Floofing - A Christmas Tradition

Gather round and hear the story of old...

Well, ok, not that old. It actually started about seven years ago when I learned that live Christmas trees contain allergens like pollen. I know, right, who knew?

Because of these nasty allergens, we had to do the unthinkable - get a fake Christmas tree!

It was painful for me as I am very much the traditionalist. Since returning to North Carolina, Scott and I had always gone to the NC mountains to cut our own tree. But, given that each fall both Eliza Grace and Scott would battle the elements with copious amounts of Claritin and Musinex, we decided buying a fake tree was the prudent and healthier thing to do.

Traditions always have a way of evolving. We used to drive to the mountains, don hats, coats, gloves and boots and traipse through the...well, not snow but some tall grass perhaps - cut down our own tree and haul it back home. These days, typically donned in our pjs, Scott hauls himself to the storage room and carries down the tree in a box, at which time the kids shout, "let the floofing begin!"

Floofing, for those of you unaware, is the process one must go through when preparing the fake branches to be placed on the fake tree trunk. After spending 11 months of the year in plastic bags shoved into a box, each branch needs to be properly adjusted or floofed. This process is key to successful tree trimming, as a poorly floofed tree looks even more fake and the ornaments do not hang well.

The funniest thing about all this is that I am pretty sure my kids believe that this is a normal occurrence in every household. Eliza Grace was telling a neighbor the other day that we had finished floofing our tree. She did not even notice the questioning look on the neighbor's face.

Well, let 'em wonder I say. Because we are floofers...and we are proud of our floofing family tradition!

Will helping with the initial tree-limb-in-a-bag extraction

Assembly begins

Eliza Grace demonstrates her floofing technique

Will performs a floofage inspection

The final product.
And no, it is not listing....apparently my camera was tilted!

Creativity

Eliza Grace is a nut. And it is not just me that thinks so. I have heard those exact same words from many people who have met her. She completely cracks us up without really trying to. I think it is her commentary and ingenuity that is sometimes surprising and so is funny.

She has this combination of adult-like linguistics and 7-year old silliness, with a heaping helping of creativity thrown in.

She has a particular penchant for creating things out of paper. Lots of paper. I have to limit her or she could go through a ream in a week. She writes books - lately they are Scooby Doo mysteries - complete with illustrations, title pages, indexes and binding (usually tape, ribbon, staples or a combination of all three). She makes costumes, games, and stuffed animals that she calls e-Factory Friends. And paper is not her only medium.

Yesterday, while waiting for her aunt and cousin to arrive for the Thanksgiving meal, she occupied herself by creating napkins rings, a table center piece and a game called "Pin the Waddle on the Turkey." Lastly, she decorated herself as a Thanksgiving turkey.

The kid is a nut. A creative, smart, silly and amazing nut. And man how we love her so!

Homemade napkin rings made from a paper towel tube,
aluminum foil and a sticker

Turkey center piece, obviously made from a toilet paper tube.

Pin the waddle on the turkey!

Our nutty turkey, complete with waddle,
tail feathers and colored feet!

Sling Boy Birthday - Part 2

Tonight we celebrated Will's birthday as a family. I did a bit of decorating in the continuing pirate theme - it is amazing what one can do with crepe paper and pirate themed napkins!

We had the usual fare - sliced cucumbers, mini penne pasta, and bread dipped in olive oil with spices. We have to watch our fingers with the bread because the kids mop up the oil and spices with the bread so fast we could draw back a nub if we are not careful!

We finished it all up with cupcakes and a treasure hunt to find Will's presents. It was a fun family evening to be sure. Which begs the question as to why Will melted down around 8:30 into inconsolable tears and frustration. Perhaps it was too much attention, too many new things to play with, the down side of a butter cream icing high? I am fairly certain it was a combination of all three.

But now my baby - my FOUR YEAR OLD baby - is lying in his bed, hopefully having wonderful Veggie Tale pirate ship dreams.

Wow, my own treasure map!

1st mate, Eliza Grace, helping to find the X that marks the spot.

No, its just your imagination.
I mean what kind of mother would use 3 day old cupcakes
from her child's school party for his family party?
(hee,hee - just call me the frugal gourmet!)

"I wish for a Veggie Tales pirate ship!"

I got my wish!

Four Years Old Today!

Dear Will,

Today you are four!

It is utterly amazing how time can whiz right by. And here we are - we have had you in our lives for four whole years!

We've weathered those first ten months of constant spit-up, several bouts of croup, too many visits to the ER, anaphylaxis (darn those tree nuts), several bouts of hives (darn those tree nuts and penicillin), too many x-rays for various injuries, plenty of scraped knees and more than enough stomach bugs. Whew!

But all of the above absolutely pales in comparison to the untold number of hours of running and playing and laughing and giggling and tickling and questioning and understanding and learning and loving and pure joy, love and happiness that you have brought into our family.

From the day you were born we could not imagine our lives without you in it.

Happy birthday, our sweet, big boy Willby. We cannot wait to see what the next year brings!

Love, Mommy, Daddy and Eliza Grace

Sling Boy Birthday - Part 1

Arg, help! We are stuck in quick sand!

Despite the whole broken collar bone/arm in a sling thing, we proceeded with our plans to bring cupcakes to preschool to celebrate Will's birthday. Just about every 5 minutes today he asked if it was time to have his pirate party at school.

As soon as we walked in the door, he immediately asked me, "when will my friends sing to me?" And then was his typical shy when they did. All the kiddos asked how Will was feeling, especially since most of them saw him fall and witnessed the painful cries afterward. They were so sweet and told him that they missed him.

Part 2 of the celebration will come on Monday, his actual birthday, when we will celebrate at home with cake and ice cream and presents!

The shy smile during the happy birthday song

Look Ms. Amanda, I got a real pirate spy glass

Now how does this thing work?

2nd Time Is The Charm?

Well, Will has done it again.

He broke his collar bone for the first time during his delivery. Suggestion: never deliver your child's head, shoulder, arm and hand at the exact same moment -I still hear that "pop" sound in my head every now and again.

So now, thanks to a fall from the playground monkey bars, we have another collar bone break, on the same side, but this time nearer to his shoulder.

The good news? It was just his collar bone, praise the Lord, which will heal quickly and he is in little pain unless he moves his left arm/shoulder. If he does move it, he shrieks in pain. The bad news? My baby fell and is in pain!

Will's penchant for getting hurt enough to visit the ER is starting to become a little too routine for my comfort. In his nearly four years, (birthday next Monday!), we have gotten x-rays of his hand (someone stepped on it and his fingers swelled), his leg (he fell and was limping for a couple of days), his foot (another monkey bar spill), his chest (twice - once during allergic reaction to tree nuts and now for the broken collar bone) and his shoulder (collar bone).

It seems each time the injury is a little bit more severe and I for one am ready for this trend to stop! The truth of the matter is that he is actually very coordinated but I think because he is, he tends to take a few more risks than a more cautious child.

And on the bright side, we get to eat up more of our health care flexible spending dollars that we would otherwise lose at the end of the year...whoopie!

Waiting to go to radiology. Note how his left shoulder droops a bit.

Brave boy popsicle time

"Sling boy" ready to head home

Um, Will, That Is Not Quite Correct...

We put some of our interior Christmas decorations up this weekend. This morning, I overheard the following:

Will: "Eliza Grace, come over here and look at these Nutscratchers."

While I am sure somewhere in the world there is such a product, I quickly corrected Will and showed him how a Nutcracker worked. And then I shut myself in my bathroom and laughed until I cried.

Thrift Store Finds!

I wandered into Goodwill this week hoping to find some jeans for both Eliza Grace and Will because, for goodness sake, these kids tear holes in the knees of nearly every pair they have WAY before they outgrow them!

Anyhoo, having no luck finding jeans in their sizes, I wandered over to the tchatchke wall just to browse. And I saw these two lovely little craftsman-style lanterns:

Fabulous, aren't they? They even came with the candles - $4 each! I am pretty sure I have seen something similar at Pottery Barn or Pier One for $30+ each. Score for me!

I then continued to wander and stumbled upon these absolutely adorable Christmas plates. A series of 12, each plate depicts each day from the "On the First Day of Christmas" song. They are so cute and I really love the detail. Here, let me show them to you - in order of course:

"On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me....

"A partridge in a pear tree"

(Closer view so you can see the detail)

"Two turtle doves"

"Three French hens"

"Four colly birds"

That's right, "colly birds" not "calling birds." Never knew that I was singing it incorrectly! The word 'colly' literally means 'black as coal,' and thus 'colly birds' would be blackbirds. And now, perhaps you have learned your "something new" for today!

Altogether now: "Fiiiiiiiive gold rings"

"Six geese a-laying"

"Seven swans a-swimming"

"Eight maids a-milking"

"Nine ladies dancing"

(A close up because it's my favorite)

"Ten lords a-leaping"

"Eleven pipers piping"

"Twelve drummers drumming"

Did I mention that they were .79 cents each?! Score for me again! My friend Kris Stoner will be so proud of me :)

Old School

Scene: Our bathroom this morning. Scott is brushing his teeth when Will walks in. Will stops and watches Scott for a minute and then says:

"Daddy, how do you do that with no noise?"

Apparently Will has little or no experience with a simple, manual toothbrush. Perhaps tomorrow we will set aside his electric, character toothbrush and go old school!

The Times, They Are A-Changin'

The winds of change are starting to blow - thankfully not at tornadic speeds.

About 6 months ago, I wrote a couple very angst ridden posts dealing with the lack of balance in my life and the need for clarity. Thankfully, I have a couple of great friends and an exasperated, but supportive husband, to help me work through my sadness, anger, confusion, frustrations and fears.

But, like most things with which we humans struggle, it was acknowledging the problem that was the biggest step towards getting off my tush and doing something about it.

The biggest hurdle for me has been my job. Suffice it to say that the past year has been difficult and the stress and the hours have been ridiculous. Sure, parts of it have been ok and I have learned so much, but I knew that I needed to find something else as fast as I could or face a full-blown melt down that I was just barely keeping in check.

So, a bright ray of sunshine appeared in the form of a new position that sounds like (fingers crossed) it is the right one for me. I am hoping and praying that this opportunity will help me re-energize and re-focus in many areas of my life.

We all go through seasons, life's ups and downs, good times and bad. And I, for one, am ready to begin a new and positive season in my life.

Two Pirates, Velma and Them Bones

Halloween was a 2 day affair this year. On Friday, Will's school had a costume parade and carnival that was loads of fun.

Then we carefully de-costumed to be ready for the real thing the next day. Saturday started out rainy but the evening was dry and nearly 70 degrees as we hit the streets.

The Duseks joined us for dinner and Trick or Treating. Will decided at the last minute that he would be brave this year and actually ring some bells instead of sitting on the stoop and handing out candy. Of course, Scott and George handled giving candy out quite nicely - it was something you could easily do while holding a beer!

Speaking of, one neighbor offered grown up treats - a fridge with 6 built in taps to taste their homebrew! Too bad Scott and George were at our house holding down the fort.

Here are a few pics from the evening. Eliza Grace received the most comments for her costume by far!

Arrg...Capt'n Spooky!

Jinkees - it's Velma!

The gang heading to collect their treats

We're done...dig in!
Oh, and remember, Mama Q gets all the Whoppers.
Right kids? Kids? Right?

The Fair

Eliza Grace and I ( and Aunt Heidi and cousin Gretchen) bugged out of work and school early last week to take in the sights, smells, rides and FOOD at the NC State fair.

Eliza Grace is getting more and more receptive regarding the rides she will try. Meanwhile I am getting more and more reluctant regarding the rides I will try. Why is that?!

Regardless, we had a great time. She is so much fun to be around!

Hey you, with the face...

Me - "Eliza Gracie"

Eliza Grace - "Yes, mommy?"

Me - "Come over here and give me some sugar, my little blue-eyed, freckle-faced girl."

Eliza Grace - "Heeeey, who are you calling freckle-faced?"

Me - "Well, I'm not talking to Will. If I were, I would say 'Come over here and give me some sugar, my green-eyed, sweaty-faced boy'."

Will - "Huh?"

Eliza Grace - "Heeey - are you making fun of me??"

Me - "Are you kidding me? The only reason I ever look tan is because all of my freckles (NOT age spots, by the way!) merge together to make me look darker! I would never make fun of you or your freckles, sweetie!"

Will - "Do I have freckles, Mommy"

Me - "Well, you have a couple here and there that are really kissable. But you have Daddy's skin, lucky boy, which means that you tan beautifully and will never need Botox."

Will - "Plus, I am really cute - see?"

Eliza Grace - "Hey, I'm really cute too!"

Me - " Yes, you are both really cute. And remember, Eliza Grace, a wise person once said, 'a face without freckles is like a night without stars'."

Eliza Grace - "Yeah, I like that one."

Will-isms part II

A few more favorites from our little man:

Borin - as in "when I was borin, and I was a baby, I cried"

Fouey - as in "one, two, fwee, fouey"

Ghost-tes -as in "mommy, there were two ghost-tes"

Songs I Sing to My Babies- I Love To Singa

When I was a kid, cartoons were so much simpler. No evil characters to speak of, with the exception maybe of Bluto on Popeye, but he was more mean than evil.

When were allowed to watch Saturday morning cartoons, my favorites were the more unique Merrie Melodies, especially the really old ones from the 1930s and 1940s. While admittedly many of them are terribly offensive with ridiculous stereotypes, there were others that were just plain fun.

One of my all time favorites is called "I Love To Singa." This eight-minute Tex Avery gem dealt with expectations, rejection and acceptance. Ok, so it was not that serious, but the song that the little owl sang has stuck in my brain for decades.

And decades later I taught it to my little ones, jazz hands and all. Eliza Grace was a performing it for family by age 2!

Enjoy "I Love to Singa." I promise it will make you smile!

Songs I Sing to My Babies- Edelweiss

Ok, stay with me here because I know this one may seem odd.

When I was pregnant with Will, I decided that since I sang Baby Mine to Eliza Grace so much, I needed to find a lullaby that was just for Will. And during this same time, Eliza Grace watched the sound of music for the first time. It was so fun sharing this movie with her and there are so many songs to love.

The scene that always got to me -and I am sure just about everyone who has ever seen it - is when the Captain is singing Edelweiss on stage and cannot finish because he gets choked up, then Maria joins in and then the kids join in and then the entire audience joins in. It would make me just weep and weep. (Dang, I am emotional, no?)

As far as I know, I am not of Austrian decent, but I doubt there is a patriot in any country that would not get choked up during that scene. So, for some reason, that song just stuck in my mind as the one I would deem as Will's lullaby.

Of course, I tweaked the final line a bit to fit my purposes. Here is the way I sing it to my Willby:

Edelweiss,
Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white
clean and bright
You look happy to meet me

Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever

Edelweiss,
Edelweiss
Bless my sweet child forever.

And here is the original (click on the picture):

Songs I Sing to My Babies-In My Favorite Dream

This one hails from yet another Disney movie, Fun and Fancy Free, specifically Mickey & The Beanstalk.

In the story, the golden harp is stolen by Willie, the giant. At one point, the harp sings the giant to sleep so that Mickey can steal the key to the box where his friends (Goofy & Donald Duck) have been captured - thus the odd ending to the song as she directs Mickey to where the key is. Everyone on the web must be petrified of Disney lawyers, because I could not find a snippet of the song out there anywhere. But, here are the lyrics.

In my favorite dream
Everyone is so delightful
No one's mean or spiteful
In my favorite dream

Yes, and in my favorite dream
There my heart can go romancing
Dancing to a heavenly theme

But there's something else I look forward to

It's a secret, but here's a clue

He's my favorite you-know-who

You're the hero of my most favorite dream

In his right vest pocket you'll find the key
The right vest pocket, go carefully

Songs I Sing to My Babies-Baby Mine

My very favorite Disney movie ever is Dumbo.

The first time I saw Dumbo, I cried all during the scene when Dumbo goes to visit his Mother while she is locked up in the "Mad Elephant" cage. When Mrs. Jumbo takes her trunk and lovingly caresses Dumbo's head and he snuggles against her - sigh, it is just full of sweet and tender motherly love.

The song playing during that scene is Baby Mine. And I decided long ago that Baby Mine would be my special lullaby I would sing to my children. Eliza Grace heard that song nearly every day before she was born, and nearly every day since.

So all you mommies, grab a tissue and watch it again below.



Lyrics Dumbo - Baby Mine lyrics

Besides the original Disney version, two of my very favorite renditions are by two of my favorite singers. Enjoy!

Baby Mine - Bette Midler
Baby Mine - Alison Krauss

TRIVIA TIME: Dumbo is the only Disney movie main character that never speaks!

Jump!

I am still enjoying my Nikon DSLR camera. The kids are still enjoying the neighbor's trampoline. All the fun + none of the liability = happy Mommy!

We don't need no stinkin' gravity

C'mon mommy...you're next!

Let's take a break

Hey - Will is trying to bite my toes!

MOMMY! (giggle, giggle) make him stop (giggle, giggle)

Blech. Boys can be so gross.

Swinging

Swinging into the sun...

This is what joy looks like...

...and this is what silly looks like!