Russian friend

We had a couple over for dinner tonight who we haven't seen in quite some time. We've run in to the husband a few times, but the wife and I haven't seen each other for 3+ years. Well, now we have three kids, when last I saw her, we had 1 year old Axel. She's from Russia and is fluent, but sometimes she says funny things, which sound like a perfect translation from her thoughts. Here's one exchange we had. I have changed her name to protect her identity:
Cvyeta: Wow, you have three kids now. You are very busy.
Alisha: Yes they do keep me busy.
Cvyeta tilts her face a little closer and in a hushed tone: You will protect yourself now, da?

This could be interpreted a few different ways, and they're all funny and true.

Cute stuff the kids say

Grandma: Axel, are you a sunbeam or a CTR?
Axel: A CPR.

Mama: Maggie, what did you do at church?
Maggie: Jesus want me for a sun-BEEP!

Dad: Axel, look at that crazy lightning. It's really pretty, huh?
Axel: No, I don't like it. It looks like the earth is breaking.
Axel: Dad, where did my cookie go?
Dad: Oh, was that yours? I just saw it sitting around and thought it was mine, so I ate it.
Axel: Oh, good! I intended for you to eat it.
Lucy: DADA!

Mama: Axel, your voice sounds funny. Do your tonsils feel ok?
Axel: They feel like strawberries that have been left out for too long.

While Alisha is changing Maggie's diaper:
Maggie: No Shucy [Lucy]! My poopoo!

By the way... our kids are TOUGH.

Audio books

Paul got me an MP3 player which I use to listen to books while running, doing laundry, cleaning, and any other task which requires my hands but not my brain. I've realized that I'm a more sensitive listener than reader. The book has to be pretty clean or it's not worth it. I've listened to Shiloh, a book about a civil war battle that took place in TN; The Wedding, a mushy below average book about new love in an old marriage; The Constant Princess, a historical novel about Queen Katherine of Aragon which has been my favorite so far; Uglies/Pretties/Special, Teen Sci Fi that wasn't deep but did soften the work of uprooting evergreen bushes; and I just started Tar Baby by Toni Morrison who is my current favorite author. I hope it's amazing. I'll let you know.
Cleaning the kitchen has never seemed so effortless, and scrubbing poo out of clothes has never required so little attention. It is my secret to happiness while cleaning, etc. And the mental decline I've been experiencing has been curbed. Perhaps you'll notice in my posting.
I'd love book suggestions. Have any?

We sold the house!

I thought I would be sadder to say goodbye to our house, but our new house has a two car garage that is all mine, mine, mine. That joy overrides any sadness I have in leaving our designer kitchen. I now have a table saw, a skillsaw, a handsander, a scrollsaw, and birthday money with which I plan on buying an excellent router. The only complaint I have is that our new house has so many closets and storage that I don't need to make any divinely modern bookshelves. I have this love of spending money on materials to make things. Now I own about 100 yards of fabric that is just waiting to be sewn into stuff. It's a problem.
I'm happy to report that I did get Easter dresses made for the girls and they turned out sooooooo cute. Next time they wear them, I'll take a picture.

Though I love projects, renovating our old house, I was always pushing the kids away, telling them I was busy, they had to play by themselves, we'll go to the zoo/playground/pool another day, HURRY HURRY don't get distracted we're in a rush. In our new house, I have no projects with deadlines. One day last week, we went to the YMCA in the morning, then straight to the zoo, then nap for a long time, made sugar cookies with the kids when they woke up, then picnic dinner at the park with friends, right into bed. I loved it. I bought a kiddie pool and the kids have a blast in there. Axel and I played frisbee outside. Maggie and I had a good conversation about her favorite color and what Daddy does for work. Lucy is being snuggled and kissed and praised (and disciplined, she's a pistol) more than ever. I love our new house. And very unlike me, all of our organizing has been done in old diaper boxes, because I can't afford cute baskets and my house doesn't have to be cute because we're not showing it - and I love that my house doesn't HAVE to be cute, unless it fits into our budget/time restraints.
The only negative about the house is that the air conditioner is sub par. Today it was 90 and it will only get hotter. It's only up to 80 in the house, but that's my max. If the house can only be cooled 10 degrees, I'll be pretty cranky when its 110 outside. I'm pretty sure the landlord will fix it. He seems like a nice guy. I'll call him tomorrow.

A few funny things: Axel(age 4)can read - which is usually awesome, but sometimes is a hassle. The other day I put him in the front seat. Gasp! I know, but I was going about 10 blocks and I had my friend's baby with me and we still don't have a van, and 3 kids of our own, so I figured it was ok for 10 blocks. Well Axel said, "Mom, I can't be in this seat! It says the airbag could take my head off!" I tried to tell him it was ok and I'd be careful, but he remained unconvinced and frequently and urgently told me to slow down. At pre-school (I rotate with a few other moms) he learned about feelings and my friend printed out one of those sheets with all the faces showing different emotions with the emotions written underneath. Well there are about 100 on the page so of course she didn't look at every single one and Axel pointed to the paper and asked, "What does turned-on mean?" Ha! We even have to be careful when we're reading the news, because he can actually read that a gunman shot people in a bloody massacre. On the upside, he gives killer talks in primary.

Maggie(age 2)is getting very interested in the potty. And I am ready to stop buying diapers for her. We got a Dora potty and I'm gathering my strength and courage to begin potty training next week. I've got the chart, the stars, the m&m's, the elmo panties, the big prizes, still need to get the carpet cleaner. I am dreading it. She's sat on the potty many times, but has yet to produce anything in the potty. She's good at telling me after the fact and asking for a diaper change. Does anyone feel bad for me? I am dreading it. That's the wrong attitude, she'll probably sense it and hate the potty and scream when it's time to go. So, I'm actually looking forward to it. There'll be prizes and dancing - I love prizes and dancing. I can't wait!

Lucy (1 last week) fell asleep on me today at church. She's the only one of my children who have done that as a baby. It is so sweet. She is so loveable - animated, always wants to be in your lap, smart as a whip, understands just about everything, spits stuff out when I tell her 'caca', giggles wildly when Axel rough houses with her, is super tough about pain, and smiley all the time - except when she's not. She HATES to be put down and actually won't let you sit her down. She arches her back like crazy and screams so you have to lay her down. She cries and cries. If I take something away that she has in her hands she crazily flaps her arms and hits me in the face. I'm pretty sure now she does it on purpose to hit my face. What a stinker. Hit her Mama! That always pushes my button like crazy. My other kids learned pretty quickly it was in their best interest not to hit me, no matter how mad they were and how unfair I was. Lucy is a glutton for punishment, or just superstubborn, because she HATES time-out, she's smart enough to know she's in time-out because she hit Mama and was throwing a fit, and she still consistently hits me. I'm sure I can teach her not to hit, but I sure am not looking forward to the two's or teens. Yikes. Even Paul, who always gives our kids the benefit of the doubt, is concerned. However, her extra stinkiness is only in direct proportion to her extra delightfulness. She is irresistible and I love to be around her and close to her, she's just captivating. And she is fire and instant mood swings, and opinionated. She's destined to be super sexy and 6 feet tall. Heaven help all of us who love her.


And Paul is one of those guys who gets hotter as he ages. And he's really good to me. One example: Since we have had children (4.5 years) I consistently check-out of motherhood at social gatherings. I don't do it on purpose, I don't think, "Paul can watch the kids, I've done it all day." I just think, "Oh I love your new haircut, this is delicious pulled pork, can I watch your kids while you pack this week, lets get together and fix the zipper in your favorite skirt, yes we can change preschool day this week." On Memorial day we went to an excellent BBQ potluck with big pool and kiddie pools and slip and slide and all my favorite people. Paul had all the kids far away at a pool and I was at the tables chatting. Then he brought Maggie over, "Can you watch her for a minute." I don't think I said yes, but we did make eye contact, so I was supposed to watch her. Well somewhere in the middle she slipped off, I'm sure not far away and amongst all our friends, I'm sure she was fine. Paul came back, "Alisha, where's Maggie?!" "I don't know she was just here, she's not far." He disappeared in search of her. That was it. No rebuke or scolding or feeling dumped on. He just found her and brought her back to the pool and I chatted. I'm making him a cheesecake for that. Plus, it's that time again: the time when we go to Vegas to see Paul's family and they notice how thin he is and are concerned he doesn't eat enough, which he doesn't. So I'm fattening Hansel up.


And me, I ran the half marathon in Nashville, and loved it. Way fun. Next year either I or Paul will run it. One of us should. I want him to because it was so fun and good for the body and training for a half marathon probably extends your life at least one year. Plus, it would be way fun to cheer him on with the kids and we could make signs and stage ourselves at the hardest spots and tell him how incredible he is when he finishes. But if he can't, then I'll do it. My goal will be 1:45. I would be so proud of myself for that. I recommend a half marathon to everyone. It was sooooo much fun.

Is anyone still out there?

I haven't blogged in a while. I thrive on production - of producing tangible things. I love it. With my limited time, I have been creating, and blogging has fallen by the wayside. Latest and greatest stuff:

clothes from Goodwill turned into really cute clothes for my kids - for pennies!

metal strips attached to the wall in my kids room and coordinating magnets to hold the hundreds of works of art produced by their efficient little hands

Magnet board for Lucy's room

pillows for porch swing

new potted plants

painted all the cinder blocks the same color and replaced the dead bushes with live ones. I'm trying extra hard not to kill these ones too

Pulled out TONS of monkey grass - that is back breaking labor

and the most exciting... a hotter body. At least that's the idea. Who knew a person could run 11 miles and still have their looks-five months-pregnant belly? When I lose the false-alarm-belly I'll post a picture. Don't hold your breath!

No pic, but I also did a temple dress for a friend of mine - it turned out beautifully.

I will probably not be blogging anytime soon, because next up:

make cork board to cover conspicuous electric box (yes, I know it's against the law, Dad)

make art for beautiful frame I finished MONTHS ago

somehow turn a fabulous tree stump I salvaged from our neighbors yard into side table. Anybody know how to hollow and shellac a tree stump? That thing is HEAVY!

make Easter dresses for all three ladies in our family. (Paul has to work that day, so we don't have to coordinate his tie with our ensemble.)

Sand down, paint, and recover two excellent chairs I got at Goodwill for $20 bucks each.

And now because this has been horribly impersonal, I'll share some of my thoughts of late:

On a very typical day, during a very typical medical rotation, amidst all my typical chores, I had a revelation: Paul is the rock star of our family. He had just walked in the door. He was immediately tackled by Axel, because he's the fastest. He grabbed Paul's hand, "Daddy, Daddy, look at the pictures I made you!" Earlier that day Axel decided that Paul would love it if he made 4 excellent pictures and tape them up in various, visible, knee-height places. Paul, in fact, did love them. The ever snuggly Maggie rushes up begging, "Take down to Chine town, Daddy!" That's Paul's cue to pick her up and throw her on the couch. Of course Axel wants to be 'taken down to China town' too. Lucy crawls over to see what the commotion is about, is too cute to not pick up, and is covered in kisses by the biggest lips in our family. And, there are still kisses left for me, paired with a sincere, 'how was your day?' A few minutes earlier I was telling the kids, "Hurry and clean up. Daddy'll be home any minute. Let's have it clean for him!" The dinner is for Paul. If the kids don't like it, I'm ok if they starve. They're good scavengers. But I make dinner thinking, "Paul is going to LOVE this dinner." And he does. He makes sure to tell me how much he likes dinner. In fact, the kids mimic him, practically yelling, "MMMMM. This is De-Licious. You. Are. The. Cooker!" But the point is, even though Paul is gone a lot, we spend a lot of our time thinking about him, wanting him to be pleased, preparing for him to come home and be pleased. I pictured a red carpet rolled out through our front door and Paul walking in, crazed fans clapping and screaming, camera lights flashing. And I thought, 'that's a lot of pressure'. What about when he has a terrible day, or worse, when he's post-call and super tired, and his 'fans' are super crazed because it's been longer since they've seen him. He doesn't give in to his slugishness and sit down and just be cranky because he feels cranky and tell everybody to be quiet and give him some space. Well I guess he could do that, but it would really hurt everyone's feelings. So, no matter how hard and stinky of a day he has, he comes home happy. And after all the emotional energy it takes to be empathetic with and explaining to sick patients and sick patient's families, he comes home and keeps on expending that emotional energy at home to all the people who still need him to be 'available'. When does he get a break? And I realized I shouldn't complain when he wants to see a movie on date night.

Roller Derby

Alisha and I went to the season opener of the Nashville Rollergirl rollerderby game:

Ummm... It was pretty crazy. I think I can best describe it as this: gold miniskirts, mohawks, thick black eye shadow, fishnet stockings, tattoos, and lots of girls on rollerskates shoving eachother and wiping out. There was this one girl who was probably 6 feet tall, 220 lbs called "Hildebeast". You can imagine...



The video doesn't really do justice to the experience, but at least will give you a little glimpse of what it was like. It looks like everybody is just skating in circles, but there really are rules. There are two "jammers" behind the whole pack of defense skaters ("pivots" and "blockers") that are trying to maneuver safely through the pack. Once they lap the pack once, they get a point for each successive person they pass. Rounds are 2 minutes each. There actually is a lot of strategy that goes into the game. I'm not sure what constitutes a foul, but I can tell you that pretty much everything goes except outright punches. It was pretty crazy.

Here's a video on Youtube from an older game, but it shows off Hildebeast:



At halftime these guys on modified 8 feet tall bikes jousted eachother. I kept thinking someone was going to break an ankle, but nobody got too badly injured:



Alisha thought it was the best date of the year.

Merry Christmas to all who read my blog

For your consideration: my latest favorite breakfast, crancakes. It is a creation from a cranberry pie gone wrong. I made the pie later and I prefer the cakes. Here's the recipe, now perfected.

Crancakes:
2 cups white flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tps. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
8 cups cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Sauce:
1 cup full fat sour cream (low fat is sour)
1/4 cup OJ concentrate
sugar or light corn syrup (optional)

Combine in large bowl flour, salt, baking soda and powder. In a blender, puree half the cranberries and half the sugar. The sugar will draw out juices from the berries to make a very thick, bright red puree. Add 1/4 cup of the OJ concentrate, eggs, vanilla, and blend till just combined. Dump on flour mixture, do not stir. Blend remaining cranberries and remaining sugar. Add to flour, stirring just till combined. Cook on griddle in batches. Batter will be very thick, so flatten a little in the pan. Because of the super-high fruit content cakes will take longer to cook than regular pancakes. I use two pans, to speed up the whole process. While the cakes are cooking, mix together the sour cream and 1/4 cup OJ concentrate. Taste, add sugar or light corn syrup if you prefer it sweeter. (If you've never had sour cream sweet, try it, you'll love it. You can thank me later.)
Serves 4 hungry adults.

I invite you all to try them, improve on the recipe and comment. This is my Christmas gift to you all. If I was more ambitious I'd do cards with update letters included, however, I spend too much time eating for that.