I can't write about February without complaining. It would feel too much like lying. Because that's what I did in February this year: complain. There's the weather, of course, which has been so cold. And my calling change (sunbeams to CTR 7s). And the wrenching feeling I get in my gut everytime I pay $7 a pound for cheese, ($14 for ricotta or feta, which I never buy anymore). But most of all, there's the house.
No pussy-footing around it this time. My house drives me crazy! I know, I know, I'm lucky to have a house and there are lots of people that don't. And I do try to have a good attitude about it. But darn it, it's pretty tough for one bathroom to handle six people--there are baths to be had, teeth to be brushed, and, you know, other stuff. Yes there's the downstairs bathroom too, but a toilet and shower slapped onto either side of a sink, with a few loose laminate tiles below and what looks like wrapping paper on ply-wood walls just doesn't quite qualify as a "bathroom" in my book. The bedrooms are just big enough for the beds, as long as we put them in the one location where they actually fit. Closets? Uh, sort of. See we've had to cram the dressers inside of them, since there's really no extra room. No electrical outlet in the bathroom. Really. Ancient kitchen cabinets with the most grotesque mismatched plastic-brass hardware ever. Also, an uneven basement floor clad in depressing gray carpet and accented with buckling wood paneling on the walls. Did I mention that there are 6 of us squeezing into these 1200 square feet? And that it's way too cold to go much of anywhere else?
But you know what? All of that wouldn't get to me quite as much as it does if we weren't paying so much for this place! See, we moved here at the height of an over-heating real-estate market, where most houses were selling before they even made it onto the lists. We got into this place for $50,000 less than other houses were going in the area, and if internet listings are any sign, we've probably managed to sit out a good 30-40% increase in value. But still. We paid more for this place than for our three-story house in Cincinnati--which paid for itself when we rented out the upstairs. That coupled with all the work we still need to do and that tiny little bathroom sometimes drives me C-R-A-Z-Y!
So if you ever notice that the vast majority of the pictures we take here are shot in the living room (the one room that I like--big fat south facing windows and my piano), well, now you know why. And if I spend a little bit too much time mooning over fancy houses in the midwest that are selling for a song, well, maybe you'll forgive me that too.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Chilly Celebrations
Sera's Snowman Cake (not sure why I decided to set his hands on fire . . . )
Birthday Girl!
Emerson's Big Day (his "pizza" cake)
Pizza Party!
Happy Birthday, Emerson!
Theo's elecronic kit (he bought it himself and loves it)
Lots of indoor activities this month!
The girls in their Christmas dresses (finally) 
The Conservatory where I teach music classes (the kids call it my "castle")
It's really cold in the winter here, but isn't it beautiful? Jumping Into January
Even though January is usually a busy month, it's one of my favorites. For one thing I get to celebrate the births of two of my very favorite people, and for another, it's a time for fresh starts. I love fresh starts! And I need them, since without them I would probably spiral into a big fat puddle of laziness. We started the year with a new theme. You can probably guess it. No, no, really. You probably can. I'll give you a couple of minutes.
So, if you guessed that we would somehow try to rip off Barack Obama, you're right! "YES WE CAN!" In fairness, he totally ripped off Bob the Builder anyway, so we don't feel that bad about it. We made some goals and hung glittery pictures of tools in our hallway. Then we went to work finishing up the service project that we started during the holiday season. With a little extra publicity, we helped the kids collect almost two hundred children's books to donate to some kids here in the city who don't have any/many books of their own. When we drove to the school to drop them off, the kids were grinning from ear to ear. It was contagious or something, because so was I! It was great to be able to share something we love so much with others. We can't wait to do it again.
Next up was Sera's second birthday. How is it even possible that our little star has gotten so big? She loved her snowman birthday cake, even though his hands were burning candles (I'm not entirely sure where I came up with that idea). Since I once made a snowman cake for Emerson, I wanted to make Sera’s a little different. So instead of a flat snowman laying on a big plate, Sera’s little guy stood right up (and nearly toppled over, but that’s another story). She’s so enamored of snow-people, that I just couldn’t not make her a snowman cake! She got a touch ‘n feel book and another super-soft blanket with satin trim (she loves them so much!) as presents, and couldn’t be more thrilled. There’s nothing this girl loves more than testing out different textures with her fingers . . . I mean, other than dancing naked on the kitchen table, of course.
Since there are only ten days between Sera’s and Emerson’s birthdays, we combined trips and took everyone to Denny’s on the Saturday in between. Even though I hate to rob either of them of being “the special one,” there’s only so much Denny’s my body will put up with, no matter how many free kids’ meals are involved. It’s crazy what a hit “alien pancakes” can be.
Emerson’s birthday theme this year was “pizza.” I know, I know, it sounds like we talked him into “just a little pizza party” or something, but this was totally his own deal. He really, really wanted a pizza party. So we made him a big “pizza” cake for his birthday and threw a “pizza party” for his friends. The kids played with play-doh, enjoyed a couple of pizza-themed games, had cup-cakes and opened presents. It was possibly the easiest party ever, and it was actually lots of fun. Maybe simplicity really is the key?
Well, now that you have the good bits, I’ll spill the other stuff too. It’s been cold here this winter. Sure there was a week where the temperature hovered around 30 degrees for a few days. It might even have broken freezing a time or two. But other than that, the cold has been so biting that we’ve seriously curtailed some of our outings. Some things, of course, are not optional, like play-group and library visits. Others, like grocery shopping, are the very definition of expendable. Through December and January we plowed through lots of the food in our storage room and freezer, making grocery store stops only for milk and eggs (carrying in the groceries is worse than the actual shopping). As a result, during that slightly warmer week I mentioned, we had a grocery bill that topped $250—yikes! On the plus side, Aaron used the cold weather to work on his dissertation—he’s been slaving away on it during every spare moment, and it’s nearly done!
So, if you guessed that we would somehow try to rip off Barack Obama, you're right! "YES WE CAN!" In fairness, he totally ripped off Bob the Builder anyway, so we don't feel that bad about it. We made some goals and hung glittery pictures of tools in our hallway. Then we went to work finishing up the service project that we started during the holiday season. With a little extra publicity, we helped the kids collect almost two hundred children's books to donate to some kids here in the city who don't have any/many books of their own. When we drove to the school to drop them off, the kids were grinning from ear to ear. It was contagious or something, because so was I! It was great to be able to share something we love so much with others. We can't wait to do it again.
Next up was Sera's second birthday. How is it even possible that our little star has gotten so big? She loved her snowman birthday cake, even though his hands were burning candles (I'm not entirely sure where I came up with that idea). Since I once made a snowman cake for Emerson, I wanted to make Sera’s a little different. So instead of a flat snowman laying on a big plate, Sera’s little guy stood right up (and nearly toppled over, but that’s another story). She’s so enamored of snow-people, that I just couldn’t not make her a snowman cake! She got a touch ‘n feel book and another super-soft blanket with satin trim (she loves them so much!) as presents, and couldn’t be more thrilled. There’s nothing this girl loves more than testing out different textures with her fingers . . . I mean, other than dancing naked on the kitchen table, of course.
Since there are only ten days between Sera’s and Emerson’s birthdays, we combined trips and took everyone to Denny’s on the Saturday in between. Even though I hate to rob either of them of being “the special one,” there’s only so much Denny’s my body will put up with, no matter how many free kids’ meals are involved. It’s crazy what a hit “alien pancakes” can be.
Emerson’s birthday theme this year was “pizza.” I know, I know, it sounds like we talked him into “just a little pizza party” or something, but this was totally his own deal. He really, really wanted a pizza party. So we made him a big “pizza” cake for his birthday and threw a “pizza party” for his friends. The kids played with play-doh, enjoyed a couple of pizza-themed games, had cup-cakes and opened presents. It was possibly the easiest party ever, and it was actually lots of fun. Maybe simplicity really is the key?
Well, now that you have the good bits, I’ll spill the other stuff too. It’s been cold here this winter. Sure there was a week where the temperature hovered around 30 degrees for a few days. It might even have broken freezing a time or two. But other than that, the cold has been so biting that we’ve seriously curtailed some of our outings. Some things, of course, are not optional, like play-group and library visits. Others, like grocery shopping, are the very definition of expendable. Through December and January we plowed through lots of the food in our storage room and freezer, making grocery store stops only for milk and eggs (carrying in the groceries is worse than the actual shopping). As a result, during that slightly warmer week I mentioned, we had a grocery bill that topped $250—yikes! On the plus side, Aaron used the cold weather to work on his dissertation—he’s been slaving away on it during every spare moment, and it’s nearly done!
Seraphina, age 2
(I didn't mean for these to come out in verse, it just happened . . . laugh if you must)
My fiery little angel, with just a strain of imp.
She climbs, she grins, she jabbers.
She does a hippy-shake.
She jumps from way up high--she's always sure I'll catch her.
Buries her nose in my neck and waits for me to lecture.
Toys in the toilet, frosting in the hair,
snuggling with her blanket, sucking on her hand.
Finger in her puggish nose, smile stretched wide beneath.
"Should I?" she coyly questions--
the hand's already in the cookie jar, but hey, it can't hurt to ask.
"Terrible twos," I've heard it before,
but for me, "two" whirls by too fast.
I bask in the wet kisses, the fat arms around my leg.
The trails of dumped-out flour and sticky fingerprints on the wall--
they'll all be gone in a sigh and a double blink.
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