How it looks from here

Busy! I keep meaning to post, but then the evenings get away from me. And then I think that there's nothing so new or so exciting that it can't wait until (the proverbial) later.

Here's the executive summary: We were sick, but now we're better (for the moment); Grandma Pat was here for a few days during Natalie's spring break; we're starting work on our garden.

Natalie remains as adorable as ever.

The picture on the left is Natalie going to school on Pajamas Day. The one on the right is after school on the day of the Silly Hat Shabbat (a Purim warm-up from all we could tell).

We've had some rainy days, too. She calls umbrellas "rainbrellas". Have I mentioned that before? Probably! But, hey March showers... Also, lightening is "rain flashin'."

She's really into her baby. Except, oddly, the baby is never allowed to be clothed. If I dress the baby at night, the very first thing Natalie will do the next morning is to take off the baby's jumpsuit. If I suggest the baby is cold, Natalie will tell me, "No, baby's not cold. Baby okay."

When household pets attack . . .

(Everything really is bigger in Texas!)

Natalie is really becoming quite the conversationalist, capable of abstract thought and, uh, demands.

Example #1
Me: Goodnight, big girl. Sleep tight. Have sweet dreams.
Natalie: Mommy?
Me: Yes
Natalie: I gonna dream about pasta. 
(A girl after my own heart.)

Example #2
Scene: We're all at a Sunday brunch buffet, I sit down with a loaded plate - filled mostly with the same things Natalie has, plus a small amount of bread pudding and ice cream that I've strategically attempted to hide behind other food.
Natalie, peering at my plate: Is that ice cream?
Me: Yes. Would you like a small bite?
Natalie: No! I want a BIG BITE! 

Here's Natalie and Grandma Pat working together on zipping and unzipping.

The goat and I went to a wedding.

Here's big girl at the park:

In the pictures above, she's holding her pigtails because she was convinced they'd blow away otherwise. No amount of my suggesting that she do an experiment by letting go and seeing if they blew away was going to make a difference. Silly girl!

Gardening: hope springs eternal, or some such crazy belief. Or maybe something like: herbs are annuals, weeds are perennials, and memories are forever?

Not pictured: the moment - not thirty seconds after this picture was taken - when Natalie decided she was done, took off her rain boots, and then set out barefoot toward the fire ant mound (she was not hurt). Thus endeth the backyard beautification.

Hope spring has sprung for you, and that your garden time is a little less traumatic!

Conversations from today

As I drove Natalie to our favorite walking trail today, she was very chatty:

N: Last time on this trail, with Grandma Pat, we saw a HUGE cow. It was eating grass. It was HUGE.
M: Was it bigger than you?
N: Yes, Daddy, it was bigger than me.
M: Was it bigger than me?
N; No, Daddy, it was not bigger than you.


The walk was supposed to be followed by a trip to the park, which had to be cancelled due to an incident with spitting. Later, Kate was talking to Natalie:

K: Why didn't you get to go to the park?
N: Ca-buzz I made bad choices.
K: Like what?
N: I spit at Daddy.
K: What can you do differently next time?
N: ... Maybe sometime we could go park?

Feeding peanut

Here is a video of Natalie feeling her toy dog:

Steamboat Springs Ski trip (at long last!)

Cue the music . . . . I actually made it to Colorado this year!

And it was awesome! The mountains, the skiing, the seeing my friend - so, so good.

I was super-nervous about this being a sort of cursed enterprise, so I didn't think it wise to go back to the same place as last year's ill-fated trip. So, instead of Crested Butte (which I hear was lovely), we went to Steamboat. Which was very, very nice.

(As a side note, when Mike and I were in Glacier a few years back, we were riding in a shuttle seated bus behind a family from Texas. One of their kids - a boy, about 11 or so - was clearly awed by all the scenic beauty, and he turned to his brother and said (I kid you not!) "Yah almost forget what Fort Worth looks like." Oh, my prophetic soul.) Anyway, being in Colorado was like that - you almost forgot what Fort Worth looked like.

This is not Fort Worth.

Speaking of forgetting and remembering, I was totally worried that, since it had been nearly six years since I'd last skied, I'd be a disaster on the mountain. That was not true, thankfully. In fact, I was rather pleased that I was able to keep up with my dear friend (although she may have slowed down for me!). Something else that was a big help? Fleece long underwear! Where has this stuff been all my life? Oh, right. I live in Texas. Nevermind; you know what I mean.

We only skied for two days - our first day was a challenging snowy, low-light day.

But our second day was glorious and perfect and sunny and warm.

We were staying at this motel downtown that was the perfect blend of kitsch and comfort.

Best of all, the motel was not only in front of a mountain shuttle stop, but also across the street from the actual Steamboat Springs hot springs.

Alas, after a hard day of skiing, some hot tubbing, and dinner, we didn't do much else. And that was perfect. I had these visions that Miso and I would sit around and knit and chat, but we were just too tired! On the other hand, being able to go to sleep when you're tired and knowing that you've got an uninterrupted night of sleep in front of you is really, truly a luxury (for which I thank Mike greatly!).

On my last day there, I had an afternoon flight out. So I spent the morning just chilling in the town. I actually walked to a lovely little coffeehouse and sat and knitted and breakfasted in peace. And look at all that hot coffee! And that scone! Just for me!

On my way back from my coffee interlude, I came across the town's Winter Carnival Parade. Notice that all the high school kids in the marching band are "marching" on cross country skis. How awesome is that? I think I might be in love.

This was a totally successful, amazing weekend getaway. What a change of pace! And, best of all, I got to come back to my two loves - all rested and refreshed and full of stories!

Love to all!

We didn't mail Valentines this year, but here are the pictures I would have put on a card, had I had done a card-making project.

So, well, enjoy! Love to you!

We kept it pretty mellow this year. I was actually out of town the weekend before (more on that later), but I came home to some lovely flowers. On the actual day, Mike made us some delicious pizza. We also had a nice dinner at home this Saturday, after the small one had gone to sleep. Mike made curry and home-made naan (this is totally one of those things I didn't think was possible to make at home, but it is! And it's really, really good!) and I made a Texas sheet cake from my new favorite desserts-just-for-two website (so then I guess it's more like a washcloth cake? Or a pillowcase cake? Ha, ha).

Other food things? We also had crêpes one night. This was Natalie's first time trying them - I think we can agree that they were a hit!

On that note, big girl has started to get a lot more specific about her food descriptions. She'll still sometimes say that something is "not yummy", but she's also happy to let you know that something is "spicy a lot" (said about Thai food), "too juicy" (said about a runny poached egg), or "too crunchy" (said about yogurt?). She's also let us know that the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat (the New Year of the Trees) is "kind of crunchy" - indeed, it sort of is!

Also, here's a funny story from some months ago. Back in the fall, her class at school was studying Noah's Ark. My mom asked her what was on Noah's Ark. And she told my mom, "animal crackers."

Indeed. The medium is the message, etc.

Here are a few other Natalie pictures:

Keep reading! (And I promise a post soon about my weekend away!)

January round-up

Natalie is going through a, uh, less restful phase at night, so most early evenings find me too tired to blog (and most early mornings find one of us curled up on the carpet - or, "the fuzzies", as she calls it - in her room. But that's another story).

Anyway, so we've been doing things, but I have been sort of neglecting writing about them.

First, though - a post-script on our time in San Diego. I have two cute animal-related stories that I forgot to share earlier. First, once my aunt and uncle's dog (Pumpkin) was resting on the couch at my grandmother's house, and the dog sort of scooted so his tummy was exposed, hoping for a belly rub. Natalie found this HI-LARIOUS, and kept saying "Pumpkin upside down, Pumpkin upside down" over and over. So cute! Second, one day we walked down by the part of town where you can see the seals resting on the beach. The seals were actually being quite noisy that morning. We asked Natalie if she wanted to talk to the seals and maybe tell them about what she'd had for breakfast, and she barked out "Aaaar, arrrr, watermelon yummy, aarrrroo." Who knew the kid could speak seal?

Back in the (seal-free) present, we had a pretty serious rainstorm here last week. So serious, in fact, that the reservoir-lake near us came up five feet! It's great, we need the rain, and Natalie is well-equipped!

On the subject of sunny days, here she is "playing picnic" (which just involves spreading out all over the floor any and all blankets, washcloths, changing pads, etc. that she can find), going for a walk, and trying out some sunglasses.

We've also had a festive month! First, it was Felix's birthday! 

Second, Mike and I went to the very lovely wedding of a former co-worker of mine.

We've been cooking some, too. Last weekend I made a lighter version of this butternut squash and wild mushroom bread pudding. It was a fair amount of work to assemble all the parts. But it was also really, really good.

Mike's also been on a bread kick, making his own naan and pita breads. Pictures to follow!

Last, Natalie's school had a "Texas Shabbat". We're still unclear as to exactly what was different from a regular shabbat, other than that the kids all dressed up. But, hey, that was pretty dern cute!

Also, I do not know the name of this rodeo event, but our cowgirl has it down.

In closing, here is a shot of Natalie in her pajamas. Sleep tight!

Back in the Swing of Things

Well, we're trying to get all our routines re-established. It's been a strange few weeks with me back at work (and very busy), but Mike not working, and Natalie re-adjusting to her school after the extended holiday break.

Some days, it's hard just to change out of your pajamas, you know?

But, seriously, things are going well on all fronts. We've been going to the park a lot lately (this being the season of (mostly) reasonable weather here).

We play inside, too.

And here's Natalie playing with / wearing Daddy's shirt and discussing her job as a professor (and, yes, she even gives a discipline!).


One last photo of big girl outside: