SeeTryFly

Moving Day

In case you hate this rainforest as much as I do, please come back to my old haunt, WordPress.

http://seetryfly.wordpress.com/

The SeeTryFly.com address should be moving there shortly as well.

Long live WELL MANAGED free blogs!!!   (Adios, TypePad.)

Going Greek

Kaylynn's big passion right now is Greek.  Greek mythology, Greek culture, Greek language (thanks to online translators), and now Greek food!  Today for lunch I made a loaf of wheat bread as usual.  She then turned my lonely loaf into a Greek feast.  First she stuffed tomatoes with feta cheese, bread crumbs, scallions, parsley and spices and baked them.  Then she used olive tapenade for the top of the bread slices.  We rounded it out with vanilla Greek yogurt and chips with hummus.  For drinks, we had "red wine" which was really grape juice, but it felt nice to clink glasses and say "Cheers!" anyway.  

Yesterday afternoon Kaylynn held a Greek party for her friends.  She made the invitations and planned the entire thing.  We had to improvise a little on her menu (alas, no baklava!) since I had a midwife appointment that morning and we didn't have time to cook everything, but she did a great job with the Olympic games and acting scenes from their favorite Greek books.  Everyone had a good time and she was pleased to see that a couple of families emailed to say their thanks for a nice party!  I let her run the show, and I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but she surprised me.  I love how passionate she is about her current interests, and how she is able to share them so nicely with her friends.

Me and My Guy

How do you identify the secular family at the Daddy/Daughter Dance?  Why, they're the ones that don't own dress shoes in the winter, of course!  Pat took the girls to their dance last night and while they had the hair and dresses, they both had to wear tennis shoes.  And Kaylynn doesn't have any tights that fit either!  I keep telling them they need to stop growing...

Our Rabbit Baby

Personality Traits of the Rabbit:

Rabbits are selfless, neat and tidy, and get along well with their brothers and sisters. Rabbits lead the good life and are the most fortunate of all animals. Rabbits live by the Golden Rule and wouldn't think of breaking it. You are well suited as a banker, lawyer, interior designer, or video-game player.

Won't it be interesting to see if it comes true for our little one?  Happy Chinese New Year!

A Writer

Kaylynn has a story up on The Homeschool Press:

http://thehomeschoolpress.wordpress.com/short-stories/

I think they are going to add her bio to the author's page too, but it isn't there yet.

The Simple Life

I am quiet in blogland, and everyone has been so kind, asking sweetly when I will post or wondering where I've been without being at all sad or grumpy about it.  And I'm quiet because it's a quiet time for me.  I'm simplifying.  Our schedule is trimmed.  Our focus is more on the things at home.  It's been lovely these last few weeks but I can only protect it by saying no.  A lot.  We are so fortunate to have fun and entertaining opportunities pop up each week, and I'm turning them down as nicely as I can so that our schedule can be a bit more free.  I can have that cup of coffee with the friend that needs it or work an extra hour on the science project that never seems to end.  We can plan the History Fair entry or spend four hours selling Girl Scout cookies without compromising the other important things that regularly happen.  

I am not good at simplifying.  It's not a natural thing for me.  I get restless.  I want to fill up those minutes or just plan something for our downtime, but if I let it happen naturally everyone is happy.  Things get done.  Beautiful crafts are created.  Laughter abounds.  

Last weekend the kids and Papa made massive Kapla block skyscrapers in the room with the tall ceilings.  He was teetering on a chair - stacked on another chair - and Kristin was teetering on her own stack of chairs, reaching on their tiptoes for that last block.

This evening, Kaylynn made these amazing playdough foods.  They were very lifelike in a neon-green-and-pink sort of way.  Then she made dinner.  Real food.  She planned the menu and she had a hand in every pot and dish.  

Kristin is curled up on the couch, quiet as a mouse.  I'm not sure how long she's been there with her stack of library books but I went to wake her up and her bed was empty.  She giggled when I found her but didn't put the book down.

Only free time allows these moments to happen.  And now that my contracting work is basically nil, I want to have that free time too.  My body is adjusting to getting a regular amount of sleep after eight years of constant deprivation, though I still wake up in the middle of the night about three times a week.  I am working on staying away from the computer for reasonable amounts of time during the day.  And that is why the blog is silent.  I need this time to not have to be here.  I need to practice being present in the real world without the virtual world being a constant presence in my mind.  Twitter has gotten the simplicity chop - no more posts there for me.  Though my camera is clicking away, any future posts here will definitely be the pictures optional variety.  Soon the "extras" on the site like the book lists will fade away and you'll just get me.  And only occasionally.

I'm hibernating, but in a good way.  I'm putting my focus where it needs to be right now: smack in the center of home.  

Much love,

Charlotte

P.S.  The three other things I love are: holiday crafting, parties and traditions.  I have the pictures to prove it, and wonderful posts written in my head, but they are staying there for now.  It's bedtime, and I don't intend to be late.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!

Hello, Baby Girl!

We are so excited to be expecting a baby girl next spring.  Here she is!  (Sorry this is so short, but Kal came down with a fever and vomiting so I'm low on time.  Please enjoy the pictures and I'll get back to my Five Things posts once things settle down.)

The Second of Five Things

The northern girl has never left this southern-residing body.  So when we got snow in December, in North Carolina, the Michigan-born girl within me rejoiced.  The children frolicked.  They got wet, especially Kal, since we couldn't seem to locate any boy-sized mittens (though socks are a decent alternative, minus the thumb).  They begged for molten chocolate (see yesterday's post) after dumping their sodden clothes.  They even got a fire in our never-before-used fireplace.  And we hoped this was a sign of a "harsh" winter here in our typically mild state.  C'mon, snow!

Kaylynn was a little too optimistic!

Kristin used a stick to whack everything in sight.  She put the snow on the ground where it belongs!

Kal found the good stuff...

But thought the lack of thumbs to be unacceptable.

Papa also took snow pictures at Durham's WinterFest.  Check out our ice fairies and live snow man, plus the North Carolina version of sledding!

The First of Five Things

Uh oh.  I've become one of those bloggers.  You know, the ones that post so infrequently that you can practically hear the crickets moving in and starting up a chorus?  I haven't been motivated to post when so much more energy is needed for...  these things.  You know, the five things I love right in the midst of December chaos.  I've got pictures, and I'll promise five posts over the next several days, highlighting my latest favorites and happy moments.  So, in no particular order, I give you The First Thing:

Hot Chocolate! (The mug is sitting conveniently on my cutting mat.  This craft room is seeing a lot of use!) The drink is my own creation, and it's so good that I have actually left places that make hot chocolate in order to drive home and make my own.  The latest secret is in the baking aisle.  I was hunting for a mix that was preservative and other ick-free, and what I stumbled upon is Ghiradelli powdered chocolate.  It isn't cocoa powder, it's actually chocolate that's ground up to be the consistency of baby powder.  Dump some into a mug of warm milk with a flavoring of your choice and mmmmmmm...  amazingly good.  I also add whipped cream with a splash of caramel syrup and just the barest sprinkling of kosher salt over top.  If this baby comes out craving candy, now you know why.

Speaking of baby, we have an ultrasound on Thursday...