the tale of a mole turned terrorific

There once was a girl who had a mole... A terrific mole.  A mole that rivaled cindy crawford's trademark mole! Most everyone she came into contact with liked her face enough and the girl with the terrific mole felt quite confident in her face.  after many years of living with a cute enough face, the girl with the terrific mole married a man who loved her face too and they spent 3 years looking at eachothers faces quite blissfully. in 2006 their first baby was born (sans terrific mole).  this baby girl mistook mom's terrific mole as an oddity and spent cuddling moments picking at it with a look of alarm. This same scene repeated itself with baby number two and three as well; mother giggled that her little babies obviously didn't recognize a terrific mole when they saw one.  Until one day when the children began verbalizing their thoughts about the terrific mole. "Can you get it off?"  "Do I have one?" "It feels weird!"  in addition to lots of horrified questions, there was no longer curious rubbing but rather disgust with accidental contact.  "Ew I accidentally kissed it!"  the mole became a terrorific obsession with frequent questions and disgusted statements.  there have also been renderings of the terrorific mole... and most recently there was a spontaneous impression involving hershey syrup:

what once was a terrific mole has become terrorific (to some).  that girl who made it through the cruelties of middle school without being scathed by facial insecurities still thinks it's pretty terrific! (and so does she, i'm sure:)

A future engineer?

Jack is an inquisitive boy whose questions can sometimes catch us off- guard.  We know to expect the re-occuring, "how is sour cream made?" question. But Last night he wondered, how do you make money? His dad answered him something very practical like 'i do what my boss asks and then he pays me.'  Jack insisted, 'no.  how do you PAINT money?'

slippers and pj pants

Ever since we were first married, one of my favorite articles of clothing on David was his slippers. It seemed to symbolize my small victory in taming his wild spirit.  relatedly, it should be no surprise that my second fave clothing item on David is pajama pants!  Again, for the same reason: I like to see my man comfortable, relaxed, and content at home!  So happy to be welcoming weather that brings out his domesticated garb again!

i'll forego embarassing documentation of his 'less manly' attire and instead showcase a pic of his loving, dedicated, and reliable self with our precious cargo! (same idea)

dalia at 18 mos.

- she yells 'pease' over and over when wanting something
- she's close to figuring out how to ride a scooter
- she recently put herself in time out for a tantrum
- she is often seen clutching a baby doll or large stuffed puppy
- she hollers hello to 'kini' when we pass the school even when mom forgets
- she is particular about the way she holds hands
- she reports that her poopy diapers are 'tinky' and 'gwoss' (stinky and gross)
- she has unexpectedly started demanding that her blankie goes everywhere with her
- she surprised us by hopping in the battery powered jeep and driving off
- she remains our loudest child
- she keeps an unkempt house due to her current shoe addiction!

A pumpkin patch on crack

Albeit a bit irreverent, 'a pumpkin patch on crack' is exactly how to describe Vala's - the local family fun hotspot.  Coined by a friend, it really is a trip in comparison to any other pumpkin patch we've seen. Its sheer size made for an entire Saturday of fun... and we have David's work to thank for paying its crack prices entry fee!

the first 41 days of school

 



Kindin's first two months of first grade were difficult! (or as she would say: '42 days for everyone else and 41 days for her' due to her unfortunate first day absence)  academically, her teacher's skills and a small classroom size are a perfect fit for her; however, trying to make friends in a classroom filled with kids who went through kindergarten together has been a difficult challenge.  for 41 days there have been verbalizations of 'i don't want to go' and mealtime prayers expressed that 'school will go okay'.  mom and dad spent lots of those 41 nights letting her stay up to talk and walking around the block problemsolving the confusing world of friendships.  she felt lonely at recess for 41 days and longed for her old friends who were at school 'without her'! 

today as she left for school with a smile on her face, i was so happy to undoubtedly sense that she is beginning to enjoy school!  she is being stretched and challenged academically and she has bravely overcome the social hurdles of this peculiarly tight knit group of students.  I am so proud of her during these first 41 days of school and so happy she is excited for the year ahead.

trying to acclimate, wanting to hibernate

the cooler weather and darker days i knew were in store are here!  try as we may to maintain some normalcy with all these changes, we aren't.  the biggest change is our morning routine (or lack of). with a late school start, dave's lenient schedule, and a mom tired from tending sick kids battling foreign germs, we end up hibernating every morning (with the exception of kindin who can often be found making her school lunch in the wee hours of the morning).  morning yoga and bikeriding are ignored and exercising happens at odd times- sometimes over dinner*.  and despite a personal vow to walk to school until we physically couldn't, occasionally we've given in to transporting by car!  today's indoor temperature is 62 degrees so we are lounging around in our pjs, baking, and resisting the urge to blast christmas music...  it will certainly be a non-normal winter filled with flexibility (and likely some hibernation)! 

(*an acclimated bikeride at lake zorinsky)

slip sliding away

  we're discovering omaha's entertainment:

 

where do you ask is the photo of mom on the slide?  she was overcome by the crazy phenomenon of motherhood in which that which didn't previously scare does and she instead engages in activities of a soothing and nurturing nature.  (see cool father's capture of lame phenomenon below)