Number One Sign That You Are A Mom

Discovering that not 10 minutes after dropping your kids off at school after two unexpected days at home plus a 2-hour delayed start to the school day... you miss them already.

Now This Is What I Call A Snow Day

The family that skis together...
Originally uploaded by spencerUW.

Last night, after we saw that Seattle schools would be closed again today, Stephen said to me "Let's go skiing tomorrow!" I looked at him as if he was crazy, considering the whole reason schools are closed is that roads were awful.

But here's the thing. The roads *were* awful, but only in some places. Our street was fine... as was the nearest arterial. Side streets off that arterial - sheer ice in spots and very steep so for all intents and purposes unpassable.

But lo and behold, DOT told us that the highways were clear. So this morning, our bunch suited up and headed for the mountains. Because when my husband, who is many things but decidedly NOT spontaneous, wants to play hooky and go skiing... who am I to say no?

The skiing was brilliant, possibly the best snow I've skiied on, powdery and dry. The only down side was that it was very cold; 11F/-21C when we left this afternoon to come home. That's too cold to fully enjoy the experience and having experienced it I promise not to complain about the usual mid-twenties we encounter up there ever again.

For Crying Out Loud

A snow day today. And, guess what?!? Another tomorrow!

Snow days were much more fun when I was a kid. Of course, living in Michigan, snow days required actual SNOW, not just a friggin' inch. But truthfully, the roads are treacherously icy so I understand the logic.

The kids will be thrilled. Maybe we'll bake something.

*sigh*

The White Stuff Again

...and this time the kids even got me out there to throw some snowballs and build a snowman. It was fun... and now I'm done. Done! Snow needs to go away now. Buh-bye! Back into the mountains where I can go visit and ski on it any time I want, but don't have to drive on it or watch anyone else drive on it, or have it make me cold or late or wet. Begone!

Well, at least until Christmas. Snow on Christmas morning would be really nice.

November Snow

O Snowy Night
Originally uploaded by monagrrl.

Tonight we watched the snow fall... this photo was taken out the front window by my new Treo 680 (which, by the way, I love with a love that is not quite holy). We get snow that sticks so rarely in Seattle, and this might be the first time since we've lived here that it happened this early in the season.

The kids played outside, in the dark, and came in wet and happy. They're hoping for a snow day tomorrow, but I'm afraid they'll be disappointed... it's already starting to melt...

Tired But Happy Part Deux

I've just returned from having a woman rub olive oil, warm milk and honey all over my naked and well-scrubbed body.

No, I haven't taken up a new film career, I've spent the evening at my favourite spa. Today was the first time I've experienced the body moisturizing, and I have to say that I'm feeling pretty darn... uh... moist. And a little like a delicious fruit salad.

It was a nice end to another packed day. Nathan ran 1.2 miles to finish up the Seattle Kids Marathon, and the kids and I headed up to Snoqualmie with Anne and Michael to have a snowball fight in the snow. It looked like a winter fairyland, every tree flocked, 20" of new snow in the last 48 hours. So much different than one little week ago.

Tired But Happy

What a day! Today we:

• Did a bit of shopping (netting a new Treo 680 for Stephen and myself, two for the price of one!)


• Went up in the Space Needle


• Saw Santa Claus


• Had lunch and spent the afternoon at the EMP/SFM


• Walked through Pike Place Market


• Enjoyed a lovely egg nog latte


• Took in a most excellent concert at The Triple Door - The Paperboys (and I can't believe that this was the first time Stephen and I had seen them - WOW!)

And now... sleep, blessed sleep.

Giving Thanks

Oh, what a nice day and fabulous meal with friends and family. I'm not sure if my stomach hurts because I laughed so much or because I stuffed myself... and I guess it doesn't really matter, in the end.

'Twas The Night Before Turkey Day

... and our friends Anne and Michael have arrived from the UK for our now traditional visit. Well, at least it's a tradition with Anne; this is Michael's first time. It's fun to share this most American holiday (although as Michael pointed out tonight, the Pilgrims were still British citizens so the Brits really have a claim on it too).

Oh and the chocolate they brought. *sigh* Green and Black's Organic, several bars. Stephen and the kids partook while I nabbed the dark with almonds and placed it high on a shelf to be sampled... oh, who am I kidding?... completely devoured in one sitting on opening day.

Now we wait for tomorrow. Bring on the turkey, yo.

Repent Seattle!

Wowee. I guess that the deity really is pissed at us godless heathens in the Emerald City. Either that or Zule is preparing to welcome Gozer the Destroyer.

Just in case... no one think of anything. Clear your minds!

The image was captured today during a kick-ass afternoon thunderstorm... we're not used to 'em here, so it's always a (short-lived) treat. We also got some hail, and now it's very very cold. I think that we need to watch out for the frogs next.

Read more about it here.

Call Me.. Impressed

I was going to report that Nathan is reading Moby Dick. But since he blew through it in 2 days, I have to alter the verb tense and report that he has read Moby Dick. It's the children's illustrated version, with no long dry descriptions of how whale blubber is processed, but still!

And for those parents who have any issues at all with their kids reading comics rather than "real" books, let me also report that Nathan's interest in the tale of the great white whale was formed while reading Bone, a comic series which has numerous references to the story. I think it's true that if you get 'em reading anything, as long as they enjoy it, you're on your way to having a reader.

Things That Are Not Fun

Skiing. In the rain. Very NOT fun.

Okay, that's the only not fun thing I have to talk about today. Since I pinkie-promised the girl, we skiied today, even though it was nearly 40 in the mountains and so the rain that was falling in Seattle when we headed out was still rain even above the snow line. Yet the lifts were going and so we took two runs down a very soggy hill.

It's strange being out so early in the season... it was definitely not busy (other people also seem to grok that skiing in the rain is not fun) and it's odd seeing no big snowdrifts and even some bare patches that need to be skiied around.

Still, given that the conditions were rotten, we're now set up with our rentals and we've knocked the rust off our skills. The kids did great and astoundingly so did I. I think it's going to be a fun season.

But not in the rain. Ever again.

Respite From The Rain

Today was a much-needed dry day - we've have precious few of them this month - so the kids and I did the workin' outside thing... raked, weeded, tidied, etc. Then after watching Michigan lose a close one to OSU (damn it), we biked to Top Pot where they enjoyed a donut and I partook of some nice joe. A little shopping, some banking, dinner and a movie later, and they're happily in bed dreaming of the skiing we've got planned tomorrow.

It's Saturday night and it's all good.

Bye, Bo

Bo Schembechler died today. How strange life is, that his heart gives out on him the day before the big... no, make that BIG! UM/OSU game tomorrow. I have fond memories of Bo leading the Wolverines while I was there, and though they were tarnished a bit by his stint in the Tigers front office (OY - he fired Ernie Harwell, fer cryingoutloud), I still am saddened by his passing. An amazing coach, one of the best of all time with a lifetime record of 234-64-8.

Hopefully he and Woody Hayes will be sitting somewhere tomorrow in another plane of existence, watching the game together.

And hopefully the boys will be inspired to take it to the Buckeyes and win one for Bo.

The White Stuff Returneth

The corollary to this being Seattle's wettest November in history is that all this rain means snow in the mountains and ski season getting off to a nice early start! The Summit at Snoqualmie will be open this weekend and we have shiny new passes just waiting to be used!

Sadly, Stephen is leaving on a weekend business trip tomorrow, and I really don't know if I'm up for taking the kids up for the first time this season myself. It usually takes me several runs down the hill before I stop saying words that children shouldn't hear and questioning my own sanity.

But oh I am mightily tempted.

Make My (Kids) Mix

I spent way too much time tonight playing with iTunes, working on a "Sleepytime Love Mix" for the kids - well, mostly for Nate as Soph doesn't listen to music right before bedtime. I got sucked in to all the good music I've got, and it was hard to pull myself away. Here's what I came up with.

Sleepytime Love Mix

The One Who Knows - Dar Williams
Walk Humbly, Son - Eddie From Ohio
If Only You Knew - Moxy Früvous
Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) - Billy Joel
Burgundy Heart-Shaped Medallion - David Wilcox
Words - Bee Gees
Falling Is Like This - Ani DiFranco
Gentle Arms of Eden - Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer
Oh My Brother - Eddie from Ohio
Hey Kind Friend - Indigo Girls
Find The River - R.E.M.
Down To The River To Pray - Alison Krauss
May It Be - Enya
Into The West - Annie Lennox
Caledonia - Dougie MacLean
Hummingbird - Kris Delmhorst
The Moon And St. Christopher - Mary Chapin Carpenter
Lilly Wants A Mountain - Pete Droge
Somewhere Over The Rainbow - IZ
The Lion Sleeps Tonight - Ladysmith Black Mambazo

But Sometimes Tuesdays Do

And when they do, what better time to remember that even the sucky days count toward that final number, and so should be enjoyed in whatever way they can... the sun shining when I awoke this morning, work well-done, salmon and glazed carrots for dinner, kisses from my kids.

The People Through the Train Window
by Dick Allen

All we’ll ever know of them are the lights
of their houses in the late evening winter,
and that their lives are intertwined as ours;
as lonely as a Scott Fitzgerald story.
Born to rush out on the earth and die;
how strangely we behave, as if it were not true
that there will be old gravestones up above our bodies,
and our children will be thinking of us sometime.
How else can I say it? We will die
and not come back, not ever, not return
to mystic restaurants and words we’ve spoken softly,
strokings, glances, and confessions, and
the seasons of this lovely planet will take no
notice of our vanishing; my hands
will lie as silently as yours; the wind
above the planet will not touch your eyes,
nor, within a hundred years, one face
of those within the houses with the lighted rooms.
Can we imagine that? All dead, all dead,
all of us dead, who never lived enough.
Good Lord, the carpe diem poets in their graves
were so right that it makes me tremble when
I think of falling into love, and out, and in again,
or listen to Jim Croce in his Creole voice.
Seize the day, oh seize the day, oh seize
your life with every tendon, every thought you have;
the moonlight hits the window, and the stars
have always gone this crazy in their crazy sky.

Mondays Don't Always Suck

Case in point: today was a very good day and I am content.

My swim today was effortless (other than the getting out of bed part).

One chapter of my work life is nearly complete and another may very well be beginning soon (more on this as it unfolds).

Nathan's school conference was this afternoon and it went very well... I love his teacher and the way she interacts with him, I love that he takes a pride in the areas that he excels in, and I love that he's motivated to work on improving the areas that need improvement. It's all good with that boy, as challenging as he can be for me to parent sometimes.

Sophie has created and posted a list in the living room titled "My favrotie thigs". The list includes "hello kittie, pony's unacone's, faries, Strobarry Sortecake, Balto the Sled dog, mom and dad, brother, Sophie" and in the first column, each item has "love it" next to it. It makes me smile each time I see it.

Not A Real Girl

We ended up at the mall today which is not unlike hell for me. It's just..."too." Too much noise, too much stuff, too much of my kids pointing out every last everlovin' thing they want, too much of me continually having to say "no."

The high point of today's trip, however, aside from Nathan hitting the emergency stop button on the escalator (good times!), was an appreciative comment from my husband after I had finished drooling over the swords in the window of the cutlery place. As we walked on, he stopped me and said, "You know what makes you different from most women? I have to drag you away from the swords, yet you walk right by the jewelry store next door to it without even noticing it's there. I like that about you."

I looked up and sure enough - there was a jewelry store and I had been so busy trying to decide if I'd rather have Sting or Anduril (Sting is much more my size, hobbit-like creature that I am, but Anduril is soooo pretty), that I hadn't even seen it was there, not that I would have wanted to stop anyway, but still.

I like that about me too. :)

Albert Einstein Was Never Good At Math

Someone on an online discussion group I follow posted a link to this article today:

The Myth of Prodigy and Why it Matters

It's a really interesting look at how gifted children don't necessarily - and in fact aren't especially likely to - become gifted adults. From the article:

We think of precociousness as an early form of adult achievement, and, according to Gladwell, that concept is much of the problem. “What a gifted child is, in many ways, is a gifted learner. And what a gifted adult is, is a gifted doer. And those are quite separate domains of achievement.”

It's amazing to me what a relief it is to read this. I was one of those so-called "gifted" kids, reading early, participating in special classes in elementary school, excelling on the college prep track, getting 5's on AP exams, graduating valedictorian. Then I went to college and found out that even though I was smart enough, I was by no means all that and a bag of genius chips. Now that I'm in my late 30's, I've come to appreciate, most of the time, that I'm an intelligent, well-read woman who is still curious and still learning and might just surprise herself one day by actually writing that novel she feels she has in her.

But there's still that part - I was going to say "that little part," but in all honesty it's bigger than I'd like to admit - that feels like a big ole failure. What happened to all that potential? When exactly did I squander it irrevocably?

The answer, this article would say, is that I've squandered nothing. I succeeded remarkably at being a gifted kid, at learning early and well. And then I grew up, and a lot of other people caught up with me. Nothing wrong with that.

It also makes me feel better about something that I'm actually embarrased to admit I fret about on occasion... that my kids haven't yet displayed any particular intellectual precociousness, that they've not been singled out as gifted or "above average" (at the ripe old ages of 6 and 8). That they're "only" smart, funny, socially comfortable kids who do well in school, sing, dance, play sports, love to read, write and draw. Of course I worry about that, right? Because that part of me (the one that's not as little as I'd like) sees their "lack" of giftedness as a reflection on me, a confirmation of my own mediocrity.

Yeah. Embarrassing. Get over myself already.

But the part of the article that grabbed me and that gave me hope for my own future virtuousity, as well as that of my kids was this:

Really what we mean … when we say that someone is ‘naturally gifted’ is that they practice a lot, that they want to practice a lot, that they like to practice a lot.”

What a concept. To get really good at something, to be an above-average success at it, you have to like it, want to do it and... do it. Hard work, desire, and dedication are going to move you farther along the path of achievement than coasting on innate talent.

In other words, all I have to do is overcome that laziness thing, and there's no telling what I can accomplish.

Wherein I Babble and Lust After Rats

Happy Veterans Day (Observed)!

Wait... that seems strange. Does one actually wish a Happy Veterans Day? I guess so, yes, why not!

But is it Veterans or Veteran's?

And I have to say, when you type "Veterans" several times in a row, it starts to look very wrong.

Regardless, 'twas a rainy, cold one here in Seattle and the kids and Stephen were home. I was home too, but I always am these days so that was no big whoop. I went to the bead shop and got some supplies for our very possibly ill-fated Christmas projects, the kids had play dates, and then this evening we went to see Flushed Away. Highly recommended - it's a very funny and enjoyable movie with some nice homages, great music, and plenty of Aardman references for the sharp-eyed to find.

And though this is a something I thought I'd never say, it's true: Kate Winslet is just as hot as a rat as she is as a person.

Servicus Interruptus

Annoying bad bad bad Qwest. They can't tell me why, they can't tell me how long it will last, they can't tell me if it will happen again. Tonight it was 2 1/2 hours, a few days ago it was 3, on-and-off it will happen for 10 minutes or so, during which time if I'm lucky I can jump onto an open network on my block.

Tonight I talked to Paolo... a very nice guy with a pleasing accent who could offer me no help at all beyond noting in my file that a very grumpy woman was suffering internet withdrawal, was mad as hell, and wasn't going to take it anymore. Oh, I was actually pretty nice, knowing that he's just the guy answering the phone, trying to do his job and not getting paid nearly enough to deal with me in full shit fit mode. I'll save my ire for someone in the business office when I call tomorrow to demand some answers, or if no answers then a big freakin' credit on this month's bill.

Yup. That's all I've got. I've officially turned into the most boring blogger evah.

Wisdom

Be humble, for you are made of dung. Be noble, for you are made of stars.
-Serbian proverb

I feel like I want to say more, but my own words just won't come right now. It's a strange mix of emotions today - some gratitude, some worry, some hope, some sadness. Just generally unsettled and unfocused.

Still, I wanted to share this great quote that Eddie From Ohio's Robbie shared with us at tonight's concert. It was a wonderful show, and so much fun to be there with the kids. We got them shirts which Robbie and Julie signed afterwards; they were so kind, and the kids were very excited to meet and thank them.

I love how my little ones love the music. We're doing something right, even if sometimes parenthood leaves me feeling more than excretory than astral.

Cautious Optimism

Wow.

I have to say it's looking good so far. I mean... 23 seat pickup in the House, 3 in the Senate. And more to come - could be as many as +32 and +5. Just wow.

I have hope, for the first time in a long time, that we can start to undo some of the damage this horrific president and his puppet Congress have done. But we have to run with this opportunity and really make things happen - and soon. If the Dems can do this... start cleaning up the mess in Iraq, re-establish civil liberties and the rule of law, make the environment a priority, repeal the rich's tax cuts, clean up the rot and corruption in DC...

if they take the trust they've been handed and execute faithfully...

this could be a very good day indeed.

Oh, The Mirth

Stolen shamelessly after seeing it on Terrilynn's blog because, on the night before one of the biggest elections in our history doesn't everyone need a laugh?

Good Things Come...

In our household this fall, Sunday nights are typically reserved for watching The Amazing Race. It's a special treat for the kids, that even on a school night they get to stay up until 9pm, root on their favourite teams, decide which challenges they would or wouldn't do, and plan for the time that they're old enough to get on the show themselves.

All that being said, it didn't happen tonight - thank goodness our friend TiVo was ready and willing to step up for us. Instead, some friends watched the kids while Stephen and I headed over to the Tractor Tavern for a CD release party for a singer/songwriter we both like very much - Karen Pernick, whose new album is called Two Kinds of Weather.

Her first CD, Apartment 12 was on constant rotation for quite a while after its release in 1996. Yes, you read that right - 10 years, we've waited for a new one. I liked her first so much, I e-mailed Karen, who had no web site (remember, it was 1996 and very few people did), and asked her if she wanted one. She wrote back and said yes so I put together the very first iteration of karenpernick.com, then met her for dinner when she played a Six String Concerts show in '97. I didn't get a chance to talk with her tonight after the show, but maybe I'll drop her another note sometime to see if she remembers me. :)

Anyway, the show was great. Karen is as lovely as ever, her voice is like buttah, and the new songs are terrific. She was joined onstage by the musicians she worked with on the album, no-name slackers like Wayne Horvitz (who also produced the record) and Robin Holcomb. It was also nice to see Julie Wolf come up onstage to do some backing vocals on "Apartment 12."

One funny thing... we ended up getting to the Tractor about 45 minutes early, while Karen and the band were still sound checking. So we queued up in the rain (under the awning, luckily), waiting until they opened the doors. This is funny only because this used to be what Stephen and I would do before every general admission show we attended... we always liked to be there to have our pick of seats or standing room near the stage. It's been several years and two kids since we've been early enough to do that. Made me feel all twenty-something again.

Celebrate Good Times

It's a weekend of fun and frolic! From EMP last night to a lovely girls night out with my coolmom friends (minus one) tonight. It's become a yearly, or nearly so, tradition, dinner out at the oldest Mexican restaurant in Seattle, Mama's Mexican Kitchen. (Geek note to anyone who pays attention to such things: check out Mama's URL. They are OLD school.) In addition to the great company, margaritas, and food, we have come to expect that it will pour (check) and that we will get the waitress we love (check). We didn't get to sit in the Elvis room, but I guess one can't have everything.

I did get to spend a goodly amount of time holding the lovely Ms. Piper, aka The Best Baby Ever. And I was reminded again how much I enjoy this group of women. Our friendship is conducted mostly via e-mail (and mea culpa, I've been a very poor correspondent over the last few months), and we don't get together nearly as often as we should, but whenever do I'm reminded how glad I am to count them among some of my oldest Seattle friends.

In other news... it is raining. A lot. With more to come. Talking with various friends whose kids are still playing soccer for a few more weeks, I've never been so thankful that my kids' soccer seasons ended LAST weekend.

When You Wish Upon A Star...

Just back from a lovely family date night. We took the kids out for dinner and then to the Experience Music Project for a member's preview of the new exhibit that opens this weekend, The Music Behind the Magic. The exhibit examines Disney's musical history, from Annette Funicello on the Mickey Mouse Club to Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins to the phenomenon that is High School Musical.

Thumbs up all around, especially for the special performance of Jodi Benson, the woman who voiced Ariel in The Little Mermaid. As expected, my eyes ran pretty much through the whole thing. I'm such a sap.

Brilliance Or Insanity? You Be The Judge!

There are two LARGE bags of candy sitting in the kitchen, candy that my kids braved the bitter cold to procure on Halloween night. In fact, counting the bag of leftovers that didn't get handed out (said cold kept all but a handful of wee ghosties away), there are three.

Now, knowing that I have a wicked sweet tooth, and that I have personally seen, with my own eyes, dozens of Twix and Butterfingers in those bags and furthermore that I work from home full-time now and so am left completely alone with said three large bags of candy, you'd think this story probably has a predictable ending, right? And it probably involves me gaining five pounds, hiding candy wrappers under the coffee grounds in the garbage can, and explaining to the children that they've eaten a lot more candy than they thought they had.

Well HA! That is NOT the way it's going down with those three bags of candy. Because...

oh sweet mother what have I done?

I have given up chocolate.

Until April.

April 1st, to be exact.

Opening Day, 2007.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, and as it turns out it actually worked! Kind of. I made this sacrifice to the Baseball Gods just after they lost game 1 of the ALDS to the Yankees. "Oh merciful Baseball Gods," I pleaded. "Please help my Tigers get to the World Series, and if you do I promise to give up...

thinks quickly... has to be a true sacrifice, but nothing so harsh that I can't follow through on it. Too late to offer the firstborn. Sex? No! Alcohol? Ha! Sweets? N-... well, maybe not ALL sweets, but what about chocolate? Yeah, that's painful, shows I'm serious, but it's definitely do-able...

...CHOCOLATE! From now until... Opening Day next year! Just get 'em to the Series!"

And then... lo and behold, the Tigers won 7 in a row. American League Champions! World Series, baby! And I patted myself on the back, oh I did I did.

And then... well, we don't have to go into what happened next. Hoping the magic would work again, I offerred to extend the chocolate sacrifice, until the next World Series. Yes, you read that right. A whole YEAR. Never doubt how much I love my Tigers.

But the Gods were no longer listening. Or if they were it was in that "Well what more do you want from us we made the Cards hit easy grounders to your pitchers but even we couldn't help them when they kept overthrowing the 1st and 3rd basemen" way.

So the candy sits in the three bags, veritable mountains of chocolately goodness. And every once in awhile I walk into the kitchen and veer towards them, and then remember and walk forlornly away. Because I know that if I don't follow through on this promise that I will have absolutely no cred next year when we're in a close race for the AL Central with the Sox or Twins and I ask for that come-from-behind victory, or that strikeout with the bases loaded.

The only upside is that it's going to be a lot easier to get through the holidays without gaining that five pounds when chocolate is completely off the table. Halloween... Christmas... Easter... *sigh* Cold comfort, but I'll take what I can get.

And of course... there's always Skittles.

KBloWriMo 2: Electric Boogaloo

It's November 1st, and you know what that means... the second annual KBloWriMo! The first was such a success, and so much fun to do, that I couldn't help but do it again. And this year, someone else ran with the idea and made it an actual "thing" - NaBloPoMo. Quite a list of participants she has signed up and although at first I resisted, I finally, just minutes ago, decided to be a joiner. Baa. :)

I feel like November is going to be a very good month, I have to say. October was... it was wonderful and weird and crazy and disappointing and I'm honestly glad that it's over. Thanks to everyone who wrote or commented or called to offer their condolences on the Tigers losing, in a craptacular fashion, the World Series. Baseball gods love 'em, they just plain choked, and it was NOT the exciting ending I was hoping for. Still, they made it to the Show, and I love them for that and the season they gave us die-hards who have suffered for SO long.

Work life is shifting, yet again, as I finish up with one job without really having anything solidly in place to transition into. That's both really liberating and really scary, but I've got lots of irons in the fire that could... um... whatever the heck it is the irons in the fire do. Get hot, I guess. In any case, I feel that good things could be coming soon, although I'm willing to admit that could be the giddiness of the first day of KBloWriMo talking. It's like Christmas, but with words!

And those are all the words I have time for today - we are bereft of potatoes, so off I must go a-hunting and a-gathering. But guess what? There will be more buttery wordy goodness tomorrrow, my poppets, so be sure to check back.