Rigel and the Belles

ABC mind puzzle

2012-02-01T19:04:00.000-08:00

BR: "Mommy, the alphabet needs a second letter 'N.' I think there's one missing."

We'll give you a dollar if you can guess what he meant!

what did we do during our girls' weekend?

2012-01-31T06:04:00.000-08:00

we leaned in and over for closer looks...

we took a lot of photos...

so yeah, huh. now that I think about it, on our girls' weekend we spent a whole lot of time hanging out with boys.

navajo class

2012-01-24T17:52:00.000-08:00

the girls are learning some Navajo at school:

I had to ask L. for a translation: "Here is baby. Who will make baby laugh? Will father make baby laugh? Father tickles baby."

quotable

2012-01-24T17:45:00.000-08:00

BR: "What was that saint's name again? Oh yeah: St. Thomas the A-fossil."
A. (chuckling): "Ha! Do you think he's a dinosaur or somethin'?"

welcoming committee

2012-01-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

we hosted playgroup over winter break. a unicorn pegasus waited
out front to greet the guests.

happy A. learns to write full sentences

2012-01-11T20:18:00.000-08:00

"what in the heck of guacamole"

2012-01-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

it's BR's new saying. we don't know what it means, but we kinda like it.

(his masterpiece--a livingroom fort)

We also like him. We especially like that he is 4 and not 3 because he doesn't lie so much anymore. Usually. Except for today when he insisted that he couldn't possibly help me take the ornaments off the tree to put them back in the box.

Whatintheheckofguacamole. Two weeks ago, I seem to remember him being pretty darn good at it...

a perfect Christmas present...

2012-01-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

will lead to this... (it's an excited pose, in case you are wondering)

and then this... (anatomy lessons)

and of course, these...(another excuse to make more lists!)

overheard

2012-01-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

L: "Ha! I see that you are off to fight crime!"
BR: "Who's that guy?"

a Rockwell kind of Christmas. (Ha.)

2012-01-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Christmas on the 24th this year because of Daddy's work schedule. Since the shopping and wrapping and cooking and everything else was already taken care of (ha!), we took baths and gussied up for the Vigil Mass on Saturday afternoon. We didn't even have to rush to get there in time, either (wait..."took baths"?--ha! "get there on time"--ha!).

The kids sang in the choir onstage for an hour and a half and there were no public disasters or flash floods (ha). And we came home and opened gifts and no one even complained about receiving socks (ahem). And I didn't ruin the icing for the gingerbread and give up and just give folks plain, undecorated gingerbread this year instead (ha).

the traditional unicorn gingerbread cookie, of course!

See? Picture perfect!

Daddy's favorite gift from Christmas

2011-12-30T06:25:00.000-08:00

it's a little wooden clothespin daddy in scrubs, of course!

Billy and Christine, remember this book?

2011-12-29T07:01:00.000-08:00

You gave this coloring book to the kids a few years back. Right now it is keeping

two kids busy at once, which is my kind of gift.

'twas the week before Christmas

2011-12-28T14:59:00.000-08:00

We were off work/school so we decided to take a vacation and visit...

...Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico--simultaneously!

We needed to go see some mountains. We needed to touch some snow.

we needed to go sledding.

playing in the snow makes us cold...

but it also makes us happy!

And guess what? No one even threw up! It was a Real Vacation this time around.

We had time to soak in the views of Pagosa Springs in Co. and I didn't take many photos because we were enjoying ourselves so much. But, for those who may be itching to see even more, this is what the town looks like early on a chilly winter morning, with the warm air from the springs rising up. And here is a view of downtown at sunset.

Other views on/of the road:

fog:

Not only were the views inspiring, but so are long car rides. They inspire giggling and singing:

and sometimes grumpiness and fighting and screaming. (sigh.)

But who could be grumpy at Mesa Verde?

hello, ruins from 900 years ago.

In the winter, a lot of the sites are closed at the Park, but we did not regret going, nor did we regret coming early. If we hadn't shown up when we did, it would have been a completely different experience.

upon arrival:

one hour later:

Once again, before:

and after:

The clouds invaded the canyon where the ruins were. This is a look back as we drove away from Spruce Tree House, once we got a little higher up:

from there, on to Arizona and back onto the Rez:

Canyon de Muerte, AZ:

This place is just mind-blowing. To give you a sense of scale: take a look at the picture just below

...and now take a closer look:

(see the ancient dwellings carved into the rock? yup, 900 years old)

and here are some contemporary dwellings, all the way down there

In this next shot (below), these caves were unusual in that they were closer to the top of the canyon:

careful not to fall out of bed, that's a 600-ft fall...

Some final notes on the charming town of Pagosa Springs, Colorado: The single screen movie theater downtown shows free movies during the Christmas season once in awhile and the coffeeshop next door wouldn't hear of us paying for our hot chocolates. As if that wasn't perfect enough, one night we grabbed dinner at a little pan-Asian place run by a Japanese couple. They gave each of the kids' a white paper placemat and some crayons and promised to display any truly exceptional ones up front.

Guess whose picture of a dragon was selected and then oohed and aahed over for fifteen minutes? I guess it just matched the restaurant decor so well, they couldn't help themselves.

Colorado winter vomit-cation of 2009: officially redeemed.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T21:29:00.000-08:00

creepy cheese

2011-12-21T18:10:00.000-08:00

(yet another guest post by L.)

I made a piece of cheese into a ''Creepy Gravestone.'' Look c lose at the 2nd picture.
You will see that it says R.I.P. on it.

at the end of the kids' Christmas list, an apology

2011-12-21T17:38:00.000-08:00

Yes the list is quite substantial (they started composing it in September) so the kids know not to expect to receive everything on it. However, two of their requests are for "santa hats" and "giant candy canes" and that's just so darling I think Santa might just have to make sure to include those.

pig bag

2011-12-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

(another guest post by L.)

I went to a birthday party. Look what I made out of the party favor bag:

Cool, huh? I am satisfied

with it.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-11T15:56:00.000-08:00

Granny and Papa and Aunt Mer came to see us for a few days in late November. We showed them some of our favorite sights and got outside for some fresh air hikes. (believe it or not, folks, the weather then seems warm now compared to what we've had this last week, brr!)

We especially needed fresh air on Thanksgiving Day because, after running the oven and stove for hours and hours, our CO detector started to freak out. We thought it best to evacuate and then called in these guys for an expert opinion.

"no, your house is not on the verge of explosion."

The important thing was, the turkey was fine, and we got back inside pretty soon after and enjoyed our un-ruined meal. It was just a kind of an extra perk for our out-of-town guests that we got to call the Fire Dept during their visit!

(all photos courtesy of Aunt Mer)

another guest post by L.

2011-12-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of a squid shooting an eel. Next to it is a scuba-diving pig and at the top is what we call a "creature that goes rear-end first everywhere." It is asking "bravo?" because it isn't sure who it should be rooting for.

BR

2011-11-30T21:12:00.000-08:00

can be so bossy. Like when there is a kid around who is younger than him. He is so relieved to have someone to push around who isn't wise to his manipulative ways.

Yesterday we were babysitting some friends, ages 2 and 11months. I called "all the kiddos" to dinner (the 11 month old ignored me because he was too busy eating turkey bones out of the trashcan. Or pulling out tupperware from the lower cabinets. Or pulling the magnets off the fridge and eating them, I don't remember. One of those things.). BR turned to the 2 year-old girl: "She said 'kiddos' so that means you, too."

And then he noticed an opportunity to pawn off his pre-dinner setting-the-table chore, so he added: "Hey, there are five of us so we'll be needing five forks, okay?"

"look, Mommy, I'm half-princess, half-superhero, half-ninja!"

2011-11-26T19:14:00.001-08:00

Silly B.R. (a guest post by L.)

2011-11-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

(L. wishes she could have her own blog. In lieu of that, here's a post entirely by her, including photography.)

Sometimes, B.R. cracks me up. For example, he makes silly faces. Here are some of them:

This down here is me crackin' up:

faves

2011-11-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

One of these days I will post some of L.'s Etch-a-Sketch dragon creations. They are really, really cool and impressive. So impressive, in fact, that at a pizza gathering the other night with some strangers (I mean, new friends), one of the new friends came up to me with the Etch-a-Sketch in her hand. "Look at this! She's seven! I mean look at it!" And I didn't want to be annoyingly-gushy mom so I said, casually, "Yeah, I know. It's pretty great, huh?" And she kept waving it around and saying, "She's SEVEN! LOOK at this! I mean, LOOK at it, have you SEEN this?!?" over and over again and I just said "Yeah, right?" or some other nonsense and it went on for so long that I got just a teeny tiny bit beet-red and looked shy and proud at the same time and then, yes, I gushed a little.

Right away, the admirer walked away in disgust muttering something about how that's what blogs are for and stop gushing about your kids at pizza parties with perfect strangers. (Not really, but she did kind of huff and then leave abruptly which was really kind of weird.) So here I am.

She's only seven. Prepare to be utterly amazed.

___________

L.'s "fire-breathing dragon" that we hung on the wall so we could play pin-the-tail-on-the dragon:

it was HUGE! As big as BR:

next up, a black on white drawing of a dragon, which L. carefully covered with individually cut pieces of construction paper, re-detailed and then laminated:

Finally: a book written by L. featuring mythical characters of her own invention. (be sure to read through all of these carefully, you won't be sorry you did!)

and...my all-time fave:

right over her head (or was it...?)

2011-11-18T21:47:00.000-08:00

i was trying to irritate BR.: "I just want to kiss and kiss and kiss you."

him: "NOoooooooooooooooooo!!!"

me: "Yes, I just love to kiss you. Because you are tough and tough guys love smooches and cuddles and kisses."

him: "NOoooooo!!!!"

A.: "Mommy, I'm pretty tough, you know..."

taek won do

2011-11-17T13:31:00.000-08:00

L. and BR. are enrolled in this class and although neither of them earned a new belt at the promotion ceremony, they were rewarded by some "stripes" for their belts.

one for BR...

and two for L.!

the ceremony got a little long...

...so he made himself a little more comfortable:

announcing...a new cousin!

2011-11-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

May he stay asleep for a good long while yet. :)

his costume for the Saints Day party

2011-11-07T20:04:00.001-08:00

an honest gal

2011-11-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

moi (I'd had it up to here): "Kids, if you are thinking about saying something mean to someone else, then think twice because you're going to end up in your room with no dinner or dessert!!"

(long, self-reflective pause)

L.: "But Mommy, the problem is, if I think twice about it, then I decide to say it."

these creative girls

2011-11-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

The other day, I handed L. a packet of craft sticks and then I went to take a nap. There was a zoo of popsicle-creatures hanging on the livingroom walls when A. and I woke up an hour later.

this is a tiger, by A.

On another day, we found this book at the library:

and she is wasting no time. She will learn to draw a dragon, dangit.

I feel like it's always art time at our house. If they are not at school or in the bathtub, there is almost never a moment when at least one of the kids isn't creating some masterpiece. As long as there are markers and paper available, they provide the inspiration, and we have to forcibly separate them from their crayons and coloring books at mealtimes.

Sometimes the kids take breaks from crafts and do experiments or a baking project. They like to pick up books, too, and I get a run-down on the most recently fascinating facts about birds or planets (or whatever) that they have gleaned from reading the Children's Encyclopedia. (They usually like to recite their report over breakfast or while I'm brushing my teeth after stumbling out of bed. Like I said: time=not wasted.)

But then, back to crafting and coloring. here are the sewn books from about a month ago (photos by A.):

A combination of printouts, bits of lace and some paper folded in half, held together with a few stitches, and...voila!

(the Great American Novel, ok ladies? I expect nothing less.)

she's getting good, right?

And then there was the traumatic day when L. realized she did not have all the supplies on-hand for her project of choice. But after scavenging around the house and brainstorming for ideas in a panic (for oh, three harrowing minutes), she came up with a plan. She held up paints, scissors and an empty milk jug and announced that it would be Frankenstein. I didn't really catch the vision until I beheld the final result:

not bad, eh?

Last Saturday, L. woke up early. By 6:30am she was working on her entry into the pumpkin competition:


she reasoned that since she is an animal lover, there was no point in NOT decorating the pumpkin with animals. Here we have a couple of birds, a shark, a dragon and a snake wrapped around them all.

When they are not doing schoolwork, the kids will either quiz (then grade) each other, or find some other paper-and-pen project to do.

These photos were taken about 10 minutes after getting home from school:

Sometimes, it all makes me just want to go curl up and take a nap. I just can't keep up with it all. Thankfully, I have at least one child after my own lazy heart. A. keeps me company during naptime and she'll even crawl under the covers with me, mid-afternoon, just to exchange back or head rubs. I couldn't possibly keep up with L. without those little breathers.

But don't get me wrong, A. has plenty of creative motivation herself. It's just that she is also fine with her world just the way it is. This evening she came to me with an announcement: "There are three things that rock: Kindergarten, kids and parents." Yup, that's A. allright.

Meanwhile, I look forward to L.'s future creations. Who knows, with her love of snow, it could be the next snow dragon sculpture sensation!

brag blog

2011-11-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

For Halloween, my little nieces were Mary Poppins and her chimney sweep (make sure you scroll down to see the next-to-last photo). This could just be the cutest thing on the planet.

looks like he redeemed himself somehow...

2011-11-03T13:43:00.001-07:00

Halloween Night

2011-11-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

the pumpkins were dressed,

we were dressed... oh wait.

4:30pm and I am still sewing. (but see my smile? that's because I Don't Mind At All!)

And then finally we were dressed: a parrot, a cheerful vampire and a superhero!

first stop: our neighbor Octavia. She is in her nineties and loves the kids. (she gives out apples!)

WE DEMAND CANDY!

(this guy had the best costume ever. too bad he couldn't walk in it)

We still have time before our Saints Party on Saturday to take suggestions. I'm thinking that one of us needs to do the old eyeballs-on-a-platter thing. Otherwise, I'm really desperate for ideas. When I asked BR who he would like to be, he said: "I want to be that saint with the sword...and the thing that looks like a gun."

why yes, I would be happy to make a costume for you

2011-10-29T21:02:00.000-07:00

I've thought and thought about how to sum up the week before Halloween for all of our enthralled readers (because you care). Basically, if you just read this post and replace "birthday cake" with "Halloween costume" and "eat" with "wear," it's more or less our story.

Jeremy just laughs, every year, as I haul out the sewing machine and the recycled textiles (=old Tshirts) I acquire at the charity resale stores (=Goodwill) and try to make an Inexpensive-And-Homemade-One-Of-A-Kind-Costume-That-Will-Hold-Together-For-At-Least-Two-Hours. And then I sew, and sew and sew (for like 4 million years, forgoing meals and sleep), the result of which usually being a much uglier and less-well-made version of the same thing all the other kids at school are wearing. Oh, and then they get sick of wearing it after about 10 minutes.

Anyway, it was totally worth it because now we can re-use these costumes on All Saints Day! Because apparently, for some reason, some people do this.

I'm going to need some help if I'm going to pull this off: we've got a parrot, a vampire and a superhero. I'm thinking the bird will be one of St. Francis of Assisi's beloved creatures and she can sit up on her daddy's shoulder or something. The superhero is an Incorruptible (obviously). And now I'm wishing we had done "zombie" instead of "vampire" because at least we could have done prisoner-zombie-turned-Maximilian-Kolbe, as one commenter suggested (see above link--I'm not making that up).

artist br

2011-10-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

Until he went to preschool, BR had no real interest in drawing. But now, he's on a roll. Two of his masterpieces:

this is "a robber carrying bags of coins"

BR's family portrait. He said, "and that is the daddy. the big fat guy. and the half-medium is the mommy."

weekend report

2011-10-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

Fall is dry and warm here, at least in the daytime. At night it drops below freezing but midday it can reach 75 degrees or more, so we are still trying to soak it all up and get outside. We went sightseeing on Saturday and then played kickball with new friends in the evening. There were about 20 kids and after dark we wrapped them in sleeping bags and they watched Mary Poppins on a projection screen in a friend's front yard.

On Sunday, Jeremy had his first performance with the string ensemble he joined in August (he plays cello). The kids were so proud to see him on stage and they sat quietly through three pieces! And then we went home because, well, let's not push our luck, right? We had dinner with a family we're getting to know and with whom it seems we have quite a bit in common. They met at and graduated from the same college we met at and graduated from. They both participated in the HNGR program, just like Jer did. The wife grew up in a suburb of Seattle, but only after she moved back from living overseas as an MK. They have two girls and a boy (in that order), and all were born within a year of each of ours. He loves to mountain bike. And the list goes on.

We might have skipped out on the UFO film fest, but we still had another great weekend. The best photos are from the sightseeing trip. We went to a National Park and wandered around, not really knowing what to expect. It was...indescribable. My camera could not do it justice. Let me just say it once again: you'll just have to come for a visit to see for yourselves (and in the meantime, click on photos to see a larger version).

petroglyphs (some dating as far back as the 13th century) and autographs (as far back as 17th century):

feeling dwarfed by the massive rock walls:

the most fall leaves we're likely to encounter this season. L. enjoyed the three full minutes of leaf-throwing

a little top-of-the-mesa talking to. (see how he is hanging his head in shame!)

"Mommy, I'm just going to sit in this hole"

700+ yr-old ruins at the top of the mesa

at some points, it got a little surreal. like taking a walk on the surface of the moon...

It was just too cool. I can't wait to go back sometime.

clarification and classification

2011-10-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

on Saturday morning, I woke up and came across these two lists, by L.

livin' for the weekend

2011-10-21T07:41:00.000-07:00

last Friday: trip to the Zoo and the Aquarium with some Colorado friends

my littlest goddaughter who is ALWAYS smiling. What a great kid, I am totally smitten.

This was the calmest Zoo visit of all time. These six kids all stuck together and didn't wander off or get lost, they enjoyed themselves and the animals, and they didn't melt down. They broke all the rules that day.

It was downright pleasant, the whole time and not just the beginning part of it.

Saturday: a picnic out in a pinon forest with Daddy and his friend Marc (visiting from Seattle) and a kids' movie night with friends. (no photos of the day, sorry)

Sunday: I did a 4.5 mile trail run with some friends in the early morning and then L. and BR and I participated in a 6-mile hike up to the top of this rock:

There was a rattlesnake right around that next corner. no photos because I was trying to keep curious kids away from it. (btw: those things are LOUD; I thought the rattle sound was a filmmaker exaggeration, but no)

(having more than a hundred folks on the peak at the same time made me kind of nervous. we climbed down as soon as we could)

BR loves to "slide" his way down. goodbye knee-skin.

Last weekend was awesome. Great weather, great time outdoors (and I had a nice little nap on Monday to try to recover from all the fun). So the question is...can this weekend even come close? I mean, we saw old friends and we made some new ones and it was sunny and--

...what's that?



                                                            I can't hear you, speak up...

                         ...that's this weekend? you're sure?



                      ...it's a --what? and it's being held tomorrow, you say?

Aw, yeah.

just when we were feeling nostalgic for the good ol' days in India...

2011-10-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

a couple sick kids lead to this:

(laundry literally overflowing from the closet) (thankfully photography captures sights and not smells)

which leads to this:

(we ran out of clean linens and pjs and we don't have a washer or dryer)

which leads to this:

(this is the water in the tub flooding the basement)

what's in your freezer?

2011-10-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

Oh kind and generous relatives and friends who recently contributed to L.'s school fundraiser: thank you. You were very kind and L. is very proud to have done so well as an over-the-phone-salesperson.

However. It turns out that when they gave us the order form (with a space to input addresses and phone numbers) what that meant was: "the cookie dough will be dropped off at the school for you to pick up" rather than, "we will deliver orders to the addresses you provided." (WHY?!? Why even include addresses and phone numbers if it makes no difference to the company?!?)

So now I have something like 15 boxes of (outrageously expensive) dough in my freezer. You will all be getting a full refund and we will be donating this stuff to an upcoming holiday bazaar so that at least this nonsense can go to some use and benefit a second charitable cause or something.

Well, maybe we'll keep one or two boxes around to benefit our Thanksgiving guests and their tummies. But the rest needs to get OUT of my refrigerator stat.

construction

2011-10-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

BR is only at preschool for a few hours in the morning so there is plenty of time left in the day to entertain himself while his sisters are still away. For the first few days of the school year, he wasn't used to being alone and had never really learned to entertain himself. Translation: he wandered aimlessly around the house and followed me from room to room.

That was pretty fun and all, but we were both much happier when he took to building "trains" of toys or shoes or books (or anything at all). This keeps him busy for a long, long time and the results are something he can be proud of.

um, very helpful, thank you.

2011-10-10T20:00:00.001-07:00

sweet and sour overheard

2011-10-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

A.: "BR you are the cutest little brother in the whole world!"

BR: "And my cheeks are the softest in the whole world and very kissable."

_____

L.: "I am the stupidest person in the whole world."

BR: "At least you have the courage to admit it."

2011-10-06T08:44:00.001-07:00

no cowboy boots or hat, but...

2011-10-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

...about ten days ago we did buy a pickup. It's a 14 year-old Ford F150 with a manual transmission that drives just as well as you might expect a vehicle of its kind to drive (remember Dan's van in 1997, Kit?).

Then Jer and I each drove a vehicle into the Big City for the weekend. He had to fly out to Chicago for his very last Board Exam (last one, woohoo!) and I had to get out of Radiator Springs and also pick up a dining set.

A. documented our trip into town.

we raced Daddy and BR on the way there (no we didn't)

we passed Casa on the way (tee hee)

I loaded up the truck and headed home. (wow, typing that was so much easier than doing it.)

tada! no more feeding the childrens like they are dogs!

(somewhat ironically, the table and chairs were made in India)

There is another benefit of owning a pickup that we had not foreseen:

the bed provides not only a new place to play but a stage for impromptu street performances!

eh, what's up doc?

2011-10-03T15:11:00.001-07:00

(btw, the orange eyeball cut-out on the wall is part of our tradition of putting up paper Halloween decor. But we had to take down the "I keel you" sign on the front door that L. had hung there. Creepy pumpkins, yes. Death threats, no.)

he is learning

2011-09-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

BR started preschool. He goes for less than three hours on weekdays but he is learning a LOT. He is learning to write his own name and he also is learning to draw (photos to come). The other day I was commenting about how he is the first of the kids to attend preschool and how well he is doing and blah blah and L. was quick to explain: "We didn't go to preschool because we are smart."

Well, he might not know what some seven year-olds know, but he does love to learn and to share what he has learned. "Mommy, did you know that Santa lives up Papa's nose?" (Ok so he didn't actually learn that one at school. He swears that Grandpa Tom told him that while at the beach reunion.)
Me: "Wait, do you think it's called the 'Nose Pole'?"
Him (with a look of utter disdain): "Of COURSE not."

He's got plenty of questions, too. Like, "Why are pickup trucks so famous?"
Me: "Uh, what do you think 'famous' means?"
Him: "That people like it alot."
Me: "Ok. So people like trucks because they are useful. You can carry lots of heavy loads--"
Him, interrupting: "Oh I know. It's because they can carry lions and monsters and stuff."

He even knows how to find out the answers to questions you might not know.
Him: "Mommy, where's that weird noise in the kitchen coming from?"
Me: "Uhh...I don't know. But I can probably figure it out."
Him: "That's okay, just google it."

In other news, he has also been taking a martial arts class. It meets three times a week and he LOVES it.* He's not too bad, either, and the other kids seem a little, uh, timid about being paired with him during the sparring sessions. He's really into it, we'll just say that.

he earned his belt last week finally and there was a little ceremony when they handed it over. It was darling, but don't tell him that. (Tell him he looked tough and awesome.)

Anyway. He loves martial arts and he loves school and between those two, and having a stable place to live at last, he seems to have (finally, finally) grown out of those exceedingly terrible threes (during which he did in fact pretend to be not-so-smart).

We are very proud.

* sidenote: the class is held in a rollerskating rink straight from 1987. It's totally rad.

so much for MY post

2011-09-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

The time I had planned to spend writing up a new post is now gone. I spent all of it laughing my way through a new blog I just discovered (thanks, Maria!). I especially liked her series on life before-and-after parenting: like this one on waiting alone in waiting rooms.

Tee hee.

Fall is Fun! (a poem written by L.)

2011-09-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

Fall is fun and Summer is done.

Kids outside play football,

Tired trees rest on the wall.

Children jump in the leaves;

Leaves fall off the trees.

Everybody thinks of Halloween,

That is our only dream!

(We also like ice cream.)

We can’t wait to go on skates

As we peer through the drapes

(waiting for snow.)

more poems over at Kris'!

arf

2011-09-21T08:16:00.001-07:00

Wild West Day

2011-09-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

It's our mayor, playing sheriff for the day. He's throwing
tomatoes onto the taco from up high in a cherry picker

we got to eat some of the largest taco for lunch!

Billy the Kid

"oh, Mommy, can you buy me some?"

hand-me-downs from P-roc

2011-09-12T19:29:00.001-07:00

the girls decided to dress up in BR's pjs one night

look, we have friends!

2011-09-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

labor day picnic:

And here's another really fabulous thing: many of us live within walking distance of each other! We see each other as we walk by on the way to school, on our way downtown to the library or farmer's market...

look at our cute little tiny farmer's market!

...we trade babysitting and produce from our gardens (ok, I am more on the receiving end of that one), and we try to support each other when we model at local Western Wear fashion shows (again: they model and I show up and clap).

this is Amanda. (she has a very, very cute 8 week old baby)

L. is one of the oldest of the kids. She keeps an eye out for the littlest ones

Some of the guys are mountain bikers so Jer is in good company.

He signed a two-year contract at work the other day so it's official: we get to stay here. We are so happy.

an enthusiastic little scholar

2011-09-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

A. is still firmly convinced that Kindergarten is the best thing that ever happened to her. When I go in to wake her in the morning, she leaps out of bed and rushes to get dressed, no matter how sleepy she may be.

We learned today that a spot just opened up for BR for the morning Preschool class. A. decided it was her job to prep him for his new life as a student. She sat him down, crosslegged on the bed across from her, then she held up some cut-outs one by one and drilled him on his shapes and colors. When he lost interest, I overheard her soothing teacher-voice: "Caa-alm and Qui-et." It didn't work, so she tried again: "Give me five. (That's when everyone is supposed to hold up their hand and pay attention.)" She carried on with the shapes identification lesson, and then: "It's called a 'trapezoid.' That can be your Amazing Word, BR!"

At one point later in their conversation, I had to interrupt: "BR, if you say 'poop' one more time I am going to have to give you a consequence."

A.: "Mommy! You just said 'I am!' Those are my sight words this week!"

she got to be "Line Leader" one day

2011-09-02T12:36:00.001-07:00

the rule is, the rest of the class has to sketch the Line Leader, so A. came back with about 20 of these.

shadow puppets

2011-08-30T19:37:00.001-07:00

not a whole lot going on in Radiator Springs

2011-08-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

except a dirt bike competition!!!!

we couldn't get enough...until it was bedtime (looking a little sleepy)

Theater

2011-08-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

woof, woof

2011-08-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

We acquired some very useful coping skills while on the road for 13 months. How to do with less (sleep, clothing, shampoo, beds), how to live more simply and with less...furniture. But that's not the real reason we still don't own a table. The truth is, we kind of like treating the kids like dogs. We like to see them beg.

This is just their subtle way of saying, "feed me, please"

So you're hungry again, eh? Well siddown and I'll throw you a dish.

Saturday hike and Sunday ride

2011-08-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

the post in which I brainwash everyone to come and visit us.

rainy Saturday:

sunny Sunday:

BR no longer needs training wheels, so we celebrated by going on our first family mountain bike ride.

they don't actually let me dress them anymore. orange was just on everyone's mind, I guess

2011-08-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

grocery shopping

2011-08-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

august hailstorm dance

2011-08-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

first day of school!

2011-08-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

A. is a Kindergartner! And L. is now in 2nd grade.

They are on the same recess and lunch schedule, so maybe that's why A. was not the least bit nervous this morning. Not. At. All. Just casually waved goodbye like it was any other day of her life. Who else wants to be like A. when they grow up?

dwell

2011-08-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

When you think "Southwest," the first things that come to mind are probably sunshine, tumbleweeds and an adobe building or two. We've got them all in our little town, and when it comes to housing, there are plenty of modest or elaborate variations on stucco design and lots of Spanish tile roofs.

But then, after you've walked around a little bit, you start to notice just how nostalgic some architects must have been for the good old days in...

...Skokie, IL?

or Jersey/Queens:

and then, there's the Seattle House...

....with a Subaru parked outside! I rest my case.

nothing ever happens on Mars

2011-08-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

there isn't a whole lot to do in an empty house with no furniture. so what did we do for two whole weeks?

just the usual:

until finally...woohoo!

(btw: our stuff was in this gigantic truck along with a few households worth of belongings.)

Now we have dishes AND beds AND dressers AND toys. It's like Christmas for the kids, rediscovering all the books and puzzles and dinosaur toys and trucks and etc. all over again. Welcome home to us!

on the way home

2011-08-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

We crossed through Reservation land and the views were fantastic. I don't know why Jeremy is here, but I moved here to see rocks and skies like these.

I kept my eyes on the road and handed the camera over to the kids, but their idea of what to capture was a little different from mine.

(Daddy was sure she couldn't win the bet)

A rain storm came through to the east of where we were. But the west stayed pretty clear. Check it out, this is literally the view to the left of the highway, and then to the right:

Whether we stay here two years or twenty, I don't think I'll ever get over the landscape out here.

Family Reunion '11

2011-08-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

This time, everyone in the family made it out to the beach reunion, even if only for a couple of days. That means all 35 of us (plus Ellen!), and we have long outgrown a single beachhouse.

So we had two, and they were oceanfront and one had a pool (and a hot tub, and a game room!). It was my Grandpa's party and that's the way he wanted it and the rest of us managed to cope (somehow).

Great Grandma in the sun

these two got along remarkably well together. hardly any screaming and punching! (well, relatively speaking...)

for the first half of the week, the water was perfect (and the jellyfish were pretty harmless)

Grandma feeding the birds

there was a kid out there skimboarding in the moonlight

I seriously considered stowing this one away in my suitcase and taking her with me.

in line for their turn!

And it wouldn't be a family reunion without dancing, games, good eats and hot tamale candies!

reunited with Great Uncle Jack! so much love...

could my parents be any happier...?

speech, speech! A big thank you to the (great) grandparents for having us all out to North Carolina!

fly to the East...Coast!

2011-08-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking: you started in Seattle, then went to Spokane, kept heading east to Idaho and then Montana...so where did you go next---the Dakotas? Even further east? Well, not at first.

First, we turned right back around and headed back west to Seattle. To collect our things, say our thank yous and goodbyes to the grandparents who fed and housed us for two-and-a-half months.

And they were in season, so we had to pick strawberries, of course!

see you soon, Lena! maybe a new continent next time? You never know where we might bump into each other next...

Then: we got on a plane and flew and flew,

and flew...

until we could see the other ocean.

there it is, the Atlantic. It's still my favorite.

 (some photos in this postcourtesy of BR-the-photographer.)

Kara's Montana

2011-08-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

Since we were already in Idaho...we figured we might as well go see the newly-engaged couple in Montana...They made us dinner from their garden, helped us learn to walk a slackline, and in exchange we cheered them on at their half-marathon.

It was all a little too healthy, so we all went out for pizza and ice cream. (yes!)

If that's what a regular summer weekend is like, I can't wait to see how Missoulans do weddings!

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

2011-07-31T19:22:00.000-07:00

Since we were already so far east in Washington, we decided to go just a little further and visit my aunt and uncle in Idaho. We had beautiful weather and beautiful views and we went biking and walking and then biking again.

But perhaps most important, the infamous Coeur d'Alene Moose Walk!

follow the trail to find the 5 moose statues around the city

(look! a Goose on a moose!)

BR and my Uncle Jack became good buddies

When we weren't out hiking and searching for moose, the kids left their own (chalk) tracks through the neighborhood:

and apparently BR got a hold of my camera and documented what it was like to be in Page and Jack's house, if you're less than 3 feet tall:

leaving behind, as usual, some indisputable proof that he was, indeed, the photographer:

As you may remember, Coeur d'Alene made my top ten list for this past year and we definitely want to go back sometime.

Thanks for a great visit, Page and Jack!

Eastern Washington

2011-07-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

Early in July we took a trip out to see Aunt Mer and she took us out camping.

Let me stop right there and say this. Folks: this is the VERY best way to go camping with little kids. Here's what you do: first, find yourselves an Aunt Mer (good luck), and second, start planning a camping trip together.

Meredith furnished all the gear, she pitched the tents before we even arrived at the site AND she cooked all the meals. FAN-tas-tic.

On the drive out from Seattle, the kids informed me of a highway sign that (supposedly) forbade anyone to give a thumbs-up. I remember that Jer and I gave each other a confused look and then, just to annoy them, I found a dozen reasons to do it. "NO, MOM! The sign says DON'T do that!"

check out this slide!

BR had a good time on the camping trip, but it took a little while because at the start of it, he wasn't convinced it would be rustic enough. "I don't want these cars parked here and I don't like these parking lots," he complained. But then he got into some grass that was taller than his little head and he brightened up: "Now this is what I call camping!"

Hardcore, BR. That is hard-core.

Oh, and what was that no-thumbs-up-on-the-highway thing all about? Turns out, the kids were right...Sort of:

MIA

2011-07-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

It's been pretty slow here on RandB for awhile, but we are finally online in our new home! Yup, that's right, this past Tuesday, exactly 13 months after we set out from Denver (to the day), we have finally arrived to a home of our own (okay, so it's a rental) and we will stay put (for at least a year).

We have been out hiking already and enjoying the summer monsoons and desert lightning storms (though not all of those simultaneously, of course) and everything is a-ok. Now, if only that moving truck would arrive with our stuff, we could start to settle in a little. It's a new challenge for us, to live in such a...uh...clutter-free space. We've only got our suitcases for now so it's like camping! Indoors! With one sleeping bag! And two towels! And none of our dishes (Or a can opener. Or a knife. Or pots and pans.). Ah well, whatever: we've got the internet and we've got photos, so it's all good. Not having boxes to unpack will just free me up to catch up on blogging, right?

Besides, a colleague of Jer's babysat our kids last night so we could go out for my birthday, so we caught a movie and they had pizza and so i guess we're all off to a great start.

I reach for the camera, he strikes a pose

2011-07-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

counting the year

2011-07-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

We started this journey over a year ago, in our warm and cozy Jetta, on a 95 degree day. Now the 5 of us, 385 days later (which is just about ¼ of BR's lifetime) are taking a look back and...counting:

3 continents, 5 countries, 16 US and 5 Indian states.

5-plus months in NYC and over 4 in Kolkata, India.

Flights: 17 for the kids, 19 for me, and 29 for Jeremy (for a grand total of 99)

Distance covered: at least 26,000 miles (kids), 28,000 (me) and Jer had a whopping 40,000. That's a minimum combined total of 144,000 miles, or just less than 6 times around the globe (which, for any readers who might not be a stuck-in-their-ways Brit or American, is the equivalent of 231,700 kilometers).

I packed and re-packed (suitcases for long trips or overnight bags for short ones) at least 27 different times.

We are finishing the year with 1 medical fellowship degree, 1 completed year of homeschooling, zero items stolen (so far), and countless crayonned walls courtesy of BR.

We visited with 42 family members (including all but one of the children's great-grandparents).

We will have lived (or at least spent one night) in 1 house, 5 apartments, 5 friends' guest rooms, 16 hotels, 1 farmhouse, and 1 beachhouse.

__________

I am a little exhausted just writing all of this, to tell the truth. This week alone we will cover 3500 miles and if you count the week before that and the one we are about to jump into, it is somewhere around 6800 miles, 6 flights and about 40 hours of driving.

At any rate, we are getting close to what my parents do in a single year, but they do it every year. And we have no plans to carry on the competetion. You win, we plan to stay put for awhile and I look forward to the time when the most exciting material I have to post is a domino pattern or two.

No regrets, though. We have met some really extraordinary people and seen some fabulous sights. Since we're counting, I will list some of them.

4 exceptionally adventurous people (obviously there were many more, but here are just a few honorable mentions):

- the retired German woman, in her late sixties, who spends 5 months of every year living in a very simple guesthouse in the heart of downtown Kolkata and volunteers with the Missionaries of Charity at the Shishu Bhavan orphanage five days a week. She sips her morning tea in a quiet corner of the dining hall with a view of the garden and fiercely guards her time alone and away from the crowds and noise. On her day off she naps and rests and recharges so she can go out and then do it all over again.

- the Canadian couple in their 70's who were backpacking around India. They still paddle out to a remote corner of the Queen Charlotte Islands every year in their homemade canoe and remember trudging through the snow in the early mornings, pulling their three children on a sled to the one-room schoolhouse in Whistler before it was what it is today.

- the suburban mom down the street from Jeremy's folks' place whose husband built a four-person collapseable tandem bike so they could carry it to Europe and bike around for a few weeks with their young sons (then ages 4 and 6). They now have a five-person bike, so they can still get around with their three younger children. Of course.

Finally, 10 of our favorite places and sights, in no particular order:

New York City skyline (photo source)

Langkawi Island, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur skyline

Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho (source)

Great Banyan tree, Kolkata, India

Langkawi Sky Bridge (Malaysia)

Lake near Salzburg, Austria

Neuchwanstein Castle, Germany

Rothenberg ob-der-Tauber, Germany

Palolem Beach, Goa (photo source)

trip to the Southwest

2011-07-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, we left the kids with the grands for a few days and Jer and I flew down south to try to find housing for our next adventure. Our year-plus of travel is about to come to an end, and we needed to find a place to settle into our new life in the Southwest. The short story is that we found a little house to rent in a good neighborhood near what is reputed to be a good school. But that's the boring part. I took photos of some of the more entertaining parts of our visit and hopefully it is a taste of more good and fascinating cultural experiences to come (once we move there later in July).

there are summer evening performances by the local People in the main square.
(and others are sometimes invited to join in)

the Jr. High Rodeo was taking place and we went to take a look.
these girls were sharing a set of earphones while riding along.

(the backyard and view of one house we looked at but didn't end up buying)

(look, trees! at least five, anyway...)

another [collapsing] house we didn't buy

standing on the roof of said house

it was hard to walk away from this one. it had trees growing out from it!
then again...it was collapsing.

blue and stormy skies

red rocks everywhere

and these are some clips of awesome stunts the kids were doing at the rodeo (the next contestant in line didn't struggle so much with the calf and set a record for 9 seconds):

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

who was I kidding

2011-06-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

As if any of our loyal fans read this blog looking for parenting tips, ha! What a joke that was. I know the real reason you folks keep coming back to RandB time after time...

...it's for moments like these:

easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy

2011-06-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

We like crafts, but I wouldn't say I am very ambitious. A better title for this post could have been, "How to parent as lazily as possible" or "Uh, can't you do that by yourself yet?" Pretty much, if it can be done with whatever I already have on hand, I'll do it. Otherwise, I probably won't bother. (and if it involves glitter: forget it because it is more likely to make me mad or sad than glad.)

At any rate, here are a few very easy, cheap, and not-too-messy activities for any old day, in case anyone is looking for craft ideas for preschoolers.

Make your own Mummy, using only water, flour, modeling clay and some old cut up t-shirts. It's quick, a little bit gooey, and extremely irreverent (the Ancient Egyptians would be so scandalized)--so what's not to love?!

it's tiny and cute, too, see?

this is A.'s "bacon mummy"

and BR's "brain mummy"

(i think the Bacon Mummy was my favorite)

next up, Puzzles for Preschoolers. Get a piece of cardboard, draw a picture on it, and cut it into 5 or 6 large pieces and voila:

When in doubt about what to paint, draw or sculpt, you might want to consider Drawing a Platypus. (I have only one photo to show for the dozens that have been made over the last weeks)

Or perhaps...a platypus mummy?

I suppose I could also add to the list "rock painting" although I guess the point of that post was what a stupid idea it turned out to be. Or you can fill up a 13x9 baking sheet with rice and that ought to keep the little hands busy; as long as you don't mind sweeping up rice for a week or two, it works just great. I have heard of letting a kid go nuts fingerpainting with chocolate pudding while sitting in a bathtub and it sounds fun, but I have yet to try it out. Of course, paper and scissors can do all sorts of amazing things and help you dream big, or just draw pictures of your dreams.

Oh wait, I have one more: get cardboard tube from a used-up paper towel roll, cut it in half and you will have two homemade microphones for little rockstar wannabes. Crank up the music, and you've got instant fun!

What other extremely low-impact crafts/activities do you have hiding up your sleeve? Please share. Please.

L. is 7!

2011-06-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

To celebrate, we had a pajama party in the morning, with good old fashioned waffles and games. We had strawberries galore and put them on waffles and angel food cake. It was all a wonderful success and L. promises it was everything she had hoped it would be.

trick candles:

To get some ideas for games and activities, I googled "pajama party" but, besides this one, mostly landed on sites about slumber parties. So for anyone out there who wants to do a pajama birthday party for girls, here is what I came up with.

Invitations: we made them ourselves and put pictures of girls in pjs and nighties and instructed everyone to show up in their pjs. (I didn't mention that it wasn't a sleepover party and that caused a little confusion, oops. So it might be a good idea to include the start and end times.)

Breakfast art plate: While the guests drifted in one by one, I invited everyone to sit at the kitchen table and create a picture using a selection of breakfast food items: cheerios, sliced fruit, raisins, waffle squares... It kept everyone busy and they could snack on it, too.

We followed with waffles and strawberries (since everyone was already seated) and then segued into another table game...

Bedtime Bingo: I found some clipart of bedtime related items, printed them out then glued them on cardstock then used cheerios as play pieces. Easy peasy.

Nightmare Mummy Monster: to pair off the kids and have them wrap each other up in crepe paper is one of my all-time favorite party games for younger kids; they just love it. This time, I just told them to make their partner into a "scary nightmare monster" and thought it was awesome.

Sleep Fairy: this is like heads-up seven-up. I found some pink wands as party favors and made up a game where everyone "falls asleep" on the floor, I gently "wake" up a fairy who tiptoes around and taps another girl gently with her wand, then sneaks back to her spot on the floor. The second girl wakes up very slowly and then tries to guess who the secret fairy was.

Pillow toss: divide the girls into two teams and have each time line up in a row. The girl at the front will toss the pillow over her shoulder and it will be passed back until it reaches the girl at the back. She carries it to the front of the line and tosses it back. Play continues until the original girl at the front is back to the front again.

We used balloons for this game, but stuffed animals would work really well, too, and fit the theme a little better: divide the girls into pairs again and put a big teddy bear between their tummies. They have to carry it across the room without using their hands, and then dump it into a basket (or pillowcase) and then go back for more. See how many they can get into the basket in 60 seconds.

Finally, we read a "bedtime story," a poem that Granny composed about L's life, the places she has lived and the people she met along the way. According to L., it was "the best poem EVER."

Happy Birthday to L., our best 7 yr-old EVER!

sunbreak

2011-06-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

Summer doesn't start in June around here. So if the sun breaks through the clouds and if it's not cold, we go outside. Sometimes we bring a picnic dinner. There are no shortage of pretty spots and parks.

Today A. told me: "Mommy, I think it is summertime. The clouds are just acting like it's not."

cheerleaders?

2011-06-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

L. has been sitting in on Granny's cheer lessons and she wanted to pass along what she learned.

I think BR was into it, but A., not so much.

look at this little guy

2011-06-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

these are photos I took of photos on Granny's walls

I think someone might look just a little tiny bit like his daddy...

Field Day

2011-06-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

The camera's battery died and so I didn't get a picture of either the bouncy house, cake walk (BR won a cake!), or one summer game that I made a mental note to re-use at some point: all you need is a kiddie pool with a bit of water in it, some marbles and some large plastic cups. You dump the marbles out in the water and the kids stand in the pool and have to figure out a way to pick them up with their toes or feet and drop them into a cup they are holding. It's easy, it can keep five or six kids occupied for a good long time, it's relatively quiet (as compared to the donut wrestling--yikes), safe (or at least I never saw anyone lose their balance, anyway) AND it keeps you nice and cool!

4,5,6

2011-06-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

(for previous years click here: 2010, 2009 and 2008 and of course, here they are, back when they were 0, 1 and 2)

it's so ugly here

2011-06-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

I wonder who drew this picture

2011-06-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

the girl with the halo over her head, maybe?

Memorial Day

2011-06-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

a four-mile bike ride will wear a girl out.

aww, they used to be so cute

2011-06-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

"Mom, take a picture, we're ninjas!"

2011-06-01T17:14:00.000-07:00

2011-05-31T19:55:00.001-07:00

all grown up?

2011-05-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

So much for everyone learning how to ride real bikes...they have regressed so quickly, (sigh)...

Hey L., is it really still fun to stuff yourself into a toddler car?

Oh, my mistake. Apparently, some enjoy it into their late twenties:

(Spring 2008)

burst

2011-05-27T12:46:00.001-07:00

so you think you're ready for (grand) parenthood...

2011-05-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

Not until you have completed these easy assignments! I am having trouble picking a favorite--the mess test or the dressing one? Which do you like best?

(thanks to my Beth for the link!)

family bike ride

2011-05-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

I have been looking forward to this for years: everyone on their own bike, on an actual trail! We picked up a bike for A. at the thrift store and she learned to ride it the same day. (BR-the-reckless-rider still has training wheels and I like it that way.)

First try and we didn't even crash into anyone!

Whidbey Island

2011-05-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

Recognize anything, friends-in-India-from-the-Northwest? It wasn't until we spent the afternoon out at Whidbey with Granny's class that I realized how many of you have roots out this way.

Riding a car onto a ferry was one of the perks

There is so much you can do with driftwood. Building shelters from the wind is definitely one of the smartest. It was sunny, but it wasn't warm. (ps: we didn't build these--whoever did was the smarty-pants)