We’ve had a nice Thanksgiving Day weekend, very low-key this year with plenty of time to watch the wild turkeys play in the yard (and to try to NOT think about Sarah Palin’s turkey massacre YouTube video. It’s so horrible that I won’t even link it. I’m still speechless. Shocked. I can’t get that blood-spurting-turkey image out of my mind.)
I got up early, put the turkey in the over (upside-down — oops!) then headed out to run a 10K. It was a good run despite the typical sweat/freeze winter running combination, and I finished in 47:20, which put me 8th out of 87 in my age group. Not terrible, but nothing to brag about. I wish I were faster, if for no other reason than to get the race over more quickly. In any case, running a morning race is an awfully good excuse to go home and eat some turkey.
When we have Thanksgiving at my parents’ house, it is a BIG affair. Tons of food and fancy presentation. We — and now I’m referring to our little family of 5 — are Thanksgiving minimalists. The turkey turned out really well despite its first hours of upside-down baking, and we had stuffing, couscous, yams, spinach (for mommy) and papaya, plus pumpkin pie for the little boy and mommy, and chocolates for the rest. Oh, yeah, and the oh-so-popular chocolate Silk soy milk. No worries about presentation, and only a reasonable amount of leftovers. Honestly, this is how we (OK, ”I,” at least)like it, although I admire other people’s huge spreads, and think those of you who entertain are AMAZING, though perhaps a bit insane as well.
The kids were so cute and loved what they called the “feast” (doesn’t take much to impress the 9-and-under set). Zufan insisted on sitting at the table and NOT in her highchair.
After all was cleaned up, we needed a nap. At least I did. Zufan took her brief “nap” on the table during dish-washing time.
Then the esposo took the kids out sledding (even though there is barely any snow covering the ground!), we read some Harry Potter, watched a little Scooby-Doo, drove around to see Christmas lights and made a couple of runs to Walgreens (the ONLY store open in town on Thanksgiving) simply for lack of anything better to do. Hope you all had a good day, too!
I work, run, and carry Zufan. There are some days when I carry that kid for hours. Hours, really. She wants “up-pup-pup” all the time. When I try to set her down she’ll lift her feet up so that I can only put her down on her diaper, and she she cries a terrible heartbroken cry. So basically, I don’t set her down. I’m incredibly glad and fortunate and thankful that she was, and is, willing to attach so well. But sometimes, I’m just tired. So, so tired. Running is a break, both emotionally and physically.
Here’s a picture of how we wash dishes. One-handed. Same way we cook, vaccuum, or sweep, or take out the garbage, or carry the clothes to the basement. That’s why we don’t do a whole lot of housework around here. I sure do get what I wish for, don’t I? In this case, an attachment-crazy baby. Gotta love it, while it lasts. Maybe tomorrow, a “real post.” If I get a chance without my dolly. We’ll see.
OK, you all asked for it. Here is the before picture. Frightening, isn’t it?
And after. Yeah, that Michael is a miracle worker. Highly recommended.
OK, ok, so the change wasn’t quite that stunning. This next one, of the very tired-looking mommy, the big girl took just a few minutes ago in the little mall near our place with my also very tired sweetie, who refuses to nap these days.
I swear there really were 6 inch chunks of scraggle that fell into my lap on Wednesday. Swear. Anyway, you can see that now the gray is disguised under hair that is, I don’t know, multi-color, I guess. I would just do a solid brown, but then I’d have to get myself back in there every month for touch-ups. Maybe it’ll come to that soon, we’ll see. Man, I’ve been feeling the ageing process hitting me hard these past few weeks and months. In any case, I had to post the next one, too ’cause my baby is just getting so HUGE! Look at her. She’s a big girl, that kid, already using some 3Ts. Time is flying by.
And finally, my two girls. It’s so fun to see them interact. So much love.
Next up, a homeschooling post. Might take a book for that one! Have a great weekend. (Remember to check out Zufan’s new music video, too.) :)
Check out the new video in the sidebar, or HERE. Zufan seems to especially like the letter “P.” So, why are the kids not dressed? The answer is that I’ve been waiting for a “good moment” to record them singing for quite some time now, and early yesterday morning they were all sitting together half-dressed (as they are in the video) in the same chair, so I grabbed the camera and asked them to sing. Not bad for no prep time, I guess!
…so much in my little head. Or, littler than it used to be, due to lack of hair. I GOT A HAIRCUT! Big news, since it happens about as often as a solar eclipse. (Trust me, I checked this with Wikipedia.)
I went back to my adored hairdresser, Michael, who is Spanish-speaking, Black, and gay. (He used to be in a dance troup, has owned a tanning salon and tried it out himself to his own great amusement, and he used to have dreadlocks before he went bald… Can the man get any cooler? Aren’t you all jealous?) I had a brief moment of panic when a giant, six-plus inch chunk of hair fell into my lap and Michael gasped and stopped, and asked, “Is that too short??” Ummmm… What is an appropriate response to that, anyway? I said it was fine ’cause what was he going to do? Glue it back on?
Michael agreed that I have gone gray, and we colored that all away, miracle worker that he is. He couldn’t however, take away the wrinkles on my face. He suggested some facial creams with vitamin A — of course. I know that, I just don’t find time to do it, and now, I’m looking ancient. Pics to prove it, later! For now, gotta run, too many kids, too little time. (Actually, not enough kids… )
Finally, I saw that Paige is taking topic suggestions. Anyone got any ideas for me? Not likely that you do, but… if there’s anything you want to know, ask away. I’ll answer. Yep, I will. Try me. More, coming soon this time!
For my birthday, I just want you all to care — as you most likely already do. Here’s one for Haiti,
Not the perfect Haiti video (that spelling error is like nails on a chalkboard), but the best my YouTube surfing could come up with. The little faces are what matter. For Ethiopia, the post right below this is a great video that Julie posted. Thanks, Julie. And thanks for the birthday wishes, too.
It seems to strip away everything else and really, when a person is sick nothing else matters. It’s also a big equalizer; everyone suffers, no matter how well off financially or otherwise we are in our regular lives. Being sick forces us to stop and think about what matters, and leaves us with a much greater — though sometimes temporary — appreciation of all we can do when we are well.
We are feeling better here already. I think I really needed those 36 hours of sick time. The esposo did an awesome job of taking the girls out during any hours when he didn’t absolutely have to be at school, and I slept SO much. The little boy was sick enough to go to bed with me at 6:30 last night, and we both slept from then until 5:30 in the morning with only a couple of interruptions, even though I had also slept most of the day. Crazy. What an amazing luxury to sleep like that. (I did go to work today, but gave the students lab time for part of each class, which made it an easy day. Hope they’ve all had their flu shots!) It has been a very stressful few months and I don’t really see the end of the stress, but I do know I have somehow find time to get enough rest in the midst of it all so I’m better at fighting off the bugs.
The kids have been extra cute and sweet these past couple of days. They are just so amazing, all of them. Big Sis fed the 5 year old soup and read Scooby-Doo to him, and Zufan did her best to mimic the caretaking, which was adorable.
They had a big mess of blankets and toys going on, as you can see, but I was in no position to put a damper on the fun. I was just glad they were giving the sick boy — and the sick mommy — all that extra love.
The 5 year old was awake and throwing up last night, and Zufan is running through the diapers at a frightening speed. Food in, food out. It’s very efficient. We’ve had a good eight or so healthy months around here, but looks like today, we’ve broken the trend.
I’m sick, too. I hurt all over, and taking a shower seems like an overly ambitious thing to do. And running? Forget it! I’m wondering how I can get myself as far as the kitchen. I guess it’s to be expected, since I’ve been a little run down and feeling some stress lately. When I’m sick like this, I feel sorry for myself. Then, I think of the little girls in Ethiopia who have lost their mommies to sickness and have to take care of their younger siblings with no one to care for them, and I start to cry. Then I combine feeling sorry for myself with feeling guilty and just plain sad sad sad, because I’m complaining, when I have a sofa to rest on and soup in the cupboard and diet pop in the fridge. Sad. Sometimes, I’m just so sad. The world can be harsh, and unfair, and just plain hard, for so many people. And here I sit, crying, just because I don’t feel well.
People sometimes tell me how tough I am. These days, when I share about the marathons, and homeschooling with 3 kids, and the esposo still in grad school, and juggling work with no child care, etc, etc, I hear it even more. I really appreciate that people are kind enough to say that I’m tough and that I’m doing a good job and all that, but it’s lucky no one can read my mind, because really, I am SO not tough. Not any day, but especially not today. Right now, I wish someone could just take care of ME.
On a brighter note, here are a couple of pics of Zufan! I love that baby so much. I love all my kids so much. I’m extremely blessed, fortunate, and have such a good life. Hopefully, we’re getting the flu (and the whining that goes with it) out of the way early. Hope you all are doing well, and staying healthy.
I have no business blogging right now. Too much to do! But I need to get the baby’s cute little face up here, so here are a few quick pics from the weekend. She enjoyed swinging her head with the latest new-to-Zufan hair style.
If only we could all find such happiness in the cereal aisle. Happy Monday!!
"If you don't know what your passion is, realize that one reason for your existence on earth is to find it"; "If you make a choice that doesn't please your mate, friends, or whoever, the world will not fall apart."
Paulo Coelho Quotes, from By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Cried
"If I'm going to fall, may it be from a high place."
“The universe always conspires to help the dreamer.”
