Sugar Strike

The other day, Hannah was helping me cook dinner. When it was time to add the dill to our dish she looked at it and said:
"That doesn't look very good."
"It is good. It adds really good flavor."
"Mmm, good flavor like chocolate!?!"



Sugar, in it's various forms, has been pumping through our veins lately. We've decided to go on a sugar strike, starting tomorrow. Due to the overindulgence of Easter candy and Dan's recent health kick (yea!), we- kids included- are going to go an entire week without refined sugars.
We aren't going to change much else in our diet, because generally, at home, we eat pretty well. We just want to cut out the unnecessary sweetness that we have come to crave almost constantly.

My theory is that the more we eat sugar the more we want it. If we stop eating it, we won't want it... in theory. We'll have a week to test this theory, and hopefully, we'll have healthier teeth, more sustained energy and happier bodies overall to show for it.

Do-Re-Mi

Hannah and Jane are captivated by The Sound of Music. Hmm, maybe obsessed is a better word. They will watch the entire movie, even the boring parts with the nuns, over and over if we let them.
Do-Re-Mi is a favorite tune of theirs. Hannah wanted to be a star on the silver screen by singing her own version of the song.

"So, a needle colling fray" and "Cheech, a name I call myself" are Hannah originals. No one can take those from her.
After Hannah sang, Jane got very excited and ran to the TV with the hopes of watching the movie. When I told her that we weren't going to watch it, she threw her little body on the floor in such an Oscar-worthy dramatic fashion, and she cried her eyes out. It was sad, but we still didn't watch it. There is such a thing as too much Julie Andrews, in case you were wondering.

Unconditional love

This happened last week...

We have had a hard time getting Jane down to bed since we decided to put her in one. Naps are the worst.
I was quite frustrated after trying for about 45 minutes to get her to bed. I first showed my frustration by giving her less and less loving and cuddly moments. Eventually, I had reached my limit and said very firmly, "Jane, no! It's bedtime! You need to stay in bed!"
Well, that little girl... she just looked at me with those big eyes and made her hand sign for "I love you" along with her sweet word I long for most, "wuhboo" (love you).
Crushed!!!
I almost lost it. I just patted her on her back, kissed her scrumptious cheeks and calmed WAY down, until I fell asleep right along with her.
It's amazing how much love children can give, even when it isn't shown to them.
Thank you, Jane. You teach me how to be a better mom.

(Hannah's hands shown here)

Missing Noelle

Hannah has been obsessed with her cousin Noelle this morning.
First, she got on the intercom phone and pretended to talk to Noelle. Then, she mentioned she wanted to play with Noelle today. It didn't matter that I told her we couldn't see her today, that we would have to fly across the country to see her. She just insisted that we see Noelle to-day! A phone call will have to suffice.
It sounds like they bonded when we were in Sacramento a few weeks ago. I'm so glad! I think they are going to be good friends throughout their lives.



We miss you Noelle!
We can't wait to see you again!

Sisters and friends

I always take the opportunity to post pictures of our girls when I actually get the opportunity to photograph them.

Really???

WOW! And I don't mean Word Of the Week W.O.W., I mean WOW! A busker has commented on our blog.
Who else is reading this stuff?

Growth spurt?

I can't believe how many times Hannah has fallen today. I lost count after five. It matters not if she is inside or out, shoeless or not. She's just tripping over her own two feet. Growth spurt, perhaps?
Some of the spills she's taken have been mild without much consequence. Others have resulted in pain and tears. I'm glad to be the one to sweeten the bitterness in such cases.

W.O.W.- busker

busker \BUS-kur\, noun:
A person who entertains (as by playing music) in public places.

We come across buskers a lot in New York City. Sometimes they are really really good, and I want to stop running to wherever it is I'm going to listen for a spell. Sometimes they are really really, bad and I run a little faster to wherever it is I'm going.
Good or bad, I often wonder what their stories are, like the elderly gentleman at the Roosevelt subway station that has a number of dancing dolls that move to the sound of his keyboard. Anyone know his story?
Or the lively five-piece brass band that plays at the 42nd Street Port Authority station. Do they do it for the pure love of it?
The man in the photo above has a story (a busker of Seattle). When he was an infant, someone accidentally sprayed acid in his eyes instead of water and has been blind ever since. He finds the greatest joy in the sounds of music. That's why he does it. If he earns a little money to help him along, great.
I have a respect for all buskers, good and bad, whether they do it because they want to or have to. They are doing something.

Eating Dirt

This is the dessert we made for the kids yesterday. The best part for the adults was tricking the kids into thinking the flower pot contained actual dirt (that wasn't hard) and then watching their faces, especially our five-year-old friend, when each of us took a bite from the pot. Utter shock! They eventually caught on and devoured their helpings.
The irony here is that there are probably more nutrients in a pot of soil then there are in this particular pot.

Here is the recipe for this fun Spring-time dessert:
Dirt Dessert
(I halved this recipe and it made a lot!)

1 bag gummy worms
2 bags Oreo cookies
3 small boxes instant vanilla pudding
2 8oz pkgs cream cheese
1/2 c. butter
1 16oz. tub of Cool Whip
1 c. powdered sugar

optional, but necessary:
large flower pot
garden trowel
silk flowers

Make pudding as directed but use 4 cups of milk instead of 6. Combine cream cheese, butter, Cool Whip, powdered sugar and pudding. Make crumbs of the Oreos in food processor. Layer the crumbs and pudding mixture in pot, ending with Oreo crumbs on top. Refrigerate, or freeze for a frozen dessert. Before serving, place gummy worms, flowers and towel on top.

Too tired to blog

I was going to tell of our wonderful Easter Sunday but alas, I can barely keep my tired, burning eyes open.
I shan't run faster than I have strength.

I will say that it was a fine Easter and that it is so SO nice to have great friends to spend a holiday with when you can't spend the time with family. As always, the food was amazing.
Amen.

My Favorite Part

Wouldn't you know it! My favorite part today did not involve food. I did eat, but it was just one of those "food-as-fuel" kind of days.
My favorite part today was when we decorated Easter eggs, dye-free. I think I enjoyed it so much because it was so relaxing yet so new for the girls. Jane loved banging the eggs on the table until they were completely obliterated (and inedible). We had fun drawing on the butcher paper covering the table. I think that was Jane's favorite part.


Check out some of our eggs. Isn't that the best looking family of Easter eggs you have ever seen in all your days? There must be some kind of contest we can enter...


Dan and Hannah share their favorite part of the day. They went swimming and had a blast. Hannah is a very new fish. She's never in water where she can't feel bottom with her feet. We're determined to keep her, and Jane, interested in the pool.
Hannah mostly held tight around Dan's neck, but she had a great time jumping to him when she had the chance.

Again, such grace...

More home improvements

This one is l o n g overdue.
We finally painted the girls' room and bought them a real bed.

This is a terrible representation (and admittance) of their room before, but it gives an idea of what they were sleeping on:

Hannah has slept on a crib mattress since she left the "crib" (I use " " because she never had a real crib. They are just too big for our space). The mat on the right was used to acclimate Jane to sleeping on a bed.

We were planning on getting a bed for the girls soon anyway, but then we found this behind their shelves:

≈Gasp!≈ Disgusting right? I swear we didn't know it was there. We needed to paint immediately. We thought we might as well throw in a bed while we were at it.

It was a lot of work. I bleached the mold, and Dan scraped and sanded the layers of paint the mold was eating through.


There were so many places to repair. I had no idea their room was in such shambles.





The rest of the house was in shambles while we worked.

The girls really enjoyed the obstacles. Hannah made a bridge of diapers. Is there a better way to spend the day?

Finally, by sundown, we had finished painting and trimming the baseboards.

(Proof that I actually worked)

Here's a look at the corner before and after:


And remember this?


Well, forget it.

Here's their room put back together with a REAL bed, which the girls absolutely love. It's a sturdy, clever bed that adjusts to three different sizes. That and it's cute.
But the finishing touch, the pièce de résistance, the highlighting adornment (if you ask me) came just yesterday ~ my 16x20 photo of one of my roses.

I love how it looks in there. It's so big and bright~ just as I pictured it.

So now we have a girly room that the girls love and we can all be proud of. Hooray!

To see details (you know how I love details), go here.

These is my words today

I just finished These is my Words by Nancy E. Turner. Great book. There's enough action, devastation, heartache, torment and romance to last a lifetime, but all day today, I have caught myself talking (or thinking) like Sarah Agnes Prine by using words like "fussin' " and my not-so favorite but amusing, "ornery".  Then, there are phrases like, "for a spell" and "Well, that'll be just fine." 
So if you want to talk just like Sarah Agnes Prine from the Arizona Territories, get yourself a copy and read about 100 pages in one day like I did. You'll be talkin' up good in no time.

Oh, Jane O.

you make us smile
you make us laugh
you help us learn 
you help us love

you lighten our hearts
you lighten our spirits
you give us hope
you give us life

you are a grand wonder in small package

In my dirty laundry

Today, I was going to do the laundry, and as I was sorting through it, I found this:

I laughed out loud to myself. I wanted to share it with someone so I showed Hannah the note that "daddy left mommy in the laundry!"

She tried really hard to care, but her manufactured laugh showed her lack of interest.

I reveled in the sentiment on my own and was grateful to have such an appreciative husband.

Thank YOU, Dan!

Too many truffles

Natalie over at 100 Percent Cottam blogged about these Mint Oreo Truffles last week. 
Well, I couldn't resist so I made them today. They are not as cute and festive as Bakerella's, but they are as good as they look.
I have made and eaten too many of these, so some lucky neighbors of mine are going to be the recipients of this decadent treat.

If you decide to make these, I would recommend NOT crushing the Oreos in a bag. The yummy cream sticks to the sides, and then you are forced to lick the yummy cream off the bag. Tasty but not pretty.

W.O.W., and history

If you didn't know why we celebrate St. Patrick's day (I didn't), here's a little info...

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was not actually Irish. He was born around AD 385, somewhere in Roman Britain, possibly near Dumbarton, Scotland. At 16, he was captured by Irish raiders looking for slaves and he was taken there to tend sheep. After six years of slavery, he ran away and ended up wandering through southern Gaul (France) and Italy. There, he had a vision from God which told him to return to Ireland and convert the pagans to Christianity. Returning to Ireland around 432, St. Patrick did missionary work until he died on March 17 in 464. The country of Ireland went into mourning. The first St. Patrick's Day celebration in the United States was in 1737 in Boston.

dictionary.com

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone, Irish or not.

It's ready!

This is my most recent project~ a slideshow to document the birth of my new nephew (don't worry all you squeamish types, it's very clean). 

Whether you have never had a baby, you're about to have a baby, you've already experienced giving birth or you've been involved in any way, you should watch this.

Please take the time to view by:
~ choosing large (best) or small (if you have to),
~ wait for slideshow to download (go ahead and grab some tissues at this time),
~ turn up the volume (even better with headphones),
~ press play, and don't be afraid if you start to feel achy in your chest.

Thanks again Carrie for letting me do this. It was an amazing experience!

~The music playing in the slideshow is Masterpeace by Joseph Akins~

My Favorite Part

It was a really good day, for me at least.

I think my favorite part about today though was when Dan came home at noon with my favorite lunch plate from Pahal Zan, a Mediterranean grill close by. The best part about my favorite part was that Dan didn't go back to work. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon together.

Dan's favorite part was getting a miracle piece of hardware in the mail that restored our wooden swivel computer chair back to its original splendor. Wow, was he pleased at the results! He forced me to sit in it and declare how wonderful it made me feel.

Hannah's favorite part about today was playing hide-and-seek with Dan. It's quite a challenge to hide in our small home (see examples below), but they pulled it off and could have played for hours. I really enjoyed watching them.



Our favorite part about Jane today is that she slept in this morning.
I would surmise that her favorite part was eating a big cookie. We don't usually feel she needs to indulge in such things (leaving more for us), but tonight we gave her one whole ooey-gooey chocolate chip cookie. She loved it. They were too good not to share.

(Notice how many favorite parts involve food? Hmm...)

What was your favorite part? We love to hear.

W.O.W. and Baby Sneak Peek

miracle \mir-uh-kuhl\, noun;

1. an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.

2. such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.

3. a wonder; marvel

dictionary.com

I can't think of a better word to describe what I witnessed yesterday. I was mostly awe struck as I watched Carrie, my sister-in-law, go through the experience of labor and delivery.

I had a plan of how I wanted to photograph the event, but I couldn't focus on being a photographer at that point. I was a human, a woman, a mother, a wife, a daughter, and everything about this life and it's purpose came into perspective. 

I sat in the corner mostly, waiting for the right time to take a shot. I didn't want to intrude on those quiet, personal and often times, painful moments. 

When the baby finally started coming, I was so overwhelmed, I stopped photographing. Then I quickly took as many as possible. I had to compose myself over and over. I truly marveled at the miracle.

I have a new level of respect for Carrie,  and everyone else who has gone through this (husbands included!). 

I left the birthing center feeling such love. "I love everyone!", I declared to myself. 

I drove back to Jeromy and Carrie's and picked up my girls from Courtney's (Carrie's sister-in-law), and I almost gushed at the sight of them. I knew the second I saw them how special they are.

Hannah and Jane, you are my little miracles. I love you so much!

~I will be posting more photos of new baby Micah Indy Dyer, but you'll have to wait until Jeromy and Carrie see them first. It's only fair!

Home

Well, I made it home this morning but it wasn't all bells and whistles for my homecoming.

I got that sick kind of sick on the plane, I have some serious red-eyes, my girls are crazy weird today and there's no food to make dinner with. Oh well, this is how it is with our jet-setting life sometimes.

I'm sure I'll feel more positive later, after the girls go down and I get rid of this headache...

Labor

I think I'm experiencing sympathy labor for Carrie.

No baby yet...

Please!!!

Hannah asked me very politely many times to take her boots off so she could dress up. She waited and waited until she just couldn't wait any more.
I saw her later with a princess dress on.
Then, I went upstairs and saw this:

I felt bad that I didn't help her when she really truly needed it, but I'm glad she found a way out.

Another day for distraction

Yesterday, we kept ourselves busy so Carrie wouldn't have to think about how pregnant she is. Since Carrie woke feeling fairly confident she was NOT going to have a baby today, we decided to go downtown to an art museum. It was in an old mansion with amazing details in the woodwork, hardware, and wall painting.




We were enlightened by the art that ranged from traditional Americana to modern minimalism.


We were also enlightened by the fact that, despite what we may have previously believed, men too can be adorned by an elegant silk fan.


After the museum, Grandpa treated everyone to Frosties.
It was a fun day. We'll have to plan something for tomorrow also to keep us, and Carrie, busy.

Waiting...

Carrie's due date is today. We are all waiting with her.

I think I'm ready

I think I've got all my ducks in a row, and we're ready to leave for our trip to Sacramento tonight. While we're there, we are hoping to catch the birth of our new nephew, figuratively speaking.

Jeromy and Carrie Dyer are due to have their baby this Friday, and according to Carrie and previous pregnancies, she will have the baby within a day of that. 

It will be exciting if we can be there for it, especially since I'm planning on photographing the event. Nothing graphic, mind you. I just want to tell the story, and Carrie's been gracious enough to let me try. 

Wish us luck on getting there before the baby does!

W.O.W.- probity

probity \PRO-buh-tee\, noun:

complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness

dictionary.com

I think I picked this one because I want to be remembered as someone who showed probity in everything she did. It is an invaluable quality to possess.

My Favorite Part

"What was your favorite part about today?"

That's what Dan used to ask me every night when we were first married. At first I thought the question was just something to amuse my husband, but after a while, I looked forward to it. If I was having a good day, it helped me evaluate the positive things that had happened. If I was having a bad day, I would have to search for the silver lining. Eventually, if he didn't ask me I would ask him.
We still ask each other this question, and now that Hannah knows what "favorite" means, we have started asking her as well. We love to hear her talk excitedly about something she loved doing that day.

*Hannah's favorite part about today was going to dance class. When I asked her, she answered with a "duh" tone in her voice.

*My favorite part about today, even though it was a really good day, was indulging in warm chocolate pudding fresh from the stove top. Mmm...

*Dan's favorite part about today was this morning with the girls. They can be so irresistible that he can't seem to get ready for work.

What was your favorite part about today?

Sick

Our sweet "baby" is sick today. You might be wondering why I was taking photos of her instead of holding and comforting her. I think she was wondering the same thing. But it just so happens that this little ball of energy is next to impossible to take pictures of, even with the fastest shutter. So when I see her still for more than a millisecond, I grab my camera.
Even better than getting a snapshot of her, is that I get to hold her and she lets me. I love that part!

"Happy Birthday Papa!"

I had many reminders this week that it was my dad's birthday today. I also had a reminder to send him a card early in the week so it would get to him on time. Well, I forgot to send the card, but I did not forget his birthday.
Dad, I hope this makes up for the card you would have received had my reminders been effective.

Sorry about the distortion!

Potty Post- You've been warned

Hannah is... well, she's regressing and can't or won't make it to the bathroom on time.
It usually, but not always, happens when she's wearing her dress-up dresses, probably because they are a hassle to go to the bathroom in.

Today, she wet her pants and we had a talk.

Me: Hannah, where do we go to the bathroom?
Hannah: The toilet.
Me: So where are you going to go the next time you need to go potty?
Hannah: (enthusiastically) The toilet!

Hours later, Hannah had a mess in her pants. I hope you know what I mean when I say "mess". I was shocked. I can't remember the last time she did that.
We had another talk.

Me: Hannah, where do we go poopy?
Hannah: In the toilet.
Me: Are you going to tell mommy and daddy when you need to go so we can make it to the toilet?
Hannah: Yes! (exits bathroom)
Me: Good, because we are running out of underwear.
Hannah: No, we're just walking...

How do we help her be a potty champ again? (OK, terrible title)
Any suggestions?