Merry Christmas!

We're not sending Christmas cards this year, but if we were this is the picture that would be with it. Merry Christmas! Love, The Blans

 

Thanks to my brother-in-law, Matthew, for taking this family photo after visiting the train display at Thanksgiving. It's such a rare thing to capture a family photo!

Christmas Pictures

The kids were sort of dressed up last Sunday, so we tried to take some Christmas pictures. They didn't turn out very well. A reference to herding cats would be very appropriate here! Bad lighting in the room where the tree is didn't help either. I think we'll try something different next year. Here's a small sample from the photo shoot:

Random

 This picture reminds me of these pictures of Nate when he was 7 months old. I'm so glad he has someone to share his laundry basket with now!

Nate has taken one more step towards independence. He can swing all by himself! For a while he still needed someone to push him to get started, but now he can start and keep going on his own. No more running back and forth between swings at the park for me! Evie likes swinging in the big swing now, but she still chooses the baby swing sometimes. This is the clearest picture I could get since they were both moving!

If I could, I would ...

... eat every meal just like this.

And I'd be this happy about it too!

65th Annual Holiday Train Display

We're not really Black Friday people, so my sister had a great idea for something we could do instead. Friday was the first day of the 65th Annual Holiday Train Display in downtown Cincinnati, something we used to go to when we were kids. She thought Nate would love it, and that it wouldn't be crowded since most people would be crazy shopping. She was right about both! Our return flight wasn't until later that afternoon, so it was perfect. Here are the pictures:

 Nate with his cookie from Busken Bakery, a Cincinnati favorite. People from Busken were there handing out specially decorated cookies to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the display. Yum!

Mesmerized.

 They even had Thomas and the crew among all the trains.

It was a really cold morning, so Nate borrowed Uncle Matthew's sock cap. He wasn't used to that kind of cold weather, and I had to carry him every time we were outside. I, on the other hand, LOVED being out in the cold. It felt like home.

Thanksgiving 2010

 Watching Aunt Liza skim the fat off the Turkey drippings to make gravy.

Watching Uncle Matthew carve the Turkey.

We spent last week in Kentucky with our families, and we did a terrible job of taking pictures! We didn't take any while we were with the Blans, and we only took these two on Thanksgiving day. We had a really good time visiting with family.

Birthdays, Holidays, and Anniversaries

I heard someone say recently on a radio talk show that the only lesson you get in grief is a crash course. Isn’t that the truth? It’s been a while since I’ve written about Mom and life without her. Anyone who has grieved knows that birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries are the some of the hardest days. With Mom’s birthday coming up this Friday, November 19, and the holidays quickly following that, I think this is an appropriate time for an update.

I had a dream about Mom a few weeks ago. I was in the hospital in labor with our third baby, and she was sitting in a chair in the corner. She was her younger self. Her face and hair were like what I remember it being as a child. We were having normal conversation, as if nothing has changed. When I woke up I wasn’t sad at all. It was more refreshing than sad. I was so grateful to have had another conversation with her. It was that real. And no, I’m not pregnant.

Stephen and I have never had a Christmas tree or decorated for Christmas. Weirdos, I know. I haven’t wanted much to do with the holidays the last couple years, but I’m trying to make more of an effort this year. I bought a Christmas tree on Criagslist, and I even have ideas for stockings in my head.

On Saturday I went to the closet and pulled out two boxes of Christmas stuff that we packed up from Mom’s house two years ago. I don’t remember packing them. Our heads were seriously spinning then – Nate was a baby, we’d just sold everything for a second time and moved back from Turkey, getting ready to move to Texas, cleaning a lifetime of memories out of Mom’s house ... you get the point.

So I started digging. I pulled out a bunch of ribbon and tissue paper and uncovered a wooden nativity set that might be nice to put on the mantle. I kept going and found a couple candy bowls that I remember being on Mom’s coffee table.  And then I pulled out my “Sarah Noble” Christmas stocking that was embroidered by Mom when I was a baby and hung on the mantle each year. I wasn’t prepared for the emotion of that one. I needed to see what else was in the box, so I kept going. Next there was the box with the “Twelve Days of Christmas” glasses that we drank out of every year. And a shoe box filled with Mom’s ornaments. She had an ornament for each year starting in the ‘60s that we divided among us. And then I came across a large dead roach that had been in there for a couple years, and I called it a day. I’ll go back to those boxes on another day when I know what I’m getting into. And of course I left the roach in there. I'm not touching that thing!

As much as I don’t like having my house filled with memories of Mom, I absolutely LOVE having my house filled with memories of Mom. Like the books on our bookshelf that she taught out of for years, filled with her handwriting, her favorite passages underlined, and notebook pages with quiz questions and notes stuck inside. Her sewing machine and leftover scraps of fabric from the quilt she made for Nate. The ukulele and accordian that I’ll learn to play someday. I could go on. Treasures!

I’ve grieved hard, but as I approach this third year of birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries, they don’t seem quite as scary. I’m not dreading them. I feel like I can do more than just make it through them this year, but I can begin to really live them again. Life can be normal – the new normal. And I’m really grateful for the new normal.

 A tribute to Mom on our bookshelf: A picture of her during her early teaching days, surrounded by a collection of her favorite pieces of literature. 

Pink Corduroys

One of my very favorite things for little girls (and big girls) to wear is pink corduroys. My sister got these pink corduroy overalls for Evie last Christmas, and I've been waiting for almost a year for her to be able to wear them! She wore them for the first time yesterday, and Stephen chased her around the house trying to get a good picture.

Tree Huggers

 There's a monkey in our tree!

Nope, it's just Stephen.

 Nate wanted to climb the tree too.

It made me really nervous to see him sitting there.

We have this magnificent tree in our front yard. It's one of the things we love about our house. And Stephen has been dying to climb it! So last Saturday he finally did. Since the limbs are so spread out it was hard to get very high, but hopefully that will be a good thing someday when the kids want to climb it.

Daddy, there's a hole in your sock!

We're always asking ourselves why our kids even have toys. On this day all it took was a hole in Stephen's sock to keep them entertained for a while. 

Evie has allergy eyes. If you've noticed the redness under her eyes in her last several pictures, that's what it is. She looks really pitiful most days, but they don't seem to bother her at all. I've never had allergy problems, so I don't know if there's anything I can (or should) do for it, but I'd love suggestions if anyone has some. I'm hoping this bad allergy season will be over soon!

October 31st

Now that's a sweet little gadget!

 They actually stood next to each other long enough to catch a picture!

 It seemed like a great idea for Nate to use his tool box for candy, but it wasn't really. He looked good carrying it, but it took him way too long to open and close it at each house!

 The whole trick-or-treating gang. Nate wasn't in full costume yet, and Evie refused to be in the picture. We planned to go on our street in hopes of meeting some new neighbors, but no lights were on. We joined some friends instead.

 Jack the robot making Nate laugh, as usual!

A tired little iPod!

October 30th

We dressed the kids up in their costumes for our church's family fun night Saturday night. They had trunk-or-treat, bounce houses, a hay ride, and some games. I admit, taking the kids to events like this is more fun that I would've ever imagined!

iPod Evie reluctantly going to get her picture taken with Nate the Builder (or Handy Natey).

 She didn't mind being in her costume one bit, and Nate was happy to carry his toys around all evening.

I made the iPod Nano costume for Nate two years ago. We joked that we really need to upgrade to the iPod Touch or the iPhone. We're a couple years behind. Maybe next year!

There was a small pumpkin patch that I envisioned sweet pictures from, but this is the best I could get.

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

I know a picture would make this post way more enticing, but unfortunately I didn't take any pictures. But I still think this recipe is worth posting.

I couldn't tell you the last time I ate a doughnut. I think it was early in my pregnancy with Evie when a package of powdered doughnuts jumped into my grocery cart. They were one of the few foods that tasted really good at the time.

When one of us is craving something like doughnuts I usually try to make it myself, but homemade doughnuts take too long and make too much mess. So when I saw this recipe for pumpkin doughnut muffins I knew they'd be in my kitchen before long. I love Martha Stewart's Everyday Food cookbooks, Great Food Fast and Fresh Flavor Fast, and my sister got me a subscription to Everyday Food magazine for my birthday. This recipe was in the November issue. I made them yesterday morning to start our Halloween weekend off right. They were yummy! They're like cake doughnuts covered in cinnamon, but in the shape of muffins. Here's the recipe:

for the batter:
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree (15-oz can)
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
2 large eggs

for the sugar coating:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 12 standard muffin cups. Make batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and allspice. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, using an electic mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions pumpkin mixture, and beat to combine.

Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each muffin cup and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Let muffins cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Working with one at a time, remove muffins from pan, brush all over with butter, then toss to coat in sugar mixture. Let muffins cool completely on a wire rack. (Store in an airtight container, up to 1 day.) Enjoy!

Tile

We've been in our house for almost three months, and so far we haven't crossed much off our list of home improvement projects. We painted the kids' bedrooms, but that's about it. Not being able to work until the kids are in bed makes it difficult to accomplish anything.

But, Stephen spent last weekend working on the biggest project: tiling the kids' bathroom floor. The previous owners had carpet in there, but we had that pulled up when we moved in and have been living with the concrete floor until now. 

Stephen finished grouting the floor last night, so the next project is to remove that awful wallpaper and paint the walls instead.

 I'll try to remember to post pictures of the finished product. I really like it so far!

Since Stephen was locked up in the bathroom all weekend (go ahead and insert your bathroom jokes here), it was business as usual for the kids and me.

 They're slowly becoming playmates.

Snack time!

Brotherly Sisterly Love

One moment ...

they're doing this.

The next moment ...

this.

 And in the end ... friends again!

The previous pictures were seriously taken within moments of each other. Siblings!

Bows

 Last night Evie found the drawer where I keep her bows.

 And she wanted me to put ALL of them in her hair.

 And then she was happy!

Evie has had a round of sickness lately. I won't go into all the details, but the most recent thing was a skin infection. If you noticed her red left eye in the first picture, this will explain it:

Monday evening she got a mosquito bite below her eye, and Tuesday morning when she woke up it was swollen all the way from the bite to her eye. It was so bad that her eye was almost swollen shut. I waited it out, but by Wednesday morning is was still getting worse, so we went to the doctor. Evidently she had bacteria on her skin and when the mosquito bit her it injected the bacteria and turned into an infection. We got her some meds and it's looking much better now. Poor baby!