Snow Babies

I thought we had a lot of snow a few days ago. Boy, was a I wrong. Now we have a lot of snow. The girls had a great time playing outside in their pj's. With lots of layers on top, of course. I laughed so hard at Ginger trying to navigate in the snow. The ice almost holds her weight so she takes a few steps, then it breaks and she sinks up to her belly. This causes serious issues when trying to find exactly the right spot for, well, you know. It's awfully hard to sniff the ground when it's covered in 11 inches of snow! And, I sent Diana out front to take a picture of the house while I stayed in the warmness. Our annual Christmas tea was cancelled yesterday, and it's doubtful we can get to Silverton for Christmas with all the Denney family today. I'm so ready for life to return to normal!

Winter Wonderland

Chocolate Covered Gingerbread Cake

Don't let the name fool you! It's really pretty easy and it's soooo delicious. I made it when the recipe was in Bon Appetit magazine originally in 2002 and now it's a tradition. We have it after Christmas dinner every year. Enjoy!!

Cake
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt


1 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger

Glaze
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch square metal baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper. Butter parchment. Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl to blend.

Mix warm water and baking soda in small bowl until baking soda dissolves. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, molasses, eggs, and fresh ginger in large bowl until well blended. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with water mixture in 2 additions, beating until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool on rack 20 minutes. Run knife around edge of cake to loosen. Invert cake onto rack; cool. Peel off parchment.

For glaze:
Bring first 3 ingredients to simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and vanilla; stir until smooth. Let stand until cool but still pourable, about 20 minutes.

Place cake on rack set atop baking sheet. Reserve 1/2 cup glaze. Pour remaining glaze over cake, spreading with spatula to coat top and sides. Chill cake and reserved glaze until reserved glaze is just firm enough to pipe, about 1 hour.

Transfer reserved glaze to pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch plain tip. Pipe 5 diagonal lines atop cake, spacing evenly. Cluster crystallized ginger atop lines. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Thanks, epicurious.com!

Snow, snow and more snow

Okay, confession time. I hate snow. I'm always cold anyway. I don't need to be colder. It's dirty and I don't like to be dirty. It messes up my plans and I don't like to have my plans messed up. It gets school cancelled and I like school and our school routine. The only good thing about snow is that it's pretty. I will admit that much. It is beautiful. To look at. From inside. Next to a fire with a hot drink. I've been looking at all my friends' blogs. They've got adorable pictures of snowmen, sledding and snowball fights. Me, I've got a slideshow (coming soon, I promise! As soon as I figure out how to get the stupid thing to upload correctly!) of us making cookies, a warm, dry, indoor, edible activity. Why? Because getting pictures of my kids doing aforementioned outside activities would require me to be out in the snow with them taking pictures. My girls love playing outside in the snow. There just won't be many photos of them doing it because I'll be in here keeping warm, washing and drying the latest load of wet, muddy mittens, hats, socks, pants and coats. Today after nine trips to deliver various snowman accessories to the front yard, I decided to join the girls. And guess what? I had a really good time. Pushing a gigantic snowball actually keeps you warm! Building snowmen takes cooperation. And you laugh. Especially when you put the way too big head on the way too small middle and the whole middle collapses making a really weird shaped snowman. We decided he was Frosty, the Snowghost. Luckliy, the girls had a good half hour head start on me so we were all cold, wet, muddy and tired at about the same time (15 minutes or so after I joined them). So, at least today, I'm a good mom who plays in the snow with her kids. And has pictures to prove it!

Traditions

Today was a day of traditions. Dad and I met for our annual Christmas shopping day. We've been doing it for as long as I can remember. It started as lunch out (which was a huge deal) and getting Mom's present in Medford when I was about four. I clearly recall eating at a really cool pirate themed restaurant. It was called Captain Kidd's or something like that. They gave chocolate gold coins to me after I ate, had pirate coloring pages, and there were salt water tanks full of beautiful colored tropical fish. I looked forward to that all year. Now, our annual Christmas shopping day takes a lot longer. We've got to drive awhile to meet, and our list is significantly longer than one. Today we found our favorite lunch place in Salem had gone out of business, but we still managed. I love it just as much as I did when I was four.

When I pulled into the driveway just after 4:00, my little family was waiting for me in the driveway, boots, hats, coats and mittens alreay on. I hopped in the truck and we headed up the hill to our favorite Christmas tree farm. It was getting dark, but the girls would not go for a precut tree. Diana insisted on the tradition of hiking out in the muck to find the perfect tree. I mean trees. We a need really big one for the living room and a slightly smaller one for the family room. That's the kids' tree. Years worth of beautiful construction paper and cotton ball ornaments have a home there. They get lovingly moved around their special tree all month long. Mine (the grown up tree) is for looking "with your eyes only" (got that, Abby?) and makes me so happy with its winter/snow theme in white and silver. The girls helped me hang garland on the stairs and put the Williamsburg carolers on the mantel. We danced and sang carols and put a really cheesy Christmas movie on. It feels like Christmas time now. Two traditions down; lots more to go. I can't wait.

 

American Girls

If you weren't able to see the girls in their Christmas dresses in my last post, check out my friend Dulce's blog. She took these the day after Thanksgiving in Roseburg and did a great job. It's worth a peek. You'll just have to scroll down past her dog... ;)

New Pictures!

So, way back in third grade, a new girl moved into my class. Our teacher asked me to show her around and help her out. We've been friends ever since. By sixth grade we were inseparable, sharing a love of Reese's Pieces (it was the 80's!) and Little House on the Prairie. For the last 25 years or so (OMG!) we've been in and out of touch. Now we chat via email and Facebook and connect every year or so when she takes portraits of the girls. She is amazingly talented and is so patient with the craziness that ensues when she tries to get three adorable, brilliant, and active children to sit still, look at her, keep their eyes open and smile all at the same time. The day after Thanksgiving, we went to her new studio donning American Girl Christmas dresses. I told the girls to bring their dolls along to be in some pictures, too. I didn't tell them that I had the matching doll dresses in the trunk. The proofs are ready. Humor me and take a look. How will I ever choose?

Piano Recital

We love Diana's piano teacher. Not only does she do a great job teaching piano, but she knows how to put on a recital. They're so different from the hours long nightmares I remember (and I'm sure my parents do, too!)as a kid. We meet at a local church at 10am. Everyone brings finger food to share. The teacher welcomes everyone, and the students get up one at a time, play their pieces, and it's over in about 20 minutes. (Steve reported that this fall's recital was three minutes shorter than last spring's. Maybe because one kid was sick.) Then we eat and visit. Yesterday we were out of there by about 10:40. It was great, and Diana did an awesome job. She played "Church Bells" and something else I can't remember. Check her out.

Girlfriends

Last night was my favorite night of the month. Moms' Night Out. On the first Friday, (or maybe the third Saturday, which it had to be this time) of every month, seven of us get together for a long evening of food, drinks, and conversation. I look forward to it all month long and enjoy every minute of it while we're out. Allison, CB, Mary, Sarri, Carrie, and I were in a playgroup started by our friend Andrea eight years ago when we all had newborns. We began with one baby each, and over the years friends have joined and friends have left. Years ago, Judy joined, and stayed. Currently when we all get together, there are 17 children, 7 moms, 6 dads and another dad will officially join us in January. What a celebration that will be! It's rare to have an actual playgroup anymore. There's just too many of us, and it gets really crazy. In the summer, it's easier when we can barbeque and let the kids run around outside. There's the annual back to school breakfast in pj's, Christmas gift exchange, and often Halloween and Valentines Day celebrations, if someone's feeling especially brave and inspired. But, Mom's Night Out is a monthly must. The core six of us moms have remained, endured, stayed longer than the rest. We get together religiously. People ask what the name of our organization is. People ask when we meet. The truth is we're not an organization and we don't "meet". We're just seven women who have been through a lot together. Motherhood brought us together, friendships developed and support remains. There couldn't be a more diverse group. Most of these women I wouldn't be friends with if it weren't for playgroup. We are an organizer/personal trainer, a nurterer, a talker, a fashion advisor, a comedienne, a listener and a free spirit. Besides motherhood, life over the last eight years connects us. We have supported each other through two divorces, a wedding, many, many new babies, ballet, three cancers, swimming lessons, anxiety and depression, soccer, pregnancies, infertility and miscarriages, hundreds of car pools, and several family members fighting addiction. Where would I be without these women? Curled up in the fetal position, maybe. Okay, probably not, but a lot lonlier and crazier, for sure. Having such strong women as a support system makes me a lucky one. Only two things were missing last night. Carrie, it wasn't the same without you! And, when and where's the next MNO? Thank you, girlfriends!

Anna visits!

Diana's got a great friend in Roseburg. They met at Mom's school and really connected during their adventures in Spain. Diana got to spend a night at her house in September, but we've never really gotten to know her. Yesterday Anna's family was in town for a swim meet. Anna swam in the morning and spent the rest of the day with us while her brother swam. They had a terrific afternoon! It was fun listening to them play American Girl for hours. I had to take Mary and Laura out, of course, since they kept "ruining" the big girls' games. We had a good time, too, shoe shopping, looking at Pier 1, going to Starbucks...Luckily when we got home, everyone played together beautifully. Here they are playing happily, then crying when they heard Anna's mom was on her way.

I must be insane.

You know, I've had an awful lot of free time lately. Feeling a little bored and restless. Not enough to do. What I need is another job, right? Mom of three, caregiver of six, half time middle school teacher, student teacher supervisor, clothing boutique salesgirl/barista...So, what do I say when the head of the ed department at Linfield asks me to teach a class next semester? You already know the answer. I said yes. Officially I'll be the instructor of EDU 280, Introductory Middle and High School Methods. Yikes. The course description says something about adolescent development, instructional strategies and classroom management. Sounds easy enough, right? Sure, now find a textbook, write a syllabus for a 15 week class, learn how to use CatNet, a Mac, a Kindle...double yikes. At least I've got until February to get it all figured out! Don't get me wrong. I'm really excited. I can't wait to meet my 10 sophomores for their first real ed class. Seriously, I must be insane.

History!

All afternoon I racked my brain for someting to post tonight. Eventually I decided there was nothing noteworthy to record. About an hour ago, however, I realized I was very wrong. The girls, Steve, and I had been checking the map of the United States online for all evening. We watched carefully and excitedly as grey states turned to red and blue. Diana and I sat down just after 8:00 with bowls of chocolate ice cream and looked again. I was amazed by my reaction when I saw that 333 electoral votes had ended two years of campaigns and questions about our country's future: I got teary. For the first time in my life, we have a president of my generation. We have an intelligent, vibrant, dynamic, young father to whom I can relate as the new leader of our country. Race played no part in the decision for me. Age did. I didn't realize how strongly I felt about the election until it was over. I am hopeful. How can we expect one man to create world peace, fix the economy, end global warming? Somehow tonight it seems possible. Tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year when the rush of patriotism wanes, reality will settle in. Tonight, though, I'm so proud of my country.

Diana Dances the Tampico

I'm not actually sure if it's "the" tampico or just tampico. My patheic Spanish fails me. I'll have to ask one of my girls which is correct. Anyway, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, all the third graders learned Costa Rican and Mexican dances. The girls got to wear beautiful, ruffly circle skirts that flutter and float and twirl and wave. Stay tuned for Part II: Josh doing the Mexican Hat Dance. FYI, Diana's in the yellow skirt under the basketball hoop. Her great friend Maddy is in blue, and Zelma, in purple, is in the front row.

Happy Halloween!

Here they are finally! My happy, healthy and adorable trick-or-treaters!

Happy Halloween!

Here are my six happy, healthy, adorable trick-or-treaters! Enjoy!

Jack-o-Lanterns!

 

The Pumpkin Patch

It was the perfect afternoon for pumpkin hunting. There were dozens of beautiful, shiny, orange pumpkins, a hay ride, bales for climbing and many picture opportunities. The bluberry bushes were a fabulous red color, the sky clear blue and the trees surrounding the farm were amazing oranges and yellows. The memories of the afternoon are only slightly marred by my frustration with the computer right now. I cannot get any of the three slideshows I made to upload properly...a few pictures will have to do.

A Girls' Night In

Finally the long awaited sleep over is here. Josh is having a boys only sleepover birthday party tonight. Was Abby invited? No way! The obvious solution: girls night in with her first over nighter at our house. I'm sure you're wondering. What's on the agenda for a three year old, two six year olds and an eight year old? Well, their perfect night goes like this: an hour at Discovery Meadows followed by a quick change into jammies. Dinner was two boxes of mac and cheese, crisp Oregon apples, and fresh "white broccoli" (cauliflower) on the side at Abby's request. Honest. Milk flowed freely. Next was setting up the bedroom. Every sleeping bag we have has been unrolled and laid out in an elaborate configuration of who's sleeping next to whom. American Girl dolls were gathered with their beds and somehow squeezed into "Abby's room". Currently, they are snuggled up on the couch mesmerized by "Barbie and the Diamond Castle". What's next? Popcorn, of course. And maybe some treats in the Easy Bake Oven. I got it for Christmas two years ago, but I share. Really. It was a gift about 30 years late from my mom. Better late than never, right? I'm hoping they'll be asleep by 9. Okay, 10:00. The plan for the morning is to make blueberry muffins before heading off to the soccer field. Steve, obviously, had to get lost tonight. He's been looking forward to it as much as the girls, I think. And, Allison will join us later when the birthday party revs up at her house. We'll settle in for a grown up girls' night in. On our agenda? Peppermint Patties, jammies, and a big girl movie.

Happy Birthday, Me!

In honor of my 39th birthday, here are 39 things I'm thankful for (in no particular oder):
1. a healthy family
2. three happy, beautiful, smart, caring girls
3. Steve, the best guy on earth
4. Mom and Dad, who are such a huge part of who I am
5. amazing inlaws
6. Ginger, the best dog ever
7. the Eitzens (all 5 of them, but don't tell John)
8. sixth graders (even the obnoxious ones)
9. Beth (time for boot shopping, by the way)
10. Mes Amies: clothes, coffee and only adults, need I say more?
11. coffee: coffee drinks, coffee shops, coffee drive thrus, coffee cake...
12. awesome colleagues
13. sunshine
14. chocolate in any form (just not white or with walnuts)
15. Susan and Dana, just about my oldest friends
16. Linfield, an amazing place to teach and learn
17. Scotland: Aunt Betty, Uncle Jimmy, Debbie, Alison and Stephen
18. new paint in our entry way and living room, finally!
19. automatic doors on the mini van
20. my big washer and dryer
21. great teachers
22. cheese: any kind
23. the playgroup moms! (What would I do without all of you?)
24. Steve doing the dishes
25. Scotland
26. the beach house
27. Kendra, the closest thing to a sister that I've got
28. Steve doing all the grocery shopping
29. the Internet
30. living in McMinnville
31. pedicures
32. good books
33. cosmos
34. moms' night out
35. peanut butter
36. cable tv
37. fantastic mentors: Ursula, Ann, Marilyn...
38. cell phones
39. 39 incredibly satisfying years

Phew! That was actually a million times easier than I thougt it would be. Happy Birthday, me.

Conversations from the Backseats

This was the talk on the way home from school the other day:

Josh: I really want Mocha to have puppies, but my mom doesn't.
Diana: Don't you need a boy dog for that?
Josh: No. There was no boy dog where Mocha was born.
Diana: Yeah, but I think there has to be.
Mary: They have to get married first.
Diana: Yeah, the boy doesn't have to be there when the puppies are born. It's before that.
Josh: Well, I'm not going to let my mom take her to the vet and get her nails clipped so she can't have puppies.
Diana: (laughing) I don't think nails have anything to do with it.
Josh: (embarrassed) I was just kidding. She's already had her nails clipped and she can still have puppies.

I don't know how I kept the van on the road!

The Perfect Afternoon

In contrast to Tuesday afternoon, today was perfect. It was sunny, clear and the leaves were many colors of beautiful. Nobody was injured or wet their pants. In fact, no one even cried. A perfect afternoon for me goes something like this:

11:30 meet Allison on time
11:50 feed James and Abby, who both love what I'm serving for lunch
12:15 walk twice around "Fristle Drive" (Crystal Drive, around our block) while James rides Josh's tired Spiderman scooter and Abby rides Laura's rusty old red trike. We have a few rituals on the walk: the bee bush, Ruby, the neightbor's cat, who follows us home, the "muffin" tree, and the basketball hoops that we have to maneuver around. I kind of love that only the three of us care about them, but our walk has to be the same every time. The only difference is which direction we go around.
1:00 Abby goes happily to sleep in her big girl bed, in "her" bedroom at our house.
James and I have our "rest" so Abby doesn't feel bad. This usually involves a game of garbage, or Zooreka, our current favorite, a little Nick Jr. and snuggle on the couch, followed by making a batch of oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip cookies for snack.
2:30 Pick up at Columbus on time with no waiting or traffic
3:00 We gobble up warm, homemade cookies and milk
3:15 Out front, I sip my afternoon coffee in a lawn chair while all six of them play happily together in the fall sunshine. There is chalk art all over the driveway, bubbles floating, bikes, trikes, wagons and rollerblades wheeling, soccer balls flying, and lots of laughing.
4:00 Allison pulls up a lawn chair and joins the fun. Dinner's in the crock pot and the laundry is magically done.

The Afternoon from @#$%

11:30 take James and Abby from Duniway to get Happy Meals
12:00 meet with student teacher and cooperating teacher while James and Abby "eat"
1:30 at home, Abby sleeps while James and I "rest" (watch Nick Jr.)
2:28 drag sleeping Abby from bed to go to Columbus
2:35 (late) pick up Josh, Diana, Mary and Laura at school; drive home
2:45 leave six kids in the car in the garage while I get a bag of chips for their snack and grab Diana's piano books
2:59 (late) drop Josh off at Duniway so Allison can take him to get his gross finger looked at
3:02 (late) drop Diana off at her piano lesson
3:07 take James, Abby, Mary and Laura to play at "dragon park" during piano lesson
3:12 Abby gets a sliver the size of a tree trunk and won't stop screaming
3:13 James wets his pants, not just a little
3:14 Mary and Laura scream that we have to leave the park when "we just got here!"
3:15 leave the park with four seriously unhappy kids to go to the Eitzens for clean clothes and tweezers; people stare
3:21 dig around Allison's bathroom looking for tweezers while James changes; Mary and Laura take Mocha out to potty
3:25 find tweezers, Mary and Laura try to distract still screaming Abby with Bitty Baby while I dig siad tree trunk from Abby's finger
3:40 (late again) pick up Diana at piano lesson
3:47 make PB&J's because we've got soccer in an hour; occupy children with food
4:05 retell my lovely afternoon to Allison (who laughs) when she comes to get just stopped screaming Abby and James (in way too big jeans that don't stay up)
4:15 find shin guards, cleats and water bottles, shorts, soccer socks, t-shirts and hoodies
4:31 coax Mary to put shoes on because she doesn't want to go to her sisters' practice
4:42 load Mary's bike and helmet in the back of the van
4:47 send Diana to her practice at Discovery Meadows with Steve
4:55 (late) leave for Laura's practice at Duniway
5:03 sit in the van with the radio off for a whole hour while Mary does nine laps around the track and Laura hones her soccer skills; wonder what's for dinner in an hour...

A Daddy and His Girl

Two of my family have been neglected on my blog lately. One almost completely left out, in fact. I've been feeling guilty about it for awhile actually. Tonight, though, opportunity presented itself and inspiration flashed. Steve and Mary have an interesting relationship. They are about as different as can be, yet they share a couple of long standing jokes and a love of word play. Yes, my analytical, mathematical husband loves puns. He comes up with some beauties, let me tell you. Last night it was an especially bad one involving hummus and humorous. Anyway, Mary also loves words. She makes her own up. Ever since she learned to talk, she's been creating grammatically correct, meaning-filled nonsense words. Needless to say Roald Dahl is her hero. Her whole life, Steve's been teasing her that he's going to make a dictionary of Mary's words. Whenever she comes up with a new one (which is several times a day), he comments that it's going in the dictionary. Mary's response is always the same. It's a loud screechy grunt sound accompanied by yelling that he's not allowed to make a dictionary of her words. Another favorite joke of mine that they share is the gypsies. Somehow, sometime ago, Steve came up with the gypsies who live on Third Street. You've heard of them, right? Well, according to him, they're always looking for little girls to take in trade. At least once a day, Steve tells Mary to get in the car, they're going down to find the gypsies on Third Street so he can trade her. This usually gets the same screechy-grunt as the dictionary comment. Tonight was different, though. It went something like this:

Daddy: Go get your homework book and you can read to me in this chair.
Mary: Okay.
Daddy: You know I'd never trade you to the gypsies, right?
Mary: You wouldn't?
Daddy: No, you're priceless.
Mary: Oh. Daddy, what's priceless?
Daddy: That means there's nothing in the world I would trade for you. Not any amount of money is enough.
Mary: Thank you, Daddy.

I'll tell you what's priceless: being wife and mom to this daddy and his girl.

The Footballer and Ballerinas

I got this really great action shot of Diana at the game today totally by accident. It was a very chilly, but beautiful morning. The air was crisp and clear, not a cloud was in the sky and frost anywhere the sun hadn't touched yet. We'll be back there in an hour for Laura's game. This one's for you, Val!

And, Monday was take a friend to ballet day. Laura was so excited to take Abby along. I think Abby was more excited, though. Abby did such a great job she gets to join the class permanently. We're all so proud of her!

Soccer Mom

Even though the only thing Sarah Palin and I have in common is our gender (thanks for the quote, Anne!) and her "folksy charm" horrifies me, when she (over)uses the phrase "soccer mom", she is referring to me. I am the epitome of soccer mom, and I am proud of it! I spend most afternoons shuttling Diana and Laura to practices and games, which are never at the same place, but are often at the same time. But, that's not the point today. Today the point is Diana. Yesterday I stood in a total downpour on the sidelines jumping up and down and cheering as she scored a goal and nearly scored about five others. I was having an amazing time and so was she. She was drenched, muddy, laughing, playing her hardest and totally in her element. I guess probably the biggest reason she amazes me is that she's so different from me. Anyone who knows me even a little gets that. Running, especially in an athletic competition, during a total downpour, is the last thing on my list of fun things to do. Okay, it's not even on the list. Not even close. You couldn't pay me to do it. That's why, when Diana begged me to sign her up for soccer three years ago, I gave her the big lecture about how, when she was part of a team, she'd need to stick it out, no matter what. I was assuming she's like me and would hate it the first day. How wrong I was! Reality check. I don't know everything about my girls. Ouch. Anyway, today's point is that I am so immensely proud of Diana I can hardly believe she's my kid. Thank goodness for good Denney genes! She is a really good little soccer player. I don't think I'm just being biased, either. She was one of the top scorers on her team the last two years, and she can really hold her own with some boys on the field. That's another thing I love about her athleticism. She is not afraid to join the boys' game at recess. In fact, I think they even invite her to play sometimes. In school, it was always down to me and the kid in the wheelchair when captains were picking teams. No joke. I especially love that Diana and Josh have soccer in common. They will play one on one for hours after school in the front yard. In fact, last night when we were driving home, soggy, but happy, the person she wanted to talk to about the game was Josh. I suggested she call him, but she wouldn't. Nauseous yet? I promise Soccer Mom Me won't rear her head again for a long time. I can't help myself. I'm just so darn proud.

Chapters

Last night when I went upstairs to read Mary and Laura the end of "Little House on the Prairie" this is what I found:



My babies are such big girls now! Hopefully they'll still let me read them bedtime stories for a long time.

And now Mary can, too!

Finally!

For those of you who have been following the epic saga of the new dining room furniture, here it is! For those of you who haven't, it's been a months long process of trying to agree with Steve, dragging the girls around to literally hundreds of furniture stores, finally deciding (on the first one I saw anyway) and then no less than three screw ups from Pottery Barn...It was worth the wait. I absolutely love it! If anyone wants a project of stripping, repairing and refinishing my grandparents old set, let me know. It's pretty, but needs a lot of TLC and I have no idea what to do with it now.

"Being You, Mom" Part II

Anyone who has or was a little sister gets this. Mary didn't quite go to all the trouble that Diana did rounding up accessories, but she aparently knows me pretty well, too.

"Being You, Mom"

Have you ever had one of those moments where all of your kids (six in my case) are playing together happily? I know it's rare, but it's happening right now at my house. We're waiting for a delivery of new dining room furniture so our dining room is empty. All of the children have spread their special blanket out on the floor and they are some kind of "escape pod". I don't really get the game, but who cares. I've got a minute to work on the laundry and post a blog. Phew!

I took this picture in late summer. Diana was really ready for school to start. She came into the kitchen and announced, "I was really bored, so I went into your closet and decided to be you, Mom." She's got me figured out to the last detail! She's even calling ahead on my cell phone to order her Starbucks mocha (no, I don't really do that! is it an option? hmm) And, I promise I wear capris with that shirt.

Look What Laura Can Do!

The Big Question

Okay, so I thought I was ready for it. I had the speech all prepared in my head. When Diana asked it this afternoon, I froze. Good thing I was driving so they couldn't see me a)giggle b)cringe c) blush. It went something like this:

Diana: Mom, when you have a baby do you have to show your marriage license?
Me: Uh, no. (Oh, crap)
Diana: How come?
Me: You don't have to be married to have a baby.
Diana: Oh. So how do you get a baby in your tummy?
(Mary and Laura are sitting in the middle seats taking this all in in total silence)
Me: (Crap, crap, crap) Well, it takes a man and a woman.
Diana: So a woman and a woman can't make a baby.
Me: Right.
Diana: So a man and a man can't make a baby.
Me: Right. A man and a woman each have a part to start a baby. When the two parts come together the baby starts to grow.
Diana: So they do stuff to get the two parts together?
Me: Yes, exactly. (How I managed to answer without bursting out laughing, I don't know)
Diana: Like exercises?
Me: (laughing in reality now) Yeah, kind of. (You could call it that, right?)
Diana: Is it hard or easy?
Me: (seriously, how long will this go on?)It's hard for some people and easy for some people.
Diana: Was it hard for you?
Me: Yes.
Diana: Oh.

God only knows what they've got in their little brains about conception now! Good thing there's 8th grade health!

Debbie's Visit

Things I love about summer...

Not much is happening around the Denney house these days. Thus, I've got zero ideas for what to blog about. So I'm going to take the easy way out and make a list. What do I love about summer days when not much is happening around the Denney house? Here goes...
warm sunny mornings with coffee on the patio
wearing pj's as long as we want
fresh everything (berries, corn, peaches, tomatoes)
reading
watching Days of our Lives
no alarm clock
sitting in a lawn chair watching the girls play in the water
ice cream
not knowing what day it is because it doesn't matter
air conditioning
listening to the girls' game of the day (currently it's Beanie Baby Olympics: America vs. Scotland vs. Rome)
cleaning out the junk drawer/closet/under the beds finally
staying up later than usual
starting to look forward to school starting
long, bright days
farmer's market
meat on the barbeque every night
flip flops with cute toenails
sunflowers
going out for iced coffee in the afternoon just to get out of the house

What do you love about summer days?

Starbucks flagship store

 

I've heard of pilgrimages to Mecca, Bethlehem, the Wailing Wall, Tibet. Not me. I go to where life begins: the first Starbucks ever. Mostly I just really love this picture of some of my favorite people in front of it just across the street from Pike Place Market.

I'm it!

Our summer adventures are over, and I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks of doing nothing. I'll be ready for school and the old routine by then. Not being much of a runner, I always hated tag, but here goes...

20 years ago...I was just beginning my semester in Paris with my dear friend Susan. Those six months mark probably the most growth of my life. My confidence, independence, sense of adventure, and love of travel (not to mention my French)really improved during that half year. I remember living in the foyer, my French family, riding public transit everyday, laughing a lot and loving city life.

10 years ago... I can't remember a thing! Steve and I had been married for almost four years, and I was in a black hole of infertility. I think that summer Steve and I had an amazing week in Hawaii, but I could be wrong...

5 years ago...Mary and Laura were 17 months old and Diana was 3. We were changing up to 30 diapers a day and buying baby food in bulk. Most of the summer was spent in the backyard kiddie pool eating popsicles and pouring water from one container to the next. Remember that phase?






3 years ago...We were still sticking pretty close to home with so many little girls. We were planning a surprise trip to Disneyland with them the next January as our first big trip together. Diana was getting ready to start kindergarten, and Mary and Laura were so excited to start "school" at Bear Hugs. I could hardly wait for "my littlest girl" to get here (even though she messed with the balance of things by being female!).

So far this year... We have traveled from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Space Needle. We have finished kindergarden forever and sent Diana to Spain with my parents. We have petted reindeer and eaten haggis in Scotland. We are healthy and happy. We have sold the duplex and survived dance and piano recitals, horse camp, soccer and swimming lessons.

Yesterday...We drove home from a great time in Seattle. It was a super long car ride, but the weather was great. We took Debbie to her first Mexican food at Mazatlan. She loved it!

Tomorrow... We will take Debbie to the airport for her morning flight back to Scotland. We will eat breakfast with my parents after that at the Cameo (ever had their coconut pancakes? yum!) Laura will go home with them to Roseburg for her first overnighter alone!

In the next year...We will go to Disneyland for the long awaited playgroup trip. I hope to feed my family healthier, more locally grown foods and recycle more. The girls can't wait to be flower girls in Kendra's wedding next July. (In Oregon for sure. In Brazil? Maybe!)And, I hope to get on a plane with just my husband for some r&r in a sunny, quiet place.

Have I finally done it???

A few pictures?

 

 

 

 

I've switched from Photobucket to Picasa, which is much easier. I haven't quite got it figured out yet, but here are a few pictures from our amazing trip.

The Eitzenneys again at last!

A few months ago Allison suggested we needed a name for our big clan. I like Eitzenneys since it gets almost both our last names smushed together. Got another idea? I'd love to hear it! My heart is happy this afternoon. All my favorite little friends are together again. Here are some snippets of conversation from the backyard:

Abby: Teresa, watch me!
Diana: This is where the Webkinz with Dwarfism live (Lil kinz)
Josh: Yeah, and we'll put the arctic ones over here (they have no less than 27 Webkinz in their zoo-I counted)
Abby: Teresa, watch me!
Mary: Look at my Lego car, mama (she's playing in the livingroom by herself)
Laura: Mooooom, so and so dumped a bucket of water on my head.
Abby: Teresa, watch me!
James: Hey, let's squirt the flowers, fence, chair, window, swing...

And of course, there's tons of giggling and belly laughing. The world is right again.

Pictures, grrrrrr!

Judy was right...Photobucket is not my friend! I've spent hours putting together 50 of my favorite pictures into a great slideshow with clever titles, and even my computer genius husband can't get it to work. Our best guess is that it's too big. We'll keep trying, though, so be patient. I'm too tired now to even do something simple...

Home, Sweet Home

We made it! We landed about midnight on Wednesday after 26 hours awake. Everything went really smoothly on the way home. Luckily we had a room at the airport so we didn't have much farther to go that night. We got into McMinnville about 1:00 yesterday and are wading through laundry and big piles of stuff. Many stuffed sheep, highland cows, reindeer and Loch Ness monsters came home with us. It was a really amazing trip that went far too quickly. When I think back, though it seems like we were gone for a really long time. I'll need a few days to recover and sort through everything. Hopefully I will be able to get a slide show of my favorite pictures posted in the next few days.

Cairngorm Reindeer Scheme! as crazy as it sounds...

Today was a really amazing day! For Christmas, our Scottish friends “adopted” a reindeer called Wallace for the girls. This morning we rented wellies and hiked off across the moors to meet him. He lives at a reindeer center but was in a field a ways away. It was quite misty and cool, but somehow that was fitting. The walk was pretty easy and the setting was beautiful. Eventually we were surrounded by heather, both purple and white, and walked on soft peat moss. I was surprised when we reached the herd. Reindeer are much smaller than I had imagined, they’re very quiet and gentle. When they walk, a tendon in their feet makes this clicking sound. This is so they can hear each other and stay together during heavy snow. The girls were happy to hear that they can’t bite because they don’t have any top teeth. You should have heard the giggles as Wallace ate reindeer chow right out of our hands. He was soft and warm, and the girls were thrilled, especially Mary who could have stayed all day. Believe it or not, I loved every minute of it: slogging through muck in the rain with reindeer slurm all over me. Can you believe it? It is something I never would have done on my own, and I’m thrilled my Scottish and American families got to share the experience together. We had a good lunch in the boat house at Loch Insh then went to the Highland Folk Museum. It was fully interactive with docents dressed in period costumes. The girls (okay, and I!) loved the 1937 school house with its inkwells and leather strap for naughty children. I got some great pictures for school in the 1700’s village. I don’t know how women survived in those dark, dreary, smoky mud houses! What a dreary life they must have had. I shouldn’t complain about laundry anymore!

A few notes...

Here are a couple more pcitures just for fun...

We cannot reply to email although we can read it fine. So...

Beth, there's a phone box thingy in Michele's room. It's between the window and the play kitchen. Check to see if it got unplugged before you call the phone company. Maybe it got bumped somehow.

Allison, we were teasing Diana about Broen yesterday. She turns a cute pink color whenever we mention his name so we do it lots just for fun. Later she said to me, "You know I don't really like Broen, don't you Mom." I told her I did know that and for her "It's all about Josh." Then she turned her cute shade of pink, giggled and said, "Yeah, you're right." Love it!

By the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond!

This week we’re up in the highlands in a small resort town. It’s a big ski area in the winter and the mountains are beautiful. It reminds us of Sunriver a bit. Our cottages are at the end of a cul de sac so the girls can run back and forth between the two. Outside we’re nearly surrounded by pasture with the Cairngorm Mountains in the distance. Little brown rabbits run wild every where, and big fluffy sheep graze just outside the window. We can hear them bleating night and day. The weather is cool, gray, cloudy, and a bit misty today. We're at 57 degrees north so it's daylight from about 3:30 am to 11:30 pm. It’s just the Scotland that you would imagine.

This morning we rode an old steam train north for about half an hour and then back. We passed pastures full of cows and sheep, moors of heather, and golf courses. It was fun for me to see a couple of places where my favorite Scottish soap, “Monarch of the Glen,” was filmed. The girls (and my dad, especially) loved the old train and ventured into the restaurant car for coffees and shortbread for everyone. This afternoon, Allison’s taking us to a good shopping place, and Steve and Uncle Jimmy are hoping it’s dry enough to get in a round of golf.

Today’s Scottish misunderstanding:
Diana: Grandpa, Baba bought you a rubbish tart.
Grandpa: I hope you mean a rhubarb tart!

A latte and wifi!

And, here's Mary at Dean Castle play park. It took her quite awhile to get to the top, but she finally made it to the "potato chip". She was really proud of herself!

I have no idea how this post is going to look. Between the very wee keyboard and me being a novice blogger, it could be ugly. My apologies. Cheers!

Laura's picture is of her wearing a princess crown and costume in Dean Castle, Kilmarnock. We went into the keep, great hall, kitchens, and looked down into the dungeon. It was creepy! They had dress ups with real chain mail for kids to try on.

I am a happy woman! It's just a ten minute walk from our house in the highlands. We'll be here all week so I'll be in touch more often. I'm going to start by having each girl choose a picture of herself to post. Here's Diana's pick. This is the dress Baba got her in Spain.

Here we are!

Wifi is non existent in this old country, but we're at a friends' for lunch. They're letting us use their computer. The trip over was smooth and easy. We arrived no problem and are having a great time. My parents and Diana are tired from 10 very busy days in Spain so we've been taking it easy. That's given us a chance to recover from jet lag, too. Yesterday we spent at a local castle, built in the 1530's. The girls enjoyed the tour, especially the dungeon. The castle has a great park so we had lunch outdoors and the girls played. One little girl in line at the zip cord asked Diana where she was from. Diana told her America and the little girl replied, "Is that near London?" Steve is doing an amazing job driving, and we're all enjoying our big Mercedes, which was a free upgrade. Grocery shopping is an adventure, and everything is super expensive. Steve's gotten in one round of golf already and several more are planned. Our friends are all good; not as aged as I had feared. I'm sure I'll gain ten pounds from all the tea and baked treats we have everywhere we go. On our first day, Aunt Betty sent Mary "to the toilet" (meaning bathroom) to wash her hands. Mary's response, after a long pause, was, "Can I use the sink?" I'm hoping to have more computer access when we go up north next week. I've got lots of pictures I'd love to post. Take care, everyone! We miss you all!

You take the high road. I'll take the low road, and I'll be in Scotland afore ye...

What do you do with two six year olds who are crying because they'll miss the 4th of July since they'll be in Scotland? You buy fireworks and celebrate on June 25th! A few boxes of poppers, some sparklers and two fountains later, it's all good. We did have to nix the ideas of decorating the house and packing some flags to celebrate in Scotland. So, Happy June 25th, everyone!! Woo hoo.

My mom reports Diana is "confident and independent". That's what I want for her. Why does it make me teary to hear it's what she is? She's had adventures with food (a whole pig!) and "Greek walls" (Roman aqueducts). I would give just about anything to have seen the little old man teaching her how to make Jacob's Ladder in Spanish. I can hardly wait to see her on Monday!

We'll be leaving in less than 24 hours and my list of things to do is growing rather than shrinking. Why is it that you add two things each time you cross one off? And, rather than working, here I am at the computer. I must shop at iTunes now. Gotta load up the iPod, ya know!