10 great things about 2011

I could give you a warts-and-all recap of the year, but since I'm such a blithesome optimist (can you hear my mom making gagging noises from where you are?), I'm going to just hit the highlights, in no particular order.

1. I learned how to say no.

This is actually pretty huge. I've been at this freelance business for almost five years now, and until late this year, I just couldn't say no to a job, no matter how impossible the deadline. But behold! There's a new me, one who will actually tell clients when I don't have time (or don't want to give up time with the boys) to do a job. My uncle Kent tells me this gets both easier and more fun (he's a lawyer, and he turns people down with abandon).

2. Liam and Max learned the value of a dollar.

We bought each of them a DS a couple of years ago, but now there's a new game system in town: the 3DS. So we told them that this time they're on their own if they want to buy the shiny new 3DS (and who are we kidding? of course they do). They have been saving for months now, and they are finally within striking distance. It's down to the last $13 for each of them. They earn money by doing chores around the house, and they have also been saving their birthday/Christmas money. I'm tempted to just kick in the last bit myself, but I won't, because they are so proud of themselves for having the discipline to get to this point. I can't wait until they finally reach their goal!

3. Henry's not a baby anymore.

There are lots of good things about babies: They smell nice, they coo, and they come in a handy portable size (just for example). But he's much more interactive now. He talks all the time, and he figures things out by himself. In the mornings, he wakes up and comes downstairs to climb into bed with us instead of crying until I trudge up the stairs to get him. He's stubborn, and fearless, and he has such a big personality for such a little person. Now we just need to work on his little potty mouth...

4. Mike and I are past the seven-year itch.
I wasn't really worried about the seven-year itch thing, but I do think it's a great thing that with every year that passes, Mike and I are even happier to have found each other than we were the year before. I keep thinking that we're going to reach critical mass one of these days, but it hasn't happened yet.

5. I went to the movies!

Hey, this would be a big deal to you too if the last movie you saw in its theatrical release was Horton Hears a Who ... three years ago! On Christmas, after the festivities at my grandpa's house, various family members took up two rows at our local cineplex to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I am perpetually tired, so I worried that I would fall asleep and snore or drool or something, but I needn't have worried: The movie was more than exciting enough (and pretty true to the book!) to keep me awake. Oh! And I also have plans already to see each of the Hunger Games movies with my friend Valerie. The first one comes out in March, and I can't wait!

6. Reading is fundamental fun awesome.
Liam reads (almost!) as much as I did at his age, and even though he is still a beginner, Max is really having fun with reading too. And since I want to see the publishing industry not die, we have more than our fair share of books around here. They're piled up in every room, and while that can be a pain from a cleaning standpoint, I don't really care. What's important to me is that so far we've managed to produce two big readers, and hopes are high for Henry, who finally has the patience and interest to sit through me reading a whole book to him.

7. Nobody got surgery.
Nobody even went to the emergency room (though I guess there's still time). I love it when we are all healthy.

8. We hit the road.
The big vacation to Niagara Falls was incredible, but what really sticks out to me are the day trips we've taken this year. We went to Elkhart to ice skate and hang out with cousin Amelia. We spent a day at the Planetarium, and several at the zoo. We went to Michigan to Barb and Kevin's cottage. We did an overnight in Naperville and explored the Arboretum. Max and I went to the Mag Mile and Millennium Park. Small-town life is great in a lot of really important ways, but it's kind of a lifesaver that we're within striking distance of so many interesting places to explore. And honestly, even though I am a completely anal planner by nature, the best times we've had have been when we woke up in the morning, decided on a destination, and just went. I am already working on my list of day trips for 2012!

9. Charlie's not so bad after all.
Way back when we took Charlie to dog school, the teacher told us that as a puppy, Charlie would drive us crazy. By the time he was a year old, we would think he was all right. By the time he was two, we would think he was pretty cool. And by the time he was three, we would think he was the best dog in the world. And so far, her assessment has been spot on. Charlie is almost two now, and he is turning into a pretty good dog. And this year, as a gift to us all (just in time for Christmas!) we got a new fence, which has opened up a whole new world where we can just open up the door and let him run free without worry.

10. You are swell.
Posting has been kind of light this year because work has been so heavy. But it's nice to know that there are still people out there keeping up with our lives. I always say that this blog is my love letter/baby book for the boys, but the truth is that it's as much for me as it is for them. And I hope it's half as much fun for you to read as it is for me to write. So thanks for sticking with us, and stay tuned for more exciting adventures!

making the midnight noodles

When my grandparents first got married, my Great-Grandma Ethel taught Gram how to make noodles. Grandma Ethel had many talents, but I suspect that "domestic goddess" wasn't a title she really coveted, so she passed her noodle-making knowledge down to Gram (her daughter-in-law) and dusted the metaphorical (and probably literal!) flour off her hands. So every year, for every holiday, Gram would make noodles with chicken served over mashed potatoes. To call it "chicken and noodles" doesn't do it justice: It's not a soup, and the chicken isn't the star. In my family, the dish has always just been called "the noodles" or, as Grandpa calls them, "the midnight noodles," because Gram never had time to make them until late on the holiday eve.

I was the kind of kid (and am now the kind of adult) who was always asking questions: How do you do that? Why do you do it that way? How did you learn it? Can I do it too? And one year, I asked Gram how to make the noodles, and she decided to teach me. We sat at the kitchen table in the evening, and she poured a hillock of flour directly onto the table. Then she carved out a crater and showed me how to separate eggs and drop the yolks in. And then we kneaded, and kneaded, and kneaded. And she got out the rolling pin and taught me how to roll the dough out from the center and lay it out to dry. Later, she showed me how to roll the dough up and cut it with a knife — though not lengthwise, the way my uncle Steve did one year in a misguided attempt at helpfulness, making a thick doughy mess.

And now that she's gone, I'm the one who makes the noodles for the holidays, and every time I'm at once incredibly happy to have this little part of her, and indescribably sad, along with a healthy dose of sick panic that I will forget how to make them the right way and we will all have a noodle-free holiday. Thankfully, that hasn't happened (yet). I do some things differently than she did. Case in point: I don't mess around with boiling a whole chicken for the broth, because I'd probably end up getting somebody hurt by leaving in too many bones and it just seems like so much more work than using breast fillets. And after a few holidays where I spent days picking the dried flour and eggs out from under my fingernails, I got the bright idea to start using the dough hook on my stand mixer. (Why did none of us ever think to get her a stand mixer??) And this year, I'm even making them a couple of days early (though I won't cook them until Christmas), something Gram said she always meant to do but somehow never found the time for. So today, I'm making noodles, and thinking about Gram, and hoping that one day, one of the boys or one of my siblings or cousins or aunts or uncles (hah!) will stop to ask me: How do you do that? How did you learn it? Can I do it too? And I will be happy to show them. After all, it's a (really) big family, and I don't think we could ever have too many noodles.

UPDATE: Avalon decided to try her hand at making a dough ball (though I still rolled it out for her since I was covered in flour and she wasn't). Not bad for a first attempt!

birthday fortune

We got Chinese for lunch today, and I thought I'd look to the fortune cookie instead of a birthday horoscope to guide me through the upcoming year. And then I opened the cookie:

Hardly anyone knows how much is gained by ignoring the future.

Ummmm, okay then. So I should ignore the future? And I will gain something? I think someone at the fortune cookie plant ran out of things to say that were sufficiently obscure but still made a reasonable amount of sense. With that in mind, I opened up another cookie, seeking something a little more concrete.

Face facts with dignity.

Well, it's specific for sure. And as I face the fact of my 37th birthday, I will do so with dignity ... yeah, right. Because I am so very dignified. Forget that. I'm heading into my 37th year with JOY. I'm going to spend it playing games with my boys, spending time with my husband, and maybe even squeezing in some time for myself. I'm going to spend it laughing — a lot! — with the people who matter the most to me. So get ready.

windy city day trip

Max got a special treat on Sunday when we set out on a little adventure. We had planned a trip to Chicago to take Klaudia to the Ugg store and the kids to Millennium Park, but it worked out that Max was the only boy who was able to go. So early in the afternoon we set off: me, Max, Bethany, Loni, Klaudia, and Klaudia's friend. We hit the Ugg store first, and boots were purchased. Klaudia will have a very Ugg-ly Christmas, indeed! Then we walked around the Magnificent Mile for a little bit. The Borders where I used to work is now a Topshop and looks very strange to me. We walked to Water Tower Place and shopped at Macy's, then we went over to the Hancock building and checked out the holiday train display in the basement, which I had forgotten all about. It was like a little walk down memory lane with me telling Bethany all about the places I used to go to all the time when I worked down there. 

After we were done shopping, we headed down to Millennium Park and checked out the Bean and the skating rink. Our original plan was to go ice skating, but we badly underestimated the line for the skate rental place. People were waiting in line for hours just to rent skates! So we ditched that plan and went across the street to get some dinner. By the time we finished eating, it was getting dark, which was just what I wanted. We headed back into the park and over to the Crown Fountain (which was dry but all lit up) and over the bridge to the Art Institute. Along the way, we checked out all kinds of public art.

I was kind of sad that Liam and Henry couldn't join us, but at the same time, it was really great to get to spend so much one-on-one time with Max. He rarely gets to be the center of attention, and he got a whole day of it and just soaked it in. He was funny and sweet so well behaved. The trip didn't start out that way, but I really think it ended up being a wonderful holiday gift for the two of us!

chillin' at the zoo

This year, we, along with our collective siblings, decided that we would much rather ditch the gift exchanges in favor of spending quality time together. This makes me very happy, and to go all Charlie Brown on you for a minute, I think it helps us appreciate the holiday even more. To that end, we all hopped in the van and headed to scenic Brookfield, Illinois, to take the kids to the zoo with Johnny, Erin, and Lucy. Grandpa Kevin was able to join us, too. It was a cold day, but we all bundled up and spent a couple of hours wandering around. A really nice side effect of it being so cold was that there were hardly any other people there, so we could let the kids run a little more freely outside. Max was all about seeing the giraffes, and Liam loved the monkey house. Henry mostly just loved running away from us whenever possible.

After we wore the kids out at the zoo, we headed back to Johnny and Erin's house for a late lunch, during which Max discovered a deep and abiding love for Pillsbury crescent rolls. Then we let the kids open presents, which was a big hit, and just hung out for a little while. Usually when we see them, it's for a family function or in a more purposeful context, so it was good to just spend time together with no particular agenda in mind. Just a nice, fairly relaxing day.

thanks: an incomplete list

I have mixed feelings about Thanksgiving as a holiday. On the one hand, I believe wholeheartedly in taking the time to be thankful for every part of the wonderful life I have. I try to take time every day to concentrate on that, to center myself during frantic days of working and parenting and doing all the things I have to do to make life work. On the other hand, I have real problems with the whitewashed Pilgrim/Indian narrative that's fed to the kids at school. I know it's way outside of the scope of this blog to delve into that history, so I'll just say that until they're old enough to get the full context of the story, I would rather them not learn about it at all. Sadly, it's too late for that, so all I can do is wait for them to be old enough to understand and then fill in the gaps for them. Having said that, there are really lots of things to be thankful for, big and small. Here's a sampling.

Family: I'm not particularly religious, but I think it is just neat (in the best possible, non-ironic sense of the word) that a series of happy coincidences leads people together, to make more people, who then are also coincidentally thrown together with others, and so on. We have this whole constellation of aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts and uncles, second and third cousins, great-great aunts, even people who aren't related but are certainly "family." It's as incredible and magical to me as an actual constellation. And with my family in particular, that's how I picture it: not as a tree but as a constellation of heavenly bodies with the same gravitational pull. Amazing.

Grandparents: My boys have a full complement of grandparents, along with two great-grandparents. They are privileged to know these people, to be able to visit them often and interact with them and learn from them. They will have a full set of treasured memories to carry with them through life. One of the very best parts of my own childhood was going to my grandparents' house (which I did at least once a week or so), and I feel so fortunate that my children will get to grow up with that same opportunity. Lately, they've been all about spending time with my dad, who takes them to do manly jobs out in the woods or in his shop. He teaches them things, and they soak it all in and can't wait to tell me the latest thing they learned from Papaw.

Avalon: I couldn't do the work I do without Lon here to be with the boys, but she is more than their babysitter. They look forward to the nights when she is coming over because they know she will spend time with them, help them make cookies or play games, and get thoroughly involved in their lives. I am pretty sure that as they get older, Lon will be their confidant, the person they go to with things they can't/won't tell their parents, and if that's the case, I am thankful that they will be in such good hands.

Friends: Everybody is a freak in one way or another, and I am beyond lucky to have found a small but solid group of people who can understand and share my own particular brand of freakishness. They see me out there waving my freak flag, and their response could be to tell me to put it down, but more often it's to pick up their own flags and march along with me for a while until we look like our own mini UN of freaks. This is awesome.

Jobs: Especially right now, we are both glad to have good jobs. I am particularly glad, because my job happens to be something I love. We know that we are lucky to be able to provide for the boys, and we're aware of just how hard that is for people right now. We're also thankful for the brave people who stand up in protest at the gaping disparity between the haves and have-nots, at the lack of good jobs for people all around the country.

Modern Dentistry: I'm not kidding. I had a checkup this morning, and with my current dentist I am starting my fourth year of no cavities. This is a big deal for me; I have had a lot of dental work, and I can't tell you how happy I've been not to have had any for a while. I'm still hoping the boys got Mike's beautiful cavity-free teeth genes!

Time: I get that this one is a little nebulous, but I am grateful to have the time -- today, this year, my life -- to spend with the people I love and to remember my loved ones who have died. This kind of time isn't a given, and it's precious.

Boys: To paraphrase my friend Debbie, I thought I wanted a girl child somewhere in the mix, but it turns out that what I wanted -- what I needed -- was exactly the children I got. Liam, Max, and Henry make every day more fun and interesting than it otherwise would be, and I can't wait to see what's next for them.

And of course, I am thankful for Mike, but I'll spare you that mushiness. Suffice it to say that he is exactly the partner I need and want.

So happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope you have just as much to be thankful for.

and we got a visit from a leprechaun

My brother, J. And yes, he really is as tall as he looks. Possibly even taller. Certainly the tallest leprechaun you will ever lay eyes on.

halloween happened, too

This year, a series of unfortunate events led to us make the boys' costumes ourselves. It is definitely the first and probably the last time this will happen. They decided on a weather theme: Liam as a tornado ("That's Mister Twister, Mom!" shouts Liam in the background), Max as a lightning bolt, and Henry as a storm cloud. So I found basic directions, made a list of everything I would need, and checked with my mom to make sure that it wouldn't cost as much as it would to just buy them costumes at the store. "No way," she assured me. I'm assuming she left out the end of that sentence, which was "...because it will cost you WAY MORE than buying them costumes at the store, mwah hah hah!" Admittedly, this is because (unlike some people) I don't have a ready stock of cotton batting or black tulle to draw from, so I had to buy everything. And to add to the perfect storm (hah!) of costume making, my dad had this big secret plan to whisk my mom away on a surprise trip for their 25th anniversary (so wonderful!) so it turned out that Mike and I were on our own this year.

Anyway, we got out our stapler and our scissors and our spray paint, and each of us took a turn with needle and thread, and in the end I think we did a fairly respectable job. Well enough, anyway, that everybody they encountered on the street recognized what they were and complimented them. On that score, it didn't hurt that Tornado Liam insisted on twirling his way down the sidewalk to further the funnel cloud effect.

And for a special treat, this year was our Aunt Milene's first American Halloween! Since she and Greg live out in the country, we asked if she would like to come here to hand out candy since we get so many trick-or-treaters. She was very excited to see all the different costumes, and told us that it all looked just like a movie. It was really fun to watch her, and to get a sense of what this random ritual must look like to someone from outside the country. Milene says we don't have nearly enough holidays in the United States, definitely not as many as they have in Brazil, and we should get some more. If they're all as fun as Halloween, I could definitely be on board with that plan!

reflections on a vacation, way too long ago

Chilling on the Canadian side, looking at the falls

It's been two weeks since we got back from vacation, and now it's almost like we never left. Like we never loaded up kids and games and movies and snacks and all our luggage, dropped the dog off at the kennel, and hit the road for Niagara Falls. It was a surprising trip, in ways both good and bad. First, the good: The boys were incredibly well behaved on the trek. There was very little fighting, whining, or asking if we were there yet. I might even venture to say that the actual car ride was harder on us than it was on them. We drove through Canada, and caught sight of the falls for the first time crossing the Rainbow Bridge into New York. "Look, boys! We might be able to see the falls from here," I said. And a few seconds later, five jaws dropped wide open as we got our first glimpse. I mean, we knew the falls were big; they're not one of the wonders of the world for nothing, right? But we weren't prepared for just how big they are. They're overwhelming, even from a distance.

Day One, ready for action!

Mister of the Mist

Getting wet on a boat is hilarious!

Observation deck

But we weren't there to look at some water falling down from a distance. Nope, we were there to get right up in the spray. So the first afternoon, we took the Maid of the Mist boat trip, which goes close enough to the falls that everyone on board gets drenched in the spray. And the next day, we did the Cave of the Winds tour, which was a bitter disappointment to the boys in that there wasn't an actual cave to go in (it collapsed decades ago), but it was still exciting because we got to go down an elevator in a shaft carved out of solid stone, and then basically walk right up to the falls from underneath and see them in all their glory. Liam, Max, and I even braved the Hurricane Deck, where we got to feel tropical storm conditions. Of course, since it was the end of October, those were some pretty *cold* tropical storms.

We went during the last days of the year that they run the boat tours, right before they take down the scaffolding for the Cave of the Winds, and that turned out to be a very good thing because it wasn't crowded. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of people around, but we didn't have to wait in long lines, and we didn't have to hurry because there were a million people behind us waiting to see the same thing and take the same pictures. But we can tell you that what they say is true: In terms of Niagara Falls, Canada is where it's at. When we crossed into Canada on our way there, the border guard asked us where we were going, then if we were staying in New York or Canada. We told her we had reservations in New York, and she immediately said, "You may want to reconsider that." We figured she was being a great ambassador for our neighbors to the north, but no, she was just telling us like it is. The New York side of the falls was shocking to us, because aside from the falls themselves and a few hotels, there was just nothing there. Plenty of urban decay and sketchy-looking neighborhoods, but restaurants? Not so much. Just finding a place to eat was a real challenge, and we ended up driving about 15 miles away to the nearest Target and just getting groceries to keep in our hotel room. I mean, really, New York? You have this absolutely amazing resource that millions upon millions of people come to see every year, and you don't want to make some money selling some pizza or something? Incredible.

There were rainbows everywhere

Little did we know...

...just how up close and personal we would get to the falls

Our last day there was Canada day. We crossed back over the border to check things out. And wouldn't you know it? The Canadians had managed to build up the whole area around the falls with family-friendly restaurants, stores, water parks, and gambling establishments—yet they still managed to keep the area closest to the falls/river peaceful. We did a little exploring and crossed the street after a visit to the Hershey store, and walked through a gate and into an absolutely quiet park, and right there in front of us was a sweeping view of the falls. So we went down and checked out that vantage point, then headed back up a short hill and treated the boys to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. And yeah, we even topped it off with the Volcano! for dessert. 

Base of the falls

Hershey store

There's one other thing this vacation brought home to me, and I'm going to get slightly mushy here, so if you're so inclined, you can stop reading now and just look at the lovely pictures; really, I don't mind. Ever since I was a little girl, I've believed that my family is the best family in the entire world. (And sadly, I can think of very few people I know who could unreservedly say that about their own families.) And even by objective measures, by sheer size, my family just isn't like a lot of other families. As it turns out, it's an incredibly useful and happy thing for me to have aunts, uncles, and cousins spread out everywhere. On our way to the falls, we stopped over the first night in Detroit and took advantage of the hospitality of my Aunt Chris and Uncle Bob. They weren't even there, but my cousins Andy and Bill were happy to play host to a family of tired travelers. And on the way back, we drove through the United States. As we got close to Cleveland, I thought, hmm, maybe I should give my Aunt Dana a call. So I did, and it turns out that the nursery she and her husband bought earlier this year is right off the highway we were on. So we went there and got to be the first in the family to take a tour. It is an old-school plant nursery, peaceful and sprawling, and it was a perfect opportunity to stretch our legs and to see this great business that Dana and Brian are investing themselves in. And even though we were still hours from home, it was the perfect way to end our trip.

Niagara Aquarium

Apparently we weren't quite close enough to see it all

eight

Eight years ago, on a day a lot sunnier than today, Mike and I got all dressed up and told all the important people in our lives what we had known for some time: that we were going to be sticking together for the duration. It's been an incredibly fast and fascinating ride so far, with moves and babies and job changes and all the things that can challenge a pair of people trying to navigate the world but not lose sight of each other. And now here we are, eight years later, still looking at each other, but looking at something else incredible, too:

Happy anniversary, Mike. Happy family.

greg and milene's wedding!

Today, I am up one new aunt, and I couldn't be happier. Sunday afternoon, my uncle Greg and aunt Milene got married in a simple and lovely ceremony. They have an incredible story. Here's the short version: They went to the same high school lo these many years ago. Milene was an exchange student from Brazil, and Greg was a hometown boy. They didn't know each other. Then they reconnected through the magic of Facebook and their 30-year high school reunion, and realized they were meant for each other. Thus ensued months of planning, paperwork, and international travel, all leading up to yesterday, when Greg's daughters walked him up the aisle on one side, and Milene's daughter walked her up the aisle on the other. It was a custom-ordered beautiful day, and the start of a beautiful married life. Congratulations, Greg and Milene!

apple picking

This year, we got our act together early and managed to figure out when the Honeycrisp (the perfect apple) season began. So off we went Saturday morning to pick some, along with some inferior but nevertheless pleasing to the boys Golden Delicious. And wow, did we hit the timing just right for this expedition! Blue skies, just a hint of fall chill in the air, and early enough in the season that the crowds weren't overwhelming. The stars aligned, and boys and parents were all in good moods at the same time. We ended up with four bags of apples, three happy boys who got to run (and climb!) out a lot of energy, and one delicious batch of homemade apple muffins the next morning. We also stopped on the way back to play apple fairies to my parents, who made delicious looking fried apples with them. Oh! And in "something for everyone" news, on the way back I spotted some blow molds at a yard sale! I made Mike turn around on the highway, which he was not happy about, and then park by the side of the highway, which he was even more unhappy about, and went up to the sale, hoping against hope that they were in my price range (that is, the amount of cash I had left after spending an outrageous $30 on apples). Score! I got Santa, Mrs. Claus, and two candy canes for $18. I've been looking for some for a while now, and they are usually not that cheap. So this might even be the year that CFHQ finally gets it together enough to do outdoor decorations! Stay tuned.