Four Years of Winnie the Pooh

Four years ago this month Miss Evelyn arrived.  I still remember how cold the garage was that morning as we climbed in the car to head to the hospital.  I remember the care Mark took getting us there as snow fell.  We checked in, and the surgery prep began.  At 8:25 a.m., a 6 pound 14 ounce beautiful baby girl was born.   She was an alert, happy, contented baby from the start, except for when she was hungry...  I also clearly remember Mark standing in the middle of the hospital room holding her and crying.  My favorite quote from him was "I just hope I stop this crying by the time she's 30"  Daddy was smitten.  Okay, we both were. 

One of her first presents was a Winnie the Pooh bear from her Grandma Blessing (aka Bop these days).  This bear had a special purpose: to help show Evie's growth over her first year and then every year after.  What follows is the Evie and Pooh Bear timeline, beginning at the end of January 2008, when she was one month old. 

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

11 Months

One Year

Two Years

Three Years

FOUR Years!

Show people!

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is one of my all time favorite shows.  Theatre Harrisburg is putting it up in February.  Auditions were in November, and it literally pained me to not audition, but we have a family trip in January and I didn't feel prepared to sing (I never feel prepared to sing).  Dance? Absolutely.  Sing?  Still working on the confidence there.  I saw all of the posts and spoke to friends who were cast and while I was happy for all of them, I was still a little sad.  Then, I receive a message that someone had to bow out, would I be willing to jump in and try to catch up?  WOULD I?!?  Of course, I had a heart to heart with the dear hubby, because while I love doing shows and love the theater, I love my little family more and theater definitely takes me away from them.  He was more than supportive, so off I went!  So far, I've been to two singing rehearsals, one dance, and spend all of my time in the car with the practice CD.  Aaaannnddd...I AM SO HAPPY!  SO SO HAPPY!  Only draw back is less time with Mark and Evie, but they're happy having Daddy/Daughter time, so it works out.

Tonight was the first dance rehearsal.  Dance is my thing.  Granted, when I was an actual dancer, I was 15-20 years younger, 50 pounds lighter, and taking master classes on a regular basis.  Now I'm a full time director, full time Mommy, full time Wife, full figured woman, and not flexible at. all.  But, I still love it and if all I get to do is help others with suggestions, I'm happy.  Everyone needs to say a little prayer for the poor soul who has to lift me though.  He's a strong guy definitely, but still saddled with the, um, hefty dancer.  I can report we did our first lifts tonight and he rocked it!  Now I just need to get up to snuff.

Will report more and share pictures as we go...hoping to be able to share more of this show with Evie, definitely more Evie friendly than Gypsy and Curtains were!

Thanksgiving 2011 - Ode to Learning Tower Part II

As promised, here are the pictures from this year, Thanksgiving 2011.  Because of the new recipes from this year, I only really put the learning tower into play during the night before baking.  We always make the pies and do prep on some dishes Thanksgiving Eve so that I can be sure to have time to watch the parade.  I do find it funny that we go to the trouble to make pie crust from scratch, only to put in canned fruit filling, but hey...there are somethings that I just like!  :)  Below is a small representation on the baking.  Like Mother, like Daughter, we have to, ahem, taste to make sure it's okay for everyone... 

So much to be Thankful for

As Thanksgiving has been getting nearer, I have found myself reflecting more and more on just how much I have to be grateful for this year.   If you ask Mark and I, our first answer, of course, is our child.  Followed closely by each other (I assume, rather egotistically I guess).  We're both thankful to still have jobs where so many others have been laid off.  We're thankful that six years ago we married each other.  We're thankful that both of us still have our mothers and fathers around, and we each have a grandmother (mine's turning 92 next week!) with us.  Here are some other thoughts I have had (in no particular order for those friends of mine who look for those types of things):

• I am thankful that in 2009 I decided, on a whim, to audition for a musical theater show again.  Without doing that, I would not have connected, and re-connected, with some awesome people.  By rejoining the Theatre Harrisburg community, we have been blessed many times over by the friendship of some amazing individuals and their loved ones.  Names have been left off to protect the innocent, but you know who you all are.
• I am thankful we have found a church that we can both be comfortable with...and I am thankful that I stopped allowing the United States political parties to tell me what being a Christian means.  I forgot it's God who does that.  Turns out, I can be a Democrat, or a Republican, or an Independent AND a Christian.  Who knew?!  
• I am thankful as well that this church remembers that we are all God's people - regardless of our sexual orientation.  I can therefore be comfortable that this church will teach my child to truly be Christian.  Not a judgmental, holier than thou, fake Christian who uses their idea of God to put down others.
• I am thankful for my husband's "coaching" that turned me into a runner, and by extension a happier, healthier wife and mommy.  I also love that my child must have her own running outfits for when she runs with us.
• I am thankful for this blog, and for remembering it was here.  Even if no one reads it, it's a wonderful outlet for a woman who once wanted to write for magazines and to write the next great American mystery novel. 

So, I'm sure I'll have to add an addendum or two to this for the rest of the week, I can begin Thanksgiving week with some of my top thoughts.  Family and friends first always, but there have been some amazing things this year - the running and our family back in a church being most notable at this point anyway.

Ode to our Learning Tower

With Christmas fast approaching, I felt this was an appropriate time to publish my "Ode to a Learning Tower" for those Mommies and Grammies out there looking for an amazing gift for the little one.  We purchased ours after Evie's first Thanksgiving when day one of cooking looked like this:

Hey guys! What are you doing? Can I help?

I began my schooling in Montessori.  My mother is a Montessori certified teacher.  Montessori promotes child's sense of self and independence.  Not independence from rules or parents, but ability to care for themselves, to experiment and join in the family life.  Any way that we could and can encorporate this into Evie's life, we do.  We even have her attending a great little school: East Shore Montessori School (can't recommend them enough either).  So, when I first saw a learning tower I knew I HAD to have one for my little girl.  Mark took a little convincing due to the price tag ($199 when we purchased it).  There was a cheaper "version", but trust me, the original Learning Tower is the way to go.  We're heading into Evie's 4th Thanksgiving, and it has been used every year for that holiday plus much more.  I never did get any of the add-ons (easel, puppet theater), but there's still time for that.  There is some wisdom too to the sayings that food a child helps to prepare, she'll eat.  Or, as in our rules here at the house, at least taste.  Miss Evie has been involved with a lot of our cooking/kitchen projects and it has really paid off in knowledge, her eating habits, and just general family time together.  What follows is a photo-journalistic timeline of Evie and her Learning Tower to date.  In just over two weeks we'll be really putting it to good use again as the yearly Mommy/Grandma two-day cooking extravaganza begins.  Only now, there's another lady in the mix, Evie joined the tradition in 2009 and shows no sign of wanting out! I am still trying to figure out how we're going to break it to her that this year, there will be no canned mushroom soup or canned green beans.  Mark recently found a recipe for homemade, from scratch, mushroom soup and then fresh green bean casserole from that.  YUM!

The Learning Tower Arrives

Seriously. Look at that little button nose.  Does it get any cuter?

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving 2010

Putting together her own lunch

Joining in the party prep

I'd like to note the soda was just for the party punch.  Usually it is not found in this house.

Learning new uses for snack items (as ingredients for dinner)

I think those are walnuts she's helping to crush

Cutting grapes for same recipe

From Small Garden to Table

Making sauce with the tomatoes she harvested from our garden

The following pictures are all from our Real Simple 4-weeks Meal Plan

Mommy and Evie learned together how you deal with butternut squash

I feel like there should be tons more pictures, but I think you can get the point from these.  It isn't always in use, but it's been used enough to make it more than worthwhile.  Just the fact that she can say that she'd "rather have couscous with her salmon than rice" or "mushroom stemming is my job Daddy!" or "I'm doing lemons, taking the leaves off (the thyme) takes too long" makes my heart sing.

Turns out, I'm just doing my part

It has long amazed me the bad manners rampant in this world.  One of the worst offenses to me are the inevitable child questions.  You know "do you have them?"  "will you have them?"  "why do you only have 1?" Why don't you just ask me how often I sleep with my husband in the carnal sense?  I mean seriously, it is just as personal.  If not more.  I recently lost my temper with a long acquaintance.  The past two times I went to the diner I used to waitress at during college I was asked by the same person about giving my daughter a sibling.  The first time I smiled and refused to answer.  She would have chased me out of the restaurant asking if another customer hadn't come up to pay.  The second time I put my finger in her face and snapped "this is none of your business and I am NOT discussing it."  Super.  Now I'm a crazy person. 

Having children, not having children, how many you have, if you can even have any is one of the most personal decisions a woman can make.  Sometimes the decision is out of our hands, miscarriage, infertility, and so on.  I have friends who have gone to incredible lengths to have children and have had amazing conversations with them on the topic.  I have also had enlightening conversations with women with multiple children.  Quite a few of our friends are childless.  There is one constant.  They are all our friends...period.  Granted, some friends are not child fans, so we do not see as much of them now, 'cause you know, we have one.  But whatever our friends' choices are on that front are not our concern, unless we are invited in.  Not one of my friends have gotten in my face like so many others have about whether Mark and I have "enough" children.  I have it at work, and now, apparently at eating establishments as well.  That's why I love my friends. 

I learned something new today concerning women's choice: turns out, I'm just doing my part to help defuse the population bomb.  I will not go into explanation here where Mark and I are at, because, as mentioned before, I really do not think it is anyone's business.  However, now I can perhaps stump some people or at least get them off topic.  Of course, I have found that the same people who rudely persist are the same that are unable to pick up on your verbal and non-verbal cues that it is time to stop now. (It is? Time to stop now. Mack?...20 points to anyone who gets that movie reference). 

In summary.  I have one child.  I love her like nothing else on this Earth.  I have two nephews and one niece.  I love them to pieces.  I also adore my friends and my friends' children.  I am smitten with my friends who have no children.  I seriously do not believe I'm controlling world population, nor should I.  But I'm still looking for a clever way to get away from the rude questions.  Without crying or yelling at people of course.  For now, I'll just pretend I'm doing my part for the Earth.  Sounds good, right?

Jumper(ing) for Joy

It isn't often that I can be super proud of a sewing creation.  For the most part, I'm just happy that I can sew and it doesn't look like junk.  Once upon a time, I made something that Evie loves and has now begged to have lengthened so she could keep wearing it.  This is me. Insanely happy.

Two years ago, I sewed a really neat jumper for Evie that turned out super cool.  I used Simplicity Project Runway Pattern 2574.  She loved it, she and her baby could dress alike (yes, I made one for her baby doll too).  Evie calls it her heart dress and wants to wear it a lot.  She wore it in the winter of 2010, shortly after turning 2, she wore it once or twice last school year shortly before turning 3, but I made her wear leggings with it because it was getting short.  She wanted to wear it again this year, but I had to alter it first.  I've NEVER altered anything, whether it was something I made or something purchased.  I took out the pattern again and decided to add on one of the alternate bottoms - as opposed to the straight one I made originally.  All in all, I think it turned out great...but the pictures tell the story better. 

January 2010, 2 years old

 

Same dress, new pleated skirt added, October 2011, 3 1/2 years old

I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get more than another year out of this, but just having these pictures to compare brings a smile to my face.