I've been formulating an answer, and here it is. Drumroll please....

Resolution 2011: Focus less on "me" and more on "us".

Now, I realize you were probably expecting something much more profound, or a statement in which I vowed to save the world. Sorry, I can't do that! I can only start here at home, and this is the best resolution I could come up with. But I stand behind it, I think its a good one. Its something I think I can succeed at, and just by trying, its a win-win for everyone involved. Here's the reasoning behind the resolution.

I need to focus less on "me" the teacher, and even "me" the Mom. I have a lot of ego and a lot of preconceived notions rolled up into those roles. Those two forces lead to unhappiness here in the house. Me the teacher spends too much time away from the girls while I grade or write lectures. Me the teacher oftentimes feels slighted when student sleep through that same lecture that deprived me of precious moments with my family. Me the teacher gets my knickers in a twist when I don't know when my next teaching gig is going to show up, even though I willingly signed up for a part-time job with no benefits and no guarantee of work. Me the teacher needs to remember the reason why I chose this profession: I love art, I love school, and adjunct teaching allows me more time with my kids than anything else I could find.

Me the Mom also needs to lighten up. Since my job is so erratic, I can't afford to always serve organic food. Get over it! The kids don't care. The landscaping in the front yard is really hideous. Well, its January and everything is covered in snow, so stop searching the internet for shrubbery! Who am I cleaning this house up for anyhow, my family or Kim and Aggie? Do the girls really care how often I mop? Does Ryan really give a hoot if there are dishes in the sink? Now, don't take this paragraph to mean I am a stellar housekeeper; in fact, I am not so good at housekeeping at all! And I beat myself up over this fact all the time. Guess how fun I am to be around when I'm pouting about the piles of laundry...

As I said, time to focus on US the family. I need to realize that I am not a teacher, teaching is just something I do. I enjoy it a lot of the time, but I can't let that task define me. I am going to spend less time being so OCD about classwork, period. My kids need me to spend more time with them, and not be stressed over teaching assignments! As for me the mom, I am going to think about the what is best for the family first, rather than what I simply want. Accepting what is rather than wishing for perfection will make living under this roof more enjoyable. And the chores? Well, Nora and Emily have been good about pitching in before, so its time to dust off the chore chart!

I truly hope to achieve a happier and more balanced life by putting the needs of the family over my personal wants and needs. In the end, I need to succeed. Because, as I noted earlier, someday I am not going to be here. Guess what? I can't take anything with me when I go. My degrees, my teaching files on my thumb drive, my house, and my garden have to stay behind. So spending all my time focusing on that stuff is a huge waste of time anyways. I can, however, leave something precious when its my time to find out what happens after the last breath. I can leave my kids with the memories of time spent together, time in which they felt love. I can leave my family with lessons of what it means to think about someone other than yourself, and how that is actually the source of happiness. And hopefully I will leave some grateful students behind too, having taught them to seek out beauty in the world and enjoy it, if only for a moment.

Christmas 2010: The Video

For anyone that would like to view all of our family's holiday photos while listening to several classic holiday tunes, check out this video. You can change the settings to view it in HD if viewing it full screen through You Tube. Enjoy!

Christmas 2010: The Good and the Bad, the Happy and the Sad

Christmas 2010 was unlike any Christmas we've ever celebrated before, for both good and bad reasons. I will probably remember this one as bittersweet, because there were moments of true joy, but for me there was some sadness too.

The holiday season started off right. We got the tree at Lowe's, and had a blast decorating it. For the first time Emily was also allowed to help put up ornaments, although she had more fun standing back and watching Nora and I trim the tree. Ryan hooked up his old i-pod in the living room so there was a good three week period in which our favorite Christmas songs filled the air along with the scent of pine.

As Christmas day approached, I began to stress out more than in the past, and unfortunately this quelled some of the excitement I had been feeling earlier in the month. First, work became a nightmare. I'll leave it at that for now, but don't be surprised in the next few months if there's a post about how (1) I've run away to become a farmer or (2) I've found a new job.

Second, this was the first year where I really felt I had to make sure Nora got what her heart was set upon. You see, last year Santa failed to bring her a pillow pet, and she was really down and out about that for the last 12 months. I had a heart to heart with Santa and asked him to please make sure she didn't have to feel like that again! Santa secured a pillow pet in early October (smart move Santa!!!) but failed to realize that Zhu Zhu Pet Princess accessories were going to be impossible to find. After many many trips to the store, Santa's elves managed to score both a Zhu Zhu Princess Palace and a beauty salon around December 22nd. Phew!!!! But also Wow!! I never imagined myself to be one of those moms who could get hung up over a toy!

My stress levels, and excitement levels, really started to rise as the day approached. I was so excited because for the first time in Emily's life, I was hosting Christmas dinner. When I was growing up, Christmas Eve was spent with family feasting on seafood, and on Christmas day we went to my Grandma Esther's house for even more amazing food. As we got older, that tradition changed. I spent Christmas Eve with Ryan's family, and my sister began hosting Christmas day. This has always been fun in the past, but as the family is growing and changing, I felt it was really important for Nora and Emily to celebrate some of the holidays in their home with both sides of the family present. That's what we planned for this year. I was so excited to see everyone, Ryan was excited I was making Chicken Stew (not quite the Italian feast but dang its dairy-licious). The kids were just excited, and continued to run around the house singing Jingle Bells.

And then my kids got sick with the snot-nosed virus of 2010. You all know what I'm talking about, the cold where everyone's head was filled with boogers. What a nasty nasty bug. It took whole family with it, draining us of energy and probably brain matter too with the amount of nose blowing that occurred.

The major fallout of this was that my mom, who is still undergoing chemo, couldn't come to the Christmas celebration. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Then Xander got sick with the aforementioned snot-nosed virus, so he and his dad couldn't come either. So there were some moments of disappointment from my point of view. It wasn't the Christmas I had planned, and I must have been more attached to those plans than I realized, because for the first time in my life, I cried--aka freaked out--on Christmas day.

Luckily for all of us, the freak out didn't start on Christmas Eve, didn't delay Santa's visit, and didn't affect those who were able to make it to our home. And it did turn out to be a lovely holiday. We had some laughs too because

---I forgot to defrost Christmas Eve dinner so we had to order take out sushi. Or maybe I forgot on purpose, because I'm always looking for an excuse to order Fushi Yami!

---Nora chided me for not wrapping my gift to her (I redecorated her room! How the heck was I going to wrap a bedroom??? Goof!)

---On Christmas morning, Ryan and I awoke to the sound of feet thundering from the girls room to the tree. One could tell a plan was being hatched by the continued sound of feet, and then Emily entered our room. After telling me a bunch of nonsense, she took a deep breath and said in a hushed voice, "presents!!!!". When I asked if Santa came, she said just as seriously, "Yes". Wow!!! Emily understood Santa! Best present ever.

---Santa was so silly. He hid the pillow pets in the TV cabinet! Nora didn't discover them right away, what a wonderful surprise!

---I discovered on Christmas Eve that I donated all of my Christmas dining stuff to charity at some point in my life I no longer remember; so I set the table with a beautiful new gold tablecloth and paper plates.

---My Dad played trivial pursuit on the i-phone. (This is funny if you know how tech literate my dad is).

---Dinner wasn't funny but it tasted great!

---I left Stephanie and Jessie's presents under the tree, so they drove for hours and hours and didn't even get a gift! Then I thought I saw Jessie wearing the gloves we bought her, so I returned them only to find out on NYE she still wanted them. Ah well!!!

Happy Holidays 2010. Thank you for the good memories, thanks for the not so good ones too. Life isn't ever going to go according to plan, thanks for the reminder! But all that really matters is that Nora and Emily had a magical two days of gifts and family and great food, and hopefully they will remember the moments that mattered with fondness as they grow up.

Nora's 6th Birthday Bash

When I started making plans for Nora's birthday, she still had a cast on her arm, and the doctor said it would be there until the end of the year. Being worried about a second broken bone, I tried to come up with a plan in which a number of 5 and 6 year old children could gather without a lot of commotion. I asked Nora if she would like to bring some friends to the movie, and she thought that was a fine idea. Especially since Disney, on the heels of the success of the Princess and the Frog, decided to release another princess movie. So Nora invited her friends to see Tangled, starring Princess Rapunzel. She was very VERY excited.

In order to make it a proper birthday party, I went and got the Tangled invitations, stickers, napkins, plates, cake, etc. It seemed like all was in order...all except when the party was actually gonna happen. What I didn't foresee when I hatched this plan, and what could have ruined the whole thing, is that theaters don't really release what time the different movies are playing until a few days before. So when Nora handed out the invitations, there was a note to the parents to call me to see what show we were going to attend. The problem? No one called. This was an even bigger problem because Nora assumed everyone that was invited was going to be thrilled to show up to her birthday.

Luckily, the party was saved from certain failure because Nora's two best friends, Miles and Ian, happen to have very cool moms whom I consider friends, and they made sure their sons would be here for Nora's day. Thank goodness they did, because I couldn't bear the idea of telling her the party was cancelled. The morning of her party, she did seem slightly disappointed that some of the girls from her class and her cousin weren't going to make it, but as soon as she had her dress on, along with her Tangled birthday ribbon, she was as happy as any other little girl on her birthday. Both Miles and Ian showed up, and off to the theater we went.

It was also a special day for Emily, because it was Emily's first ever trip to the movies. I am glad to report everyone, boys and girls alike, enjoyed the film. Even though it had a princess it was anything but a sissy movie. There was action, adventure, and silly songs (in addition to the lovey dovey kissing stuff, which made Ian smack his forehead in disgust. So funny, exactly what you'd expect from a 5 year old boy!) My favorite part was actually during a scary scene, because Emily climbed over all the other kids to sit in my lap. The ending is a tear jerker, and Nora began to cry a little, but luckily there was a happily ever after so we could go home and actually enjoy the cake and presents.

All in all, it was a successful birthday. I was happy because Nora got to feel special, she got to see a movie she now loves, and she spent several quality hours playing with her two best friends. Because there wasn't a house full of people, they kids never got overwhelmed and I felt they all behaved really well considering I fed them tons of sugar and junk food. The adults had a great visit too, and that's really nice when you can take a breather and enjoy the company of your peers! I would definitely like to do this again, but with the lack of turnout for this year, I might not be able to do so. Oh well, that's ok. I have 11 months to think of something else!

Nora's 6th Birthday Party