A Ballerina Birthday For Evalyn

Evalyn turned 4 this past weekend! To celebrate we had a a few of her friends over for a Ballerina Princess Dancing Party. This was the first "friends party" I'd planned and I had all sorts of fun thinking of activities and crafts and goodies for it (one of the many reasons I've gotten so behind in my blogging!). Mind you I'm not a craft-o-holic, but I always enjoy it whenever I find a reason to make something. Evalyn's requests when we talked about a party included rainbow balloons, a piñata, and ballerina princess dressup.



The party was on Friday. The Sunday evening before I planned out the whole week (including my new running regimen and sorting through/storing the girls clothes: yes I was being ridiculously unrealistic, albeit optimistic). It looked something like this:
make castle piñata,
buy fabric/notions for wand and skirts,
buy goodies (stickers, tattoos, pencils, balloons),
buy piñata goodies (bracelets, rings, candy jewelry, dum dums),
paint piñata,
sew 4 tutus and goodie bags,
make dancing wands (a la Angelina Ballerina),
burn ballet music CD,
not to mention make cake, decorate, blow up balloons, rearrange furniture, clean carpet, etc.

Monday started off well but as the week wore on, fatigue from my new intense workout totally dogged me. Wednesday I went shopping in Medford for most of my "to buy" list and scored at JoAnn's dollar item bins at the checkout, finding the perfect party hats/tiaras. By Thursday night the homemade tutus and tulle bags were long crossed off the list. But the castle piñata was good to go with painstakingly layered paper maché and two coats of paint. (That was the funnest project by far! And a post all of it's own to follow.....)


Needless to say I was up til almost 2AM the night before figuring out how to do a trap-door/pull-string piñata since there was NO WAY I was going to have the 10+hours of labor get smashed to bits. This was partly because I'd decided to go to a church ladies night of dessert and socializing that I REALLY needed at that point. But because I went, I had the last minute brainstorm to ask one of my friends to send her 11yo daughter along with her 3yo to be my "party assisstant". That totally saved the day since I hadn't been able to find a sitter for H&L. A trip to Walmart and The Dollar Tree provided the remainder of what I needed.

That night I was gluing/wrapping fabric to wands and cutting tulle/ribbons; filling goodie bags, filling piñata, hanging streamers, wrapping gifts, burning cd's, setting table, etc. The cake had cooled but I'd hit the wall and decided to frost it in the morning.

The morning was a little hectic needless to say. When the guests arrived I still hadn't gotten the "Pin the Bow on the Ballerina" game ready or finished the cake. I'd also been hoping for the Prima Princessa present Swan Lake DVD to arrive in the mail but no luck (I'd actually been way ahead of the game on this one, but opted for Super Saver Shipping, rats! it came on Monday of course). My iTunes playlist had to do for the "Freeze Dancing" game.

All in all it was a great party. We released the Painted Lady butterflies from their tent (a gift from Insect Lore: thanks Grammum!) that the kids had watched change from caterpillars. Only one got a little injured by overeager Henry. He was also a little sad that he didn't get a pink tiara. But I did make him his very own dancing wand!



The only other hitch was funny in hindsight. I was a little preoccupied when my helper, Miriam, arrived with her little sister (not wearing her ballerina leotard, but pink clothes none the less) and handed me a brown paper bag that she said was Evalyn's gift cuz her mom couldn't find a big enough gift bag for it or something. I offered to find something else to put it in but quickly got distracted. A little while later just before cake and present time I suggested we find something else a little prettier but again didn't (if I'd just looked inside!!). So when Evalyn opened it up she pulled out a beautiful ballerina costume and sparkly skirt that was much frillier than the one she'd opened from Mommy earlier that morning. When she pulled out Linnea's baby bottle that'd been forgotten at their house it finally dawned on my sleep deprived mind that it was Natalie's costume to change into and Evalyn's gift wrapped present was the final item in the brown paper sack. DOH! DOH! DOH! Evy was a little disappointed at first when I explained the mix-up but fortunately the real gift was a Princess Aurora dress-up doll so everything was okay. I mostly felt bad that Natalie only got to wear her ballerina outfit for the last 15 minutes of the party! We had her change and took some parting group shots of the girls.

After everyone left, I put Henry and Linnea down for naps, swept/wiped up the most offending bits of cake crumbs and sticky candy and then crashed. It was a lot of work and a good learning experience, but I really did have fun doing it. After all, birthdays come just once a year, right? Most of all, the girls had a good time and I was pleasantly surprised at how well they all got along, even during the piñata dive and letting the butterflies go. And I learned that glitter glue does come out of our new-to-us microfiber couch. Phew!!

I think my original "budget" was $50 or something (hah!). After I take back all the stuff we didn't use/need, and thanks to the dollar store, it probably came closer to $75. Still not bad for a party based on the crazy favors and things you can buy online. The piñata was time consuming but super cheap. The paint of course cost the most, but since we'll use it for other projects it almost doesn't count. ; ) Way better than the $30 online version!

Turning Thirty

To kick off the milestone weekend, I ran three miles of mountain trails on Thursday, fished a slippery rocked bottom river on Friday, and spent most of Saturday in the yard with my mom. Nothing like trying to remind myself that I'm still young and energetic. Needless to say I was a bit tired by Sunday afternoon. It was a great birthday though. One of the best in awhile.

Matt baked me a superb German Chocolate Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting, my absolute fav. He worked half the day on it and made it completely from scratch using a Cook's Illustrated recipe. I was in heaven. For dinner we tag teamed the Fettuccine Alfredo with Grilled Chicken and Ceasar Salad. Simple and perfectly filling. With plenty of room for dessert!!

My mom drove down for the weekend to watch the kids while Matt and I fished all day Friday. Then Saturday she and I had the day to ourselves to come up with a landscape plan for the front yard, back yard, and garden area. We measured and brainstormed and spray painted lines and talked. We also went downtown to check out the Gold Rush Days in charming historic downtown Yreka. They covered one of the main intersections with dirt, had live actors and recreated a scene in front of a saloon/opera house complete with gun fights (very loud, but blanks, of course!). Every half hour or so they'd gather and do the next act/scene of the play. Fabulously done and I'm soooo sad I didn't bring the camera! It really did feel like a time travel moment. There was a street fair as well with vendors and such that we browsed and then stopped by an antique store in a gorgeous Queen Anne house. It was so nice to spend some quality time with my mom, for both of our birthdays in a way since her's is just 3 days before mine. I just realized though, that I have no pictures documenting that my mom was even here. Is that silly or what??


Evalyn had fun helping Daddy make the cake and both H & E helped with the wrapping. I was delighted to get my very own TOOL BELT (which I've already put to use), some silicon spatulas, an EDGE BROWNIE PAN and a SPA/massage gift certificate to Sage Springs Spa at Sun River in Bend. I usually get so uptight on my birthday stressing about silly things or worrying about being too picky or too much money being spend on me or being disappointed/disappointing others if the day wasn't good, etc. Maybe those things sound shallow or vain, but there it is. I had fun celebrating with my family and having the kids help daddy make it a special day. Turning 30 wasn't bad at all. Thanks for all the birthday wishes and remembrances. Having Matt actually do a blog post about it was the cherry on top. Thank you my dear sweet ones!

Happy Birthday Holly!

Just wanted to publicly acknowledge how wonderful you are Holly and I wanted all of your blogging friends to know it is your Big Three-OH! Welcome to the club....it only gets better!

PS

Thanks for fishing with me today!

Of Dimmer Switches and Garbage Disposals

The switch for our garbage disposal finally gave out. At the end of the day with a sink full of dirty dishes and a dishwasher to run. Fortunately it wasn't completely blocked, ie the water would drain out verrrry slowly. So I used the other side to wash and loaded the dishwasher, hoping that the disposal side wouldn't completely overflow when the dishwasher did it's thing. It didn't. Whew. But I vowed to go to the hardware store first thing in the morning to get a replacement switch.



Fortunately I'd watched my dad install it and we both knew that the switch was faulty but not enough to be a hazard, just annoying (you had to press down firmly to make the disposal come on, call it a safety feature......). While Linnea had her morning nap I located the correct circuit breaker to shut the power off and I removed the faulty switch to take to the store.

After a flurry of essential purchases (lightswitches, eggs, big can of baby formula, popsicles for bribery) in three different stores with three busy little kids, we made it home in under an hour and I got the kids occupied while I continued my electrical repair. It was easy enough to match everything up, but I had to call my dad at work with a few questions on what would happen if the problem wasn't the switch, what if I blew the house up, etc.

It was a tight fit but with some makeshift insulating material (double layer of thick plastic cut from bottom of reusable grocery bag bottom) I got it to fit back in oh so snugly and Voila! The disposal works even better than before. No more holding down the switch. It was actually kinda fun and empowering at the same time. All those years "helping" my dad out on different projects actually paid off. It did feel a little funny to be handing the kids snacks one minute and the next going back to wiring a light switch. :)



I was on a roll though. Once I got the disposal switch working, I decided to fix the hall light 3-way switch that was broken on one end AND add a 3-way dimmer to the family room. [FYI a 3-way switch is what most people think is a 2-way switch (2 switches control the same light), but there has to be a third wire connecting the switches to each other, not just to the light. in case you were wondering] If I was going to go through the electrical panel figuring out which switches went to which rooms (they weren't labeled very accurately) then I might as well do them all. The one in the hallway was tricky because it was older and the wire colors didn't match up like they did on the online DIY searches I'd done. That was a longer phone call to my ever-patient dad.

I'm actually looking forward for it getting dark tonight so I can enjoy my new ease of electrical illumination. No more walking to the other end of the hallway to turn the switch on/off (so lazy....). No more dated ivory switch coupled with newer white switch plate (does this bug anybody else or is it just me?) No more saying "I wish there was a dimmer on those lights" when Matt and I are watching a movie at night or rocking Linnea.

So that was pretty much my day. Now I really want to find the perfect "Amy Matthews" toolbelt to use around the house. (Anyone else watch her on HGTV or DIY? Makes me think I should've been a contractor!) It could come in handy for so many things from hanging pictures (high on my to do list) or installing any number of shelves or random things like that around the house. Oh, and my crazy headlamp came in handy once again. : )

A Weekend Away From it All

"This is Heaven," I said as we pulled into the drive leading up to the cabin in Mill City, Oregon this past weekend. For a late Mother's Day present, my mom, two sisters, and myself left our kids and obligations behind for a couple of days to do the things that we always want to do when we get together but never get around to doing.

The weather wasn't the most accommodating: drizzly Friday, cloudy and cold Saturday but perfect on Sunday morning when we checked out! The cabin had a cozy wood stove, a hot tub that April and I wasted no time in enjoying, a lovely porch surrounded by blooming rhododendrons in a rainbow of colors, and sounds of the swift North Santiam River trickling in every window. It was a perfect little place that we're all planning on returning to. Here are the moments that stand out upon reflection:

* listening to Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food on the drive up. (Fascinating overview of "nutritionism" as he puts it. And rather short, only 5 CDs. Highly recommend.) As a consequence, I was quoting from it to my very tolerant family all weekend. : ] "The book said..."

*project time on Friday. Me: scrapbooking my still unfinished wedding album, April: sorting the boxes of "to be filed" papers that've made several moves un-filed, Heather: Baby Julia's darling purple quilt, Mom: baby blankets for grand-babies.

*luxuriating in the hot tub to the sounds of the flowing river, flowers all around, and fir trees towering above. It was the first time in a long while that I haven't been pregnant when there was a spa to be enjoyed!



*eating the best pizza EVER down the road at Mountain Pizza on Hwy 22. Oh, and their perfectly delicious with little crystals of frozen ice cream milkshakes! April and I arrived awhile before Mom and Heather joined us so we indulged to hold us over. At only $2.50 each they were so good I'd pay twice that in gas just to have one.

*laughing hysterically with Heather while we creamed M&A in Pictionary.


*Vermont Steamers by the crackling fire. Listening to soothing music.. Being laughed at for my silly yet very useful headlamp (while knitting by firelight).



*"christening" the bamboo fly rod Matt made for me, sadly I only caught a branch and lost a good caddis nymph. The river was near flood stage so the flows were high and casting room scarce. But it was fun trying!



*yummy chicken salad croissant sandwiches enjoyed below "mystical" moss covered trees on a nearby walk. and the banana splits later that afternoon..... (golly we sure ate a lot!)

*waking up to streaming sunshine on Sunday morning, way earlier than I wanted to after a late night of watching Miss Potter and playing Abalone with Heather.

*enjoying the bridges in Mill City, especially the sign "No Jumping From Bridge" posted above the churning waters.


*catching up with old friends after church in my "home ward". wishing I lived that much closer....

*eating sunflower seeds (shelled, salted) to stay awake on the long drive home after a sleep-deprived weekend. The view of Mt. McLaughlin is stunning as you enter the Rogue Valley. Not quite as grand as Mt Shasta though... ; )



*the chaismus of lighting and mountain views lit with golden fading light as I departed and returned the same time of day through the Siskiyou's.

*returning home to a clean home (thanks honey!) and my beautiful children running to hug me when I walked in the door.

Definitely a once a year treat that I hope we'll get to enjoy again and again. Thank you to everyone who made it possible!!

Linnea's First Haircut

I was torn. To cut or not to cut? She is a girl, long hair is fine and desirable. But bangs that come waaaay past her eyes when not pulled back and easily slipped out seemed a nuisance for her.



I decided to do it (obviously). With disastrous results. I keep telling myself it was inevitable, she'd need the front trimmed eventually to be same length as the back. I kept hoping that since it was barely long enough to part to the sides we could just keep it tucked behind her ears, but her food and runny noses were getting all tangled in it, even when I 'd pull it back in that funny cute pigtail.



I think it looks like Evalyn cut it and not me! I had it all lined up with my fingers and started on the right side, then she moved her head and snip, GASP! It was a crazy angle way too short result. I felt awful. At least I'd parted the bangs out towards the front so there's small fringe from the back that softens the bad spot.



I think I can fix it with some of the longer hair from the back. I need to get my nerve up again though. She can definitely see better now! *sigh*. Would it be better to even it up a bit on the short layer or leave it alone?? Such angst! It's only hair! It will grow!! Right??

Linnea: 8 Months

She crawls like crazy. She opens kitchen cupboards. She claps and waves. She eats by herself. She loves to crinkle paper. She puts everything in her mouth. (Is this some sort of survival of the fittest instinct or something?? If it doesn't kill you as a baby than you'll survive??) She's always trying to sneak into the bathroom, she's a water girl like her brother. We love her to pieces!




I love how she shoves the whole "wheel spoke" into her mouth. The next one is blurry but I love the expression of glee on her face of making noise with the toy.



Is that vampire teeth? No, a yellow "Busy Bugs" spider


Playing through the sliding door with Henry, Sleeping Peacefully


Discovering the Cupboards

One of the kids gave her a whole banana and she wouldn't release it. (I usually give her smaller chunks, of course.)

I have some videos clips, too, but haven't decided where I want post them yet.

Grammum Was Here!

I'm waaaay behind on the latest happenings with our family because a lot has been happening! Linnea is growing so fast and doing so many new things, yet the last I posted about her was her 6mo photos almost a month later! We did some more room updating in preparation for our family being in town Memorial Day weekend. And this past weekend Matt watched the kids while I "retreated" with my mom and sisters to a cozy cabin in the Cascade foothills. So, prepare yourself for blog inundation (oooh scary, at the current rate that probably means 2 whole posts in one week....).

I'll start off with Grammum Betsy's arrival from PA for a much anticipated week long visit. We had a little family gathering Memorial Day weekend with Uncle Dougie, Uncle Jack, Aunt Diane, and cousin Allie (congrats grad!) who drove up from Sacramento.



Some highlights in bullet form:

*Grammum and Uncle Dougie greeting the kids with huge balloons, new Crocs and bubbles.
*Dougie's melt in your mouth tri-tip bbq with all the fixings.
*walking around nearby Greenhorn Lake to feed the ducks and getting throughly soaked by a thunderstorm.
*being swarmed by the flocks of geese, seagulls and ducks.
* marshmallow roasting 'round the fire ring after Jack, Diane and Allie arrived.



* the retractable awning saving the day when the rain started just as we were getting our Memorial Day picnic spread.
*eating through the prime rib, burgers, potato salad, grilled asparagus, bean casserole, salsa and fruit. There was soo much food and all so yummy.
*ending the afternoon with strawberry shortcake before everyone except Grammum headed back down to Sacramento.


The rest of the week was spent trying to find some decent weather to enjoy. Seriously. It rained ALL week. Downpours. No views of Mt. Shasta. Thick dark clouds. Tuesday we retreated to Redding and enjoyed the nice weather there while visiting Turtle Bay and the Sundial Bridge along the Sacramento River.



*eating lunch at Chipotle! this is now a treat for us since Redding is the closest one.
*going in the now opened bird habitat and butterfly tent. a bird landed on Matt's shoulder!
*pretending the fish were biting in the underground river habitat with fish viewing windows. very cool display!
*playing in the water wheel at the Paul Bunyan play area
*loading the "pack mule" up with gold prospectors supplies
*getting ice cream and Italian sodas before strolling across the Sundial Bridge. This is a beautiful architectural gem with clean lines and delicate curves. I tried to capture this in the photos. it's even "calibrated" to tell time on the Summer Solstice. :)
*laughing to ourselves when the clouds gathered and temperatures dropped as we headed back into the Shasta Valley.



Thursday we drove up to Medford to watch "Horton Hears a Who", do a little tax-free shopping and stop at the fun mall play area that the kids like. Friday we drove up Hwy 97 to the Living Memorial Sculpture Garden and had a roadside lunch there. The sculptures/statues there are very moving. And the setting makes you feel like you're in the middle of the sage brush with no roads or civilization in sight.



The sun finally broke through the clouds that afternoon and we got some glimpses of Mt. Shasta. It was a nice relaxing end of the week. Grammum flew back to Pennsylvania very early the next morning. A day or two later, Evalyn developed an elaborate airplane trip on the couch complete with packed luggage and carry-on items. Her destination upon inquiry: Pennsylvania.