These are a few of my favorite things ...

I know some adults who don't really care one way or another if it's their birthday.  What?  Seriously?  I LOVE my birthday.  Call me childish, I don't really care.  I don't even expect loved people to spoil and fete me, though that is always pleasant.  Not strangers.  Please leave me alone, don't look at me, I don't know you.  But people I love.  Celebrate away!!  But I don't need it.  I just like giving myself a day to do whatever I want, within the confines of my job as Mother.  I am nicer to myself and nicer to others.  It is a fabulous day.  SO ... to celebrate one of my favorite days I am going to list some of my favorite things, outside of my husband and children.  And being a Mom.  Because if I include those things this post would be WAY too long.  Warning - this will mostly be a shallow list, I'm not really in the mood for deep.  And it might even be full of consumerism.  And probably a lot of food.  You are hereby warned.

My Favorite Things

-  Chocolate.  I really do love chocolate.  So much so, I've discovered, that's it's one of the main things people remember about me.  Which, if you think about it, is really pathetic.  But I'm okay with it.  As I've aged :-) my chocolate sensibilities have refined - I now prefer high quality DARK chocolate.  A fabulous friend and I taste tested 60% and 70% chocolate of affordable yet decent (ie: can be found at Target) quality.  I know, the things I'll do for science.  The results?  Lindt all the way.  Dove generally came second, Ghirardelli last, with some random brands (Green and Black, can't remember what else) scattered throughout.  Dove was always the smoothest but not the chocolatiest.  And Ghirardelli, when compared with others, always had a strange "note".  Yes, we tasted notes.  And were totally vindicated later when we read this article.  Wine tasters?  Pshaw.  I'm a Chocolate Taster.

-  And on that note, I LOVE my Dad's Chocolate Creme Brulee, minus the Brulee, because I don't have a kitchen torch.  Made with 70% Lindt.  Oh my.  Heaven.

-  I. love. my. Mac. 

- Bread, and by extension, my bread maker.  I LOVE my breadmaker.  It is a Zojirushi.  It is awesome.  I use it everyday.  I've even worn out the kneading blade because I used it so much.  (And a replacement blade cost only $6!  Thrilling!)  I read an article about how useless breadmakers were and how you could buy better tasting bread at the store.  Poor, stupid people.  I make delicious bread.  My french bread is so much yummier than anything I've bought.  My children will balk at "healthy" store bought bread, but will devour almost any bread I make, regardless of how much wheat, or oats, or quinoa, or barley, or graham flour, or whathaveyou I put in it. 

-  I really do like math.  And now that I finally have a 7th grader, I've re-remembered how much I love algebra.  I really do.  Call me strange.  Geometry can go hang itself.  But algebra ...

- My husband's sense of humor.  My favorite thing of all time.  He can make me collapse with giggles.


-  The other thing I am most remembered for seems to be my love of books.  I really do love them, in all shapes and sizes and genres.  I just love to read.  My dream job?  Repairing old books.  If there was a Repairing Old Books School I would go to it.  If I knew a Book Repairer I would apprentice myself.  It would be such a fun craft to learn.  I love devouring new books, savoring old favorites, finding new authors, sharing books I love with people I love.

- And in that vein, I adore libraries.  And bookstores.  But in libraries I can TAKE HOME any book I covet, whereas bookstores I try to exercise some restraint.  I could browse either for hours.  If I was alone.  Which doesn't usually (ever) happen.  So let's just say I can browse until Meltdown is imminent. 

- When my two year old says "Okay".  He says it all the time and in the cutest way. 

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- Panera.  Target.  Trader Joes.  I am so sad I am currently not living by a Trader Joes!  Ack!  Where will I get my supply of Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Joe Joe's (think fabulous mint oreos smothered in luscious chocolate sprinkled with peppermint)?  And my Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzel Thins?  Hmm, I'm sensing a theme.  But even non-chocolate edibles are yummy.  Thankfully I have a fabulous sister-in-law who WORKS at this fabulous place.  And also thankfully, when she visits she brings yummy things with her.


- And speaking of Trader Joes, but deserving it's own category, is Sipping Chocolate.  I would call it liquid gold, but liquid gold would certainly not taste as good as this stuff.  You have to make it the "Sipping Chocolate" way, which doesn't require very much milk.  Which is why it is so good.  I also love Hot Chocolate.  But Sipping Chocolate is a step above.



- Thumb Promises, which are reserved for when Pinkie Promises are just not convincing enough.  At least according to my 5 year old.

- My shoes.  I have one pair of summer shoes (mine are NOT bronze) and one pair of winter shoes that I tend to wear every single day.  They are SO comfortable.  I have other shoes, but they just get to hang out with each other in my closet.  I love my favorite shoes.

- I love the color Brown.  I know!  What a drab color!  But it's really not.  It's rich and warm and yummy.  I also love deep reds and deep blues and deep greens.  But brown is probably my favorite color to wear.  I have worn the color brown on my birthday since high school, which I realize is weird and random.  But it's okay to be weird and random.

- I love that my two oldest boys love to read.  What joy to talk books with my boys!  And to see them devouring some of my favorites! 

- I love new recipes.  I just realized I follow over 7 recipe blogs/sites and love them all.  OurBestBites is probably my favorite, but I also love BrownEyedBaker (the name! I love the name!)  I also love my friends' recipe blogs and have even started a recipe blog with my family.  New recipes keep the every day "what's for dinner" question at least sometimes exciting. 

- Being girly with my daughter.  Painting fingernails, doing hair, planning outfits - she is just precious.


- Yosemite is one of my favorite places on earth.

-  I also love Maine - the coasts, the woods, the people, NOT the lobster.  Because seafood is not one of my Favorite Things.  I loved living in Maine.

-  Even though I don't like living there, I love Boston.  What a FUN city to visit!  Fun places to shop, walk, learn about ... eating Italian food in the North End, followed by dessert at Mike's Pastry, is definitely one of my Favorite Things.

-  My brothers are among my Favorite Things.  I am so lucky I am friends with all of my brothers.  I love that they are all a part of my life even though I don't live very close to most of them.  I love their wives, their children, their parents :-), their interests - everything about them.  I also love that I am friends with my parents.  I love my family!

-  My friends are also definitely one of my Favorite Things, which gets me sappier than I meant to get.  But I have great friends.  When my husband was away for months at a time, I had a Friend who would leave her family of many children to hang out at my house twice a week, sometimes leaving in the wee hours of the morning.  We played Super Mario Brothers Wii (and conquered it, thank you very much.)  And watched movies.  And Gilmore Girls.  And ate vast amounts of delicious chocolate.  She also spent her Mother's Day morning making me breakfast.  How many people would do that?  Not many.  I have amazing people in my life.

So there you go.  Some of my favorite things.  I have a good life.

All Hallow's Eve

This blog is a year old!  Hurrah!!!!!!!  The Granna Halloween Fairy blessed our house again with many fabulous costumes.  Peanut started out the day in a Lion costume, previously worn by three year old Erik, three year old Jace, and three year old Dane.  But it didn't last long ....

Erik was once again something in a box, this time a robot!!!  Thanks Halloween Fairy, for the cool arms and legs.  Diva wanted to be a Ghost this year.  She was originally thinking "Sheet With Holes" Ghost, but we convinced her to be a little more creative.  

 Dane was a Pirate (Argh, ye Mateys!) and Peanut settled on being Yoda. 

Jace wanted to be Harry Potter, and finally decided on Harry Potter playing Quidditch because it meant he got a broom ... 

All of the store-bought wands were disappointing, so he made one with his Dad.  We think it turned out pretty cool.

We did our Trick or Treating this year on Friday night at our Church and spent a quiet Sunday at home.  But next year we hit the pavement again ...

Complete with Quidditch Goggles.  And of course no socks.

Birthday Girl

 

My Diva is 8!!  Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, those are marshmallows AND sprinkles on her cake.

She was baptized on Saturday in the dress my Mom made and I was baptized in.  Her Uncle, Aunt, and cousins (including a brand new one!) came to celebrate.  It was a fabulous day.  

It Happened One Night

Once upon a time there was a two year old with floppy hair.  It was adorable floppy hair.  One day the Mother realized the floppy hair was getting a little too floppy, and admitted to her husband the Father it needed a trim.  This Father, waiting until his wife was away from the house for an evening, decided to take matters into his own hands and cut the floppy hair with scissors.  But since cutting floppy hair on wiggly children was his wife's usual job, he was unprepared for the wiggliness of this particular child.  The floppy hair was butchered.  The Father, muttering "Your Mother is going to kill me" (as witnessed by several small bystanders), tried to fix the formerly floppy hair by trimming it short with clippers.  Really short.  Much-much-less-than-his-wife-would-have-short.  Then he zeroed in on the poor child's slightly older brother.  When the Mother got home, the children were in bed.  "I bathed them!" the Father said.  Startled, the Mother mulled over this surprising statement.  Usually the Father doesn't think of things like that.  Hmmm.... Trying to delay the inevitable, he even distracted her so she didn't check her Facebook, where he had posted pictures of the butchered hair (yes, the World Wide Web knew before Mother did.)  Lying in bed that night, the Mother had an epiphany - "You cut their hair!" she exclaimed.  She knew it was the
One Reason he would have bathed her two little boys.  Sure enough, upon entering their bedroom, she saw the poor little shorn heads. 


Sniff.

I can never leave the house again.

Unless I take the clippers with me.

And Now I Know What a Mellophone Is

Isn't he ADORABLE??  Erm, I mean, handsome ...

My Full Quiver

Across the street from our house is a large grassy path that meanders through soybean and corn fields.  It is the perfect place for bike rides, Sunday walks, and impromptu photo shoots.

 

Run Away!  She might take more pictures!!

Too Clever

Peanut fell in love with some Thomas the Train undies, and in an effort to make him use the potty he has shown he knows how to use, I told him how great it would be if he wore Thomas and kept him dry!  So in a flash of toddler ingenuity, he decided the best way to keep Thomas clean was to keep the diaper on and wear the undies on his head.  I think this one might be too much for me ...

Soccer Insanity

With four kids in soccer this season, life is pretty crazy!  We had our first soccer game last Saturday starring Diva!!!  I am so proud she is giving something so mundane as sports a try.  I told her to imagine the soccer ball as an annoying brother ...

The whole crew was there to support our favorite 7 year old.  Despite a few "back seat kickers" and another team's cupcakes within sight but out of reach, everyone did fairly well.  Go Diva!

First Day of School

A 7th grader, 5th grader, 2nd grader, and Kindergartener!

First Bus Stop Drop Off: 

Oh the trial of having a mother take pictures

Second Bus Stop Drop Off:

I don't think he's excited at all ...

 

Yes, his feet are bare.  So sue me.

See, mine are too.  Like mother like son.

Dane and Dreadlocks

A few pre-move pictures that I couldn't ignore!  First and most importantly, Dane turned FIVE!!!!  Watch out world, Kindergarten here we come!!!

He requested the marshmallow laden cake.  Of course.  And was gifted by a loving Granna a new costume to replace the quickly tattering dragon ninja costume, complete with movie.  His favorite thing to watch is Jack-Jack Attack on the Incredibles DVD.  

He also received (from the same source) a Costco sized barrel of Nestle Quik, per his request.  Please notice the remains of a mustache.  

My Dane is a force to be reckoned with!  I think next year I will give long complicated odes to my children on their birthdays ...  we'll see if it happens ...

In other news, just as important in certain eyes, Diva had a new summer hairstyle.  She loved it.  I loved it because I didn't have to look at straggly summer unbrushed hair for an entire week at a time.  

Her innocent face - hmm, I wonder what she's just done ...

Beware, more posts to come ...

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A Rose By Any Other Name ... Revisted

So, you may be wondering, if I've finally moved, what is the status of my first name?  Well.  I was feeling nervous/silly about trying the name change, but knew I would regret it if I didn't at least make an effort.  Since church is my main social outlet, especially in a new place, that was the first place I tried it.  My middle name was about to become my first name.


FIRST WEEK:  After warning my husband and children of the impending change, and having them look at me like I was completely mad, I was determined to try it.  My husband, to show solidarity, said he would introduce himself as Roberto.  Such a funny man.  I replied that if he wanted to use his middle name, or a nickname, or perhaps his initials - which happen to be D.D. - I would be all for it.  Which of course led to completely irreverent giggling in the middle of church at the thought of introducing him as DeeDee.  So funny.   The day went well - I didn't even giggle once.  It was strange but exhilarating.  I mean, it's still my name, just not what people have usually called me.  One lady even commented "What a pretty name!"  which of course led to much internal crowing.  It was fun.

SECOND WEEK:  After a week filled with using my given first name for utilities and school records (I wasn't ready to create any credit problems or snarl up my kids school records, at least not yet), going back to my middle name on Sunday was strange.  I felt like a fraud.  What in the world was I doing?  This must be my mid life crisis or something.  But I soldiered through, and even my husband succeeded in introducing me by my middle name.


AND SO ON:  So here I am, with people calling me by my middle name.  Which still feels strange.  It will be interesting to see if it ever feels comfortable.  I'm glad I tried it, but as of now will probably not continue with it after our next move.  (Next move?  What, you ask?  Come on, be real.  After 17 moves in 14 years do you really expect us to stay put for 20 years?)  I have only once signed an email using the wrong name, and once stumbled a bit at introducing myself.  Which is probably confusing the heck out of people but such is life.  I have definitely come to realize that even though I think my middle name is the prettier name, I am definitely my first name.  It is who I am and will always be. 

SOLD!! MOVED!!

We have moved!  Finally!  After 10 husbandless months, we are finally permanently back together as a family.  It's about time.  A friend of mine asked how many times we have moved, so I had to think back through the last 14 years to count them up.  (For some reason I can't remember offhand the number - I think I've blocked it).  Surprise surprise, this move is number 17!!!!  Some of them were small moves (across town to a better apartment), some were big moves (across oceans to another country), but they were all moves.  So here we are at number 17!  Go 17!


At the end of July, after 5 months of trying, after cleaning/vacating for over 50 showings, or house sold.  Hurrah!!  It was a long and horrible process and ended on a sour note.  But at least it ended.  Thanks to a great realtor!  And buyers who I won't talk about but at least they bought my house!



So our stuff was packed up (a pleasant but slightly weird experience) and off we went.  After spending a week in a hotel with five kids, made sane by free continental breakfasts and three large TVs, we found a house to rent and moved in August 1st.  Then came the flurry of registering for schools, utilities, soccer, etc.  And here we are!


Boring post, I know.  But now that I'm back on the blogging bandwagon, perhaps there will be more to come. 

Mouths of Babes

My children brought these home from church on Mother's Day.  (It's still May, right?)  I thought they were a great window into their worlds.  Some are hilariously off, while others are spot on ... a few comments by me are in red.

My Mother:
By Dane (4), Diva (7), Jace (10), and Erik (12)

How old is she?

Dane: 43

Diva: 33

Jace: thirties

Erik: 25

Her favorite food is:

Dane: bacon

Diva: soup

Jace: milk chocolate

Erik: chocolate

Her favorite place to be is:

Dane: in her room with us

Diva: home

Jace: California

Erik: anywhere warm

When she was young, she:

Dane: cuddled with her Mom

Diva: left her room messy

Jace: was bullied by brothers

Erik: loved Marlon Brando

She is really good at:

Dane: baseball

Diva: taking care of 5 kids all by herself 

Jace: being a loving Mom

Erik: the three c's - cleaning, caring, comforting 

(baseball? really?)

She is happiest when:

Dane: she's with her kids

Diva: we get along

Jace: the house is clean

Erik: the house is clean

My favorite things to do with her is:

Dane: play the Wii or go to the water park or go to the pool or bounce on the trampoline

Diva: watch movies

Jace: playing Family Game Night

Erik: playing Nertz

To make her happy, I like to:

Dane: do my chores

Diva:  do the dishes

Jace: help out

Erik: clean

(hmm, do we sense a theme?)

I like to talk to her about:

Dane: going to McDonalds to get food

Diva: the holidays

Jace: books

Erik: books

If I am sad, she:

Dane:  gives me a hug

Diva: helps me

Jace: comforts me

Erik: loves me

She likes to spend her time:

Dane: playing the Wii with Sister Hansen

Diva: on reading

Jace: reading, cleaning

Erik: reading

(well, not cleaning ...)

She gets mad when:

Dane: we do something not nice

Diva: we do not get along

Jace: there's a showing

Erik: I slide down the stairs in a laundry basket

The funniest thing about her is:

Dane: being funny

Diva: she laughs a lot

Jace: she likes my Dad

Erik: she's read more books than I can count

I know she loves me because:

Dane: we're the best kids in the whole entire world

Diva: she's my Mom

Jace: Heavenly Father gave me her

Erik: she never stays mad

AND, last but not least, here is a poem Diva brought home from school:

M - My mom has 5 kids

O - Outstanding at reading

T - Takes her time

H - Her hair is beautiful

E - E** is her child

R - Reads a lot

Yay For Cool Air!

My air conditioner didn't work for a few days, and of course they were the hottest, most humid days thus far.  After checking vents and filters and fuse boxes, my last ditch effort before calling in expensive reinforcements led me to the large ac/furnace fan outside the house.  (And googling led me to the proper term for such a fan, which is "Condenser Unit".  So now you know.)  Next to the fan is a huge lever, and imagine my chagrin/delight/unsurprise when I found the lever was pointing toward "Off".  Hmm.  I think I found the problem. 

Which then led me to a discussion with my children about the importance of not playing with the Condenser Unit or large lever next to it.  Some of these discussions went smoother than others.  As a disclaimer, my four year old is usually not quite so obtuse.

Me: Dane, you know the big fan in the backyard?  The one you like to climb on?
Dane:  What?
Me: The huge metal thing.  In the backyard.
Dane: Where?
Me: By the kitchen window.  You like to stand on it to look in the window.
Dane: The counter?
Me: No, outside the house.
Dane: The woodpile?
Me: No, next to the woodpile.  The big metal thing.  You like to stand on it to look in the window.
Dane: You mean the big fan?
Me:  ......

Fun With Breakfast Foods

We prefer grain and sucrose based shampoo.  It mushes into long hair perfectly, rinses, washes with separate shampoo, rinses again, and then combs out with a fine tooth comb perfectly.  Everyone should use it.

 

Peanut, "eating" his Cream of Wheat

Oh the Mud

Mud!  Oh joy of every boy!!!  During Spring Break my boys decided to relish in the mud surrounding our house.  Lovely.

When they finally came in I sent them up to shower.  Soon Dane came down, all "clean".

Um, I think he missed a spot ...

And, since he loves posing for the camera, it quickly turned into a camera shoot.

Strike a Pose.  Vogue.