Pisces Posse

I don't know what it is but it seems like I have never known so many other people who share my Zodiac sign. In the last few days I have sent birthday wishes to several friends from college, old jobs, book club, MOMs groups, and even some past students. Maybe we are all products of parents with summertime wedding anniversaries.

What I find so interesting is that the traits of a Pisces include being imaginative and sensitive, compassionate and kind, selfless and unworldly, and intuitive and sympathetic.
On the dark side a Pisces can also be escapist and idealistic, secretive and vague, weak-willed and easily led.

The people I know who are Pisces definitely encompass all of the positive traits but I don't see the darker traits to be all that apparent in them. Except maybe Zach :) But I can get away with saying that because I've known him the longest and he deserves to be given a hard time.

According to the website http://www.astrology-online.com/pisces.htm,

Pisceans possess a gentle, patient, malleable nature. They have many generous qualities and are friendly, good natured, kind and compassionate, sensitive to the feelings of those around them, and respond with the utmost sympathy and tact to any suffering they encounter. They are deservedly popular with all kinds of people, partly because their easygoing, affectionate, submissive natures offer no threat or challenge to stronger and more exuberant characters. They accept the people around them and the circumstances in which they find themselves rather than trying to adapt them to suit themselves, and they patiently wait for problems to sort themselves out rather than take the initiative in solving them. They are more readily concerned with the problems of others than with their own.
Their natures tend to be too otherworldly for the practical purposes of living in this world as it is. They sometimes exist emotionally rather than rationally, instinctively more than intellectually. They long to be recognized as greatly creative. They also dislike discipline and confinement. The nine-to-five life is not for them. Any rebellion they make against convention is personal, however, as they often times do not have the energy or motivation to battle against the Establishment.
Pisceans tend to withdraw into a dream world where their qualities can bring mental satisfaction and sometimes, fame and financial reward for they are extremely gifted artistically. They are also versatile and intuitive, have quick understanding, observe and listen well, and are receptive to new ideas and atmospheres. All these factors can combine to produce remarkable creativity in literature, music and art. Even when they cannot express themselves creatively they have a greater than average instinct for, and love of, beauty in art and nature, a catlike appreciation of luxury and pleasure, and a yearning for new sensations and travel to remote, exotic places.

So, what is the perfect birthday gift for a Pisces considering their sensitive nature? The website http://www2.canada.com/findit/astrology/fun/giftguide/pisces.html suggests...

The best gift for someone born under this sign is something that feeds their interests - how about a set of oil paints, tickets to the theater, or a book of poetry? In their leisure time, Pisces may work to alleviate their emotional stress through exercise. They especially enjoy sports that bring them into contact with their own Element of Water, such as swimming and sailing, so gifts such as sailing lessons, a new swimsuit, or a cruise would be appreciated. The theme of water is a good one in general, making gifts such as scented bath oils or floating candles appropriate. Don't forget that Pisces rules the feet so treat your Pisces to slippers, shoes, socks or even a pedicure or foot massage.

This sensitive girl would be thrilled with anything that promotes relaxation....a massage, a facial, a full night's sleep (that hasn't happened in over 3 years!), a Kindle to have all my favorite books on hand anywhere I go, and comfy yoga clothes (like the entire Athleta catalogue size small). How appropriate that Brian is getting me a new pair of slippers and I am hoping to go out for a nice sushi dinner (is that wrong to want to eat the animal that represents my sign?).

I also learned that the "starstone" (not birthstone) for Pisces is the moonstone. I have always loved moonstones and even have a very pretty moonstone necklace I got while living in Humboldt. I used to have some nice moonstone earrings that Steph gave me in college but lost one while we were out snowshoeing a few years ago. I was devastated because they were so unique.

So, Happy Birthday to Zach, Julie, Amy, Jackie, Janna, Evaleen, Katie, Allison, Janu, Tanya, Charlie and little miss Ruby. Not to mention Great Grammy Browder. And if you are also a Pisces, enjoy your birthday and let loose of your selfless nature for at least a day!

Ta Da!

The master bedroom with new drapes.

Technically the mural and quilt aren't new but still a great pic of Sam's corner.

Soft-fold Roman shades in the boys' room.

Paisley flat-fold Roman shade in the den.

The floral pattern on the master bedroom drapes.

The crowning glory.....entertainment center with new t.v.

Corner desk and cabinet - notice the striped cushions on the window seat.

Today was the "official" last day of our home improvements (for now anyway). Bright and early we welcomed Cameron from Direct Window Coverings to install the drapes in the master bedroom, and Roman shades in the den and boys' room. In less than two hours the rooms were transformed with the beautiful fabrics. The funniest thing to me is that when Brian arrives home this evening it will be a surprise for him just like everybody else since I chose the fabrics from small swatches on my own and gave him basic descriptions. How nice it will be to sleep with privacy and total darkness. All the window coverings have blackout panels and thermal panels sewn in so we will have nice dark rooms that should also be more efficient along with the new windows.

I was especially excited to put the boys down for their rests today in dark rooms. I'm hoping it will lengthen their total nap times and give me more time to take care of myself and the house each day.

To sum things up....we had a custom entertainment/storage unit built into the living room along with a corner desk and cabinet. We installed new Pella wood frame windows throughout the house. The windows in the living room and kitchen have the shades between the glass so the kids don't destroy them. We also removed some windows in the living room that were along the floor and built in window seats. We had custom cushions and throw pillows made for the window seats. We repainted the living room a sage green. And we installed drapes and Roman shades in the bedrooms and den.

So, enjoy the photos and come visit!

"thirtysomething"

So, I admit I have never watched the show thirtysomething. When it first aired I was a fifth grader and after just four years of episodes it ended just before I became a freshman in high school. So why would a preteen/tween want to watch a show about a group of baby boomer friends and their daily life and struggles?

The thing is, now that I am approaching my thirty-second birthday (on March 13th) I find that there's not really a television drama to which I can really relate. But from what I've found on the Internet concerning thirtysomething I think I would really like it now that I am a true thirtysomething. One of the main characters was Hope, a writer and stay-at-home mom who struggled between her desire to be home with her children and her need to work. This sounds familiar! I would like to think of myself as something of a writer and while I am absolutely thrilled to be able to be home with my boys I often feel like I should be out contributing more to the workforce. I also like shows that delve into family and personal relationships.

I was a Friends junkie through college and had a standing date with my girlfriend, Steph, to watch it each week when I finished my Thursday night class. I was a dedicated fan until the show ended in 2004. For me, it was heart-breaking to watch it all come to a close. Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey were my friends too. Everyone in their twenties said they could relate to one character the most - mine would have been Monica for her obsessive qualities and love of cooking, not to mention her constant search for Mr. Right. Funny how as the show came to a close Monica and Chandler got married and I found Brian :)

Brian caught on to my obsession pretty early in our relationship. He knew not to call me Thursday evenings between eight o'clock and eight-thirty. He even planned out a Scrabble tournament one weekend I was visiting him in Tahoe with DVD seasons of the show as prizes. It took several games for me to finally win the first four seasons. And since then my collection has grown to include all but season 7 (not quite sure how we ended up missing that one). I can quote more lines than you can imagine and even have the Friends board game (though I'm yet to find a worthy opponent) and the Friends cookbook.

I now watch mostly reality TV shows like The Amazing Race, Survivor, and Hells Kitchen. Brian also got me into American Idol and Mythbusters. I am a fan of almost everything on the Food Network and am a sucker for Grey's Anatomy. But seriously, as much as I love the relationship and medical drama on Grey's, what do I really have in common with Meredith Grey, Izzy Stevens, and Dr. McDreamy other than I lived in the Seattle area for a year? It's a great show for entertainment but lacks in the area of personal connections for me.

With any luck I will find a new group of television comrades as I travel through my thirties. Until then, I'll just relive my twenties with the Friends and watch in amazement as teenagers sing their hearts out on their way to million dollar recording contracts on American Idol.

Anybody out there?

I know of several friends and family members who read my blog at least once in a while but I still can't help feeling like I'm talking to myself.
So, if you like what you see or don't like what you see, please let me know by leaving a comment. At least then I'll know that my news is getting out to you.
Happy Monday,
Maggie

Valentine's Day Delayed

Armed with a rolling pin.

Cutting out gingerbread hearts.
Valentine packages to deliver!

Somehow Valentine's Day snuck up on me this year. I typically send photos of the boys out to Grandmas and Grandpas in cards "signed" by Ben and we often make goodies for the crew at Daddy's office. This year it just didn't happen. Ben did make bookmarks for Daddy, Sue, and himself at the Library Valentine party last week and delivered them the same day. He also made a Valentine for Daddy last Friday when we began our quarantine for Sam's cough and fever which turned out to be a double ear infection.

So, by Wednesday Sam was on the mend after being on antibiotics for a couple of days and Ben was clearly needing some outlet for his energy other than just playing with his toys. Not to mention that Ben had not had a rest that had been more than an hour the last couple of days. We decided that cookie making would be the activity of the day.

Just before rest time, I loaded Sam in the backpack, put boots on Ben and myself and we took a "snow hike" across the street to get some butter to make our cookies. We enjoyed the fresh though brisk air and got home in time to mix up a batch of dough for almond butter cookies (imagine a peanut butter cookie recipe with almond butter substituted). We then put together the dough for Ben's favorite gingerbread cookies (Grandma Norma made gingerbread men for Christmas and both boys gobbled them up, then when Grandpa and Uncle Ray came to visit at the end of January they brought an entire bucket of gingerbread men and B's - no S's because that was the one cookie cutter Grandma couldn't find).

I got both boys down for their rest and started baking. In less than an hour Ben was up and ready to roll some dough. I finished baking the almond butter cookies, Ben helped me measure all the ingredients for Snickerdoodles, then we got to work with the gingerbread men, hearts, and stars. Ben did really well rolling the dough on his own....it did get quite thin on one side but was easily fixed and he loved using the cookie cutters.

Thinking about it I realized that this was Ben's first experience with rolled cookies. I don't know how it's possible that he is almost three years-old and just now had a chance to cut his own cookies. I was the kid who grew up with a rolling pin in my hand and probably made rolled cookies at least once every month or two. I can now tease my mom that she was running a sweatshop of little kids making cookies because whenever a holiday would come around she would invite at least a half dozen kids over to make cookies that would then be packaged up and sent off to the college kids we knew including my sister, Pauline. Of course all the helper kids took cookies home too. And looking back, we made A LOT of cookies! Dozens and dozens! And we decorated them too!!!!

I know I've made rolled cookies with Ben before but this really was the first time I've let him hold the rolling pin. I guess I just couldn't get over letting go of the power and accepting that flour would be all over the kitchen. It was all worth it! He had so much fun and was so proud of himself. And Sam slept through the entire process!

Once the cookies were cooled, we packaged them up and delivered them to Daddy's office to everyone for a late Valentine. Oh well, as Brian puts it, everyday is Valentine's Day because you love people every day.

Sam speaks!

Having some trouble standing up after taking a spill.

Snow bunny.

Technically Sam has been talking for months now but it's really been within the last couple of weeks that it seems like he uses words much more frequently than his pointing and grunting thing.

As of today, he has nearly 50 words that he uses regularly (at least he has 50 that we can recognize). Some are typical baby words but others are purely the result of having a cheeky older brother. And here they are in no particular order......

Dog, doggie, horse, duck, potty (he's actually gone pee in the potty once and loves to sit on it), hi, bye-bye (he yells this and waves with his entire arm to anyone who will respond), Mommy, Daddy, this (accompanied by a finger pointing to whatever he happens to want), pop, thank you, no, yes, tickle, cow, baa, ball, wall, hat, moon, eye, woof, cup, pup, up, apple, yea, fish, book, lion, dirty, owie, light, boat, row row (he tries to sing the entire song), bowl, off, on, bonk (he bonks his head pretty often and always holds the side of it and tells us), floor, whoa, splash, hair, Paul (our friend who did the electrical work recently in our house - I guess seeing Paul everyday made an impact on Sam), oh dear (repeated after I said it while changing his VERY nasty diaper), oh boy (Ben says this pretty often), oh buddy (also said by Ben).

Sam will also reach his arms high over his head when asked, "How big is Sam?"

And he experienced free range snow play the other day in the driveway with Ben. Ben did his shoveling while Sam wandered. He seemed to have fun but was incredibly frustrated when he'd fall down and couldn't quite push back up into a standing position in his very puffy snowsuit. It made me think of the movie "A Christmas Story".... I can't put my arms down!

Sam and Ben both had fun making snow angels in the fresh powder and Sam even had a face plant in the snow and came up smiling.....with his eyelashes, nose, and mouth full of the white stuff.

Quite a day

Why is it that some nights the kids will sleep for a good solid twelve hours without waking and then other nights they wake up repeatedly and get up way too early? The hours from last night to this morning were riddled with Sam fussing (presumably still uncomfortable with his new teeth coming in), and then with both boys awake and ready for the day right after 6:00! For anyone who knows me, that is WAY TOO EARLY! Despite the lack of sleep, the boys and I had a pretty eventful morning with no meltdowns.

We started off by going to the Tahoe Tiny Timbers gym time at the rec center where the boys played like mad in the tunnels, bouncy house, and with the jumbo building blocks. From there we headed to the post office to mail a couple of things, we picked up the kids' toothpaste that the boys love http://shop.weleda.com/item_detail.aspx?ItemCode=9802 , and then we went into the little pizzeria/bar to ask a favor of Rhonda, the owner.

A few days ago Ben was playing with an old file box of Brian's. It had a nice, fitted square lid that to Ben must have resembled a pizza box. Brian moved the box out of the living room in our never-ending attempt to get everything put away and Ben was quite concerned. We mentioned to him that maybe we could ask Rhonda if she would give Ben a pizza box for his cooking collection.

I had nearly forgotten about the pizza box when the aroma of spicy sauce and fresh crust hit me. "Ben, should we go see if Rhonda will give you a pizza box?"

Ben replied with a VERY enthusiastic, "Yes!" All this time, Sam was asleep in the stroller, ruining his afternoon nap with a twenty-minute cat nap :(

As soon as we walked in the door, Ben spotted Rhonda, rushed over to her and politely asked,

"Rhonda, may I please have a little small pizza box for my cooking stuff?" She was so happy to see us, because despite our close proximity, we never get pizza but bump into her when we are out and about in the Village Center.

"Are you sure you want a small box or would you rather have a big one?" Rhonda asked Ben.

"Just a little one," he said while pointing upwards at the different sizes hanging on the wall.

"Well you need a circle too, don't you?" Rhonda replied as she handed Ben one of the cardboard backings that they use for their take-and-bake pizzas.

"We can draw a pizza on that when we get home if you want, Ben," I added.

So, with box in hand, we headed home for lunch - two slices of pizza for the boys from Rhonda! Which actually meant pizza for Mommy since Ben is rather finicky and Sam just doesn't eat much.

Ben could hardly wait to finish his lunch as I gathered an assortment of items to decorate the pizza. I grabbed markers, crayons, glue, scraps of red paper, black felt, white yarn, and green tissue paper (mostly things left over from a Christmas ornament project I didn't quite complete). While the boys finished their lunch (not the pizza), I cut the white yarn into short pieces, cut small circles from the felt, tore the green tissue paper, cut more circles from the red paper, and used the cardboard circle as a template to make more pizza shapes from an old Amazon box (shout out to Uncle Chris!).

As Sam took every book off the book shelf to read, Ben and I colored red crayon "sauce" all over the cardboard circle "crust", topped it with glue, sprinkled on the yarn "cheese", attached the black felt "olives", added the green tissue paper "peppers", and finished with the red paper "tomatoes". We waited for the pizza to "cool" while the glue dried and then, voila! A beautiful pizza for Ben!

And after that crazy, busy morning it still took an entire HOUR to get the boys down for their naps! Now Mommy needs some chocolate therapy! If only there were some in the house :(

Preview

I am reluctant to post these pictures of the new cabinets because things still aren't put away. We still have a few boxes hanging around the living room and the desk needs to be organized. And of course there are always kid things scattered here and there. But here is a sneak peek at the entertainment center which was designed around the 52" flatscreen tv and the cabinet over the corner desk (the painting on the wall was a wedding gift from my Aunt Annie who painted it and gave us the original - I've been looking for a home for it for three and a half years!).

Mama, come find me!

One of Ben's favorite books to borrow from the library is "Where is Ben?" written by Marisabina Russo. The story follows Ben and his mama in their home one afternoon before a nap. Ben's mama is busy making an apple pie and is continuously called away from her work to look for Ben who calls, "Mama, come find me!" He is found hiding behind the coats on the coat rack, under an overturned laundry basket, in a coat closet, and under the covers on his bed.

This story has become a game in our home now. Our Ben loves to hide and giggles hysterically when he is discovered. The book seems to have been written about him and we all love it for that reason.

Ben's latest favorite hiding place is an empty storage bin that used to contain baby clothes. With Sam growing so rapidly, the bin is now empty as we have passed the too-small things on to other little boys.

Ben even calls out, "Mama, come find me!" and then goes on to quote the next couple of lines from the story as well.

If I had a nickel....

Almost 14 months old!

Lounging in the blue storage tub.


Cheeseball grin.
Mohawk baby!

If I had a nickel for all the times I've heard....

From strangers:

"Oh, are they twins?" Really? Can you not see the size difference? Just because we have a double stroller for me to chauffer them around does not mean they are twins!
"They look identical." Not really, they just look like brothers.

"Ben looks just like his mommy." You obviously haven't met his daddy.

From Ben:

"Mommy!"

"I don't want Sam to get my _________!"

"I just want it."

"I'm hungry."

"I'm tired."

"Someday, when I'm bigger..."
"Pretty good."

In all fairness, we hear lots of great things from strangers. And not everything Ben says is so self-centered, although he is approaching 3 quite rapidly.

What I love about Ben is there are three phrases you can bet he will say upon waking, usually in this order: "Where's Sam? I'm hungry. I want to go downstairs."

When I grow up....

Ben has started looking towards the future and here's what it holds for him....

"I will be a firefighter when I am a grown up and I will ride on the fire truck. You can come too, Mommy, and Daddy too. But Sam can't because he is too little."

"I will make pizzas at MOFO's (a local pizzeria we recently visited) when I am bigger and I will smack the dough and throw it up into the air!"

"I am going to make sandwiches for people with Danielle when I am bigger." Danielle (pronounced Daneel) and her husband, Eric, are the owners of the meat and deli counter across the street from us at the Village Market. The boys love visiting Danielle because she always takes time to talk to them and give them little packets of saltine crackers. Eric and Danielle employ several early twenty-something ski-bum guys. www.villagemeats.com

"I will be a scientist when I am a grown up. I will use my magnifying glass to make things bigger." Ben recently took money from his piggy bank and bought himself a magnifying glass just like Sid the Science Kid, a PBS show he adores. http://pbskids.org/sid/index.html

Ben also loves Curious George and loves having me make up George stories for him. His favorites are George comes to play at our house and George goes to Daddy's office.
PBS also introduced him to the story of Cinderella whom he calls Mozzarella.

Crib Scaling

It's nap time. It's been nap time for just short of an hour. So you can imagine my surprise when less than forty minutes into nap time I heard a small cry from Sam followed by a thunk.
The cry from Sam did not surprise me. His little body has been working on pushing his one year molars through for a few days now. What surprised me was the thunk. My immediate thoughts were that he dropped his baby doll from his crib, then it occurred to me that it was Ben.
For several months now I have had the boys nap in separate rooms even though they share a bedroom. I like that I can put them down for rests separately and I like that they are less likely to wake each other up prematurely. It works for all of us.
Lately when Ben wakes up he has been scaling the side of Sam's crib and teaching Sam to hold on to the side rail and jump. This happened twice in three days, once following a nap and once first thing in the morning. Brian and I were concerned, and slightly impressed that Ben was able to climb in from outside the crib. Neither of us had witnessed it and Ben's description of how he did it was pretty incomplete.
But today I caught Ben in the act. Usually when Sam fusses I let it go for a minute to make sure he's really awake. If it lasts or picks up in volume I will go and hold him for a couple of minutes and then put him back down. Today Sam's cry was far from an awake cry, thus my concern upon hearing the thunk. I quickly went upstairs to see the door open in the master bedroom. I also saw the door to the boys' room cracked and I know that I always close the bedroom doors when the boys are sleeping. The thunk was one of the door knobs being turned by an eager big brother. I didn't even bother checking the master but immediately went into the boys' room just in time to see Ben standing on the edge of the crib mattress with his upper body hanging over the top crib rail. The weight from his head and shoulders pulled him right over and into the crib. I also saw little Sam curled up in a ball on his tummy not yet fully awake.
Apparently I can be pretty scary. All I said was, "No!" and I had them both in tears. I tried to quickly explain to Ben that he cannot get into the crib with Sam, that it's not safe, while also ushering him back to my bed. I then had to turn my attention to Sam who was now awake and really confused about the entire situation.
It took less than ten minutes to remedy the situation. Sam went back to sleep easily and by the time I went into the master bedroom to check on Ben, his eyes were also closed. Now I wonder if I should start putting the baby gate across the doorway to the boys' room to slow down the process. I've also considered Sam to be the more daring of the two boys which really makes me worry about crib escapes. Yikes!
Ben has taught me several things in the last few days:
*He will get out of bed even if I tell him not to.
*He is now a climber.
*He may have a future in gymnastics....it was a pretty impressive front flip.
*He can now effectively manage door knobs.
*He can't stand to hear his brother cry.
So this is what a three year-old does.....