Wow. Well after your response to my last post I'm afraid this may be somewhat anti-climactic. But...we have a new blog! One you'll actually be able to follow. Sweet right? Check it out:
Sea Water Tea Company.

Please take a minute to follow or bookmark the new URL because this blog will disappear in a week or so.

Times they are a-changin'

Something new is on the horizon.
Stay tuned...

I Do Delare: Revised

Just days ago my list of New Years resolutions looked like this:

Resolutions I intend to see through before June 1.

• establish a more relaxing bedtime routine and have my kids asleep at 7:30 pm
• eat a Gluten-free, Casein-free diet for at least 3 months starting....now.
• bathe Aggie the first and third Saturday of every month.
• read a minimum of three (grown up) books per month.
• help my kids write letters to Nate every Sunday night.
• live the "three mile rule" from April 1- Dec 31.
• teach Jensie to sew a nightgown by March 15.
• finish homemade giveaway items by Feb 1.
• find the "perfect" gluten-free bread recipe
  
• Family Home Evening every Monday after dinner
• visit the public library at least twice per month
• take the kids to the Dinosaur Museum on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month.
• plant a vegetable garden
  
• own a milk goat and learn to make cheese and kefir
• bake fresh bread every Sunday and Wednesday

Now they look more like this:

• Play it by ear

Somethings never seem to go as planned.

A Year in Review

inspired by the SNL Status Update Rap, and, I guess just in case you missed it the first time around. But first, how awesome is Frankie's Christmas morning hair?

Answer: completely.

ERIN BIGLER
loves the note in her inbox: "Did I help you out last night when you were REALLY drunk?" Well no, friend, you didn't, but that is hilarious.

wonders if she is the only one who finds some tasks particularly daunting when not wearing underwear: changing the cat's litter-box is one good example.

can not believe Roman Grant got off. She'll have to have a serious talk with Nate.

does not believe there really is such as thing as undivided attention.

is baking sweets for the children.

is twenty seven.

is snow flurries and grilled cheese sandwiches.

is FREAKED OUT by I Am Legend.

still has a crush on Clint Eastwood.

is padded spandex and a kick-your-ass ride.

is off to play "trophy wife" at an Army party.

Jensie just told me I need proactive.

is so so sunburned.

is priming the clicker. Time to learn something, dog.

just finished my first bee-keeping class!

-Spendin' money like I got it.

mops the "right" way.

-muckin' the pig pen.

cooking Mexican food (and still coveting the chickens Ashley will buy).

has bees on the brain.

+ padded spandex. Like white on rice.

feeding cotton balls to the puppy. If you've ever wondered what I look like when I freak right out, come over now!

Some poor mama spider just lost thousands of her babies. They were crawling all over Jensie so I had to smoosh 'em.

paints the house.

fell off her ladder.

just watched Frankie find an old sippy cup full of really rotten soy milk and take a long drink. She is still gagging. Hilarious.

wishes she and her emotions could just get along.

Good gracious my husband is gorgeous!

letting Aggie wreak havoc while I turn a blind eye.

sitting around while Nate picks up the slack.

on her way to Gus' for some Soul food.

ARGH! Sophie give it a rest.

suspects there may be a dead chipmunk behind the water heater.

is not a fixer of lunches.

is silky smooth legs and a splash of Coco Mademoiselle. Guess who's comin' home tonight?

will go on a rainy day picnic.

What kind of a mother forgets to take a camera to her firstborn's Kindergarten graduation?

thinking of her garden and how "a few steps backwards feels like one big step forward."

read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I feel sad.

just caught the tail end of a song Jensie's making up in her room. "I don't care 'bout the way you stare, just as long as you're staring at me..." Pretty catchy eh?

breakin' all the rules for a bowl of frosted mini-wheats.

has corn stuck in her teeth, but can't floss because of a stupid fever-blister. Ew, I hate the word blister.

Jensie just yelled "Let's RUMBA!" Awesome.

Jensie wanted to stay up a little past bedtime to write poetry and Asher asked for a little more broccoli. How do you say no to that? It's scary how smart they already are. I'm looking pretty seriously into boarding school.

bored beyond belief.

excited to sign the kids up for the summer reading program at the library.

Ryan and Sharpay's duets give me the creeps.

is death by dog farts.

just said goodbye to Winston. Hope you like your new family Mr. Pig.

BRING ON THE HEAT! Sweet Georgia summer, oh how I love thee.

Frankie has strep-throat and a double ear infection...my legacy continues.

just told Frankie it was time for bed and she seems miraculously cured.

likes this place.

So long kitchen Wall of Fame. It's been fun.

has joined the ranks of cloth-diapering mothers. Wish me luck!

has a husband again!

just paid a plumber $100 to pull a popsicle out of the sink drain. ARGH!

headed for the woods....

folds tents.

just pulled a tick out of her leg!

is hiding in her room with the last popsicle.

rolls sushi.

dropped dinner on the floor. Guess it's cereal tonight!

Um...at the library Jensie painted a picture of a black widow and Asher painted a storm cloud raining blood.

off with her Spanx!

Don't you love it when your three year old yells "There's water coming out of my penis!" while you're enjoying a swim at the public pool?

is a full belly and a long walk.

spotted three bunnies on her walk, but no gators. Strazs: 1, Biglers:0.

just gave Nate a crazy haircut and ended up having to shave his head.

is exhausted.

sat in tree sap.

is loving Narcissus and Goldmund.

has the midnight munchies.

is not lost in Ft. Mitchell.

needs a diversion.

Cutting hot dogs and putting on puppet shows are two things I hate about motherhood.

just threw away Asher's hidden back-up paci. It feels like the end of an era.

can't make up her mind about soy pudding.

Jensie just said "Mom, you are super weird. Not in a good way."

is feeding her kids MREs for lunch...and they LOVE it.

is back from Hinder. I still maintain that "Lips of an Angel" is the worst song ever, but lucky for Austin Winkler, I'm a sucker for sing-a-longs so I can't say it was a total bust. Plus I was there with this really hot guy.

loved splashin' at the "little honey hole" with the Straz family.

's kids ate dog treats for dinner last night.

finds it hard to imagine ever having been a desert dweller who rejoiced in precipitation.

weighing the pros and cons of the Mooncup.

just bought tickets to see her Nate.

resorted to paying her daughter to go to school this morning. Yes, with actual US currency.

wishes her friends were closer.

hiked to the Y with her kids. At every switch-back Asher yelled to the sky "I am not giving up!"

cries over spilled grape juice.

gives Triscuits and cream cheese two thumbs up.

swore to Jensie that is one more tear was shed she would not be going to see "UP" with the family. Tantrums ensued. I am very sad about having to follow through this time.

just opened a letter from the bank congratulating Nate on his recent marriage.

"hates all those crafty Utah bitches eating up the glitter supply."

there is nothing so pretty as a beet.

goin' hiking with the kids in the morning--this time to the top!

just took an "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas yoooooooooooouuuuuu wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish" tumble down the mountainside.

is the proud new owner of a government issued ID card.

is trying to figure out how to ship a live cat to Alabama.

preaches health food on a pretty tall soap-box, but is kind of in love with the Bacon Guacamole Burger @ Carl's Jr.

just painted her kitchen a garish Nintendo blue.

just watched Monsoon Wedding and loved it.

swimming in vomit. Even the dog is sick.

drowns her woes in Fry Sauce.

feels so conflicted this time of year. How do you reconcile a love of all things organic and natural with the compulsion to cover everything you own in red glitter?

woke up to fresh fallen snow.

is watching deer graze in the pasture across the street.

researches how to make goat cheese and Mead.

hates fart jokes.

my heart belongs to the 3ID.

simply adores her children.

Ok, so deployment is a kick in the pants, but this has been an incredible year. Happy 2009. Welcome 2010.

Little Things I Miss

Climbing into bed and warming my cold toes on your hot body.
Your hot body.
The really loud laugh you save for family & friends.
The sound of the key in the backdoor at 5:30 pm.
Tuning you out when you talk about how stuff works (mechanically).
The way you wink at me when I walk by.
The smell of your shirt after you've been camping.
Never having to mop the kitchen floor.
How you never forget to check on the kids before you go to bed.
Taking stairs two at a time.
Puzzling over new ethnic foods.
The sound of you singing while you work.

We Interrupt this Vacation

to go on vacation. Here's a little bit of Christmas cheer to put a smile on your face.
Happy Holidays.


Brilliant Beginnings Preschool- Asher's second from the left (back row)

He's Baaaa-aaack

Only this time with brown hair and a larger, more abusive, vocabulary.

My son hates the snow (read Utah), hates me, and misses his Daddy. And blogging friends, much as I love you, I love him more. So I won't be online again for a couple of weeks--I'm off to give my struggling boy some much needed care and affection. See ya later!

A Best Friend for Frances

These aren't for anything really. She's just so stinkin' cute.



You can't really tell but in this shot she's lifting the whole stroller off the ground (almost).


"I'm shrong!"

Four. No Five. No, Wait...

Asher-man turned 4 Saturday. We celebrated in generic all-American fashion--at Chuck E. Cheese. (Where a kid can be a kid!) He got lots of great presents, including "WEAPONS!" and a pirate ship, and I got lots of great pictures. So many in fact, that it was tough to decide which ones to post here, but this mini-sequence of him trying to convince me to let him play with Buzz and Woody before we got home takes the cake.








Awholelotta Skee-Ball and Dragon Toss later, Asher and Jensie had accumulated 202 tickets. Which left them to deliberate at the prize counter--cotton candy or sticky booger nose. Guess which one Asher chose...


Because we celebrated with a second party at my dad's house last night, Asher is convinced he is now 5. 4 on Saturday. 5 on Sunday. Makes sense. But also...not. No matter, this birthday was a good one. (These birthdays were good ones?)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHER!

No! Not the buttons. Not my gumdrop buttons...

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

Today, as per the Advent calendar, we built a gingerbread house. Asher insisted we also make some "gingerbread brothers and sisters". We ended up with enough dough for a whole cookie Army. (I found the link to this recipe on Lindsay's blog. Lard isn't something I typically keep on hand so I substituted 1 1/2 cups butter instead and they were really tasty.)

Jensie intently set about meticulously crafting a confectionery masterpiece, while Asher got right to work on the "brothers." He needs more boys on his "boy team." Little Chubby Cheeks here just grabbed all the candy she could, as fast as she could, and earned herself a zippy sugar buzz. (You can bet that pudgy little fist is full of pilfered sweets).

drum roll please....

Ta-da!

Christmas Countdown (You Knew This Was Coming)

In All Things, Give Thanks

Last January I confessed that my only New Year's Resolution this year would be to "be grateful." Giving thanks in all things has certainly not been easy, as I'm easily distracted by beautiful things I don't posess, beautiful husbands that simply aren't here, etc, but even the attempt at an attitude of gratitude has given me new perspective on some of the challenges I face and I realize how blessed I truly am.

Throughout the past several months I've been constantly reminded of how good life is, through phone calls and web-cam, through soggy pamphlets lying on the wet pavement of a crowded Walmart parking-lot bearing only the words "Be Grateful", and even through a flashing marquis at the botanical gardens reading "Give Thanks" as I drove by on a particularly dreary afternoon.

Today I am grateful for my three beautiful children--who are intelligent, healthy, energetic, and content. I am grateful for an enormous puppy who sweetly lays at my feet day and night and allows for a feeling ease and protection. My parents, who continue to support and challenge me, who express new ideas and still voice concern. My extended family--my in-laws, step mother and siblings, and friends far-away who offer words of encouragement when I forget about all that I have to be grateful for.

Mostly I am grateful for this man. To this man. For being my husband, friend, confidant, and court jester. I so appreciate his good nature, kind words, strong reprimands, and sound advice. His intelligence, wit, thoughtfulness, and work ethic. I am grateful for his ability to see beyond the "now" and look forward to a future together. When I say jump he says "How high?" and when I say "Get me some socks" he says "Get your own damn socks." which is somehow always exactly what I need to hear.

Happy Thanksgiving.
May you too realize all that you have been given and give thanks, in all things.

Eh, Tonsils. Who Needs 'Em?

Riding into surgery with Dr. Miller-a mighty fine anesthesiologist.

Asher had his tonsils and adenoids removed this morning after a year of nightly tantrums and near-suffocation (aka Sleep Apnea).

He's already on the mend, having held down a couple of slurpees and a piece of bubblegum.

Dr. Hill, his ENT, recommended he not eat anything healthy for the next 10 days. Asher seems eager to comply.

He should be good as new within two weeks, and with any luck and a few good nights' sleep, my sweet Asherman will be sweet once again.

Oldie but Goodie

"Oh! A moving drawing. I've heard of these!" --Jensie

Sunshine

Photos by Alicia Packard 

Every night when I put her to bed Frankie asks me to sing "You Are My Sunshine".  And it occurs to me, that's about right.