Merry Christmas 2015

Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday that’s full of family, friends and some relaxation. We hosted pre-Christmas dinner for the fam. It was a full house and we had a lot of fun. Erik works shift work at a transfer station so we made the most of our 3 hour window for family time. The photo below is classic Christmas; half of us have our eyes closed, Jamisen is ducking down on his chair and we barely got posed before the timer went off.  Believe or not, that was our best photo option out of all of them.

For dinner I made lasagna, cauliflower & olive potatoes and chickpea and squash tagine. If you love salmon as much as I do, you have to try out this Lemon Butter Salmon recipe. It’s incredibly simple and my favorite way to prepare salmon. So delicious! It’s my go-to recipe. The hot sauce really gives it an extra flavor kick. We'll be having that at some point in the next few days.

Santa visited the house this year. Santa is Uncle Weston (pictured in the dinner photo above). We painted his beard white with spray-on hairspray (which I’m pretty sure is just spray paint; thanks for endangering your health for the kiddos!). As soon as Jamisen saw Santa, he said, “I knew you would come!”

This year, Chris and I decided to give Lily and Jamisen one big toy each, along with a smaller toy. Between our gifts and presents from family, these kids have plenty of toys already.

 For the big presents, Lily got new kitchenette (she loves pretending to cook!) and Jamisen got a new truck.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours; may your holiday be bright, happy, and joy filled.

All I Want for Christmas

The kids were so happy to visit with Santa at City Hall. Lily is in an amazing handknit sweater that was originally given to Jamisen. It has worn beautifully so now Lily gets to enjoy it.

 

Lily doesn't understand what Santa is really about so she didn't have much to ask Santa for.
But she sure was happy to hang out with Santa to talk to. We hope this is a temporary aberration and she doesn't decide that sitting on men's laps and whispering into their ears is a normal and good thing.

Jamisen saw Santa and immediately knew what to do. He hopped right up and said, "Santa, I want a truck that has pedals and a red and a green go/stop button." Parents heard this and scrambled.

Lily was very enamored by the tea set and really wants one. Grandma has one for her for when she's a little older.

The other day, Lily ate play dough and kept eating it and eating it so finally I said, "Lily, if you keep eating that, you'll get a tummy ache!" She kept eating it and pretty soon, Jamisen started crying. When I asked him why, he said "Because if she gets a tummy ache, she might DIE! So, I want her to quit eating it." Oh .... sweetie. 

First Horseback Rides

Lily and Jamisen recently had their first horse experience! We went to a farm out in the county that was offering pony rides for a holiday event.

 

Lily did amazing and had a huge smile on her face for much of the hose ride. We've all heard the theory that little girls that are given horses at a young age delay dating boys because all of their time, money and effort goes into the care and feeding of a horse (and not a boy!). I did look for proof of this theory on the internet and couldn't find any actual studies that said that but if that's the case, we're on a good track with Lily given how excited she was about riding the horse!  

We really appreciated the emphasis on safety with the helmets and multiple girls hanging onto the little ones. The horses may have been kid sized but they were still way up there in height!

 

Jamisen was very excited to get on the horse but he was a little more unsure about the entire horse riding thing; perhaps because, unlike his younger sister, he could follow the logic of "What happens if I fall off" to its logical conclusion. She'll get there but for now, it's fine for her to believe the ground is soft and adults always will catch her when she falls.

When he got off the horse, Jamisen did exclaim, "That was fun!" Neither child has asked to ride a horse again though Jamisen and Lily have requested that we go visit our friend Jody who has horses on her property.

After the horseback rides, we stayed bundled up and went to the 'ZipLine Park'. Alas, the zipline was broken so the children had to content themselves with other slightly less dangerous but, still fun, activities like rock jumping and climbing.

It's exciting to see Jamisen's progression on the climbing merry-go-round. Just last year, he never would have been so brave to attempt climbing the ropes. Lily tried to climb them as well but fell flat on her back from a few rungs up. She recovered quickly from her surprise. Our kids are true Nordic vikings and they happily play in the cold until they're shivering and on the verge of hypothermia. Awww, cute little Vikings.

A Boys Day at Cirque

It's turning into an annual event - the train ride up to Vancouver, BC with our dear friend Heather and her son Sasha - followed by a show under the big tent. Cirque du Soleil is a whirring feat of gymnastic, art, live music and generally a cooler and most awesomely colorful circus experience.

The train station is always a fun and exciting experience for the boys. It's equally exciting for the Moms because to take our boys over the border requires extra paperwork (notarized!) from the Dads and there is lots of extra passport scrutiny.

There is also lots of waiting at the train station since we have to arrive 45 minutes early. Thank goodness the boys have such curious minds and love to entertain themselves with fun little nonsensical games, exploring and talking. This time, the conductor sent us all outside in the cold to wait a good 30 minutes for the train (in addition to not allowing us to take our fruit'n'nut Starbucks samplers over the border). The boys were remarkably patient in line and made us proud.

Up in Vancouver, the show was fantastic and held the boys' attention the entire time. We also were able to play off some steam before the train ride home by climbing in the park. We ended up being the very last off the train so had even more lines to wait in Vancouver BC - to the point that we had to dash into a convenience store and get packaged food (tuna fish for Jamisen and me) to eat for lunch.

 

This is a beautiful picture of Lily and Jamisens Great Great Grandparents on my Dad's side. Leah and Louis Faiola; Leah was a nurse as was Louis (who also served in WWII). Lily's middle name is Leah after her Great Great Grandma and Jamisen's middle name is Louis after his Great Great Grandpa. I remember them fondly, especially the many afternoons Erik and I spent at their home after they moved to Chehalis, Washington from California. Also, check out Grandma Leah's hair! Now we know where Jamisen gets his red hair, right? =)

 

 

The deer are 'rutting' in the yard right now. You might not be able to see it in the photo but those are both bucks with a full set of horns. It's crazy so see them wandering through the yard like that. We've definitely instructed the kiddos to stay inside when they see them.

Work for both Chris and I is fine - normal - progressing. I'm headed to DC this week for a advocacy trip to work on FDA legislation issues and Chris just got back from Saudi a few weeks back. I continue to spend the bulk of my time on planning, strategy, culture and pushing new products and new initiatives like, Handmade Beauty Box.

Happy Thanksgiving

Jamisen helping with Quinoa Stuffing Muffins

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful day full of family, food and fun. We had Kale-Quinoa Stuffing Muffins, Sweet Potato & Apple Casserole and Coconut Sweet Potato Pie for dessert.

Figuring out our Hot Tub Water pH before Lunch

This Thanksgiving celebration was smaller than usual; my brother and sister-in-law are in California. So it was just my parents, husband, the kiddos and myself. It was sweet but we missed family that weren’t there.

Thankfulness Tablecloth + great centerpiece arrangement styled by Jamisen. Tiny art by Julia Clifford. Also, there is a photo on that link of me from 2007. Yikes. That dress (!).

Growing up so fast!

 We have a meaningful tradition in our family: the Thankfulness Tablecloth. We all go around the table and talk about what we are particularly thankful for this year. Then, we take permanent markers and write our thankfulness thought on the white tablecloth. It is always a special moment when we all go around and share our meaning or thought and focuses the day on where it should be: gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving walk. Dinner was the perfect amount so it wasn't tooooo heavy but still, a post-lunch walk was perfect. What great weather!

Meditating Deer & Counting Peas in the Nose

 

See this happy, perfectly little munchin? Cutest. Baby. Ever. Of. All. Time.  Except she has a few extra things goin' on - namely, peas up her nose. That's right; manny Jason called me at work and was like "When I was changing Lily's diaper, I noticed something up her nose. And when I asked her what it was, she said 'peas!' as in, plural and they're up there really high." So, I got to take a trip to the Doctor's office. Chris was on a business trip - Saudi? Seattle? North Carolina? Ohio? They blur together lately.

Any bets on how they get peas out of a 2 year old's nose? I'll let you think of it. Nope. Not tweezers. She wouldn't stay still. And good thought, but no, she wouldn't blow them out either. Any other ideas? Nope, no suction things there. Give up? Let me write you a visual picture, shall I?

I cupped one hand over her mouth. I plugged one nostril (the pea-carrying nostril). And then I carefully fit my lips over her other nostril and ... blew. That's right. I blew and blew and blew and still, that dang pea did not come out. Then, Lily gasped and sucked the pea(s) deeper into her nasal cavity. Argh!

Another pediatrician came in with a syringe and a bulbus tube that we shoved up her nose - more airtight seal - and then we pushed some more air up there until, pop! the pea popped out and, it was only one up there. Whether there really were 5 or if it was just the one, we'll never know. Either way, I totally had my mouth all over her snotty nose and am planning on holding it over her head for the rest of her life. I've got the whole "Dude, I carried you for 9 months; I had to do shots EVERY DAY of that pregnancy and get cut open to get you out," and now I can add, "And I french kissed your nose to get a snot-covered pea out of your nasal cavity." If that's not love ...

Jamisen was very worried about his sister the entire time she was in there. He really wanted to come in the room with us but nanny Jason was firm that he would be a distraction so he waited out in the waiting room to see his little sister and confirm for herself that she was okay. He so so so loves her.

He is still such a huge helper in the kitchen. He is intensely curious about how everything works. Just this morning he said to me, "Mama, I went outside and licked the frost on the grass to see what it would taste like." And I was like, "Oh, okay. How did it taste?" And he said, "Like little miniature pieces of grass ice."  And that was after a very long discussion about the moon, weather patterns and why frost forms. He had most of the details pretty correct and said that he had learned them in school.

 

We had a great time at Bellwood Acres the other day with brother Weston and Aunty Anna. Jamisen totally waited a full 30 minutes for fresh donuts - like, not a whimper, not a whine, nada. Just sat there waiting with me for his prize. That delayed gratification is going to serve him so well in life. 

Another sweet story; Jamisen saw a deer sleeping in our yard the other day. He gazed at it thoughtfully and then said to me, "Mama, I bet that deer is meditating. He is finding his calm."

Kissing Alpacas & Petting Kangaroos

Who knew we had an exotic animal farm near us? I didn't! But, it just took Cheriss's brother + wife visiting to turn us into tourists in our own town. I fell in love with Mr. Alpaca but the dental work left a little to be desired.

This farm had goats, turtles, emus, ostriches, peacocks and kangaroos. Most of the animals, except the ostriches, were super friendly. It may have had something to do with the food that we had in our hands but I prefer to think it was all about our sunny dispositions and witty personalities.

You really could touch the kangaroos. They were sweet, fun-loving and had intelligent personalities. Yes, you could figure that out just by watching them interact. They would even hug guests. And before you poo-poo that as just a trained pet trick, the hugs seemed sweet and heartfelt (so there, you skeptical reader).

Even the baby got in on the action though I'm pretty sure she tried to eat the kangaroo bread at one point. Oh, what you say? I forgot to mention that they eat bread?! Yes, they eat whole wheat seed bread. It looked an awfully lot like Dave's Killer Bread actually ...

Baby Lily was unsure about the entire experience. She and this little kangaroo had quite the stare down going. The kangaroo blinked first. Also, do note that is Jamisen's jacket. Lily insisted on wearing that and not her own jacket. Because, jackets are warmer when they're your brother's.

A Dog, a Strawberry & an Owl All Go Out

Halloween 2015 was full of excitement, candy and rain; oh, so much rain! We started the evening at our good friend Sarah's house. Sarah always does a blowout Halloween party every year with unlimited pizza, beer, wine and full sized candy bars. She also has a professional cameraman and photobooth set up (true story). It is one epic party and really, could these girls be any cuter?

  

The rain barely barely let up for an hour for the entire family to dash out in the rain and head to Fairhaven for some epic and crowded trick or treating. Notice that all of us are dressed rather warmly. I am a glamorous bumblebee under that puffy turns-out-isn't-waterproof purple jacket. 

The trick or treating was so fast and furious that Clifford the Dog got a little warm and had to take his Clifford hat-face topper off.

Everyone in rain jackets. Lily really got the hang of the holiday this year.

Lily is either a watermelon or a strawberry. We were going with watermelon earlier in the night so both she and Jamisen got little watermelon face paint designs on their faces (yes, Sarah had a face painter too at the party! I told you it was epic).

Here we are in all of our finest costumewear. Notice Wilma Flintstone on the right. Cheriss's outfit was homemade and so creative.

Chris was in Saudi so he missed Halloween. Thankfully Uncle Eric was there to carry the baby girls (not that Grandpa Faiola didn't have Lily for quite some time on his shoulders as well).

Jamisen's alternate costume was a flower. Lily is wearing the headband for the flower and Jamisen is wearing the flower costume in this photo. Jamisen insisted on being a flower for Halloween, all the way up until the day-of Halloween, at which point it was alllll about the old Clifford the Dog costume. So, alas, the homemade flower costume was only worn one time, at home. Given the rain, it was just fine that he didn't end up being a flower because that costume would have disintegrated like the little organic matter it was designed to be.

Arizona Trip Finishes

 

Taking a trip with kids isn't a vacation. It's a field trip. So on our field trip to Arizona, were super thankful that Grandma and Grandpa Faiola were there to take the kids for two dinners and several sleep overs (for Lily).

 

Lily basically wore her sunglasses once but the sun was hot (!) so the kids were sunscreen'ed up a lot during the vacation, I mean, field trip.

 

The resort had this incredible lazy river that just went around in a very long, slow stream like fashion. The kids loved it, especially if they were sitting on the lap of Grandma or Grandpa Faiola!

 

The river also had a variety of unfortunate water features that sprayed passersby as they floated leisurely down the river. It was virtually impossible to do the circuit without getting wet!

Happy kids and happy parents and grandparents. It was joyous to see the kids really take to water and learning new things. You could practically see their synapses firing on all cylinders as they swam a little bit more, jumped a little farther and ventured past their comfort zones.

Speaking of comfort zones, at one point, Jamisen stepped off the edge of the step onto the bottom of the warm pool and found himself underwater. Fully. He did not panic. But he also did not push himself up. He sort of just waited there for Grandpa Faiola to come and get him. I was happy he didn't panic (yay! no water in the lungs!) but distressed that he didn't quite have that survival instinct of pushing himself off the bottom down. Of course, it all happened quickly so maybe he would have pushed himself off the bottom. Eventually. We weren't going to wait around to see. 

 

The Arizona trip also had a field trip to the music museum (expensive but fun) and the children's museum. We inadvertently spent almost 6 hours at the children's museum because a dust storm hit while we were inside and driving was not advised for a full 2 hours. No sane adult should be forced to spend six hours in a children's museum, no matter how great of a crafty, active, 'present' parent you are. I joked to my folks that had I been in possession of flasks of vodka or any sort of drugs, I could have made a fortune selling it to the other captive parents. 

We had a great time in Arizona with the Grandparents and are excited about next year. We all came back completely exhausted, and both Chris and I felt just like Jamisen looked on the ride home. Thanks for a great field trip, family! =)