Relationship

Now my boy is 5 months old. In the last few weeks, he and I have developed a rapport. We had a last-minute trip to Pennsylvania to visit my grandpa, one of Baby's namesakes, and spent all kinds of time together in close physical contact. In the midst of routine-free days, his only 'routine' was to be with me.

I am amazed that he knows me and loves me. Not that I feel unlovable, but that someone who wasn't even in existance a year and a half ago, who wasn't even outside me just six months ago has grown into someone who knows "Mamma" and is comforted by her presence. He has a personality. He has emotions. What a delight!

Five Minute Friday: Home

An apt topic for this weekend's writing, as I've only just returned from a vacation from Parts West, from my hometown. How can I limit it to just five minutes?

Home

Home is where the heart is. If so, my home is with my loved ones. It's with my husband and baby.

Home is familiarity. That city, that state, that region--I spent my formative years there and they are my home as nothing else will be or can be. To be in my culture of origin--Colorado is so different from the South!--and feel at home not like an interloper is good. To smell that smell of pine trees and wind that comes (literally!) from mountaintops to valleys. (I remember Uncle Janis used to say "That's the smell of fresh air!" There's nothing like coming back from Away and smelling that smell again.

Oddly, I found my Mother-in-Law's house to be my home as well. We arrived there after two days on the road and it felt so relaxing to arrive. I felt at home. I dawdled in the shower. I washed clothes. I knew without asking where the laundry pre-treat is and that I was welcome to use it.

And now, in my own house where I've lived for 4 years, I am home. My kitchen. My bedroom. My living room. Here I am housemother, saimniece, hostess. Here is where I cook and clean and live large moments and tiny moments.

7 Quick Takes 2011-05-11, Volume Three

::1:: Do you remember the movie The Emperor's New Groove? All it took for the wicked king to realize his humility and the dignity of each person was to be turned into a llama for a few days. The movie is so.funny. I am relating to it these days...I want my groove back, and Baby keeps interrupting my groove. Perhaps I am simply too idolatrous of My Groove and need to realign my heart to God's priorities: to serve and love others. Sigh. Sanctification is good...but it stinks.

::2:: I've gotten a lot less fussy about stains. I've got milk on my shirt all the time, whether fresh milk, slightly old milk, or slightly digested milk. If Baby spits up on me...meh, I'll wash the shirt. (He's not much of a spitter-upper, thankfully.) If Baby spits up on Husband...oh boy, get the man a clean washcloth, because YUCK.

::3:: In Baby News, do you know what his new skill is!?!? Smiling! He smiles at me at least once a day, and has smiled at his Daddy twice...both times on purpose. What a thrill. I know the emotion was in his heart but we humans are communicators, and it's nice to see the affection on Baby's face, a connection between his heart and mine. Yay. Oh, yay!

::4:: We're going on a road trip in a few weeks. Will Baby make it, strapped in his car seat for 6-8 hours a day (except for food/diaper breaks)? We shall see.

::5:: This road trip...we're headed West to Colorado and Kansas. In Colorado, the plan is to go to Vail for the Teva Mountain Games. We need to bring winter clothes for Baby because it snowed there last night. (And the temperature is to hit 90 degrees here at home today.) Winter clothes? In June?

::6:: I was asked months ago to write for a Pro-Life blog. It was founded by a man in my church, a very logical, absent-minded-professor type. I'd be the only woman writing for it. I was unmotivated to write during my pregnancy, but now I'm fomenting some thoughts for that venue. Perhaps I'l take the plunge after all.

::7:: You know those laundry bags you buy for small items and unmentionables? I bought one the other day for baby socks, because I read somewhere that they can get sucked into your washing mashine drain and clog up the works...anyway, I love it. It was 97 cents (of course I didn't buy the name brand, are you kidding?), and I love it. I'm going to buy several for my mom. (Why? Because she loses socks in her dryer. It's truly amazing. I remember being a girl, and about once every six months, we'd dump out the lawn and leaf bag [yes, the lawn and leaf bag] onto her bed and try to match some socks. Neither my sister nor I have ever lost any socks in the laundry in our own homes...it has got to be something with her dryer.) She'll be able to wash clothes and put all the socks in a sack and hopefully they'll all come out of the dryer.

7 Quick Takes Volume 2

Go to Conversion Diary for more 7QT.

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So, last week I was frenetically preparing for a northward weekend journey, the museum's annual not-so-scary members-only Halloween event, and fighting bad allergies that have since mutated into a cold and sinusitis.

1. I am thankful for doctors who take action. At the doctor's office, I received several prescriptions--antibiotics, cortisone for the swelling, cough suppressant that's not codeine-based so I don't have to deal with the OTC cough-syrup side effect of stupidity--AND a cortisone shot right then and there. Woo. I haven't taken any pills and I feel better already. It's the cortisone. I can finally breathe through my nose well.

2. Today, during Story Time, I read to two 6-year-olds. We did some Early Childhood Games (can you guess if the pumpkin inside the smaller box will be bigger or smaller than the first pumpkin? it's called prediction of volume) and they enjoyed the games...a little...and I could see they were relieved to learn that the Early Childhood Games were designed for kids who are TWO YEARS OLD and that it's OK that they were BORED by them.

3. Those 6-year-olds from Story Time enjoyed a book that was a little scary, The Little Old Lady Who Was not Afraid of Anything. They liked knowing that the scariness is in the anticipation of the reader saying "BOO!" They were cute!

4. My husband is at a high school football game tonight. That means I am at home alone to rest and rest and to rest. I usually hate being alone but tonight I'm ok.

5. My bum hurts from the cortisone shot.

6. Our northward journey took us on a 12-hour drive (one way!) to visit my grandparents. I am thankful to have seen them...and thankful that Grandma knew who I was...and thankful for the hope of heaven where God will wipe all the tears away from our eyes. Oh, how I grieve. Aging stinks! Sure, they have the wisdom of experience and all that....but when their brains start imploding and they stop being themselves....it hurts. Oh, for heaven! Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

7. I can't think of anything else.

Post-Summer Recap

Slept in.
Worked shifts.
Exercised together.
Spent time together.
Stayed up late.

Car trip to Kansas.
Short jaunt to Colorado.
Precious time spent with both sides of our family.
Spent time with all immediate family members...but one.

Recuperated at home.
Worked.

Days spent in our home with dear family.
Days spent in Atlanta with more dear family.
Time spent at the beach: sleep, swim, play, eat, read. Repeat.
More days spent in Atlanta with dear family.

All in all, a fast summer, but a good one.

Returning home...re-entry...is strange. (Do astronauts feel weighed down when they come home from the international space station? Did they miss the sunlight, soft breezes, fresh air when they were weightless?)
It's good to be home. It's good to be back. But summer freedom was good too.

Do Others Do This Too?

I have some family traditions. Honking the horn when you cross the state line. Calling out the name of a body of water (when you're on a road trip) and expecting everyone else in the car to call it out, too. Things like that. (There are more than I can list...more than I can even think of!)

On Friday, we colored eggs. I grew up doing American Eggs, with the rainbow colors...aaaaand the Latvian Eggs, with the onion skin dye and the natural nature stuff for the variety.

My dear husband did his 2 or 3 Latvian Eggs, and colored about 18 of the American Eggs. He wrote witty things on the eggs in crayon beforehand and then dipped them in the dye. This was the part he enjoyed the most.

When I asked him if he didn't want to do more Latvian Eggs before I threw the dye away, he looked up from some invisible wit he was inscribing on an egg and said (lovingly, but factually): "No. I did those three for you. Cause I love you."

I love, in our marriage, that we can be that honest about traditions and habits. It's ok that he doesn't loooooove doing Latvian Eggs, and it's ok that he was honest about it. To be honest like that makes me happy, and it makes me trust people more.

Have a nice day.

In-Laws and Outlaws (Christmas Travels Part IV)

Whew! It's March and I'm still posting about Christmas. Oh well. Deal with it.

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So, after our time in Colorado Springs, we traveled back to Quinter. Here are the Quinter 'skyscrapers,' 8 miles away from us at this point! (They're actually grain elevators. Note the flat, flat, flatness of Western Kansas. It's flat out there, folks.)



My youngest brother-in-law's girlfriend had flown in a couple days before to 'meet the family,' and my husband and I got back to Quinter earlier than we expected. Consequently, I got to go along on the Girls' Antiquing Trip! After the antiquing, we all went to grocery shop in the W-M*rt. (When living in the country, you have to be sure to grab groceries when you can!)



The next day, New Year's Eve, I got to talking to the youngest brother-in-law. He and his girlfriend and the sister-in-law and I climbed up on the roof and watched the sun set. It was the last sunset of the year and it was a good one.



Here's the cute couple, in the beautiful sunset light. (Do you notice her scarf? That's one of our Christmas gifts to her. I'll have you all know that I made it!)


Aaaaand then, after counting down with the folks in Times Square, middle brother-in-law's wife played reveille on a trumpet for the whole town's enjoyment. (People, there are 800 people in this town. This was the loudest celebratory sound to be heard...a trumpet.)

The In-Laws' New Year's Eve Tradition dictates that we play fussball. Mother-in-Law's dad made this fussball table, and it's Mother-in-Law's favorite game! She really gets into it. (In this picture, from L to R, are: youngest brother-in-law, mother-in-law, middle brother-in-law's wife, middle brother-in-law, and sister-in-law.)

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(The 'in-laws' in the title are my husband's family, and the 'outlaws'...they are us, the married-into-this-family kids. Me, the Trumpeter, and the Girlfriend.)

(And I like them all. It's a gift, to like your in-laws, and I do.)

Spring Catch-Up

It's been a while since I've posted. You know, I read all these great blogs and sometimes think I have nothing cool or worthwhile to say. And then I get in the habit of not-posting. Or I get really, really busy, and just get in the habit of not-posting.

Honestly, it has been a busy month for me. I've worked extra hours because of the exhibit-change-over. I worked extra hours because of Atlanta schools' Spring Break increased our attendance. I worked extra hours because one of our staff couldn't fulfill their shifts. I worked a lock-in Friday night (wheee! clock in at 5:30 pm and clock out at 9:30 am and sleep about 3 hours in between! yay for caffeine!).

When I'm feeling taxed, then writing here goes out the window. I have other things to do, like dishes, laundry, meal planning, and cooking. Folding clothes. Straightening up the house. Hanging out with my husband.

But here's a post for y'all. Would you like some short-quick-to-the-point Deep Thoughts? Good; here you go:

• I had coffee with a good friend I haven't seen in 5 years. It's so good to see her again and catch up. I sensed in her the same changed I've been sensing in myself: I've gone through some really hard seasons in the last 5 years, and have grown up a lot, become more refined, more sanctified. So has she. Her fun and goofy and silly personality is still there, but there's also a delightful calmness and peace that was there before but is more apparent now.
• A dear friend has, in the last month, had a baby (her 3rd girl! hooray) and spent about a week in the hospital with her. The baby had (has?) RSV.
• Spring is springing here in Southeast Tennessee. The redbuds are blooming in spite of the chilly overcast drizzliness we've had the last week and a half; the pears are trying their darndest to bloom. All we need is two, maybe three, hot and sunny days and spring will dazzle and delight us.

That's about all that comes to mind. Have a good Lord's Day, everyone.

How I Know My Sister-in-Law Loves Me

When she starts her mass-sibling-update-email with this paragraph:

It's been a wild several weeks. It seems like it's been about a month since I've had a weekend to myself. I know some of the more outgoing of you wouldn't understand (Krista! ), but I seriously needed a weekend to just BE and not have anything going on or anybody wanting to do anything with me.

Aaaah. Being singled out is awesome! Even more awesome is knowing that all the siblings will read that interjection and laugh.

Christmas Travels Part 3: Colorado

After our Husband's-Family Christmas-day festivities, we spent a few more days with my In-Laws. And, because Colorado is so close to Western Kansas, we popped over to my parents' house for my Family Christmas Festivities.

My parents' tree. Isn't it nice? I love to see the ornaments I recognize from years and years past.


I remember this votive-holder from years and years past, too. It looks much nicer with a candle burning inside it, but we decided to blow it out once we got to the opening-presents part of the evening. Good thing, too...in the flurry of tearing paper, there was at least one instance where I set the paper on top.

My sister and her husband live in Colorado, too, but they spent the night at my parents'. They had just flown in from Atlanta that afternoon and were tired! Plus, if they spent the night, we could have more togetherness time the next day!


My parents and I played gin rummy every Saturday morning for about two years when I lived with them. Now it is a tradition, and so we played. That's my dad's coffee cup over there. Notice that the first card is an ace.

Aaaand of course, we had a fire in the fireplace. Doesn't it look cozy? It sure was! Aaaaah, good times.

Merry Christmas (Christmas Travels, Part 2)

So, we woke on Christmas morning and unloaded out stockings. Each stocking has the traditional orange, in-shell peanuts, and candy, as well as something special for each person.

We had breakfast together...traditional scrambled eggs, bacon, monkey bread, and whatnot...then did dishes and THEN began the gift opening.

They were opened one at a time (none of this crazy all-at-once orgy of greed self-absorbed self-centeredness!), and each one was exclaimed over and appreciated.

(Wow, writing about this is really boring. Believe me, it was a nice day, not boring at all.)

Our niece, who is 16 months old, was very cute in the midst of all this. She understood the concept of tearing paper off, but may not have understood that the paper was the prelude, not the game itself. Her Favorite Uncle (my youngest brother-in-law) spent lots of time with her helping her unwrap and enjoy gifts! He is so kind and gentle with her, it's no wonder he's Her Favorite Uncle.

We had Christmas Dinner (Ham and stuff) later that evening...about 8pm...and inbetween gift-opening and dinner several things happened: Niece had her nap, movies were watched, books were perused, phone calls were made (just two...the daughters-in-law to each respective set of parents).

All in all, a nice, relaxing, family-focused, traditional and new-tradition-building day. I loved it.

Two funnies...

Some of you may know that my husband and some of his siblings say "Oh, gravy!" to express frustration instead of other phrases that may or may not include God's name.

Well, last Thursday, I was looking at my list of things to do before 2pm, and I had forgotten one thing. "Oh, gravy!" I said. I meant it literally.

It was pretty funny!

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I got on the elevator with a colleague yesterday. (Let's call her...Bianca.) The thing about working at a children's museum is...sometimes educators let the immaturity out and just have a good time.

This is what Bianca and I do. Do you know what we do when we're on the elevator together? We (this is embarrassing)...we make loud, obnoxious...we make fart sounds...and laugh ourselves silly.

Yesterday, I was on my cell phone, and Bianca stepped on the elevator. She got a gleam in her eye, and made the loudest fart sound ever.

You know who was on the phone? My mother-in-law. I heard her pause in what she was telling me, and hesitantly go forward with her talking. I know she heard. I was in the elevator. And Bianca ripped a loud one!

Then, I got the giggles. I had to explain, but how do you explain that it was a fake fart sound? That sounds like blaming, like I didn't want her to know that I passed a good, loud bit of gas. But I didn't! I mean, I didn't fart! I only happened to be in the elevator when Bianca faked a superloud fart!

Well, MIL giggled when I told her, paused again, and went on with her story. (What else do you do in a situation like that! There's no section of etiquette training that says 'Here's what you do when your daughter-in-law gets in a situation that involves fart sounds.')

I'm sure it'll never be mentioned again.

It was pretty funny.

Chat with Mother

It's amazing how much a chat with Mom helps perk you up.



Thanks, Mom. I love you.

Last Names

Am I the only one that thinks that it's a little odd that two women who grew up together now have totally different last names?

I mean, I've been married three years (+), and I've pretty much gotten used to the whole different-name-different-identity thing, but it just hit me again: my sister and I have different names now.

'Re-Entry'

Whew! I have been out of commission for a long time! Where have I been? Well...here and there, traveling and relaxing, but mostly hanging out with my family.

I miss them a lot when I am not with them. My life is here in Chattanooga, so I sometimes even miss them when I am with them...because their lives are away from Chattanooga.

We've hit the ground running as far as our 're-entry' into Normal Life. Except that I didn't bring a dish to the Sunday Potluck at church.

My main project has been to (as seems to be the case for me) find a job. This time I'm looking everywhere but retail because I'm DONE with retail. My ideal job would be a middle school Language Arts classroom somewhere in the area, and that is what we have been hoping and praying for...but it's hard to maintain the level of faith it requires to pray boldly and with faith.

Good thing my faith was a gift to begin with and comes with maintenance guaranteed. Seriously, if maintaining my faith was solely up to me, I'd be sunk.

Sirens

In this small town, the way they've always done it is the way they still do it. Even though most people work indoors where there are clocks, the sirens still blow at noon (that's the Noon Siren) and at 6pm (that's the Evening Siren).

So as we were packing up for Prayer Meeting, I heard a siren and it didn't register that the time was not 6pm.

It was 7:23 pm.

When a siren blows and it's not the Noon Siren or the Evening Siren...it's a tornado warning. So, instead of going to the Prayer Meeting, we all trooped down to the basement to wait out the warning. The hail came (some stones were really big, about ping-pong size), so s-i-l A and f-i-l S moved A's car to the garage, then stayed in because the hail was so big.

Ian and I stayed in the basement, watched the local tv stations for updates, and realized that the worst of the storm had already passed us by. We breathed a sigh of relief.

Days in Kansas so far: 7
Tornado Warnings experienced so far: 2
Tornadoes spotted: 0

Sister-in-Law

We drove to Wichita with my sil A, and once we made it to Wichita, we met up with my mother-in-law J, Ian's brother D, D's wife S, and their baby C. We all went to the airport to pick up Ian's youngest brother P.

It's been a good time, at my husband's childhood home, with all his siblings here (finally) and able to spend time together without my wedding keeping us busy, D and S's wedding keeping us busy, or A's graduation keeping us busy. We're just frittering time away!

I'm getting to know their personalities, some communication styles, some likes and dislikes, the different senses of humor...all that stuff that makes an individual an individual.

*sil S has an ironic sense of humor, is talkative and expressive, and is a good mommy to baby C.
*bil D, so far as I've seen, is quieter than S, but is kind and caring of both her and baby C.
*baby C might be a lefty, she likes to dance and jump, and she's starting to recognize me!
*bil P is an engineer with a strong linear thought process, but told me about his art class from last semester and how it helped him grow.
*I already know sil A, but I'm also learning that she is very good with little children and babies and takes good care of baby C.
*Ian, sil A, and I all live near each other and have rapport that only time can build. We all went to the same college; that's where Ian and I met!
*bil D, sil S, and bil P all live near each other and have the same rapport. They all went to the same college; that's where bil D and his wife S met!

In any case, it's been a rare treat to be able to spend such long stretches of time together all under the same roof. You who live in the same city as your family (or even the same state), don't take it for granted that you have the benefit of sheer time to know and learn more about your loved ones.

Doing Eggs

I really enjoy family traditions. One of my traditions from my family of origin is Easter-Egg Coloring. It's not just using tubs of dye to dye eggs:

It's also using onion skins and items from nature to color eggs

This is Latvian Egg Coloring. I grew up doing this. Every Easter Saturday, we (my family: Mom, Dad, Sister, and Omamma [Dad's mom]) would sit at the same table and make each egg an individual artwork. It's so exciting to put leaves, grass, three-leafed clover, pear blossoms, grape hyacinths, forsythia blooms, baby oak leaves, and all kinds of materials on the egg, wrap it up, put it in the dye bath, and then...unwrap the egg and see how it turned out! Woo!

We colored eggs yesterday. Ian was there, and SisterinLaw A came for a visit so she could color eggs too, and her friend A was also there. It was such a nice time. It's a great season (springtime) for turning on pleasant music, opening the windows, covering the table with accessories for this art project, and do it together.

"Woof"

My phone just rang. It was Mom's ringtone. I answered. "Woof," she said. (She actually woofed, though; she didn't just say the word 'woof.') I laughed and said, "I know where you are!"

Don't you just love family jokes?

Dishes

I'm joining in! Rocks in my Dryer is having a spur-of-the-moment dish carnival and I want to share, too! I think it's amazing how many people, including me, will share details like these on the Internet. Are our plates really that important that we think of them as signifiers of who we are and how we keep house? Makes you think, right?

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First, my fine china: Lenox MicroSafe Continental Dining Platinum. My godmother talked us into registering for it about two weeks before our wedding! By that time, we only had ONE AFTERNOON to get that done, so we ran to Dill.ards and *poof* registered really quickly. The dish saleslady was impressed with our communications skills and decision-making technique.

We have service for 6 now. My favorite parts? The size of the plates, the classiness and simplicity of the design, and the size/shape of the teacups--with their easy-to-hold handles!

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Our everyday dishes: Pfaltzgraff Denim. We only had ONE DAY to do all of our registering (we lived in separate cities, were both teachers, and were coming up on final exams, ok?), and I learned from my sister's registering adventures that men have opinions but haven't talked and obsessed and thought about them as much as girls do. So, we talked everything over the week before we registered, we prayed faithfully for guidance, and when we saw these in Tar.get, we clapped and giggled. (Ok, it was just me. And registering is hard work, peeps, so I was a little punchy.)

Thanks to my grandparents and my parents-in-law, we have service for ten. We also have the gravy boat, the sugar and creamer, salt and pepper shakers, and three canisters. I like the blue look.

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Next, my buffet plates. White. Round. Utilitarian. I picked them up at a garage sale at my store last summer. They are freezer-, microwave-, dishwasher-, and oven-safe. (Oven safe! Yay!) I have ten.

I also have ten lionshead bowls, perfect for French onion soup and individual macaroni and cheeses. I'm glad I bought them, though they are a little hard to wash by hand (we don't have a dishwasher).

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My Christmas plates I got at The Bombay Store in its big going-out-of-business sale. There was a Bombay Store two doors down from Mia Cucina, and I had my eye on their beautiful Tartan plates. When they went 50% off, I snatched up their next to last box--service for four, with the dinner plate, salad plate, soup plate, and mug. Soooo pretty!

I looked and looked but couldn't find any pictures of the actual plates. This is the closest I could find, with the white center and the tartan band; ours are actually red, white, green, and yellow tartan (with red as the primary color).

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And my winter plates, courtesy of my mom and my mother-in-law...and my husband, who told his mom what exactly I wanted for Christmas two years ago. I looked and looked, but could only found this similar picture:Instead of randomly-scattered snowflakes around the rim, my plates feature evenly placed flakes around the rim. The center is white, though. The best part? The glaze is iridescent, and as my people know, iridescent is my favorite color. We have 6 of these, as well as cereal bowls. However, they are not microwave safe!

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I like plates! I got that gene from my grandmother, who has four or five nice, formal sets.

I grew up going to Grandma's house and using her nice dishes, and so I regularly bust out my nice dishes and use them, even if it's just pizza or sandwiches. They make even the most bland dinner extra nice, and fancy dinner is extra memorable.