Creature Bug

Week 318: Love is a burrito, a cartoon, and frozen custard

 
(photo from June 2002)

Thirteen years ago I married my best friend. We had dated long enough to know what we were getting into. He knew I was a little bit on the roller-coaster-emotional side; I knew he was a bit on the always-on-time side. There were no surprises, except that he didn't like mac-n-cheese (oddly coincidental that my dad also hates mac-n-cheese) and I could never put my shoes where they belonged.

He still doesn't like mac-n-cheese.

I still don't put my shoes where they belong. Or my sunglasses. Or the car keys.

*

Since the girls were both staying overnight with grandparents on Friday, we celebrated our anniversary a few days early. We had dinner at Baja Fresh, saw "Despicable Me" (funny and kid-friendly, btw), and had frozen custard for dessert. It was fabulous because we were together. Memorable? Probably not so much. Maybe more memorable? The anniversary gift we're giving to each other in the form of having all the bedrooms professionally painted.

Certainly, we've had the fancy anniversary celebrations: the year we went back to Maine; the years we've gone to the beach; the gourmet dinners out. And we've had the non-fancy celebrations: the years we spent writing papers due for our grad classes the next day; the year we saw "Harry Potter" (which I rank as the lamest anniversary ever for reasons beyond just the movie); the year we spent at home staring at our 2-month old daughter.

It's just like our marriage. Sometimes the moments are amazing and memorable and sometimes they aren't. And sometimes you purposefully forget them because maybe they were moments where you didn't shine. It's okay.

*

I asked Jason if this was the hardest year we've had, what with my severe prenatal depression and his being unemployed. He said no. In fact, he said there haven't been any hard years.

"They've all been good years because things have always been good between us."

When you marry your best friend that's what you get: good years. Lots of them.

All of them.

Making a bee line for the zip line

It was a hot day here at the Family Farm, so we do what we do when it's hot: head down to the creek.

While the creek has long been a favorite for the kiddos (and also for the parents and grandparents who love to see happy kiddos), it doesn't exactly have any big thrills for the adults. Shallow water in most places make it tricky to do much in the way of swimming if you happen to be over 5' tall.

But then my mom got an idea.

My mom gets lots of ideas. Ideas and projects spring from her mind like unicorns and fairy dust spring from Sydney's.

My mom thought the creek needed a zip line.

I should tell you that we already have one zip line that flies across the frog ponds. Having been on it multiple times, I can tell you it's quite entertaining if you enjoy that sort of thing. But one zip line wasn't enough. So now thanks to the hard work efforts of my parents and my sister (as well as a few helpful zipping volunteers like my husband, my little cousin, and the neighboring college kid) we have two.

Because of a few logistics--like falling into shallow water--it's not safe for small kids. I don't think it's particularly safe for anyone, but no one listens to me when it comes to danger and excitement. I'm just one of those fuddy duddy sorts who fears people will break their necks if they go on a dangerous contraption. Fortunately, no one is encouraging my children or anyone else's small children to go on the zip line. Common sense prevails.

My husband, on the other hand, is exactly the kind of person who the zip line was designed for.

There it is. Very zippy looking.

And with a 1-2-3...

My camera really doesn't do the moment justice, but hopefully you can use your imagination to see that this is a rather fun Big Kid toy. One that just so happens to be perfect for hot sunny days.

And maybe someday when I'm grown up and less pregnant I'll think about going on the zip line too.

Or maybe I'll just watch this guy.

That actually seems like a lot more fun to me.

Fun Times with Curly Hair

The #1 rule with curly hair is no brushing. Absolutely no brushing. Curly hair gets washed/wet in the morning, a good dose of conditioner (shampoo only once a week), and then picked out with a wide-toothed comb.

The girls are quite familiar with this rule, and will freak.out. if someone tries to fuzz up their hair.

Except every once in awhile, Julianne lets me do this:

Hi there, Miss Crazy Hair! I think a bird might be living atop your head.

No, I'm just kidding. No birds in your hair. But maybe a monkey?

Okay, okay. No monkeys. You got some fuzzy hair going on tonight, don't you?

Yes, it's my fault. But hey! I have a camera, so let's make the best of it.

Strike a pose, Jules.

Ooh, very Vogue.

Very post-modern.

Very toddler-chic.

Very I'm too cool for this princess nightgown.

Or something.

Well, Jules, you've been a perfect model for tonight's entertainment.

Let's give her a round of applause for being a good sport!

And maybe a good bottle of conditioner too.

An Attempt at Making Butterbeer

A few weeks ago, our local newspaper did a feature on The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios in Orlando. You may recall that last year, on our trip to Universal, we got a peak at what the new park was going to look like.

Certainly there was lots of construction to be completed, but it was still cool to see what they did have completed. One of the amazing rollercoaster rides that we went on has now been incorporated into the TWWOHP and renamed the "Dragon Challenge." So, in a way, we've been on one of the Harry Potter rides. Small comfort knowing that we won't be able to visit the park for a few years yet.

Evidently, according the newspaper article, one of the hot items at TWWOHP is butterbeer. Naturally, Universal isn't giving away the official recipe--and if you Google the recipe there are MANY different versions, all of which seem to be quite a bit easier to make than this one--but the Huffington Post created a recipe they think is a close match to the drink everyone is slurping up in Orlando.

Just for kicks and because I can't drink any real beer, Andrea and I thought that it would be fun to try it.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
• 2 T water
• 6 T butter
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream, divided (btw, "divided" means that this is the total amount you'll need but at various measurements throughout the recipe)
• 1/2 t rum extract (imitation)
• Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda (or a 2 liter works fine too)
• (optional) Reducio charm to counter the effects of all those calories on your waistline

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.

Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 cup heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature. (Unless you want to drink it hot, then don't wait for it to cool at all.)

It helps to have a really cute helper.

Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract. (We put the mixture in the fridge in order to help the cooling process along; we're impatient like that.)

While you're waiting for the mixture to cool, you can snack on some chocolate if you want. As if all that brown sugar and butter aren't enough calories (to Julianne's credit, she didn't drink any butterbeer so a little treat wasn't too out of line).

In a medium bowl, combine 2 T of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2-3 minutes. (As always when whipping cream, it helps if the bowl and the beaters are chilled.) (Also, we beat it longer than 2-3 minutes; maybe 4-5.)

To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine.

Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.

Stir the topping in so that it gets a little fizzy, and then drink up. Do it proper and get the mustache.

Verdict: This is a seriously rich drink with strong butterscotch overtones. It was so sweet, I actually couldn't finish mine, leaving me to suspect that you could easily divide the syrup into six glasses rather than four (and that's coming from someone who regularly drinks soda). Also, using club soda instead of cream soda would probably help cut the sweet-factor down. That being said, Jason finished his and then finished mine, so evidently some people can handle their butterbeer just fine, thankyouverymuch.

It would be an easy drink to prep before a party--having the cooled syrup and whipped cream ready in the fridge--and then just pour the cream soda in before serving. It is quite tasty, and even though it takes a little longer to make than the dozens of other easier recipes, I'm sure this one has a more complex and delicious flavor. Also, you rarely have to worry about drinks being too sweet if you're serving them to the younger set. They'd drink this up and then chase it down with a sugar pixie stick.

It was definitely fun to try out, and now we are experimenting to see if we can do a frozen butterbeer, ala Frappuccino style. I'll let you know if we can find a suitable method!

Week 317: Her Stories

When we were eating breakfast yesterday morning, Sydney asked me, "Do we need to get ready to go somewhere?" Nope, I said. Nothing to do today.

"Good! I just want to sit here and eat my oatmeal."

I agreed that not having to be somewhere by 9 am was a fabulous thing, indeed. Of course, by 9:30 both the girls were asking to go visit Grandma at school (daycare), and so a half hour later we were driving down the road. But only because we wanted to not because we had to. And nothing was starting without us. And they could leave whenever they wanted to.

We work pretty hard at not over-scheduling ourselves, but this summer we decided that Sydney could be involved in swim lessons and three different day camps. It happened to be that all three camps were in consecutive weeks that followed the end of swim lessons. First, Vacation Bible Camp at our church. Second, day camp at Royal Ridges Ranch. Third, Vacation Bible Camp at cousin Clover's church.

Whew. We were tired.

The VBCs are only for a few hours, and we don't have to pack a lunch, so the time commitment is actually pretty small. The horse camp was a little more involved what with packing a lunch, and making sure she caught the bus, and lamenting over every piece of clothing that came home stained (with tar? oil? grease? special staining sauce? I grimaced in my laundry room).

Horse camp was also a little more involved for me emotionally. This was the first real adventure for Sydney that I felt quite out of the loop on. I know the organization well enough to feel comfortable with it, but I didn't personally know the adults she had for leaders, didn't know the other kids who were on her team (aside from her two cousins Amanda and Clover), didn't know if she was eating her sandwich or just throwing it away.

She was, for the first time ever, doing something that was rather out of my reach.

With church activities, I'm either involved or I'm related to someone who is involved. With kindergarten, her grandma was her teacher, her sister was a pre-school classmate, and her cousins were also classmates. With ballet, I sit and watch her. I don't own her activities, but I've seen the script and watch the action and know how the story unfolds.

But this? This heading out into the woods to learn about horses and complete obstacle courses and swim in a pool without me watching? It was all hers.

The most I knew was what I learned from attending the Open House the day before camp started, where I learned that Sydney was on the orange team, and that the obstacle course had a big tire campers had to get through.

I'm blaming the tire for some of the stains on her clothes.

Of course, when she got home every afternoon, dirty and exhausted, I nonchalantly tried to pry information out of her. "What did you do today? Who did you meet? What songs did you sing?" Sometimes I'd get the answers I was expecting. She'd serenade us with the songs she'd learn. She'd tell us that she wasn't sure if she liked lunch because no one was there to make sure she ate her sandwich, "so I didn't. And I was sad about that." She'd tell us which water activity they did that day, and what clothing items she'd forgotten to bring home.

Most of the time, though, she kept the stories to herself. Maybe there weren't really any stories to tell. She actually never seemed all that excited about whatever it was she was doing. We'd give her little tasks to do--learn someone's name today ("I learned TWO names today!"), try not to cry during the obstacle course ("I only cried once today!"), remember to bring home your lunch box ("Tada! My lunch box!")--but all in all it was her camp and only a few bits and pieces floated back to us.

I realize now that it's happened: Sydney is going to have stories that will be hers, and I'll only be allowed to be a part of whatever she chooses to share with me. Even when she does tell me stories, some still won't be ones I'd share here because...well, because they aren't mine to tell.

It's a little scary for both of us, I think, but also exciting. I love seeing her grow up, and I love hearing how something she's learned at home has transferred to a decision she makes out in the big world. Like how eating carrots for lunch is a good healthy decision, even if she "didn't really want to, but I did, because it's important."

I know Jason and I still have huge roles in the story of Sydney's life, but little by little she's writing her own lines, discovering her own role, and finding a space on the stage that's all hers.

I'm so proud.

7 Quick Takes Friday

 : 1 :

When we moved into our house a year ago (well, actually, we moved stuff in here almost two years ago), nearly all wall surfaces were covered in wallpaper. The wallpaper was fine for when my grandparents lived here; it was a little claustrophobic for me, however. Last summer, my parents took pity on us and hired someone to strip the living room/dining room walls and paint them, but the rest of the rooms have remained wallpapered.

Now that we have determined we will probably wait at least two more years before starting construction on our house, it seemed like we should get the house decorated how we really want it. Therefore, this week, Jason has undertaken the huge task of stripping wallpaper off the walls in the bedrooms and bathrooms. It is seriously hard work, no matter what some DYI magazine might say (I just read yesterday that changing your mind about wallpaper is "as easy as stripping it off," implying that it is somehow not a hellish job).

Quite possibly, within the next two weeks, the whole interior of our house, minus one room, will be painted. SO happy.

: 2 :

My friend Megan called me up today and asked if Jules and I wanted to go to Sand in the City at Pioneer Square. We did. It was lots of fun watching the teams work on their sandy masterpieces.

Jules wasn't quite sure if she was impressed since she plays in the sand every day. She did think the sand airplane was pretty cool though.

: 3 :

Speaking of sand, last Friday I had the great idea of starting a "Fridays on the Family Farm" photo tradition. Around 11 am, Jules and I trekked down to the creek. There's always something going on--surely it would be interesting to capture it in photos.

On our way down to the creek, we checked on the new bridge Andrea and my dad built.

Then we continued down to play in the sand and cool off in the creek.

And then Jules played, I read my book, we ate and visited with cousins, and we didn't hike back up the hill for another 7 hours. That was my day and the end of my plan of taking pictures. That's pretty much what we do every day.

: 4 :

Our blueberry bushes have exploded with berries. Oh, the joys of 40 bushes heavy with blue goodness. I pick bowls full of blueberries with the intention of freezing them, and then we eat them all up instead. Jason has to covertly pick them, wash them, and put them in freezer bags before the rest of us swoop in like the birds and eat them all up.

: 5 :

Stunning news of the week? A phone call from a family member telling us they are expecting their first baby. It was so stunning that my response to "we're having a girl" was quite muted on account of me thinking that the comment was going to be followed up with a "we pick up the puppy tomorrow." I was determined not to be TRICKED by such SHENANIGANS. No shenanigans were at play. Actual baby arriving in December. Since the news is still not totally public, I won't reveal the parents-to-be, but we're super happy for them.

(Random stunning news of the week? Bristol Palin engaged to her ex-boyfriend. Totally weirded me out.)

: 6 :

For the last three weeks, Sydney's schedule has been a bit tied up with activities. Tonight marked the end of her "planned" camps, which feels quite wonderful. No more official plans--other than a trip to Reno in August--for the summer.

: 7 :

My house is a disaster right now. I stepped over a small pile of fruit loops to get to the office, it took us an hour to find a DVD that was hidden under a book jacket, and the girls have started to just pull their clean clothes out of the laundry basket. I've heard mumblings from Jason, who hates having any sort of chaos in his living space (and yet...he has put up with it for 13 years now), but I spend my days at the creek, and my nights too tired to clean the house. What's a girl to do?

More quick takes here.

Widget Wednesday

I was adding a few books that I've finished to my sidebar, when I realized that there are two new (new-ish) widgets that I'm kinda loving and never mentioned.

The first one is a widget for my Flickr photostream so people can see (and click on) what photos I've uploaded recently.

Get this widget at roytanck.com

If you mouse over the photos they spin. Whee! Sometimes I just stop by my blog just to spin my photos.

Not really.

Okay, maybe sometimes.

But only when all my laundry is done and my house is clean.

Well, maybe a little more often than that.

If you're wondering how to get this widget here are the steps:

1. Go to Roy Tanck's Flickr Widget page
2. There are a few spots there for customizing your widget, but the one I found the most tricky was finding my Flickr URL feed
3. I got mine by going to the bottom of "My Photostream" (on Flickr) and clicking on the "latest" link next to the Subscribe to Photostream bit
4. As for size, my sidebar size is 180 pixels wide and 210 pixels high.

Okay, now give it another spin just for fun!

The second little widget I have going on down the right side is a Subscribe by Email link. I actually put this one there as an experiment to see if I could do it and show someone else how to do it. And then once it was there I just left it there. Even though lots of people use some sort of feed reader to get all their bloggy updates, I know some folks don't read enough blogs to do that.

The answer: get the newest blog post delivered to your inbox!

You don't have to do anything fancy; you just click it, enter your email address, and voila. You get the blog post in your email box. Merry Christmas! (or in the case of my blog posts, a lesser holiday might be more appropriate...Happy Flag Day!)

How to get this widget?

1. If you haven't already, sign up your feed with Google's Feedburner.
2. In your feed dashboard, click on the "publicize" tab
3. Under 'services' click on "Email Subscriptions" and with some tweaking and whatnot, you should be able to get the html you need.

I should say that the emails are a little slow in arriving--about 12-24 hours later--but it's still quite handy if you don't use some kind of feed catcher.

So, there you go! Two little widgets I'm loving these days. How about you? Any widgets you love?

Me. 7 Months Pregnant. Etc.

Yesterday, in recognition of being officially two months from my due date, I sorted through seven boxes of baby clothes and washed all the ones that we'll need for the first three months. I sorted and re-labeled and matched up socks who had been separated from each other in boxes packed months apart.

I feel quite certain those socks rejoiced at the reunion. I know I was especially happy to match up a particular pair of socks that were something like $20 a pair. It must be because they're knit from the hair of organic free-range high-altitude bilingual alpacas that frolic among daisies and honeysuckle. They were a gift, and darn it all if they aren't really cute (the socks, and perhaps the alpacas as well).

If you happen to find yourself in the position of having to sort through baby clothes, it helps to have a 3 year old as a partner. Not because she will actually help that much--although she did an excellent job matching up the socks and shoes--but because every onesie, every sleeper, every teeny tiny skirt will be cause for loud exclamations of "THIS IS SO CUTE!" and "Oh Mama! MAMA! Look at this! LOOK AT THIS!" It's like taking a really supportive and enthusiastic girlfriend shopping. Everything is, ohmygosh, FAB-U-LOUS.

Seriously. The girl knows how to swoon over clothes.

Baby clothes are now washed. Blankets and bedding are at the ready (poor baby...won't get any new bedding because I still love the old stuff). Miss Baby's future wardrobe for the next three years has been put in appropriate bins, labeled by the season it should be opened. I kinda rock the whole organization thing.

After a grueling first and second trimester, I'm finally managing to perk up here in the home stretch. Someday I'll have to write about how this whole pregnancy thing has gone, but it's a discussion that's better saved for after baby is born. Suffice to say, there are reasons why I have blogged very little. My pregnancy narrative hasn't been the stuff of beauty or grace, but rather medication and therapy. What matters now, however, is that we're okay. We're going to make it.

Two months to go.

And because my belly has finally surpassed my bust in terms of outward mobility, I share a picture.

PS: Believe it or not, Miss Baby is on her way to growing to a good 8 pounds.

Just Keep Jumping

A trampoline, a sprinkler, a sunny day.

And, of course, a jumper.

That's all you need.

Looking at Photos

I may or may not have mentioned that one of my big projects for the summer is to get all our digital photos printed in photobooks. It sounds very nesty of me to do this, and it's true that one of the reasons I want to do this project is to attempt to get a handle on the gazillion photos we have before the still-unnamed Miss Baby arrives and triples the number of pictures we take.

This project started back in 2008, when I finished my first photobook with My Publisher. (I should add that I use My Publisher just because I like it, but there are lots of really good photobook publishing sites.) Until several weeks ago, that photobook I made in February 2008 was the only photobook I had.

It's a lovely book. 

I must be especially fond of July-December 2007 because for two years it was the only era for which there were printed photos. It made for showing off our family pictures really easy. "Hey. Would you like to glance through our family photo albums? There's only one. Take your time."

After organizing all my digital photos, I made it my mission to GET THOSE PICTURES IN BOOKS for Pete's sake. It really would be no big deal, except that it kind of is. Because I feel compelled to Photoshop every.single.picture.of.my.life then it takes me awhile to finish a book, but when they're done, oh the grand satisfaction.

My first project was to finish up 2007, so that I could at least have one complete year of photos. Ergo, I did January-June 2007 (the link opens up the entire book, if you are so inclined to glance through).

 
 
My second project was to do something more current, so I did July-December 2009.

 
 
And then for kicks and giggles, I decided to do January-June 2008.

 
 
 

No, I'm not working chronologically because that would totally make sense. And I'm pregnant. And nothing I do makes sense except to take naps in the middle of the day. That makes perfect sense.

Sometime next week I'm going to start on July-December 2008, also so that I have another complete year. It will be a symbol of commitment or cohesion. Or something.

Other than the relief and joy I get from having the pictures in books, I've stumbled across a little side bonus of working with old pictures.

Hello, sweetness.
 

Oh mercy. The bunny ears on the hood.

Just today, Sydneykins, you were making this exact same face blowing bubbles.

Oh, if only you would both still fit in a box for photo ops.

The images could go on and on, but I'll interrupt myself with what working with all these pictures made me feel: happy.

Because I'm not so much a baby/toddler person, I sometimes forget the joy of those years when the girls were younger. The opposite of being nostalgic, I've been almost dreading having another baby because I think, Oh my gosh the diapers, the sleepless nights, the exhaustion, the complete and total dependency of another person on me. It is, of course, a lot of hard work having a baby, particularly a baby that you aren't totally convinced you're ready to have anyway.

But it's also amazing.

 

And beautiful.

 

My days might now be filled with negotiations and making snacks, and kids who can dress themselves, and kids who fight with each other, and kids who can get their own drink out of the fridge, but before all that, even in the middle of an exhausting night, I remember: I loved my babies.

And in two months, I'll won't have to look at pictures to remember that feeling because I'll just have her, there in my arms.