Ski Tripping.

Everybody skied but me and little E, we just played in the snow all day. Even though the temp didn't rise above 26 and it snowed all day long at Dodge Ridge last Sunday, we stayed warm in our snow pants and coats and gloves taking breaks from playing to sit by the fire in the family lodge. And to prove I was there, the photo in the mirror window of Eva and me. Click on the photos to make 'em bigger.

Yes, that's Eva licking an icicle in the lower right corner!

It was supposed to be a Girl Scout trip but they cancelled due to worries over the weather. We went anyway, braving the snowy roads with snow chains for our tires and a good manly-size helping of patience for ourselves. It was really a lot of fun, the kids got into the all-day ski school-no parents allowed. So we said goodbye to them at 9am and retrieved custody at 4pm. It wasn't cheap but it was quite a good deal, Sarah was the last one up the conveyor that afternoon, she didn't want to stop. Emily's group actually went up on the ski lift over at the beginner slopes a couple of times.

I myself have not skied in over ten years and this trip reminded me of my first time on skis which was also at Dodge Ridge. Watching all the kids throughout the day brought back memories of the day I took lessons. It was with Sabrina and we were 16 or 17. I have no idea how we ended up there that day because I have no idea who the guys were who took us with them [they may have been her neighbors and she was the one who did all the negotiating]. I just remember we were wearing jeans, [like a lot of people did then], and that we were tightly packed into the old beater sedan that hauled us and all of our rented gear [including skis] inside the car. Anyway, we took lessons part of the day and the rest of the day we were flying down hills all caution to the wind and it was FUN.

So I don't know when we will let the kids try it again. The Scouts have rescheduled and we haven't decided if we will all try to go on that one. They have a little foundation now and they have cute little ski school report cards to back it up! Our next known snow trip is on the calendar already, a Yosemite tiny-cabin adventure...stay tuned for that one.

News flash! Two of my kids earned awards for reading! Go Emily and Wyatt! They only give this one twice a year to one kid in each class so to us it's a big deal, Sarah earned it in Kinder so she is not feeling left out. Yay kids! Bravo and well done!

Eva is catching a cold so I'm off to be Momma nurse for little while on the couch, I don't get much time on the couch so it's A-OK. Have a great weekend and Happy 13th Birthday to my neice Sydney!

Look Who I Found!

Actually, I found her last month but it's not really a reunion story without a photo, so when we met for coffee this morning, I made sure to snap one! If you don't know who I am sitting at Starbucks with, meet Sherri, my friend from all the way back to 6th grade. Through the wonder of Facebook, I found her once more. And lucky for me, pretty close by, definitely close enough for regular meetings at Starbucks!

She was the one that my parents always approved of, esteemed, and always asked if I had heard from. Remember asking your Mother, "can I go out and play?" When I asked my Mother that question back in the day, I was probably headed to her house. We were best buddies in junior high and beyond. I moved away in 11th grade and we lost touch for a very long time. So many great memories with that girl! Love you Sherri!

I was impressed with the sleeve they used on my cup today, such patriotic inaugural flare. It's a Ronald Reagan quote from his inauguration.

Did you know when my 7 year old Sarah was but 2 years and four months, she could recognize and name every U.S. president from Washington to Bush by looking at their pictures? I even made these special cards and laminated them just so we could show off this talent of hers. It lasted a couple of months and then she lost interest and wouldn't do it anymore. She has not repeated that feat to this day. I think my Mom has a video of her rattling off presidential names. We thought it was very cool.

What a great day, met a dear friend and had Starbucks. Oh, did I tell you I found my wallet?

In the Name of Love.

Almost random, partial connectedness to share here, as I am sickly but still enjoying having the kids home today.

Pride (In The Name of Love) by U2 is one of my favorite songs.

My sister Renee and I saw U2 at the Oakland Coliseum in 1987.

The song is about Martin Luther King Jr. and today is his holiday.

The song is also a little bit about Jesus [one man betrayed with a kiss] and Jesus is love.

Sarah and Wyatt are 19 months apart. As of today, they are the same height and the same weight. They are both 4 ft. 0 inches tall and 49 pounds. Now I do [sort of] have twins after all.

Over the weekend, I purchased a pair of size 8 shoes for my ten year old daughter Emily and that means that we now wear the same size. For how long, I don't know. Unbelievable!

I'm getting caught up in the excitement of Barack Obama's inauguration.

Emily and I made stick stars out of newly pruned tree branches to commemorate the inauguration of our new president.


Who was Martin Luther King Jr.?
This sweet collection began a few days ago with me asking Wyatt questions about why he didn't have to go to school today. I liked his answers and I decided to ask a few more kids and I wrote their answers down, word for word. Too sweet.

my niece Sydney, 12
He was this person who wanted black people to be free.

my niece Allison, 8
He stopped slavery, he worked in churches with ministers. He got shot because somebody didn't like how he stopped slavery.

my nephew Sam, 7
He made black and white people play together.

[my friend Nena's daughter] Emma, 6
The white people didn't want to go to the park with the brown people, then the Martin Luther King leaded the brown and the white somewhere so they could make up. Some bad guys killed him.

my daughter Emily, 10
He fought for the liberty for the black people. He got assassinated by a guy.

my daughter Sarah, 7
He was a man. He was a big leader. He changed the laws. He wanted to be president but someone killed him. He gave a big talk speech. He wanted all the people together and not be separate.

my son Wyatt, 5
He was a good man. He said that white people could go on the bus and black people could go on the same bus and he had a dream that the world could change. He was a good man but he was not a president.

Love. I love living in a world where I can mother children who don't even think to consider a person's skin color or nation of origin.

It's a beautiful sunny day but I can't seem to warm up. Right now, I have an appointment with a bowl of chicken broth and a hot cup of tea.

Peace and love.

My Name is Lucky.

No, sadly I did not find or recover my lost wallet. But I am a winner! On Wednesday, a blog I read frequently, Ali Edwards, had a giveaway and so I made a comment and guess what? There were six winners out of 1,898 comments posted and I won something! It wasn't my stunning comment, I'm sure she uses a random number generator but I am so so grateful! Imagine my delight when I opened up Ali's blog and saw my name and my comment as the first winner! I almost spit out my coffee! I saw it first thing in the morning so it really started my day off right. You'll see I posted it using one of my many alias'. These days I am often Mel, Mela, or Marie and sometimes I take really big risk and just use my real 7 letter name! You have to catch me on a really good day for that one though!

Growing up, I did have a hard time with my name, but I never liked the obvious nicknames, like the ones I use now. I did like the quirky ones that my friends came up with, though some were really silly. The first day of school was dreadful when the time came for the teacher to call roll. I waited for the D's and cringed in horror when my name was butchered, which it always was. I can't remember any teacher ever getting the pronunciation correct. I don't blame them though, it's a tough one, I know. The cruel irony was also that my last name was one of the most common in the English language-what a combo!

Now, it's usually a store clerk peeping at me as they hold up my credit card asking how to pronounce my name. The answer in my head is what does it matter, just let me pay for my stuff and leave me alone already. But the answer that comes out of my mouth is a polite pronunciation which is always followed by a compliment of my name. I have never had anyone say what a freaky name you have or dear Lord what is that all about? And then, about 50% of the time, I will get the dreaded where did it come from? Most people with unusual names can probably trace it to a beloved family member or something else endearing.

With some people, I can get by with saying, oh, it's from a movie, with the conversation ending there. But sometimes I have to go all the way and give them the full story. Hmmm, now that I am thinking about this, I don't know why I don't just tell people that it's an old family name and be done with it. That may be my new strategy!

Since I have gone this far, I may as well go all the way and share the fact that I did in fact find my movie on VHS about 15 years ago. It's a strange piece of work an obscure 60's horror film called Blood and Roses that is based on a book published in 1872 called Carmilla. It was directed by a guy named Roger Vadim, who was once married to Jane Fonda and before that to Brigitte Bardot. The movie is complicated but the name that inspired my name is actually spelled Millarca, the actress plays sort of a dual role also as the main character, Carmilla. The name must have made such an impact on my Father and Mother after they watched the drive-in movie that they just had to make it theirs. As the story goes, my Aunt Teri invented the spelling for them and the rest is history.

So it goes, I have learned to live with it and all it's compliments and complications. Sometimes I wonder what my name would have been had my parents seen another movie that night, but knowing my Dad, it would have been some other horror film! My sister Renee was named after a pretty little song.

Gosh, I wholly sidetracked myself with this one, I just wanted to tell you that my name was Lucky but I'm throwing out so much more than I intended to share today, and probably more than you wanted to know as well! Serves me right for using my alias' so freely! Blame it on my good luck!

By the way, I love the prize I won! I have been wanting to try my hand at making a mini-album, now this super cutie along with some valentine goodies will be hitting my mailbox! It's made by Eve Johnson and her store is called Evalicious! How perfectly lucky is that?

My Name is Anguish.

An"guish (#), n. [OE. anguishe, anguise, angoise, F. angoisse, fr. L. angustia narrowness, difficulty, distress] Extreme pain, either of body or mind; excruciating distress.

I lost my wallet. That is the word that describes me best.

I found it missing last night, all the other contents of my purse still inside and doing fine. My best guess is that I fumbled it out somehow while looking for something else important like keys or gum for the three Kindergartners I picked up midday. I know that sounds dumb, but that's what I may have done. Call me dumb, call me anguish.

On the bright side, I have already cancelled the three credit cards and the wallet only contained a twenty dollar bill, a Starbucks card with less than five bucks on it, and a few coins. If you count the $22 I spent this morning replacing my drivers license, I am only out $47, three hours of my life looking for it and calling credit card companies, one more night of wakefulness, plus all the anguish I deserve but probably more than is really warranted.

And another stinker but less important, I really liked that little red wallet.

Moving on.

Wednesdays are tough, but today will be better. Emily and Sarah are in full swing with the Girl Scout cookie order taking. If you can, save a couple boxes for them, call me or email me if you want in on the cookies. Their troops are awesome, Emily, for example went to this place for indoor skydiving last weekend with her troop. I couldn't ask for better leaders for them. I led Emily's troop for a few years but gave it up when baby #4 came along. I just couldn't fit it all in and do a good job of it too.

So me and Eva are hanging out here at home this morning, trying to get something done today through our my anguish. Up next for the afternoon: garden club at school, piano lessons, CCD, and hopefully squeaking out some treasurer reports for the PTA board meeting tomorrow night.

Next post, I will have a new name. Hope you're having a better week than me!

Revisiting December.

December was so much fun. Here is my collected assortment of sayings and goings on that made me laugh. One of my greatest contentment's as a Mom are the everyday things that my kids say, silly and otherwise. I love all of their misspeakings and thinkings out loud. I jot them down on scraps of paper because I know if I don't save them [and share them], I will not remember these ordinary pieces of our life. I don't correct them too much, I don't want to stifle any of the sweetness that is so pure and innocent, probably a good thing I didn't become a teacher.

Taking Eva home after her Christmas party:
Me: That's a pretty tree you made [with a sugar cone and green frosting and Trix cereal]
Eva: Yeah, I'm gonna eat it.
Me: Or you could just save it for decoration.
Eva: No, I'm gonna save it for my mouth.


At bedtime:
Wyatt: Mama, I wish I could fly.
Me: I know, me too.
Wyatt: I wish you could get two feathers, and put 'em in yer shirt, and bend them down a little bit. That would help you fly, right?

Driving to school after a good frost:
Wyatt: Look at all the defrost on the grass!

Walking through the neighborhood:
Sarah: Remember the frosting on the grass?

Playing at home:
Eva: Mama, I'm gonna be a princess for Halloween
Wyatt: Halloween is like in a hundred million years!
Eva: Mama, I'm gonna be a princess in a hundred million years.

Relaxing in the evening with a family back rub:
Sarah: Ahm, I like it, but the worst part is massaging the other person.

Other important things I failed to mention last month.
After seeing the marvelous commercial on TV, Wyatt asked for a Chia Pet for Christmas. Santa didn't bring it. Wyatt said to me, "Mom, you just spread the stuff on and put water and it grows!" Another day when the TV was on, he came to me and said, "Mom, you need a blanket that has arms!" I didn't see the commercial myself but I probably have all the blankets I need for now.

When we missed the fire truck Santa on our own street, we all jumped into the car to chase the Santa perched high atop. We had to drive around for a while, up and down streets until we finally caught him. It was foggy that night but they play the siren slowly with holiday music, so if you roll down your window just a little bit so as not to freeze yourself, you can hear the Santa truck even when it's blocks away [that is actually how we knew he was in the vicinity and what got us into our car]. Two days ago when I told the kids to hurry and get in the car, Eva asked if we were going to go and chase Santa!

OK, now letting December go. On with the new year.

Feliz 2009!

Happy New Year!

I don't think I have ever stayed up past midnight for as many nights straight as I have since New Year's eve. This from me, who would love nothing more than to be asleep by nine p.m. any day of the week. Seriously, when I crawl under the covers after the kids are all tucked in I sigh loudly aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh.

So, it was New Year's eve that kept me up of course and then prepping for Tony's big day, then the actual big day. I don't know what it is that is keeping me up so late now, other than a little excessive and pointless wakefulness. Pointless, because we have had four kids sleeping through the night [thank you very very much] for months now. What a blessing that is, for over ten years a dream unrealized...the promise of a full and good night's sleep. And, finally after so much anticipation, a reality. With the exception of the last several days!

For Tony's big birthday, yeah, we partied like rockstars [the non explicit version], well, not really but we did have a lot of fun, complete with dancing and singing and cake and, thanks to Junior G, Venezuelan rum. Tony had a really good birthday. See for yourself!

Hmmmm, let me think here, someone else close to me is having a very big, very 40th birthday very soon. Oh what pleasure it is to have my sister so close to my own age, ah, what sweet sweetness. Barely sixteen months apart, we're practically twins. Aaaaahh how lovely. Ha!


A funny sidebar, you know the countdown to digital TV is all you hear when you turn on the television, right? Well, Renee's BIG birthday is on the same day as the big SWITCH to digital. She tells me, "I can't believe that every time I walk past the TV, they have to tell me EXACTLY how many days until I am 40!" Is that hilarious? I love you sis. How many more days now?

With the holidays passed and the new year underway, I guess it's back to our regularly scheduled programming now. Regular life resumes, and so does Greys Anatomy! I still have to take down the Christmas tree, but maybe it will wait a few more days. I hate to see it go away for almost a year. I think I will have to get a smaller lighted tree to keep in the living room for the rest of the year so I won't miss it so much.

I am tired. Sometimes, I really wish I were a napper.