10 Things I Loved about my California Vacation

1. If Bran and Piper's wedding isn't number one on my list, someone will certainly lynch me, but the whole reason I went West and spent a week in Southern California was, essentially, to celebrate their nuptials. So we'll just put them at the top of the list. Besides, I would sound like a lousy sister if I said I preferred sitting around reading my history of the Napoleonic wars rather than attending their wedding. Or, at least, a lazy one. It was a great vacation in that I was able to happily do both.

2. My family really doesn't have reunions, we have weddings and (occasionally) funerals. So, this family wedding was a great time to catch up with cousins and the children of cousins I hadn't seen since my last tour through California when Alex was 20 months old. In fact, I'm holding a contest for who can come up with the best speech bubbles for this picture my mother took of me and my cousin Tim:


To see more pictures of the trip, click here.

3. My grandmother, usually a generous gift-giver, surprised me with a mink coat for my birthday. Apparently, she had purchased it several years ago and really didn't have occasion to wear it in San Diego while I will certainly wear it during the cold winters here in NJ, probably to Sunday church. I was glad to have it with me on the trip, however, since the wedding and reception were outside, and it did get chilly in Camarillo when the sun went down.


It's reversible: mink on one side and leather on the other. Very comfy and very warm. Now all I have to do is avoid the PETA people.

4. Stephanie and I went to Piper's hairdresser to have our hair all fancified for the wedding so we would look extra smashing. Here's a good picture of her hair (and the rest of her, too):

Our cousin Laura took a picture of the two of us from the back so you can both of our fabulous hairstyles but I haven't tracked it down yet. I'll post it with an update later in the week.

5. A little black cocktail dress was what we found for me to wear to the wedding. And then the wrap, the shoes, and all the other accessories. We shopped until we dropped, but it was successfully done all in one afternoon. If you ever need help shopping, I suggest you call on my mom and sister-in-law, Stephanie. They are amazing!

6. I need to stop hitching rides with my parents to weddings. I always want to leave at least an hour before they do. Serious party animals, my mom and dad.

7. I did read Julia Quinn's new book on the plane ride from Philly to Minneapolis and do highly recommend it, but I spent the rest of my vacation reading War of Wars and liked it so much I have since ordered his book about the American Revolution. I didn't finish up with Napoleon and friends until we were descending into Philadelphia last night. Perfect timing. Well, it was 927 pages long. Still, great book. And not a bit of it ever talked about autism. Now that's a real vacation.

8. Marshall had an exhausting week with the children, especially since there was an extreme heat advisory for most of the time I was away, but, with help, he was able to generally keep up with household going-ons. Well done, dear husband.

9. The most highly-sought out person at the reception, after the bride and groom, was my cousin Meghan's infant son, Dashiell. Aunt Katie wins the award for the most minutes in her arms; here she is, cradling him, in a picture with her brothers:


10. It was a lovely vacation. I spent easily 1/3 of my time sleeping. Another 1/3 was visiting with extended family or hanging out with my parents. I got in plenty of reading and a few World Cup games. Hardly any stitching, though, and no movies, but I can do those things in NJ.

About the cross stitch, which is a gift for Stephanie, and something Jonathan and I have been planning for a while. The thing is, I showed it to her, thinking he had already discussed it with her, when he had not. I'm really terrible at keeping secrets and well, she doesn't seem to mind that it's not a surprise any longer.

If you missed out on Jen's 7 Quick Takes from last Friday, it's here.

Sorry, no Quick Takes today

I am dressing for my brother's wedding in a few hours. I have been in southern CA since last Saturday, visiting with family and old friends, and having a wonderful time. More news next week! I will be home late Sunday.

Friday Countdown - Counting the Hours Now

I'm actually writing this on Thursday evening because I expect to be absolutely bonkers crazy tomorrow. My flight departs the Philadelphia airport Saturday morning at 8 am for San Diego for my California vacation with family and, on Friday, my brother's wedding. I'm sure I should be doing a dozen other things right now but I have a headache and sitting, blogging and watching King George & the Ducky with my children seems to be easier on my head.

1. I wouldn't have survived this week or been able to complete half as many things on my To Do Before I Leave List without having Our Favorite Babysitter Julia for 20 hours this week. I mean, I am paying her and pretty well, but some days, when my children are making me particularly crazy, I don't see how it could be enough. And, in an effort to be kind to my husband, I have engaged her for another 20 hours next week.

2. This being the only full week of vacation Alex has between the end of the school year and the start of summer school (or, as it is officially known, Extended School Year), I have endeavored to show the kids a good time. Not only did they have Julia every day this week, we went to the beach with their cousins on Tuesday and to the zoo on with Mimi on Thursday. I think, tomorrow, though, our fun trip will be to Costco to buy groceries. But maybe we'll go to Chick-Fil-A afterwards; they have a great play area.

Here's a great picture of Alex on Tuesday in Surf City:


3. On Tuesday, since the children and I spent the day at the beach, Julia came after dinner so that Marshall and I could go see Toy Story 3 together. I liked it, but it's not my favorite Pixar movie. Although, thinking about it, I would have a hard time ranking those 11 movies from favorite to least favorite except that I think A Bug's Life will always be at the bottom.

**************** Insert Break*****************
So I was working on this last night but then Miranda fell asleep on the couch at 6:15 pm which meant she got up at 5 this morning (which meant I also got up at 5 this morning) and so I've been running around since 7 (I let myself doze on the couch until then while Miranda watched tv) feeding the children and doing laundry and trying not to panic about my trip tomorrow. I have managed to do something awful to my iPod after Marshall was so nice to load more audio books on it last night and I'm afraid he'll have to start from scratch. Poor man. Some days I feel like all I do is cause more technology problems for him to clean up later, but then, that's what the children do for me. Well, they make messes in general. Sometimes they make technology messes, like when Alex chews up the power cords for laptops. He hasn't managed to shock himself yet, but that may be coming. Anyway, I am going to finish this list!

4. I am taking a variety of things to amuse myself on the long airplane rides to California (I change planes in Minneapolis/St. Paul), including Julia Quinn's new book Ten Things I Love About You and a history of the Napoleaonic Wars called War of Wars by Robert Harvey. I read a review of Harvey's book by Walter Russel Mead (see the link on the right for his blog) and it sounded like fun. If not, I'll leave it to gather dust at my aunt's house. I expect to be spending a good deal of my time on the flights back writing postcards, but we'll see. I am checking my cross stitch in my luggage because it's just too hard to work without scissors.

I hate the day before travel!

Moving on. Wait, I think the dryer stopped. Must go change out the clothes.

5. Alex was successfully dry for a number of nights and so earned the right to a brand new book of his choice from an actual bookstore (which he'd never been in before because he's rather destructive towards books; I usually order books for him online or pick them up at yard sales). So we stopped at Barnes & Noble yesterday on the way home from the zoo and he picked out his own copy of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. For the boy who taught himself to read at age 4, it's a little below his ability, but he's lazy.

6. While Julia is here this afternoon I need to finish the grocery shopping and start laying out my clothes. For the most part, the house is clean and the laundry is done. I should probably water my house plants so Marshall doesn't have to bother with them. But I've printed my boarding passes so I must actually be leaving tomorrow.

7. Pray for my trip. I hate flying, even without my children along for the fun. I hated it before 9/11 and hate it even more now.

Here's Jen. She just returned home from a peaceful vacation, so I'm sure she's a lot more relaxed than I am.

First Day of Summer Vacation!

1. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, Miranda dressed herself this morning in her snow boots and coat. It's going to be at least 90 degrees this afternoon. Alex is also dressed for winter. I have yet to persuade either child, when I tell them to dress themselves, that the seasons have changed. Unless, of course, it's time to put their bathing suits on to go swim in the pool. On Wednesday, Alex was so tired from our day at the beach on Tuesday that he refused to swim. Poor Miranda was in her bathing suit for more than an hour, importuning him, with no result. (If I'm going to make the effort to get them ready for the pool and sit outside with them, it's got to be for both kids. Otherwise, it's just not worth it.)

2. I reread Dorothy L. Sayers' Gaudy Night and Busman's Honeymoon this week. Perfect novels for sitting in the shade while the children swim. When I first read Gaudy Night as a senior in High School, I was convinced that my fondest dream--which, at that point, was to be a writer of fiction--was impossible and I should start looking for another career. While I was doing my undergraduate work, I intended to become a college professor. In fact, we first moved to New Jersey to give me a wider array of options for graduate school. Life, however, went in a different direction. But it's not over yet! Every time I think again about continuing my education, I remember that thing called "homework." Ewww. Maybe, someday, but not right now.

3. Alex is managing to stay dry at night almost every night. He seems to have an accident about once a week, which is amazing and we're really happy with his progress. He already earned a new flashlight for his first 10 days of dryness. He is now trying to go another 7 to earn a new book. He would actually go with me to the store and pick it out; that would be a new adventure. Since this morning he was wet, I decided it was a good enough time to wash everyone's sheets.

4. I leave for San Diego a week from tomorrow! We are still trying to figure out how to explain to the kids where I'm going since I've never been away from them more than 3 nights. My mother has suggested getting Skype video casting (or whatever it's called) so the kids can see me (or Grandma or Grandpa or whomever) when they talk to me. Marshall is presently working on it.

5. Not much stitching this week; I was too busy reading. I expect to be able to finish Page 4 before I leave, though, and plan to take it with me, though not on the plane. To difficult to manage without scissors.

6. Marshall did finish the repairs to the Super Beetle and spent last weekend in CT with his friend at the VW show. They had a marvelous time and came home tired but happy. My thanks to Ashley, Ben and Jen for helping me get through the weekend by playing with my kids when I went out or rested.

7. I am dreadfully behind on the grocery shopping. End of the school year parties and our beach adventure on Tuesday took up most of the week so I will need to spend the weekend taking stock of things so that I have all the crucial items purchased before I leave so Marshall isn't stuck running my errands while I'm away. Thankfully, Julia Koerwer has agreed to be here in the afternoons next week and the week after, so that I will have help getting ready and Marshall won't be overwhelmed with child care 24/7 for the entire week I'm gone.

And here's Jen.

Summer Movie Update #2

Summer Movie Planning Update: here's the list I made in March, with continuing comments:

March 12
Green Zone (never managed to see it-we were too sick to go out when my folks were visiting for Easter; waiting for video)
April 2
Clash of the Titans (poor reviews; may see it on video)
April 23
The Losers (saw it by myself and really liked it)
May 7
Iron Man 2 (loved it!)
May 14
Robin Hood (it has received poor reviews so we do not plan to see it)
May 28
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (went to see it by myself and enjoyed it more than I expected to)
June 11
The A-Team (we saw it together and while I liked it, I think I liked The Losers better)


Here's my up and coming list of movies to plan for:

June 18
Toy Story 3 (don't have a plan yet of when to see it, but still intend to, especially because of the rave reviews)
June 23
Knight & Day (the trailers for this look like a lot of fun)
July 14
The Sorcerer's Apprentice (the trailer is starting to win me over)
July 16
Inception (it would take universally scorning reviews to keep us from this)
November 19
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) (trailer finally premiered last week)
December 10
The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (trailer premiered this week)
December 17
Tron: Legacy (this trailer, which aired in front of Prince of Persia, really looks awesome on the big screen)

Another Clean Friday

1. The woman who cleans my house called Tuesday night to say she was free Thursday (she fits me in whenever she has time) so her crew arrived yesterday afternoon about 1:30 so by swimming time (3:30 pm after Alex gets off the bus) the house was spotless. Except of course for the growing pile of paper that's been sent home by Alex's teacher that I can't quite force myself to put in the recycle bin but don't have room to store either. It's been on the dining room table for at least 2 weeks. Now it's on the floor in the front room. One of these days I will have to come to a decision about it, or enough people will trip over it that the majority of it will be destroyed and have to be recycled.

2. The Super Beetle's engine is running again, which didn't happen until last night, even though Marshall is supposed to be leaving tomorrow at noon with his friend for a camping trip and VW show in CT. So many people are praying for this car, it feels a little silly, but my dear husband has worked so hard, I want to see him sail off in it tomorrow. Besides, aren't we always telling our children in Sunday school that God cares about what we care about, so pray about what is on your heart? Well, this engine restoration has been on our hearts for lo, these many weeks, so every prayer is welcome.

3. Alex has been dry all but 3 nights out of 14, so he earned a new flashlight on Monday night. Happy boy, happy parents.

4. Today is the last regular day of school. On Monday afternoon, I will go in to Alex's classroom for his end of the school year party. Tuesday I'm taking both children out of school for a day at the beach with Mimi and Aunt Leah and the cousins. Wednesday is Miranda's last day and end of the year party and then Thursday, Alex has a half day and Miranda has no school at all. Silly snow days.

5. I have really been stitching at a furious rate (for me, anyway), so here is a new progress picture for you:

I have reached the top right corner, which means, if the design is 20 pages long and I'm working on page 4, I'm almost 1/5 done, right? Anyway, it feels good that it's really starting to look like something. Something pretty, that is.

6. Only 2 weeks until I leave for a week's vacation ALL BY MYSELF in California with my family for my brother's wedding. I am seriously counting down the days.

7. I finally got up enough nerve to start watching The Wire. I've been hearing for years that it's the best series on television, ever, but knew that it would require an emotional investment that I was afraid to make. Well, I'm halfway through the first season and everything the reviewers said is right. What surprises me (although it shouldn't) is how reflective it's made me about my own personal politics. I don't really fit in a straightforward box of liberal or conservative (I like to joke I can't afford to be a conservative with two special needs kids because I depend upon the state to provide services for them) but I understand better the traditional conservative's mistrust of large bureaucracies since any large structure made up of human beings is going to be broken. Once again, there are no easy fixes in this life and we are all dependent on God's grace to survive.

Bonus 8: I ran outside after the downpour we had on Sunday and took pictures of my flowers. They look at lot like last year's, but they're still pretty. See them here.

And here's Jen.

A Cool Summer Friday

1. The weather has been cool and lovely for most of the week (except Wednesday, when it rained all day) which has been great in all ways except for swimming. Alex tried to swim yesterday and just couldn't stand the cold, poor thing.

2. Wednesday night I was able to get a sitter and meet Marshall at church for a leadership meeting and then we went out for a beer to celebrate his birthday. We are also going out tomorrow night for dinner and a movie (The A-Team!). Since his birthday, Father's Day and our anniversary are all within 2 weeks of each other and I'm feeling celebratory, I've organized these multiple events. I also haven't had much time to talk to him of late since he's been working on the car every available moment, so I'm enjoying the time just with him and no other distractions.

3. The car is still unfinished although Marshall does get closer to the finish line every day. Say a prayer for us all.

4. The church yard sale is tomorrow so I've been gathering toys and other stuff I want to get rid of and packed them into the back of my car. Marshall will take them to church tonight and see if he can find us a new easy chair for the living room. Our kids have pulled out about half of the stuffing of our current chair and I expect the springs to go any day now.

5. Alex, collector of animals--alive and dead--found a dead juvenile rabbit last night in the backyard. I have been doing sweeps of the yard when we go outside to play ever since the bird incidents but apparently, I missed this one. I did find a dead mole earlier in the week. Ugh.

6. My cross stitch is really coming along. While stitching in the last week, I've watched all of last season's episodes of The Closer and am now working on a marathon of all 4 series of Lewis. Here is an updated photo and here's a reminder of what it will look like when finished:



7. Our Internet service is finally fixed. Bless my husband who spent hours hassling Verizon last week to get it fixed.

Bonus 8. Our regular schedule of Youth Group meetings finished last Sunday night with a picnic in the park. In order to keep in touch with all the students I've spent the last 9 months building relationships with, I've started a summer postcard campaign. Which means every morning I sit down and write postcards to 2 of our young ladies (3 on Fridays and Saturdays to make up for no mail on Sunday). My plan is to send cards to all of them the week I'm in California, which may mean I spend most of my plane ride home writing since there are 35 students on my list, but I'm enjoying myself. Of course, my style is very much stream-of-consciousness so I might write about anything from Alex's latest adventure to how much laundry I did today. Still, it seems a worthwhile endeavor.

And here's Jen.