Ummm...

So we woke up from a very eventful Christmas Day this morning; I make some scones, E stumbles out of bed, I check my e-mail. Ummmm...a man died yesterday at the San Francisco Zoo from a TIGER MAULING! Yes, the cat escaped (they have no idea how) and killed 1 and attacked 2 others. Does this freak anyone else out? I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

Christmas Day

This was a lovely Christmas. E was excited about opening gifts, our new traditional 'Christmas Cocoa,' (Hot cocoa with whipped cream, sprinkles and a candy cane) finding baby Jesus in the manger (we leave him out of the creche until Christmas Day), and how lucky we were to have it snow on Christmas morning.

(new watch)

(new Leap Pad)

(Christmas Cocoa)

(watching the snow start to fall)

(blowing bubbles in the snow)

(snow on our Christmas present; the windshield of our new van)

Winter Solstice

Here's to our days getting longer!

Ella Elf

"Wanna see THESE moves?"

End of an Era

We got the news on Sunday afternoon: The Croc is closed. How could this be? D just had played there the night before, there was no mention of it being the final show for our beloved venue. It's sad and disappointing.


*What KUOW had to say about it + some articles that ran this week

Recital

Christmas Downtown

Tradition is so much a part of Christmas for me. Since E's arrival, we've been adding more of these memorable family moments to our wintry celebrations. One such is our afternoon excursion downtown with our dear family friends, the Many's.

(silver shoes)

(reflective)

(carousel)

(gingerbread house exhibit)

(model trains)

A Big To Do

Some new and some old; A list of wintery activities we'd like to do.

• Edmonds Tree Lighting Ceramony
  
• Green Lake Luminaria Walk
• Downtown Gingerbread House Display
• Zoo Lights
• Our own Gingerbread House
• Winterfest (Christmas-y things downtown)
  
• Nutcracker and Nutcracker
  
• Candy Cane Lane
• Lights of Christmas
  
• Favorite Movie of All Time
  

Happy Birthday Tania

You are loved

You are thought about

You are missed

It's Monday, not Tuesday

I don't know when I decided in my head that it was Tuesday today and that E needed to go to her swimming lesson. But, it was before I packed her bag with goggles, towels, chlorine shampoo and a hairdryer, woke her from her nap to put her swim suit on, drove across town in the the freezing wind, undressed her in the locker room, put her in the shower, and watched her shiver and tremble at the side of the pool turning blue waiting for her lesson to begin...TOMORROW!

We have swimming lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays, not Monday's.

It didn't dawn on me even as I pulled into the parking lot sighing with the thought that, "Here we are for the second time today (she already had ballet that Monday morning at this community center)," we're never here twice in one day. No, it didn't even occur to me when I noticed her teacher was fully dressed and manning the lifeguard podium, or that I didn't recognize a single soul in the locker room or poolside. No, as the clock neared the start time of her fictitious lesson that's when I finally started questioning myself. "What day is it?" I hissed at E. I couldn't think, I scanned my brain for something to indicate what day it was...in the end I had to ask another mom standing by the pool...

Oh.

Right.

All I could do was roll my eyes, and give a shrug as we passed her instructor quizzically looking down at us as we shuffled off below him. And poor E, she was so characteristically sweet about the whole thing, empathizing the entire way home, "I'm sorry I didn't have my swimming lesson today."

Corduroy

Back in October (while my family was was in Portland) I picked up a new brown corduroy jacket. I've had the same winter coat for 6-7 years now and I've needed a change. Got it on sale, and love it. Only at my birthday dinner in early November did I realize that my very good friend Jen had also purchased the same jacket. Not a huge surprise as we share taste in many things, but we both noted it to be a funny coincidence.

It gets better.

Approximately one week later I, being the faithful Tania-blog-reader that I am click over to her latest post. What's this? THE SAME JACKET? Now friends, we are close, but how all 3 of us managed to purchase the same jacket in the same color in the same month is something cosmic.

Here we all are sporting our new coats!



*Of course it'd be much better if we could be together at some point and take a group photo...miss ya Tan!

Luminary Walk

We braved the cold winds and crowds at Green Lake tonight for the luminary walk. The Parks Department lined the 3-mile pathway with candle lit luminaries from 5:30-8:30 for all to enjoy as you strolled. It was beautiful, and festive with carolers, and sing-along's.

****************************************

We knew it was going to be chilly so I whipped up a batch of my version of Tania's famous Hot Chicken Noodle Soup with crusty bread to fill our bellies for the wintry walk.

Chicken & Spinach Noodle Soup

• 2 32 oz. boxes chicken broth
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1+ cup sliced carrot
• 2 10 oz. cans cream of chicken soup
• 4 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 2 cups medium egg noodles, uncooked
• salt and pepper as needed
• 1 bag fresh spinach

Combine chicken broth, onion, and carrot in a large stock pot and bring to a boil, reduce, simmer for 15 minutes

Boil 3 chicken breasts in water, cube up and set aside

Add cream of chicken soup, noodles, and chicken, bring to a boil, reduce, simmer for 15 minutes

Place a handful of spinach leaves in bottom of soup bowls, then ladle soup over.

Serve with a crusty bread and you've got a meal for an army plus leftovers for tomorrow's lunch!

* Here are a couple of cheat sheet side notes :

• I sometimes buy the whole cooked chickens and pull them apart for the meat in this recipe
• Trader Joe's sells a soup "starter kit" in the refrigerated section by the lettuce. It includes chopped carrot, onion and celery - this makes an already easy recipe even easier!

Stocking

I've wanted to make E a stocking for the last few Christmas's but only got around to it this year. No mind, as I'm beginning to feel that this is the first year she really knows what's going on anyhow.

Identify Yourselves!

It occurred to me today that some that read this (you lurkers) are in far off places, and I've likely not even met you. This of course was designed to be a place to commit thoughts to paper as it were, and a way for those that are far away from my evolving family to stay in touch. But just this afternoon as I checked the locations of some of my blog traffic, my brow furrowed and mouth dropped. "Who are they all...Utah...Michigan...Greece & Vietnam? Wow! I'd love to know who they are, how they got here, why do they visit? It's perplexing to me!"

This blogging thing is relatively new to me. It's served a purpose I didn't expect, by reconnecting me with a friend I thought was only a fond distant memory. It's been so fun to keep up on the lives of a loved one moved way across this expansive land, and those so dear just miles away. All the while trying to write for myself, to honestly depict my days, to capture these fleeting moments of E growing up, using this place as a journal/baby book/photo album. This has admittedly gotten a little tricky; who exactly is reading this? Who's looking at my family photo's? Who's interested?

If ever you were so inclined, I'd love comments every now and then.

Simply a 'hi'?

Gilmore Girls

Really liked it. I've been playing catch-up to this fast paced and wordy show over the last few years via Netflix. But with disc 6 of the final Season (7) back in the mailbox, I'm not really feeling the closure I had hoped for with these characters (won't go into detail for those that plan on filling your evenings with this witty dramatic comedy). Oh well. It offered ample entertainment for D and I, including tons of musical & pop culture references that often left us dizzy and holding on for dear life trying to keep up! Hat's off!

Hansel & Gretel Would Have Lived Here

(the finished product)

(windows & walls)

(it all fits)

(frosting)

(gingerbread man)

(the architects)

*thanks to Great Grandma Hilda for the kit, we had a blast as you can see!

Santa Photo's

(2007)

(2006)

(2005)

(2004)

Frosty's Joined the NRA

This is in my neighbor's yard.

He knocked on our front door wanting to show off his snowman. We bundled up (E really wanted to see it despite her illness). I walked around to the front of his house carrying my 3-year-old in my arms. Gasp. "Ummmm, oh, wow, E, Frosty has a, a uhhhh, Frosty has a gun...and um, and he's in camo." He lives across the street from two family's with small children and next to us. Yes, that is a gun propped up on Frosty's shoulder, and apparently he has his sights set on Rudolph? You know I should have guessed; but you wouldn't think I would have to sensor anything having to do with a 10 foot tall snowman in my neighborhood! Nice.

A Case of the Monday's

Today is going to be one of those days, I can already tell. It's pouring down rain, and our wintry yard has melted back into green and barren trees. Our electricity has been flickering (probably should keep the computer off, but it's what keeps me sane on these days). I've got the Christmas tunes on, and all the indoor twinkly lights plugged in, but still it's dark in the house. D's gone. And my feet are cold.

Last night E "slept" with me due to D's 2 week tour. I say "slept" because neither of us really rested, she tossed and turned all night, and then awoke this morning with a stomach ache. She asked for some Tummy Tea, but after brewing her a cup, she refused to drink it. She lounged on the couch for a bit, pushed around the crackers she requested on her plate, then said she was going to play in her room. I poked my head in a few minutes later to find her snuggled in bed. When the stomach pains ended she popped out of bed until the next one struck, then she scuffled back to her sanctuary for a few minutes. And so the last few hours have gone. They don't seem terribly extreme, and there's no accompanying fever, but I should have known. She's been eating like a bird the last few days, and that's usually my telltale sign something is about to hit. It's a pajama day.

No ballet today.

No anything today.

I'll heat up the Moka Pot and perhaps finish up some of my Christmas cards, and maybe get in a good bout of knitting...

****UPDATE****
5:17pm: It's the flu, hopefully it won't last too long, and hopefully I won't get it.

Recent Quotes

"I'm gonna tickle your mistletoe's!"

During an impromptu piano lesson from Grandpa, E looked up at him after he had named all the key's (A, B, C, D, E, F and G) and asked "Which one is H?"

While watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer E explained that the reason the abominable snowman was so grumpy was because, "He went for a visit to the doctor and got a prick (shot)."

A friend asked her "What would you like Santa to bring you for Christmas?" Without a second thought she said "A candy cane." On another occasion my brother asked her and she responded "A wreath for my bedroom door."

"When you spank your eye, that means 'oh, man. And when August looses something, he says, 'Darn it'."

While driving in our car I accidentally let out a small fart. A few minutes later E comments, "Mama, it smells like dog poop in here!" (I don't know how she knows what dog poop smells like, I don't think she's ever run across the stuff) "Oh (I catch the giggles about now) I tooted, excuse me." Long bouts of laughing ensue on both our parts. Then after a long sigh that trails off she says "Oh, I forgive you." More laughing.

A Snowy 1st Day of Advent

(dizzy)

("Standing outside, with my mouth open wide!")

We were greeted by a few flakes this morning, but it really came down right around noon and hasn't really stopped. Great Grandma is visiting from Phoenix and has been constantly remarking on the beauty of the frosted trees and gentle glide of the falling snow. It really is breathtaking. I love the sound it makes when the wind kicks up and hurtles those frozen bits against the windows.

(lights on the rail)

(walkway)

(peeking out the window after nap)