Festive Baby Shower

Last night my friend Brittany and I hosted a baby shower and it was alot of fun to put together.

We did an ice cream sundae bar, complete with colored sprinkles and both homemade caramel and hot fudge sauces.

I had been saving Miles' baby food jars for a couple months and it turned out to be my favorite thing about the night: little votives popping up everywhere, casting a warm glow on the whole scene.

It reminded me of several things: the brightness of birth and new life, the warmth of good friends, and the comfort of home.

Life with Lucy

About two weeks ago, it was a Monday morning, Lucy woke up and turned my world upside down. It has been the Terrible Twos Intensified everyday since and I'm starting to think it's not going to get over anytime soon. She must do everything by herself and if you help her at all, say picking up a toy for her, she will put the toy back on the ground and then pick it up unassisted. Buckling the seatbelt: no help allowed. Putting on shoes: again, no help. Climbing into her crib: get away Mom. Everything is done solo by Lucy, even if it means it's performed super-slow, with interruptions (things like gum on the ground are extremely captivating to her and her hands must touch it), and may be hazardous (taking off her seatbelt while I'm driving). I must be getting used to it because it doesn't bother me as much anymore, and I haven't seen her behavior change one bit. I've gotten good at pulling the car over and spanking her when she takes her seatbelt off while I'm driving (she HATES it and I hate it almost as much, but it's the only thing that works). I think raising kids is more for me than for my kids. This whole Lucy Independent Phase is teaching me to not sweat the small stuff and to pick my battles. It's also teaching me that I should have appreciated the sweet phase of Lucy (was there ever one?) while it lasted. And, in her defense, she does unload the clean silverware, which I appreciate. Baby steps to letting go.... Baby steps to her in preschool.... Baby steps to her pottytraining.... Baby steps to getting through this phase.

(Self) Published

After 9 months of putting off this project, I finally got my rear in gear and published last year's blog posts using Blurb.

I doubt I'll make the Amazon bestseller list, but hey, at least I've got it printed for my own sake.

And the advent calendars are back! If you would like to make your own this year, go here for easy downloadable instructions.

Sleepy Schullers

Over the weekend, we had some good sleeping shots. While I was off in dreamland myself, Travis heard snoring in the toy room. He went in and discovered this little farmer had snoozed on the job.

Lego in his face and everything.

And this is a common sight: Miles folded over onto the arm of his carseat.

He's a little snorer too.

Celebrating Friendship

Last night I helped put on a Relief Society Autumn Supper. We served artichoke, feta and tomato pasta salad, Ruth Wilsons' butterhorn rolls and a dessert sampler plate.

Jen gave a short talk about making friends and appreciating the diversity within our congregation.

For the desserts, I gave several gals 40 little paper cups to fill with whatever type of dessert they wanted. I was so impressed by what they brought back: caramel oatmeal bars, scones, chocolate scotcheroos, roasted almond truffles, apple strudel and coconut balls.

I made the centerpieces for practically free out of white tissue paper, peanuts, branches and popcorn balls. It was really fun to put the whole thing together. A magical evening.

Speaking of Generosity

This must be a sign that though I'm far away from family, I'm being watched out for by a surrogate one. The bouncy house that occupied my children for hours this afternoon was a gift from the kindest woman I know from the gym. She said her house is "Toys R Us" and that she has too many kid things it's insane. Her kids are now ages 7 and 11. So she passed this fun house onto us. And now I'm passing some images of it onto you (with kids included). Because everything I do somehow involves these three towheads, in one way or another.

Rescued

I got a call last night just after I got the ruffians to bed. It was the familiar voice of my friend and neighbor who I haven't seen in weeks (she's been travelling). In a few minutes, she was at my door with a white plastic bag and inside it: cake. But it wasn't just any cake. It was a single piece of dense, moist chocolate cake, smothered in a fountain of chocolate lava-esque frosting. It made my night. I felt so special unwrapping the plastic wrap from the white styrofoam clamshell box, uncovering the large-ish container of thick sweetened whipped cream, and then slapping huge dallops over the warm molten cake. I could picture some white-aproned kitchen hand preparing the cake for take-out, neatly and carefully wrapping it up, then placing it tidily in the bag. For the scores of offhanded negative vibes and comments I had dished out that day, I was recompensed a neatly packaged, lovingly delivered gift, just for me, just what I wanted. How unfair! I am not sure how I will ever repay those who help me out when I can't even help myself. I was reminded of the experience when I read later that night, "Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea..." (Ether 2:24). It was just that. The catalyst for my emergence from a bitter place. How do I merit such a huge blessing?

Sometimes I think I'll never have it figured out. But I keep receiving more than I give. Maybe someday I'll understand how it all works. Until then, I'm happy to eat chocolate cake and ponder on the matters that seem as big as the universe.

Chaos

Something about the state of the dining room table clutter has a firm grasp on my mood meter. Today I am: a little annoyed at the world. And my table: covered in stuff. But it's good stuff. Party favors, party centerpieces, curtains waiting for some attention, you know, just random stuff. And, because my table full of clutter is dictating my sour mood, I will just go ahead and list some other things that I can't seem to get over today.

Things like:

• Our toilet won't come unclogged.
• Our sink won't drain.
• Travis lost his wallet.
• I have cellulite.
• Lucy has been in time-out at least 17 times in the past 24 hours for bad behavior (biting Miles really hard one of those)
• Lucy peed a huge puddle on the floor today
• Lucy won't let me help her with anything (thus, everything takes twice as long to do)
• Our basement is getting cluttered and messy and needs a good cleaning
• Why the endless laundry?!? I just folded a mountain of laundry yesterday and I already have a mountain of dirty laundry.
• I want chocolate cake but I don't have the energy or patience to make it

I know, we all have problems and mine are insignificant compared to some. I'll leave it to Bono who so wisely said, "Some days are better than others."

Some Afternoons...

...call for a piece of flourless chocolate cake.

Uhm-hmmm....

....uh-mmmm...

....uhm-hmmm.

Flying the Friendly Skies

Travis has enlarged his circle of flying buddies, going from flying solo to flying with a whole entourage of "pilots." It's fun.

We're going out again tonight to watch all the planes in their various flight paths.

There's always some action at the sidelines.

And, are these wompous-eyed boys future pilots? Time will tell. For now, they'll just throw rocks, chase each other around and play with stick swords while their Dads fly the friendly skies.

Restless Natives

It's one of those Fridays (translation: I'm ready for some time off). While I'm wrestling the natives today, I will be thinking about these things that I want to do really, really bad:

• Learn how to make paper flowers
• Go to Unique Thrift on the West Side
• Start making advent calendars for the shop
• Find a 10K to run this Fall
• Make a chocolate cake
• Find some good deals on cute clothes
• Look for yard sales for tomorrow (the rain might put a damper on that one)
• Find the perfect Fall boot: brown leather, please

Who do you think is going to last longer: me or the youngin's?

Summer Va-cay

We've been back from our crazy trip out West for several weeks and I'm still thinking about it. It was fun, busy, filled with my favorite people and exhausting all at the same time. It included 6 flights, one car crash, several car seat changes, lots of sand and who knows how many loads of laundry. I laughed, I (for once) didn't cry, and I was so happy to have spent time with family and friends. Here's a little photo tour of some of the highlights.

Grandpa Bruneel crooning, "Ride, Sally, Ride." Word is he's selling his tractor and starting his own band.
Rockstar Lucy Schuller playing back-up.

De-80-fying Whitney's fireplace. That was only the beginning.

Oregon Coast tidepools at sunset.

Campfire on the beach with s'mores.

Clapping with Miles.

The newlyweds. (Travis' brother Jordan married a beautiful, nice Russian girl named Natasha). Lucy loved her dress.

Miraculous Transformation

I have been putting off the craft nook for a long time now. After the table was finished, I figured I'd better get the rest of the room in ship shape. I'll take you through my method of organization. First, touch everything. Get rid of things you don't want or need or that don't belong in the space.

While you're making your way through your belongings, it's helpful to take everything out of their containers. This gives you a clean slate and allows you to put things back into containers that maybe fit better than their original home.

Third, put like items together. (I can tell you from experience that this is addicting. I've starting doing this with everything in my home. Even my fridge is starting to look somewhat pulled together).

Fourth, put like items together in containers.

And voila! You have created your own order from the chaos.

Ahhhh, I feel much better about having that job done. I feel like a weight has been lifted (I don't know if it's cause I can cross it off my to-do list now, or that all of my hobby-ish stuff is neatly contained, but it really eases some mental tension).

Toothly Visits

This was little Miss plastic sparkly shoes at the school clinic yesterday.

Finn got his annual pre-preschool dental exam and it was a special treat this year that his Daddy got to do it.

No cavities!

Waking Up to Bliss

I like cookies and cake. Alot. Travis is a pie person. And I like to bake (something about the precision of measuring ingredients and the magical transformation of dough into a finished baked product). I would bake cookies on a daily basis if I knew I would resist eating the whole batch. But I am not that strong-willed. In fact, today, we went on a bikeride just to get some cookies at the bakery. [Travis had installed a new bike seat on my bike for Miles...it was awesome. Freedom. With Finn and Lucy in the carriage behind us, it was a great feeling being able to bike around and have my kids with me.] So, anyways, I thought I would catalog what I ate yesterday. I am always interested in what other people eat, so maybe this will interest you too.

Breakfast 8:30 AM....oatmeal with soy milk (sometimes with crushed almonds or walnuts), an apple

10:30....chocolate protein powder drink

Lunch....Sauteed tempeh, mushrooms, onions and zucchini

Snack....3 PM {My new favorite treat} Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers with cream cheese frosting (I always have to have something sweet when I wake up from my short afternoon nap)

Dinner 5:30 PM....Salad: chickpeas, pinto beans, Parisian blend lettuce, salsa, ranch dressing, Roma tomato, cucumber, crushed whole grain Melba Toast

Snack 9 PM....True North peanut, almond and pecan clusters

I think the wafers would also be good with Nutella, or whipped cream and raspberries, or as a crust for an ice-cream pie. I even put peanut butter chips on them too. It's fun to discover a new treat. Any suggestions for my next new post-nap treat?

Surprise

My neighbor John and I share a love of Southern desserts. (His wife is from Jackson, Mississippi, where I was born, and where my Dad was born and raised). He puts a bug in my ear that he likes pecan pie and I can't resist baking him a pie (it's the baker in me I guess). Plus, he's always giving my kids sugar-free popsicles and treats and little promotional toys with "Progressive Insurance" on them. And, because his wife is diabetic, I know she doesn't make him treats. So, this coconut cake was per his request. Save shaving the coconut by hand, I made it all from scratch. I took it over to him tonight as he was coming in from taking out the trash. Holding the heavy cake in his hands, he said enthusiastically, "This one is gone!" I came home and still had a smile on my face as I was rotating loads of laundry. That guy cracks me up. Maybe next time it'll be red velvet cake.

If you want the recipe, I used Ina Garten's Coconut Cake. But, for our one of our family's traditional recipes, you can go to my sister Whitney's blog.