Easter (Moo’s Favorite Holiday)

…because of all the bunnies, of course!

Egg-hunting:

Egg joy:

Egg-cited for MORE CANDY:

Egg! Eggs! Eggs!

Happy Easter!  Hope it was (last one, I promise) eggcellent.

The Week

Whoops.  Busy week – lots of news to share, but first:

Our girly trip to Prescott pretty much went like this:

Go!  Go Cheerleaders!

Marshmallow Moo, after a giant red sno-cone:

Ready to cozy up together:  (It took her foreverrr to finally fall asleep after three backrubs, four songs, and lots of giggling.  Then the people next door slammed  into their room, drunk, at 3 a.m. and proceeded to have loud sex, waking both of us up.  Luckily she didn’t ask what all that moaning was, but she did kick me – a LOT.)

We did lots of cheerleader high kicks, went on a candy shopping spree, and held hands all weekend. 

The rest of the week was filled with planning for a Very Important Event coming up, and this:

Tell us how you really feel, Bud!

Herbie and I were supposed to go out tonight so we could celebrate Valentine’s Day before all the prix-fixe menus kick in tomorrow, but now Moo is sick (thanks, preschooler-who-coughed-in-her-face).  The last two Valentine’s Days we were out of town on family events, and now once again our plans must be scuttled.  Does Valentine’s Day not like us?  I guess this will be a Valentine’s Day where we celebrate with Fancy Nancy puzzles and homemade heart cookies, instead of cocktails in a dimly-lit restaurant…and I guess that’s not so bad.

Christmas 2010

I’ve never had such a sleepy Christmas.  This little man just can’t seem to have a restful night, and poor Moo was struggling with the remains of a vicious cold.  At one point on Christmas Eve, Herbie had an epiphany – “You know this roller coaster of joy, frustration, tears, giggles, chaos?  I think it’s just going to be like that from now on.”

I think he’s right.

But as Christmas usually does, the day still turned out magical:

 

Merry Freaking Christmas!!

More later – I’m very busy driving around in my new(ish) car, looking out the sunroof and warming my ass with the seat warmers.

Hope you had a lovely Christmas/Saturday!

Catch-Up

It’s hard to start a brilliant new blog when NO ONE WILL RETURN YOUR MESSAGES.  Even your friends!  Michael.

But I’m not going to give up.  I really do believe it’s a good idea.  Just perhaps a little foolish of me to think I could get it up and going by January.  People are busy shopping, and drinking Bailey’s, and eating cashews. 

I’m quite busy getting fat.  Also preparing for Christmas, and cleaning up poop and puke – festive things like that.  Weeee!

My to-do list:

-Finish Juice’s stocking
-Finish secret Christmas projects
-Finish shopping
-Bake, bake, bake, bake
-Look into possibly taking belly-dancing classes after Christmas – good for the tummy muscles, no?
-10 other things I’m forgetting right now

Moo and I had a fantastic trip to California.  Moo struggled a little because she worships her cousin Clara, and passionately wishes she could be just as big as Clara so she could not only be her cousin but her BFF.  But even through her internal struggle, she was just rapturously happy to spend so much time with her, and then – TO SEE HER!  ON STAGE!  WITH  (the real) CLARA!  My Moo was one happy girl.

Bummer/Beautiful

We had big plans for the weekend – Friday night, Crafeteria at Frances, Saturday, preschool shopping event, Saturday night, electric parade.

Instead, Moo got sick.

Before the stuffy nose kicked in, she met Mrs. Claus Friday morning and asked her about Santa’s favorite dinner (fried chicken and pizza, apparently).  She even deigned to meet Santa himself, and I paid a ridiculous amount of money for the first “professional” pic of my two kiddos with the Man in Red.  (“Why is his beard grey instead of white, Mommy?”)

Then we got home and she crashed on the couch, complaining of a sore throat.  The night was filled with screaming, crying, and Children’s Tylenol.  Early in the morning, Herbie and I were summoned to her bedside for comfort and kisses.  She finally rested her head on my legs, begging, “Just stay like this, Mommy.  Don’t move, don’t move.”

So I knew the parade was out.

Instead, Juice and I hightailed it out of Sick Town (while Moo and Herbie camped out on the couch) and had a fantastic day Christmas shopping.  We shopped and shopped, and cuddled and cooed, and in celebration of our day, he even busted out some brand new “Ba-ba-ba-boov-boov’s” – very exciting.

After we came home and had dinner, we drove around town looking at Christmas lights to cheer ourselves up after missing the parade.  It worked for a while, until Moo plummeted into stuffy-nose despair, muttering “Glug, glug, glug” over and over.  When we got home, she insisted she would NOT go to bed, okay fine ONLY if she could lay her head on my legs again, okay fine just lay down NEXT to me and you can sleep with me, now SING WOMAN!  Okay, get out.

Whew.

Herbie let me sleep in until 9 a.m.  I still remember when “sleeping in” meant noon.  Moo felt much improved, so we ventured out to the nursery and bought our first Noble fir tree.  We always, always talk ourselves out of the Noble and buy the cheaper Douglas, but this year, somehow – we didn’t.  I don’t know how we’ll ever return to Douglas.  Our Noble makes me feel like I’m in a 1950’s Christmas movie.  Didja hear that?  An angel just got his wings!

Back at home, Herbie headed outside to weed, and I had a slight internal meltdown when I realized that I pretty much just plain ol’ don’t like being home alone with my two kids right now.  Key words “right now.”  Moo’s going through a bossy phase, Juice – well, Juice is a baby, and I am a person who loves the peace and quiet of being alone, and I am never alone, and it is never peaceful around here.

At least that’s how it feels right now.  After I finally got Juice to sleep, and I dozed with him on our bed, I felt so much better…until I heard the beginnings of Moo’s tantrum down the hall.  Over turning off the TV, for God’s sake!  She never gets freaky over the television!  I guess that’s what happens after you let her watch television alllllll day when she’s sick.  But that’s what you do when you’re sick, right?  I have so many memories of watching Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, curled up with the blue “sick” blanket on the couch.

After So. Much. Screaming. Moo finally recovered, and we ordered a pizza, put on Christmas music, and brought in our grand Noble fir.  We plopped little fir sprigs in small vases all over the house.  We plugged in the lights and “ooooh’d” when the bubblers started bubbling.  Juice kicked and ba-ba’d with joy.  Moo spread out the ornaments all over the floor, squealing over the ballerina and her baby ornament.  We hid the Christmas pickle, and Moo won a Hershey’s kiss for finding it first.  I got all nostalgic over my childhood ornaments.  Herbie lifted Moo up, up, up so she could put the star on top, and I looked around at the happy mess and finally felt peaceful.

God I love my family.

Three Pages, Single-Spaced

The days go by, and I am filled with joyful holiday feelings – sifting through the Christmas boxes, sprinkling fake snow on every surface, singing “Silent Night” to Juice – and then I see Judy’s face in the picture on the table, and I remember she doesn’t get to have Christmas this year.  Or, ever again, I’m suddenly realizing.  Why is that always so shocking?  Christmas in heaven, maybe?  I guess?  Possibly.

Her girls turn two today.

Judy was famous – in my house, anyway – for her Christmas cards.  How can I go through the holidays without a Judy Christmas card?  There was a letter, of course there was a letter – the Longest Christmas Letter in the Universe!  If aliens received Judy’s letter by mistake, they would have scanned it through their Intergalactic Translator and said to each other (using only their minds, of course), “Holy beans, Blurg.  This lady has written the longest letter in the universe – or at least in Section 6Q, riiight?!”  The letter was epic – so epic, you couldn’t be annoyed by its length – you could only pour yourself a glass of wine, sit back, and settle in for the night.  In my mind, her letters were six pages long with absolutely no margins and 8 pt font.  But I may be exaggerating slightly.  I do distinctly remember, however, that they were glorious.

Perhaps I shall take up the mantle of Longest Christmas Letter in the Universe.  Of course, I still haven’t finished writing thank-you notes from Juice’s birth, so…I have my memories, I guess.

Today at lunch, Moo declared with wonderment that this Christmas would be her FOURTH Christmas!  So I told her how many Christmases I have celebrated, and her chin plopped into her applesauce.  “And each year, I love Christmas more and more,” I told her.

I really do.  But it’s a funny feeling, as you get older and your love for life and the holidays becomes shaded with the knowledge of loss and tragedy.  I love more because I know life ends.  I try to live and celebrate with my eyes wide open, taking it all in, because I know…I know I’m lucky.  That’s what Judy’s letters were mostly about – feeling lucky, feeling blessed.

I was just about to write that I miss the wonder that Moo feels for Christmas, and, well – everything.  But then I realized I don’t, because I still do feel that wonder.  … And I guess that would be my wish for Judy’s daughters – I hope even though they were practically born knowing about suffering, that they will still feel awe at all the beauty and miracles of the world, whether it’s their fourth Christmas or their thirtieth.

But I do still miss the Longest Christmas Letter in the Universe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Playing…

Puzzling…

Cooking…

Crunching…

Waiting…

And lots…

And lots…

…of dancing!

Zzzzzz…

Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!

Happy July 4th!

Mother’s Day

Happy belated Mother’s Day to all!

The weekend passed much too fast.  Saturday began with pancakes, as all good Saturdays should, and then we made an epically long to-do list in an effort to keep me from being depressed at having a messy, dirty house on mother’s day.  It worked!  And we even got Moo’s toenails trimmed, which is sort of like that scene in “Lost” where Sayid gets tortured by temple leader Dogen, except that instead of electricity and burning hot pokers, we used pink childproof trimmers with little teddy bears on them.

She was much happier when we painted them pink (even though I’m pretty sure I heard Herbie tsk-tsk-ing silently in his head).

Then we had dinner at my parents house and finally got a look at their London pictures (my mom is now determined to get herself a castle), and left Moo there for a sleepover so that we could go see “Date Night” – appropriate, since it could be one of our very last date nights for a while!

Early Sunday, I pulled on my Barney dress (like the large dino, not the upscale store), and we picked up Moo and my mom and dad for a surprise Mother’s Day outing that Herbie had arranged.  Our destination – Frank & Albert’s at the Arizona Biltmore, one of the most historic hotels in Arizona (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright), and a beautiful place to spend Mother’s Day.  After omelettes and French toast and a Happy Waffle for Moo, we explored the hotel…

…And then hit Mojo Yogurt for my new favorite thing in the world – coconut frozen yogurt topped with fresh strawberries, mini chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles.  Afterwards, we all headed home, where Moo and I took four-hour naps.  Now THAT’s a happy Mother’s Day!

Well done, my Herbie.  Thank you for a lovely day!

And to my own lovely mother – I can never say thank you enough, for all that you do for me, and for all the joy you bring to my life and to Moo’s as well.  I love you!