Restless

We've been busy. Very busy. Maia just finished up five weeks of swim lessons--which is wonderful but scheduled activities always take more time than I suppose. I love to watch her in the water. She has so much confidence, and if she would gain just a bit more she would be swimming laps in no time. We spent most of this week at the pool. I love it. I wish I had my own, I think I'd never leave the house. So maybe it's a good thing we don't. ;)

But in between the fun we've been having is a nagging sense of restlessness on my part. I'm not comfortable in my own skin right now. I'm feeling disconnected and out of sorts. I want some time alone, or maybe I just want some child-free time. John has been working up a storm and I am feeling the weight of parental responsibility. Yea, I know. I signed up for it, but everybody needs a lunch break every now and then.

I have this crazy fantasy of showing up at John's office and sweeping him away for an evening of delicious food and good conversation. It involves a new dress and a babysitter and the look of surprise on John's face. But I'm afraid that's to remain a fantasy. The logistics are too overwhelming in this case to actually make something like that happen.

Second plan? None.

We need to get ready for our trip...which is currently in a state of flux. So I don't want to make too many plans until I know if John is coming with us or heading on his own adventure. I'm kind nervous about taking all the kids on my own. I'm trying to think about how I will unload the car, and haul all of them through rest stops, restaurants and hotels. Where will we all sleep? And three meals on the road? One will be in the car, but still. I have to figure how I can keep the stroller assembled and still fit in the babies pack-n-plays and a large suitcase for all of our goods. So far the best plan I've come up with involves packing an overnight bag separately so I don't have to unload the entire back of the car for one overnight stay.

That's something at least.

Maia is now up and I must begin my day in earnest. Good morning.

Open to the World

Alright, big news! Maia, Stella and Elise each have their own on-line "baby books" now live and ready for viewing.

Stories and pictures of Maia can be found at: http://maiaevelyn.com/
Stories and pictures of Stella can be found at: http://stellamadeline.com/
Stories and pictures of Elsie can be found at: http://elisecarolyn.com/

The blogs are still a work in progress with John hard at work updating pictures and layouts, but we thought we'd go ahead and open them up for the world to see.

Have fun coming along on the adventures of our three little ones.

Night and the Sitting Baby

John and I employ a whole lot of ignoring when it comes to night-time wake ups with the girls. We let them fuss for a few and usually they settle right down again. Stella and Elise are big enough at this point that they do not need a night feeding and small wake-ups from teething or just the normal cycle of sleep-wake aren't made a big deal of because then those wakings will turn to habits.

Last night was a crazy night, sleep wise, for everyone. We were at a Fourth of July celebration and though we said we weren't going to stay late, of course we did. We ended up putting Stella and Elise down at our friend's house and then packing them home around 9 PM. So "bed" in their own beds didn't happen until after 10 PM. They seemed to be fine until we heard the wail at 2 AM. Stella was agitated. Very much so. We chalked it up to the strange night and let her fuss for about 5 minutes. Then she was quiet and we dozed off again. Around 2:30 she was at it again, just kind of fussing and moaning and then quiet. At 3 when she began wailing in earnest I decided it was time to get her out of bed, feed her something and get her to sleep again before all her sisters were up in the middle of the night.

I stumbled sleepily into the bedroom and there was Stella. Sitting in bed. I've never seem her sitting (on her own from a prone position) before and it was kind of strange. I brushed it off, picked her up and proceeded to feed, cuddle and get her back into bed with a minimum of thinking.

As I turned off the kitchen light and headed back to my own bed a thought fluttered into my addled brain. Stella doesn't like to go from a sitting position to the ground. She doesn't like to fall and has yet to figure out the controlled way to get herself down. How she got up by herself is a mystery....but she did manage it somehow. But, I wondered, was her fussing because she simply didn't know how to get down again?

I really hope she wasn't sitting in bed for an hour just waiting for someone to put her down. If she wakes up tonight, I'm checking out the night vision camera and then...we'll be working on Stella's dismount.

Nine Fourteen PM (PDT)

It's 9:14 and I am too tired to clean, cook, pack a lunch for tomorrow or bake. This sucks and I finished the book I was reading.

Sigh. I should motivate.

Let Down and Release

I am feeling very tired from the past two weeks. Ready to nap, get the kids in bed early, and loaf about. Alas...I have adult life to live somewhere off the Internets and I can smell one of my children right now. It smells like work. And blah, I can't remember what I planned on making for dinner tonight.

Bonus extra: Maia just wet her bed. Her loft bed. With less than 3 hours until bed time to get the darn thing changed up. Sigh. Here I go, then.

Not My Favorite Thing About Babies

Stella is a vicious explosive baby this morning. Started off with a 5 AM wake up call...which I let slide until 5:45. Upon entering the room I discovered that she'd overfilled her diaper with poop...and now I must strip her bed and have it all washed by nap time, because, of course, I don't have a spare mattress pad.

After a 1/2 hour diaper and clothes change I gave her and Elsie their morning bottles only to have Miss Stella violently gag and throw up at least half of her breakfast. On me. She had just finished the last pull when this happened. It was still warm and that sucks. So now I must also strip the futon cover (big pain in the butt) and get it in the wash. Because this room will fast smell like rancid puke once the day heats up.

At least Maia is still asleep and the twinks are now playing quietly. Once John gets up, I think I'm going back to bed.

What Not to Say to an 8-Month Old

Because Stella has hip and cool (ahem) parents she is sporting a leopard print correctional helmet. Yes, she has a problem with the shape of her head. It's growing out nicely now, thanks to the helmet. But it is very obvious and we receive numerous comments on it, ranging from "Why is she wearing a helmet?" to "What a great hat/helmet!" But we've never run into the scene we experienced last Saturday at Costco.

Stella was riding in the ergo carrier with John as we walked past the bakery where a very forward older woman was hawking Costco croissants and giving out samples. We stopped to give Maia a bite and as we were turning around to head to the fruit section the Costco Sample Lady says in a very loud smoker's voice "What a sexy helmet!" My reaction? "Ummmm...thanks?" John begins to move a bit quicker away from the Costco Sample Lady but...she follows us to tell us more. "Yeah, that's a sexy pattern...my mother had a nightgown with the same pattern so I know it real well."

Really? Thanks for sharing...we just smiled and nodded and backed away as quickly a politeness would allow. I wouldn't have been surprised if she'd let out a "Rawr!" followed by a bawdy wink.

I think this is the kind of thing John was afraid of when he expressed doubt as to whether or not leopard was appropraite for our daughter. Yikes.

Mother's Day

The following exchanges were overheard at the park this afternoon.

Father (of ~3yo girl): Where's Kate?
Grandfather (of same): I thought she was with you.
Father: No. She didn't come with me.
Grandfather: She said she wanted to go with you...

Now very concerned looking around the playground. And then they head off in the oppsite direction of where Father had just come from.

Me: I saw her go (points while feeding infant daughters) that way, after you.

Father and Grandfather turn in correct direction and find said child happily playing at the adjoining play area. Whew!

(Different) Father (watching two children in the enclosed play area): They're going in different directions! I need backup!!

This was directed to Mother and Friend who were chatting five feet away from the play structure.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone.

Happy Month-Day Girls!

Stella and Elise turn eight months today! Hooray girls!

In related news, I sleep through the night and am enjoying a regular morning nap. Well, I don't nap but the babies do. Morning nap is quiet play time for Maia and myself, although today I might perhaps try to make headway in the disgrace that is my kitchen.

Or waste time on the Internets. Whichever will be more fun. ;)

Favorite Things

I've decided that my new favorite place is the playroom. I've installed my computer here by the futon and perched on the couch I can watch the girls play and read/write/laze about while feel like I'm not totally ignoring my children. It is also the one room that I can control the chaos in. The toys all have a place and it thrills me to no end to find the missing pieces of things...and make them come together again. To make them complete.

I wish I had the rest of my house in the order the playroom is in. But aside from the newly established sleeping space my house, literally and figuratively, is not in order.

I think Miss M and I are in similar spaces. And with the decision (not mine) to cancel the house cleaners I need to figure out fast how to keep it all together. But the cleaners had become a crutch and my intention to focus on clearing out the stuff and clutter between visits never materialized. I was able to limp along further with the thought that at least the bathroom was clean. Of course, it's been a month now since the sheets were changed...

Lists, systems, ways of functioning are meaningless when the hurdle I have to jump is my own inability to take action. If I can not do everything, and do it perfectly, I can not seem to begin at all. And I can not. Can. Not. Just do "one" extra item a day. It seems as though my days are hard enough to get through with the basics done. Tonight the decision was to bathe the children and not make dinner. Tomorrow we have appointments all day and somehow, I have to finish making the house guest worthy.

Of course, simply writing this is not helping. But maybe thinking what I need to do through is the first step in getting it done.

If You Want to Give Me a Present

I miss my point and shoot camera. These girls have been far too cute for words lately and I am missing all the pictures.

Like right now Stella and Elise are wearing these too cute little skirt outfits...the same thing in different colors...and rolling on the playroom floor.

I could get John's camera. But I'd really like my own. So, if you're out shopping please think of me.

Electronic Leashes

I think if I had just not answered the phone this afternoon, the 5 feet to the car would have been easily traveled. As it went, Maia did an escape artist trick and left me in the dust with one baby in the stroller and one sleeping on my chest. Not my finest moment.

Thank goodness for patient friends with better behaved children--and that the spanking threat still works.

Next up, obdience training for both parent and child.

Having a Break

Today has been a day that I wish I could just check out of. I don't want to be responsible for anything, really. I just want to eat cookies and watch TV. Maybe I can make that happen.

Then sleep and we'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Two simple Pleasures:

Watching all the girls play in one room. Even if they're not playing together they are occupying the same space contentedly. It's bliss to watch Maia create her elaborate games, Elise sit and mouth and block and Stella desperately try to get mobile.

Gorging myself on fresh baked cookies. I can feel the pants getting uncomfortable but I'll worry about that tomorrow. For now, another chocolate cherry oatmeal cookie. Still warm.

Time for a...Twin?

(This is an article I wrote for my multiple group...but I realized I never told the story here! This is how we first met Stella and Elise)

March 17, 2008. I showed up on my friends doorstep an ultrasound in hand. She answered the door expectantly and I heard my 21 month old daughter playing in the background. Wordlessly I held up the grainy black and white image from my OB. It took a moment for the image to make an impression and when she realized what she was seeing she laughed delightedly “Twins!” Wordlessly I nodded and entered the house to collect both my daughter and my thoughts.

John and I have were married in September of 2004. He’s a Silicon Valley geek and I’m a foodie turned cook turned pastry semi-pro. We love to have adventures together, big and small. We’ve been up and down the West Coast, have taken a small plane trip (with John at the controls) cross country, and have even pegged the speedometer (of a Jetta wagon) on the Autobahn. We always knew we wanted to have children and often talked about the fun and amazing trips we would then take as a family.

When discussing how big our family would eventually grow to we had a running joke. I come from a family of six, I have three siblings and I love larger families. John has one sister and thought two was the perfect amount of children. I loved to joke about having nine kids...or more! And he would counter that he was “good for two, so you better have twins the second time.” We’d both laugh at that, there was no reason to suspect that we’d get that lucky. No twins in either of our immeadiate families, so that meant no twins for us.

We were delighted and blessed to welcome our first daughter, Maia Evelyn, into the fold in June of 2006. A year and half later we decided our lives weren’t complicated enough so we decided to try for a sibling...never suspecting we’d get more than we bargined for.

I found out I was expecting in Febuary last year. Because it was my second pregnancy and everything had been perfectly normal with the first, my OB didn’t need to see me until mid March. I made the appointment and began the wait to get the first glimpse of our new baby. The pregnancy felt different from the first one, right from the beginning. I had awful “all day sickness” and was extremely tired but nothing cued me into the biggest surprise of my life. As a family we even kept plans to go on a long weekend snow mobile trip, and there I was eight weeks pregnant cruising (and crashing...but that’s an entirely different story) along on a snow mobile for the very first time.

St. Patrick’s Day began fairly normally. I had my first appointment with my OB at 2 PM. John was on board to meet me there, although he was swamped at work testing the latest product from his company. I don’t usually like afternoon appointments, but this was the first I could get and I was anxious to make sure the baby was doing well, especially after my snowy run in with a tree. I dropped Maia off with a friend so she could play and I could go through the appointment unencumbered. I arrived on time, and sure enough the office was behind. Afternoons always lend themselves to emergencies and I understood this. As I settled in, John showed up to wait with me.

I was taken back to get the details over with...John would be able to come in while the ultrasound was being preformed. But the day was not going well and I ended up sitting there for 40 more minutes before my doctor could see me. We went over how I was doing and as she got ready to check the baby for gestational age and that all important heartbeat she asked where John was. “He should be in the waiting room” I replied. “I didn’t see him there...let me check again before we look at the baby.” Out she went to locate my errant husband. When she returned, John was not with her. Not knowing where he’d gone, but suspecting that something had come up at work during the long wait, I got ready to “meet” our latest for the first time without him.

I lay back and let my doctor do her thing. She was making notes and clicking away, when suddenly, it got very quiet. She turned the moniter around and said, “Take a look.” I looked, but what I saw was a split screen and some dark wiggles. “Is everything OK?” I asked, still worried that I had knocked the baby around on the snow mobile. “Yes,” she replied, “everything is fine, but you’re not looking at a broken moniter...you’re not seeing double...look again.” It finally dawned on me that I wasn’t seeing a split screen, I was seeing, “TWO babies?!” My doctor chuckled. “Yes. Two healthy heartbeats about twelve weeks along. You’re due October 10.” I couldn’t believe it and John wasn’t there to share the news! After I caught my breath and could sit up again I was handed my picture of Twin A and Twin B.

As I was leaving, my doctor looked over at me and remembering my husband and his intense fear of having twins from our first pregnancy (where all he wanted to know was that there was only one baby in there) said, ”Let John know he should stop making jokes, they have a funny way of coming true.”

Of course, the very first thing I did after leaving the office was to call John. And of course he was hard at work in a noisy lab running simulations. Our conversation consisted of me telling him we were having twins and him saying “What? I can’t talk about this now. Call you later” and hanging up the phone.

About four hours and a good conversation with my girlfriend later, John calls back. First words? “You were kidding about twins, right?” He thought I was messing with him because he left the appointment without notice. After I told him I had proof, he promised we’d have a good long talk that night...after he had a beer with the boys.

It didn’t take long to get over the shock and get excited about our new arrivals. We had to modify our original plans (good bye single stroller and hello double plus a carrier!) and are still figuring out how to fit all these lovely children into our home (good bye office/guest room and hello sleeping room/play room) and car (we are certified car-seats-for-non-van-vehicles experts now).

Our surprise babies arrived a bit earlier than our EDD and on September 8, Stella Madeline and Elise Carolyn arrived on the scene. Stella was able to come home with me right away but Elsie decided she just didn’t feel like breathing...so she was monitered for a week in the NICU. Today they are almost eight months old and absolutely perfect. We love our three girls and wouldn’t have it any other way.

We’re so glad to have found the Gemini Crickets group and be able to share in the advice, support, and wisdom of the many multiple families represented. We attended NEP meetings while still pregnant and it was wonderful to see that what we were experiencing could be managed. I always know that someone out there will have an answer for me and I hope I can offer some support to families after us still working through all the fun and excitement of raising more than one baby at a time.

As for adventures? We’ve already taken all the girls on their first road trip...a quick jaunt to San Diego over New Years and have plans for a couple more this summer. An extra “baby on board” isn’t going to slow us down.

Home (alone)

I am of course not alone. I have all my daughters with me, but I am reminded of John's absence in small ways. The coffee pot wasn't rinsed out last night. For some reason I never remember to rinse the coffee pot and John just does it as a matter of course when he gets home from work. (I am sure this bothers him to no end)

This morning the coffee pot wasn't rinsed out because John isn't home. Also, the coffee I make is never as good as the coffee he makes. It's too strong this morning.

I missed the garbage truck. I hope we can make it until next week. Sorry hon, I should have taken it out last night.

But, I have an organization project planned and since I'm not really concerned with a big mess in the kitchen I might just get it done by Sunday morning. That would be a very good thing.

Maia came into our room this morning where I had decided to feed the babies and snuggle just a bit longer. She climbed up into bed and said: "I miss daddy. He had to go bye-bye."

Yeah. I miss daddy too.

Lent

I so need to get to the library.

We gave up television for Lent and I intended to read more books, write more, and generally socialize with my husband at the end of our collective days. Instead I've been staying up too late wasting time via the Internet.

Next year I'm going to cut the electronic unbillical cord.

Ouch

So the beer I picked last night for our pitcher to share ended up being a 7% Belgium-style ale.

So delicious. Until the combined horror of way to little sleep and not enough food hit.

Now I must stumble through the rest of my day with a not so delicious hangover.

Ouch.

What John does for Fun

There is now a moose icon on Maia's website. Thanks to John. Because she loves the moose with the loose caboose and he in turn loves her.

And he calls me compulsive.

ps: will roll out the new sites as soon as the designs are all finished. we're working on content as well...

Here's to This Morning

I am wishing all my mornings were like this one...and wondering what I can do to make that happen. Right now the babies are *mostly* sleeping. Stella is fussing a bit, but she's ready to go down. Maia is fed, pottied and quietly playing in her room. Dinner is in the slow cooker. My coffee is still hot.

Life could only be more perfect if I didn't have a three foot tall pile of clean laundry that needs attention.

Other things of note: This morning Stella rolled from her belly to her back. It's not a fluke. She did it twice and she is so proud of herself. She looked up at me laughing at her with a face that said, "See Mom. I can do it myself. No tummy time for me!"

Elise is still on the fence about turning over, so more tummy time for her. But Elise is eating solid food! She had her whole portion (about a tablespoon and a half) of rice cereal and banana for breakfast this morning. Yay Elise! We'll get some meat on your bones.

Stella isn't sure about the whole solid thing...she is the bottle champ after all. But she's not completly opposed to the process so I'm sure she'll like it soon enough.

Maia is still having trouble with poop and the potty. It's the big bane of toddler hood right now. But hopefully she'll realize that the potty is a good place to go soon. Because that's I mess I don't relish.

She is loving her mini preschool and so am I. Maia is also developing an uncanny ablility to quote her favorite shows and books. A budding star of stage and screen perhaps? Or just a toddler developing her memory. Only time will tell.

That pile of laundry is calling and so is an angry babe. It's been pleasant this morning and I hope that continues. At least I've had my nice and warm coffee.

12.2 Down

I started Weight Watchers again and am happy to report that I feel great! It's been 5 weeks (four of using the program) and I'm down 12.2 pounds. Woo-hoo. It's a start and I hope to finish in about a year at a slim 145 or so. Wish me luck and happy pointing!

At the Mall...Friday Night

With the big day of love fast approaching I decided it was high time to update my *ahem* "special drawer". I haven't bought slinky silkies in about three years now...since I outfitted my trousseau. My only excuse is that I've pretty much been pregnant since then.

In any case, a quick trip to the slinky store was needed. Of course, this would be the busiest day to go...a Friday night and a rainy one to boot. What else is there to do but shop? But since the babies were asleep and dinner was eaten I took a leap of faith and leaped into the car.

I usually do this kind of shopping in the afternoon, when kids are in school and most other folks are working so I've never run into the crowd that was shopping along with me tonight. There was the mother and son team....and I should clarify that the son in question was about eight and obsessed with pulling fringed crotchless panties off the rack and sticking his hand through the crotch opening then asking his mom what the hole was for. Not the conversation I want to have with my son at eight...or really...anytime.

There were also, not one, but two, sets of families shopping. Mom, dad and daughters. One girl was about six and liked the satin teddies. The other was about nine and just wanted to hide as her mom was paging through a rack of nighties and asking her husband which he liked best.

That aside, I have to admit I was most put off by the late teen-aged boy who was there with his sister and her friends as the sister shopped for new bras. Her friends thought it was a blast to have her prance around him after each bra was tried on...looking for the one that gave her the most "lift". The only reason he might have made me the most uncomfortable was the fact that he a hovering by the changing area right by the sale rack I was rifling through and his glower kind of killed the flirty mood for me.

I guess the lesson learned is that I shouldn't have worried about bringing my chaos into the frilly store. Because no one else seems to mind. But I will say I had a much better time no making others think twice about their purchase of tear-away panties and indulging in a little fantasy of my own...the one that involves not pushing a stroller around the suburban mall on a Friday evening.

Two-Year-Old Simile

Maia and I are eating dinner together and I am drinking a sparkling water. Maia loves to watch to bubbles move from the bottom of the bottle to the top. Tonight she made this observation:

"The bubbles are going up the bottle, like when I go to the park and climb up the ladder."

I think she's ready for college.

Yes, You Are Maia

After putting up Maia's little hair into two high piggy tails this morning, she bounces off my lap and declares: "I'm a real princess now!"

Three Girls Four Months and Counting

The babies turned four months yesterday. It's kind of a big milestone...the completion of the "fourth trimester" and the transition from new born to infant. Case in point, I feel like I have 10 minutes to post as opposed to the last three months when I barley had time to go to the bathroom.

Stella and Elise are amazing. Good, good, babies and they are beginning to settle into a groove. Right now they are sitting in bouncy chairs batting at rattles and cooing. Maia is eating a breakfast of French toast, applesauce and fruit. I am having coffee and deciding how to spend the day. I wish every morning was as good as this one is right now.

The other amazing thing happening in our house right now is the relationship that is beginning to grow between the toddler and the babies. Maia has gone from indifference to jealousy to a kind of "big sister" role where she will play and talk to the babies now. She loves to tell them "good morning" and "hi baby" and "look at me! I'm smiling at you". Stella and Elise are responding with big toothless grins and laughs at Maia's antics. This is what I was imagining when we began to expand our little family. While we still have moments when Maia tells me to "put the baby down" and do something for her, I hope we can grow these good feelings to a life time of good times for our girls.

Speaking of a life time of good times...we took a little family vacation to San Diego over New Years and it was so wonderful I want to make it an annual trip. All the kids did great on the road both there and back and were good as gold there. I think we all got to decompress a bit and unwind and start the year off fresh. I loved it. And I am so happy we threw caution to the wind and took all of our kids out. We love to travel and the sooner we get the little ones in on the program, the better.

I hear some discontent from the bouncer so I must be off. I have made some minor resolutions this year including one to try to record more of what the girls do. John and I have some things in the works and we'll see if we can save some of the fleeting moments of baby and toddler hood for these girls...

I'll Never Understand...

...how such little creatures create so much laundry.

I've been living a dream. Maia has so many articles of clothing, I was going two weeks before washing her stuff. Even then I'd only do it because my favorite outfits would need to be washed.

I've done two loads of mostly baby stuff a week for the past three weeks.

And it's a wonder I have any clean underwear. Because I don't have any clean t-shirts left.

Three Girls...

"You're going to need to invest in toilet paper."

This told to John last week as we were leaving dinner out (!) and he was chatting about what was needed for a father of three little girls.

Oh Yeah...

The Terry Twins have arrived! A wee bit early, but doing just fine. Our lives have been blessed by Stella Madeline and Elise Carolyn. For those of you keeping score at home, yes, we now have three little girls.

Details to follow, it's been an amazing two weeks so far.

Things Not to Say in Front of CPS:

John is sitting on a chair burping baby Stella. Maia walks into the room and halts in her tracks, looking at him with shock on her face.

"Daddy, don't hit the baby!"

Already protecting her little sister from the big world.

Words I Thought I'd Never Hear in this Lifetime

I used chicken broth to make polenta (mmmm....polenta) tonight. Maia was watching as I measured out the 3 1/2 cups of broth.

Her comment? "Juice!"
My response, "Chicken juice."
Her reply, "Delicious chicken juice."

Yes Maia, delicious chicken juice.

Wait Until She Discovers Duct Tape

John has been working on ripping out and replacing the majority of our floors for the past week. We have a limited time-frame to get rid of the nasty carpet and linoleum and put down shiny, caramel colored bamboo. Limited by the impending birth of our two babies.

Of course this means several trips to OSH and Home Depot. One afternoon John takes off during nap time to get the new plywood for the sub-flooring. He takes the Eagle with the trailer attached and heads out. Later on, I get a call telling me that the car ignition has somehow gone kaput and could I please bring the Chilton (car repair) manual over to Home Depot. Alright. No sweat.

Off Maia and I go and while John hot wires his first car, we chill in our car. Where are we going to go? Running around the Home Depot holds no charm for me. And the parking lot is an even worse idea. Of course Maia has other ideas and is not keen on sitting in her car seat not moving for who knows how long. I try to explain the situation by telling her that we have to wait here because daddy's car is broken. She replies: "Daddy car broken? Needs tape."

Yup. Someday she'll be the girl with the big roll of duct tape in her purse...

And This Quick One is for John:

I made a quick breakfast of French toast for Maia and myself (sorry love, I'll make pancakes for you soon) because I was super hungry and wanted to eat cake.

Maia sits down to eat her toast and after a bite or two she looks at me and goes: "Apple sauce dip for toast?"

Because that's the way her daddy eats his and that's the way she wants hers. So she did.

Bed Time for my Big Girl

So, potty training, or "Potty Learning" is on hold until...well...until Maia stops screaming every time we mention the potty. It will happen, and honestly, I'm not all that concerned about it. One cool thing about doing the cloth diapers is it won't make a difference to our budget to have one, two or three kids in diapers for a time. I'm going to have to do laundry anyway...what's one more bottom to cover?

But space is an issue in our house and I really want Maia in her toddler bed before the babies get here. But I have be kind of worried about trying another transition with her after the potty debacle. Over the past few days Maia has been showing us she is ready to make the switch out of the crib. For one thing, her climbing skills have dramatically improved, along with her gaining a bit more height. She is practacally bouncing out of her bed when we try to put her down. She is still sleeping well and doesn't have an issue with night waking. Once she's down, she's down and her falling asleep time is improving.

I was going to get her crib down and out this weekend, but ended up painting and beginning the prep for the great floor project. Please don't ask...I'll have to share this when we're done. So the house is in chaos ans I didn't want to add crib mess to the total. But yesterday I decided to at least make a couple of changes to her toddler bed to get us ready. Maia and I went to the baby store and picked out new sheets and a new bumper pad for her "big girl bed". I thought a crib bumper would make the toddler bed a bit more like her crib and more cozy at the same time. She picked out a cheery yellow set and seemed excited to have new stuff for her new bed.

After nap, I made a big deal out of putting together her new bed with her sheet and bumper and new blanket and then asking her if she would like her friends from her baby crib to move to her new big girl bed. We went through the list of bed time lovies:

hippo
puppy
yeastie
green pillow
and of course--Moosey

Each was moved from the crib to the big bed. We were almost done when Maia remembered she also "need yellow blanket" and so the baby-sized yellow thermal blanket made the switch as well.

I didn't take down her crib...I guess I needed the security of knowing it was available if we needed it. But I did move some furniture around and block it somewhat and make it look not welcoming.

Last night we talked all about sleeping in her new bed. She had a good dinner and ten she had lovely bath. We cleaned up her bedroom (I didn't want toys around in case she got up to play) and read a bunch of stories ending with one of out favorites which includes a big girl sleeping in her big girl bed. We talked about that for a bit when Maia decided it was time to go "lay down Moosey". She was ready to jump into her toddler bed, but we did our ritual of Maia turning off her bedroom light and then checking to make sure her night-light was on. I placed her in bed, on top of th covers because she doesn't sleep with a blanket over her yet, and said god night.

I had the monitor on and I went to my room to listen to her and see if she really was going to go to sleep. I heard the normal rustling of a toddler settling in, and some mom-mom-mommy-mom-mommy kind of fussing, but I held my ground and waited to see if she would start pounding on the door. Never before have I wanted a video monitor as much as I did for the 10 or so minutes it took for her to fall asleep.

Wait. 10 minutes? Yes! She was out in so little time I couldn't believe it.

I told John the news when her got home and we both snuck into her room before we turned in for the night just to see. There she was, stretched out and comfy looking fast asleep in her toddler bed. John went and got her out this morning and he said she was just sitting there chilling and when he opened the door she told him she was "all done bed". That was it.

We'll have to see how nap time goes, when it's not all dark in her room and it can take her longer to settle down, and we might have more work once she realizes she can get up and out of bed by herself. But we have some time and this success to build on.

She's getting s big! I know that's what she's suposted to do and in most ways I am so glad...I just can't believe we've had her for two years and how much she's changed in that short time. I'm listening to her sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" right now as she plays with blocks on the floor...happy as a clam to do her own thing.

She's a big little girl...but she will always be my baby.

No, Really, She's Two

Right now Maia is enjoying a lovely post dinner-dinner of wheat crackers spread with triple cream brie and draped with wild-caught smoked salmon. She's washing the treat down with a glass of unsweetened cranberry juice cut with orange sparkling water.

What else would you expect from the girl who responds to the statement that "We're going out to dinner" with her choice for food: "Sushi?"

If a Two-Year-Old Notices...You Might Have a Problem

Sunday started off on the wrong foot for me. Bad dreams. Screaming toddler and one big potty 'accident'...also belonging to the toddler.

Maia and I cleaned up the bathroom floor and I threw her into the bath. I was kind of moping around and not being very fun when John came out of the bedroom to see what was happening with his girls.

"Good morning Maia...how are you? How is the bath?" Was John's question to the soapy girl in the tub.

"Mommy need coffee" was Maia's reply.

Road Trip Recap

For those of you interested in our Summer Adventure, Mr. John is posting a thoughtful travelogue over at Memory Leak. I'm trying to help. We'll get the whole thing covered eventually. Enjoy the first installment and check back for more!

Maia had Better Marry Well

I had the most lovely day yesterday entertaining Miss Ambrosia Ananas who I am getting to meet IN REAL LIFE. My first Internet friendship get together and we had a wonderful time on a gourmet (if whirlwind) tour of San Francisco.

We went to the Ferry Building Marketplace and were lucky enough to go on the weekday where they have the open air Farmer's Market happening. So much lovely fruit and tomatoes! Of course inside is a culinary wonderland and we shopped our way through the cooking store and then decided to eat our way through the rest of the Ferry Building stopping at Recchiuti Confections, Scharffen Berger, Miette (pastry shop) and a little grocery for salty snacks.

After the Ferry Building we headed up to Ghirardelli Square to raid the chocolate shop and try some delicious cupcakes at Kira's Cupcakes.

Um yeah. So I'm waiting until Friday to have my blood sugars drawn, I think.

While we were sampling chocolate divine at Recchiuti, Maia had the chance to show how we are raising her to be a trophy wife someday. I had decided to purchase one (my mistake) of Recchiuti's signature burnt caramel chocolates for myself. Maia of course wanted in on the dark chocolate action and asked for some. I handed over the UNSAMPLED, by me, chocolate and she immediately made it hers--eating it with a combination of delicacy and gusto that only a true gourmet can achieve. This was witnessed by a rather astonished woman who looked at me and noted that Maia had refined tastes.

"Yes", I replied "She prefers her chocolate to be between a 68% and a 72%".
"Really", was the woman's reply. "No Hershey's for her, then."
"Nope" I laughed. "And you know what else she loves? Sushi. We're raising her to be an expensive date."

We Made It!

And some thought we were crazy to contemplate a 2500 mile road trip with a two-year-old. Well "nanananah!" to the nay-sayers. We had a fantastic time...so fun I almost wasn't ready for it to end. And Miss Maia woke up each day and told us: "Time to ride in new blue car" so I'm sure she had a good time too. :)

We're recovering this weekend. Maybe I'll dig up some cool stories for later on.

It Just Seems Wrong Somehow...

...that I am so ready for a vacation. Most of my life could be called a vacation of sorts.

I guess I should say I need "a change of scene".

That happens for me, and the rest of the family of course, come Friday.

Go-go road trip. :)

Gold Star Day

This space is fast becoming a place to jot down things I just need to remember. If I was a better journal-keeper Maia might have a chance at having an actual baby/childhood memory book, but as it is, I'll just have to print out select pages from this blog.

Pages that cover days like today.

Maia used her potty all on her own today. First time she's gone pee in the potty and I couldn't be happier. We were getting ready for bed and as I was taking off her diaper-with her help-I noticed it was dry. Then Maia asked to go sit on the potty. Sometimes this is a diversionary tactic to avoid putting on pj's and finishing the nightly routine, but I let her go into the bathroom anyway.

She came right out and asked me to go with her. So she sat on her potty and I sat on "my" (closed) potty and all of a sudden, tinkle! There it was. Maia going in the potty.

She looked kind of confused. Almost bewildered. She stood up and said "Uh-oh" but I quickly began cheering and clapping and letting her know what a cool thing she just did. Then she got to use "big girl wipes" (toilet paper) and flush the big potty. And then she smiled.

She did get her two chocolates...and wasn't that interested in eating them. That's alright so close to bed time.

Of course the only wrinkle in all of this is her timing. We're leaving for family road trip vacation at the end of the week and I hadn't planned on working on any potty stuff along the way. But maybe we'll try right before bed. Maybe this was just a fluke, but, it's something I'd like to encourage.

We'll go from here but right now I'm just as tickled as can be with my little big girl.

If John Never Has a Son, at Least He'll Have a Maia

I took Maia to the Dr's office today. She's had a cold/cough/yuckiness for the past couple of weeks that's just not getting better. There is some light construction work going on in the complex that houses our pediatrician's office and as we walk by Maia spies something familiar:



Her eyes light up as she says "Excavator".

I can only imagine the swell of pride that John would have felt, had he been there to hear her.

Maia's Two Cents

I took Maia out shopping with me this morning. I needed pants. In the worst way. My favorite summer/pregnancy capri jeans have developed a bad case of inner thigh wear and needed to be replaced.

I'm at the mall in the maternity store because they have the biggest most comfortable pants. Really. when I was pregnant with Maia I got cheap pants at Target and Old Navy but something has happened in maternity wear and those stores no longer have cute, cheap, comfortable pants. If I have to pay the money, I'm getting the good stuff.

Maia, poor girl, is at the end of her rope. I forgot the stroller and she's been running with me all morning. She really doesn't want to be in the dressing room with me and as the dressing room opening is covered by a curtain and not a door, she keeps making her escape-of course while I have my pants, literally, down. The woman staffing the store was a complete sweetheart and in an effort to distract my little Houdini she strikes up a conversation with her.

She asks Maia "What's in Mommy's tummy?" and Maia answers "Two tiny babies." We all coo for a moment at how cute Maia is, and then the saleswoman asks "Would you like brothers or sisters?"

We've never really talked to Maia about brothers or sisters...I guess we figured "babies" was already a challenging enough topic. After all, we're not going to find out what sex these two babies are, so the whole brother or sister thing seemed like a non-issue.

Maia though, not one to drop a conversational thread with a stranger (a-hem), thinks about this for a moment before answering: "Sisters."

So I guess John will have to add that to his Terry Twin Poll

Maia Speak: Bicycle

Yesterday we finally got around to putting together Maia's birthday tricycle. So cute!

She loves it, is in fact is a little bicycle obsessed.

What kills me is how she pronounces the word "bicycle". Phonetically speaking she says:

bi-skye-yule

Why do they have to learn the "right" way to say things, ever? I still miss "goouy" for yogurt.

Honesty

Maia: Mango juice!
Me: Are you going it drink it or dump it?
Maia: Dump it!

OK. No mango juice.

Happy Birthday...(fill in the blank)

Yesterday was Maia's 2nd birthday. She is loving to sing "Happy Birthday to You" and yesterday she sang it to:

The potty
A cookie
Her friend David
Mommy
Daddy
Auntie Nat
Uncle Kevin

and finally to herself.

Happy two, little one. We all love you.

Nap Time

Maia fell asleep in the car on our way home from the park. She was all snuggled with Moosie when I lifted her from the car seat and over my shoulder into the house. Bed was waiting for her, but first I had to pull her blinds to help darken the room. The noise woke her up a bit and she looked and me and almost sighed "hi" before laying her head back on my shoulder.

I tucked her into bed and she again looked at me for a moment before drifting off to sleep, once again snuggled with her moose.

It's these times when there is no doubt in my mind as to why I love having a child, and this child in particular. She is pure joy.

Rushing Things

Conversation after dinner--

Maia: Maia big girl panties.
Me: You want some big girl panties? Like Mommy?
Maia: Yes. Big girl panties.
Me: OK. We'll get you some, then.
Maia: And then, Maia bra.
Me: ...

I Didn't Think We Needed "That" Talk Yet

Maia has been admiring my ever-growing belly and we've been talking about how mommies' babies live in there.

This morning as I was getting dressed, Maia comes over to me and gently pats my belly and says "Mommies' babies". I thought we'd made a real break through in her understanding of what is going on.

Until we went to get her dressed and as she's laying on the changing table she begins to rub her sweet little belly and say: "Maia's babies".

Um.

Well, at least it's a start. And cute.

Moon Child

(Originally written about four months ago. Stored on my computer...found today.)


Maia likes the moon.

She has to be read "Goodnight Moon" at least seven times a day. She knows where the book is. Sometimes I hide it after the fifth reading because I'm a bed mom. But I always read it to her, twice, before bed.

She finds the moon in the sky at night. She'll track it from her car seat. She thinks street lights are "moon". Right now any light in the sky is "moon".

She finds moons all around her. She found my moon the other night, and I think that gave her a thrill. I was wearing a tank top during bath time and after bath, while I was dressing her for bed, she looks up at me and suddenly her eyes get wide and her face lights up..."Moon" she says as she points to my shoulder.

Now she looks for Mama's moon when we get dressed in the morning. Soon she'll find some stars and then everyone will know she's my daughter for sure.

(And she has. Stars. Moons. My girl.)

Shut the Door!

I was up this morning when Maia woke up and John was (is at this point) still sleeping. So in good mom/ wife fashion I get her up and out of bed. In bad wife fashion I decide that, even though it's the weekend and he was up much later than I was, John should share the morning with us. Plus, I'm angling to go out for breakfast.

Usualy Maia will run into our bedroom yelling "Daddy sleeping! Wake up!" and how nice of an alarm is that? This morning when I opened the door Maia did give her accustomed greeting of "Daddy sleeping" followed very quickly by "Shut the door! Shut the door! Shut the door!"

So we see that Maia is firmly on her fathers side this morning.

Yucky Cookie

Harvey the cat has developed some sort of gastro-intestinal problem and as of late has been throwing up chunks of cat food. All over the house.

While this causes me to swear inwardly, Maia has a different approach. She points at the pile of yellow cat food puke and simply says: "Yucky cookie".

We've Split the Toddler

Lacan was right.

Maia is currently running around the house, jumping on things, and yelling: "Evelyn Terry! No jumping!"

This could be bad. Or it could also be one of the cutest things I've heard all day.

No Dumping

Maia is testing our limits in true almost two-year-old style. I know she knows the few simple rules we ask her to follow, just as I know she needs to test how serious we are about them.

Today in the car I gave her a sippy cup with some water, but left out the gasket that prevents it from spilling all over the place. We had a five minute drive home and I was in a hurry to get there...yeah. So. Of course Maia decides to dump water all over herself in the seat. She tips the cup upside down and **shakes** to get the best effect.

I turn around to see what she's doing and exclaim: "MAIA EVELYN WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

She immeditaly holds the cup out for me to take from her and says "NO DUMPING!"

I had to not look at her the rest of the way home, because I was silently laughing so hard.

Almost Two

Me-(kissing Maia in her car seat) Love you!

Maia-(looking very serious) No "love you".

Count Down...

Alright!

Busy day, as usual for a Saturday. The fun news is that I am getting a haircut which means that I will be dyeing my hair tonight. Purple. I might even post pictures if it comes out as cute as I think it will. :)

From hair chopping to food shopping. We have finalized our Christmas Buffet menu and now cheese must be purchased. It's not a party without cheese.

Wish me luck on my missions of merry.

Some Ideas

Let me toss some ideas around here. It looks like the majority of my family will be here in the late morning...perfect brunch time, although my dad and Susan will have already eaten, it being a family tradition to have cinnamon rolls Christmas morning. (sorry for the long, awkward sentence) With that in mind, I took a peek through my Williams Sonoma Breakfast cookbook. It's a small book with nice brunch ideas and the recipes have always turned out well for me. Some dishes that sound good for our Christmas feast:

Either Chocolate Croissants (purchased frozen then proofed overnight and baked fresh...I don't have time to make my own. Really, I don't.) or a make-ahead Cranberry Chocolate Breakfast Cake. With Streusel!

Cinnamon Rolls. Whole wheat, although with the hard white winter wheat flour, you can hardly tell it's whole wheat. The secret is love.

For eggy-goodness we could have either a wild mushroom quiche with a cheesy pastry crust or a broccoli rabe strata. The small advantage the strata has over the quiche is that it can be layered the night before and left in the fridge over night, as it uses bread cubes as the base as opposed to pastry dough. The quiche pastry and filling could be made ahead and simply assembled and baked the next day, but we have a lot going on in the oven first thing--so maybe the strata would be better, time wise.

Banana bread? I have bananas in the freezer just waiting for the chance to become bread. I could even make it tomorrow and wrap it tight. It keeps up to a week!

And for later in the day food:

Cold cut platter with cheese and sandwich fixings.

Fresh baked rolls for above sandwiches.

Nummy cheese and bread and crackers. Maybe goat cheese fondue? I love me a pot of warm cheese!

Veggie tray and fruit tray. Mostly citrus. And apples and pears. Seasonal fruit. And nuts. This is California, after all, "the land of fruits and nuts". As my Idaho family would say.

Stuffing? Maybe...

All day sweets:

COOKIES! 3-D reindeer cookies. I'm baking some today to see how they work and if I need to tweak them at all for the big day. Plus all the others I'm baking for cookie boxes.

Rocky road candy...at least what ever is left after my gift boxes are made.

Bourbon balls. Ditto on above conditions.

Pretzel sticks? These will be dependent on time constraints. I'd like to get them done for the cookie boxes...but...we'll see how that goes.

Comments? Votes? This is mainly for John, so hon, "Um yeah" doesn't count as a comment. ;) We'll winnow down the list tonight and get a shopping list ready for Saturday morning.

Here we go, ho ho ho!

Quick List

Things Done:

About 10 dozen assorted cookies and coffee and eggnog delivered to John's office today!

Most of my presents secured.

Johns' family presents wrapped and handed off.

Sugar cookies cut and ready to bake. Ditto for gingerbread men.

Rocky Road candy.

Bourbon balls.

Chocolate crinkle cookie dough ready to roll and bake.

Tree trimmed.

House lit.

Things Left to Do:

Yikes. Wrapping. Maia's presents alone will take a good chunk of time.

A menu for Christmas day.

Spritz cookies.

Cookie decorating.

Cookie boxes.

All the other normal day-to-day stuff.

Eegads. I can't wait for New Years with no plans but to relax. And begin house projects...

Wii...

...got one.

And kind of on a whim. Last weekend John and had the chance to play on our friends' console and we became hooked on the Wii. We decided we needed to add one to our household. Now. For Christmas...at least for End of Year Bonus Time. Good enough reason to spend money, right?

Of course, it is only a week to Christmas and we were getting in on the hottest game in town. John spent last week looking for deals and getting to know the delivery schedules of the closest Wii dealers. Target looked good...Costco had a package deal..and there was the game store right around the corner...the breakdown went like this:

Costco gets them in at various times but only puts them out in the morning because of the pandemonium they cause.

Target gets a regular shipment Sunday morning.

Game Stop has a delivery on Friday between 10 AM and 1 PM.

Disadvantages?

Costco bundle is $500 and still has only one controller. Not such a great deal, plus you have to call everyday to see of they might put some out the next morning.

Game Stop wait time is hard on jobs and babies. More on that later.

Target is an early-rise job. And "everyone" knows when they get their shipment. So it can get crazy in line.

Friday I went to Game Stop after John told me they might have gotten their shipment in. I was in the store about 10:30 and a small group had gathered. Numbers were passed around. I was took the #5 spot form a man who was believed to have left the store. The other folks in the store knew what the delivery woman looked like. They had been here before. Apparently this store only gets a handful of units at a time...and they always instantly sell out. I had the Bee with me so I wasn't going to wait past 11 AM. We had a park date to get to. Just as I was getting ready to go, word arrived that the delivery woman was on her way. The store became more and more excited...one woman groaned that she was going to lose her job (she was on a loong lunch) but she couldn't leave--not this close to success. Another woman shared the fact that she had been trying for a Wii since November and still hadn't been able to secure one. She was #1 in line this time and wasn't going anywhere.

The Wii's were counted. Six units. I actually got a bit excited. I was five, after all, and this was our FIRST attempt to get a Wii. John's sussing out of the situation had payed off.

Then, sadness. The original #5 came back into the store. He hadn't really left--he had been pacing in front of the building. I was bumped to #7 and out of the running.

Oh well.

The Costco "deal" wasn't much of one, so John and I decided to skip that madness.

That left Target and Sunday, this, morning. John set the coffee pot last night and the alarm for 5:45 AM. He was up and out and in line by 6:10. He ended up with the #13 spot for a double holiday shipment of Wii's totaling 90! Woo-hoo! Wii-ness had been secured...along with extra controllers and nunchucks and games. Many games. In fact we returned later on in the day and purchased another game.

Check out his experience in line waiting
here.

Live blogging from the iPhone. Aren't we cool? And when I say "we" I mean "John".

So we have a new time sink addiction. And it is fun. But we did manage to get other grown-up things done today as well so we still have balance in our lives. And I might gain more as I learn to use that wii controller...

Oooof

Yikes. I tied one on tonight. Red, red wine. Stay close to me...
I am super chilly cold right now.

I am soooo happy in how John and I are raising Maia.

I am not rally caring about a new TV. But I do want one.

John wants a Wii. And i don't know if I can find one. And I have his presents already.

Friends are good. Kebabs are really good.

Slings for baby dolls are super cute and I am so glad to get one for Miss E.

I would really like to sleep now.

I have used spell-check too many times for this short of a post.

Good night!

Bless You!

Yesterday I was changing Maia and had one of my ever-present sneezing fits. When I finished sneezing I glanced down at Maia who looked up at me and said, "Bless you".

Moments like that make a heart melt.

The End of the Grand Experiment

Hats off to all of you who made it through the grand experiment of NaBloPoMo.

While I will, after this post, have the "required" 30 posts for the month of November...sadly...I did not manage to post every day. I don't think multiple posts count for NaBloPoMo.

I did enjoy the exercise. I miss writing. Even if it's just simple journaling for myself. I also discovered I am much more of a "mommy blogger" than I intended to be. But right now, I am using this space to save everyday stories...and Maia is my everyday story. I will be fun one day to print (perhaps, if we still do that sort of thing) and Bind (how retro) these Maia memories and give them to her. I love to hear stories about myself from back before I can remember. I hope she will too.

I also hope to keep some of this writing momentum going. I realized I don't have to write a novel for each post. I don't even have to have something interesting to say. I just need to be able to find the one point from my day that the rest of my day turned on. The quick distillation of gathered daylight hours. A story to remember a day by.

Because there might be a time when these days are the ones "before I can remember" and I think that would be a great loss.

Keep writing.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (?)

Why is it that the holidays, which in my minds eye is a time to come together and share with loved ones near and far, bring out the worst in families?

Why do I sometimes feel like our budding branch of the family tree is the most rational and reasonable?

Why do some people feel the need to act slighted when they have never stated a desire to be met?

And why do those same people expect those around them to be mind readers?

Please forgive my obtuse rant. I hate family drama...and I may have innocently, accidently, started some.

And this is the kind of stress that makes getting together so hard. The kind of imagined problem that only hurts those we love. The kind that hurts MY nearest and dearest, and for that, I will be upset.

Looks like we're getting the fuzzy end of the candy cane--and it's not even December yet.

But We're Not the Only Ones

I just did a quick *flickr* search for "crying" and "Santa".

Yeah. OK. So I didn't know this picture thing was such a thing.

Now I don't feel like an evil Mom. I just feel like I'm in with the "in" crowd.

And She's Scarred for Life

I took Maia for her Christmas photos with her play group friends today. It was so much fun! The kids did great, all things considered and the photos turned out really cute. I have three that I am going to frame and hang in Maia's room of the kids and a sheet of sweet Maia faces to give to family for Christmas.

We were having such a good time we decided to keep the momentum going by having the kids take pictures with Santa. After all, they were already dressed and looking nice. The mall wasn't crowded. It was early afternoon, after lunch and we planned on bribing them with cookies.

Mommy M and Mommy R were comparing childhood notes about pictures with Santa. I have no notes to compare. I think I might have one from when I was very young, but my parents just didn't do that sort of thing. Mommy N and Mommy R both have a series of bawling-on-Santa's-lap photos which they cherish...of course in the pictures their brothers are the ones crying while they beam...nevertheless they want those same sweet memories for their children.

I am game of course. Pictures of crying babies? Why not. Maia had done so well with the photographs in the studio, and she's a very open and friendly baby. I thought it would be no problem to have a Santa photo.

We arrive and step right up. No waiting. Miss A and Mommy N go first....and Miss A starts to cry even before she hits Santa's lap...lip trembling and tears welling. She starts bawling as soon as her mom lets go and stretches out her arms..."No, no, no..." Mommy R and I are holding back chuckles while Mommy N gets Miss A to aim her wails at the cameras. Click click. All done and the tears dry as soon as she's off the jolly old elf's lap.

Up next...Maia the wonder kid. She manages to say "Hi" but isn't so sure about the whole situation and begins to moan and groan as I get her on the lap. I let go and she loses it...a full face wail of scrunching misery. No arms...but her face says it all. Now Mommy N and Mommy R are looking on and laughing...and I'm trying to cheer Miss Maia up. Nope, not having it. Click. Click. We get one of her with her face up, as scrunched as it is. I pick her up and all is forgiven...at least by Maia. Santa, on the other hand, is beginning to look concerned.

Master D is next and Mommy R assures us we're in for more of the same. But then something happens...Master D remains stoic throughout the entire process. Not a tear. Not a cry. This from the young man who normally hides if you look at him funny. He was simply resigned to his fate...and I think Mommy R was almost disappointed.

Santa was glad for the break. He gave us some funny looks as we chuckled over and purchased our crying baby pictures. He really was a sweet man...I think the three of us are most definitely getting coal in our stockings this year.

The World May Never Know...

The guys/gals at John's office didn't save me a piece! Boo. I'll never know how that chocolate-ginger combination worked.

In other news:

I've just about completed my Christmas Excel spreadsheet. With this powerful tool in hand I will be able to shop until I drop and get 'er done within the next week or so. In case you were wondering how crazy I got with the spreadsheet. Well. Columns with the name of the recipient, followed by gift, where to purchase, if it has been purchased, budget/price. If only I were as organized about everything else.

I'm also planning Christmas treats in the form of baked goods, candy and jelly. Another spreadsheet waiting to be be created.

Tomorrow Maia and I, along with her friends Miss A and Master D, are going for Christmas pictures. We've not had professional pictures of all three kids done, so I'm very excited about the prospect...and nervous to see how Maia takes to it.

As Master D's mom said when I asked about lunch afterward: "Lunch? Yes. We're going to need a drink after this!" Wish us all the best of luck. Especially the photographer.

The Results

This is what I did in my last cake decorating class tonight:



Under that frosting is my Midnight Cake with ginger. For added ginger flair I frosted with a gingered cream cheese frosting. Mmmm...cream cheese. Funny thing about making frosting today. I had to rush this whole cake because we didn't get home until later in the day yesterday. We came home from Maia's music class and I needed to make my frostings. I also needed to put Maia down for a nap. Frosting needs my mixer and my 1,0000 watt motor keeps Maia awake. What to do?

I made frosting on the back porch with my hand held mixer. Not the best job I've ever done, but the location was the most unusual I've ever made cream cheese frosting. It was kind of nice to not have to clean up powdered sugar from every counter surface after the project, though.

I also manged a double batch of stiff decorator icing on the back porch with the hand-held mixer. And look what I did with that icing:



ROSES! And dots. And shells.

A closer look at my very first roses:



Roses are hard. And I was the slowest to catch on to them in our class. Mine are not so pretty...I didn't put the "practice rose" my friend/instructor made for me on my cake because it would have put my attempts to shame. But I know the
basic idea now and maybe with a little more practice I'll have flowers that look more rose-like and less cabbage-rose-like in the future.

I do like my dots. And note the masculine colors. John gets to take this into work tomorrow. And I thought pink would be a bit precious for the engineers.

I just hope they save me a little slice.

Back to Basics

I am a lover of cakes. Not so much eating them, although I do enjoy that, but baking them. I'd rather bake you a fantastic cake for some wonderful reason than just make one for myself. This is why I loved being a pastry grunt. I got to bake fantastic cakes for lots of "you" for many wonderful occasions.

And I didn't have to eat them. Although that part is OK too.

For this cake decorating class I've been looking at all kinds of fun cake recipes because it gives me a chance to do what I love. Today is kind of rushed. I need a cake this evening. One that is frosted and ready to decorate. I didn't bake last night. I still have to buy ingredients to make my frosting. I have a daughter who has her music class later on this morning. I needed to bake a cake fast.

All the "fun" recipes I've been wanting to do take too much time to get done in just under an hour. Some include ingredients I don't have on hand after being away for a week. Feeling frustrated, I looked back into my pastry past and pulled out a great chocolate cake recipe. The batter comes together in just over five minutes--about the time it takes to boil the water for the first step--bakes up in about 25-30 minutes and goes great with anything frosting wise. It also freezes well and can be baked into sheets to be cut for tiny cakes. Simple, versatile, and delicious.

The originator of the recipe is lost to me. I picked it up from my second pastry chef and I have since passed it along to the bakery I worked for. I've used it for all kinds of fun cakes and today I added crystallized ginger chips for an exotic flair. I'll frost with cream cheese and decorate with roses tonight.

And I'm going to share the "home cook" version with you. The ingredients are given in weights, because I had to scale the amounts down from an industrial-sized recipe. So bust out your kitchen scale and get baking next time company calls...

Midnight Cake
Makes two 8" round cakes.

Ingredients

10 1/4 oz. Sugar
2 oz Cocoa Powder (NOT Dutch Process)
1 1/2 cups Boiling Water

1/2 cup Vegetable oil
2 large Eggs

9 1/2 oz. AP Flour
1/4 oz. Baking Soda

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour two 8" round cake pans. Begin water boiling while measuring out the rest of the ingredients. Note: I usually prep the oil and eggs together in a measuring cup, and whisk the flour and baking soda together in a small bowl. This makes it really easy to put the batter together.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar and cocoa powder. Pour hot water over mixture and blend. Whisk in the oil and eggs. Sift the flour and baking soda over the wet mixture, then whisk. Batter will be very wet and look lumpy. That's OK.

Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cake is set, puffy and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn out of pan and let cool completely before filling, frosting, or otherwise finishing off the cake.

Enjoy!

Ah Well, Blew this Month Off

I tried.

I really, really, tried.

But there should be some forgiveness for me because slow Internet is physically painful for me.

The thought of the dial tone. The choppy connection. Typing on a computer that wasn't mine. All of these things lead to very serious barriers to entry when one thinks about blogging. Especially after a long day of cooking, laughing, shopping, eating, reading and playing with the baby.

Mea culpa. I'll do better next year.

But I'll bravely post forward for the few remaining days of NaBloPoMo November.

We're back home safe and sound and well, well, maybe not so well, rested (there are many reasons to NOT sleep in the same room, let alone bed, as your child that I am painfully reminded of whenever we travel with her). Had lovely pizza for dinner with our cat-sitting neighbors. I now need to check up on e-mails and plan Christmas presents.

Let the madness begin!

Posting From the iPhone...

...because I can.

John tells me I need to perfect my finger-slide typing, but I like the hunt and peck method.

Fun day with the family. I got my Thanksgiving shopping done. It has been decided that I will make two desserts plus cranberry sauce as my contrabution to dinner. Yum, I say. If you're wondering what desserts...wonder no more: chocolate pecan pie and chocolate cranberry torte. Too much chocolate? Never. At least not with this crowd.

Tomorrow we head into Boise for some shopping and dining. It's like going to SF only cleaner. And less water. I like Boise so I'm excited.

So maybe I do need to perfect my finger slide, so that's all for now...but man do I love this phone.

And We're Off...At Some Point

Thanksgiving is being spent with John's family this year. We have an every-other winter holiday every-other year schedule going on. This schedule was started before John and I had our own family and it mainly concerns splitting time in the airplane. John's co-owner and he worked out a year to year schedule that covers who gets the plane when. It's almost as elaborate as a custody agreement.

This year is our year to have the plane for Thanksgiving...

I began this post first thing this morning in my living room. I am now at the kitchen counter of my in-laws house in Idaho.

Going by small plane has a special set of restrictions. Most often weather related. Sometimes weight related. But, usually it's the weather. We don't go as high as a commercial flight, so clouds and wind are very real stopping factors for us. Add in the seasonal joys of ice and rain and you have to be flexible with your travel plans. I packed yesterday. I packed for a week. All three of us in our large suitcase. I was planning on being able to go whenever we could. The flight is about 3.5 hours...the drive? 14. We really wanted to be able to take the plane.

Yesterday, John and sister Ari-belle replaced a wonky generator in the airplane. It took about 5 good hours of work. Then and oil change needed to be done. John didn't have a filter...so there was some more work that needed to be completed before we could away. But in checking the weather last night, it looked as though a fairly bad front was on the move over the mountain ranges we would have to cross. It didn't look like we would be able to get going until Tuesday.

We woke up this morning and looked at the weather again. Nope. Didn't look like good flying weather. We were fogged in on our end with rain over here and nice cold, icy, clouds in between.

So we did what any normal kids would do. We talked about driving and then headed to breakfast. As we were finishing up pancakes and omelets at our favorite breakfast joint, John whips out the iPhone (ed. note: I love the iPhone. I want one someday. But for now I am content to bask in the glory of my husband's.) and again checks the weather. And what do you know? A nice six hour window of smooth, albeit windy, flying has opened up for us. We scramble for the house, gather up the last of our things and hit the road to the airport. John finishes up the work on the plane, all looks good and we strap in.

The flight was better than John had expected. Fairly smooth until the last 40 minutes or so. Maia did great, we have a couple of cute pictures of her "flying" the plane that I'll post later on. She played a bit and mostly napped. She hated her headphones so I let her keep them off, but she had her ear plugs in and her headband on, so she was still protected from the engine noise.

All in all: Wheels up to wheels down took us 2 hours and 55 minutes. In the car we would have barely left California in that amount of time.

So we are here and ready to relax. It'll be nice to have a week to spend with John's folks. We don't get up here enough. If we had more flying days like today...we would get out more often. We had a very lucky break, and I for one am very glad for it.

Posts will most likely be kind of slim...surprise surprise...while here. The folks are kind of in the boondocks and only have *gasp* DIAL UP INTERNET. With a wire and everything. I will continue to NaBloPoMo.

And I'll tell you all about my pie. Well, my future Thanksgiving pie, that is.

Left Something Out...

More words I forgot about last night:

Up--pronounced "Up-ie" very cute and very important
All Done--not quite clear, but she does the sign and says the sylabals
Hot!--she holds her hands up like I do when she says this. She also says it about almost every piece of food I put in front of her.
Water--She just started this again. Right now. Holding an empty glass and asking for "Waa waa water" along with the sign for water which she gave up, I thought, after learnng the more generic "drink" sign.

An Open Letter to A.A.

(Not Alcoholics Annoyomus)

Dear Ambrosia,

You recently made you blog private. While I respect your wish to keep your daily life and happenings to your friends, I would kindly ask to be included among them. While I am very lax in the comment department (in a bar situation I am a listener, a watcher, a voyer, if I may) I do check in daily to see how you are doing.

Creepy? Maybe. But your life has become a part of mine. And this is the magical power of blogging on the open plain of the Internet.

I rejoiced in you marriage. I love your tales of Bawb and the cats and the dog. I was thrilled to hear about the house. I like the recaps of the weekends with your friends and family. Even if I have never met you. And I probably never will.

There are pieces of you that remind me of myself. There are pieces of you that remind me of my sister and pieces that remind me of my friends here. Mostly, I kind of like the idea of knowing someone from their writings and personal musings.

Of course, I would understand if this humble request is denied. We don't know each other...and perhaps somethings are to personal to share with a wide audience. You will always be welcomed here. Just drop me a line to let me know how you are.

It's funny. How one can miss someone they have yet to meet. But I do.

I'll post my e-mail in the comments if you are willing to grant my request.

Most respectfully yours,

~valerie

aka: domestic_valerie

Maia's New Word--Or, The Beginning of the End

John was amazed by how vocal Maia has become in the past week. In a way, it's kind of good to not see her...then you realize how fast she changes. But, when you're gone you don't get to see the changes happening...so it's a catch 22 kind of situation.

Maia's greatest discovery this week? She now knows "no". She knows how to use it, and she really knows what it meas when I say it--as it pertains to me not letting her do what she wants. As evidenced by her screaming fits.

She'll tell me "no" and mean it. It began innocently enough. She was eating cereal. Like this:



(Do you like my new camera? Early birthday present from the BEST HUSBAND EVER.)

She was getting frustrated as she neared the end of the bowl and couldn't scoop the nice clumps of granola out. I tried to help her by pushing the cereal onto her spoon with my own. She looks at me. Opens her mouth and out comes, "No" in the sweetest little voice. I tried again, thinking it was a fluke. This time it's "Mama, NO". OK. I get it, little one. You have discovered the power of "No".

So all week it's been "no" this and "no" that. Every question is met by "no" first off. Then she might reconsider your offer. Or I have to override her authority. I'm hoping she tires of the novelty soon, but somehow, I fear we're in for a lot more of the word.

That little lesson in toddler speak got me to wondering how many words she does know well enough to use. Feel free to skip the list, this is really more for myself than anyone else.

Maia's words:

Mama
Dada
Cheese--pronounced "chee"
Please--pronounced kind of like "peas"
Hi!
Bye!
Night-Night--pronounced "ni ni"
Kitty
Cat
Maia--Daddy taught her this
Miles--Because they play together and it's so close to her name. She won't say Ava or David just yet...we're working on it.
Auntie--Sometimes with a name, Nat for Natalie or Ariee for Arielle
Balloon--pronounced "bpoon" This is an all-purpose word. She uses it for any round object in the air. She uses it for "Moon" and she used it this afternoon while pointing at the oranges hanging form our tree.
Cracker
Eat
No--of course, although she has no word for "Yes". Which kind of disturbs me. We're working on it.
Go
Shoes
Baby--who she pushes in her stroller. Or points to on my shirt today.

My favorite word? That would be broccoli. She pronounces it "braw-coo". She can pick broccoli out of a mixed vegetable dish. She points and says "Brawcoo! Brawcoo!" Then she eats the tops off the stalks and smiles.

I'm sure there are more words. Like tonight she said "Cow" for the first time while making the sign for cow. But the list are words she is now using on a regular basis and really knows what they mean.

I also know that she understands much more than she can speak back right now. This morning I was getting dressed and had my shirt drawer open. Maia was there and I jokingly asked her "What should Mama wear today?" the joke was on me, I picked a shirt out and began to put it on when she looked at me, said "No" and handed me another shirt to put on. The shirt she wanted me to wear. So I changed shirts. I have to learn to not ask for help if I don't really want it. ;)

Sick Again?

I think all this blogging is taking it's toll. I am sick once again. This time the cold has settled firmly in the throat and upper chest. Hack. Hack. Sore throat.

No fair.

John comes home tonight to a sick wife and a baby who is becoming feverish. What a fun weekend we'll have!

Two Reasons Why...

...I love having a girl!

One...two...PIGTAILS!

Maia was in a compliant mood this morning so I got to do her hair. It doesn't happen often. I usually don't care to struggle with her getting-long-but-still-wispy hair.

But, OK, tell me that's not cute. I dare you.

BUSTED!

Aii-yah. I fell asleep on the couch last night and woke up after midnight. So now I have missed a day of NaBloPoMo-ing.

I plead lots of things: A baby day---always busy. Waiting to see if my drop-ship food order was going to arrive in time for me to pick it up. Nope. Running off to Oakland to help my sister with her car, then wait with my dad's wife while he was in surgery. Long wait. But he's just fine. Catch dinner with said sister. Go home. Put very tired baby to sleep and pass out on the couch.

I'm tired. Like I usually am. And my cold is back. Whaa-whaa whaaa.

So maybe if I post twice today, you'll forgive me. Maybe I'll post a picture of my incredible daughter (who just woke up) and you'll forget all about missing a day.

She is just that cute.

Worst Cake Ever

You know, there was a time not long ago I was paid to frost cakes. I think the key there was that I didn't make the frosting. Unless it was ganache. I make a mean ganache. And the cakes had things like nuts or chocolate sprinkles on the sides so I only had to get the tops real smooth.

Not tonight.

I haven't made a worse looking cake in, oh, years. Since before I discovered the joys of an offset spatula. I was embarrassed to bring it with me. What happened? A rush to get it done, is what happened. A perfect storm of a too-powerful mixer and a hurried, harried cook. Yup. I over beat it and it turned to mush. Like melted bubble gum. Stretchy and sticky and gloopy instead of a perfect cloud of soft and shiny buttercream. It was nightmarish.

I tried fixing it. It made it worse. I took it to class and smoothed icing over the top to kind of contain it. Not so pretty. I "tore" a big section of frosting off. Please don't laugh.

And now I see that my beautiful "decorator" icing is bleeding into my awful buttercream. Because the buttercream didn't set up. Eegads. I'm only sharing this so you *might* see an improvement next week.

So. lesson learned: for this class at least "decorator icing" (made with shortening not butter) is going to be the key. And don't try new recipes when in a rush. Bake and frost the day before. Really do.

Next week: Red Velvet Cupcakes with cute flowers and maybe a clown! Scary that...

And just in case you were wondering, the awful looking frosting tastes divine, and the pretty stuff isn't bad. It's made with organic palm-oil shortening. No trans fats. Smooth and creamy and solid...so maybe there is actual hope for next week.

30 Minutes to Midnight

Whew! Almost missed a day...couldn't let that happen now could we?

Our day:

Woke up. Hung out. Folded diapers (finally). Fed the Maia, napped the Maia. Planned a cake. Bought missing ingredients for said cake. Will frost and decorate cake tomorrow in class and post pictures. Read my book.

Decided to make the men stop staring at computer screens.

Jumped in the car and drove to San Francisco. Stopped at In'N'Out. Felt slightly guilty about feeding Maia fast food while she was strapped into her car seat. Now she is truly an American.

Went on walk about in Aquatic Park. Saw oil-covered birds. Felt bad about said birds. Checked out the ships at Hyde Pier. Loved the steam ferry.

Took Maia to the slightly inappropriate Buena Vista Cafe to celebrate 55 years of Irish Coffee. We were joined by a family with a six-year-old in tow who used the excuse "We're Irish!" to cover for the fact that they were essentially taking a child to a bar. As were we. As we have before. Hey, if they serve food, and they do, it's legal. Regardless of whether or not we buy any. Our response to them was "Hey, he's not the youngest here!" So they joined us and the adults had more Irish Coffees and the kids sipped milk.

As an aside...Maia has been to several places just this side of inappropriate. All over Europe. Smokey cafes while sleeping in the stroller. Momma having a beer with lunch. And Alaska. Juneau was the best. Saw dust. Fire retardant. Two rounds of beer. A story for another time.

Dinner after drinks. Tried a touristy place that turned out to be nice. Good food. Nice wine. Jazz trio that Maia enjoyed.

Ghirardelli square for ice cream sundae dessert.

Home again!

Lunch with my mom tomorrow. Seeing John off for the week. I'll be batchin' it. So that means I will be posting for sure...so John can keep up with the news.

Lazy Day...Scratchy Throat

Worst night of sleep in a long time. I hate the drippy nose just getting a cold feeling. I woke up just about every hour just feeling bad. Hot. Then cold. Then dry and scratchy. Plus, I had weirdly intense dreams. Not a good night for sleep.

So we took it easy today. Nice and easy. John's dad is in town for a visit so we began the day with a breakfast trip to The Cats for Southern Lovin'. Then the boys geeked out at the Apple store and I bought Christmas pj's for Maia (not at the Apple store...but down the street). So cute! And on sale!

The guys took me and the little Miss home where the girls had lunch and then napped for a couple of hours. The boys went off to do more boy stuff.

Got up. Puttered around. Built a block fortress for Maia to knock down. It's funny. When I was little, I HATED for my brother to come and knock my block towers down. I used to get so mad at him. Now I build towers for maximum knock-down-age. She makes this really funny "squee" when she knocks things down. Somehow, it's the best sound in the world.

Out for dinner. And now, as a group of adults, we are all sitting in the living room with a laptop apiece not speaking. Very valley.

John is going to update me to "Leopard" so I think I will have some tea for my scratchy throat and actually read a book. Maybe under the covers in some yummy pj's. Listen to the patter of rain and go to sleep early. A nice way to cap of a nice lazy day.

Well, That was Awkward

Well, as Tori Amos would say: "Caught a Light Sneeze"...I suppose that's one of the pitfalls of motherhood. Maia has a snotty nose, and I have the cold as well. Yuck. So that's my excuse for a short post.

Let me share a story of my day with you:

I went and did errands. That's what I do. You know, grocery store and the like. I stopped by Walgreen's Drugstore ti pick up some pregnancy tests. And No. I am not pregnant as my Aunt Flow made very clear with her arrival later on in my day. But, I am trying to get pregnant...and I get kind of obsessive about having pregnancy tests around. I was out. So I needed to get some. Because if my dear auntie hadn't shown up, well. This would have been the weekend to test.

I have Maia in hand. I pop in to the store and find my isle. Ever buy a pregnancy test? They have a kind of weird isle of "Sex" in every drugstore. You'll find "feminine products" next to the condoms and the "personal lubricant". If you're in a big drugstore it will be called the "Family Planning" isle.

I don't care. I just need the tests. I wander down the usually empty isle and there is a man standing right where I need to be. I'm not sure if he's buying condoms or personal lubricant...but he stops dead when he sees me.

We kind of pretend that the other doesn't exist. He just stands there as I decide if I need two tests or three. I decide on two...and take leave of the isle. As I turn to go, I hear my shopping companion begin to breathe again. And that was that.

A Shout-Out to my (blog) Friend

If you think simply putting a few lines on your blog every day this month is a challenge, like I do, then you really need to check out one of my favorite bloggers to see what "crazy" means. Or should I say "Manic"?

That's right Manic Mommy is interviewing various bloggers this month. Her questions are telling, thought provoking (if puke and boobs are what you like to think about), and very, very funny. Bonus YouTube videos included!

Leave a comment and you might be next. Just say "Domestic Valerie" sent me. ;)

Maia Moment of the Day: Snacks Please

Maia has been a grumpy girl for the past few days. Cranky, not eating, (well, that's kind of a matter of course with her) not wanting to play...generally not wanting to do much of anything except be a pill. A cute pill, but a pill none-the-less.

Today she woke up with a snotty nose. Great. Last winter we managed to squeak by with a minimum of illness. Looks like this year we're in for whatever bug happens by. This will be her second cold in as many months. I should be buying stock in McNeil-PPC, Inc. and Novartis.

Of course, not wanting to be upstaged any more than I have to be by Miss M, I have been feeling under the weather for the past couple of days as well. It's been cranky pants city around here. I feel for my poor husband.

I was beginning to fear that her cuteness was not going to be enough to get us through the rest of the week. But fear not! Cuteness prevails around here.

This evening as I was puttering around straightening the house and getting dinner started Maia decided she needed a snack. She knows where her snacks are kept...in the cabinet under our kitchen not-an-island island. She comes walking up to me holding a bag of Goldfish (whole grain, did you know they made those?? but the first ingredient is "smiles") and her snack trap. Because earlier in the day when she asked for crackers, that was what I had given her: goldfish in a snack trap. I guess she decided to give me all the tools to facilitate her snacking pleasure.

Word of the Day : Ball!

Maia is adding new words every day. This morning she woke up and her first word was "ball"...not her more usual "kitty" or "Hi". All day it was "Ball, ball, ball" broken only by the occasional "baby".

She has enough to talk about, we have four different balls to play with, and that only counts the larger ones.

I only wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Four Weeks...Three Cakes

A mommy friend of mine teaches the cake decorating classes at Michaels and my other mommy friend and I have decided to give it a whirl.

For all my "skills" behind the stove and in the oven, I am seriously lacking in the "make it pretty" department. I can not *gasp* make a frosting rose to save my life. I know many of you are rolling eyeballs in my general direction, but really, when you tell people you were in the pastry business they expect certain things. Like frosting roses.

Never mind the pie crust as light as air. The delicate scent of rosemary married in a perfect shortbread crusted lemon bar. The homemade cakes towering and covered in real sugared fruit. Cute cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (I can pipe...I'm not hopeless). No it's all about the frosting bling, in some circles.

Plus, I like pretty. What girl doesn't?

I also like excuses to buy new pastry equipment. And I might be able to pull off some pretty fantastic birthday cakes in the near future.

I'm pretty excited. I love piping bags. And my teacher friend is so much fun. It's been a long time since I took a class simply for pleasure.

I'll post pictures of my efforts here, so you can see what I'm up to. We do get to bake the cakes, so expect something more than a box from me. After all, as my husband would say, I have a reputation to uphold. ;) And he'll be eating the majority of my efforts.