I was going to make a list of my New Year's Resolutions...

But thankfully I stumbled upon this New Year's Contract that really does sum it all up for me. I am hopeful that Axel will agree and thus complete the couple needed to enter into this contract. If not, I suppose I could enter into a contract with myself. Since I have been accused of having more than one personality at various points of my life doing so is not really that much of a stretch.

posted by Unknown at 9:05 pm | | 0 comment(s)

My parenting skills at their best...

I just took this picture of Anja. I am so proud of her.

posted by Unknown at 6:04 pm | | 0 comment(s)

Happy Anniversary to Us!

5 years ago we became husband and wife.
5 Years ago today we became a family.

I Love You, Axel!
WE love you!

posted by Unknown at 5:56 pm | | 0 comment(s)

Bright Blessing!!! Happy Solstice!!!

Yesterday we celbrated The Winter Solstice. We did our celebrating yesterday since in our time zone it was the technical day it occurs (11:04pm PST December 21st) , even if not until the very last part of it.

We had a great day! It was a total family day - went out to brunch and I had a bloody mary. It was red ... so I claim it as my solstice drink! We then went up to Mt. Tabor - a high peak in town - and looked out over the city which was shrouded in clouds...darned Northwest weather. The 'solstice fairy' brought some games - including a 20th Anniversary Trivial Persuit. lol. We spent the afternoon realizing just how incredibly little we remember or even knew in the first place about what happened in the past 20 years. It was horrifying! yikes!

In the evening, just before it was bedtime for Anja we did a candle ceremony. We lit a lovely glass red star lantern that we have hanging in our front window with all the lights in the house turned off. We spoke in the very near dark, with just this one light burning, about the return of the sun and the journey into and out of the darkness. We then went in silence to each room and lit a candle. It was very nice. We spent the rest of the night each of us in our rooms - Anja sleeping, Kiah and Dylan doing "their thing" and Axel and I reading quietly. It was so nice and peaceful!

Today is beautiful and we actually have a couple patches of blue sky! Something to be ****very**** thankful here in the NW winter!

Solstice Blessings to you all!

posted by Unknown at 6:31 pm | | 0 comment(s)

Inspiration was mine today....

I just made the coolest gift for my 13 year old daughter! A blue velvet roll-up pencil holder with celestial/zodiac inside. This is what it looks like rolled up. And this is what it looks like opened up. It divided it into 12 pockets big enough for either 12 large or 24 regular size colored pencils. She is always asking to use mine, so I am giving them to her in this special case!

I love making fun things!

posted by Unknown at 12:10 am | | 0 comment(s)

When avoiding a situation that has serious consequences...

Resort to mindless activity and occasional jabs at the object of your ire thinly disquised at half-witted attempts to be clever...

At least this guystill has a job. He is to be admired for his sacrifice.

see....it works! I don't even have to know that the person who has pissed me off so badly I want to punch walls will ever see this. But it doesn't matter. I got to mindlessly surf the internet for a clever tid-bit to use in my thinly veiled jab. Mulit-tasking at its best.

posted by Unknown at 5:45 pm | | 0 comment(s)

Its official....

The holiday season is upon us in full gear. We cut our own tree last weekend. I have become obsessed with making bendy fairies. They are a popular item in our gift giving this year!

Anja is very excited, to say the least, about everything that has to do with the holidays. Though she was terrified of the picture Santa at a christmas celebration we went to, she claims that Santa is indeed, her "best friend". Sorry Callie - the big guy in red edged you out this time, but I am sure you will return to the honored position post holiday brown-nosing. Before we put up the tree, anytime Anja would see a decorated tree she would exclaim that she wanted to "go to Christmas". When we put up our own tree she just about exploded with joy when she realized that Christmas was coming to her very own house! I fear that the thrill of finding presents under the tree may be too much for her. Whenever someone makes mention of this Santa guy putting presents under the tree there is a certain amount of disbelief. Being a toddler, the idea of "future" is kind of hard to accept. If it isn't happening NOW, is isn't happening. Very mindful those babes! I imagine there will be a great deal of dancing and shrieking with delight in our house this year. It is going to be so cool!

And finally, I have received official confirmation that the holiday season is upon us. I have seen both The Clapper and Chia Pet commercials. Some traditions are just heartwarming.

posted by Unknown at 5:09 pm | | 0 comment(s)

Wondering Why

I am not a bad person, so why do bad things keep happening to me? Why do *I* do bad things? I try so hard every day and come up short every day. Just one day I would like to go to sleep at night feeling like I did everything I could do and did it as well as I could do it.

posted by Unknown at 4:21 pm | | 0 comment(s)

Barter and Trade Rocks!

I just love it when everyone wins! Just this morning I sold these two little cuties for enough to buy this little cutie! And the cash from the sale of the skirt is going to help a single mom pay her tuition. Pretty cool to think that the time I put into making my little winter sprites goes on to help pay someone's tuition. Not bad for time spent curled in my favorite chair surrounded by pretty things making toys! Maybe this is how Santa feels...

posted by Unknown at 6:00 pm | | 0 comment(s)

Creative Cover-ups for parenting mistakes

One of my big problems with my parenting is that I have a potty mouth. It was not a problem with Dylan and Kiah who never really cared to swear that much. Unless of course you count the time that Kiah, at age 3 1/2 stood on the porch and echoed my sentiments regarding the amount of precipitation you run across in an Pacific Northwest February. I can still see her little bobbed hair cut bouncing as she put her hands on her hips and shouted, "What the hells up with all this fuckin' rain?" Ah, yes not one of the finer things I taught my kids. But that was an isolated incident. Everyone was taken by surprise. Not so with Anja. Oh no, that girl is like a little parrot flitting about the house imitating everything I say. So I have had to create some creative language cover-ups.
My favorite:
What the hell = Up the Hill
Most recent:
Dumb Ass = Don't Ask
By no means a complete listing of my repetoire. These two seem to be a favorite of Dylan, who's 13 year old brain is particularly amused by them. We just shared a mother and daughter moment over these lovely little phrases. sigh. You take them when and wherever you can get them at this age! I think she feels a little grown up to be "in on the secret language" that grown-ups use. (or rather the secret language that she is aware of...she hasn't figured out some of our more sophisticated code yet) She even asked me to blog about it - so in her honor I ask that you share your creative language cover-ups and code words. Perhaps we will integrate them into our rotation.

posted by Unknown at 3:55 am | | 0 comment(s)