Leah Ballerina

Our little goofball is a star! Leah successfully performed in her very first ballet recital this afternoon, on stage, in front of a large audience. She was awesome! I got a little teary eyed taking it all in with yet another "simple-to-say, deep-to-comprehend" thought: I am watching MY DAUGHTER dance on stage! (In my head, I always hear David Byrne singing "How did I get here?")

We were not allowed to film the recital, but we did get to capture the dress rehearsal yesterday. In true rebel style, Leah was not wearing a grass skirt like all the other cuties. I assumed incorrectly that she didn't have rehearsal earlier this week - and that's when the instructor handed out the new duds. As a result, she is clearly identifiable - yeah, we planned it that way.

Here's the video!



The girls look to the side of the stage to get directions from their instructor. When we asked Leah why she was looking behind her she said that she wanted to see the painting of The Little Mermaid on the backdrop... and she wanted to make sure there were no monsters on the stage. Atta girl.

The Rules of the Game Have Changed

Natalie is a crawling fool! With the proper attire (loose pjs tend to slow her down) on a floor with good traction (hardwood floors? forget about it), and with the right motivation (the camera as goal, for example) she can really motor!

While this means that we can no longer leave her on the floor and expect her to be within rolling distance of her original spot, it means that she is a happier, self-satisfying little rug rat who can gets our attention when she heads toward power cords, chair legs, toilet paper, overhanging table runners, and dog eyeballs. >>Look out, Jack!<<

The pace of life in our house just got a little bit faster. :)

Flowers for My Mama

Happy Birthday, Mom!



Every time something green breaks through the soil and blooms in my garden I am held in awe that anything can actually grow there, and I am reminded of my mom and the blood and sweat that she tills into the soil of her gardens every year. While I may not put into practice even a quarter of the things Mom does, I will never forget the times she walks me through her gardens, naming her plants in Latin, talking about how high they get where the temperature is warmer, and inevitably getting her fingernails dirty scratching around some poor seedling choked with a day's growth of weeds.



This little crocus batch has come up reliably every spring so that I know where to look for the striped, grass-like leaves as the snow melts. I didn't plant them, and I don't weed around them, but like my mom and her gardens, they persevere and they thrive. The best thing I can do is take pictures of them and share them here for you as a virtual bouquet.

Mom, I hope your anniversary of another complete tour around the sun is easy, sun-filled, and one that brings you nice things all day. I love you!

Thisssss izzzzz... a Great Evening!

OMG! OMG! OMG! I got to see Alex Trebek! And he was only like ten feet away from me! OMG! OMG!

Yep. I got to watch the taping of the Jeopardy! College Championship. And, double-yep. I pretty much freaked out the whole time. My handsome hubby and our dear and freakiness-forgiving friends came along too. Ms. happy-stuff did an excellent job recapping the night, so please check out her post for the low down on the surreal event.

For me, the waiting in line part was strange but it was nice to able to chat the whole time. The show itself was...some other synonym for surreal. I mean, THERE was Jeopardy! right on the stage with all the sound effects, the daily doubles, the answers in the form of questions, and a shiny film of slickness spread over everything from Alex Trebek's smooth talkin' ease. The whole thing exceeded my expectations. Johnny Gilbert was even there -- somehow I thought that he and other announcer guys like Rod Roddy (R.I.P., Rod) lived in their little, glittery sound booths and never came out.

Alex walked out into the audience during most of the breaks to answer questions and sign a few hand towels (I know, hand towels?!) and I think he tried to dispel some of the tight-wad-ness he tends to exude on the show. As clever and quick-witted as his answers were, there was still a cloud of erudition hanging over his perfectly combed silver hair that I couldn't see past. If I were to ask him a question it might have been something rude about the caliber of stick up his you-know-what, and then I probably would be quickly escorted out of the arena by one of the dark-suited guards. So I kept my hands down and enjoyed the moment for the (another synonym for surreal) thing it was.

We saw our cheeky little faces on the big screen a couple of times so there's a chance we might actually be on t.v. When the shows air in May, I will have to fight Leah for control over the remote as she usually watches Cyberchase at that time. Knowing me, I'll forget that it's on and/or be in the kitchen thawing chicken when they show us.

I don't have a list on paper yet, but tonight's fun will definitely be on the short list of super-fun things I have done for free. Playing with the girls, being goofy with my hubby, and bringing up funny memories with my brothers would be on the list too. You know what? I don't want a *short* list of super-fun things. Let's make that a really long list. :)

Gracias to the happy-stuffs, and Merci Beaucoup to the fabulous, dynamic Dargan's for taking such good care of our punks while we were out. You guys rock.

Recent pics of kid & dog tricks

While, I could stretch these pictures and thoughts into longer, individual posts, the procrastinator lounging on my shoulder says she probably won't get around to making another post in any sort of a timely manner. So, I now present some recent pics of kid and pet tricks (did you catch the rhyme?).

Natalie is beginning to crawl! She's only moving her little knees a couple of times before she collapses onto her tummy again, but people, there is forward movement. Sometimes her leg muscles get overeager and she gets up on her hands and feet for a while before she realizes she doesn't know what to do in that position, so she goes back down to her knees and rethinks the situation, sometimes with the aid of a thumb in her mouth. I will try to post a video of this within a week or so ("Don't bet on it," scoffs the lump on my shoulder).

Our tiny baby is also an official biter. She bites her clothing, her toys (she tore open her "birthday bear" who will undergo surgery this evening), her food (including me - OUCH!), and basically anything she can get into that drooly, tooth-filled cavity of hers. Here's a picture of her with the aftermath of a "biter biscuit."



Doesn't she look proud of herself? I could almost lick her clean, she's so cute, but I opted for a warm, wet washcloth. When I asked her just how dirty she thinks she could get with one of these teething bikkies, her reply was something along the lines of, "Wanna find out?!"



And then Leah and I played hide and seek. While I had the advantage of knowing *how* to hide (I don't clomp my feet on the floor as I find my spot, and I don't announce my spot to the seeker before my turn, and I don't pick the same spot every single time. Leah's methods need some tweaking.), I had the distinct disadvantage of attracting the attention of one giant canine who, for one afternoon, fancied himself a bloodhound. Wherever I went, I had to act quickly - Leah can only accurately count to ten - so I rushed to find a covert retreat. Jack, aroused by my haste, followed me to my perfect spot and stared at me as I tried not to laugh. All Leah had to do was find Jack, follow his expectant gaze, and ta-da! there I was. Somehow the situation seemed so absurd to me each time, I had a hard time not laughing. (See here for more on this problem.)



If you have a dog - and maybe this works for cats too - , do try playing hide and seek with them. Yes, try playing hide and seek with your pet. Get you pet to stay (staaaaaaayyyy...) in one room, while you tiptoe off to another room. When you're sufficiently hidden, make a high-pitched "beep" or other release noise to signal your pet to find you. When s/he finds you, attack him/her and get him/her really riled up! Most of their little brain is saying, "I don't know what the heck this person is trying to do!" But there's another part that says, "All this goofiness sure beats a half-sleep nap!"

Before we had kids, I played this with Jack and it's actually quite fun. My favorite part was how I could "hide" by climbing up on the counter in the kitchen. Jack never seemed to look up when he was seeking. He'd run right past, ears erect, tail wagging, totally clueless. Of course, my giggle would give me away and he'd let out a hound-y growl/bark to let me know he'd known I was there all along. Goofball.

More later, if you're lucky. ;)

My Delight

Having two children is more work than double the work for one child. Yes, we know what to expect the "second time around," and we are not so nervous about every little cough or sneeze, but the factor by which our lives has changed is not a regular or predictable integer. This statement is not meant to be a complaint, but rather a line to serve as a balance to what absolutely delights me these days.

I drive the girls around in the minivan almost every day for one reason or another. I remember seeing a comic strip wherein a frazzled mom of many kids in bubbled thought said, "If I'm a stay-at-home Mom, why am I always driving?" Anyway, Leah faces forwards like the big girl she is, while Nad-O is still in the safe, yet vertigo-inducing backwards position. The upside of this is that they can see each other, like lovers on those old-fashioned two-way couches.

Natalie can be in a cranky mood when I squish her into her car seat, but as soon as we get rolling and she locks eyes with her sister, there's magic. Leah says a funny word or shakes her arms about and she sends Natalie into hysterics that neither Matthew nor I have been able to replicate. I glance back via the rear-view mirror to see Natalie's smile huge on her chubby-cheeked face as she watches Leah's antics.

My babies - making each other laugh. I love this.

Being the cautious driver I am, I cannot take a picture to capture this moment for you. Instead, I'm going to try to upload a video for the first time. This is of Natalie listening and reacting to hearing Leah on the phone. Leah was coming home from Minnesota with Matthew and wanted to make Natalie laugh over the phone. You can see for yourself how she did. Caveat Emptor: It's pretty stinkin' cute. Enjoy.

Holidays, Family, and Silence

Happy Easter, readers!

Annual events and holidays tend to make me nostalgic. I think back on what I had done, where I had been, and who was with me on this same day, years past. When I was young, we piled in the station wagon while it was still very dark to attend a 6-something church service. Back then, I think I presumed we went to such an early service so that there was more time for the candy hunt later that day. Now, I suspect we did it to avoid the crowds of church goers who regularly worship only on big church dates like Easter and Christmas.

One year, as Dad turned on the headlights, we watched a bunny lope across the street from our neighbor's house into the swamp.

"It's the Easter Bunny!" I squealed.

"Let's run over it!" said one of my blood-thirsty brothers.

Most years, perhaps all of them, our family enjoyed a big meal, and usually with a guest. Sometimes it was our near-penniless neighbor, sometimes Grandma and Grandpa made the trip up for it, and sometimes we entertained and were entertained by my parents' close friends. There's probably a yellowy picture of each one to chronicle the event.

We never got the huge baskets, wrapped in colored cellophane and overflowing with sugared goodies. And we never got big presents like clothes or a new bike. (It wasn't until high school, I think, that I learned that most of my friends enjoyed a virtual second Christmas on Easter as they showed off their new Walkmans, jewelry, and tennis shoes.) But we did get enough chocolate eggs to fill a cup that we found under sofa cushions, on top of picture frames and doorways, and inside tea cups. We did not complain. (At least I don't think so - Mom and Dad, feel free to set the record straight.)

Getting married and having kids complicated the gatherings, but the big feast, lots of people, and the inevitible egg hunt for the chilluns are pretty reliably present. This year, for me at least, has been significantly different.



I'm home with two dozy greyhounds (we're dogsitting one of them), my baby girl, and the silence that fills the house since Matthew and Leah are out of town. I enjoyed a very nice weekend with all three of my brothers, ending with a belt-loosening breakfast at a local family restaurant this morning. I will not eat ham today, but I did enjoy a peanut-butter and honey sandwich. I will not hunt for eggs or candy, but I did hunt to find matching socks before putting them in the washing machine. I will not entertain guests, but I do very much enjoy the solitude as the window-shaped box of sunlight stretches and migrates across the carpeted floor.

I do miss going for a walk with everyone to help dinner move through our system, and I miss catching up on extended family news. And of course I miss Matthew and Leah. But I'll take this day just as it is for what it is: peaceful, pretty, productive, and pleasant.

The Big Melt

I think you can only truly have a "big melt" when you've had all the snow we've had this winter. (And the weather reports say still MORE snow tonight and tomorrow!) With overnight lows still above freezing, the gi-normous mountains of back-breaking precip, are quickly dwindling into dirt covered mounds. More snow be damned, Spring is on its way. The cardinals are belting out their video-game songs at first light, the piles of dog doo in the back yard are resurfacing like b-movie zombies from their graves, and we can take a walk without a coat or mittens. Yes, by golly, winter has had its day.

Because of that and the fact that Trader Joe's always has super cheap flowers, my mommy bought a few springy buds to banish the winter doldrums. Here are two pics from "Day 1" of the bouquet. Don't they look purdy? I think I may have to replace my desktop picture with one. Help yourself!



(Yes, I know these photos are a little Mapplethorpe-ian or O'Keefe-ish. They are "two-lips!" O.K. get your minds out of the gutter, people!)

Snow Baby

Through Matthew's side of the family, I think there might be a smidgen of Swedish heritage. Perhaps that explains why Natalie enjoys being bundled up and toted around in the sled when the outside temps are barely double-digit. Did you know that Swedish families put their babies outside for their naps - year round? It's true! When my SIL's friend from Sweden was visiting over the holidays, she napped her youngest daughter outside. Rebecca, my sister-in-law, felt compelled to call the neighbors to assure them that A.) she was well aware that there was a baby in a stroller outside her front door, and that B.) she was o.k. with it.

While I'm not brave enough or whatever enough to nap Natalie and/or Leah outside, I'm quite fine letting her be a happy little babushka, sitting in the sled, her apple cheeks ripening in the sun, especially when she looks like this:



In that snowsuit, she reminds me of Maggie Simpson in her star-baby bunting.
Of course, we won't have nary a flake left with the balmy weather we've been having. And I am NOT complaining one bit. Nuh-uh.

Armloads of Babies

We shared a lovely weekend with my folks who, in return for giving them a lousy place to sleep, cooked and cleaned, built and repaired, and managed our darlings for us. Thanks again you two for sharing your time and energy with us. Here are a couple of pics to remember the weekend.

Nana with the Wisconsin Granddaughters -- all a blur at eight months!


And Grampa with Nad-O in a jacket pouch to keep her warm during our walk.


Along with longing for a guest bedroom, I also look forward to our next visit "Up Nort" when you can cook and clean for us in the comfort of your own home. tee hee

Natalie Claire at 8 months

Here's the little, toothy-grinned bear, posing so nicely for her 8-month photo.

"Aren't I cute? You can easily see my two bottom teeth. Can you see my top toofers too?"



"Not cute enough for you? How 'bout this one?"



"Still not enough? Tell me you can resist this look!"



As expected, we love this little stinker more and more every day and are constantly amazed and humored by her every change. She's working on getting up on all fours, so I fear it won't be long before I'll be chasing her puffy heinie around the house. Last night, Matthew and I shared a look when we heard Natalie guffawing in her crib after we'd put her and her big sister to bed for the night. We can only assume the giggles were in response to some silliness exuding from one Miss Leah Bear. It was one of the moments I think both of us knew we'd have someday as parents. And there it was, our two little miracles yukking it up when they should be sleeping. This rocks.

Green-Skinned Thumb Suckers

Our home has been invaded by a pair of what appear to be green-skinned thumb suckers. They made themselves comfortable on our futon and commenced their characteristic thumb sucking.



Once spotted, they quickly withdrew their thumbs so as not to be so easily identified. They also began their notorious act of looking cute in hopes of winning a more permanent place in our home.



But the thumb-sucking urge is strong, and they were unable to resist.



Soon, the urge, like a magnetic force, pulled the second hand towards their mouths for a rarely photographed double-handed behavior.



Finally, they wore us thin and we succumbed to their powers. The green-skinned thumb suckers were victorious.



Lock your doors and keep on eye out for these dangerous critters. Once you let them in, you will never be the same. ;)

Play Hard, Sleep Hard

About 4-5 times a week, I can get both girls down for a noonish nap. Soon after I put the second babe to bed, I raise my fisted hands above my head, close my eyes and hear the Rocky theme in my mind. There should be a merit badge for this.

As much as I relish a double-kid nap hour, I am often in awe of how much they sleep. Reading a bit about the nature of sleep, I get that it's a kid's time to recharge, review, and grow. It's as essential to their development as good food and rattles. Perhaps what I find more amazing is the broad range in dynamics. When I'm awake, there may be a time or two when I'm wacky, loud, and/or jumping up and down (usually after an Etsy sale), but most of the time, I'm fairly laid back. So when I sleep, it's only a slight easing down of my already mellow demeanor. The girls on the other hand go from monkey-like antics, shrill screams, and camera-blurring flailing to totally, can't wake 'em if you tried, zonked out.

As a teen, I was a babysitting superstar, sometimes working for three or four different families over a weekend, and stockpiling my wad of neatly folded checks. I learned early on that kid naps are essential for parents and caregivers as well. After the last kid was read to, tucked in, and scolded for trying to sneak out for the umpteenth time, a little magic occurred. Suddenly the slimy little fartheads I just spent all morning trying to tame seemed more like the cherubic sweethearts whose gleaming smiles and twinkly eyes lit up the hallway from behind gold frames. Wiped out in their little beds, hair askew, mouth open, eyes fluttering, they almost made me want to wake them up again so we could play the 232nd game of Chutes and Ladders, let them ride on my aching back some more, or do stunts on the living room furniture. I said, almost.

Ah, the power of sleep.

The mini Mississippi

Craftster's challenge this month was do make something crafty to represent your hometown. My first thought was to create a papercut of Paul and Babe as these statues are perhaps the hottest and kitchiest tourist stop in town. But outside of a few memories of staring at old gum on Babe's enormous blue underbelly and pictures taken with visiting relatives, the pair doesn't really "do" anything for me. What I like most about my hometown is its relationship with the Mississippi river.

Bemidji is known as "The First City on the Mississippi" because latitudinally and following the river's course from headwaters to mouth, it is the first city (of any size anyway) to surround and make use of the mighty river. The Mississippi runs north from a little lake in Itasca State Park, then east into Lake Bemidji before it turns forever southbound. The name "Bemidji" is actually an abbreviated form of an Ojibwe word roughly meaning "river runs through it." Perhaps the Ojibwes who named the lake had some idea of how massive this river became farther south.

Anyway, the headwaters of this river is a really pretty spot. Once in the state park, you follow a rustic yet well-worn dirt path through a pine forest to reach an unobtrusive swamp of a lake... with a leak. There's a tall stump carved out to declare the official site of the river's birth, and a line of rocks across the river that I think every Minnesotan is obligated to cross at some point. Some years ago, they put in a less treacherous version of a bridge a ways down to make the crossing more accessible. Like allowing motor boats in the BWCA, it took away much of the charm and challenge, but it made sense.

So I crafted a little papercut of the Mississippi headwaters for the challenge. Using a photo from the state park Web site and a map of the Midwest, I tried to capture the general shape of the river as it flows all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. It doesn't look quite how it looked in my head and of course it's not to scale, but I like it. There are way cooler and craftier entries for the challenge, so I don't have my hopes up to win, but it was fun to enter and really neat to receive comments from other people who KNOW Bemidji! "...there's so much that we share, that it's time we're aware, it's a small world after all..."

Oh, and don't worry. There will not be a test on this.

Ballerinas and Birdies

Leah participates in a pre-ballet course and has a few moves down already. Her favorite is the echappe as it involves jumping. She is not the class prima ballarina and she is the only one without a pink tutu (I kinda gagged at all the girly-ness on day one), but she does pretty well and has fun. We parents were allowed to watch rehearsal this week and I caught the stinker paying attention to me rather than her instructor. The recital is in April and they will be dancing in hula skirts and t-shirts to "Surfin' Safari." I know.

Last night, I sold this papercut piece (roughly 12 hours after I listed it)! It really made my day. What's more, it was my first repeat buyer. Yeah, baby! I was ready to logout and call it a night when I found out and suddenly I had this burst of excitement and energy, just enough to pack up the piece, print out a mailing label, and get everything ready to ship out the next morning. I do need to work on becoming more efficient with the entire listing and packing processes, but it will come with practice. As it is now, if I charged an hourly rate for the time I spend photographing, describing, categorizing, listing, packing, and shipping these babies, I doubt I'd see any returns. Who would want to buy a 500 dollar 4 x 6 papercut? :)

As always, the sale fuels me to create more and fill the void. I could get used to this.

Glow Worm Eclipse

My sweetheart has the camera with him this week so I can't post what surely would have have been a prize-worthy photo of last night's lunar eclipse. The closest I got was to capture the serene light show in Natalie's crib. This glow worm eclipse was accompanied by Brahm's Lullaby, and there is definitely a face on this "moon." sheeah, way cooler than the real thing.

Fuzzy Cuzzies

Here's an update on how cute these two little babes are getting. (Here's the previous photo of the dynamic duo.) While Ellie's always been an adorable fuzz ball, Natalie's getting some comb-able hair these days too. The five of us girls enjoyed a lovely morning last week at Sarah's, and the babies were actually awake at the same time!

Don't you just want to give 'em a little tickle?

DJ LB! Word!

Yo, yo, yo, yo! Whaddup, homes?!

We dug out the electric piano to give Leah a little musical stimulation this weekend and she loves it. (Truth be told, I was overwhelmed with the musical talent at a friend's coffee house, that I felt obliged to get Leah started early.) Her favorite today is starting the prefab rhythms and dancing around the room. This morning she wanted to play it while her sister was napping. I brought out the headphones but they were a bit big and kept slipping off her head. A winter hat not only fixed that problem but it also gave her a more authentic synth-master look. I couldn't resist catching her with her groove on.

Word to your mutha -- hey wait, I'm her mother. ;)

Benchmarks

Many of you dear readers will remember when our family used to send out monthly Leah updates with a photo of her and her turtle buddy, Terrance, posed so seemingly easily on the purple recliner. By the time Leah turned 2 and 1/2, it became an awe-inspiring feat trying to get a decent picture of the squirming goofball our adorable cherub grew into. As a result, the photo updates ended.

We had good intentions to capture Natalie in the same setting every month, but that too, has proved difficult. I could bore you with a handful of excuses, but instead, may I present these two photos. Take 'em while you can get 'em. ;)

Natalie was in a grand mood, showing off her signature mouth-open-wide grin, and loving those patent leather shoes. It was tough to pick a winner from those shots. Leah, on the other hand, was less cooperative and had to be bribed with the promise of a story before nap time to get this blurry, yet cute result.

No matter the end product, it IS good to mark a little time as indelible so we can look back on these benchmarks for comparison and nostalgia. That's "benchmarks," as opposed to "bench marks" referring to the unsightly red stripes on the backs of your bare thighs after sitting on a wooden bench for considerable time. Whoops.

Mentioning Mentions

This post is happily obligatory, if that's not too much of an oxymoron. In the blogging world, whenever someone blogs about something you've done, it's customary to mention their "mention" in your blog. It's all part of the great web network, and we are all polite little spiders doing our best to connect and be connected.

So, after reading about someone else doing this, I googled my shop name, Crafterall, and found that a couple of kind folks who blog about art and other crafty things liked some of my works enough to post pictures of them on their blogs. How cool! Returning a little love, I'm giving a shout out of thanks to Alex and Lisa LaPella at LaPella Art for posting my little birdie papercut, and to Tabitha Emma for her post including my "Too Cold to Swing" papercut. Thank you, Thank you!

Speaking of papercuts and good things, I created, listed, sold and shipped the little piece pictured here all within 36 hours. While waiting at the Apple store to see if either of our laptops still had a pulse, I went to show Matthew what the listing I had created looked like. To my delight, the piece was missing from the shop which meant it has sold! Ya-hoo! So I didn't get a chance to see if anyone "hearted" the piece, or the thrill of seeing someone including it in a treasury, but I'll take a sale over either of those things any day. Nothing like a sale to spur me on to more creative endeavors.