The Babies You've Been Praying For...

I'm sure you've noticed the two buttons I've placed on the right side of my blog, asking you to pray for two little babies. What you might not have realized is that clicking the buttons would take you to their mothers' blogs. Each of these babies was born in the last week (Baryden is 7 days old and Harper is 4 days old), and each is a first baby for their young parents who struggled with infertility before conceiving and each was born with unexpected life-threatening conditions. The call went out for desperately needed prayers and the response has been tremendous. I just wanted to let you know that both of these babies are improving and their parents are amazed by the outpouring of support they're receiving from strangers. If you want to read the latest on baby Harper, her current status can be found here. If you want to read about baby Brayden, his mom posted his one-week update here.

Catching up...

Just now getting to posting today, so it really will be random...

Valiant and I watched the inauguration today while we worked out. (The back of my legs, my butt, and the backs of my arms really hurt! I guess that is a good thing, right?) Did you watch it? As I explained to my children, the speeches, the parades, and the balls aren't what matters, what matters is that like him or not, we support the smooth transition of power in this country. It is calm, even if we disagree...that is something amazing when you actually stop to think about.

Ran some errands and went to Joann's while Buttercup was in gymnastics. I finally got some fabric to finish this simple Valentine's project from Little Birdie Secrets....I'm really excited to get started on it.

I had this amazing Pasta Fagioli crock pot recipe from Recipezaar cooking all day.

It will be accompanied by this amazing breadmaker Italian bread (you use the dough cycle and then just shape the loaves yourself) from All Recipes.

Dessert tonight will be these fantastic Snickerdoodle Muffins from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.

If I had tasted the batter, I would absolutely confirm they are so good. Then, if, by any stretch of the imagination, I had eaten the top of a muffin fresh from the oven, I would cheerfully confirm that they are scrumptious. (Not that I would ever do those things!)

This is what my wall looks like these days. That cat seems to have moved on to the birds. Superman isn't certain we still have the paint for this room, so we might have to paint the entire room.

That's about it...oh, and Biggest Loser is on tonight...I LOVE Biggest Loser.

A Quick (I swear!) Sewing Project.

Buttercup and I like nightgowns.

Buttercup and I get cold in the winter in nightgowns. (Okay, more me than her, but still...she's cold more than the boys!) Our first three winters here in Eastern Washington, we glammed it up by throwing an over-sized sweatshirt over our nightgowns...it was a "look", let me tell you. This year, I got creative with...wait for it...an old, cute flat sheet and sweatshirts! Yes, I made us nightgowns that keep us warm and (for me are actually long enough) out of a sheet and two sweatshirts. (Look, if you're not tall, you have no idea how much tall girls dream of nightgowns that don't hit us mid-shin...or at the bottom of our knees! Trust me on this, this is a big deal!) This project cost me roughly $12 for two nightgowns! (Sweatshirts were $5 each, the trim was roughly $2 and I had the sheet!)

Here is what you do...

Cut your sweatshirts off below the arm holes, but don't forget sweatshirts (especially the inexpensive ones) shrink up a lot and allow for that. We were going for an empire waist, so we measured about three inches below the armpit.

Then measure the circumference of the sweatshirt bottom and double it--that is how wide you need to make the skirt fabric. Then measure from below your chest to the floor and the is how long you need your skirt fabric to me.

Sew two basting lines - low tension, big stitches - (careful to not cross) across the width of your skirt fabric, one half inch below the top of the fabric...using the basting stitches you work the fabric to be gathered enough that it is now the circumference of the sweatshirt. After you've gathered the materials so that you have a width equal to the circumference of the sweatshirt, sew the skirt into a tube from top to bottom.

Now, you can just attach the sweatshirt to the skirt, or you can get all trick like I did and add contrasting piping first. After that, you just hem it and you're done.

Still not haute couture, but we're warm!

What do you think?

Early Morning Date!

I am a firm believer that married people with children need to remember that their children will grow up and live adult lives one day (if we do our jobs correctly), leaving those two people alone with each other once again. If you've spent 20 years being Mom and Dad and not ever being the Boy and Girl you used to be, then when the kids fly off to live their own exciting lives, you'll be left living with someone you don't really know any more.

This belief, however, runs headlong into my absolutely pathological refusal to take vacations without our children. You read that correctly...in 19.2 years of marriage, almost 18 years of parenthood, Superman and I have NEVER taken a vacation away from our children. I won't do it...I just, well, I just can't. (I don't think Superman wants to, either, but I accept full responsibility for this fact.)

So, that means we've had to be creative to get time together. We've been on dates to the park when we had just one baby, so we could watch him play and still be alone together. We've been on dates to the back deck when the kids are sleeping. When we both worked, we made sure we came home on the same train and considered that 30 minute ride every day to be our time together. Because we do it deliberately and consciously, these little times count for something. They add up. They are meaningful. They matter.

Now that the kids are older, we can sneak out for a dinner alone, or, since we're counting pennies and paying down debt, a breakfast date! These days we have a standing Monday morning date at McDonald's...we take two cars so he can head off to work and I can come home to my work...he's dressed beautifully because he's heading off to corporate America and I, well, today I'm in workout clothes so I can't renege on my workout commitment, but it still felt like a date! We talked about our hopes, our dreams, and weird things that pop into our minds. He told me I'm pretty, I told him he's awesome. He walked me to my car and gave me a kiss as he held the door for me. I told him to drive carefully and that I loved him. It was terrific.

You know what? After 20 years together, Superman is still my boyfriend...and I can hardly wait for our next date...

P.S. For anyone who is keeping track with Kate, I did, in fact, have another Egg McMuffin today, so that brings my 2009 tally to 6!

Gym is back in my life...

If you're following along, you know I've been mightily resisting starting up with Gym again. He's just so demanding! Well, I was weak and I couldn't hold out any longer. I saw Gym this morning, but I didn't go alone. No, when sweet Valiant saw me suited up and ready to go, he got on his running shoes and joined me as I confronted Gym. (Wasn't that nice of him? That's why I call him Valiant...he'll be at my side, ready to face down anything!) After some serious negotiating, I settled on 24 minutes on the LifeCycle and Valiant did the same on the treadmill. It's not much, but maybe it will keep Gym happy!

Bad Kitty!

You know that saying, "Life is what happens when you're busy making plans"? Well, Superman and I spent part of Saturday Celebration breakfast discussing what we planned to get done today. We headed home cheerfully planning to jump right in. The we saw the wall of our dining room! One of our cats, Tuck, is quite adventurous and enthusiastic about the the playground he now finds himself living in. Unfortunately, it seems he has put on more weight than he's realized since we rescued him from the shelter in September. Fortunately, nothing on the shelf was damaged...the wall, on the other hand, can't take any more abuse. It looks as if Superman's plans have now been modified to include "drywall repair and painting"...

Yep, this is life!

Skiing!

The View from Chewelah Peak...

I love where I live. In the years since we left Southern California for Eastern Washington, I've grown to love my new hometown more and more with each passing day. Today, the kids and I headed off to one of the two local ski areas for an afternoon of skiing. (We actually have season passes, but we've not been able to get there until now!) The resort is so wonderful, we felt like we were visiting an old friend we hadn't seen in awhile. (We didn't ski last year because we bought the trailer and it was an either/or deal, so that means we haven't skied since 2007.) The people are friendly and happy to see you...it is truly a wonderful experience. Skiing without crowds, without hassle, and without a second mortgage on the house...what more could anyone ask? (Notice the lack of people in the pictures...this was a typical weekday!)

So, we started out warming up on the bunny slope and the kids convinced me that they were ready to hit the "real slopes" and we headed to Chair 4 to go to the top. (Isn't it gorgeous?) I knew we were in trouble when Buttercup called over from her chair (no, we can't share...they like the adrenaline rush from getting on their OWN chairs by THEMSELVES), "Wow, it is really high, isn't it?" That, my dear friends, was the beginning of the end. Buttercup, aka Fireball, has lost her mojo! I guess 9 turning 10 is old enough to suddenly become aware that you can, in fact, get hurt skiing and she, well, froze a third of the way down the mountain. We had tears, we had frustration, and we had a total inability to listen to our mother try to talk us down. "You can do this! You've done this so many times before. You are Fireball, remember? You are a terrific skier." No way, no how...she sat in a heap, sniffling and wailing at me that she "couldn't do it anymore!".

To make an incredibly long, painful story a bit shorter...they have these wonderful people at the resort called "Guest Hosts". Guest Hosts make sure their guests get down from the mountain...I never knew that before today! When the nice men in the "Guest Host" coats told her the EXACT SAME THINGS her mother had been telling her, she smiled her shy little smile and headed down the mountain. I do love where I live...and I love my local ski area...and I especially love two Guest Hosts named Chuck and Gary...

We're headed back next week...I wonder who is on "Guest Host" duty...

P.S. Valiant has been watching a lot of "Bond, James Bond" with Superman...isn't he so cool?

(These are pictures I took today. Look at the one taken at the top of the mountain...our area has been socked in fog lately...doesn't it look like a sea of clouds?...we were above them, basking in the sunshine!)

Meet "Gym"...

This is a picture of "Gym", as Gym is today. Gym hasn't always looked like this. In fact, Gym and I have had an on-again, off-again relationship for close to 30 years. In my younger days, I would cheerfully head to Gym's house and spend hours there EVERY DAY. I'd do a few aerobics classes, spend time on the LifeCycle, play on machines and then do it all over again. Then I got more responsibilities and my time at Gym's declined, but didn't disappear...in fact, Gym moved and I got a new, fun place to visit. Honestly, at that point in my life, my social life seemed to be wherever Gym was. Gym was fun, I felt good when I spent time with Gym. This was definitely our on-again period.

Then I started seeing Superman and, frankly, Superman was a lot more fun to spend time with than Gym. Superman liked Gym well enough, but he didn't really want to spend any time with Gym. So, I'd see Gym in fits and spurts and it was fine. We weren't exactly broken up, but I really didn't see Gym much. Then Superman gifted me with Charming...I needed Gym, but didn't really enjoy my time with Gym. I was married, I had a baby and I had a job! Where was I supposed to fit Gym into my life. Valiant followed Charming and Buttercup followed Valiant. I was too busy for Gym and too busy to feel guilty for neglecting our relationship.

When Buttercup entered preschool, I started seeing Gym again. Oh, the exhilaration...I felt young, free, strong, and energetic. But that wasn't enough for Gym...whatever time I dedicated to Gym, it wasn't enough! The demands were endless..."you need to spend more time on the bike, a few more reps on the machine, why didn't you run today?, what do you mean you don't have time for a class?" Gym was never happy! Instead of feeling terrific, I felt inadequate. I wasn't capable of meeting the demands Gym was placing on me. I was definitely ready to break it off.

Then life intervened...I moved away from Gym. I was free!

But I was weak...and I let Gym move into my house! For a while, I was able to keep Gym under control, but pretty soon, Gym was demanding more than I could give. "What?! You only did 24 minutes on the bike? Why didn't you do 32? No work-out video? You know you have the time...obviously, you are a slacker!" So, I stopped seeing gym last July...it it felt good. Oh, I visited twice in September, but that was it...it was over.

That, I thought, was the saga of Gym and me...until now...

You see, it is starting up again...Gym's siren call is reaching out to me, "You know I'm good for you. You know you like me." Gym's seductive promises, "Come to me...I'll make you happy....I'll make your clothes fit better...you'll look better without clothes...you know you need me."

I think I'm weakening...I think I'll start seeing Gym again soon...just not quite yet.

[If you need inspiration to take care of yourself, I urge you to check out Melissa at 365 Days of Exercise. She has committed to do some form of exercise everyday for one year and is blogging about it. She's fantastic...)