Gecko-esque Sun Worshipers

He is impossible to bring in these days.  

It's funny how they call Alaska the "Land of the Midnight Sun." I mean, true, in the summer months it feels like eternal daylight...but for the majority of the year, we're sun-deprived and snowed in.

So recently, when the sun started coming back and the snow finally said "uncle" and receded, the kids have been outside more. I've been outside more. We've been soaking up as much sunshine as we can and it reminded me of a childhood spent drenched in the West Texas desert. Freckles and tans. Lemonade and bicycles.

And now as we box up a few belongings and I lie awake at night thinking about what I could possibly find in common with Houston, I think about the sun. It will be waiting for us, along with the heat, with pools and wildflowers and longhorns. And it will last more than three months a year and that's enough to help me back to sleep on the really bad nights.

Is there sun where you are? Can somebody please remind me how much I wanted the heat of a Texas summer when I'm actually living there and enduring 100+ degrees in the ninth month of pregnancy? I'm sure I'll need to remember just how cold my days up here really were.

Just another weekly update

I can't believe how fast April is zooming by. SLOW DOWN! Well, wait, don't slow down. Maybe I should SPEED UP!

It's been so long since I did my weekly journal and I'm sorry. I'll do my best to make this a regular Wednesday thing if I can. Famous last words...

IN MY LIFE THIS WEEK...

I'm still fighting off this god-awful bronchitis. Seriously, today marks day 15 and I'm all shades of over it. Umm..what else? I skipped a doc appointment this morning because I thought 7:30 a.m. was such a great idea a few weeks ago, but not this morning. Nothing was a great idea at 7:30 a.m. this morning besides the morning java/waffle dance we do around the table each day.

IN MY FAMILY'S LIFE THIS WEEK...
Another week, really, chugging along.

Boy Wonder is all about playing outside now as much as he can and that's fantastic. He's tall. Taller than last week. I don't even know what to make of that...dang.

Boo is all about schedules. We have our days where we get to walk BW to school AND walk to pick him up and let me just tell you...don't consider being a minute late to leave. Without knowing real time, he knows when it's time to go and when you're slacking. He also knows the entire PBS Kids morning line up by heart and tells time that way. His brother goes to school in the middle of "Dinosaur Train" and Boo knows when to kick him in the pants if the backpack hasn't been loaded up. Smart kid, that one.

Makenna took her first steps over the Easter weekend (at 9 months, holy moly) but she's really trying to motor now. Sometimes she's successful. Sometimes she's not. But she's a fearless walker.

I'M INSPIRED BY...
Crafty blogs. sigh. They distract me and make me wish I was a better crafter/photographer/writer. I'm also really inspired by the increasing temperatures and sunshine around here.

Our move to Texas is just about 30 days away. Am I inspired to hustle more crap outta the house to make the process easier? Not really. But I'm still picking away at it the best I can. I'm panicked and giddy. Nervous and impatient. This quote really sums it up:

“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” -Deepak Chopra

Well said, sir.

LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS...
The cold that nearly took me down. Yikes. Short of my bouts with strep, I don't think I've really been that miserable in a long time.

We took the kiddos to the Anchorage Kids Day celebration and left just a tad bit jaded...feeling less like they got hands-on fun and games like the ads claimed and more like we were shuffled through rows of businesses pushing flyers in our hands. Boo.

Sunday made up for it, though, when we took the kids kite flying. Two kites went out and only one made it back it, but it was still fun.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON...
There's a lot going on in the writing arena. Harlequin has some great fast-track opportunities and I sent my entry in on Monday for one of them. I also spent the weekend sending queries out for "Jasper and the Fiddlers Three," the MG project.

A new blog re-design and Texas-friendly name is going on at the moment, too. I'm trying not to jump the gun too much because what if we land in a different community and I've already included "Katy" in the new blog name? See? Drama! But seriously, I've been studying and adoring blogs lately and I see a new direction for this one soon. Soon-ish. Oh, eventually!

I also have a few quilts to finish, a house to move, and a boy to prep for summer vacation with his dad and that side of the family.

Oh yeah, and a baby to have. Ha!

WHAT THE FAMILY IS WORKING ON...
Everyone is trying to get the most sunshine they can. Nevermind the fact that they freeze their fingers still if they stay out too long. It's sunny, the snow is retreating and they're all about that.

P gets the amazing responsbility of orchestrating a move because, honestly, my idea of moving right now is a good, old-fashioned housefire. I can't miss it if it's ashes, right?

I'M COOKING...
Cooking has been so prefunctory lately that it's almost not a joy. That said, I'm eyeballing various strawberry cupcake recipes and something should come from that soon.

In other news, we're cooking with way less meat lately. Nobody's really noticed that we're up to an average of three meatless dinners a week. Go, us!

I'M READING...
The Goblin Secrets by William Alexander. Amazing MG book.

THEY'RE READING...

Boy Wonder had a book about the Titanic last week. His other gem from the school library was a book full of riddles about mummies. It was pretty funny. Until the 180th mummy riddle. Then it wasn't.

Boo isn't into reading so much as watercolor painting lately. Mostly he likes to paint coloring page books so I try to sneak in letter and number pages to his repetoire.

I'M PRAYING FOR...

Energy and patience for the next 30 days. I need both. Lots of both.

Praying for my family. Pop's burial is this Sunday. God bless the man...

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

My beautiful family. A job that pays the bills. The chance for a new start in an old state. Optimism. Books. My sewing machine.

Have a great week!

Get Your Flying Machines at the Ready

Nothing like a balmy 49 degrees to inspire some kite flying, right? We got ourselves a couple drug store specials and waited until it was nice and gusty this afternoon to take the boys flying. Boy Wonder was just about Boo's age when he first met a kite, so I suppose it was about time.

But it wouldn't be our family without a few broken strings, a kite-eating tree, and an emergency potty break. Go figure.

Read on, friend...read on.

1. Picture it. Anchorage, 2012. Still snow on the ground, but not for the weather's lack of trying. Go, weather, go.

2. The boys and their pre-flight instructions. "Hang on tight. Stay away from each other. Hit me, your mother, or your sister with a kite and I'm knocking you out when you're 16. Got it?"

Notice the tree. In about three minutes, said tree is going to try to EAT Boy Wonder's stealth bomber kite. Thanks to dad, it fails. But it was sure close...

3. This is Boo and his bug kite. Have you ever tried to teach him anything? You can't. You can hint, cajole, and express concern that maybe he might want to hold on tight to his string or his kite will fly away.

Guess what?

His kite flew straight over those buildings in the distance. Guess who jogged down there (six months pregnant and all!) and yanked it free when it finally made its suicidal jump off the roof on the other side? Yep. Me. Super Mom. You'd have done the same thing if you heard the heart-breaking shrieks of agony from said know-it-all when the wind yanked the string from his hands and liberated the kite.

4. This kid's kind of a natural at this game. And oh my goodness, I just love that he still wears puddle boots proudly. I can hardly believe he's 8-years-old. Where did the time go? I wonder what sort of young man he's going to grow into...a scholar? A ladies man? Am I rambling? My bad. I get caught up when I start thinking about how quickly this one's growing. Great kite flyer, isn't he?

5. This is the point in the story where the Boo man noticed a fly near him. This is his scaredy-man freak out dance. He hates flies. And bugs. And especially spiders. I think the fly was traumatized after all the noise he made. Is it ironic that he picked out the bug kite himself? Just when we thought it was safe to return to the skies...

6. The second freakout of the half hour involved an exploding (or about-to-explode) bladder. Daddy had to convince him that boys do, in fact, pee outside from time to time. Boo was uncertain at first but now I wonder if he'll ever use the toilet again...

7. I love kites. Have you picked up on that? Oh, and can we have a moment of silence for the bug kite? A slip of Daddy's wrist while in flight and the thing shattered into three or four plastic, buggy pieces. You'll be missed fearless building-jumping bug kite. Go to glory, friend.

Have a blessed week!

the world according to pop

My grandfather passed away Easter Sunday at the amazing age of 90. I'm still not sure what to say about it, as I immortalized him as a hero a long time ago and now that the time is here for him to take his rightful place in family history, I'm not ready for that. I'm not ready to sort out the legend and the man and to put one in the past and one in the halls of fame in our memories.

So in the meantime, here's a poem my mom wrote about him. I can't say enough how much I love these words. It feels like a direct connection to him, all the wise pieces of advice I was lucky enough to hear him say and even the ones I didn't get a chance to hear.

Lessons From My Father
(the world according to pop)

Respect your mother, whether you are six or sixty-five.

Technology is wonderful but nothing beats a
stroll through a bookstore or an afternoon at
the library.

Who says a cup of coffee and a handful of fig
newtons is not the breakfast of champions?

Get rid of grudges, disappointments and clothes
that don't fit.

Dogs are man's best friend. So are cats. Birds?

Not so much.

A tidy bedroom, pressed trousers and daily
baths are highly overrated.

Commune with nature: plant a garden, feed
the birds, study the night sky.

It's the love of family and friends that makes

one wealthy, not bank accounts and big houses.

Be happy. Enjoy your life. Make great
memories.

by debra larsen whitcomb

See You on the Other Side, Pop

Phony Egg Hunts and Imaginariums

I spent a good part of the morning rounding up lost easter gear (thanks, Nana!) and wrasslin' baby girls into frilly tutu dresses and tights (tights!). We had a plan to be at the fancy schmancy Easter Bazaar downtown in time for egg hunts and pastel-colored revelry.

Well, when we got there all we saw were a whole bunch of bewildered looking families, all with baskets, none with eggs. There was a putzy photographer set up with a white sheet backdrop and some plastic easter grass and that about constituted this amazing "easter bazaar." Bummer, right?

Being that we were downtown and we are NEVER downtown, we trekked north a few blocks and landed at the Imaginarium over at the Anchorage Museum. The kids forgot all about promised (and denied) easter eggs for a while and Makenna got to strut her fancy stuff. We played in bubble solution and, as you'll see, Boy Wonder got into a shouting match with the snapping turtle through the plate glass. I think the turtle won, though...I can't be sure.

At least we still have tomorrow to come up with eggs and 8 pounds of candy. Hopefully the easter bunny is in a good mood!

Happy Easter, beautiful people!

Project! Spring Thaw and Easy Bird Feeder Craft

Little by little the snow is getting smaller and smaller outside. Now the banks may only come up to our knee caps instead of our thighs, but that's still something, right?

Outside our tiny back deck we have a group of birds that we've named "Bob, Larry, Bojangles, and Sue." Two were Veggie Tales inspired, and two were country music inspired. Go figure.

It's been a few months since we last saw them all, but we got to know them pretty well over the summer. This morning Boo saw one of them and just about lost his adorable mind in all of his excitement. He then informed me that they were incredibly hungry and we needed to feed them. Our last attempt to feed them ended up with a cheap yard sale dish falling off our balcony into the snow below, so we needed another option.

Yes, we had peanut butter, but we lacked pinecones. What do crafty moms do when there are no pinecones on hand? Well, they grab toilet paper rolls, it seems. No lie, there were about fifty different tutorials all singing the praises of feeding your wild birds with the likes of a Charmin roll. Guess what? In a house of five, we have PLENTY of those!

The craft couldn't get more simple and the photos show that even I could do it and snap photos at the same time. I even get the honor of introducing you to Bojangles in that last shot. He's my favorite, but that could be the Jerry Jeff Walker fan in me. It's true.

Ingredients and supplies? Too simple.

an empty roll or two from a toilet paper roll or a paper towel roll snipped in half

ribbon or string or purple yarn (like I had on hand)

peanut butter and some sort of spreading mechanism (butter knife? cake spatula?)

bird seed (had it!)

Tie a pretty bow through your roll. Spread on the peanut butter and apply seeds. Then get outside and feed your hungry birds!!

1. Our man Boo and our supplies.

2. I tied the string first and it seemed much easier that way!

3. The odd-smelling combination of peanut butter bird seed! It sticks to fingers, so be ready with the wipes.

4. Impatiently waiting for our lunch guests.

5. Mr. Bojangles! You're here! We've missed you!

Happy Spring to you, wherever you are!

The Best of Times and the Worst of Times

Feeling very Dickens-ian there. Did you catch that?

I spent the past week teaching creative writing to second through fifth graders at a local elementary school and am still recovering. Wow. They're some of the most creative, spontaneous, exhausting creatures God ever made. Truthfully.

I came back altered, I'd say. I look at young writers differently now (way more capable than I ever gave them credit for), and I look at myself differently. It became apparent that I'm most myself when I'm in a position that interacts with other humans and where I feel like I can make the tiniest bit of difference. Not that I can't achieve both of those in my current situation (though it's a struggle in my industry), but just the fact that I haven't been. Eye opening. Made me realize I need to live my days where I come home tired and spent from giving everything I had that day and I can't say that I always do that.

The week also ended on a bit of a sour note. If you'll recall, my husband was laid off this past month. Yikes. It's a nasty situation and I get myself angry just thinking about, so I decided a few weeks back to leave it in God's hands and not stew. So this is me not stewing. However, an email from our landlord Friday afternoon informed us that he's going to sell the place immediately and it's going on the market soon. Like next week or something. Sure, we have a place, technically, until May 1. But c'mon. Really?

Lost job, lost home. What the hell?

We've made plans to move out of Alaska recently, but they were much slower plans. Seems now that we're in a place where we need to move much quicker. And if I can't find a position to relocate us, well, we're selling everything we own like a bunch of gypsies and arriving in Texas with our clothes and hopefully our dog. It sounds dismal and sometimes, during the darkest hours of the night when I can't sleep, it feels that way. But for the most part I don't feel like we're being jerked around yet, that it's all part of a bigger, more meaningful plan.

But damn, ya'll. How about some good news soon, eh?

Once I quit pouting and stewing, I spent the weekend sewing my hiney off. Maybe I'll toss the blankets and dolls on the new Etsy shop and try to grow our "Boogie Back to Texas"fund. Maybe I'll just add more stuff to our already HUGE pile of stuff we can't take with us. And yes, I have moments of panic where I look at my beloved books and piles and wonder how on Earth I'll be strong enough to purge all but the barest of bare essentials.

And then a tiny voice in my head reminds me that the dream is more valuable than the stuff and I take a breath.

So there we have it. Highs, lows, in betweens. In the meantime, here are some more photos from this past week. My minions are kinda adorable, even if I do say so myself.

1. It should be noted that the above photo was taken on Friday. Not Christmas Eve or even in January. Nope. Friday, end of March. Spring time, even. Holy moly.

2. She is her daddy's girl in most senses of the word. They adore each other, and rightfully so.

3. What boy doesn't love baseball bat-sized icicles?

4. Our house grows teeth. How about yours?

5. My Boo. My constant travel companion. So much so that we call him Mama's "road dog." I think it's some sort of reference to "Road House," because my husband uses the term interchangeably with "Wade Garret."

Have a blessed week!

A Few Days With a New Camera

Our new Olympus arrived in the mail a few days ago and I am having So. Much. Fun. A few shots from around our house, and even a house cleaning tip for you. Enjoy your Sunday!

1. A rock animal bird monster thing that our Boo created over the weekend. We had to buy the rock, of course. Alaska's rocks have 89 feet of snow still on them. Grumble....

2. Me and the minions. They're cute, aren't they?

3. That's her mad face. I think it's awfully cute.

4. I've noticed lately my "citrus cleaner" smells like chemi-lemon and it CREEPS ME OUT. Lucky for me, Vanessa (a friend from high school who has got to be the craftiest creature alive) recently posted this citrus cleaner recipe on her blog, Tried and True. I love that girl. I love her blog, too. Most of all? I think I'm going to love a lemon cleaner based on real lemons.

Here's hoping your week is a great one!

At last! Lulu is here...

Well, and by "Lulu" I mean that legless doll part conglomoration I was calling "Maisie" last weekend. (See here.) The pattern came from a book by the very talented Hilary Lang of Wee Wonderfuls fame and I. Love. Her. Stuff. It's true.

The pattern was relatively easy, even for a noob sewer like me, although I have to admit that while I spent the last few steps attaching the various body parts by hand, I was thinking to myself "self, there's got to be an easier way." And I think there might be. So for future creations, I might work on tweaking that bit because let's face it, folks, I am not the neatest of hand stitchers. I suck at it, actually.

But the directions were pretty straight forward and now I look at fat quarters in a whole new doll house fashion/coordination light. It's tons of fun. The finished product was supposed to have a pony tail sewn in there, but in all my excitement, I totally forgot to attach it. And then when it came time, I was so sick of poking myself and making my thumb bleed, I decided against hand sewing one on. I left her with a cute "pixie" haircut...sorta like my girl 'Kenna has herself. To compensate for the lack of flowing locks, I dug out an applique strawberry I had in the sewing box from a year or so back when I swore I was going to knit the world's cutest baby blanket (which currently sits in my basket as the world's cutest oblong washcloth. Whatever.)

The strawberry did it's part and I think Lulu is divine. The name, by the way, is courtesy of big brother Andrew. He simply said "she should be Lulu" and she was. Amazing powers, that boy has. He then stated that he wanted one too, and when I pressed and asked him if he really wanted a girl "dolly," (I was more than willing to make him one), he paused and changed his order.

"I want a monkey."

And there it is.

Add to that the "dragon blanket" Boy Wonder ordered, and there go any plans I might have for the next few weeks. My chldren have spoken, folks. I am but their humble, sewing, bloody-thumbed servant. I included a recent "smile" face photo of Kenna just for kicks. And to show you just how much that girl's got me wrapped around her baby fingers. Who wouldn't sew for her?

Have a great weekend!