The Rodeo Ballet

Yesterday afternoon I received a complimentary ticket to an exclusive performance. I gladly accepted and showed up in our living room at the appointed time.

Ah, the rodeo ballet. A performance for the ages.

Nils had previously worked as a stagehand constructing scenery by placing blankets and assorted toys around the room. Carolena put on a Nutcracker Pandora station, lending the performance a certain yueltide je ne sais quoi. The costuming was second to none.

I turned in my ticket and took a seat.

There was jumping. There was Rody riding. There was twirling.

In fact, there was excessive twirling until a certain ballerina complained of a headache and nausea and had to retire to the audience. The announcer assured me she would remain available for autographs despite her inability to finish the performance.

Dear readers, if you ever get the chance to attend such a daring and graceful performance, take it! 

It is worth every penny.

Glorious, Fabulous Summer

I don't particularly want to start blogging again.
Strike that. Try again:
I really want to start blogging again.
Starting is hard.

Fall and winter were gluttonous.
Spring was stressful.
And now, it's summer. Glorious, fabulous summer.

We've been at the beach more than home. We've been crabbing and fishing and kayaking and boating. Chris and I took Carolena for her first trip to "the" waterslide. We've had days and days on the beach playing in the surf and building castles in the sand.

Nils has been out of diapers and done with naps for sometime - so parenthood around here has gotten considerably easier. Time at home has been spent listening to audio books and playing in the backyard. We've been to the splashpad and the library and spent an enormous amount of time piled into my bed eating popcorn and reading through piles of books.

I spent this morning in Carolena and Nils' pop-up salon where they gave me a new hairstyle involving as many bows as fit on my head and then did my makeup. After approximately twenty-seven layers of various shades of lipstick were applied, I was given a bracelet. At the end I was told the total cost came to "$3" - I wonder if I could write a positive Yelp review for them and get a free treatment next time.

Early Mornings, Coffee, School Buses, Vintage Hats, Did I Mention Coffee?

I'm trying to get back into an early-to-rise routine around here, so I guess that means revisiting my blog as well.

Starting to blog again after such a long hiatus feels awkward and forced. Umm... hi?

Currently...
Reading: Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving. His writing is so fabulous. Why are his characters always so loveable?
Drinking: Coffee. Coffee. More coffee. I told you I'm trying to get back into my routine of early mornings. Plus, I don't really drink alcohol so coffee seems like a just fine vice to me.
Eating: Oh Lordy, the eating around here. Yesterday afternoon I wondered why my stomach hurt until I remembered I had Target popcorn, two Diet Cokes, and a pack of Rolos for lunch. At the end of the day I congratulated myself on such a good day of eating... and then I remembered lunch. *oops*

C started real school this week and is thriving. She has left and come home in a great mood everyday. She is clearly tired but so wired from all of the excitement that thus far all has been well. There is nothing cuter in this world than seeing her bound onto the school bus and wave from the front seat. Nils snuggles in my arms and we wave back and blow kisses. Oh my goodness. C can barely see out the window and we just see her eyes and arm waving. You can't imagine how adorable the whole scene is. And, oh my gosh, don't get me started on how amazing the school bus is. A bus comes and picks my kid up and brings her to school and then takes her home? For free? And I don't have to be ready to leave and stuff Nils into a carseat twice a day?! AAAMAZING. Also, we lucked out and live across the street from the bus stop. We can see/hear the bus coming from our house. Oh yeah!

Nils and I are having fun having some rarely-before-seen time alone together. Yesterday after our fancy Target lunch I asked him if he was ready to go home and he replied, "No! Goodwill!" Atta boy. We're going to get along juuussst fine. I found a fabulous vintage hat at Goodwill and Nils bought it for me. THIS hat - but in RED! It was a total of 86 cents. A fabulous red vintage hat? Sounds perfect for Pentecost! Vintage hats are my weakness.

While Nils and I are thrilled to be together and are having some adventures of our own, we definitely both miss Carolena. Nils will frequently call me "Lena" or "best friend" when he's talking (they call each other "best friend") and then get a surprised embarrassed look on his face and correct himself to "Mommy." Poor guy.

I really miss C too. I love having some special time to be with Nils but it has been harder than I expected to see so little of Carolena lately. I really and truly like being with her and miss her. She gets home from school at 4 and goes to bed at 7 so time with her is at a premium. I'm trying to have time with her, let Nils have some time alone with her to play, and we have dinner and bedtime routines. So far C has wanted to pile in my bed with books everyday when she gets home from school. Sounds great to me!

I really slacked off on waking up early this summer. I am planning to get back into my early morning groove now that school is in session, but I'm honestly having a hard time remembering how much I loved it. Here's hoping.

Happenings of Late

What have we been up to? Oh, besides going to the beach, and whittling, and crafting, and playing, and general running amok merriment?

Well, C has actually been enjoying her new dress

And we've spent time at our library getting books and playing and picnicking and feeding ducklings. In the words of Nils "baby ducks soooo cute! Me want to pet them!!"
Yes, Nils. Exactly.

Recently we introduced Carolena to the game 20 Questions. It went swimmingly. She and Chris had narrowed my item down to a movie character (it was Buzz Lightyear) when C asked, "Iiisss it someone who turns into a bad guy when you get him wet? {pause} Cause I'm talkin' bout GREMLINS!"

That kid so belongs to me and Chris.

We've also spent some time enjoying tea parties. Nothing like a tea pot full of sparkling coconut flavored water with some cut apple and a zebra cake to really hit the spot

Uh oh, I've just been alerted that "the bad guys" have "captured" C & N and "chained them up and the hot lava is coming!" Looks like it's time for She-Ra to go save them.

Beer Boxes, Gorgeous Models, and Jake the Pirate

Conversation overheard yesterday:
Carolena examines a full case of beer on our kitchen table and exclaims, "Whaatt?! Nils, this rocket ship space helmet is full of coke bottles!" to which Nils stares in disbelief and replies, "whaaattt?!"

Does that mean our children have never seen a full beer box before?

huh?
wwwhhhhaaattt??


****

In other news... remember how Carolena has spent her entire life referring to me as
such glamorous people as Ursula and Miss Hannigan? As in... pretty much since as soon as she could talk. Her roles for me are pretty consistent and when she calls out, "Mommy! There's you!" I know not to get my hopes up. I am fully aware of how she sees me.

This morning Nils and I were sitting at the kitchen table together reading a magazine while I drank coffee and he had breakfast. We were discussing things like the Golden Gate Bridge and Colorado (both places that he wants to go) and I flipped a page. Nils cried out "That YOU!" and pointed to this photo:

Oh Nils, sweet Nils. What do you want? A pony? I will get you a pony. A real firetruck? Yours. A trip to the Golden Gate Bridge? Colorado? The moon? All yours. I have spent the last years with a small child yelling "that you!" at the most hideous of photos. Nils, you have no idea how much this means to me. Name what you want. It's yours my Nils.

Hey, guess what else! When we went to Joanns last week Carolena actually requested that I sew her a dress and picked out the fabric. This was amazing in that she has never been very keen on any dress I have made for her. She has always been very appreciative and very gracious but then calmly not worn the dresses. So, when we walked around Joanns and she carefully selected Jake and the Neverland Pirates fabric and pink flamingos I was totally on board.

We came home and looked at my patterns and she chose a cute one with little cap sleeves, we talked through what the finished product might look like, and I got to work. This dress was Carolena's design and I was merely the (semi-skilled) laborer. I am sure that she will refer to it as her "Jake dress" and in my mind I will continue to call it what I dubbed it during construction "Murphy's dress" as in "anything that can go wrong..."

After more than my fair share of seam ripping, and a total overhaul of the back of the dress when it didn't fit, and more ripping when I accidentally sewed the pocket to part of the back of the dress (silent cussing ensued at that point)... I finally arrived at this:

That is pre-last ironing because, well, because that's when I took the photos. As you can see, the solution to "ah! the top is too tight!" was to reconstruct the back to be an open back with a ribbon tie on top. I actually prefer this new back to the original pattern. It seems much more summer-y to go with the style of the flamingo/Jake/summertime dress. Carolena and I make a really good team. As we looked at the almost-finished product and did a little brainstorming we together arrived at the idea of cutting out some small Captain Hooks and Jakes from the left over fabric and made small pillow-like guys to put in the pocket. C did all of the stuffing while I did the stitching and now the dress is complete with two of each so that C and N can play with them in church. Yes, really, that's the plan.

I love this dress. It is sooo Carolena. A little funky. A little girly. Very happy and colorful. Something trendy (Jake) but the trendy thing isn't girly. Oh, it's just so C. A big blue jean pocket from an old pair of jeans (I've had that in my sewing box for like 15+ years). Rickrack, piping, flamingos, pirates, mismatched sleeves. Here's hoping she actually wears this one!

Crafty Like Ice is Cold

You would think a blogger showing a recent craft would take an artsy photo.
Or at least get some good lighting going.
I mean really, just some decent lighting and a clean kitchen floor would be nice.

I think we all know I'm not that kind of blogger.

So. Hey, guess what! I got this gem for $10 at Goodwill:

In case you can't tell from that very well taken photograph, it's a piano bench.

Yesterday the kids and I ran amok at Joanns and came home with a bag full of paint, some projects for the kids, fabric C picked for a yet to be made dress (ooohh now the suspense is killing you! what did she pick? what did she pick?! to be continued...), AND new fabric for my piano bench. I was lucky enough to find a nice sturdy thick piece of fabric in the remnant bin. With some staple gunning (can I make that a verb?) and paint found in our garage... voila!

A cute hinged lidded bench? Yes, please! I wonder if my ukulele would fit in there...

Nuggets from Nils

Life sure is fun isn't it? If something strikes you as hilarious laugh out loud. Laugh, shake your head back and forth, and call out "so bunny! so bunny, Mommy, so bunny!"

Make ample use of the phrase "me too!" Refuse to be left out of anything. Ever. Another handy phrase is to call out "that me!" when watching tv or reading a book. Always cry out "that me!" when pointing to the funniest bunniest character of all.

There is nothing more exciting to look forward to about Disney World than riding that big train. Every once in a while cry out "ride train Disney World!" and cheer.

You know what matters very very much? What you're wearing. Refuse to wear pants as often as someone tries to make you wear them. Shirt options include and are limited to: fire truck, Kermit, "stripey stripe club" (a striped shirt), and shark. Pants when worn must be plaid or madras to resemble "choo choo tracks." Whenever possible wear Night-Night as a cape or over your entire head and make ghost noises.

I Don't Make Monkeys, I Just Train Em!

I found something great in a big basket full of junk on our countertop. You know the basket, one of those "we'll deal with this later" kind of spots. Yesterday I was looking for something and found a piece of pink construction paper with this conversation sprawled across it in Sharpie:

Carolena (who was wearing a sparkly pink hat): "This is a singing hat AND a dancing hat. You can wear it when you dance and toss it off when you see someone handsome."
Me: "What does that mean?"
C: "A boy."
Me: "What makes him handsome?"
C: "Wearing a nice shirt... a jacket... handsome pants... you know, handsome."

It's 6:15 am and Nils is being introduced to Pee-Wee's Playhouse (thank you, Netflix!). Nils got up at 5 and soon thereafter told me he wants to go hang out with one of his teachers today. Uh, sorry kid. You're stuck with me again.

Speaking of being stuck with me, yesterday (I am ashamed to admit) I laughed at Carolena. I feel really bad about it... but... you can be the judge (don't tell me your verdict of my level of guilt). I was getting ready in the master bathroom and C&N were hanging out in my bedroom. I heard C say to N, "I'm drinking hot chocolate!" in a bragging voice. I thought perhaps Chris was making that in the kitchen and hoped he was making enough for both kids. Seconds later C came screaming into the bathroom with her tongue hanging out. She kept screaming (she's very dramatic) and pawing at her tongue. I gave her a cup of water and had her rinse and spit it out. She kept pawing and screaming. She finally told me what happened, "I was pretending to drink hot chocolate out of this cup... and when I took a pretend sip... it was full of cat hair!" And then I lost it laughing. oops.

Terrible mom moment: guilty as charged.

Life is a Cabaret!

I put down my knitting, my book, and my broom (broom, ha!)...

 

Left our troubles outside. We have no troubles here! Here life is beautiful...The girls are beautiful... Even the orchestra is beautiful!

It was fabulous, of course. One of the best... as usual.

Dinner and a night at the Cabaret. Need I say more?

Barf-O-Rama

Nothing kills rodeo day faster than a toddler in a pearl snap shirt barfing in the living room.

*sigh*

The day began with such excitement. I jumped out of bed before my alarm rang and bounded out to pump. I lifted a ton of weight (some personal bests) and came home to a sleeping family (well, two out of three ain't bad). We put on some country music (a rarity around here) and had a cowboy breakfast (flapjacks). Carolena giddily donned her rodeo dress and boots while I got Nils into his pearl snap shirt. Rodeo day at school! Chris had plans to come home early so that we could rodeo it up this evening. Carnival rides! Baby animals being born! Rodeo food! Suffice to say, we were pumped.

And then the puking incident occurred.

They say dress for the job you want, not the job you have. I'm a stay home mom. The job I want is the job I have. So I dress for the job I have... which means I changed out of my cute skinny jeans and funky jewelry and into an "I might get barfed on at any minute" outfit.

Sweet Nils is now snuggled on a "couch bed" which always gives me major childhood flashbacks to my own mom putting bed sheets on the couch and tucking me in next to a tray of saltines.

Rodeo, I guess we'll see you next week!

Friday

I'm currently reading Touch the Top of the World - the firsthand account of a blind man who is a mountain climber and the only blind person to have summited Everest. He also climbed the Seven Summits. So, yeah, he's basically my new hero. I found a signed copy at Goodwill, and as that sounds right up my alley, I of course tossed it in my cart. I'm totally sucked in - it is fabulous and fascinating. Weihenmayer lost his vision just before high school so he talks about what it was like and how he got into mountain climbing. The thing that makes the book so insanely good isn't that Weihenmayer talks so frankly about losing his eyesight, or even that he is so inspirational - it's that he's just so freaking likable as a person. Fabulous book.

Speaking of vision, Chris and I had a lunch date this week! What fun! Kids were at school and we met up at the eye doc to pick new glasses for Christophe. We were successful (too successful as I also picked out a new pair for myself and wore them around for a while. I'm thinking about going back to get them. They may or may not be basically a pink version of something similar to what I have now. PINK!! Oh, I love them) and then we went out for lunch. I think we need more lunch dates in the future. I'll wear my (yet to be purchased) pink glasses.

We bought a bike helmet for Nils this week and the kids and I rode bikes in the cul de sac. Well, they did. I don't have a bike so I just hung out and helped Nils. I think I'm going to ask Santa to bring me a tandem bike next year. Can't you picture me and Chris on a bicycle built for two? Yeah, me neither... we rarely fight but I have the feeling that would draw it out. Eh... worth it. Goodwill shoppers of the world keep your eyes peeled: Casey wants a tandem bike!

Yesterday I saw a baggie full of ashes on our kitchen counter and the thought immediately came to mind, "uh, why is a cremated person on our counter? That is so going to get lost" and then I quickly remembered the day before was Ash Wednesday. Whew. I thought Chris had lost his mind.

We got one of these things and set it up yesterday. Chris hung upside down by his legs on it. I was impressed and tried but chickened out. Turns out my dream to join the circus when I go back to work might not be the best option for my talents (or lack thereof).

Well, I just got home from bootcamp so I'm off to drink more coffee. It's spring weather outside so I'm feeling upbeat and carefree and thus my coffee intake has increased drastically. I'm okay with that seeing as how Chris will be out of town for the weekend and I'll have two little monkeys to keep up with all on my own. Wish me luck!

Super Weekend (see what I did there... like Super Bowl but who cares about football)

Universal Law of Motherhood: when a child wakes a mother up before her alarm goes off that mother gets to drink one extra cup of coffee per twenty minutes of lost sleep.

That means today I'm looking at two extra cups.

We went to a birthday party at Build-A-Bear this weekend and Carolena may have had one of the best days of her life. It was right up her alley and she immediately announced that she too will have a Build-A-Bear birthday... you know... a million months from now when it's actually her birthday.

So, I spent yesterday morning creating a nap mat, skirt, and dress for her new Build-A-Bear puppy.
And sitting at the kitchen table with my new book (Illustration School: Let's Draw Cute Animals). I'm addicted. I wonder if they have some sort of anonymous group for being addicted to such a thing.

Yesterday I heard the magical words, "Enjoy the quiet house!" as Chris and the kids hopped out to go check on his new fish at work. I, very wisely, spent the time with my new drawing book and Mr. Toad. A sequel not written by the author of the first book is certainly open to some skepticism... but wow... Mr. Horwood did it. The Willows in Winter is fabulous. A keeper for sure.

AND Carolena and I had a "just the girls" outing yesterday. Lunch at Chick-Fil-A (her choice) and a trip to the mall. C got two dresses and a cute pair of Converse which came with a handshake that she would learn to tie them. She kept her part of the deal and worked on it when we got home... but teaching a lefty to tie her shoes evidently confounds me and we might have to bring in an expert for shoe tying lessons (*ahem*UncleTrent!*ahem). After shoes and dresses we hit up Claire's. Ohh yeahhh. At one point C screeched in happiness, "I found a locket!!! Just like in Annie. I didn't know these were real! I thought it was just in Annie!"

So now she owns a $7 locket.

I finally managed to hang out with one of my very favorite people (we rarely get to see one another due to schedules). We got casually dressed up (as in nice shoes with jeans) and went out to eat. Mom heaven. Well, except for when she told me her family's quest to move into the country has finally come to fruition and they'll be moving before next school year. An hour and a half away. At the time I was caught up in her excitement (and still am), but it hit me when I got home and I cried. My very best friend in Katy is moving. I think this is an okay time for an "oh shit" except that I am so insanely happy for her that if it fell through I would be sad and disappointed. Plus, now I will be able to go visit her cool farm house and her future chickens and such. Life was awesome back when she and I used to be able to hang out several times a week though.

Last night I fell asleep in front of the fire (it's okay, Chris was awake as it was like 740) and am starting the day with those two extra cups o'joe on the horizon thanks to Nils. So, yeah, I'd say today looks promising.

Why Is It Always the Beths?

Alternate post title: The Beth's Have It.

One of my very favorite people in the whole world is my friend Beth. She's awesome. A different Beth than the last one.

I met this Beth sporadically at random times in the life of the clergy of our diocese. She's an Episcopal priest and I'm married to one so we ran into one another from time to time. She knew Chris well and so we would be like, "oh yeah. We've met... uh... hi...???'

And then I became the interim missioner of the campus ministry at t.u. 
And Beth became the missioner there.
So we had some overlap while I "taught her the ropes."

Okay, I was supposed to be holding down the fort/teaching her the ropes/helping her transition/etc. But in reality Beth is one of the most intelligent capable go-for-it people I've ever met so she came in and took over (in a great way), and I would come to work at whatever hour I felt like, dump my hugely pregnant self into a chair in my office, eat queso, and read Harry Potter. You would think that this would have made Beth despise me. But it didn't. Now that I know Beth I'm pretty sure this is what made her love me. Had I been super-helpful and in her face and still trying to run the place she would have loathed me. I think the fact that I just let her take over sealed the deal. That combined with and all of the queso and Harry Potter. Being from Virginia Beth swears she has to now eat enough queso in adulthood to make up for the years before she moved to Austin. Yeah, see why we're friends?

Beth and I had no "becoming friends" phase. We went instantly to being BFF. We have a shared love of reading and she is one of the few people who can give me books and I don't feel like "oh crap... do I have to actually read this like homework now?" She is one of those people who can talk about anything. If I want to talk her face off about polar exploration she will listen attentively and (at least pretend) like what I'm saying is as fascinating as I imagine. She is up for an adventure pretty much all of the time so if I say something like "I was reading about Kenya..." she will tell a story about being in Kenya. Or sailing in Maine. Or climbing Mt. Everest during the 1996 disaster. Okay, I made that last one up.

Beth's awesome. And that's why on Sunday I found myself wearing her hand-me-down shirt and groovy patterned tights. Because I'm like the technically older, younger sister she never had. Which might be why she puts up with me.

Luckily we bamboozled her into being Nils' godmother so she's pretty much stuck with me for life.

Happy Groundhog Day!

f you grew up in a home with a father who is the President and Founder of the official Punxsutawney Phil Groundhog Club Republic of Texas Chapter then yeah... Groundhog Day is kind of a big deal.

Punxatawney Phil! Photo from groundhog.org

I get it. Who wouldn't love Groundhog Day?! Just look at that guy. He's going to predict the weather! Pomp and circumstance. A groundhog. A large adorable rodent... who predicts the weather. Does life get any better than that?! Yeah, I definitely get the appeal.

Festivities have been ramping up around here as Carolena started talking about Groundhog Day eons ago. Costumes will be made (with whatever supplies we happen to have on hand as I forgot to ask for brown bags at Kroger yesterday. *sigh* That was half the reason I went in there!). A special dinner will be served. Our "Happy Groundhog Day!" banner will be hung.

Groundhog Day 2015

We're rooting for an early spring but not selfishly. It's been spring here since... uhh... the summer. We don't have many seasons in Tejas.

Groundhog Day 2014

And yes, doubters, I'm correct. It IS Groundhog Day (not Groundhogs' Day). Show Phil some respect.

A happy Groundhog Day to all! And to all an early spring!

And then...

And then there was the time Carolena and I built some amazing log cabins while Nils was asleep and she got a seventeen year old version of herself to sit in for the picture.

 

And then there was the time I found Nils decked out! 

 And then there was the time this happened...

And then I sewed another dress!

The Girl is Crafty Like Ice is Cold

Reading: The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin. Yes, still. This is a fabulous book if you want to learn every single detail of the life of BFrank. It's not a general overview. Whew. So it's long and sometimes tedious. I'm thisclose to the Boston Tea Party episode though so I can't put it down now! I need to finish it though so I can move on with my life... my pile of books to read and reread (Gone With the Wind!!) is just getting larger.

Coffee Intake: One cup a day! And by one cup I mean one single little scoop of grounds. Go Casey! Go Casey! I think it would be fairly easy at this point to drop that cup, but I enjoy it so much that for now I'm keeping it. At one cup a day I wake up feeling great rather than like I'm going to die if I don't get coffee. Although... that could also be due to the fact that I've been sleeping more than our cats lately.

Sleeping: a lot. A ton. A plethora. I'm not sure what happened but I've been falling asleep between 7 and 8 every night. Not that I was staying up late before... but man, I've been pulling a Jimmers (my dad) and falling asleep while tucking in C (like he used to do to me) OR coming out of a kid's room from tucking-in, turning on The Twilight Zone, and falling asleep on the couch 2 minutes later. Oh well, at least I'm still getting up early. Lots of people need 10 hours of sleep... like cats... and teenagers.

Crafting: Why, yes, I have been. Thanks for asking. I miraculously finished this:

I think I'm going to rip out the date and put it smaller in the corner. It takes away from the family. And hey, what's a cross-stitch without 50 million rip-outs and redos, right? In case you can't tell, it's our fam. From left to right: Max (or a rapid racoon?), Chris, Carolena (holding her lovies Whoppie and Howie behind her back), Nils with his "night-night" blankie and a dead racoon "King Julian," and moi with a cup of coffee and a book about polar exploration (in theory the white stitches on the book are a Compass Rose with bigger N/S arrows... in reality it's just a blob), and of course, Lieutenant Square Body, the fiesty Olive herself (with a purple calm collar on) rounds us out on the right.

I love it. If you want me to make one for your family I'm charging $400,000 due to the cost of labor. Man, cross-stitches would really be a breeze if it weren't for all of the "that looks weird" and ripping out and restitching.

I also pulled out my sewing machine yesterday and made a dress for Carolena. I used an old pattern that I tweaked (look at me, tweaking a pattern!). She LOVES it and when she tried it on yesterday so I could mark where to cut and hem she insisted that she wants it "looonnng" - so it looks like we're going long. Still needs to be cut and hemmed though.

et cetera: Yesterday I taught my son to wipe his nose on his sleeves. Yes, on purpose. It just breaks my heart to see Nils sitting there with a runny nose and he's snot going to get up and go get a Kleenex. So that's a habit I'll have to break later but for now his life will be all that much better. Tonight is Kinder-Expo at school! What?! I'm excited. C is just starting to show signs of restlessness at home. I think by the end of the summer she'll be jumping out of her skin to start kinder. I've got a date on the calendar to go to the beach with my mom and sister (woo!) and I'm feeling footloose and fancy free. I'm dying to see the new Christian Bale movie (*sigh*) so I need to either go next week or find someone (cough cough) to meet me halfway. Yesterday Nils pointed to the sky and yelled, "Bird!" but I heard "Batman!" and was about to put on some fresh lipstick in case it was Christian Bale. Unfortunately, it was a bird.

Dreams Do Come True

Hey, remember that time when Carolena announced her desire for her grandmother to make an Alf costume for her?

Dreams DO come true!!

She did it!!!

If you don't know Grandma/d2/Dianne then you probably don't know that she is the queen of internet searching. We don't know HOW she does it - but she can find anything, anyone, any information online. She is an anomaly Boomer when it comes to the internet. And thus... the Alf mask was found and Grandma got to work on a fur suit.

Carolena loves her new costume and has now spent two days terrorizing our cats (because, duh, Alf eats cats). Nils yells "bumble!" and runs from her as he is convinced that she is dressed as Bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman's East Texas cousin.

And as I watched that furry little guy run by, I found my childhood dream had come true too: Alf is finally running around my house.

Aren't grandmothers the best?

3 pm update

Damn, I love my washing machine and dryer. I don't think I ever ever use them without feeling so thankful to have them. Seriously.

We started the day off on the right foot with Nils' choice of Barney (yes, really) which meant that I got to take a shower in peace. Alleluia! Thank you Barney! I also reorganized our pantry. I would like to say "cleaned out" but we all know that's a lie. I just rearranged. Then, I decided it was high time to face the laundry I've ignored for pretty much a month. Chris was down to nothing. He probably wore a suit to work today. Or a swimsuit.

Mysteriously the majority of Carolena's laundry was leotards and costumes. Okay, not mysteriously. OBVIOUSLY. That kid.

After Barney I announced it was time to go to Target which we never do. No, that isn't sarcasm. I don't actually like going to Target. *gasp* We (cough I cough) went nuts in the 90% Christmas clearance and came home with a ton of wrapping paper and tags and Christmas galore. Hooray for 35 cent wrapping paper! We ran into an aquaintance there who looked at my cart like I was nuts. And of course said something snarky. She would. Umm... but she's the one whose nuts, right? I just spent 3 bucks on $30 worth of wrapping paper. *insert massive eye rolling*

The kids requested McDonald's for lunch and as I was/am determined to have a great day, we went off to the land of Happy Meals. And now... they're both asleep.

All is calm. The dryer is doing all the work. Sure, there is a grocery list to be made and a heck of a lot of laundry to be folded. There is still stuff covering the dining room table that needs to be put away. There's dinner to be made. But for now... quiet. Calm. Now, where did I leave my book?

Pause

Someone recently asked me if I like living in Katy.

And...

Well...

I hesitated before answering "yes."

BLARGH. I feel so guilty! I feel like my poor suburbia home was standing right there behind me about to say "hi!" and then overheard and turned away shedding a single tear (not that I would ever personify a city or anything). I feel like Olaf should have popped up next to me to jab a pointed stick arm in my face and screamed "you hesitated!"

Because... I hesitated. It was the briefest of pauses. But it was there. Yep, there it was. It was one of those just long-enough-to-notice pauses before my saying "yeah!" And I feel insanely guilty about it. I LOVE living in Katy. And yet, I hesitated.

I'm sure that the other person (Marriott, a classmate I hadn't seen in years) took it to be a statement on how I feel about my current hometown. It wasn't that at all. It was actually a pause to wonder how my "yes" would reflect upon me.

Ugh! Oh no! That might make me feel even worse. Oh, poor Katy suburbia, why must I continue to deny you?

But, the thing is, when we lived in DC (Alexandria to be exact - hellllooo Americana Quaintsville!) it was easy to proclaim our love for the area in which we lived. We fit there. It was diverse. It had seasons, real seasons for Pete's sake! We spent weekends at Smithsonian museums or trips exploring the east coast. People ask(ed) me how I like(d) living there and I shout(ed) "LOV(ED) IT!" before the question even leaves their lips.

And then we moved to Austin. And we lived in Austin proper. It was funky and eclectic. We went hiking and exploring and enjoyed life in another fabulously unique and diverse city. And once again, I fit in there and proclaiming my love for my city felt just fine. I was totally okay with saying I loved it there because of what that said about me.

I'm not someone who cares a whole lot about what other people think of me. But the thing with that is this: I do care that other people not misunderstand me. It bothers me when people assume things about me that aren't true. If they don't like the truth about me then that's fine... but when people think things about me that aren't true (even if they like it or agree) ugghh that gets under my skin.

So what does it tell the other person when I now announce that I love living in Houston burbs? I'm only living 80something miles from where we grew up. Do they then assume that I am a Texas cliche through and through? okay... I just typed out a list of what I think that looks like... and then deleted it so as to not offend the masses. If you haven't lived outside of Texas... we don't always look that great from outside our state. I'm an expert as I've lived in a whopping two other states one of which for a few months (that was snark in case you didn't catch it).

*sigh*

So, yeah, I paused.

Had we still lived in either of those other places I would have felt perfectly comfortable telling this old classmate that I loved living there. Because that fits in line with who I see myself to be. This girl doesn't know me at all. We haven't seen or talked to one another in about fifteen years. So, telling her that I love Katy was going to be one small slice of identity. Who is Casey now? Someone that lives and loves suburbia Tejas.

Is that me?

When we moved to Katy I met like one person my age who didn't wear sweatpants with a word across the buttocks and have big bleached out hair and bedazzled everything (and thankfully she quickly befriended me, hi Katie!). To be honest I was a little shell shocked by all of the... well... not Austin or DCness of the place.

And then we began to get settled in. We started meeting people at church and school. I got involved with the Y. I met people in our neighborhood. I became one of the regulars at our grocery store. We added another nugget to our household. And we found that Katy fits pretty damn well. We love everyone we've met here... including the previously prejudged-by-Casey-bedazzled. We've made friends (great friends!) and a life for ourselves. It's a life that is... well, it screams in fact... SUBURBIA!

We love Katy for its people. We love its small town feel and proximity to "tha big bayou city" (also said in a weird made up cajun country accent). Our church in Katy (which you clergy fams know has a big impact on life) is my favorite church of any church I've ever attended (which would be a total of six churches plus this one). We love love love the life we have here in Katy.

Evidently, as I learned about myself last week, Katy (the suburb) is like some strange ugly crush that I'm trying to keep secret. I didn't realize that about myself.

But here's the other thing it made me realize: anyone could love living in a diverse interesting exciting place. What does loving Katy say about me? Maybe it doesn't scream that I love guns. Maybe it doesn't say that I hate people of other race or religions. Perhaps it doesn't tell people that I prefer trash to recycling. Maybe it doesn't tell people any of those things... because I am none of those things. Perhaps it just says that I bloom where I'm planted. Hopefully, it tells people that I am willing to embrace where I am. Hopefully the next time I'm asked I won't pause before answering. I'll believe that saying "yes!" tells them that I see the good in any place and love meeting new people and sinking my roots deep into whatever soil we happen to be in.

And, hell, let's face it: evidently I'm suburbia. Did you see the list? {I love my church, my kids' preschool, my grocery store, and the ymca?} shit. I might as well sell the Prius for a minivan covered in stick figures right now. I guess I AM a stay-home-mom wearing reindeer pajama pants writing a blog for no one at 5 in the morning while I drink coffee and listen to whatever critter has now taken up residence in our attic. Hmph. The attic critter is probably wearing pjs, drinking coffee, and writing a more interesting blog than me. Well, just as long as its not smoking anything up there. Although... smoking a pipe with an attic critter miiiigghhttt make life in suburbia more interesting...

Wait... I'm a suburban "pastor's wife, mother, and housewife" - why didn't I realize that?!?!

Man, one stupid pause and my whole image of my interesting eclectic self is shot. Totally shot. Damn it Marriott! I blame her.

VIP: Nora(h) Smith

So remember when Kelly assigned me the task of naming people who have been largely influential in making me who I am today (obvious choices not included)?

I've got another one for you: Nora Smith. Hm... or does she spell her name with an "h"? I could get up and go get a yearbook from allll the way over there on the bookshelf... but... nah.

Nora(h) Smith was my religion teacher my sophomore year of high school. Yes, I said religion teacher. No, you aren't losing your mind. I went to catholic school. Roman Catholic that is, not catholic as in church universal.

But I digress.

Let's talk about Nora(h). I don't think Nora(h) actually liked me all that much. My friend Theresa and I were constantly getting in trouble in her class for things neither of us were guilty of doing. We would stare at one another dumbfounded and protest claiming our innocence while Nora(h) shut it down and instructed us to talk to her after class. To this day Theresa and I maintain that at some point Mrs. Smith got it into her head that T and I were the Regina Georges of the class and was confused as to which females in the room were actually riling up the masses. It was weird.

Again, I digress.

Here is what was truly awesome (and totally weird) about Nora(h): she owned (and probably still owns) like four outfits. She would wear the same four dresses and one or two pairs of shoes on rotation every single day. All year long. Every. Single. Day. All. Year. Long. I'm pretty sure it was four because I remember it wasn't enough to get through the whole week.

And she was really open about it. Wearing the same few dresses isn't a private thing. "I don't need more than this" she would say. I really looked up to her in that. Man, I wish I could get to that point. I am clearly much harder on clothes or buy much crappier quality though.

Still, I really don't own a lot of clothes. Well, "a lot" is relative I suppose. Let's see... all of my shoes fit into a single-row closet hanging thing. So that's what? Like 10-15 pairs or so. And all of my hanging clothes fit on a single bar in the closet. All of my folded clothes fit into the dresser with room to spare. I'm not down to a rotation of four dresses, but man, that's gospel. Take two pieces of clothes, Christ told the apostles: a tunic and a coat (Mark 6:8-9). Don't store up treasures on earth and stuff your dresser full of clothes you don't need... (Matthew 6:19-21). I'm working on it. I'm working on it. My desire to constantly rid my life of possessions is part being raised Treasure House, part Nora(h) Smith, and largely Casey self-imposed strict Gospel interpretation on possessions.

Why? Hmm... why, indeed. Well, for me, because I think American consumerism is a sickness. I don't think we possess our possessions. They possess us. I don't want to own anything I wouldn't be able to walk away from. I believe in tithing and in order to give generously I need to not spend spend spend on myself. If all that I have belongs to God and it is a question of how much I keep for myself... then I want to keep very little. I don't want to own a lot of clothes and spend a lot of money (relative term again) on myself when that's money I can (should) give to the Church. And what about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)? Ugh, I don't want to be "that guy" who has a closet full of clothes and shoes and *shit* while Lazarus lies at my gates naked.

But... didn't I just say I want some new boots? crap.

Someday that will be me. Four dresses. That's the goal. Thank you, Nora(h) for proving it can be done.