More Fall Things

We now have to stand to have our morning coffee on the deck.  The lawn furniture has been loaded up and stowed away.  Only two sand pails and two shovels are left in the sandbox.  All in preparation...like squirrels storing nuts.  Any day now, likely without much warning, we will wake up to a skiff of the white stuff.

With all the summer essentials removed from the deck, a marvelous, wide open stage was created.  And let me tell ya, big sister can put on a show...

Somehow, somewhere she learned how to hula-hoop.  I'm not talking about just giving it a good spin and letting go either.  She can hula-hoop for real.  She has the stance and the timing of her little bootie-shake down pat.  When she told me she could hula-hoop I gave my general "that's great, babe," comment.  Then after several, "watch me mom's" I looked and over to see her hips swaying with the rhythm of the hoop and I started counting the rotations...eleven, twelve...

You go sister!

And you can be sure that if big sister is performing, little sister is never far behind.  Watching closely.  Shouting, "me too, me too!"

I love how little sister looks at Callie like she hung the moon.  Callie can jump down three steps, reach things off the counter, cut with scissors, and get in and out of the bathtub by herself.  And not to mention Lexi just finished another round of sitting on the pool deck cheering for Callie during her swimming lessons. (Which she rocked again...lookout Crocodile.)



The other day I was putting laundry away in Callie's room.  Jon came in to ask something and we were having a conversation.  The girls were in the living room and we heard Callie call for mom.  Then dad.  Neither of us responded, thinking "oh she'll find us in here".  We could hear her check our bedroom, then the bathroom, the kitchen... but she never did check her own room. 

We heard her return to the living room and say to Lexi, "It's OK.  Mom and Dad just had to go somewhere.  Don't be scared.  Big sister is here.  I will take care of you.  Don't be scared.  Big sister is here."

My heart was melting at her compassion and love for her little sister... even if Lexi was completely oblivious to the fact that we had been out of site all of five minutes. 

I hope they always take care of each other.

Houston, we have a pony tail!

We've been spending as much time as possible outside these days.  We went out to rake the leaves in the backyard but ended up playing with them.  Throwing them. Rolling in them. Running through them.  Crunching them. Laying in them and looking up at the sky. Instead. 

And this was waiting for us inside...

...my first attempt at minestrone soup in the slow cooker.  Doesn't it just scream cozy fall day supper and make you want to light candles and wrap yourself in something wool.  It was delicious with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese on top.  I've had it for lunch every day this week.

We finally completed our work in progress.  What started out as a recycled wind chime from the craft tables at Culture Days ended up being a painted, glitter glued, rhinestoned leaf mobile.  The base is a melted vinyl record that was spray painted... how cool.  Callie is pumped.  She thinks we can change out the leaves for pumpkins, ghosts and goblins for Halloween.

Fall is in full swing around here. Leaves are all over the ground.  The air is cool and refreshing when you step out the door in the morning.  Soup is on. Fresh baked muffins on the cupboard. Costumes are on there way. 

What things make you cozy in the fall?

Thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for.

It's not that I need a day to pronounce all that I'm thankful for because I think I try to to pay gratitude regularly, through out the year...  always looking at my glass as half full, paying attention to the small moments and the inbetween days.  But Thanksgiving weekend makes me think about my most prized possessions. 

My family. 

The best thing about Thanksgiving is today.  Our extra at home day.  A day that starts out with two little bodies climbing into our bed, rolling on us, poking at us, and clicking the bedside lamp on-off-on-off.

Time together is what I'm most thankful for.  The time to run and play in the leaves.  The time to create an art project with the girls.  The time to stop and read stories outside on a hand stitched quilt from grandma.  And even the time that we are all in the same room, each doing our own thing... clicking keyboards, coloring pictures, watching Mickey, dumping toy bins... I'm thankful for this nothing special time too. 

    Leaf mobile project...phase two.

No Thanksgiving would be complete with out a family dinner.  We spent the evening with Jon's family.  And, of course, we're thankful to Nana and Papa for stuffing us full with deliciousness. Turnips are always a controversy at the dinner table.  You either love 'em or hate 'em and I am in the love category.  I ate Jon's share, his love for them is minimal.

Callie had been asking all week if we were having turkey and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner.  There must have been some discussions at preschool about how people celebrate Thanksgiving.  She came home from school declaring her love for pumpkin pie.  I was suspicious of  this new found love because I, myself, have only recently (say in the past few years) acquired a taste for pumpkin pie. As it turns out, her love for pumpkin pie was real.  It wasn't just a short love affair with the whipped topping as I suspected, it was a true love for the crust, filling and all.

Family.
Eating.  Playing.  Laughing.
Together.

It is our only hope that one day, someone will actually be able to play something, for real, on this piano.

So thankful.
Happy Turkey Day.

Official Skate

Yesterday our Internet connection was down.  No big deal, we'll just.... hmm...what will we do?  Technology is weaved so tightly into the fabric of our lives that when one thread is pulled out we are left with a bit of a hole to fill.

I often hear about these promotions to "turn it off" or to get "unplugged" and I think they sound great in theory.  These challenges are often preceded with stats about the number of hours people spend watching TV, gaming, texting, surfing, chatting, messaging.... And I think ya, we should do that someday.  But we never do.  Unless of course there is a power outage.

With all the media attention about the passing of Steve Jobs it's impossible not to think about the impact technology has on our daily existence.  I've decided that I'm at peace with technology being intertwined throughout my day. It doesn't have to be the bad guy.  I check the forecast on my phone first thing in the morning.  I may check status updates while the girls are playing in the bath.  And there are even times that I'm watching TV, surfing the web, sending a text, and chatting on the land line.  And it's all good because when I've had enough I just power down.  And we go and do something...

Like taking Callie to her first official skating lesson.

We have been anticipating her skating debut for weeks.... wondering how it would turn out, would she actually go on the ice, would she like it, how much encouragement would she need, would she wear figure skates or hockey skates...

I just have to say, she was awesome! She confidently chose hockey skates and wanted to wear her "team shirt" as she calls it.  She could hardly contain her own enthusiasm. And when I say awesome it's not that she went out there and skated circles around the other kids.  She was awesome because I'm her mom and I will always be her biggest fan.  I will always be proud of her for taking that chance, for trying something new.  I will always be the mom who is taking a ton of pictures, high fiving, and grinning from ear to ear.

And I wasn't her only fan...

This was Callie's third time skating.  Here was her second.  And her first, well there was some crying involved.  I loved watching all the little Bambi's out there on the ice, their legs working so hard to keep them standing up while trying to produce a forward motion only to feel the cold, hard ice on their bottoms.

I have a new Facebook profile picture displaying my shaky-legged four-year-old at her first skating lesson and Jon has a new BBM picture.  I love making memories.  And thanks to technology I can share them, post them and write about them...and keep them stored in the digital world.  And someday we will click back in our archives and say remember when just the same as if we had stacks of photo albums on the shelf.

Now it's time to unplug.

Bits and Pieces of Fall

I love evenings like this with girlfriends...



(Some day I will take my camera out of the automatic feature and learn how to actually take a photo in dim lighting that truly depicts the ambiance that we had going... instead of that bright flash, deer in headlights kinda look.)

...after dinner, dessert and coffee.  Sitting around the kitchen table for hours. Good conversation. Apple spice scented candles giving off a warm glow.  Seven children who have known each other since birth laughing and playing and creating the most imaginative games together.  The perfect evening to a gorgeous autumn  day.

As you can see, the tree outside my kitchen window that we watched burst in the spring and then begin to transform a month ago is now barren.  I have come to realize that I like that we live in a part of the world that experiences each of the four seasons. I like the cycle of the year.  I like the predictability of the changing seasons and the activities that go with it.  Mother Nature makes these transitions so effortlessly and flawlessly, without any big announcement, and we need to pay attention and fully live in the moment or else the season will slip by while we're busy with life.

We spent a beautiful autumn day at a community event that payed tribute to culture and the arts.  We showed up in the morning for the pancake breakfast with the intentions of staying until noon.  But instead we had to live in the moment...we stayed at the event for the better part of the day.  It was a picturesque fall day with the sun's rays reflecting off the nearby lake.  And each of the cultural events kept capturing the girls attention causing them to put their play with friends on hold to watch dancers, drummers, singing choirs and to participate in some of their own art making.

    Hoop Dancing...

    Mask making.  Sister can glue like it's nobody's business!

After our time at Culture Days we were inspired to try making some art of our own at home.  I think I have some very talented artists living under my roof.

    A few of their pieces from the "autumn" collection hanging in our homemade gallery...

We didn't quite get done this project as the paintings were supposed to be turned into an fall leaf mobile.  We'll just call it a work-in-progress.

October is upon us.  Bring on the days of homemade soups and stews.  The slow cooker is out is full force and the aroma of supper brewing when you walk through the door, arms loaded down with the remnants of the days activities and a slight chill in your bones from the cool air,  is like heaven on earth. The days are shorter. The evenings darker.  Perfect for lighting candles, home cooking, getting cozy...and living in the autumn moment.

Thursday Ramblings

I had a date tonight with the doctors from Seattle Grace Hospital.  In my continued effort to fit in all in... TV usually carries very little weight. (I will clarify... grown-up shows carry very little weight.) And watching live TV as opposed to something pvr'd is like helium, lighter than air.  Except for Thursday nights.  Callie asked if she could stay up late to have some quiet time and watch my doctor show with me.  But I declined her request, preferring to have McDreamy, McSteamy and Gunther all to myself....

Moving on.

Today was an inbetween day.  A day where I serve Lexi Mini Wheats for breakfast but she leans towards me with her mouth open saying, "peassss" and she ends up eating half of my Fibre One instead.

We had deep from the belly laughs over little sister's hair

We've started a new morning routine during the week.  It goes like this. Clothes. Breakfast. TV until mom is ready.  Can you believe that I had been doing it the reverse order?  Ya I know, crazy, but I had good reason.  Getting Callie to get dressed is the most challenging task in the morning so I would put it off as long as I could.  She has a serious case of "it doesn't feel rightitis".  And if something doesn't feel just quite right, our world comes crashing down.  Maybe I could get her in to see Dr. Shepard. I'm sure him and Meredith could start a clinical trial to find a cure for this very serious disease that inflicts four year olds. 

I've been encouraging Callie to pick out her own clothes.  And she makes some great matches. Comfort always tops her list and green is her favorite color. Whenever she comes to present her choices to me  I say things like, "You have great style today" or "You're so creative, I never would have thought to put that shirt with those shorts.  High five, sista!"

Our fall weather has been intoxicating so we have been making an extra effort to stop by the park on our way home after our day or to go exploring, aka - go for a walk.  I had read this book and heard the authors speak a few years ago and I believe what they say about taking the time to reconnect with your children after you've been apart all day.  And some days it takes all I have to not head straight home so that I can get supper ready and start checking off the tasks of the nightly to-do list.  But the days that we take our time are soooo worth it.

And now I'm done rambling.  I am too tired to make the words flow together today.   The girls have been wrestling with head colds this week, their first of the season, so our sleep has been interrupted more than usual.  We are looking forward to our at home days on the weekend.