it's joel's birthday

We had a surprise party for him last night. This was Maku’s first surprise party so the concept was new to him. He was so excited that everyone was in on the fun and got into position whenever the doorbell rang: Elaine by the piano, ready to play Happy Birthday, Jin by the door with the birthday hat, Dave crouched in the corner ready to give anyone a heart attack and Maku in the middle of the room ready to scream surprise at an unsuspecting Uncle Joel.
Two false alarms and half an hour later, Papa Joel arrived. Maku missed everything, he had to go potty.

surprise guests

Look, duckies!

Watch your hands, Maku!

a little bit of growing up

I know, enough is enough, I’ve earned my “Purple Owie Award” but I still sleep on the couch and that entitles me to one more I'm-owie-post, especially with a view like this from the end of my makeshift bed. Two little ones wiggling and giggling--filled with joy and delight--yet underneath those smiles I know they feel scared and confused. I’ve shaken their sense of comfort and security and I'm finding it so hard to recover from that.
As I hold their feet to make sure they don’t kick the stitches on my tummy Snow’s feel a little longer and Maku’s just a little rougher; they’ve grown this week, their little hearts, and their little feet.

shifting back to normal

Recovery went a bit faster than I thought it would. I was hoping to miss the kitchen and the laundry room a bit longer. Everything's been calling me, the fabric in the craft room, the dust on the bookshelves and, of course, the world outside. It's time to go out and play once again!

Thank you for your prayers and well wishes. Enjoy the long weekend and I'll see you back here on Tuesday.

a girl and her dress

My sister Elaine did a little shopping the night before my operation. She got me a pre-op dress, a post-op one, and a party-like-you-never-lost-an-ovary dress. The first two outfits simply beat the look and comfort of what I was going for with my dark gray sweats; no elastic, no zippers, they just slide right on.
I was a little nervous coming and very achy going but always managed to feel cute in my pretty green dress, until I saw my reflection on the building outside. I was so pale and ugly and bloated; eeekkk! just add that to my list of things that suck. (^0^)

pre-surgery stuff

It seems like I was cooking and cleaning most of the day and I still have a long list of things to do. The rest of the week will be pretty much uneventful. Surgery sucks. Recovery sucks even more. Healing is such a slow and painful process, although I am looking forward to sleeping -- a lot.

I'll be posting mostly photos for the next few days. Some old ones and some new. Maybe I’ll find some photos of myself, which are rather rare, so don’t count on that.

Maku

I love watching Maku ride his scooter. He rides it with so much passion, energy and grace; it is just so beautiful to see. He "kicks" the ground with such intensity and forcefulness that it somehow invigorates me.

He got his first scooter for his second birthday and the moment he laid his eyes on it he grabbed the handlebars and pushed off. Since then it's been a fast and furious ride.

Go, Maku!!!

morning pancakes

I eat them plain or with caviar, Maku likes 'em with maple syrup, Snow eats them with fresh fruits and Dave just eats 'em all.

Kamut pancakes have always been part of a wonderful start to our Saturday and Sunday mornings. They don't always turn out photogenic but they always turn out delicious!

change of plans

My right ovary decided to grow a cyst, a giant one. So this weekend, instead of packing for our trip to New York and planning our itinerary, I’ll be packing for a hospital stay and preparing meals for the week. On Wednesday, I’ll be saying goodbye to my ovary, my giant cyst, all the discomfort I’ve been having and the five months pregnant look I’ve been sporting. If all goes as planned everything will be taken out through a very small incision and I’ll be home before the day ends. If not, then I’ll be watching the season finale of Lost all drugged up on a hospital bed.

the office

What was supposed to be Maku’s bedroom was Dave’s office for a short while. He was hardly ever in there so I claimed it as mine. ^o^
I've barely finished painting and fixing up my space and now it's not mine anymore. The room is now our craft room but we still call it the office.

That's my sister Elaine's sewing machine; she trusts me enough to let me use it. I haven't figured out how to thread it, but red seems to work...for now.

Snow's Hallmark Moment

Sunday was delightful. I awoke to a large cheesy omelet and lovely cards made by Maku and Snow. Maku said something like "Xjf9sd8a9fj3w" while Snow took a slightly more Hallmark approach:

The far star ran in the dark

past the yard

then the cows started to work

these cows were not like any other

molly and zicke

"Hey, Mol. Looking good!" Molly is a girl robot with really long stripy legs. That's her leg you see under the front tire.

"Hey, Zic! Not so shabby yourself." Zicke the Flatman is the product of Snow's first sewing attempt.

Chixstix thinks she's out playing Robo Rally with the girls, but Mol just can't resist the two-dimensional beauty of The Flatman.

"smells like camping"

We woke up this morning to a strangely colored sky. We later found out it was smoke from wildfires here in Florida and all the way from Georgia. Maku thought our neighbors were roasting marshmallows.
Wishing everyone well and hoping no firefighters get hurt and no houses burn down.

school carnival

We played games. We stopped by dad's cash typhoon booth. We had a fun-filled day.

marshmallows by the marshes

We went primitive camping for Snow and Dave's birthday this year. It was a 2.2 mile hike from the trailhead to the campground. This was our campsite. We carried our food, water and shelter in three little (but very heavy) backpacks. This was our kitchen. Maku was so fascinated with the fire, he gathered firewood and made sure the fire kept going. And this was our toilet which everyone reluctantly used. My niece, Jin was the designated egg scrambler. She loves to cook.

Maku had a love affair with toasted marshmallows while Snow fell in love with bacon.

BACON! My little vegetarian who chants, "Don't eat the pigs!" when we pass the meat aisle and who thinks bug exterminators are evil, ate some meat. Ah, the effects of the wilderness.

Meet Chixstix

Maku wanted a handmade doll too. He wanted a robot that can fly.
Four hours and a hundred is-my-robot-done-yets later...

Here is Maku's new friend, Chixstix. He looks bettter here than in person. The switch on its back enables it to fly.

Maybe next time, Totoro

Snow just finished writing a story, "The Banana Peel People". She asked me to sew a doll to go along with her book. She is a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki. Her plan was to send him a copy of her book along with this doll, May.

She quickly became attached to May. She'll be staying with us in the mean time.

Hello and welcome

Just a quick first post to get things started. I don't think I'm the type of person to have a blog but thought I'd start one to stay in touch with family and friends. This will also be a place for me to share my days of being an at home mom. Snow is now seven and Maku is three, this full time mom gig is reaching its end and I'm hoping that sharing my mommy days will prolong these magical (and sometimes monstrous) moments.
So check in often. Drop a note. I love visitors.