2012 in 38 questions

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before? Homeschool the girls. 2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions? I find it's so easy to keep resolutions when I just don't make any. ;-) 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No 4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes. My cousin's 6 year old daughter Morgan-Jade. It was tragic, awful, completely unexpected. I think about my cousin everyday and pray that he and his family are finding peace. 5. What countries did you visit? The good ol' U S A 6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012? some girl dates 7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Labor Day weekend, it's when Morgan-Jade died. 8. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year? Homeschooling the girls. 9. What was your biggest failure? Homeschooling the girls. Kidding. But really, some days are TOUGH. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Yes. Stupid plantar wart on my left foot. Surgery to remove it, painful recovery, and the effing thing is back. 11. What was the best thing you bought? A tablet. I've done loads more reading, and have read more classics that I hadn't read before. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Aubrey's. She's shown us how mature and nurturing she is. 13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Politicians. Really, life is rarely ever black or white. Or red or blue. Stop trying to win, and do your jobs. 14. Where did most of your money go? groceries, bills 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? 16. What song will always remind you of 2012? Blow my whistle. So bad, but I love it. 17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? Sadder, but only temporarily as we're a house full of sick right now, and everyone is on edge. b) thinner or fatter? Thinner. Thanks, nasty stomach bug! c) richer or poorer? About the same. 18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Reading to the girls. 19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Facebook, Pinterest. 20. How did you spend Christmas? We went to Andy's folks' house, and my parents came down for a day. Fun times! 21. Did you fall in love in 2012? Mmm hmm. I call him Andy. Been falling deeper and deeper in love with him for a long time now. ;-) 22. What was your favorite TV program? Eureka! 23. (question deleted) 24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No energy for hate. 25. What was the best book you read? In October I would've said Pride & Prejudice. But then I read Sky of Red Poppies. It's a toss up. Two great books. 26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Sirius XM. 27. What did you want and get? Some kickin' cowgirl boots. I'm a real Texan now, y'all. 28. What did you want and not get? A water dispenser. 29. What was your favorite film of this year? Rise of the Guardians 30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? We celebrated my 32nd birthday at Taste of Thai and I had curry. Mmmm. 31.What was one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A roadtrip to Wisconsin would've been awesome. 32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012? Jeans and comfort. 33. What kept you sane? Phone chats with my sister, Andy. 34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Hmm, I'm not much of a celebrity fancier, but I do enjoy looking at Bradley Cooper. 35. What political issue stirred you the most? The fact that politicians seem so wrapped up in being "right" that they get hardly any work done. 36. Who did you miss? My extended family. We need some reunions. 37. Who was the best new person you met? Saba, a friend from playgroup/neighbor. She's sweet, inspiring, generous. 38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012. Appreciate each day you have with the ones you love. I knew this already, but Morgan'Jade's death has been a bittersweet reminder to really, really appreciate who I've got in my life. 39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Hold on, to me as we go As we roll down this unfamiliar road And although this wave is stringing us along Just know you’re not alone Cause I’m going to make this place your home Settle down, it'll all be clear Don't pay no mind to the demons They fill you with fear The trouble it might drag you down If you get lost, you can always be found Just know you’re not alone Cause I’m going to make this place your home Settle down, it'll all be clear Don't pay no mind to the demons They fill you with fear The trouble it might drag you down If you get lost, you can always be found Just know you’re not alone Cause I’m going to make this place your home

On the Twelves

Twelve bits of my day:

* Finished reading book one of the Sisters Eight series with the girls while having a tea party.

* Mailed out Christmas cards. Photocards. With professional pictures. And they will arrive before Christmas. This is kinda a big deal for me.

* Made venison chili for the first, and definitely NOT last time. Yummy!

* Proudly listened to Aubrey tell me about her babysitting adventure yesterday, and how she handled a particularly challenging child.

* Set Lauren's on-line curriculum settings to 2nd grade. Smart cookie.

* Cleaned out my yahoo mail box - aka the junk mail box. Any guess how many unread messages there were?

* Remembered some special events in my life. Namely, Sasha's birth and Grandma Marg's passing.

* Played with my new, yet technologically old, cell phone. No more internet-at-my-fingertips, thankyouverymuch. (Andy thinks I'm crazy. I might be. But, I'm also $50 richer per month. ;-) )

* Listened to Sasha attempt to plunge the toilet. Twice. It was not overflowing, she just likes to think it is.

* Had a giggle-fest with Zoe. On that note, have you heard of Laughter Yoga? I am intrigued.

* Thanked the Lord that I am not yet parenting teenagers. I know I'll get there, but today I'm glad I'm not there yet.

* Enjoyed Blue Bell's Cookies-n-Cream ice cream. The best. Seriously.

As requested, more pictures. Well, a picture.

Zoe is quite the people person, and finds herself in many different arms at church. It so happened that Pastor Heath had her one Sunday as Church began, so she helped him with announcements. <3

Magic Wand

It's like my fairy godmother waved her wand, and suddenly my baby isn't a baby anymore. And a small (very, very small) part of me longs for more baby-ness. But that is mostly, I think, because Andy has had surgery, so now we *can't*. And aren't things that are off-limits more enticing? All that to say that Zoe turned 1 last month. At 11 months she decided that food was acceptable, and she LOVES to eat. Just about anything. But, after last night, I can safely say pizza is her favorite. After meals there are always bits in the high chair. Not after pizza. Not one little bit escaped her. And she ate a TON. She still doesn't care to walk, but as in everything she's done, I know that once she starts, she'll be running, so, really, she can take her time. And she is such a little cuddle-bug. Still a happy, mellow child. And quiet, always observing her world. Reminds me so much of Aubrey like that. But with more chill thrown in. I do some signs with her, and she has her own versions, completely different than what I've shown her. But we mostly figure out what we are saying to eachother. (and that sounds fancy, that we do sign language with her. it's not. it's a very, very few signs. Mostly, NURSE and MORE. The MORE always being 'MORE food to eat.' She is incredibly enthusiastic with that sign. Especially on pizza night. And NURSE is usually signed with a head bob, indicating she is tired and ready to cuddle in. I don't think she can sign NURSE without dropping her head. It's very cute.

Elephant and Piggie

You know that I love reading, right?

Children's books, especially. Because it's so fun to read out loud and do silly voices, scared voices, loud voices. You get the picture.

Anyway, lucky for me, one of the girls grabbed an Elephant and Piggie book at the library awhile back.

These books - there is a series - are awesome. So funny, so cute, so perfect. Mo Willems rocks.

I recommend We Are In A Book first. Haven't met one of them that I didn't like, but this one is probably my favorite.

"Banana!"

You've got to read it. Go to your library. Or order it from Amazon. There is a little kid in your life who needs to know Elephant and Piggie, and they will love you forever for introducing them.

when the uncle comes to town

We've been having a fun summer, being busier than I would've liked, though I can't think of anything I wish we hadn't/weren't doing.

Uncle Eric (Andy's oldest brother) came to visit for a few days, and whoa, is he spoiling us. He's a bachelor, very patient, very kind. So his lap was rarely empty. Usually he had 2 or more girls on him/next to him/touching him/climbing on him. He read stories, listened to stories, took Andy out for a Bro's Only movie date, and joined me, two dogs, and anywhere from 2-4 girlies on daily walks.

He spoiled us, I tell you.

Also, he came bearing gifts from the in-laws. Peaches they canned (after they grew, picked, peeled, and sliced 'em, that is) and my favorite Trader Joe's treat - Sunflower Seed Butter. Oh wow, that stuff is heavenly. He also brought 2 Idaho Spuds for Andy. Well, 1 for Andy, 1 for me. But really, I said I'd like 1 so that I could let Andy have it. Every time his mom goes to Idaho, she stocks up on this candy, with plans to share with the boys. And every time, his dad sniffs out where she stashes it, and eats all but 2 or 3. She needs a better system, I think. ;-)

Also, while here in town, Eric needed to buy some stuff found at HEB. (The best grocery store in Texas, maybe in the world) Everything on that list were things Andy and I have introduced the Family to. Some local (Texas local) yummies. Makes me feel good that they like the sausages, salad dressing, bbq sauce, and salsa enough to stock up when they are here.

Also, we had a small birthday party for Sasha while Eric was here. Cute, fun, and small. Almost perfect, except we got rained away from the splash park. So we're gonna take popsicles to the splash park on Wednesday, and have a mini party then.

Hmm, I just noticed that my last 3 paragraphs all start with "Also, " Screw it, I'm tired. ;-)

Love ya,
thanks for reading my ramblings
R

Whoa, Nellie

Thinking 'out loud' over here.

I just committed to being a preschool teacher at our co-op. And part of me knows I can do it. That part of me is really excited. The other part of me is kinda kicking my own butt right about now.

One day, maybe, I will be a member of a group without helping to run it. Phh. That's funny. I'm just crazy enough to help any chance I get. And it always works out. But yikes, I've got to make a plan.

Okay, 12 class sessions, one hour each. Spread out over 3 months. This is doable. Absolutely doable. So doable that I feel foolish worrying about it.

Looks like I've mostly got free reign as to how to do things, and what to do.

My first thought is to read stories, and do art related to the stories. Now to come up with book/art combo ideas....

Harold and the Purple Crayon (purple oil pastels on sketch paper)
Beautiful Oops (collage with mixed bits and pieces)
The Monster at the End of this Book (fingerpaint monster masks)
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Jamberry
Ten Apples Up On Top (Apple stamping - maybe on t-shirts? And apple stacking)

Okay, but also, knowing the alphabet, and how to count (and how high?), recognizing/writing their own name. This class will probably be 3 and 4 year olds, maybe an older 2 year old, too. Lots of cutting, drawing, gluing, creating.

Sasha loves when I use dots to write her name, and she works on tracing it. (Thanks, Kristin - I remember you doing that with Jake.)

Today

Today my oldest turned 10.

And I am so excited for her. She is such a sweet, nurturing, creative soul. The world needs her, and I pray I am doing her justice as her mama

(and hopefully soon I'll get more pictures up. camera issues.)

Toothday

Yesterday was Zoe's toothday. :-) First tooth peeking through her gums. She's 3 days away from 8 months old, sits up on her own, rolls around, smiles at everyone, has the best giggle ever, AND refuses to eat. She is quite content with mama's milk, which is just fine with me. She has a lifetime of eating food, I'll exclusively nurse her a little longer!

"I think I need to wash my hands."

Yes, yes you do need to wash your hands, my dear. (Oh, and it is mud. Just so we are clear.)

say what?

Emily posted her family's wu tang clan names, and I had to stop what I was doing to generate ours:

Andy: Mad Swami
Rachel: Intellectual Madman
Aubrey: Mad Lover
Lauren: Thunderous Assassin
Sasha: Vulgar Assassin
Zoe: Shriekin' Watcher

Add in our last name, and things change a bit:

Andy: Crazy Criminal
Rachel: Lazy-assed Prophet
Aubrey: Irate Prophet
Lauren: Annoyin' Swami
Sasha: Respected Samurai
Zoe: Gentlemen Hunter

Oh, that just made my night. Want a giggle? Here ya go

For the record, I couldn't name a wu tang song, but could maybe sing along a bit? I wouldn't know, I don't know what they sing. I'd google a listen, but there's a sisterly sleepover happening about 3 feet away. Also, some say I'm lazy.

Peace, Lazy-assed Prophet

it's like this, and like that, and like this, you know?

Most days I hate titling my posts. I do it, but I hate it. And I know 'hate' is a strong word, but it's true. The title stumps me. Because usually I'm just typing about some random stuff. But I really don't want EVERY title to be 'Random' or some variation on the word.

We went to the parade today (Happy 4th of July, by the way! I love the 4th, but it makes me miss my mom's family - it was a time when we usually all gathered.) Back to the parade. Apparently it's supposed to be one of the best. Even made USA Today's list in 2008. It was nice, but insane. 90 minutes of a parade, with a guesstimate of 30,000 spectators. So we parked at 8:30 for the 10am parade. In the sun. In Texas. In July. And we enjoyed it. But we probably won't do it again. At least not without some serious planning. A canopy to pitch. Comfy chairs. A stocked cooler.

I am working on Aubrey's birthday party plans. Scratch that. Aubrey is working on her party plans. I am offering creative assistance as she desires it, and also the annoying, but fortunately rare, "No" when her ideas are a bit too much. And, most of my "No's" have really been "Or's" to make a celebration she wants and we can afford/pull off.

But I really am working on Sasha's party. No input from her. I am not even going to ask. Because in another year or so she will be full of ideas and since I am prepared to honor those ideas to the best of my ability, this year, I pick. We're going to have a Harold and the Purple Crayon theme, and read some of Sasha's favorite stories (including Harold, of course!). And we'll be art-ing and craft-ing, too. And playing. There is always playing when you are 2-almost-3. Maybe a pin the tail on the donkey game, with a picnic blanket and pies (Harold once picnics with 9 pies - if I didn't already have a cake plan, I'd consider serving pie.) And, for party favors, I do not like giving out plastic thingies that break on the ride home. Nor do I like giving out candy. So I'm on the look out for one or two cute items to send home in lieu of a 'goodie bag.' The front runners are:

A copy of a Harold story; or

A crayon roll and simple journal

Also, I should be in bed. I am tired. And I know I will be mad at myself in the morning. But sometimes it's just too hard to get to bed. I can go to bed early tomorrow night, right? ;-)

Do you have a library card?

Everyone in our house except Zoe has one. We'll get her one when she's toddling around, pulling books off the shelves. I love going to the library. We always have library books in the house. And honestly, we return books late often. I say that is how I contribute financially to the library. :-) Anyway, I learned this week that some friends that moved here a year ago don't have library cards. I was shocked. I didn't let it show, but I just assumed that everyone made the library one of their first stops after a move. As a kid, I remember going to the library with regularity. Especially during the summer. We even went to the library when visiting our grandparents over spring break and during the summer. If I think hard enough, I can remember the smell of the library in Albuquerque (the one that we went to, there are several). And, if I think hard enough, I can ALMOST remember the smell of my grandparents' library. We are doing the summer reading program this year, and it's got a mystery theme. Storytime Bear, who lives in the library and joins us at every story hour, has been bear-napped. We've got a list of suspects, and every week that we turn in our reading log to be checked, we receive a clue. The clue will lead us to a location within walking distance of the library where we will find another clue. CUTE! So we are headed to the museum this coming week, as our first clue pointed us in that direction. Fun, fun!

Andy

Way back on January 1st I attempted to get back into blogging. And I mostly failed. My plan was to blog about some of my blessings, and I never got to Andy. But I probably ought to talk about Andy just a little bit, you think? So, in celebration of our anniversary, here goes: We met my freshman year of college. He had graduated the spring before, and was still involved with his fraternity. The summer after freshman year I moved out of the sorority house (house rules - everyone moved out every summer) and across the street into his frat house. Sounds kinda wild, huh? Not so much. His house was the first to 'go dry,' and they were strict about that. It was a cheap room that I shared with Ann. I ate brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts for breakfast, and spicy ramen for lunch. Juggled two jobs - at the law firm and in the office at a mobile home park. Anyway, this dude, Andy, had a cat named Oscar. I joke that Oscar is why I fell in love. He's not, but it certainly didn't hurt the situation! We never really dated in the traditional 'out to dinner and a movie' sort of way. We just started hanging out together, doing things together. We lived in the same building (along with 20= other guys, and maybe 12 girls), so it was just so easy to flop on his couch and watch South Park, or be in the kitchen making spaghetti, or go to the store together. I think almost instantly we were talking about the future, and it never seemed weird. We were pretty much inseparable from the start. Two months in, and he told me he loved me. Through tears. Very sweet, and very mutual. Obviously. :-) Four months after that we got an apartment together. Three months after that we were engaged (he proposed in a hotel bathroom in Vegas - it was a little spontaneous!). Two months after that he moved to Virginia for a job, and I followed three months after that. We got married June 23, 2001 - two years after we started 'dating.' I could attempt to list ways in which Andy has blessed me, but I wouldn't know where to begin, or how to stop. Just know that I am very aware of how lucky and blessed I am. Happy Anniversary, babe. I love you.

what the???

Okay, for some reason I cannot publish paragraphs? I had everything in my previous post all nice and cute - two short paragraphs, followed by a picture, followed by a paragraph, followed by a picture, etc. And I hit publish, and everything runs together, with pictures thrown in. Hmm. Mildly frustrating.

Ahh, lazy days

Really, it's more like lazy moments in the middle of busy days. Lauren planted a little fairy garden. Kinda lost interest once the plants were in the dirt - we'll see if she wants to do more later. Sasha LOVES the trampoline. Especially when she is the only one on it. She used to run circles around, but now she jumps around, and wants an audience. This little girl is already SEVEN months old. I cannot believe it. Such a happy, social baby. And she is learning that she can be loud. Loud like Lauren and Sasha. Poor Aubrey, she was really wanting Zoe to be a quiet child. And no picture of Aubrey today. She was inside enjoying a quiet house for a few minutes. We are counting down until her birthday. Her 10th birthday. Yikes, I am not sure how I feel about that.

Veggie Tian

Some people love to shop for shoes. I love to shop for veggies. I love my CSA. I love the Farmer's Market. I love gardening friends that share their bounty. I love Bountiful Baskets. Awhile back I pinned a recipe (that I think my friend Angela had posted on fb?), and when I saw all the yummy squash and tomatoes this week, I knew we'd be making it. Veggie Tian This is the recipe I used, but I substituted dried dill and dried marjoram for the dried thyme. Oh, this was so tasty. Aubrey and I loved it - ate more than half at dinner. (The other veggie eaters in my house have texture issues, and squash in any form never flies. Makes me sad, but then Aubrey and I fight over the last bite, and I'm not so sad anymore.)

A sign

Last week I was thinking I wanted to get back into blogging. And within hours I received an e-mail from a woman from eFoodsDirect, asking me to consider reviewing their products here. I'm not one to ignore the signs (well, I try not to ignore the signs, anyway!), so I am waiting to receive a package of emergency food. I am really hopeful that the food will have decent ingredients, and be tasty. Either way, you'll be the first to know. ;-) And, unrelated to emergency food stashes, Andy's car is hitting the crapper. It's been paid off for awhile, but we're about to spend $800 to replace the clutch. Perfect timing, except that we wanted to play with $800, not be responsible adults!

so this homeschooling thing

I think we are sticking with it. I think we are homeschooling Lauren in the fall, too. Man, there are some tough days, but man, there are some awesome days, too. And I still feel like I don't know what I'm doing. My plan this summer is to focus less on 'core subjects' and more on whatever we want to learn about. Kinda the unschooling idea. Not sure what the fall will look like yet, with the expected exception of being in a co-op (meets once a week for 'class' time in group sessions), but for the summer we are learning as we go. :-) One of our To Do's is a virtual road trip. We started in Connecticut. Got a book from the library. I think Lauren's practically memorized all the facts in that little book. We'll be checking out more facts on line. And, the most exciting part - a friend in Connecticut is sending the girls a postcard. We've got a little folder labelled "Connecticut" and we will put all the cool info we learn, along with the postcard, and anything else we want, in the folder. I think Florida is next. L picked CT, A picked FL. Good thing this trip is virtual. ;-)

Lovin' Summer!

On our first morning of Summer Break we made our To Do list and hung ii on the wall. Some of our goals are maybe a bit unrealistic, but most are do-able. I think. One week in, and we are also doing things not on our list. Which is awesome, as our list was mostly for inspiration, and when we happen upon a bored day we can look at our list and try to make something happen. So now we have a second list, a Done list. I think it'll be fun to compare the two at the end of summer. To do: make clouds swing in a hammock picnic at Whistle Stop Park learn to crawl fly a kite start an art club grow a little garden visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center make art make my (Lauren's) hula hoop into a swing swim in the lake at sunset play in the kitchen - make marzipan and mints have a tea party in the backyard (iced tea!) climb a tree jump on the trampoline with MOM plant an apple tree skype with friends learn some new constellations virtual roadtrip skype with friends Done: (so far!) gingerbread train (I always buy these kits after Christmas on clearance and save for 'rainy' days make cake pops/donut holes skype with friends virtual road trip - Connecticut! eat chicken noodle soup for breakfast (because we've got colds!) help mom recover from surgery (incredibly minor - removed a wart from the bottom of my foot. wtf, who gets a wart on the bottom of her foot??? anyway, it's just a pain, recovering, as it's ON THE BOTTOM OF MY FOOT) art class Woohoo, we're having fun! Andy might disagree, as he's been on deck caring for all of us today. Surgery recovery AND colds at the same time kinda sucks.

bullets

- we went to Disney World for Spring Break. Awesome awesome awesome.

- Andy's grandfather died. He was just three weeks shy of 96. We cried, and then we were relieved. It was time.

- Zoe is getting B I G. 12 lbs already. Which really isn't that big, except she's my baby, so 12 lbs is far too big. And she's teething.

- Sasha likes to sing along to Adele. Today it was, "sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead."

- Whenever an insect strays into our house, I quick give it a name, and pretend like it's a long lost friend - the idea being that the girls will not run screaming every time they see a bug (this has actual proven quite effective most of the time). Lauren, being the crafty girl that she is, caught on to my game and found a bug and named it Rebecca. After her teacher, who has "the most beautiful name in the world. Besides, I didn't know teachers could have real names."

- By the way, I never name the flies. I say kill 'em. Especially the twerp that keeps landing on my leg as I type this.

- Aubrey is now being homeschooled. She was falling behind because she'd get too easily distracted by just about everything. We pulled her out at Spring Break, figured that would give us long enough to see if we thought we could do it, without being too detrimental to her if we couldn't. So far, so good. We are still working out the kinks as to how long to work each day, and what to be working on, etc., but she is learning, and she is happy. She used to be the happiest kid, and somewhere that happiness slowly dripped away. It's coming back, and for that alone, I am so glad we are homeschooling her.

- I have been reminded several times recently just how lucky I am to have my 4 girls. So I am hugging them extra tight, and reading to them past lights-out time, and saying "Yes!" to cookies (oatmeal!) for breakfast.