Thursday, December 23, 2010

the Solstice Lunar Eclipse - super cool



I'm backtracking a couple of days, but I wanted to touch on this.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a moon girl. I especially love full moons. A few months ago, I noted that we were having a Harvest moon at the Fall Equinox and that we'd be having a full moon at the Winter Solstice, too.

Last year some friends of ours had a Solstice party at their house, where they projected Frosty the Snowman onto the side of their garage for the little kids and the Winter Fairy came to deliver treats (bells and stickers). It was really fun and although I wouldn't call myself a pagan, I decided to start recognizing the Solstices and Equinoxes - if for no other reason than to reflect upon the passing of time in nature, time and space, and to feel connected to the universe at those times. Why not?

When a friend of mine reminded me about this special lunar eclipse the other night, I made sure to go outside to see it. Luckily the cloud cover was moving fast enough for me to get some great glimpses of this phenomenon.

As I read descriptions of this eclipse, the one that took my breath away with wonderment was this:

"Monday night or early Tuesday morning, depending on your location, many around the world were able to witness a phenomenal and rare total lunar eclipse, watching as the Earth passed directly between the sun and the full moon, shrouding it in shadow and transforming the white image into a stunning deep red glow. The event was especially significant as it coincided with the winter solstice, something that hasn't occurred in 372 years and won't come around again until 2094."

Why the red glow?

"when the eclipse is underway...you're seeing every sunrise and every sunset in the world, all of them, all at once. This incredible light beams into the heart of Earth's shadow, filling it with a coppery glow and transforming the Moon into a great red orb."

Pics from around the globe:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/21/lunar-eclipse-2010-photos_n_799618.html#212892
I don't know how long that link will be active, so I'll try to save and post some of the pictures as well.

okay I guess that's it for this post. ;)

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Our Christmas card


Merry Christmas, everyone!


(click on it for a larger view)

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Another year.


Today is the day that I make a point to mark the anniversary of my friend's sister & nephew's tragic deaths. It's certainly not something I like to think about, but in this case, not wanting to think or talk about unpleasant things is kind of exactly the point - as well as a significant part of the problem that led to their unnecessary passing.

For information, go to www.jennyslight.org

And remember to pay special attention to any new mothers in your life. You know her. A friend, cousin, neighbor, coworker, a friend's spouse... New moms are everywhere, and the statistics about postpartum depression are shocking to most people. So many women suffer silently through really hard weeks or months after childbirth.

So check in with the new mom you know. Look a little deeper than you would normally. Find a way to let her know that you care about her and this profound journey that she has begun by bringing a child into the world and becoming a mom. Be willing to hear about the difficult aspects of this monumental change for her; maybe even her birth story, if she wants to share it with you. Listen. Make eye contact. Listen some more.

You could be a life saver.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Christmas stuff

Okay, I'm totally cheating, but I used free software to Grab these photos off the website from our recent photo session at One Of Those Places In The Mall.
Shhh. Don't turn me in.
(don't get too bent out of shape; I did purchase some prints from the company, so I'm not completely without morals)







We're busy gearing up for our every-other-year trip to Merrimac for Christmas. I always over pack and I always stress about having enough warm clothes for everyone. I'm sure we'll be fine. Actually, this year our biggest challenge might be the plane ride, as Lilah is really close to crawling and will probably want to be put down on the floor. Yeah, that's not happening. The problem is, she's got lungs and she knows how to use them. I might buy a few boxes of earplugs and pass them out if she gets loud. I have heard of parents doing that, and there have been times when I would have appreciated that myself, so I figure it's worth it - even if just for the gesture of goodwill.

Sadie is all about Santa and Rudolph this year. Our dear friends in Colorado sent their Elf on A Shelf, Pipsqueak's, best friend to us, whom Sadie named Pippy - such originality. Each morning she finds him somewhere different in the house, as he has gone to the North pole during the night to report to Santa about Sadie's ranking on the Naughty or Nice scale.

She's learned all of the lyrics to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and sings it a lot. She received the movie as a surprise direct from the North Pole and I think she's watched it at least once a day for about 5 days now. We sang Christmas songs at Music Together class this week, and she hung onto "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" from that. Just today she asked me "Mom, what does 'pout' mean?" - presumably because she has now learned that she'd better not!

We've got a beautiful little tree and some wonderful ornaments, which endlessly fascinate Lilah.

We play Christmas music in the car and we keep our eyes peeled for special decorations everywhere we go. We're receiving lots of great Christmas cards and I'm almost done with all of ours. We've been reading all of our Christmas books and we'll be having an early Christmas at my parents' house this weekend, since we'll be away this year.

Last but not least, here is Sadie's letter to Santa, which of course I helped her to write:

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Pure Joy


Honestly, this kid radiates joy.

She does this funny audible inhale when she's excited, which is often. Her arms and legs go at a different speed than the rest of her body. She clasps her hands together and pumps them up and down, making a sound on the down-beat. She "sings" along to music in the car.

She doesn't laugh much, so we all get excited when she does, but she grins and shrieks with joy all of the time.
She loves dogs. She loves being in the swing at the park.


She loves to watch her sister. And I swear she wakes up early just to get quality time lying in bed with Mom and Dad, where she squeals, kicks, slaps our faces and grabs our hair and skin. Starting the day feeling the love from a being who simply cannot get enough of us is pretty hard to beat.


She does this hilarious high-pitched "singing" where she goes above her vocal register to just a whisper that we call Mariah-ing. Here's an example: http://www.vimeo.com/16869805

She certainly can make a noisy protest as well, but she mostly keeps us smiling and reminds us that life is really exciting and fun. Keep up the good work, kiddo. We love you soooooooooo much.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Deep thoughts, toddler version.


The other day while driving to visit our friends a couple of hours away, Sadie started asking "family tree" type questions. We've explained it before to her, but I think she's starting to understand a little bit better. She seems to get that Nana and Papa are Daddy's mom & dad, and Grandma and Grandpa are Mommy's mom and dad. She named all of her aunts and I explained that Aunt Jill and Aunt JoJo are Mommy's sisters. We told her that Uncle Justin is Daddy's brother and Uncle John is Mommy's brother. The one that seems to make her think deeply is that GG is Mommy's Grandma and is also Grandpa's mom. It seems fitting that that would be a head-scratcher for a three year old. I was thoroughly enjoying making these family relationship connections clear to her and the topic was genuinely holding her interest.
And then.
"Who is Grandma's mom and dad?"
Well, honey, Grandma's mom and dad have died.
"But why did they die?"
Well, they each died when they got very sick with a terrible disease called cancer.
Silence.
I turned around to see my sweet girl's lips turn down at the corners ever so slightly and did I detect a quiver? Yup. Then her big blue eyes filled with tears and, I kid you not, one fat tear rolled down her right cheek as she looked at me and said, "But I'm sad that Grandma's mom died!"

Oh, boy.

I reached back and held her hand and tried to fight the lump forming in my throat. I told her that it's okay to be sad when people die - that we feel that way because we care about them and we will miss them when they are gone.

But ugh - where to go from here? Do I get into talk of souls, spirit, heaven, angels? Do I even believe in all or any of that? I took a deep breath, which promptly caught in my throat and I barely got out "Well, babe - I believe that even though Grandma's mom and dad aren't here with us on Earth anymore, that they are still watching over us."
And I do. I do choose to believe that people's souls continue on after death. In what capacity, exactly, I don't know and I don't expect to ever know or understand. I think I buy into the idea of reincarnation/past lives/old souls, etc. but to be honest, I haven't done a huge amount of deep thinking on the topic.

I decided to leave it at that for now, shifting the conversation into telling her a little bit about Grandma's mom. I told her that she was a really special lady who I loved very very much. I told her that she worked in an ice cream parlor when she was a teenager and could make the most perfect ice cream cones ever. I told her that she had blue eyes and blond hair, like she does. I told her that I used to watch soap operas with her and that she used to take us grocery shopping every Sunday after church & let me ride in the cart. I told her that she used to have tons of costume jewelry that she let me and my sisters try on. She seemed to like hearing these details and I was pleased to have helped her feel a little better.

But the next day in the car, she asked "Mom, where do people die?"
Gulp.
I am all about answering all of her questions so that she knows she can always come to me when she wants the truth about things, but I didn't exactly know what to say. 'Cause let's face it - people can and do die pretty much anywhere and anytime. That seemed a little too real. So I told her that people die in different places; some get sick and die in the hospital, some die at home, and some can die other places too. She piped up that some people could die in the swimming pool if they can't swim (I must have impressed that upon her at some point during her lessons a few months ago).

This morning, I heard Andrew explaining to her that "everyone dies eventually" - she was at it again. I also heard him assuring her that most car accidents are minor and that people can get hurt but don't usually die - only in very bad ones - and that lots of doctors and scientists are working very hard to find a cure for cancer. You know, just some light, pleasant morning chatter over peach yogurt and peanut butter raisin toast. Why is death on her mind?!

I certainly didn't anticipate discussing cancer, drowning and car accidents with my three year old. I really would rather she not be worrying about this stuff yet. I suppose sharing all of this information with her could result in making her scared and troubled, but I am immensely glad that she is voicing her concerns, asking questions, and above all, exhibiting true empathy. I guess I feel like if we wisely handle how we share knowledge with her, we could potentially instill confidence in her as a prescient being. I realize that's a bit lofty and certainly idealistic, but how else can I approach my girl's curiosity about life itself?

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

We Love Nana!

Nana was here for two and a half weeks and we had a wonderful time. She managed to spend great quality time with both girls individually each day - as well as make at least one meal and wash all of our dishes almost every day. I seriously should have been taking notes.



She read dozens of books to them,
she shared her food with them,
she laughed and played with them,
she did a planting project with Sadie,
she made a Halloween dress for Sadie,
she babysat so that Andrew and I could have two (!!) date nights,
and she celebrated her birthday with us.
The woman runs circles around me; I kid you not. I know I've mentioned it before, but I seriously scored in the mother-in-law department. It's ridiculous.

We love Nana. We can't wait to see you at Christmas.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

this is why...



...it sometimes bothers me when Sadie does fake, cheesy smiles.

because here's the real deal:

and here's a good one of Little Sister: