the hill

Forget all I said about not having a sledding hill near our house.  We have a ski-resort size hill near our house that we've tried unsuccessfully to walk to during snow storms ever since we've lived here.

Well, we finally made it.

This snow was deep enough that Joaquin, Diego and me pulling Carmen on the red plastic sled made it over the briar bushes and through the plowed mountains of snow marking the edge of the road.

When we arrived at the top of the hill, we saw a large family that had already carved out the path for us.  The kids immediately got skittish.  I don't know what their deal is with strangers.  This family of nine or so people shared their sleds with us, gave us water, and doled out the best advice on how to handle the hill, plus they gave us a push on our way down.

Carmen and I tried it out first.  I haven't felt that awesome feeling since I was a kid.  Snow spraying in my face, barreling down the hill straight for the road, but stopping yards shy of it.  Amazing.

Of course, Carmen didn't enjoy it at all.  She didn't cry, but that was her one and only time down the hill.  If this means anything to you, she would rather wait with the strangers and their large dog than try it one more time.

The boys were awful at sledding by themselves.  To their credit, they had never been on a hill this big.  But they had no idea how to steer and would crash head first in the snow seconds after starting.  I took them both down individually and showed them how it's done.  We flew over little mounds and sped down that slope like bobsledders.  Way better than any amusement park in my opinion.

The trek back up was hard.  I'm pretty sure I was sweating after the first time.  I think we only went down seven times before the kids were ready to head home.  WHAT??  Well, someone had cold hands and someone had cold pants.  So I dropped my head and headed back on the 20 minute trudge through the snow to the house...so. much. harder. on. the. way. home.  My euphoria for sledding had hidden how old I actually am.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next big snow.  My only warning:  watch out for the power line dangling just above your head on our sledding hill.  It's low enough that Joaquin could have touched it.  He asked what would happen, and I had to convince him it wasn't worth finding out.

snow storm 2016

Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.

I guess they weren't kidding.

Thursday night, we hit the stores like the rest of Chesterfield residents.  Isabela had no winter coat, we needed snow boots for two kids, snow pants for one, and gloves would have been nice.  Everyone else must have needed those things, too.  

We lucked out on the coat.  Slim pickings everywhere we went.  I forced her to try this one on, and under protest, she ended up liking it.

But who knew that snow gloves cost around $40?  I didn't believe it, so those stayed right on the rack. Now we're paying for it with cold hands. No snow pants either.  Now we have to share which means we can't all go sledding at the same time. 

Carmen is set thought.  This reminds me of my childhood.  This could be a picture of me.

Only, we had a great hill within walking distance.  We haven't found that here yet, so we settle for someone pulling the sled around the yard.

Being trapped in the house gives me time to do all the things I've always wanted to do.  Naps, catching up on my tv shows, and crafts!  I've decided not to waste this snow storm cooking and cleaning.

Everyone else seems OK with that.

Carmen has rediscovered her dress up. 

She's had these same clothes on for two days now.  Come to think of it, I may have, too!

But here's someone who's pissed about this whole staying inside thing.  Her new cozy spot on a pile of clothes.

And the good ol' days.  Crafts with mom.  We used markers, water,  and paper towels to make some colorful hearts.  Carmen couldn't be stopped.

And Joaquin made three of them!

But I'd also set out the perler beads.  Isabela and I discovered you could actually make things with these, not just multicolored preformed shapes.

Here's my baby groot that we all love.  He's held up to the fridge by those dart magnets because I haven't pulled out the hot glue gun yet.  Maybe tomorrow.

Isabela made a lemon slice coaster...looks like summer!

Invitations to play are the new way to get your kids to do stuff.  Just clear off the table.  Set out some supplies nice and neat at each of their seats the night before.  And when they wake up, they magically just start using them!  Love pinterest for great images of invitations to play!

But one of my new year's resolutions was to sew more.  Maybe one thing a month.  January's almost over, and I've yet to do it.  I think tomorrow's the day.

What are you doing fun this snow storm?

doubt

I am a spider.

And full of doubt.

Today, I start grad school at the University of Richmond.  (Their mascot is a spider.)

Here's what I'm afraid of in no particular order.

1. FITTING IN:  Whether I look it, feel it, or know it, I'm older than a lot of these people.

2. ACADEMIC TALK:  I didn't even understand the simplest of questions, "What are you planning to teach?" when put in academic words...I think it was said, "What is your content area?"

3.  PAYING FOR IT:  I didn't have time to apply for scholarships this semester so we're paying in installments.  I won't make the same mistake for next semester.

4.   GETTING LOST:  Have you ever been on the U of R campus?  We took a short tour yesterday, and if it weren't for the blue cooler full of water that they put out for us, I wouldn't have even known I was in the same place I started.

5.  READING:  I love reading.  But now it's mandatory.  This first class, we're reading four books.  We get to choose our books from a great list (I've already seen reviews on amazon).  But is there really enough time in the day for me to read and live life with four kids and a job?

6.  BEING A TEACHER:  Now that I've started this, I don't know if I even want to be a teacher!  I've always thought I'd be a good Spanish teacher, but now I'm not even sure if I know how to speak Spanish!  JP says it's too late now!, but I disagree.

7.  PASSING TESTS:  This is all conditional that I'll pass the Spanish Praxis test by April.  I haven't even registered yet.  And did I mention the test is in Spanish?

8.  LESSON PLANS:  We have to make up lesson plans.  After all, I am studying to become a teacher.  Juan Pablo assures me they'll teach me how to do this, but I feel like I'm already supposed to know how to do this.

9.  MISSING MY KIDS:  This is going to take a lot of time away from the family.  Even more, after starting a full-time job two months ago.  They will not even see me on Mondays.  I'm sad.

10.  SPEAKING:  We had a small orientation the other night and at the end they said, "Introduce yourself to some of the professors on your way out."  I couldn't do it, so I just slipped out quietly.

That list is just off the top of my head.  

I'm sure there's more to add, and if not, there will be more to add.  

But for now, I'm going with: 

 Feel the fear, and do it anyway.

go, spiders?

christmas photo bombs

Merry Christmas!  Photos of family and presents to follow, of course.

Cousin Kate hosted this year.  Love, love her house, which she said comes straight from Target.  It's kind of like living in a Target, which is something I've always wanted to do.

With mouthfuls of cookies, we opened beautifully wrapped presents of white and gold.

And beware of all the photo bombs.  Always fun at Christmas time, right?

I didn't open a popper this year, so I didn't wear the silly crown.  But I love how everyone soon forgets that they're wearing one.

Carmen loved her headlamp.  Now for some spelunking.

Carmen started warming up to everyone after awhile.  Even let them take pictures with her.  

Fish popper, caught by the tail.

Aunt Maggie was really into selfies.

And yes, she finally got that selfie stick in her stocking.

We're not quite so silly, but I love this picture....so rare to get one together.

Carmen was finally coaxed into her tutu.  And Aunt Robyn taught her how to pirouette.

Maybe I can sign her up for that dance class at school after all?

The most beautiful gift of Christmas this year....Kate already had the wreath, but added these teeny, tiny fairy lights Aunt Maggie gave her.

We all need fairy lights in our lives.  

Kate asked if I'd take a picture of her precious family....photo bomb! 

Their dog was so good!  It almost makes me want one.  Almost.

It's hard to make a tween smile, but I keep working on it.

Cousins in front of the tree, just like when we were kids.  Where's Elizabeth?

Diego somehow snuck in front of a screen.  I have to be vigilant with this one.  He could probably sit there all day if no one said anything.  Once his little sister even snipped off some of his hair while he was playing a game, and he never even knew.

Thank God for losing.

Is it just me, or do we look like deer in headlights?

Sometimes when he looks at me, I think he's going to pounce.  (Kate's Tip: organize books by color on your shelves.  So pretty!)

JP took a little nap while all the girls went upstairs to try on clothes and chat.  An HOUR later, Dan knocked on the door, "WHAT are you all DOING in here?"  

Answer: Having SO much FUN!

And to all a good night.  Thank you, Kate, for the memorable evening!

another way to play monopoly

As someone who has always loved board games, I have to admit I never really got into Monopoly.  I always lost interest when it was time to start building houses.

But Carmen came up with another idea for those little green pieces.

And FYI, the new version has a coveted cat game piece.  The biggest argument now is who gets to be the cat.

st lucia's day

I keep trying to make Christmas about more than just the presents.  

Because in the end, it's not the presents you remember when you're older.  The other day, I tried to remember some of the presents I ripped open Christmas morning as a kid.  I could only think of three, and one was because I've seen it in a picture.

What I do remember is family... gathering, laughing, singing.  

I want to extend this season.  I want it to last more than one morning in December.

And that brings us to St. Lucia's Day, celebrated in Scandinavian countries on December 13th.  Traditionally, the oldest daughter wears a crown of candles and prepares a breakfast.  But Isabela was sleeping off her late night movie at the Byrd Theatre.  That left my early-riser, Carmen.

She helped me bake fresh, from scratch, cinnamon buns.  Never in my life have I baked these.   Here's the recipe--it's quick... no rise time... and delicious.

And then we made her crown of candles.  And, really, there was no way Isabela would have worn one of these anyway.

Carmen was thrilled about the green band, but when I started adding the candles she, too, threw a fit, crying and collapsing to the floor.  But somewhere along the way, she changed her mind and even talked about wearing it to school one day.

Here she is walking down the hallway to deliver cinnamon buns to the sleepy household.

I don't know if it's a tradition we'll continue.  My kids will probably remember their Christmases as a time when "mom used to look up every tradition known to man and make us try it".  

They're probably right.  Maybe I should just let Christmas happen as it will.  God will make it special without my interference.

jesse tree ornament exchange

Ornaments and crafting??  I'm in!

Our church decided to host an ornament exchange to follow along with the Jesse Tree advent tradition--each day in December, a scripture is read and an ornament is hung on the tree that traces the line of Jesus through the Bible until his birthday. 

I signed up for Day 4 -- which is tomorrow!  Originally I thought I would paint wooden camels, but those are notoriously hard to find.  Who knew?  So I went with this:

paper camels, a paper tent, and sand in a plastic fillable ornament.

Did I mention we had to make 25 of our chosen ornament?  It turns out 25 of anything can become quite tedious, but the best way to do it is assembly line style...cut out all the camels, cut out all the tents, put on all the washi tape, then give a job to each family member to complete the ornament.

We fell in love with these.  The element of sand makes them captivating, and I loved watching the children's little hands hold the ornament and tilt it side to side as the sand moved.  (Another tip: do not use glass ornaments.  First of all, they break.  But secondly, sticking your finger in the top to get the paper in can leave you with a sliver of glass in your finger.  Ask me how I know. )

But just to add to the stress of making 25 ornaments on a deadline, I signed up for Day 21, too.  The exchange was opened up for another 25 people, but there weren't enough to sign up so some of us made extra. 

Day 21 is described as a brick wall.  There are lots of cute options on pinterest, but on the second go round, I needed to be more thrifty.

I started looking for scrapbook paper that had bricks on it.  I knew there had to be some somewhere.  Score at the third store I went to!

These ornaments are made with a cheap wooden square from joann's.  Juan Pablo showed me how to  use a pocket knife to make the hole for the string...so we didn't even need to break out the drill.  I Mod Podged the paper on, added glitter to the wooden edge, and for a little jingle, the bell at the top.

Again, everyone had a hand at making these, which for me was the most important part.  At one point, Isabela, JP, and I were sitting around the table working, and I noticed Diego was playing on the computer.  I asked, "Diego, don't you want to come do glitter?" and was surprised when I got an enthusiastic, "Yes!"

He came over, added glitter to one ornament, then ran back to the computer.  We all laughed...one was all he needed to do for his happiness.

 So far, it looks like only Isabela and I are enjoying reading the scriptures and hanging the ornaments.  What's not to like? Each is unique and specially made by someone from our church.  It's like opening a present every day!

We must be living with a bunch of scrooges, but we are not deterred.  Christmas is coming!