May 26th

Today I am 28 years old. How crazy is that? Seems like just yesterday, I was 27.....

Dn. John came home today with a wheelbarrow for me. :) In it was a giant package of weed fabric and a portable water sprayer. He is awesome. I hope the weather holds, because I am now itching to get out and weed my rhubarb and delphiniums, put some fabric around them, mulch, and not touch them again all summer. (I hate weeding....can you tell?) This weekend, if we don't end up going camping, I'm hoping to hit the nurseries and come home with columbine and petunias to finish off the beds in front of my house. My friend offered some bleeding heart starters, so I am going to pick them up too. I have high hopes that the front bed will look incredibly awesome.

Today, Megan and I planted carrots, radishes, and green onions in our teeny tiny vegetable patch. Maybe next year, I'll get Dn. John to build us a fenced garden. Heck, maybe I'll ask him to do it this summer, so we can actually plant in it next summer. It's not worth it to plant too much without a fence, since the moose will decimate the vegetables. But they stayed out of them last year, so hopefully we'll get lucky again.

It is 71 degrees outside, sunny and cloudless. The girls played in the sprinkler at the Beck's all afternoon while I worked at the bakery, and I think we will go to the park and Cold Stone for some birthday ice cream this evening.

It is amazing to me to be beginning a new year in my life. The years keep getting better and better, and I intend to continue that trend. I am very blessed. Thank you God, for my family, my friends, and all that you have blessed me with.

Tea Party

I bought Megan a tea set at Walmart yesterday. It is, quite possibly, the best $5 investment I've ever made. The girls are having the time of their lives having tea party after tea party. It's the cutest thing. Megan is very dainty and precise, pouring tea, adding cream and sugar....and then there's Marina, pounding both her fists on the table and screaming, "TEA PARTY!!!"

Unfortunately, at the same time, I bought Marina a little toy microphone that, evidently, only plays two lines of one song. Not my greatest choice. If I have to hear "Under the Sea" one more time, I may vomit.

Megan's Grand Finale

This is the end result of Megan's year in Creative Movement and Tumbling. Enjoy.

Megan's Quote of the Week

We were running late the other day, and I was getting a little upset about it. Finally, we got into the car, only to discover that the gas light was on. I said something to the effect of, "Good grief! One more thing to do!" Megan very calmly looked at me in the rear-view mirror and said, "Mom, maybe you should say a prayer. It will help you feel better."

Out of the mouths of babes and infants...

To market, to market

I had a great day at the Palmer Farmer's Market today, selling 35 jars of jam and sauce! I sold completely out of three flavors (carrot cake jam, pina colada jam, and raspberry chipoltle sauce). It got windy at the end, so I left early since nothing would stay on the shelves and tables (it was REALLY windy). The crazy thing is that everyone around me kept commenting, "Wow, what a slow day! There's nobody here!"

It gives me a little thrill of anticipation/terror...if that was a slow day, how in the world am I going to keep up???

This week...

Only in Alaska--swimsuit weather, but there are still snow drifts!
Visiting the Temple's puppies.
I am so cracking up at this one....Megan recently discovered how much she loves water fights. The school had their traditional end of the year water fight on the lawn today, and this picture is her all tuckered out afterward, lying in the sun.
Nicolas stuck drink umbrellas in Marina's hair...it was pretty cute.
Nick playing Wii, surrounded by little girls. Adelaina was visiting, and so was Samantha, even though she's not in the picture.
Marina's super crazy hair. :)
I really love this picture.
CAN SHE BE ANY CUTER?????
Marina wearing her "gobbles." She wore them for almost two hours--I couldn't get her to take them off, and then she had serious rings around her eyes for awhile!
More "gobbles."

Eggs

I have started trading home made bread for fresh eggs from my friend down the street, and she has six dozen she needs to get rid of. This wouldn't usually be a problem, except for the fact that I already have two dozen in my fridge. So, today's project?? Cooking stuff with eggs. I got up and made pancakes this morning, but that only used three...although we did have fun with the pancakes! My sister and nephew came over to eat with us, and we had buttermilk pancakes with strawberry sauce (courtesy of the Apple Branch Pantry), whipped cream, and cantaloupe on the side. Kali even did the dishes. :)

For lunch, I am making sausage, mushroom, and Parmesan quiche. (Those just happen to be the things I have lying around....). Kari, Helen, and their kids are coming over to eat with us, so that will be fun.

I would love to make an angel food cake but I don't have a pan for it. I wonder who has one that I can borrow... The neat thing about the angel food cake is that it takes 14 egg whites, but no yolks. However, I have been wanting to make lemon curd, which takes egg yolks, and no whites! Ta da! Match made in heaven.

Monday Monday

Evidently to Marina, sleeping in a toddler bed = get up every two hours and try and climb in bed with my Mom. She slept like a champ the first night, and goes to bed great, takes naps like an angel...but when it comes to sleeping longer than a couple of hours during the night, it's not working so well. I haven't slept in three days. Granted, she started running a fever yesterday, so she's not been feeling so great. It was the weirdest thing--she woke up fine, then in church started getting hotter and hotter...and more lethargic. By the end of Liturgy, she was boiling hot and laying in my arms like a rag doll. She perks up when we give her Tylenol, but about four hours later is fussy and burning up again. It really doesn't seem fair. Weren't we just sick?? Ah well. As her Godmother said, I just have to think of it as another great opportunity to learn virtue.

In other news, my jam business seems to be doing well. This Friday, I start my once a week, summer-long booth at the Palmer Farmers Market. Hopefully that will go well. I think I've found my niche in the more unusual jams. You can buy strawberry jam anywhere, but carrot cake jam? Nope. Only from me. :) I have big plans for Wednesday, so I can be ready for the Friday Fling (what the market is called). On the docket? Strawberry sauce, strawberry pineapple jam, raspberry chipotle sauce, carrot cake jam, and a couple seasoning mixes (maybe). Should be fun. The amazing thing is that once you get in the groove (and your children are being watched by someone else), jam making goes really quickly! I should get all that done in a couple of hours.

Today is Megan's last tumbling class. She has a recital on Sunday, so that will be fun. I'll try to video it so we can post it online. Her teacher is taking a couple week's break, then starts the summer program. She is doing a different class this summer that is geared towards younger kids, so I think I'll put both girls in that. Marina will have fun with it, I'm sure. It's a parent-involvement class, so I'll get to grab pom-poms and dance around too. (No, there will be no recital for this one--HA).

I had an insight into myself yesterday: in certain situations, I really have no fear. I was listening to my sister tell a friend that she was using an empty threat with her oldest son the other day. He was giving her a hard time in some public place, and she turned and asked him, "Do you want me to make a scene? Because I will if you don't cut it out." Well, that shut him up, although she confided that she would never ACTUALLY make that scene. If it was me, that would be no empty threat. I have no problem being loud and making a scene. :) Just you wait Nathan, until your graduation next year. I'll be screaming in the stands with the best of them. Ask Jess--when she graduated, I was the six months pregnant lady standing up and hollering. Apparently, one of her friends asked (I can imagine, in a slightly astonished/annoyed voice), "Who WAS that?" And Jess replied, (again, probably in a slight annoyed--but resigned--voice), "My sister." That's right. :) YOUR SISTER. Unfortunately, I'll be forced to be slightly less obnoxious at her wedding this summer, since that's a more formal occasion. *sigh* Ah well.

Overheard this morning? Marina pointing to a picture of me and saying over and over, "Poppins! Poppins!" No dear, that is not Mary Poppins. That is your mother. Megan's tidbit: "Mom, where are my goggles?" Um, in the drawer, but WHY, oh why, do you need them?

May Pictures

My little "nuns"
That is a scary face....

Concurrent fits/time outs. Am I a bad Mom for taking this picture? The situation was so ridiculous that it was funny.
Look at those baby blues!!
Megan was given a bicycle helmet, and wore it morning, noon, and night for a couple of days...including while enjoying toast with Mom's yummy raspberry jam for breakfast.

This photo was taken to document the ridiculousness of this outfit...flower coat, ice cream cone pajama pants, and polka dot boots.
Making brownies with Daddy (I know, it's a little out of the ordinary, but she insisted! I had fun informing Dn. John where all the measuring cups are kept).
Megan, Goddaughter Adelaina, and Marina
Megan and Marina, post bath, with Claire over for a visit.
Why do we even bother putting the girls to bed, when this is where they usually end up?? I was sandwiched between them, and had to practically army crawl backwards to get out of bed without waking either of them up.
And yet another photo to break out when Marina's prom date shows up at the door...

Bedtime

Marina went to bed in a big girl bed for the first time today! She had a successful nap time, and a successful bed time, and is actually asleep. I think we'll take the crib down this weekend! Wow, it will be the first time in three and a half years we haven't had a baby in the crib or cradle. Dn. John's new project? Building bunk beds. (We've got to put all those tools he bought for the entryway to good use, right??)

Kids are truly amazing in their ability to be impressed by the smallest of things. We took Marina's mattress out of the crib, changed the sheet, laid it on the floor, and voila! A big girl bed. She and Megan were both so excited, they were bouncing off the walls (and on the bed).

I made this chicken in the crockpot last night, and it was nothing fantastic, so I figured that I would stew it down and we could have chicken soup for dinner tonight. This was part of my fantastic plan to have dinner made and my house clean when my husband got home. Well, I went to get it out of the fridge to put on the stove, and found that it had congealed into some sort of sickening, jiggly mass of chicken fat. Gnarly. Into the trash it went. We had tacos for dinner. (By the way, my house was a mess, too).

Dn. John is currently playing his second softball game of the season...here's hoping they score win number two!!

Happy Ascension

Word Up!

Update

Whew! It's been super crazy around here, so this is my quick update. :)

Mom: You may or may not have known that my Mom was in the hospital for a couple days. She had pneumonia, and it totally wiped her out. She is doing much better now, and came home this afternoon.

Dad: Dad is home from Las Vegas. Hallelujah!! I was so glad to see him today.

Grandma: Grandma is doing much better, and is improving at a rate that is leaving her doctors speechless. She has her sense of humor back, and is regaining more strength every day.

The girls: They are both over their pneumonia, are happy, healthy, and running full speed through life again. And sleeping, thank God! They are currently returning a movie to Blockbuster with their Dad, which is why I have the time to write this post. :)

Me: I am also over the pneumonia. Now that Grandma is doing better and Dad is home, I am not needed at the bakery as much (I've worked every day so far this week), which is fantastic because my house, as usual, looks like a tornado threw up in it. I have yet to put away the laundry I did last Friday. I was so proud of myself for making dinner today, only to have Dn. John come home and inform me that there is Liturgy tonight for the Ascension. How did I not know that? Further proof of the insane business and stress that has permeated my brain. Hopefully--HOPEFULLY--it will now begin to subside.

Dn. John: Little League and Softball are in full swing, so we don't see nearly enough of him these days. Geico won their first softball game last week, and we're looking forward to seeing a repeat tomorrow night. He managed to escape the plague that swept our household, and I hope he is able to keep from getting it from everyone else.

I think that about sums it up! In short, everyone is doing better. :) Yay!

A day in the life

I had one of those random "only in Alaska" moments today. I almost ran over a member of an endangered species. Seriously. (To ponder: would I have gone to jail for that?) Here's what happened: I was happily driving home from Wasilla, crossing the flats. It was extremely windy today, and I was watching this oddly shaped bag blow in the wind on the side of the road. As I got rapidly closer (keep in mind, I was on the highway, doing about 70), I realized it was NOT, in fact, an oddly shaped bag, but a BALD EAGLE (as in, our national symbol) that was trying to fly but was getting badly buffeted by the wind. As I watched in slight horror, the wind blew the giant bird--that has a six foot wingspan, weighs up to 16 pounds, and has giant claws that most likely would've smashed through the windshield and ripped my face off--right towards my car. It blew across the road, right in front of me. Had I been going any faster, $10 says I would've plowed right into it. (Perhaps I'll bet $25,000, in order to cover my medical bills and the cost of a new car).

Now, I'm usually prepared for the fact that running into a moose is a high probability in Alaska. However, I don't know that I've ever heard of someone running into an eagle. My spidey-senses tell me that this is most likely because birds fly, and are not usually found sitting in the middle of the road waiting for some unsuspecting 27 year old to run over them with their pontiac vibe. Fate very nearly conspired against that stereotype today. Thankfully (and my car is thankful too), the near collision was averted.

In other news, Marina has two favorite songs: The Trisagion Hymn, and Old McDonald (she has varied tastes). Lately, she has been combining the two (also to ponder: sacrilege?) and singing "Holy McDonald." If I could catch it on video, I bet I'd win money at one of those funniest videos contest...but only the Orthodox version, I suppose.

Round is a shape, right?

I am out of shape. Embarrassingly so, as a matter of fact. Dn. John and I bought a bike trailer today, and hooked it up to the bike my future brother-in-law David was kind enough to loan me for the summer. I rode from our driveway to the Dunham's and back (about 1/4 of a mile) towing only Megan, and my legs were burning so bad I thought my thighs were on fire. I felt slightly vindicated when Dn. John took both kids for a ride to the end of the street and back (about a mile) and was pretty winded too. Granted, I did have dual knee surgery a few years ago, and this is the first time I've been on a bike since then. So, I think that the muscles have some pretty serious retraining ahead of them. But still. Even given that, I was pretty annoyed at my lack of physical prowess. I think the kids are in line for lots of bicycling trailer time until Mom and Dad are back in shape.

What's crazy is that my friend Amber posted on Facebook the other day about the 20 mile bike ride she took, towing her three year old and one year old. My gosh, that woman is amazing. I just want to be able to make it down the street without collapsing! Ah well, a step at a time, I suppose. If we go for a ride every day, theoretically we'll be able to go a little farther each time. My goal is to be able to get to my sister's and back (about two miles) without passing out. :)

Thanks Mom and Dad

It continually amazes me that I am pushing 30 (or at least getting close) and I still rely on my folks to bail me out of trouble all the time. :) Granted, it's not like I'm in jail or anything, but still, they are in my top-5 of fall back people.

Take today, for instance. I made bread. No big deal, I make bread all the time. Well, I just so happened to realize (before I baked it, thankfully) that I forgot to add yeast. So, I hopped on my little Bat-phone to my master baker father, and he was able to help me rescue it.

And then there is my new business venture. Not even a possibility if it weren't for my folks owning a commercial kitchen, and happily letting me putter around in it--FOR FREE. They even watch my kids while I cook.

So, this is my very lame attempt at a thank you. I love you Mom and Dad. You're awesome.

Good timing!

Dn. John and I were just talking last night about how we'd like to go away for a night for our anniversary, but don't want to pay for a hotel. Then, I checked my mystery shopping database, and.... DA DA DA DA!! There are three hotels available for mystery shops right now! In theory, we can now go away for a three night weekend if we wanted, and get paid to do it! :) Can't beat that.

The weather is beautiful today, and I think my laundry and general housecleaning will suffer because of it. It's hard to care though....Nick is here, and maybe we can get some garden work done. I'd love to dig out a couple of my beds and replace the rocks and clay with actual soil. Plus, my delphiniums seem to have survived last summer's entryway construction, and are already almost 3/4 of a foot high. I LOVE SPRING!

Christine's Rant

Apparently, I am now deathly ill. (Okay, I may be exaggerating slightly...but I do feel like crap). When I went to the doctor on Monday, I saw some random nurse practitioner in the office. She told me to wait until I was much, much sicker and then come back and she'd give me antibiotics. Well, stupid lady, here you go: I am now much, much sicker.

So, I'm off to see my actual doctor today, to hack up my lungs on him, and find the energy to raise a stink about the idiot he hired. (Can you tell I'm cranky??) Both my girls have microplasma pneumonia, which is apparently extremely contagious, and they got it from ME, because (surprise surprise) I WAS NOT TREATED WITH ANTIBIOTICS IN TIME. Their pediatrician thinks that nurse is a quack.

In the meantime, I feel like I'm breathing through a straw, and my house looks like a tornado has ripped through it. Grr...

On the Mend (I think)

Well, we seem to be doing better today. Marina is on antibiotics, Megan only has a runny nose (it just becomes a problem at night, when she lays down....then it drains and makes her cough nonstop), and I am feeling okay after getting some sleep last night.

Megan is currently running around in her underwear with a backpack on. She's packing to go visit her Grandparents in South Carolina. :) It's super cute. She'll sit in her little Tinkerbell chair, pretend to buckle herself in, and inform me, "I'm flying to Grammy and Papa's house!" Right now, she is singing the praises of their house to Marina, trying to get her to come and "fly" with her. Marina is not buying it. Apparently she has just "arrived", because she just knocked on her own bedroom door, and called out, "Hello Grammy and Papa! It's me, Little Miss Megan!" I love her imagination. (I can hear her in her room, carrying on conversations with her Grandparents....I wish you guys could see her! She misses you.).

I've been searching Craigslist for a bike and double bike trailer for the kids. I just looked on walmart.com, and discovered that I can buy both, brand new, for less than the used prices. So, I'll have to check out the store and see if they actually have them in stock. That would be cool.

Marina's newest word? "Booger." Immediately followed by "Yuck." Funny. :)

The soundtrack of my life

*cough cough cough cough cough*

Yep, that's pretty much it. Marina has been sick all weekend, with a fever off and on, and just general fussiness. Last night, she started coughing until she would turn red and choke. Then Megan started coughing....and coughed until she puked at about 10:30 last night. THEN, I started coughing, and felt the telltale signs of bronchitis taking hold. This morning, after listening to the chorus of the kids coughing all night--and Marina sleeping with us (sideways, of course)--I have awoken to the cough taking over my lungs, and Marina still choking on hers. Sooooooooo.....doctors appointments for Marina and I today, all other activities canceled, and our house on general quarantine. Blargh.

Yesterday's gem of a conversation with Megan:

Megan: Why do you still have breasts?
Me: Excuse me?!?!
Megan: Well, you're not nursing me or my sister any more. So why do you still have them?
Me: (Dumbfoundedly sputtering)
Megan: Oh, are you saving them for my baby brother?

I would like to note that no such baby brother (or any sibling, for that matter) is expected. Obviously, Megan is continuing her (relentless) campaign for us to have another kid. It is pretty amusing to witness her one track mind.

It is a beautiful, gorgeously fantastic day outside, and coughing or not, I intend to be out this afternoon enjoying it. And by enjoying it, I mean borrowing my neighbor's wheelbarrow and hauling rocks to finish lining a few flower beds in my yard. It's going to be awesome! I am so happy spring is finally here. My yard is free of snow, my tulips and daffodils are sprouting, and there is not a cloud in the sky. No amount of bronchitis can taint that. :)

On a completely different note, you would not believe the snot waterfall descending from Marina's face right now. Yuck.