All Things Campbell

Snow Day!

2010-02-10T18:59:00.001-05:00

We finally got a really big snow in NJ today! Even though I busted my back shoveling, I am glad to have it. It feels like home....

crashing

2010-01-07T09:58:00.001-05:00

I keep trying to post some Christmas pictures from our big Midwest tour, but my browser keeps crashing whenever I try to upload. So if you want to see any pictures, go here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42268&id=1049127971&l=5bba9aae6c

Why I Got a Sonicare for Christmas

2010-01-06T14:23:00.002-05:00

I got a Sonicare toothbrush for Christmas (thanks Dad!). There is a back-story to why I wanted a Sonicare in particular:

When I was taking classes at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, I took an American History class from Professor Mammenga (MAM-en-gay). Although I don't remember ever speaking to him outside of class, he was quite memorable. He was easily in his 70's, and probably the most spry man of aging years I've ever met. He always wore nice, color-coordinated outfits that he made a point of telling us he always picked out himself. He loved history, and would hop up and down the steps of the lecture hall as he spoke, very charismatic and interesting to listen to.

On the last day of class, he stopped in the middle of a sentence about the Vietnam War and got a very pensive look on his face. He paced back and forth for a few seconds before turning to face the class again. This is what he said: "Guys, today is the last day of lecture, and I've just been beside myself because I don't think I've really passed on any true wisdom to you. We've discussed a lot of history and debated for hours on the events that have shaped our country in the past few decades, but I want to leave you with something that will really stick with you. So here it is...

(wait for it)

"Sonicare is the best toothbrush ever!"

The last 5 minutes of lecture were spent by him talking about how great Sonicares are, and how having one has changed his dental health so dramatically, etc. Clearly his goal was accomplished; this has indeed stuck with me. This is why I asked for, and received, a Sonicare toothbrush this holiday.

holidays in NYC

2009-12-17T16:16:00.005-05:00

2 days ago I took the kids into New York to enjoy some holiday sights and sounds. We had such a great day! We visited Rockefeller Center to see the tree and the ice skaters, viewed the Saks window display, went to American Girl Place, had lunch at my friend Kendrya's favorite NYC pizza place, and then topped it all off with a stop at Dylan's Candy Bar for a Buddy-the-Elf-worthy ice cream treat. We took a few taxi rides, which was thrilling for both the kids. Really such a fun day!

Can you tell they're kinda excited?

Little Helpers

2009-12-17T16:12:00.001-05:00

Oh yes... we have been baking! Rolling out the dough is definitely the favorite step.

Letters and Numbers

2009-12-10T10:41:00.002-05:00

I'm just waiting on 1 more missing address, and all the Christmas cards will be out the door! I decided to do a letter this year and am hoping that at least some people find it funny and not too dumb. You really have no idea how long I debated about this.... in the end I went out on a limb and did it. I thought I'd get it copied off at Staples because it would be quick and easy.... and cost over $100!!! But Staples can suck it; our printer kicked into high gear and did the job just fine.

95% of wrapping is done; the 2 boxes I have to ship this year will go out tomorrow or Saturday. Tonight is holiday party 2 of 5. Next week will be all about Christmas activities and baking! This is what my Must-Bake List includes thus far:

Anna's pb cookies
Mama Eunie's pb balls
cut-out cookies (decorated)
spicy oatmeal crisps
white chocolate-macadamia nut-cranberry cookies
peppermint bark
popcorn brittle? (a new recipe, still a maybe)
chocolate-dipped almond meringues

Are visions of sugarplums dancing in your head yet???

Annie

2009-12-10T10:35:00.003-05:00

Last week I took Anya to her first show at the theater -- we went to see Annie! She was SO excited, and loved the whole experience! However, since the stage show is not exactly the same as the movie version, she kept telling me that songs and characters were "in the wrong place." And her beloved Punjab is not in the show; she missed him. She even stayed awake until we got home (at 11:00!). Asher insisted on having his picture taken by the tree too, even though he didn't get to come to the show. It was a girls' night out.

'Tis the Season

2009-12-02T07:05:00.002-05:00

Only December 2nd, and we are in full Christmas swing. The tree is up and decorated, and the other Christmas decorations are up too (although I do still plan to get a tiny tree to put in the kids' room). We had a Christmas picture taken and visited Santa yesterday. It was pretty cool seeing both kids so excited about seeing Santa -- even Asher ran right up to him this year!

What makes if feel like it's officially the holidays? Clementines, cookies, and gingerbread lattes. Watching Elf and listening to holiday music pretty much round the clock. Trying to put aside all non-essential activities and focus on enjoying the holidays with the kids, and living it through their eyes. Cocoa and eggnog also help to make the season bright, but we haven't had any of either yet. Note to self: buy eggnog.

I'm done shopping, I think. On our first visit to Santa today the kids asked for exactly what I thought they would, but we have several more visits with Santa to go, so if they come up with something unexpected I might have to go out again. And I'm waiting on a few gifts to arrive in the mail, but otherwise it's time to start wrapping.

I wrote a draft of a Christmas letter yesterday... I'm trying to write one that gives essential info yet is funny. I tried, but I'm still deciding if it's funny or just dumb. My goal is to get cards out next week, finish wrapping by next week, and then have a week to BAKE!

There's a verbal snapshot for you of where we are in our holiday festiveness. Soon I hope to post some optical snapshots, taken on my new digital camera (my Christmas gift, purchased by me for me on Black Friday).

last week's hike at the resevoir

2009-11-10T07:38:00.003-05:00

John Adams

2009-11-10T07:34:00.002-05:00

Trip and I just finished watching the HBO miniseries on John Adams, and I highly recommend it. We both thought it was pretty great! It's 7 parts, but I didn't get bored of it at all (although it's a lot to watch in the few days we had it from the library). Totally worth the time, fan-frickin-tastic acting and great music too. Stuff like that reminds me of how poorly we know our own history. It's really quite pitiful. I might have to capitalize on the aftermath of watching this and bone up on my American History.

Purple Jellyfish and Bob the Builder had a happy Halloween

2009-11-01T20:34:00.003-05:00

Pretty Pumpkin Cookies

2009-11-01T20:33:00.002-05:00

open letter

2009-10-27T16:24:00.003-04:00

Dear Pumpkin Fairy,

Today at the Halloween party I drew a ticket out of a bowl of ghosts made of tissues and won the big prize! The prize was a big pumpkin bowl full of candy all for me! Just for me and no one else! My mommy seems much less excited about my prize than I am. I know she says candy is a special treat and not very healthy for us to eat and I know that you come to my house on Halloween night and take away lots of my candy and leave me a toy and I was thinking maybe if I leave you out my extra prize bucket of candy you could just leave me an extra toy. I do love candy but I also do love toys and last year I remember you left me a very nice Care Bear, and so maybe I will just eat 1 or 2 pieces of candy from my special prize bucket and leave the rest for you and you can bring me an extra toy. Thank you very specially!

Love,
Anya Campbell, age 4

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-27T16:20:00.004-04:00

Asher and Mommy Make Apple Butter

2009-10-24T20:33:00.002-04:00

We made SO many batches of apple butter and applesauce this year to can. Asher was quite the trooper, always wanting to help (and by help, I mostly mean eat apples). I think the peeler/corer/slicer was the main appeal; this year he was strong enough to crank away on it.

(if any of my friends actually read this, please forgive this confession)

2009-10-18T20:12:00.003-04:00

Ok, I'll say it loud (in print, at least): I hate texters!

I hate that all of my friends have fancy cell phones or blackberries, and that everyone texts all the time. It drives me nuts when people must stop and respond to every text they get, no matter what they're doing at the time. This really, really, really bothers me. Why can we not just have a conversation with whomever is face-to-face with us, and then respond to the other "urgent" messages later? Why must we be so digitally connected? Why is it acceptable to multi-task in this way? WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO FEELS THIS WAY?!?!

Seriously, I am almost to the point of saying we should all get rid of our cell phones.

Grandpa Tom visited

2009-10-06T18:31:00.003-04:00

2 Years and One Week

2009-09-14T15:14:00.006-04:00

wearing Daddy's shoes

2009-09-05T07:35:00.000-04:00

hello, summer? are you still here?

2009-09-02T07:27:00.002-04:00

All it took was 3 consecutive mornings of cool temps to thrust me right into an autumn state of mind. For the first time ever though, I'm clinging to the last few weeks of "summer".

I feel like we have really savored this summer. And especially as I watch the kids go back to school, I am so aware of the fact that next year Anya will be joining their ranks, and I want to freeze-frame a few weeks of time right now (or actually last week, when it wasn't 50 degrees in the mornings!). Autumn is my favorite season, but this year I'm tip-toeing hesitantly into it instead of running. I'm just not quite ready yet.... haven't harvested enough summer veggie goodness, haven't canned enough tomatoes, haven't picked enough berries, haven't prepared for cooler weather. Yesterday Anya was complaining that her feet were cold.... I haven't bought slippers yet, and neither of the kids have shoes that fit other than sandals!

These next few weeks will find us desperately clinging to summer activities before the season of squash soup and apple pie is upon us. Today we hope to pick scads of red raspberries (and maybe some peaches?), and we have a park playdate tomorrow. Anya starts her first-ever class on Friday (tumbling at The Little Gym), and next week Asher turns two! I want "just one more chance!" this year to swim with the kids, play in a fountain with the kids, and sit on the deck and just eat fresh tomatoes and berries for dinner. Summer has been good to us.

Activities with Auntie

2009-08-29T16:01:00.004-04:00

at the Bronx Zoo

2009-08-29T15:57:00.002-04:00

Us in Central Park (b&w)

2009-08-26T16:02:00.003-04:00

Us in Central Park (color)

2009-08-26T15:54:00.008-04:00

Henna Party

2009-08-05T16:27:00.006-04:00

I love henna. I wish I could get it done weekly; I really wouldn't tire of it. As it were, I throw a henna party once a year and manage to get it done a few other times too. Here's a sampling of this year's beauty.

County Fair and Hot Air Balloon Festival

2009-08-03T17:32:00.006-04:00

Last week the weather cooperated on a day we were available to go to the county fair with some friends and see the daily group of hot air balloons go up. They really were right in front of us and the kids LOVED it! I don't think I've ever seen them so entranced for so long. Asher kept saying "air boons up in air!"

We Made Cheese!

2009-07-23T09:34:00.002-04:00

Trip and I had a go at making mozzarella cheese! It came out pretty good and was surprisingly easy (and quick). Then Trip was even able to make a small yield batch of ricotta out of the whey. Fun times! Cheese times!
(for more about our ever-evolving food life, see my food blog: Kira Eats Daily)
www.kiraeatsdaily.blogspot.com

first garden harvest

2009-07-22T07:18:00.003-04:00

Our first harvesting from the garden went like this:
1. Anya went into the garden with Daddy to pick the first cucumber
2. Asher got very upset that there was nothing for him to pick
3. both wanted their picture with the cucumber
4. Asher got to have the first taste of the cucumber because he didn't get to pick one
5. both kids devoured the cucumber on the spot

I heart summer

2009-07-16T14:32:00.006-04:00

Wow, haven't posted in awhile!
I guess we haven't doing anything very specific that seems interesting....

We have been spending a lot of time enjoying the summer. Berry picking, playing in the yard, running in the sprinkler, picnics at the park, ahhh... The kids have been doing great playing fairly independently in the backyard, which sometimes frees me up to read a book on the deck. Summer has probably always been my least favorite season, but this year is changing my opinion! Below are a few photos: Trip's birthday dessert of homemade ice cream sandwiches, and sidewalk paint (in the nude).

one of the best days of my life

2009-06-25T13:30:00.010-04:00

As part of our Myrtle Beach vacation, Trip and I spent a morning at a tiger preservation station and got to interact with some pretty cool animals (tigers, leopards, lynx, monkeys, an elephant, and a liger, to name a few). Here is a sampling of our day's photojournal:

Myrtle Beach

2009-06-22T09:47:00.002-04:00

We're home from spending a wonderful week at the beach! It was really a fabulous vacation. The kids did great on the drives, and while we were there they were so tired from playing on the beach that most days they slept until 8 or 9! We spent one day shopping, and Trip and I spent half a day at the Tiger Preserve (photos of that posted soon!), but other than that we mostly played on the beach and enjoyed being with family.

Beach House

2009-06-22T09:41:00.003-04:00

Anya's Birthday

2009-06-22T09:34:00.006-04:00

Anya had a great 4th birthday while we were at the beach -- doughnuts for breakfast, opening presents, spending the day on the beach with Grandma Katie and Grandpa Tom (and Uncle Zach and Auntie Dana), then pizza for dinner and chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream.....whew! Does it get any better? Happy birthday to my beautiful big girl!

Other Highlights from Myrtle Beach

2009-06-22T09:27:00.006-04:00

Sesame Place with Grandpa Bill and Grandma Jan

2009-06-06T08:54:00.006-04:00

We Love Smoothies!

2009-06-06T08:51:00.001-04:00

Twins?

2009-05-22T15:33:00.001-04:00

People (strangers) have started asking me if my kids are twins. Granted, they are close enough in size and have the same laugh/cry, so when they're sitting nicely in the cart or stroller I guess they could appear to be twins. But as soon as Anya opens her mouth the jig is up!

A story by Anya while playing with her ponies

2009-05-19T07:26:00.004-04:00

"This is Patty and Patty and Susie and Telly. They're having ice cream and cake for Big Bird's birthday. They are very excited for the birthday. And then they're excited to go to the airport and fly on a plane. It's fun to fly on a plane is what I always say. Patty and Telly are going to make a sandwich for Annie and then they can all have some apples when they are hungry for a snack. Susie has to clean the floor so Patty and Grandma Big Bird can go to the airport to get Grandma Ruth because she wants to come visit me. Grandma Big Bird and Grandma Elmo want to be friends with Grandma Ruth, and they all will come here to visit me. Then this pink Patty and Susie will ride on the big wheel ride and Telly will probably feel sick because he ate too much ice cream, but all the other ponies can have popcorn if he's sick."

At Grandpa Tom's house we get to ride on toys and eat ice cream

2009-05-14T10:07:00.002-04:00

Who's Been to Myrtle Beach?

2009-05-12T07:46:00.001-04:00

We're planning some details for an upcoming trip to Myrtle Beach, and I need input from anyone who's been there -- what's good to do??? Our party will include adults, teenagers, and toddlers, so advice for any age group will be appreciated!

Home again, again

2009-05-09T20:23:00.001-04:00

So... we are home again! We had a little visit to my dad's in Milwaukee at the beginning of this week. Trip had to do a site visit there for work, so the rest of us tagged along. We had a great few days there, very relaxing and fun. I have a few pictures to post once I get them off the camera. The only bad thing about it was the travel home -- our flight to Newark got cancelled, so we spent a long day at the airport (just the kids and I and my dad, thank God.... Trip had to go home a day earlier).

Now we try (again) to re-establish regular life. This spring/early summer will continue to be a whirlwind for us though, a constant cycle of gearing down from one thing while gearing up for the next.

Calvin and Lucia

2009-04-27T17:02:00.006-04:00

While in MN for Laura's wedding we made a few brief but important visits to our new favorite babies -- Calvin and Lucia! (We enjoyed visiting with Karina and Damian too, but the wee ones did manage to steal the stage)

me and my godson!

Anya and Calvin

Here's Calvin throwing me a "peace out" before I handed him off to Trip.

Lucia. I didn't end up with as many pictures of Lucia, because I spent all my time holding her and barely remembered to take a picture!

Asher grabbed Damian's hat and immediately took it over. It was a Superman hat...

we love playing outside

2009-04-16T15:36:00.003-04:00

Ahhh.... we're back to being outside pretty much every day that's not rainy. The kids LOVE this! The mini big wheel and golf set are just a few of my great Kidzsignments spoils -- already worth the collective $8.

Shout Out -- TWINS!!!

2009-04-14T20:43:00.001-04:00

Karina and Damian's twins are here!!!
Calvin Alexander and Lucia Erika Rose DiLuzio were born today, both weighing in at 5 lb and doing well! I am so excited for these babies, I can't even say! Can't WAIT to hug all 4 DiLuzios next week!

Egg-stravaganza

2009-04-10T15:25:00.004-04:00

The rain held off this morning (barely, but enough) for the Moms Club egg hunt at the park. Asher was happy to discover so many "balls" in the grass, and Anya suffered some bitter disappointment over the lack of jelly beans in the eggs she gathered.

Second Blog

2009-04-09T09:59:00.002-04:00

I've started a second blog -- specifically about our food life.
kiraeatsdaily.blogspot.com

Kids: don't try this at home

2009-03-30T06:57:00.002-04:00

Last Friday Anya learned an important lesson: we do not put beans up our noses. Short version of the story: she stuck it WAY up there, and thought it was pretty funny until she realized that I was concerned and had to stick something else up her nose to try and get it out. I managed to get it out without going to the hospital, thanks to the help of Tara's blunt-nosed tweezers and both Kendrya and Helen holding Anya down. She's never been a kid to stick stuff in her nose/ears, so the whole situation kinda surprised me. But I feel confident saying that she won't do it again!

This week is the bi-annual Kidzsignments consignment sale that I love, so I'm looking forward to that. Tonight I drop off the few things I'm selling, and Wednesday I get to both shop and volunteer. On the list to (hopefully) buy: some clothes for both Anya and Asher, bathing suits for Anya, a few new outside toys, any good cars or trucks for Asher, and possibly a new picnic table for the kids. I'm not selling as much this sale though, because most of the clothes I had set aside to sell are winter things, so they'll need to wait for the fall. But I did clean out the toy bins and have a stack of toys to take. It always feels good to get rid of toys... even if I know I'll be bringing more new stuff into the house!

Princess Anya

2009-03-26T07:41:00.001-04:00

2 weeks ago Anya got to go to her friend Lauren's Princess Birthday Party, and since then she's been doing a lot of dress-up play!

Exposed

2009-03-13T23:29:00.002-04:00

I've exposed the kids to chicken pox. Purposefully. And now I'm crossing my fingers that the pox appear. Our little friend Thomas has them and so today we had a big chicken pox party (a group of us like-minded women) and had all the kids SHARE lollipops together! Who'd have ever thought I'd be so excited about communicable disease...

I really would rather the kids get the chicken pox now than later. And though I admittedly don't vaccinate at all yet, the chicken pox vaccine is the most ridiculous one to me -- it's just inconvenient to get the pox, not deadly! So here's hoping... we have another pox party scheduled for Monday just to increase exposure :)

Minnesota

2009-03-09T10:47:00.004-04:00

Our visit to MN was great. Really great! No matter how long we visit it's never long enough. We got to see almost everyone we wanted to, and we even got to see Nicole and Ella, in town all the way from FL! More photos in the posts below.

Mall of America

2009-03-09T10:41:00.003-04:00

Both Anya and Asher really liked driving the big trucks -- we rode them several times.

Great-Grandma Italiano was able to visit us for 2 days and kept up with us at the mall! The train ride was quite her speed and the kids thought it was great fun to ride with both Grandma Ruth and Great-Grandma.

FYI for MN friends: we took advantage of the toddler Tuesday deal and found it to be a great bargain. An unlimited ride wristband for a toddler is $10, and adult chaperones can ride free!

Karina's Shower

2009-03-09T10:36:00.004-04:00

The "Tea for Two" baby shower I threw for Karina went off beautifully. I actually don't think I've ever thrown a party that went so well! Now we're just waiting to meet those babies.

Anya picked out these Santa hats for the babies, because she was sure no one else would buy the babies Christmas hats!

on the mend

2009-02-11T07:32:00.002-05:00

We have survived our first case of family flu. Not pretty. The kids actually recovered more quickly than I did though. Trip had to stay home from work on Monday to take care of all the rest of us; he was quite the trooper! Now I'm crossing my fingers he doesn't get it...

Other than that, not a whole lot going on here.... last week we had an outing to build-a-bear with a group from the Moms Club. I love that place! If only it wasn't so expensive. But I held in the reigns pretty well, and Anya came out with a pink monkey named Patty who wears a puffy pink vest, and Asher had his first experience there making a bear named Barry who has a blue bike helmet and knee pads. I've been trying to take some pictures of them with their animals, but neither the kids nor the animals seem to all be in the same place for more than 3 seconds at a time.

And we're getting excited about our upcoming trip to MN!

not in the mood

2009-02-03T07:04:00.003-05:00

I just haven't been in the mood to write much here lately. I'm not feeling particularly jazzed about anything that's going on with us, I guess. But here I am, in the attempt to be somewhat consistent and settle my scathing hypocrisy (I still scoff at those on my daily blogroll who only blog once or twice a month.... don't they know people like me are checking their blogs every day?!?) I have seen some movies and read some books recently.

Movies:
Eagle Eye -- was good for the first half until I realized the plot is pretty much exactly the same as i, robot.
Baby Mama -- lame except for Steve Martin, who was gut-busting
Ghost Town -- this one was overall good. Trip and I both really liked it.

Books:
The Tales of Beedle the Bard -- disappointing, seemed like JK Rowling just wanted some extra cash so she pumped this out
A Spot of Bother -- this books was awesome! My book club read it last month and I was the only one who loved it. It's a great British novel, so check it out of you appreciate British humor. Absolutely hilarious.

long time no post

2009-01-24T09:44:00.004-05:00

The week before this past week 2 important things happened in our house. First, in snowed enough to play in (I suppose technically this didn't happen in our house...). I couldn't get many pictures of our snow play because it was pretty dark, but the kids both frolicked giddily in the snow for about 20 minutes until they both got snow in the face and the fun abruptly stopped. Second, we had a visit to the Crayola Factory (this also didn't happen in our house, so forgive my first erroneous statement). We went to celebrate our friends Cole's 2nd birthday. Our playgroup all went together and all had a blast!

Current Favorite Hat

2009-01-14T06:57:00.002-05:00

Little brothers of big sisters are just doomed! This is Asher's favorite "hat" to cruise around the house in. Usually it's accompanied by orange cat-eye sunglasses, but apparently they are missing here. My favorite is when he puts on the visor and sunglasses, slings a bag over his shoulder, and pushes something around in the pink doll stroller, waving to me as he goes by.

Recent Visitors

2009-01-08T07:14:00.005-05:00

Grandpa Tom, Grandma Katie, Uncle Zach and Auntie Dana visited us fir New Year's. It was a really great visit, too short as always! My Dad was kept very busy playing marble game, Candyland, and many many games of Hi Ho Cherrio.

Anya "helped" Asher open his new bath boat. She's "helped" him play with it quite a few times too. As much as she makes things hard for him, he is still totally enamored with her -- 2 days ago he started saying "Anya". It usually sounds more like "ya-ya", but it's very clear who he means.

Today is starting out well. It's 7:20 am, tasks completed:
muffins made
photos downloaded from camera
photos posted on blog
next up: take 4-minute shower before the kids have to be up

Snow Bunny

2009-01-07T07:18:00.002-05:00

We had some snow around Christmas, but now it's all gone and Anya is terribly anxious about getting more. She really only got to play in the snow twice when it was here, and every day she tells me she wants to make a snowman.

O Come All Ye Faithful

2008-12-28T19:41:00.002-05:00

Christmas Morning

2008-12-28T19:37:00.004-05:00

Christmas Eve

2008-12-28T19:26:00.005-05:00

My Little Linus

2008-12-12T07:19:00.003-05:00

Anya never had a pacifier, blanket, or any particular security object. Asher strives daily to show us he is a very different person than his sister!

A big pat-on-the-back for me

2008-12-12T07:01:00.002-05:00

So earlier this week I took the kittens in to the vet for their post-surgery checks, and Chloe had her annual exam and rabies booster. Buki had been to the vet last week because I've been concerned about her loosing weight (turns out she's just getting old, and is actually aging fairly gracefully for a feline). Anyway... after having examined all 4 of my cats within the past week, Dr. Zaccheo gave me one of the most meaningful compliments I've ever received: he said sometimes they start to worry when people have so many pets that they more collect pets than really care for them, but that I definitely don't seem to be one of those people. He said all my cats are clearly well cared-for and in wonderful health, and he's always happy to see families who can care for pets so well! ***insert huge sigh of contentment*** (He said that Chloe in particular is practically perfect -- healthy weight, good teeth with no plaque build-up, shiny healthy coat, and very friendly with people. I swear Chloe smiled a feline smile when he called her perfect...)

Last night was my first Christmas party of the season, and it was fabulous! It was my Holistic Moms holiday party; we had catered Thai food for dinner and to-die-for chocolate peppermint cupcakes for dessert (made by a local baker called The Cupcake Lady: I would really like to make friends with someone professionally named the Cupcake Lady). I got to also spend some quality time holding and showing off Oliver, out for his first party at 2 weeks of age, wearing the reindeer sweater I bought for him right after Ralph and Anna found out he was a boy. (After being a part of his birth, I really do feel a strange kind of ownership over the little guy.) To top the party off we did a gift exchange where everybody brought a wrapped gift that was something from their home that they didn't want -- not white elephant of something they didn't think anyone else would ever want, but rather something nice that just wasn't quite their speed. And as grace would have it, everybody ended up with things that fit them just perfectly. I brought home a very cute set of a striped scarf and long gloves. We have another party tonight and then one tomorrow (and 2 more next week!), so hopefully they will all come together to be so wonderful!

Christmas Card Rejects

2008-12-08T08:53:00.002-05:00

Sticking the kids in front of the Christmas tree and snapping a casual photo is not as easy as it sounds.... here's a sampling of our photo session from the weekend.

Happy St. Nick's Day

2008-12-06T13:14:00.005-05:00

Asher was happy to hang out with Daddy on the couch this morning, and Anya was thrilled to have eggnog with breakfast!

Naughty or Nice?

2008-12-06T13:12:00.001-05:00

Since this morning, Anya has had several of her new gifts taken away: scissors, for using them to cut Asher's hair, and chapsticks, for using them to "color" on Asher's face. *sigh*

card sharks

2008-12-02T18:04:00.002-05:00

So it happened already.... the Christmas cards have started arriving. I got the first yesterday (!) and another today. People are way too coordinated. The card I got yesterday must have been put in a mailbox first thing on the day after Thanksgiving. Yikes

of Oliver

2008-12-01T06:54:00.003-05:00

My last post now seems completely preposterous. Baby was, of course, born on Thanksgiving. I literally left the dinner table to head to Anna's, and Oliver was born at 10:40 pm, Nov. 27th, Thanksgiving Day. Oliver was born in the comfort of his own home, right into Daddy's hands. The midwives turned out not to even be in the room, because Anna had asked that they wait in the other room until we needed them. And it turns out they weren't needed until the baby was actually out. I am so utterly blessed and honored to have been a part of this birth. I'm not going to write very much about it, because nothing I can say here would do the experience justice. It was one of the best experiences of my life, being with friends and surrounding another friends as she worked to birth. It was so emotional, so spiritual, so beautiful. And the scene as I left their house was incredible: Anna and Ralph snuggled up with Oliver on their couch in front of the fire, all warm and safe and HOME. Everything about this birth was very near perfect.

baby, it's Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T06:59:00.002-05:00

Ok, Anna's baby is still gestating. And even though I've been on edge about it coming any minute, now I'd prefer if it held off until Friday (unless labor hits within the next few hours). You see baby, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which is kinda my favorite holiday. I've been planning the meal for weeks and cleaning the house for days. Today starts the Grand Plan for making it all work. And we have friends coming who, even though they are aware of your situation, I'd really to spend time with. In short, I am committed to and EXCITED about being a part of your birth, but I don't want to miss Thanksgiving! So baby, if you could just curl up and stay comfy for another 48 hours, I'd be forever in your debt.

feeling guilty

2008-11-17T06:53:00.002-05:00

Today the kittens go in to get spayed and declawed. All the cats I've ever had have been declawed and it's never bothered me much before, but this time I feel guilty about it.

However, I know Trip wouldn't let me have so many (if any) cats if they weren't declawed, so it ultimately it will be worth it. But I still feel guilty. At the moment all the cats are rubbing around my chair, meowing and wondering why on earth I haven't fed them or filled the water dish yet (no food/water before surgery). Poor kitties.

First Steps!

2008-11-14T18:59:00.003-05:00

Asher took his first steps today! 3 separate time he took 2 or 3 steps before resorting to crawling! So exciting.... I know he's been on the verge of it for weeks.

On another front, today was a difficult food-pickup day. So far I've really loved our gradual conversion to being locavores. We get wholesome food from a wonderful farm, grown by lovely people who care about the same things we do. But part of this whole game is being flexible to the seasons and the elements and the unforeseeable. Today was just a damn slim day, and though it doesn't happen often (not at all since we joined up with this farm), things are bound to not always go according to plan and it's a bit frustrating for those of us (ME!) who like to make plans. Today we got no eggs -- due to some very odd problems with the flock of laying hens, they have spurts of just abruptly stopping all laying, very little milk -- due to the cows not quite keeping up with current demand and Matt having trouble finding other Jersey cows to buy that are up to his standards, no beef -- due to the butcher not having it ready this week (even though it was promised for LAST week) because he's overloaded with deer season deer, no lamb -- due to lamb being a step behind the beef, and no chickens -- due to Matt not slaughtering chickens because he thought there would be plenty of brand new beef and that no one would want the chickens. And to top it off, turns out we won't be able to get our Thanksgiving turkey from the farm, which we had been planning on.

So what do we have? We have turnips, kale, potatoes, chickweed, carrots, one acorn squash, some delicata squash, and the last tiny offshoots of broccoli. All very good and nice things to eat, but not quite enough to feed a family for a week. I just have to keep reminding myself that we are not old pros at this locavore thing, we're still just babies on this journey, toddling along, trying to keep from falling flat on our faces. So we will still find acceptable things to eat this week but a large percentage of them might come from the grocery store, which I guess will have to do. Maybe it'll be a good excuse to cook a few things I've been craving but not making because they're not in season.

The Urge to Push pt. 2

2008-11-13T07:09:00.002-05:00

So...
I am waiting for my friend Anna to go into labor. She is one of my dearest friends here in NJ and is due next week with her 3rd baby. She's planning a homebirth, and I get to attend her birth! I am so excited and full of anticipation, it's almost as if it's my own baby (almost, but not quite). her son was born 2 weeks early and her daughter was one day late, so it could really be any moment now. I'm getting to the point of always jumping when the phone rings. 2 weekends ago we had a little "pre-birth planing dinner" to learn where everything is in her house and talk about what Anna wants and what she fears. Just to be clear, I will have no part in actually delivering the baby -- there will a midwife and a midwife-in-training there. But 2 other friends and I will be there for emotional and tribal support. It will be a full house! But I'm just so excited! I know without a doubt that it will be beautiful and wonderful and life-changing for all of us.

The Urge to Push, pt. 1

2008-11-11T07:04:00.002-05:00

Asher has been getting much more deliberate in his play. He doesn't walk yet but is very steady pushing things around. Sometimes he pushes whatever Anya has previously loaded into the stroller/shopping cart/car, but sometimes he chucks it and loads his own goods. This week he's been especially loving the shopping cart; he just loops around the house on a mission -- find blocks, put in cart!

Shout Out!

2008-11-08T07:23:00.002-05:00

Here's a huge shout out to my dear friend Helen Coronato, who will be on the Today Show next week to talk about her new book, Eco-Friendly Families!!!! First comes the Today Show, next comes Oprah. You can view Helen's wonderful work at www.helencoronato.com

Asher's Big-boy Chair

2008-11-05T07:27:00.003-05:00

This was a birthday gift from Grandpa Bill and Grandma Jan. Asher loves it but is lucky to get a chance to sit in it -- Anya loves it too! As do all 4 cats, who have gladiator-like competitions for it when the kids aren't around.

belated Halloween

2008-11-05T07:21:00.004-05:00

This was our whole trick-or-treating crew (basically our playgroup friends plus one extra neighbor girl).

Anya talked non-stop about our "big vacation" until Halloween hit, and then that stole the spotlight. Even this week her favorite game has been taking her animals trick-or-treating -- she dresses them up, puts them in the stroller, grabs her pumpkin bucket and strolls around the house, swiping whatever can fit into the pumpkin bucket for treats.

Then Trip had to go and mention Christmas, so now that's seeping in and Halloween will be forgotten until next year... but not until the last of her lollipops are eaten (I think she has 2 left).

VOTE!

2008-11-04T07:18:00.000-05:00

I voted, and you should too.
Really.
Seriously.
VOTE!

spam

2008-10-28T16:08:00.002-04:00

I check my junk mail folder every day before I delete it all for 2 reasons: 1) sometimes actual wanted mail ends up there, and 2) sometimes it makes me laugh.

I am SO glad I checked through it today because I was unaware of the fabulous offers awaiting me. According to today's mail, I could be the proud recipient of the following (in no particular order):
cheap car
timeshare
financial aid
breast implants
dream job

Hmm... which to pursue first...

San Diego

2008-10-28T08:02:00.002-04:00

The summary: we're home, and we had a good vacation. The sun was warm, the beach was sandy, and the ocean waves never stopped rolling in. Anya and our niece Mandy had a blast together all week and even managed to sleep in the same bed well. Asher enjoyed eating LOADS of sand and did a lot of playing with Grandpa Bill. We visited the San Diego Zoo and also Sea World -- which was probably the highlight of our trip. We all loved Sea World! Our travel went fine; Anya was amazing on both plane rides, very content and well-behaved. Asher had some rough moments, but it's hard for a 14-month-old boy to be still for so long. And on the way home our plane got hit by lightning descending into Newark, so that was exciting for all of us.

Now we're all pretty tired out and are still moving through the day in slow-motion, but we're getting back into our daily routines.

At the Zoo

2008-10-28T07:59:00.002-04:00

At Sea World

2008-10-28T07:57:00.001-04:00

On the Beach

2008-10-28T07:51:00.004-04:00

I highly recommend renting a beautiful beach house

2008-10-28T07:48:00.002-04:00

E-I-E-I-O

2008-10-27T07:51:00.000-04:00

"pack up the cold and the down coats, bound for the sun and the west coast"

2008-10-17T06:44:00.003-04:00

I will be a busy little bee today. We leave on Sunday for a week vacation in CA with Trip's family to celebrate his parents' 40th anniversary. Tonight I'm working for a private party at the vineyard and tomorrow I'm away all day at the Natural Living Conference I attend every year, and then we have to be in the car to the airport at 5:30 in the am on Sunday. So today is my chance to do pretty much everything that needs to get done before we go. This includes folding laundry, packing for all 4 of us, getting all the pets' stuff ready for their sitter, and readying enough distractions to last the kids on a 6.5 hour flight. I also have to figure out how to use up the following before they spoil: 6 small eggplants, 2 bulbs of fennel, 8 bell peppers, some swiss chard, and 3/4 a gallon of milk. I also have about 9 lbs of Granny Smith apples left, but they will likely fit on the fridge once all the other veg is dealt with and be fine until we get home. So yes, I have things to do today.... just like every other day but with a bit of extra pressure.

But since I purposefully get up at 6 every morning to have some time to myself before anyone else is up, the day doesn't really start until the kids get up around 7:30. Therefore I still have half an hour to drink my tea, eat some breakfast peacefully, and maybe even read a chapter of a book before the day really kicks in.

scattered notes

2008-10-13T13:49:00.002-04:00

1. In the past few days, Anya has told me all of the following are "her favorites" (in no particular order): birds, Halloween, pie, black crayons, kitty-cat, Blue Care Bear, cider, and looking at pictures.

2. Trip has been totally on-the-ball in the kitchen lately, making soups and chicken stock and other various tasty things; last weekend he even decided to can tomatoes all by himself! But I have to somehow get him to label things before freezing... various soups/sauces/stocks look very much alike once frozen. Hopefully what I'm currently heating in the saucepan turns out to be vegetable bean soup and not something else.

3. Our family Halloween costume will be Old Macdonald (Trip's choice). I was really pushing for Charlotte's Web, but no go. So far the only certain costumes are Anya as chicken and Trip as Old Macdonald. How creative I get with myself and Asher depends on how quickly I'm able to shake this cold and how much energy I have later this week.

4. I will now forsake this post in favor of watching yesterday's episode of Desperate Housewives online.

Apple Picking

2008-10-13T07:27:00.005-04:00

Apple picking is one of our favorite fall activities, and we finally got to go last Friday! It was a perfect day, and we all had a great time. Anya and I picked almost 2 bushels of Empire and Granny Smith (Anya herself totally rocked out on the Granny Smiths), and then we bought some cider, local honey, and one peck each of Macintosh and Jon-a-golds. I already made one batch of apple butter, and this week I plan to do another along with some pies and crisp. Yum yum...... who doesn't love apple time?!?

This was Asher's first experience with eating a whole apple -- initially I just gave it to him to hold as a distraction, but once he realized he could eat it he gnawed away at it with his 3 little teeth for ages. He held it for almost 2 hours; I couldn't pry it away from him! He ate it there, on the car ride home, and in his high chair once we got back. He managed to eat almost half of it, which is quite an accomplishment for a little guy with hardly any teeth.

Halloween Help

2008-10-08T07:07:00.002-04:00

Alright folks, I need to come up with a family costume plan for a Halloween party we're going to, and I'm not coming up with anything great on my own! Here are the guidelines for costuming the 4 of us:

1. must involve Anya dressing up as a chicken
1a. if possible, should also incorporate Asher being a spider, but this could be
omitted in light of a truly great idea
2. should be something clever or witty or just plain silly, but nothing boring
3. must not require buying much
4. must be basic enough that Trip can costume himself and the kids and get them to a party without my help

Give me your best!

The I'm-up-to-no-good Face

2008-10-08T06:59:00.000-04:00

Look Out, Sage!

2008-10-08T06:58:00.000-04:00

checking out a wallaby and playing with Ashley at Aaron's birthday party

2008-10-08T06:56:00.000-04:00

Mommy's Rain Boots

2008-10-08T06:54:00.000-04:00

It WILL Happen to You!

2008-10-06T14:03:00.002-04:00

If you have children and think you can get through life without one of them "accidentally" calling 911, do not be deceived!

I worked both days this past weekend, and Trip had some unexpected excitement on Saturday when 2 cops showed up at the door, saying a 911 call had been placed. Trip immediately got very flustered (thinking on his feet isn't one of his natural gifts). He tried to simultaneously be verbally examined by the cops and answer the 200 questions per minute that Anya was spitting out, which I would have liked to witness :) He told the cops he presumed that one of the kids had dialed, but they still had to search the premises to make sure there was no one being held hostage or any such thing. During the search they found a phone with a line still open to 911, and when they left had a good laugh with Trip and told him it looks like he's got his hands full. We're unsure which child committed this awful crime, but we suspect it was likely-culprit #2 (he's been fascinated with the real phone lately).

So I poured wine/sold wine to appx 4000 people this weekend at our Grand Harvest Festival, and I'm tired! Long, busy days and lots of manual labor for me. But at least I don't have to work out today!

I Am Up

2008-09-30T06:47:00.003-04:00

So, at 5:59 this morning one of the kittens came and sat right between Trip and I and peed all over. Not cool. So now I am showered and up and going, doing the wash and drinking some tea (lovely caramel pear tea, for those that care). There's nothing like getting peed on to jump-start your day.

Haircuts

2008-09-24T15:51:00.002-04:00

The kids had their first salon haircuts this morning, at Beansprouts for Kids. Overall it was a pretty good experience, except that Asher was not fond of the clippers (Kelsey, you have some experience here...). But he endured the mandatory 30 seconds of buzzing clippers by shedding a bucket of tears, and then happily munched some crackers and "drove" the car he was in while the rest of his hair got cut with scissors. Anya was then convinced that clippers are the devil and must have hurt Asher's head, and it took me a good few minutes to explain how lucky she is to be a girl and not have to get her hair cut with clippers (note to self: never let Anya witness one of my haircuts). Anya chose the motorcycle seat instead, and once she was sure that only scissors would be used for her, she loved it! The deal was sealed when she got a lollipop at the finish, and all she said on the ride home was, "I had so much fun at the salon and doing a haircut and having a lollipop" over and over and over and over. I forgot to take my camera, but I'll get a photo soon of Asher with his little man 'do.

Guess Who?

2008-09-12T10:13:00.000-04:00

Falling Into It

2008-09-10T15:40:00.003-04:00

It's just starting to feel like fall here -- the daytimes are still sunny and quite warm, but the nights are cool, the air is crisp and biting in the morning, and the afternoons are somewhat hazy as the sun sets earlier every day. I love autumn; it's my favorite time of year and I'm really preparing to relish in it this year. Fall means apple picking, pumpkins patches, crunching leaves and pumpkin spice lattes. Fall means fresh-baked pies, crisps, muffins, and fall-fruit butters. Fall means perfect walk-in-the-park weather and nights that start out warm enough but turn cold enough that you need to reach for the cozy blankets. Last year I was consumed with taking care of a newborn who always wanted to be held and a 2-year-old in desperate need of attention (as all 2-yr-olds are), and I missed out on all the seasonal accouterments I love.

I realized this earlier today as I enjoyed my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. And yes, I do think it's perfectly acceptable to not only look at the season in the traditional solstice/equinox pattern, but also in the less traditional Starbucks beverage pattern. This is pumpkin spice latte season, which will be followed by cinnamon dolce latte season. We're coming out of green tea latte season and concurrently moving back into hot drinks vs. iced. I may have blogged about the Starbucks seasonal drink calendar before... I actually don't remember...

All that to say, fall at rushing at me and I'm both prepared and very glad!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Man!

2008-09-09T14:31:00.006-04:00

Today the little Goober is 1! We had his birthday party on Saturday -- a Teddy Bear Picnic. The weather was a bit disruptive, so we had to picnic in the dining room. All the guests brought a favorite bear to share their lunch with, and we dined on bear-shaped foods and had teddy storytime. It was a great party for a wee one.

This is the birthday boy this morning, discovering his gift from us. 2 seconds after this picture he discovered the tracks come apart, and well.... that was that!

How I Eat a Cupcake: a 7-Step Program by Asher Campbell

2008-09-09T14:24:00.006-04:00

1. Poke

2. Squish

3. Taste

4. Reach

5. Smile

6. Grab

7. Repeat

Camping Out

2008-09-04T15:02:00.006-04:00

Last weekend we had a Labor Day campout in the backyard with Anya. It was awesome! Same fun and kid-style thrills as any camping, but without the hassle of packing everything up and the risk of night terrors/wakings. We pitched the tent, did a nature hunt, made a fire, cooked brats, read stories by flashlight, watched the stars come out, and introduced Anya to s'mores. (Asher spent a very normal night in his crib indoors.) It was really a fun time, so we definitely plan to make it a tradition until the kids are old enough for me to feel like away-from-home camping is worth the work.

This is Trip's favorite part of camping, regardless of location.
Man make fire. Man find meat; cook meat on fire. Fire good. Meat good. *grunt*