Winter break

Winter break this year has been such a joy. Owen has been doing so many new things, like sitting up and starting to scoot or do an army crawl. He started a chewing motion with his mouth a couple of days ago and is really singing a lot and doing syllables like baa, gaa, and daa daa. The first week we had his 6 month appt. with Dr. Diab. The rest of the week was mostly about Christmas preparations and viewing local holiday lights etc. Baby's first Christmas was so wonderful and we had a lovely couple of days. My parents flew to Naples on Sunday the 27th for a couple of weeks and we miss them already! This week Derek and I are both off so we are taking advantage to cross off a bunch of things on our list. Right now the electrician's are hard at work installing 4 can lights in the living room and two lights in our under the stairs storage closet. Unfortunately it seems I may have a sinus infection. What started off as a Christmas cold with an extraordinary amount of sneezing has morphed into a painful case of sinusitis. Of course it is self-diagnosed but my whole face hurts especially when I cough or blow or bend over. The bones under my eyes are painful. I have had post-nasal drip etc. before but never this facial pain. yuck! so I am going to rest while baby naps and later today we are heading to some friends for a short visit. Love these quiet final days of the year!

Denouement

The tree is trimmed, the fridge is stocked, the Honeybaked ham is reserved. I sit in the quiet, clean room with a glass of Firestone Vineyard Gewurztraminer and savor this moment. The soft lights of the Christmas tree light the room as darkness falls on Sunday. It has been a long time coming. For the first time in nearly five months my mind is quiet enough to hear itself. My fingers move over the keypad like the planchette on a Oujia board, finding the next key without effort. There are no typos, because my mind decides the letter as I type, instead of trying desperately to keep up with itself. Always before, I've been typing with such fervor, such need, that there was no undetermined horizon lying out far in front of me. My beautiful baby boy sleeps upstairs in his woodland room, dreaming perhaps of the light displays he saw last night. It is his first Christmas season. It is my 38th Christmas. Tonight, the magic of Christmas comes alive in the eyes of my darling Owen. He opened his first Christmas gift from his godfather tonight. His strong fingers gripped the reindeer studded wrapping paper as I turned the box away from him, he was "helping" to pull it off. Of course, it went straight into his mouth! Inside was a feely snowman book and moose pajamas, along with a "daddy rocks" onesie with an embroidered guitar on the front. A gift for my son. My son. When he awakens, we will take a walk through our neighborhood to see the lights once more, then upstairs for a warm bath. Once he is in his cozy pajamas, it will be time to put the angel on the top of our tree. Our son will help his daddy, and in just a few years it will be his special responsibility. This is a moment dreamed of in my family for a long time. Tomorrow, and every day for the next 19 days, I will be momma. Not Mrs. Richard the Kindergarten teacher. Just momma. And I am excited about getting to know the momma in me.

This quiet dark time at the end of the year has always held special significance to me. A time for tying up loose ends, going inside, reevaluating, taking stock. And then, on January 1, awakening with the sense of possibility. So I think of this time in terms of taking it slow, noticing the moments of my life. Because, as I yank long sinewy threads of gray hair from my head and compare the benefits of Active Copper, Retinol, and Elastin on my aging skin, I realize that my best bet is to stop worrying about who I am already (since I already am, right?) and just be grateful. Grateful for the giant blessings bestowed upon me, and grateful for the opportunity to serve others.

Christmas 20 Questions

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? Hot Chocolate.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? wraps

3. Colored lights or white? Only white.

4.Do you hang mistletoe? If I have any.

5. When do you decorate for Christmas? mid-December

6. What is your favorite holiday dish, excluding dessert? ham cooked overnight

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Dressing up my dolls to set under the tree. Santa would bring a new one to join them.

8. When and how, did you learn the truth about Santa? I don’t know what you are talking about! He is still good to me!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? wheat lights and lots of collected ornaments from throughout the years.

11. Snow. Love it for vacation. Love not living in it.

12. Can you ice skate? Usually I get pretty good right before it's time to go home.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? a gigantic jar of pickles! (and my dollhouse made by my dad, and my kitchen set made by my parents with a working camp sink, and my doctor's kit made by my parents)

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you? Family, light, and togetherness

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? peppermint bark

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? all of them! love getting Starbucks and driving around to look at lights.

17. What tops your tree? A contemporary glass and metal angel from our first married Christmas.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? both!

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Silent Night, The First Noel

20. Candy canes. Yuck or yum? YUM!

I tag anyone who reads this!

A warm fall

It's been a really warm fall here. Not complaining, just saying!





For more Owen pix, head over to Junebug Street for Owen's Monkey Business!

Our Birthday

We celebrated our 37th at Disneyland this year, since we could both get in free for our birthday and it fell on a Saturday, it was a natural plan. Owen stayed at the hotel room with my parents, who decided they'd rather go to Disney on their own and NOT on a weekend day. We went back and forth to the room several times during the day, and it worked out perfectly. On our first ride we got stuck at the top of the Matterhorn Bobsleds rollercoaster and had to walk back down through the inside of the ride. An adventurous way to start the day for sure! We watched the fireworks from the hotel balcony at the end of the night. Our favorite ride was the Thunder Railroad coaster; we rode three times! We got great advice from my cousin about using the express passes and it worked out great. Of course Owen got his first mouse ears even if he didn't go in the park this time.

Here's why

I haven't blogged in a month.

*full time teacher
*momma
*student (taking online course)
*grant writer (wrote a grant in Sept. and writing another now)
*traveler

Here's why I probably won't blog for another month:

*report cards and conferences are in 2 weeks
*i'd rather play with Owen


I can't wait for the holidays so I can just be a momma.

Old Town Newhall Library

As mentioned in the previous post, the current Newhall library is tiny and does not serve the current needs of the area. Talk of a new library has been going on since we moved here (and probably way before that!) in May 2007. I attended a couple of town meetings on the subject where the architects were gathering information and also participated in an online survey about the new library. The city began acquiring property and last week demoed some buildings in order to get ready for preconstruction of the new facility. I was so excited to find these images on SCV talk showing renderings of the design, which is in the Craftsman style. I love the craftsman style, but many feel it is not appropriate for the old west feel of Newhall. From what I understand, Newhall could choose between Craftsman, Western, Spanish, or Victorian designs. I would've loved any of those choices! The new library should be opening in late 2012. I am excited that Owen's first library will be small and quaint (just his size!) and when he's ready to take full advantage he will have such a brand-new, beautiful facility! Perfect timing for our family!

hometown part 1: Newhall

Took a jaunt through the little town of Newhall on my way home from school yesterday. Technically, the school I teach in is in Newhall too, just a bit out of the downtown. Downtown Newhall boasts the Western walk of fame, it's own version of the Hollywood Stars walk of fame, with plaques inlaid along the sidewalks with western stars and saddles instead of stars. It is in a redevelopment phase right now, with streetscape projects along Main Street and several empty storefronts as rents change and old businesses leave room for the new. The residential neighborhoods are a mix of Mexican-American immigrants and descendants of pioneer settlers living in small homes and large sprawling ranch-style homes nearby. A tiny library sits on the corner of Walnut and 9th St. It is cute but does not provide the size of scope of services needed in the area. A new library is on the drawing table and property has been secured. It is slated to open in 2012. It will be located two blocks north at the corner of Lyons and Main St. Other highlights of the area include the train station and youth center, the Canyon Theater Guild community theater housed in a pretty brick building on Main St., Yoga Yoga studio, Egg Plantation restaurant (with 101 kinds of omelettes), and Cookbooks Plus bookstore. Peppered throughout are businesses catering the the local Mexican-American population such as Tresierras food market, El Pariente taco shop, Jazmin bakery, and a botanica/pharmacy. There are also several discount dollar stores and thrift shops. It was a cool fallish day (the first we've had) and walking along the newly paved brick sidewalks among the newly planted trees was invigorating and exciting. There is a street art festival every fall with chalk art along this route. That should be fun too. My purpose for the stop was to buy tickets to a local production of The Phantom of the Opera for a matinee performance this Sunday. A co-worker of mine is performing. I followed up my errand to the theater with a stop at the nearby drive-through Starbucks in East Newhall. This area is known for more low-income residents and some gang activity. The elementary school there is known for providing support and workshops to parents and families to help combat the effects. As I pulled into the left turn lane to the plaza where the Starbucks was located, a sheriff's car made a right turn from the opposite direction. I could tell he was driving with a purpose, though he didn't have lights or a siren going. Sure enough, a glance ahead of his trajectory into the parking lot found a second sheriff's car with lights on, and a stopped vehicle. I would've had to drive right past them to get to Starbucks, so I waited at the green arrow until I could get back into the driving lane, and turned into the plaza at a further entrance. As I entered the drive through, I watched the two sheriffs handcuffing two men from the pick-up truck, a mere 100 yards from my moving vehicle. Some of you may remember my post about the time my car nearly got smashed in a grocery store parking lot during a police chase? This felt like a similar experience. Driving back into downtown Newhall for a second look at Main St during its evolution, I considered this new hometown. Newhall is just one of a handful of places with differing personalities that are all considered part of the Santa Clarita Valley. I like it's historical flavor (it's the oldest part, settled in 1876, though the Tatavium Native Americans had been living in the valley since AD 450.) There are a lot of interesting historicla tidbits about the area, including the first documented discovery of gold in nearby Placerita Canyon in 1842, six years before the more well-known Sacramento area discovery.

eating the rainbow

1.red apple
2.orange carrots
3.yellow pepper
4.green spinach
5.yellow banana

Love and Sinatra

My parents and I took a little road trip with Owen this weekend while Derek finishes up some work at home. We drove out to the desert cities east of Los Angeles on Saturday morning and spent the afternoon exploring local consignment and thrift shops. We've decided that the Palm Desert/Palm Springs area reminds us of Naples, FL in many ways so we've dubbed it the Naples of Calfornia. Albeit with more cacti and metal sculptures. I really enjoyed the desert architecture and purple twilight skies. The heat of the day had some atypical humidity so it really felt like South Florida while we were here. Saturday night mom and I went down to the heated pool and hot tub while dad stayed in the room with Owen. On Sunday we went to a neat furniture consignment shop full of home items from estate sales. I fell in love with some wooden giraffes and funky chairs but lucky for Derek they were both already sold. ha! Then Sunday afternoon came the impetus for the whole journey; the wedding of my former colleague to his partner of 14 years. This was the most amazing wedding, centered on love and family and was an absolutely beautiful ceremony. It was held at Frank Sinatra's home in an area called The Movie Colony. The home can be rented out. Some elements of the wedding that were especially amazing;

*Steven's four nieces singing Enya at the beginning
*one of his seven (!) sisters and her daughter Ines burning sage through the space to clear it with graceful spiraling movements
*both fathers and both mothers speaking beautiful words about courage, love, heroes, and forgiveness
*all seven sisters singing together to the couple
*all nine siblings stood as attendants (8 sisters/1 brother) and presented a spoken (in unison) blessing to the couple
*at the end of the ceremony family and then friends were invited to come forward and all touch the couple (or touch someone who was touching the couple) to present a community vow of support and love to the couple

This wedding was my first same-sex wedding and I have to say, one of the most sincere and beautiful experiences I have ever had. The couple was so moved by everyone's presence with them and their families had spent the whole weekend together. Love and light surrounded this couple, and this excerpt from David's vows to Steven sums up Steven to me.

"It is your hardwiring; you take the smallest bit of wind and set sail with it." I just loved that.

I was so happy to know that they had actually married a year ago when it was still legal in California. I wish them a lifetime of love. As David's father said, "They have always chosen happiness when they could have chosen bitterness." He expressed how much he and his wife had grown and learned as a result of his son's challenges as a gay man. Steven's mother said "Be swift to love, make haste to forgive" His father who lives in Cambodia with his wife said, "Forgive your enemies and those that you percieve to be your enemies." He spoke of the lovingkindness and compassion present in the people of his chosen home Cambodia and expressed hope that people in other parts of the world might shift to that state of consciousness. It was amazing.

Working Momma

With the start of school and my new responsibiities balancing work/home life I have really neglected this blog. If I post at all, it's over at JuneBug . I feel like the circus performer who balances teacups and fine china precariously while standing on a rolling ball. Life is good and full of blessings, but I struggle to dole out the right amounts of energy to each part of it. The biggest blessing right now are my parents, who have moved their lives here to the west coast in order to care for Owen each day. It is so fun to watch them interact with him, and see the valuable treasures they are imparting on his forming mind and physical development. They giggle, play, sing, move and read with him constantly. We feel so lucky for this gift.

Lagniappe

lagniappe (n.) something extra given at no cost. [From the Spanish " la ñapa" meaning "something extra," which was originally borrowed from Quechuan.] from A Cajun French-English Glossary
presented by the Department of French Studies LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

Several years ago, perhaps just after Hurricane Katrina, I heard a woman speaking on NPR about a Cajun word meaning "little blessings". I was intrigued by the word, but could never remember what it was. Several google searches on "cajun + little blessing" later, I gave up. Then a few days ago, I came across a blog entry at Home Sanctuary about a lagniappe (lan-yap), and I think it may be the word I was looking for. What a concept. And so interesting that it came from Quechua to Spanish to Cajun French. love words.

Three Years!

Today is our third wedding anniversary. Since we have just welcomed our son Owen Nathaniel seven short weeks ago we've decided that from now on our anniversary will be celebrated as our "family birthday". By coincidence, a wonderful blogger named Kelly is hosting a Show us Your Life blog series and this week happens to be Wedding Party/Flowers/Ceremony so I am sharing memories of the big day on our actual anniversary date! Isn't that cool?

I will post the pix and captions first, and then a short history for anyone who cares to read on.

Me with my two junior bridesmaids and flower girl. I made their flower balls! I just bought faux Gerbera daisies at Michaels and cut the stems. Then arranged them around styrofoam balls.

I carried calla lilies and the bridesmaids each had 7 Gerbera Daisies. Corsages and bouts were callas too.


All the girls! They had the same fabric but chose individual dress styles to suit their tastes. The photographer was a commercial photographer, not a portrait photographer, so it was fun to see these shots!



My father is an organist so he played the prelude but of course he couldn't play the Grand March and walk me down the aisle simultaneously so his sister played the Grand March!

My uncle is an Episcopal priest and he was able to perform the ceremony.


Lightning struck the church right after our wedding ceremony. These are some of the pieces of the church tower that fell. Later, the priest told us it had struck just as he was signing the register. We consider it "sealing the deal"!


Derek moved from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles the week after he proposed, and I followed three months later, after selling my townhome in Davie. Then we had a dilemma. Where to get married. Possibilities included:


South Florida, where we had both been living for the past 12-14 years
Ohio, where I'm from
Rhode Island, where he's from
California, where we were currently living
or
New York, where he lived in high school and we both had family

So we chose Pittsburgh.

It had a great international airport for those traveling (i.e. 80-90% of the guests), many of my family members were within driving distance, it's my maid-of-honor's hometown, and my 80 year old grandmother lived close enough that she would be able to attend. Unfortunately, she passed away two weeks to the day before the wedding. So many loved ones came the distance in order to be there for our special day! Some people planned summer road trips around the wedding date; for others it was the family vacation for the summer. We felt so blessed to be able to share the day with them.

"Part two: the reception" will be coming soon!

Garden!

I seem to be updating the Junebug street blog much more during these newborn halcyon days so if you're bored here jump over to Junebug Street for some fresh pix and stories! Today I spent some time out in the back garden after about a year! As Gretchen noted, it's hard to garden with a watermelon in your belly! I pruned and watered and planned and mulched a little. The baby was swinging peacefully just inside the sliding glass door screen and the temperature was an agreeable 67 degrees! A nice start to the day. And the back to work countdown begins: 12 days

Tomorrow Derek and I will celebrate our third (!) wedding anniversary and we have decided to use Jeanie's idea and make it a family birthday celebration from now on. yay!

SI LA VIERAN

my Bolivian cousin!

Xuxa en español - Ilarié

loved this when I lived in Bolivia!

Back in the Saddle!

Officially, I have the "all-clear" to start exercising again as of this coming Friday, but I am so excited to get back into it that I jumped the gun a bit and started (slowly) yesterday! I treated myself to a fresh pair of running shoes (custom fit at the local independently owned running shop) and one running outfit (courtesy of Target), and set a goal of running a 5K on November 8.

Yesterday I walked 1 mile in 40 minutes and today I got up and out to do a half-mile in 20 before Derek left for work. feels good!

Happy Fourth of July

Now that I am a new momma, I am feeling really patriotic this year! I feel this surge of love for all things American, like the blueberry muffins we had for breakfast, and the weatherproof flag I've had for 20 years but haven't bothered to hang. It is truly time to locate that thing and fly it proudly!

I am not sure why, but I just want to gather up all the immigrants and new citizens and natural born citizens in a great big bear hug with all the ghosts of the patriots included. I guess I just feel blessed and lucky. Wishing everyone a Happy Independence Day!

The new wheels!

8 things meme

I haven't done a meme in a while, and there's honestly not much to do while waiting for a baby to be born, so here goes:

8 things I am looking forward to:
1.meeting our son (can this count for all 8?)
2.bringing our son home
3.spending 24/7 with him for the next 8-9 weeks (depending on when he arrives) well, technically I guess I am still spending 24/7 with him whether he's in or out, right?
4.sharing the news that said son has arrived
5.introducing new son to loved ones
6.finishing some things in the nursery (way later, after he is already home)
7.seeing the first pictures of him
8.lying on my stomach ;)

8 things I did yesterday:
1.read blogs
2.took a long walk
3.watched a movie
4.folded laundry
5.took a nap
6.read a parenting book
7.played with the cat
8.took a drive with family

8 things I wish I could do:
1.lie on my stomach
2.walk fast
3.know when this baby is planning to be born
4.skinny dip in my own lagoon
5.send all my friends a plane ticket to visit
6.see my friends' little ones before they get oh so big
7.visit more people without having to fly
8.lie on my stomach

8 shows I watch:
1.Ugly Betty
2.Real Housewives of wherever
3.NCIS
4.House Hunters
5.Clean House
6.Ace of Cakes
7.Cold Case
8.Extreme Makeover Home Edition

8 people tagged:
Most of these people need a blog so I guess they'll have to play in the comments:
1.E.
2.Jean
3.Gretchen
4.Julie
5.Kim
6.Joy
7.Susie
8.YOU!

Kelly's Korner House Tour: Children's Rooms and Nurseries

I've been enjoying the weekly house tours over at Kelly's Korner blog and decided to join in. I am currently 39 weeks along with our first child (a boy!) and just waiting for him to make an appearance! The nursery is being used as a guest room right now for my hubby's dad who is staying with us for a month to welcome his grandson! So these pictures are from the beginning stages of decorating and gathering furnishings; won't be taking any final shots for a few more months!

For the nursery, we decided on sage green and chocolate brown, very soothing and zen-like. We painted the walls sage/moss green but it's hard to tell the actual color in these pix. We added some subtle vinyl decals of a swirly tree and some pinwheel flowers and may add more flowers in a slightly darker shade as baby won't even notice these. More for parental relaxation at the beginning anyway, we decided. The theme of the room is basically woodland or meadow animals like bunnies, deer, squirrels and such. They are here and there throughout, I'd like to add some fun wide-eyed owls to capture his attention too.

For the changing table, I really wanted to build a top for an antique family heirloom Singer sewing machine that was my great-grandmother's and has been passed down three generations. Our neighbor is a talented carpenter and built just the topper! It turned out great and matches the cabinet of the sewing machine perfectly. Now we just need to move it upstairs into the nursery (once it's not being used as a guest room!) For now, we'll probably put it in the hall or our room.


Thanks for stopping by to see some of the elements of the new nursery. Now when do you think baby will arrive? (due June 4)

Day trip to San Clemente

We had fun Saturday when Derek, Joe and I drove the new car down to Orange County. They dropped me off at my friend Beth's baby shower and headed to San Clemente to visit Joe's cousin Mary Ann. After the shower Derek picked me up and we headed back to San Clemente for the afternoon. We went down to the little town and the pier and watched the surfers and the sunset. Very Califonia-y! Here are some pix from the day! Notice the total coincidence of Beth, her husband Darren, me and Derek dressing like twins!