Winter Lemonade

We are the kind of people who wait until the last minute to do things.
Not really.
But mostly.
And mostly when the things we need to do are really important.
Like sledding (and taxes).

You might call us procrastinators.
I choose to define it otherwise.
There is a certain kind of energy that comes with doing things at the last minute.
And doing things at the last minute provides a challenge, either to get it done at the same quality you would if you had spent more time or to make the best of what you've got.
Sometimes, waiting till the last minute takes the boring out of everyday tasks or things that have lost their luster, like snow related activities. 

Today we made the best of what we got.
We have been sledding this year (over Christmas break, because sledding with a three year old and a ten month old is not a job for one person. I don't care who you are.)
But we wanted to go again before all the snow melts.
So today was the day.
It is the first day that Diet Coke Papa is on Spring Break and the last day we will have snow on the ground, because this whole week is forecast  in the high 40's.

We packed a lunch and some hot chocolate, our sled, some firewood, extra warm clothes (because in our thawing brains it is still -72 degrees) and headed for the hills.
A park we had never been to, complete with a sledding hill, and warming house.
It was gorgeous!

An amazing feeling to breathe in the wild, open air, hear the bird calls, and feel the wind smack you in the face and snow fly all around you and make it's way into all the hermetically sealed seams of your snowsuit as you speed down the hill, grasping onto your blue plastic sled and your three year old for dear life. (NOTE TO SELF: a really good sled is on next year's Christmas list.)

Yeah,well.
 We had the wide white open and fresh air.
 Birds were everywhere and so was the sound of dripping melting snow.
It was magical.
Just not sled worthy.
(NOTE TO SELF: It has to be cold and snowy to sled. Like below 40 degrees.) 

But we are nothing if not great at making lemonade.
(I'll share a recipe sometime. Or maybe I should keep that a family secret?
There that suspense should keep you coming back to the blog.)

Anyway, turns out, wet, drippy snow makes for a slow, slow, very, very slow ride.
 Like slug slow.
Definitely not exciting enough to keep a toddler interested in anything but the warming house, where Diet Coke Papa had built a raging fire designed to keep us warm from...
the already warm temperatures causing us to sweat (a totally unfamiliar experience).

 And that's cool because let me tell you, this warming house is my new dream house! (Babe-O's too).

(Go ahead laugh. But, I am NOT kidding people. My dream is to live in a little log cabin in the middle of nowhere).

So after a few failed attempts at zooming down the hill on our butts, (and even Diet Coke Papa tried, because that's what you do when you have a torn hamstring)...

It got serious!

I am talking about Mama showing off her Olympic luge skills, like running starts, and belly sledding.

Even Babe-O tried! Note the disappointment in speed as he bows his head down toward the end of the ride.

You know what? We laughed, we played, we explored, we drank hot chocolate by a fire.

BEST sledding trip EVER.

And for some reason, during this panoply of my sledding and gymnastic abilities, I kept hearing my Dad’s voice,“Nothing embarrasses me.” He used to say this to us when we were kids after he had just done something potentially embarrassing but probably mostly intended to make us laugh.
It’s true.
I am not embarrassed.
I am not embarrassed that I don't know enough about sledding to have known that we wouldn't be able to really call what we did sledding.
I am not embarrassed that I "slugged" down that hill on my belly (and at times I was as terrified as I would have been if I would have been flying).
I am not embarrassed.
Not one bit.

Because Babe-O and Diet Coke Papa, even Babe-ala laughed their guts out. And we came home warm, happy, full of endorphins, with sore cheeks and smelling like campfire (oh, we LOVE that smell). 

So there you have it.
Procrastination pays.
Or maybe it’s more like: Have fun where you are with what you’ve got.

Because YOU are exactly what they need
YOU with all your procrastinating tendencies, with your tangled hair and smelly arm pits,
YOU with your unending supply of patience, peanut butter and jelly, and hugs
YOU and ONLY YOU can make them laugh so loud the birds fly out of the trees
YOU and ONLY YOU hold the secret recipe to THE BEST Lemonade on the planet!

And now I can honestly say I have had enough winter AND I can't wait to sled again with my Fam-O!

Happy Mother's Day!

I have so much housework to catch up on... The dishes are piled up, really, really high. The laundry too. The toys are strewn all over the house. There is marker to be washed off the floors and doors. I have to make dinner right now, during nap time, or we might have to eat out again and there is no money for that right now...mumble, grumble, mumble, grumble. What? Mother's Day?  Or do I mean What Mother's Day?

I haven't even thought about Mother's Day. David keeps telling me that he has all these plans and that he needs to snatch E away to execute them. I know it's coming. I just haven't really thought about it yet. I remember feeling very emotional about Mother's Day last year. I don't seem to feel that way this year. UNTIL... I opened the mailbox today (Friday, May 11): TWO envelopes with my name on them. I don't wait to open these kinds of things. I know I should, but I have no patience. I NEVER get mail that doesn't have a bill inside. Beautiful cards from the Aunt Julia and Grandma Lambert and Oma," thanking me for all I do" and reminding me that " I am a great woman".

So, NOW I am thinking about Mother's Day and how these women - the women who raised me and David - worked hard everyday to sustain our lives. They scrubbed floors and kissed ouchies and held screaming, independent, think I am bigger than the world, toddlers until they settled down. They cooked our dinners, even when they didn't want to cook. They played games with us and made us laugh and created memories for us to hold in our hearts. They did some things perfectly and some things differently and some things completely wrong. They worried about us and hoped for us and loved us.  Today they sent me words in recognition that I am doing the same. Likely, their mothers did this for them on Mother's Day.

It's a really very simple cycle - this thing called humanity. Seems so mundane, because for the most part it is. It's VERY NOT glamorous. It's exhausting. It's never-ending. It is wondrous: how we all got into this world, how we survived it being so small and then so curious - our mother's (and father's but that's for a different day) protection, sustenance, devotion, and love.

And it is so very rewarding: those people called our children.
A little note to E: I love you more than the number of times you make me read Good Night Moon, the Gorilla Book, and Mr. Ted combined. That's a super lot: like more than to the moon and around all the stars and back. I love you more than you love fans. Oh my beans that's a lot! That's really really a lot! I can't wait to celebrate Mother's Day with you and Papa. It's gonna be so fun and I am excited. But really I feel that way every night before I go to sleep, knowing that tomorrow I get to wake up next to you and hear whatever your first words of the day are. I love you Babe-O! Thanks for making being a Mom-O the best thing I have ever done (next to finding your Papa of course)!

Thanks Moms and Julia for helping me think about Mother's Day! Too late to send cards or presents that will arrive in time. But we do hope that this makes it to you and that you enjoy the day remembering all the times we shared together (big and small) that have made us who we are. And thank you for all the special love you share with the Babe-o!

Happy Mother's Day to you! We love you!

___________________________

E Takes Down the Palmer House

Every year David's students present their research at a conference at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. Every year we get to spend one night in a SUPER expensive room, in an amazing, luxurious hotel for FREE. Over the course of the year there are a few opportunities similar to this one, but Palmer House is my favorite! It's historical and gorgeous, it's busy and relaxing all in one.

Usually the date sneaks up on us, because it is such a crazy hectic time of the year (the end of the semester before summer break). So there isn't a lot of anticipation and waiting for the night to come. It turns out like an awesome last minute surprise complete with a comfy down covered bed and a deep bathtub! This year our stay included an all out HOTEL PARTY, hosted and pretty much orchestrated by the BABE-O!

We arrived in Chicago around 10 o'clock on Wednesday night. This was our stealthy plan: do the drive during early bed time so that we can get some talk time on the drive down (one of our most favorite ways to spend time together), sneak him into the Palmer House and put him to sleep for a little extra quiet time before we rest.

Here's how it went down:  E did sleep for one hour of the ride. And then  he woke up just as we were entering downtown, in time to see the lights, cars, trains, buses, and bikes of "CAGO"! Then he proceeded to indulge in the amazing splendor of the "tea party" room. I have to say he was best dressed in his Cars jammies! Once we got to the room he tried all the phones (there were three), pretending to call Grandpa. He pressed all the buttons on the safe and ran the stroller from the bathroom to the bedroom to the sitting room...until 12:30am.

It was SO FUN, especially for "Diet Coke Papa" who had to be in tip top condition for the poster session at 8:30am. Best part: we seemed to have lost all evidence of the late night ruckus. We took several pictures and videos of the party but somehow (in the middle of the night) they were mysteriously erased from the camera.(Hmm? We are still sleuthing out that one.)

Moving on - The night's sleep was horrible. I think we maybe got 8 hours between the two of us, while E got a total of maybe 7 hours (not enough)! But this was not about to prevent us from having a tea party in the tea party room! David went to the poster presentation and E and I had a pre-breakfast snack in the tea party room.

When David finished the presentation, he and E explored the Empire Room, where we had a private breakfast for three.

After a much needed nap we ventured out to the "Fishies House" (the Shedd Aquarium) by bus.

Yes, those that know me well, I said the Shedd Aquarium. This is the place where they keep fish and marine life behind glass - the place where Mama's worst fear in the entire universe originated. Turns out having a kid reduces fish behind glass anxiety. (Except when there are HUGE eels and shiny fish that approach out of nowhere. In these cases, you will find Mama with her back to a wall that does not contain fish or aquatic creatures of any sort).

Babe-O had a blast playing with the turtles, dressing up as a penguin, watching the belugas, and playing campsite (so did Mom-O and Papa)!

As usual, and awesome Palmer House experience and tons of fun with E!
Needless to say, fishie house anxiety is not genetic (Phew!). We will be going back!

The Best Things in Life are Free (or really, really cheap).

It's nap time at our house. Nap time is free and one of the best parts of the day. E is usually exhausted from a busy morning of playing, exploring, and learning. He settles easily and peacefully down for a nap. Mama gets a quiet minute to do STUFF that proves difficult to do with E at my feet (like use the computer, make dinner, wash dishes, or catch up on work and reflect on the amazing-ness that is my life with David and our family).

This morning was especially exciting because it is in the high 40's and perfect for running around the front yard (and the neighbors' front yards). Today we made a bird feeder out of a Diet Coke bottle and hanger (minus the birdseed it was completely free). E got to help fill the feeder (and the ramp) with bird seed.

Then we hung it in the tree and proceeded to call the birds to eat: "Babies (this means birdies, of course) num, num, num." After, we stood out on the ramp and waited for the birds to come. E sang some songs and bounced up and down and watched garbage trucks drive by. No birds have shown up yet, but I am certain that by the end of the day there will be creatures of one sort or another eating all the goodies that E left behind.



Where are those Babies?


These are the things that I never have time to record. These are the moments of our lives that fill our hearts with happiness and nourish our souls. These are the things we wish we could share with our family and friends more often.

Over the last six months, David and I have set some goals for ourselves that we have been slowly but surely accomplishing. We both accomplished some of our long-term weight loss goals.  Recently, we have set out to make order of the chaos and destruction that is our financial situation. (There will be more detail on this to come). In the process of making changes to some of the bad habits that have become second nature in our lives, like not taking our finances seriously, there have been realizations, enlightenment, and a new way of living. For example, instead of $200 music class, E now goes to Toddler Art Time at the library, FREE. And you can't tell me this isn't the BEST piece of artwork you have ever seen!



Notice the precise application of glue stick.
MASTERPIECE!



This blog is a way to record our journey as we recover from our financial mistakes and carve out the life we want to have: a simple life, where the best things are free (or super, super cheap like our raw-some bird feeder).

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