(hope you had a) Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving...parade watching, food eating, hot tubbing, you know...the usual. As would be expected, I have no pictures - except for these: Look at the adorable edible masterpiece served at Sophia's class party! I provided the plates, crackers, and carrots...someday I will construct edible art, someday...

We feasted in Virginia Beach then spent a couple days down there relaxing with family. Bright and early Friday I found myself at...BIG K. Some of you may not realize that Kmart, home to the Kathy Ireland clothing line among other things, holds the largest, most value-priced selection of what my family calls "Character Clothing."(cringe) Yes, I was there to purchase Disney Princess and Dora pajamas - cheaply made and cheaply sold. My girls love this stuff. And I am yielding, albeit slowly. But not slow enough to miss the fact that Big K has the goods and on Black Friday the prices were slashed even lower. So there I was, shoveling through racks of Princess clothing, throwing them in my cart, heading to the checkout only to have my kind cashier confess that she thought she was still drunk from Thanksgiving. 'Tis the Season. I did enjoy my first real Black Friday adventure. I'm trying to be organized this Christmas and I found my few hours shopping energizing and definitely money-saving.

Black Friday Shopping Tips:
1. Drive a small car. I was lucky to be borrowing my mother-in-laws VW bug. It can whip around parking garages very quickly and fits into any spot imaginable. And make sure you know where your horn is. You will need it.
2. When at the mall take your bags to the car and go back in if you are not finished. Do not haul heavy shopping bags around. My hands are calloused and I need a chiropractor. And I did see paramedics resuscitating someone in the food court. It's a jungle out there. Perhaps training for a Turkey Trot could be my best prep for next year.
3. Brew and bring your own coffee. Food Court McDonalds ran out and Starbucks had the longest line in the mall (and I feel like raised their prices for the occasion - has a Frappucino always been almost five dollars?) And hydration is a necessity.

We started taking down our Christmas decorations last night. Which put Sophia back into Manger-playing mode. Check out the scene above. Everyone has a very distinct role. And she is ALWAYS Mary. I LOVE her imagination. I LOVE that when she asks me who can be Joseph and I suggest Bert (from Sesame Street) she totally sees how that can work. I LOVE that a basket can be a manger and a Teddy Bear can be a Wise Man. Though it can make it difficult to get out the door (like when we brought all Seven "Dwarves" to the Farmers Market), I dread the day when culture's cynicism starts creeping in.

Note: Elmo is proudly reviving his role from last year as Baby Jesus.

And today in the spirit of our first ever Attempt to be Organized Christmas we headed out to get the tree.

In this season of thanks I confess that my cup runneth over and and my heart is full.

We have so much in so many ways. I am grateful for my little family.

And the wild wonder of being a mom.

But my gratitude is tempered by the knowing that it's been a year of loss to many people I love dearly. This Thanksgiving was the first of many new Thanksgivings - reminders of what used to be and what isn't any more. I have friends who are missing parents and husbands and children. My friend and Mom Hero Jordan said goodbye to her mother just last Tuesday, after an unprecedented 7 year fight against breast cancer.

"Thank you" takes on new meaning in the midst of suffering. I'm learning about gratitude and life from my friends who have suffered loss. My friends who are grieving are teaching me about hope. And as this season of Advent begins, these friends are also teaching me about waiting for joy.

Thank you.

Rethinking My Christmas Shopping...

...because they can spend most of the day playing with this...

The Dream Christmas Card..

I have spent all morning making and ordering our Christmas card...you know the drill, browsing, uploading, clicking and dragging, editing, losing it all, starting over...Really I should have just sent this out to everyone but Ruthie beat me to it...

Memory Lane

Christie sent me these "old"

pictures today in an email from college. Look at Sophia in a crib! And I just put Olivia to bed in those pajamas tonight...
Speaking of the Foo...it's hard to remember her like this...

And I don't know who's grown up more over the last two years - Sophia and Olivia or Christie and Ali! Love to all you girls! Can't wait to catch up. And Bundle Up - Thanksgiving Weekend Porch Time is in the works...

10th Grade

Last night I sat in a circle of 10th grade girls who were every bit as exhilarating as 10th grade girls should be. They were warm and energetic, their love for each other and their time together could not be contained. They looked effortlessly beautiful in hoodies and sweats and every serious thought elicited an irrelevant comment and lots and lots of laughing. Why don't I laugh that much? To-do list: laugh more. About everything.



At one point a question was asked from the group leader and somehow completely unrelated, one of the girls commented: "My mom is getting braces. I don't know why, I mean, it's not like it matters at this point..." Then they all look at me (the guest, the old one, the mom) for a breath of horror and erupt into laughter.



Oh God Bless you sweet 10th grade girl. And God Bless your dear mother who lives so sacrificially that its easy to forget that she is more than an extension of her family and its needs. I have been that daughter. And I love that my mom shops at surf shops. I love yours for getting braces. She's daring to care for herself. And her actions are quietly and invisibly forming how you will one day think about yourself. Because tenth grade, like every season, is fleeting...

La Luna

Thanks to the time change, darkness descending before 5 pm means more opportunities to...see the moon! Sophia said the other night,"We're so lucky! We get to see the moon so much now!" Did you notice the Crescent Moon this week? We saw it every night. We like to search for it out of car windows and from carts in parking lots and from underneath stroller shades. The first one who spots the moon shouts out in joy and then we all break into Margaret Wise Brown's ageless incantation...

"Good Night Room. Good Night Moon. Good night cow jumping over the moon..."

I don't think I noticed the moon much for about 25 years. I am struck by watching Sophia and Olivia marvel at something that is there every night. The regularity of it is more cause for joy, not less. They never become rushed in their observation or bored with the subject. It's the moon. Bright and shiny, far away, high up, and mysterious. Just guessing its shape is exhilarating. I am drawn to watching them watch it. At our local School of Wonder, they are the teachers and I am the student. And I have much to unlearn. "Aren't we so lucky? We get to see the moon so much now!"

Crazy Love

Yesterday I spent two hours at the doctor with a small child who cried - the entire time. Crying, I can generally handle. Small enclosed rooms - usually not a problem. Crying in the small room can get hard and increasingly sad. Almost as sad as her sister when we forgot to bring her a lollipop from the doctor. And almost as sad as the look on my face when her sister had a melt down in the bookstore in disappointment over not having a doctor's appointment today.

Again, meltdowns I've learned to handle, meltdowns in public - just part of life, but public meltdowns in which my child is screaming " TAKE ME TO THE DOCTOR!!!!!! WHY WON'T YOU TAKE ME?!" This was new territory. A new level of craziness.

And then this evening, as we got back in the car at the park. I was greeted by the sound of my CD player grinding away, eating the precious 8 CD's I have not heard in 3 months. It was a fateful day when a small child inserted coins into the slot thus rendering us to be 24/7 Positive Encouraging KLove radio Listeners. And sure enough, the radio comes on, above the sound of the grinding and I hear the Positive Encouraging Radio Spot reminding us about the importance of having an orderly home - and that the burden should not fall soley on the mother. And our quest for this orderly lifestyle will be made easier if we visit this website, and so on and so forth...(Grind Grind Grind of broken CD player)

And I just started laughing. Not bitterly. Quite joyfully. Because my life is so ridiculous somedays. Because I am so one step away from a Christian Radio Intervention. Because even as I was laughing O was yelling at S because S had taken off her shoes and socks and put O's mittens on her toes. Because I really think I was sitting on a juice box the whole drive home.

I promise you. Right now. My house is orderly. It is completely picked up. It is quiet. There is a candle burning. Sometimes I stay up really late just to be alone in a quiet, clean house and to pretend I really live there. My house is only this way from about 10:30 pm - 6:30 am. What happens the other hours is often pandemonium. And maybe I am at fault for not promoting an orderly lifestyle. Or maybe orderly can mean that you have the right things in order. Or maybe I just need to stick to the music on P.E. KLOVE and enjoy CD Grinding during the promos. I might just be that far gone...

Our Foo Turned Two - So We Went to the Zoo...!

Olivia turned two today. I have to hedge that with:" And I hope you voted." Having a November 3rd baby means that her birthday and elections will always be intertwined . She was born the day before the presidential elections. I remember my doctor standing over me with a scalpel and asking "Did you vote absentee?" I did. But what if I hadn't? Regardless...it has been my joy to watch this sweet Baby Sister grow these past two years. If you track her personal development by the changes in her hair: she's come a long way, but she's always had a lot going for her:) Opening presents this morning.

First Birthday last year

Celebrating in her Duck Class today.

We decided to mark the event by taking Olivia to the zoo for the first time. She loves animals and had been talking all week about seeing the giraffes and elephants. We had some Celebrity Guests meet us there. Above she is walking with Buelo.

Grandma and Grandpa playing with Sophia - who was a great sport about it not being her birthday. She did much better than I ever did.

Check out that elephant!

Sophia is impressed.

We were thrilled to have Kristyn, Addy and Jackson make the trek to Norfolk with us!

We went to the park next door for cake and presents and the viewing of Olivia Movie 2 (Travis makes a slideshow each year for the girls)

Party Guests

My Mom makes this strawberry frosting from a Paula Deen recipe - six sticks of butter and lots of goodness. It is amazing. I am on my way to eat another cupcake right now.

I think birthdays this young can be tricky. But today we may have gotten it right - not too little, not too much: a lot of love, some giraffes, some swings, and cake. I think she understood this year too which makes it so fun. Happy Birthday Sweet Girl. We are so very grateful for you.

Tricks and Treats, Tutus and Crowns

Laurie and Bryce live in one of those Suburban Dream neighborhoods where Halloween competes with Christmas for the amount of lights and decorations. Neighbors sit in large groups in their open garages handing out candy - that is if they are not dressed like zombies on their front porches or operating their own fog machines. I love our little street but no one trick or treats, no one gives out candy, and though the stray black cats add to the spooky vibe daily, we choose to migrate across town for the night's fesitivities.... As for the girls costumes...Sophia had been planning on being Snow White for months. She has had the costume since her 1st birthday and proudly wears it publicly in the middle of the summer. She was Snow White all week - school parade, friends school parade, grocery store...etc. At first, Olivia didn't seem quite as opinionated. So I decided make her Olivia the Pig. She shares the name, we love the books, yadda yadda yadda. I figured it was the last year I could get away with it. Until, I heard her answer people all week long, in her little munchkin voice, that she was going to be a princess! I borrowed some princess stuff from a friend, Sophia saw it and...amazingly, Sophia became the Princess and Olivia was designated to be Snow White for the night. When it came time to dress. Olivia didn't want to wear anything. I got a tutu on her and a crown - for a few pictures. [One day when the girls are older we are going to sit down and have a long talk about the hard, politicized, oppressed lives of princesses through history. I will maintain that "Waiting for my prince to come..." is an unacceptable life mission statement, that no one's complexion can be as flawless as animation can paint, and that no fairy's magical powers are as strong as that of Disney's marketing team. In the meantime, let's enjoy some crowns and fancy dresses...]

Sweet Sisters!

Look at this band of Merry Makers!

Olivia was just having a rough time. I don't know if she doesn't buy in to this holiday, which is fine, or if she is just going through some pre-two angst.

Sophia, on the other hand, LOVED it! Looking at these pictures of joy actually makes these past few days of detox almost worth it...

Did I mention she LOVED it?

Oh Olivia. Why do I get the impression sometimes that you are just humoring the rest of us?

Take a whole handful? Yes, thank you!

On Friends...

Had you been in our house last Monday you would have seen a small blonde child standing, nose pressed against the glass on the front door. You would have heard the following exchange with our neighbor, five year old Darius, who was standing outside, across the street, on his front porch.

"DARIUS! I can't come outside. I AM SORRRRRRRRYYYYYYY! I am having a CONSEQUENCE! Yeah...I RAN AWAY SO I HAVE A CONSEQUENCE OF NO PLAYING OUTSIDE. No. I can't play with you. No. Stop asking. I can't. OH I WISH I COULD. What are you doing? OH. OH. I WANT TO PLAY WITH YOU. I just have this consequence. I RAN OUTSIDE WITHOUT A GROWN UP SO I CAN'T PLAY WITH ANY FRIENDS. Oh I miss my friends. I miss them. I never get to play with them. I haven't played with a friend all day. What am I going to do? I have this consequence..."

(Had you still been in our house (strange) you would have then seen a small blondish/brunette child look up from her playing, plainly comment, "Sia's yelling," and return to her activity.)

The child loves her friends. She is desperate to be with them. Here are two more shots of her social world...

I love this:

Because I can't help but remember this:

Here..we...gooooooooo!

I am currently carving the fudge/caramel off of a candy apple cursing myself for actually throwing Sophia's candy away today. I had taken a Grand Parental Stance when her attitude and my sanity had deteriorated beyond recognition. We are bloated, pale, and can barely see through our bloodshot eyes but what I would give for a bite size Milky Way right now to nurse this Halloween Hangover.

We didn't Trick or Treat growing up. Yes, we went to Harvest Parties and dressed as missionaries and Bible Characters and the occasional hippie. Then when my brother Peter was growing up my parents repealed their ban (about the same time they stopped believing in spanking) so one year I went out with him, relishing the rebellion of it all...trick or treating over-age. I think I was a Mime that year. Oh Christian Subculture, how I could not shake you...

We had a great time trick or treating last night...pictures to come. But today I'm considering a religious ban for next year - in response to the the very unholy space our home/car/the public library became today...Here 3 year old child: have a pumpkin full of candy but only eat 4 pieces tonight, and tomorrow you get one, and then one a day until its gone...HAHAHAHA.

And then as I stood in Target today buying 50% off costumes as dress up clothes for Christmas presents (a rare moment of savvy shopper-ness), I heard "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" over the loudspeaker and went into fetal position. You see, the space between the end of October and the end of December is rather busy in our family, due not only to the major holidays but also due to two MAJOR birthdays. My brain has this sticky note permanently sketched in it:

1. Halloween
2. Olivia's Birthday
3. Thanksgiving
4. Sophia's Birthday
5. Christmas
6. Loss of Consciousness

Hearing Carols in Target and seeing that Starbucks will be selling the Peppermint Mocha starting tomorrow makes me feel like I am already incredibly behind...And I guess that's their goal. In light of all that...this blog post speeds up some great events that I'm sure I could overshare much about individually. Oh well, enjoy the montage. I have other things to worry about like where to find Diego plates and napkins. The party store was closed today. The sign claimed they were "Cleaning Up For Halloween" But we all know the truth. They were stocking Christmas for tomorrow: Election Day/Official Start to Over-Commercialized Holiday Madness. Hey, at least we get some extra weeks of the Ginger Bread Latte out of it...

Homecoming 2010

Class of 2007 - I would have no friends without you - and the Bradshaws...

Trav and I pumpkin carving. Check out my expression. Crafts and living things have never been my strong point...

Family Pumpkin Patch Day at College Run Farms!

Sophia is holding up the pumpkins Elmo picked out.

I loved this farm! This really cute couple who went to VA Tech together started it a few years ago and it was very idyllic and inspirational. As we sat there eating our pumpkin ice cream, Trav and I really considered starting a farm. Then we remembered what our yard looked like.

Sweet Foo. Are you really about to turn two? Whenever you ask her any birthday-related question she responds with: "We're going to eat cake!"

We had a fabulous night in downtown Norfolk celebrating Erin's birthday. As always, way too short...We shut the place down. And when I say that I'm not just saying the waitress was glaring at us from the kitchen, which she was, but that the Valet came to our table with our keys and said: "Here. I'm going home." Yet, it was far too short because I have spent the rest of this week remembering all the things I had wanted to discuss with her...Maybe we just need to take a road trip to Texas again..

Sophia's Costume Parade at school!

And the real Snow White was even there!