winner!

Thanks to everyone for participating in my little game -- I had a blast seeing what you all came up with! I'm further convinced that my family is crazy, but it's always fun to witness :-)

I had a hard time choosing a favorite caption (though my dad's was the first to make me laugh out loud), so to be fair I turned it into a drawing. Every comment got you an entry, and Benjamin was my official name-drawer. I mixed the slips of paper in a shoebox and had little guy reach in -- without hesitating he pulled one out...

Congratulations to Uncle Randy!! Apparently, he takes being your favorite to heart ;-) You get to decide if you'd rather have the caramels or gift card... so be sure to let me know!

In other news, the snow is still falling and making everything both beautiful and dangerous. My boy shoveled our driveway so that I could get out a few days ago (and I'm glad I finished all of my errands then!!) but he hasn't had to go to work yet this week. We're watching a lot of movies and trying not to go crazy... honestly though, I'd rather not be driving in it even if I had somewhere to go! We're still planning to drive down south on Christmas, but the roads/weather get MUCH better south of Salem. It shouldn't be so bad!

We're also planning on attending Christmas Eve services at church tonight -- the children's drama was canceled but they asked if we would still participate in a living nativity. So unless the weather gets really bad again, Madeline will still get to experience being baby Jesus this year... just like her Mommy 25 years ago! We're not going to do anything stupid if the roads are bad though, especially not with such precious cargo in our car. Anyway, just some random updates from life. Here are a few more snow pictures:

check out how long that icicle is!!

baking frenzy

*Don't forget about the giveaway! You have until Tuesday night :-)

The boy and I were talking this fall and realized that we haven't met ANY of the neighbors since moving here. Well, that's not entirely true... we've met the neighbor's dog, Michael, who likes to poop on our lawn. And when I was overdue with Benjamin and trying to induce labor by mowing the lawn I briefly met one man. Really though, that's pretty pathetic. We've lived here over 2 years!! Since we're pretty happy with this house and neighborhood, we figured it was about time to settle in and meet some people.

It's not exactly easy to meet the neighbors, especially in the winter when everyone in OR hibernates, but I assumed that baked goods would be an appropriate avenue (and at least get them to open the door). I spent the week mixing, chilling, rolling, baking, and coating -- basically creating chaos in my kitchen. The results:

clockwise from top -- Russian tea cakes, meltaways, rum balls, fudge, peanut butter blossoms, double nut wonders, and wreaths (in the center)

I have to say I'm pretty proud, especially since half of these were new recipes to me. The rum balls are a specialty of Corey's grandma and I totally screwed them up last year, so I consider those especially exciting. The best part of my baking-week was simultaneously recovering from the flu, so I haven't been tempted to eat everything in my kitchen (at least not until this weekend, when I'm snowed-in and bored).

Yesterday our little family braved the snow, wind, and freezing temperatures to deliver some cookies. We only made it to half of the houses due to numb children and a few missing neighbors, but it was SO awesome to finally sit down and get to know the people around us. It was especially fun to get the local gossip for the street, and we had a great time laughing with the people next door while Benjamin entertained their older boys. I completely understand that there have been quite a few renters in our house over the years (hence a hesitancy to get to know us), but I'm hoping that our visits will mean new friends in the coming months. Here are some pictures of our cookies, ready to be delivered:

(I borrowed an idea from a friend to make the platters -- inverted bowls and cups glued to the bottoms of plates!)

We were going to venture out again this afternoon and deliver the rest, but freezing rain and a lot of snow have deterred us. I have to say that I'm pretty bitter at the weather right now -- I should be relaxing on the couch with two high school friends, but both of their flights were canceled last night. We're driving down to be with family next week and I'll be grateful to see people then, but I'm still slightly angry at all of the wind/snow/ice. Here was our view this morning:

(I made a lounging snowman on the chair last night, and Corey made a "snow mound" on the ground, but obviously the wind wasn't impressed)

(that would be my footprint, showing the icy upper layer)

We've had some more freezing rain and snow dumped on us today, and at last check we had about 7'' in the backyard. So strange! Hopefully tomorrow will be a little better and I can at least get out of the house...

feeling generous (a giveaway)

Although I've still got quite a bit to do before Christmas next week, I've been productive over here. My house is looking pretty festive these days, and I thought it'd be nice to do the same with my heart. I've never actually read the official literature on love languages, but from what I can gather I'm pretty sure one of my languages would be gifts. It's fun to receive them, for sure, but I absolutely LOVE giving gifts away. One of my secret bitter thoughts of late has been that my ability to bless others with surprises, notes, and packages has been limited since having children. I spend a lot of energy composing gifts in my mind, but the follow-through has been difficult. So, to help my heart feel blessed and to (hopefully) bless someone else, I'm having my very first official give-away on this blog. Hooray!

Behold the choice of prizes:

a bag of salted caramels

a recent find from a downtown shop, and an absolute favorite in this house.
Keep them, share them, hoard them; they're versatile. Guaranteed to be the best salty/sweet caramel your mouth has ever tasted, and instantly addictive as well. Mmmm.

OR

a $25 gift card to Coldwater Creek. Can be used at their spa, their store, or online.

To be considered for this giveaway, you have to leave me a comment before next Wednesday and tell me what caption you would put on the following photo:

I'll unbiasedly* choose the winner based on my favorite caption and announce the winner on Wednesday. There may be consultation with my boy (who is not allowed to enter, by the way. Even if he does want some caramels. Ahem.) but ultimately it's me you're trying to wow :-)

Feel free to enter more than once. Each caption gets you an entry, as long as it's submitted before midnight (PST) on Tuesday the 23rd. Let's have some fun!

* totally a real word

confessions

I'm laying myself bare here, so be kind to me. There are several things I feel the need to confess:

• I'm a horrible housewife. I have to potential to be a good one, in that I know how to operate an oven, sort laundry, and vaccuum the floor. In fact, I'm the worst kind of horrible because of this potential! I should probably sub-confess here, while I'm at it:

1. I hate cleaning. UGH. I tolerate it when I have company (like someone cleaning with me, or watching me clean) and I mindlessly accomplish it when I'm on the phone (which is why my house was never cleaner than when I was talking to cousin-in-law Sarah several times a day) but I hate it so much that the sight of a horribly filthy house isn't even enough to sway me sometimes. How sad for my poor husband! (You should keep in mind that this is my current attitude, which is influenced by exhaustion and being out-numbered. In normal life, I'm swayed by filth.)
2. I hate shopping. Again, with company it's not so bad... but when that company is Benjamin, it could go either way. Grocery shopping is a chore for me and always manages to be an event. I come home exhausted every time! Clothes shopping is the same way, and just-because shopping always leaves me feeling guilty for spending money I probably shouldn't have (this doesn't reflect on good-housewife motives. Good housewives joyfully spend their husbands' money and don't think twice about it. They have to, otherwise they can't look cute for him. Ooooh that's a good sub-confession.)
3. I never look cute for my husband. When he leaves at 6:45 I am in my PJs, barely awake, and probably leaking milk due to the screaming baby (was that too descriptive? I want to paint the proper image here :-) ) When he comes home around 4 I'm in survivor-mode, with one or both children attached to me and most likely wearing half of my PJs (the other half having spit-up on it). If he's lucky I've brushed my teeth. If he's luckier, I managed to wipe my body down after said spit-up and no longer smell like it. I think the best that I look happens right before bed, when fresh clothes (probably new PJs) and a potential shower do wonders.

• I just unpacked my Christmas decorations. I know, I know... we're 10 days away! What can I say, this is an off year. BUT my husband braved the snow yesterday to get me a tree and managed to get this beauty for half-price. Wahoo! Isn't he sweet?

• I haven't cooked a meal in almost a week. Don't worry, we're not eating out every night... just a lot of leftovers. I should have been cooking this week but somehow it hasn't been on my priority list. That could probably be a sub-confession for the housewife, but the "grab whatever" method isn't good for anyone in this family.

• I haven't paid this month's bills yet. Yikes!! I keep forgetting, and then when I remember I get distracted again. For example, opening my computer to pay bills, seeing the pictures I just uploaded, deciding to blog about them, and wind up confessing to the internet. See? (Don't worry, the essentials have been paid. I would never forget something like rent!)

• This is a doozy. I have become a hypocritical babywise follower. (I keep waiting for lightening to strike or something.) But an attempt to fix this leads me to another confession...

• I'm sitting on the couch right now and listening to my baby scream. WOW can she yell!!! Really, I'm listening to both of them. Her screaming gets Benjamin whimpering because he's both sensitive and highly attuned to whatever "sissa" needs (usually he decides it's a binky, and usually he tries to put it in her eye)

• I haven't been to the gym in a week. Well, 6 days. And yes, I've been sick. But still.

I feel better. Don't you? It's nice to confess, and I almost feel motivated to do something about my transgressions. While I continue to ponder on that, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

awww snow!
(did I mention we got snow yesterday?)

(and also strong winds? well, the wind didn't tip the table. that was my strong husband. but we DO have strong winds. strong and cold!)

poor sheep.

my strong husband didn't make the snow-drift, that was the strong wind

oooh, green

headed out for a walk

local foliage

bird!

heading home

oooh, red

my window-sill. does it make you happy, too?

flying solo

I'm almost through my second week of being outnumbered, and I have a few thoughts on the situation.
Firstly, as stressful as unemployment was, Corey being home until Madeline was 6 weeks old turned out to be a huge blessing. He's gone now, but she's sleeping so much better at night and Benjamin has finally adapted to being big brother. We have all of the elements needed for successful Daddy-less daytimes.
Secondly, the children have aligned against me. When Benjamin goes down for a nap, Madeline wakes up. When she's ready to sleep again, I have about an hour of free time before Benjamin gets up. "Free time" meaning time to shower, brush my teeth, clean breakfast dishes... have I mentioned that this is usually around 2pm? When Benjamin has a crisis, Madeline will inevitably wake up and scream her head off. EVERY TIME. This also happens when my hands are full of Benjamin and I can't escape right away, like bath-time and really-horrible-poopy-diaper-changing-time. When Madeline gets really worked up and starts screaming, Benjamin gets upset with her and I am serenaded by a chorus of wails. I think they plan it out.
Thirdly, I'm so over my head. The minute things start to stray away from my plan, everything goes out the window. Schedules, commitments, appointments... Yeah, right. I don't expect to be on time for anything again, at least for another 2 years. (Keep that in mind when inviting me places. Probably better to tell me the wrong time.)

Our first week was chaotic only because it happened to be my finals week for school. Bad timing!! I would have loved to spend my first solo-week hiding out in my living room, watching Madeline snooze and reading books with Benjamin. That's not quite how it happened, unfortunately, and instead we spent just about every day running around in circles. I have to say, for all of the aligned-against-me talk, Benjamin has been a real trooper. It can't be fun to move from car to house to car to store to car to house again, and he did a pretty good job of obeying me. My days of activity (with brief snippets of time to try and do homework) were exhausting, and that meant no desire to stay up late doing necessary homework once Corey got home. Bad timing again! I actually stayed on top of my work this semester, despite having a newborn (hooray again for Corey being home) but I still had quite a bit to complete before classes ended. I finished out the week with an all-nighter and 2 days of sitting in class, so my "break" on Sunday didn't feel very restful.

This week has been extra special because Benjamin isn't feeling well. He's super-clingy and tired, not to mention that he's stopped eating/drinking (except milk, which he can't have). Whenever I try and pay some attention to Madeline, Benjamin gets jealous and wants to be in my arms. When he's awake, he only wants to be watching Bambi. When he's asleep, Madeline's awake. I keep looking around me and thinking "where did my day go? Why isn't anything getting done?" but it's so exhausting to have two "babies" right now.

I'm excited to some day say that we've got a routine for our day (well, we HAVE one. it's taped to my fridge and getting dusty.) and I'm hoping that my energy starts to come back as well. In the meantime, I'm feeling pretty exhausted and guilt-ridden about all of the attention that Madeline isn't getting. She still sleeps a lot, but that only means that I want to engage her for the brief periods of awake. I keep telling myself that it will get better, because really it has to. For now, I'm watching December slip past me, wondering when I'll feel on top of my stuff again, and worrying that there isn't enough of me to go around.

This turned into a real downer of a post, sorry!! Things I can't say on the baby blogs because I don't want them to someday read about my negligence :-P As an upper, here's a picture from our trip to CA. My face has been smudged out because I have the power to do such things, especially when it's a horrible horrible exhausted picture of me. Benjamin's pants are missing because he had an explosive diaper mid-flight. What you can't see is that Madeline has spit up all down my front and is soaking in it, nor can you see the masses of baggage that we got to cart through the airport (and onto the shuttle. go us!) You also can't see that it's almost freezing outside, though Benjamin's blue toes might give that away. Welcome to my life!

business

I have another post in the works (one with actual substance for a change!) but Benjamin is ready to get out of bed and Madeline is starting to squawk for breakfast, so it will have to wait until nap time. In the meantime, Benjamin's blog has a big update and Madeline's has a few smaller ones.

Also, since it's been awhile, here's my latest diaper creation (for a friend at school -- obviously having a boy -- and due in just under 3 weeks. I feel for her during this end-in-sight-could-i-get-any-less-comfortable time!)

safari-themed, to match his nursery, and I tried something new with the layers (hiding sock roses and toys inside the blanket). I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, especially since my boy cakes tend to be waaaay less cute than the girl ones :-)