Friday, December 31, 2010
Auld Lang Syne
Or, for the sake of old times as it is loosely translated- I hope you all look back at this past year fondly and look forward to coming days with joy and anticipation for all that is possible. With or without a resolution, I hope to do just a little better this year than I did last in all things, and to enjoy life rather than rush through it. I hope for you to achieve whatever hope or goal you put before yourselves. Happy New Year faithful readers!
Monday, December 13, 2010
The Last Three Months, by Samantha Roberson
I had to take a moment and re-read my post from September 21st so I would know where to begin my story. Rather than pick up with the house, I am going to try and work through events of the past 3 months chronologically so I can catch up more quickly to fun things that have happened more recently.
Just 4 days after that mournful post, we celebrated my son's first birthday. It is extraordinary to me how much our lives changed in the course of his first year of life. After spending the first 6 weeks wondering if I was physically and mentally capable of caring for this small person, life began jumping ahead at an alarming rate. He is such an amazing little guy, and I truly hope his childhood doesn't all fly by so quickly.
We decided to invite 2 girls from Eli's lab who have done some babysitting for us along with their significant others to a birthday dinner. One of the guests is a vegetarian, so I took the opportunity to use a recipe I have for black bean pineapple enchiladas, cilantro-lime rice, and a green salad with Mexican influence. I also decided that I was going to make Will's cake, and go all out. Eli and I decided that a turtle cake would be perfect, first because I have the Bake-n-Fill pans that make dome shapes very simple, and because Will would love it.
I started with a crumb layer and let it set in the fridge overnight. Then I piped on the pattern for the shell.
Then I filled in the pattern, added the limbs and head, and added the face.
This cake, and the cupcakes I made in addition, started on Friday night the 24th, and took me most of the morning and early afternoon of the 25th to decorate. I am not a particularly experienced or skilled cake decorator, so I was stressing about how it would look. I ultimately was happy with this first attempt, and Will thought it was all wonderful.
Will in the bathtub, about to enter a cake coma.
Among Will's many wonderful birthday presents, we got him a convertible walking toy, that starts out looking like a scooter that he could push to help him learn to walk, and then converts into an actual car he can sit on and push himself. Our guests were kind enough to assemble it for us while we were giving Will a bath and cleaning up after dinner. I was not quite ready for Will to walk, but I knew he needed the practice.
After Will's birthday things settled down a bit. Will and I had been lucky enough too meet another mom and little boy close to Will's age, and we started having weekly play dates with them and occasional outings to local kid appropriate activities. It was so nice to find someone to hang out with during the day, and it has been good for Will's development too as the other little boy is 6 months older than Will, and can show him new things. I cannot stress what a life-saver this has been for me.
Meanwhile, we were still going through the process to secure a loan to fix the house. We FINALLY got through the paperwork, and had the appraisal for the house. We were beyond happy to find that the appraisal actually came back significantly higher than it was even just a year before. I guess the market was not as bad as we were led to believe and the improvements we had already made to the house had been smart investments. We got the approval for the loan, and signed the paperwork at the end of October. Work did not begin for almost a month after that.
End of October also meant it was time for our favorite holiday. We had talked for a LONG time about making Will a flying monkey, and we actually got the costume made. We decided to dress up with him, so I was the Wicked Witch and Eli was the Wizard of Oz.
We spent Halloween with our new play date friends and had a wonderful time taking Will around the neighborhood. He didn't last more than an hour, but that was perfect as far as we were concerned.
The beginning of November I started getting antsy for Will to start walking. Our pediatrician, as well as all the mothers I had been meeting, assured me that Will was just fine and would walk when he was good and ready. Some of our family on the other hand just couldn't understand why he wasn't walking and were quite vocal about it, which I admit added pressure for me. I tried to explain that he was perfectly healthy, and very, very tall for his age, which can actually delay walking a little, but I started worrying despite my own knowledge. Well, my son will always do things in his own time. Saturday, November 13th, we got up as usual and out of nowhere he just started walking into the middle of the room. No real practice, no easing in- he just started walking, and once again Eli got to tease me about worrying too much.
Work on the house started the week before Thanksgiving, and continued (with breaks for the holidays and for certain elements to set) until December 1st. We are really happy with the work, and even more importantly the general contractor who did the HUD inspection was also really happy with the work. We were even able to take some of the contingency money that we were required to hold out to replace the sliding glass door in the basement that had been damaged earlier in the year. Now we get re-frame the wall and put up drywall, finishing the basement the correct way.
Thanksgiving was very different compared to last year, in a really wonderful way. Last year one thing after the other went wrong, and this year NOTHING went wrong. The turkey was cooked perfectly, the sides were delicious, and the pie as tasty as it was pretty to look at. Will LOVED everything we offered him, which as those who deal or have dealt with toddlers will tell you, is unheard of. I braved the crazies and cold weather in the wee hours of Friday morning to go to Home Depot and snag a 7 ft LED pre-lit Christmas tree at an unbelievable price to replace the ragged, bargin bin tree we have had for 5 years. We got to decorate the tree and enjoy Eli's long weekend.
Since Thanksgiving, I have been in full Christmas mode. I love Christmas, and I tried really hard this year to do the things necessary to keep stress low. So far so good. I however, will save holiday talk for my next post. I know I have glossed over 3 months in just a few paragraphs, and I may think of other tidbits that i must share, but for now that pretty much catches things up.
Just 4 days after that mournful post, we celebrated my son's first birthday. It is extraordinary to me how much our lives changed in the course of his first year of life. After spending the first 6 weeks wondering if I was physically and mentally capable of caring for this small person, life began jumping ahead at an alarming rate. He is such an amazing little guy, and I truly hope his childhood doesn't all fly by so quickly.
We decided to invite 2 girls from Eli's lab who have done some babysitting for us along with their significant others to a birthday dinner. One of the guests is a vegetarian, so I took the opportunity to use a recipe I have for black bean pineapple enchiladas, cilantro-lime rice, and a green salad with Mexican influence. I also decided that I was going to make Will's cake, and go all out. Eli and I decided that a turtle cake would be perfect, first because I have the Bake-n-Fill pans that make dome shapes very simple, and because Will would love it.
I started with a crumb layer and let it set in the fridge overnight. Then I piped on the pattern for the shell.
Then I filled in the pattern, added the limbs and head, and added the face.This cake, and the cupcakes I made in addition, started on Friday night the 24th, and took me most of the morning and early afternoon of the 25th to decorate. I am not a particularly experienced or skilled cake decorator, so I was stressing about how it would look. I ultimately was happy with this first attempt, and Will thought it was all wonderful.
Will in the bathtub, about to enter a cake coma.Among Will's many wonderful birthday presents, we got him a convertible walking toy, that starts out looking like a scooter that he could push to help him learn to walk, and then converts into an actual car he can sit on and push himself. Our guests were kind enough to assemble it for us while we were giving Will a bath and cleaning up after dinner. I was not quite ready for Will to walk, but I knew he needed the practice.
After Will's birthday things settled down a bit. Will and I had been lucky enough too meet another mom and little boy close to Will's age, and we started having weekly play dates with them and occasional outings to local kid appropriate activities. It was so nice to find someone to hang out with during the day, and it has been good for Will's development too as the other little boy is 6 months older than Will, and can show him new things. I cannot stress what a life-saver this has been for me.
Meanwhile, we were still going through the process to secure a loan to fix the house. We FINALLY got through the paperwork, and had the appraisal for the house. We were beyond happy to find that the appraisal actually came back significantly higher than it was even just a year before. I guess the market was not as bad as we were led to believe and the improvements we had already made to the house had been smart investments. We got the approval for the loan, and signed the paperwork at the end of October. Work did not begin for almost a month after that.
End of October also meant it was time for our favorite holiday. We had talked for a LONG time about making Will a flying monkey, and we actually got the costume made. We decided to dress up with him, so I was the Wicked Witch and Eli was the Wizard of Oz.
We spent Halloween with our new play date friends and had a wonderful time taking Will around the neighborhood. He didn't last more than an hour, but that was perfect as far as we were concerned.
The beginning of November I started getting antsy for Will to start walking. Our pediatrician, as well as all the mothers I had been meeting, assured me that Will was just fine and would walk when he was good and ready. Some of our family on the other hand just couldn't understand why he wasn't walking and were quite vocal about it, which I admit added pressure for me. I tried to explain that he was perfectly healthy, and very, very tall for his age, which can actually delay walking a little, but I started worrying despite my own knowledge. Well, my son will always do things in his own time. Saturday, November 13th, we got up as usual and out of nowhere he just started walking into the middle of the room. No real practice, no easing in- he just started walking, and once again Eli got to tease me about worrying too much.
Work on the house started the week before Thanksgiving, and continued (with breaks for the holidays and for certain elements to set) until December 1st. We are really happy with the work, and even more importantly the general contractor who did the HUD inspection was also really happy with the work. We were even able to take some of the contingency money that we were required to hold out to replace the sliding glass door in the basement that had been damaged earlier in the year. Now we get re-frame the wall and put up drywall, finishing the basement the correct way.
Thanksgiving was very different compared to last year, in a really wonderful way. Last year one thing after the other went wrong, and this year NOTHING went wrong. The turkey was cooked perfectly, the sides were delicious, and the pie as tasty as it was pretty to look at. Will LOVED everything we offered him, which as those who deal or have dealt with toddlers will tell you, is unheard of. I braved the crazies and cold weather in the wee hours of Friday morning to go to Home Depot and snag a 7 ft LED pre-lit Christmas tree at an unbelievable price to replace the ragged, bargin bin tree we have had for 5 years. We got to decorate the tree and enjoy Eli's long weekend.
Since Thanksgiving, I have been in full Christmas mode. I love Christmas, and I tried really hard this year to do the things necessary to keep stress low. So far so good. I however, will save holiday talk for my next post. I know I have glossed over 3 months in just a few paragraphs, and I may think of other tidbits that i must share, but for now that pretty much catches things up.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Yes, I am alive. Yes I am a very, very bad blogger.
I don't even remember when my last blog entry was posted and I didn't pause to check before starting to write this one. I believe that the last time you heard from me I was having a HUGE pity party about my house falling apart. I have much to catch up on. Like my son's first birthday (and the awesome cake I made), Halloween, the house getting fixed (yes, FIXED!) and a wonderful Thanksgiving. I will share all these things with you, dear readers, very soon. But not right now. Right now I am acknowledging that I am a terrible blogger. But that is all I can say for now, because I am preparing for a Christmas party this Saturday. A party Eli and I are HOSTING. I am making TONS of food. I am simultaneously in heaven and stressed beyond reason. Think of me dear readers. I will be back soon.
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