Christmas in April

Home again. Home again. What can I say? It's mostly good to be here. It's raining and freezing as promised. It feels like December. We have socks on and a fire going and we just opened all of our Christmas cards. (Thanks to those of you who kept us on your Christmas list. As for the rest of you...you'll be receiving an email.) The kids wasted no time getting back to school and were over the moon to see their friends and teachers. Soli was so excited to wear her favorite footie pajamas and play with her long lost toys. Dave and I are, well...I think we're a little homesick. We just spent the last hour watching Sayulita videos on youtube. Is that a bad sign? And we both have indigestion. How ironic is that? Six months in Mexico and no problems. One greasy In-N-Out burger on the way home from SFO and we're hatin' it. Anyway, we're glad to be home safe and sound and we're so happy that our "Sayulita Experiment" was such a smashing success. Now back to real life... you know, where you have to wear undergarments.

On My Mind Today...

...my nephew, Gaige. (I'm so possessive. I guess, technically he's Dave's, too...and Rob's, and Kelly's, and Shane's, and Erica's.)


Dave is the middle son of three boys. The youngest brother, Steve, lives in Northern California with his wife and 3 kids. Steve's oldest child, Gaige, our nephew, has been having a pain on his right side just under his rib cage for the last seven weeks. They've taken him to see specialists, had all kinds of testing done, tried different treatments and nothing is helping and the pain seems to be getting worse. We've all been wracking our brains (and surfing the net late into the night,) and we're coming up empty handed. Needless to say, we're feeling very worried and frustrated and somewhat helpless at this point. Your prayers and healing thoughts would be so much appreciated.

Cole, Gaige, and Emerson - Cabo '08

*Also on my mind today...Teacher Robin and those who lost loved ones on 9/11. May peace be with them. May peace be with us all.

*And one more thing...Cole's off at the first dance of the school year. Guess what he wore...one of Dave's shirts...and it fit him. Now that blows my mind.

Home Again, Home Again

Well, I daresay, we miss Sayulita somethin' fierce.

Dave's ready to sell everything and move there full time. I'm ready to rent out our house and spend 6 months there next school year. Either way, we're both feeling the need to shake things up.

It's good to be home, too. Don't get me wrong. What, with all the laundry and the baseball and the dreary, rainy weather. What's not to love? (I really do love it all, even though I feel a bit like I'm drowning in baseball at the moment - whose idea was it to let all three of the older kids play this year?? Honestly.)

The kids went back to school on Friday (I couldn't bear to send them on Thursday even though we got home late Wednesday night - I just wasn't ready).

The good news is that being gone for that length of time makes it clear to me the things that need to be changed in our house. For example, our filing system needs to be completely cleared out and rebooted, if you know what I mean. Do I really need piles of receipts from 10 years ago? I think not... The living room needs a little splash of color, the dvd's need a more permanent home, and I think some flowering branches would be lovely in my Gramma's vase on the buffet in the dining room. Oh, and that magazine rack with all those old magazines that I think someday I'd like to read...the whole thing's gotta go...including the rack. Want it?

On the agenda for tomorrow? Purge, Baby, purge. Wish me luck - it's not easy for me to get rid of STUFF...even if it is all C*R*A*P.

P.S. Check out my refreshed bloglist in the margin. I added some of my new favorite blogs. These women are AMAZING, I tell you. Truly inspiring. As in, "grind-my-own-peanut-butter-and-make-all-my-kids'-toys-Waldorf-style-while-homeschooling-and-running-a-ranch-oh-and-taking-perfect-pictures-of-my-amazingly-beautiful-children-while-grilling-the-perfect-steak-and-keeping-up-my-blog" inspiring. Ya know?? I just wanna get rid of some magazines...

You'll be Happy to Know...

A)...that Nie is out of the hospital and recovering at her parents home. Her children are still being cared for by her sister, Courtney, but, the word is, she is getting stronger every day. (I imagine at this point everyone is as big a Nie fan as me -- I even have a t-shirt -- but this is an update in case you aren't already totally addicted to the darling Nielson family.)

B)...that since my last post I have successfully collected two large garbage bags of C.R.A.P. to take to the Goodwill. (Plenty more where that came from.)

C)...whilst returning a pair of pj's to Gymboree, I was lured to that 60% off rack (you know the one). How could I pass it up, really? After scouring the rack for the best deals to be had, I was about to check out with a load of C.R.A.P. in my arms. Said C.R.A.P. included a pair of red Mary Janes that would be perfect for Evie...next Christmas; a pair of flip-flops for Soli...that she totally doesn't need because she already has like four pair, and she never really wears shoes anyway, but they were only $1.99, and they were stinkin' cute; and the cutest striped, matching sweaters for the girls that would be darling...on Thanksgiving.

I had my Amex out of my wallet, when I remembered my [only] [well, almost only] New Year's Resolution. I smiled sweetly to the girl behind the counter, and I said, "I'm so sorry, but I don't need any of this". And I put it all back and left the store empty handed. I was so happy. Amen.

P.S. Two years ago today we exited PGN. Here's the link to the story.

A Few Thoughts on the New Year

#1. I'm just now finishing up the last of my Christmas cards. You know the ones...that you set aside because the Stephenson's have moved since last year. And you have to call Aunt Maggie to get the address for Gramma's new...facility. Oh and oops...you thought this would be the year that you would stop exchanging cards with Dave's college girlfriend, but, alas, she sent you one....and, well, fair's fair. And what is the Jones' address from Guatemala?? Have to email them...and wait for a response. Oh and don't forget the new neighbor in Montana...good to keep up those relationships. Don't you have that pile?? But, honestly...January 8th? That's a little late...even for me.

#2. My single resolution this year is to limit the amount of C.R.A.P. coming into my home.

(and lower my stress level)

(and become an expert in Dave's love language)

But back to the C.R.A.P. There's just too much!!!! Too much stuff!!!!!!! And clothes!!!!!!! And toys!!!!!!!And papers!!!! And receipts!!!! Who needs 'em?? My little, hundred year old house is busting at the seams. Time to purge.

#3. School started again on Monday, and, since then, I've been hearing this statement far too often,

"I hate school."

And, in all honesty, I couldn't agree more.

Cole has had 3 hours of homework on 3 out of the last 4 nights. As I type this (at 9PM) he still has an hour of studying to do for a social studies test tomorrow. Honestly, they have my kids all day. Give them their after school hours (few as they may be) for playing, and being with family, eating dinner, and (heaven forbid) playing a sport! And chores?? Forget about it!

I'm rather irritated.

I don't know why I don't home school. Yes, I do. Because, I'm a chicken. I'm scared that I won't give my kids a quality education. I'm scared they'll miss out on...I don't know what. I'm scared that they'll drive me insane, and I'll pull all my hair out.

Emerson came home from school today, cried for an hour because he didn't want to do homework, and then confessed that one of his good friends had told him he "sucked at basketball" during lunch recess. Why I oughta....home school. Hmmm....

Evie woke up yesterday, cried for 20 minutes because she didn't want to go to school and finally got dressed when I told her she'd have to stay in bed all day if she stayed home. An empty threat is just no way to send your freshly-turned-6-year-old out into the world to take on the day.

Here's my plan: Take the kids out of school for three weeks and high-tail it to Mexico. (It was actually a pre-existing plan, but it's working to my advantage in this moment). We'll home school the kids while we're there (an independent study contract through the district) and maybe I just won't put them back in school when we get home in February. Or maybe we'll just stay in Mexico. I like it. Good to have a plan.

I don't mean to sound so jaded at the start of this fine year, but when my kiddos aren't happy, well, I get cranky.

A Benefit Concert for Nie

I wonder how long the drive is to Mesa, Arizona from the Central Coast of California...Hmmm.

Click to make bigger

A Bedtime Plea

Dear Earth Mother, Blessed Mother of all Mothers,

Please let me find the patience to make it through bedtime tonight without hollering at my kids.

Stephanie's Surgery

Just a very quick post to ask you all to keep my fellow blogger, Stephanie, in your hearts today (see below post). She is scheduled for a skin grafting surgery, and, apparently, this is critical point in her recovery. I'm only slightly embarrassed to admit that I have become completely obsessed with this amazing family. Stephanie is quite possibly the neatest person I have ever not met. And her sister, also a fellow blogger, is an amazing writer and is keeping us all updated, via her blog, on Stephanie and Christian's progress.

On some personal level I can't help but feel rather desperate for this darling couple to get better. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that they, too, have four kids (some of which were born at home like ours - at least the ones we made ourselves) and are just starting out in life. Not to mention that they are just so darling and so obviously in love, and I can relate to that. But, as her sister points out, they are OK. Things are as they should be. Indeed. But I still wish for them to get better...so they can hug their kids again.

Please keep them in your hearts,
~Heather

Stephanie and Christian

If you haven't already heard, this darling couple was in a private plane crash in August. The instructor was killed and Stephanie and Christian were terribly burned. They are still in critical condition in Arizona. They have four beautiful children and she is a fellow blogger. You can follow their recovery and donate to a fund that has been designed to help pay their medical bills and household expenses here (for those of you non-bloggers "Hi, Mom", you can click on the word "here" above and it's a direct link).

And here is a link to Stephanie's blog which is being maintained by her fairy-god-blogger during her recovery.

Take a minute to check out the above links and please keep this family in your hearts.

Here's to appreciating every peanut-butter-and-jelly-filled day,
Heather

P.S. I bloglifted the above picture. Is that even legal?

Fresh New Look...

Check out the fresh new look...Do you like? Still in progress, but long overdo.

Boy Scouts, Biodiesel and Birthdays

So here are the goings on at our house of late...

Boy Scouts: Did you know that the Boy Scouts of America does not allow gay boys or adults to be a part of their organization? There have been many a case where teen age boys (for many of which their entire life revolves around scouting) have been kicked out of their troops because of their sexual orientation. This exclusionary policy doesn't jive at all with how we live our lives or the values we try to instill in our kids. Herein lies the dilemma: Do we disallow our kids to be a part of such an organization and take a stand for what we believe, squashing their hopes of becoming Eagle Scouts (Cole, at least, is hoping to have this as a feather in his cap for college admittance)? Or do we turn a blind eye justifying our involvement (and therefore our passive endorsement) because the boys love scouting and it looks good on college applications? Your input is appreciated...

Biodiesel: I'm scheduled to go before our school board next week to propose that we switch our buses from diesel to biodiesel. We have a very small district (just two schools) and only 6 buses that run daily. Currently, biodiesel hovers about 10 cents more per gallon than regular diesel. As everyone knows, no school district (at least in California) can afford to spend more money when they can spend less (no matter how good it may be for the environment). Here is the good news, running our buses on biodiesel would make us eligible for all kinds of grant moneys. There is an organization in our county that would give us a kick back of 21 cents per gallon. That's just one grant available to us from right here in our own county. The state and federal governments have many other grant possibilities available to districts making the switch. I'm a little nervous to go in front of our board (even though most of them I know socially). I guess I'm mostly afraid of being shot down. But, as my Dove chocolate candy wrapper said the other day "Be Fearless" and as Dave reminded me, "Nothing worthwhile is easy". Wish me luck.

Birthdays: Today is Soli's second birthday!!! and she is every bit of two years old! Goodness!! How easy it is to forget how difficult two year olds can be. The other day she had a meltdown at Green's Camera World because I was holding Evie's hand and not hers. Of course 2 minutes before this I had asked her to hold my hand (she was touching everything) and she had flat refused. Anyway, after I told her that no, I wasn't going to let her bully her sister into letting go of my hand (she has been hitting and scratching and screaming at Evie until she gets what she wants) she crumpled onto the floor and proceeded to have a crying fit. The nice part of having four kids is that by the time child number four reaches their terrible twos it's not nearly as daunting as it was the first (or second or third) time. So I just let her have her meltdown right there on the floor of Green's while I finished my shopping and then we left. Luckily, there were no other shoppers there at the time and the guy behind the counter felt my pain as he has a three year old (plus he's getting paid to be there - so I didn't feel too bad about the incessant crying). Anyway, aside from the occasional meltdown she is a true delight and getting more and more beautiful every day. She doesn't have a lot of words yet (I think this surely adds to her frustration and subsequent tantrums) but she is diligent about making herself understood. I have to say I am very excited that she is our last one. Is it PC to say that? I just gave away the last of our diapers (she has mastered the potty), I'm looking for a new home for our crib and changing table and I can't wait to get rid of our stroller (still have a year or so to go on that one). I have love, love, loved having babies and small kids, but I am also very much looking forward to this next phase of having big kids.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about Soli's birth mom today. I wonder if she's been thinking about the baby she brought into the world on this day. I wonder if she's sad or if she's worried about her. I just wonder. I wish I could call her and tell her not to worry -- that the baby girl we both call daughter is happy and healthy and beautiful. I hope she knows this in her heart.

My beautiful birthday princess!

I was so excited to find the Birthday Girl shirt!

Happy Birthday, Sunshine! We love you! --you know her name, Soleil, means sunshine in French?