Frozen

As all the kids and all the teachers went back to school, Dallas was still experiencing freezing temperatures. To the disappointment of the kids it was very dry so there was no snow, no ice (except on parts of the roads - boring), and no school delay.

But while collecting deadwood for our fireplace I found a phenomenon I'd never seen in Texas before. I'm sure it's happened before - I've just never seen it. For all of you that have experienced this sort of thing lots of times feel free to laugh at us. (We'll laugh back when ya'll have droughts) Here are the boys enjoying the frozen creek (ditch).

Other pictures are of the lake. The water lapped up onto the branches making giant tear-drop shapes and encasing twigs in a lacquer of ice. It reminds me of when the Pevensie children were visiting the Beaver's House in Narnia. Lewis said the water was frozen in fantastical shapes. Now I know he said it was frozen as if it froze all at once, and this is not what he meant - but I'm a Texan and frozen anything is rather exotic. James brought home a big piece frozen around a twig that was all spheres and roundedness.

The creek appeared to have frozen while it was full. Then the water drained away from under the ice leaving a glassy roof over the pebbly bottom. James had a lot of fun breaking that ice. He even walked across some of the ice that still had water underneath. Peter wanted to walk over all the ice everywhereWe were able to see the air bubbles floating around under there. No fish - it was just a ditch. !

Sunshine and Shadow

Amish quilters have a pattern they call "Sunshine and Shadow." When you see the quilt it's an obvious name because it's made of lights and darks, yet the name has a deeper meaning. Everyone's life is made of sunshine and shadow, and as any quilter knows, without the darks, the lights aren't nearly as pretty. This pretty much sums up my week.
Sunshine: On Monday I woke up with lots energy for cleaning the house, and I did! I did five minute room rescues, I windexed, I vacuumed, I decluttered the kitchen a little, I even wiped down the toilet! Then Peter and I ran errands and visited friends. Incidentally, while we were visiting my friend Biak, she told someone I was her grandmother. A lovely woman named Nee, explained to me that in their culture the word grandmother means lovely, that Biak says I am her "lovely", her "grandmother." I still don't really get all this, but it's exciting to be a grandmother this young! Peter and I did all this AND got home in time to find:

More Sunshine: My mother unexpectedly visited bringing me firewood! Yay for Mom, yay for firewood! She hung around a little, and got to hear Peter talk a lot. Usually he's lost in James' chatter and everyone else's talking. She got to hear him say

"GRANNY!"

"I go potty a little tiny bit!",

and after she invited us to Chic-fil-A

"We go EAT! You come with us Granny?"

Shadow: James had gotten in a little trouble at school (I later decided - unfairly) and on the way home committed the unpardonable sin of asking if he could invite a friend over for his birthday - IN FRONT OF THE FRIEND! Mark had to stay late to get some work done -but those shadows were slight.

Sunshine: The next day - not so much get-up-and-clean energy, but still I "juned" around and we went to the library. Mark was home for dinner and all was well.

Shadow: The big one loomed on Wednesday - Peter woke up from his nap half-covered in throw up. This is the second grossest thing to have your child covered in. All the bedding went in the washer eventually (it took three loads), and he had a bath right then. But he threw up two more times. I don't mean to complain, especially in light of a little girl I know who has a fever, cough, earache, and won't drink any fluids - poor baby. The last shadow is that my sister Rebecca is moving away today - literally driving north as I type. And it's not even that I'm going to miss her - which I will - but that I'm jealous that she's getting to go live in a whole new place with snow! It's an adventure! But you know it all made me really grateful for Monday.

A little more Sunshine: Peter is doing much better today. Mark will be home soon hopefully. But the biggest beam of light is that this is a three-day weekend for him (Monday is off) and being together is always nice.

New Etsy Store!

I have launched my new Etsy store with a grand total of ONE item!

Why Little Yellow Coat you say? Because I like stores that have three word titles, and because I've been hanging on to this adorable girl coat for years! I bought it at a garage sale and despite having two sons have kept it in my closet as an inspiration. I love the scallops on the yoke and on the bonnet (not pictured). The inside is meticulously lined, so you can't see any raw edges anywhere! It's a work of art in my opinion. Here is a pic of the items coming soon to Little Yellow Coat.

These are the "Beatrice" pillows. I have only put one of them in the store because I'm hoping to get into the "recent activity" sampler offered on the front page of the Etsy site - by putting in one of them at a time. Yes, I'm not only crafty, but I'm crafty too! You can go see my new store by clicking the picture of the little yellow corduroy coat in my sidebar.

Merry Christmas!

This is my last blog for this year and to steal and idea from Lady Linguaphile it's only a picture blog! Merry Christmas Everyone!
Can you find:
2 scissors?
a giraffe?
gold beads?
where the time went?











How Pete brought me his apple:

Lots of Ruby Dolls from One Red Robin. I gave them to all the girls that would be here this christmas. I wonder if they'll name them?

I had an absolutely wonderful Christmas! It's amazing how we saw so many people and did so much but I don't feel totally stressed out. It's not over yet so it could happen but I'm going to have faith! Here are some pics of all we did!

From left to right: my homemade candies, our big family caroling, at the San Antonio Riverwalk...
There were also train rides, leaf-blowing, tree-house climbing, treasure-hunting, road-tripping, present wrapping, present tearing open willy nilly, xylophoning, movie seeing, and bread baking.
I'm so thankful for my wonderful Christmas.

Miscellany

I've been slaving away this week on Christmas presents, mostly just for my adorable niece and nephew. While I sew Peter likes to bring me a "cup of tea". He's very careful and brings me the empty china cup: "Here go Mommy." I drink it and say thank you. "Want sommore? - Ohkay, I be wight back - ohkay Mommy?"
I've been thinking I should try to make my own boys something so they don't feel left out. Today I proudly butchered one of my older son's sweatshirts to make pants for my two year old from the tutorial I saw here.
I've been virtually nosing around Australia via the links on one of my favorite blogs: One Red Robin and Skip the Chips.

Can anyone tell I've just learned how to insert links into my text! HA! Unfortunately I can't find my camera at the moment or I'd put up pictures of the pants, and all the other things I've promised to put pictures up for.

Instead I'll just tell stories.
Building 4 is the apartment building where I go to visit Chin families. I look after all the families in building 4 - I try to visit them all once a week. The one I frequent most is: Biak & Sui Zam's apartment. (Biak and Sui Zam being the moms of the two families that live in that one 2 bedroom apartment) I was happy this week because Sui Zam was up while I was there. She's hardly ever been around since she got a job. Yeah for the job! Sad for me missing her because she's really awesome. I so wish we could communicate better because I know she's really funny - I've gotten good at reading faces - I know she'd be sarcastic a lot! Biak is full of sweetness and has a baby boy who is starting to smile. The highlight of the visit for Peter was when we showed off one of our mom-lays-on-the-ground-and-flips-him-over-with-her-legs-tricks. All the ladies exclaimed at that! We also showed a little girl (daughter of a friend of Biak's) the Very Hungry Caterpillar Book. She's 13 months old and all she really wanted (like all toddlers) was to just stick her diminutive finger in the holes. Eventually Peter got her to pretend to eat the strawberries.

Interesting note:
Words that are the same in most Chin dialects:
Strawberry
Banana
Mango
(lots of other fruits - you get the idea)
Merry Christmas
Bible
Jesus

I was chatting with a friend of James' who is from Chin State, Myanmar and he was telling me all about his families emigration to America. It was quite complicated. At one point he was living with his grandmother for several months while his parents (in Maylaysia at that time) worked to get him out. James told him that we pray for the Christians who are being tortured and killed there and he immediately responded "that's why we left!" I asked him if his family had been tortured, and he said "no - because they left" but he knew people who had been.
I am so thankful at this very moment that I do not have to flee the country, leaving my child behind because of torture and threat of death. Right now Peter has a fever, and I'm dissappointed that I probably won't be able to do the things I'd planned to do today, but I have medicine, we have clothes, we have heat, we have a home.
I am so so blessed.

Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas (that one was in Chin)

Lissa

All Hands On Deck The Halls

I wonder how many artists dream in color? I wonder if dreaming in color is more common to certain groups of people? A random yoga website said that "scientists say" we dream in color 80% of the time. No idea where they got that number. WikiAnswers had man-off-the-street entries saying all manner of things. The hardest part seems to be remembering whether you dreamt in color or not.

I personally have really vivid dreams, with very romantic plots (surprising I know) with very detailed clothing. At least, I notice all the details in my dreams. For example once I dreamt of a woman in a silk stormy-gray-blue dress (long sleeves and hem), with an overdress of golden lace!

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving (just under a week ago) I literally dreamed up a craft! I woke up knowing each of the steps, and just what materials I needed. I had been trying to think of a craft that could reflect each of the Waxler grandchildren, and be homemade, and small. I was trying to think of something I could do with hands - to show the kids handsizes at their respective ages. Well I woke up with a solution so I'm going to share it with ya'll!

Hand Christmas Ornament Tutorial

Merry Christmas!

Half Baked

I've discovered that not only am I a compulsive baker, I am potentially a compulsively baking stalker. Seriously, whenever I become a fan of someone - really really a fan - I tend to contact them, encourage them (everybody gets discouraged sometimes), and offer them baked goods.

For example, I once wrote an encouraging letter to President Bush, and if I remember right I offered to bake him cookies if he was ever going through Hillsboro. So here's the list.

People I have offered baked goods to:

President George W. Bush,

Laura Bush (same letter)

The designer of a children's website (as a bribe to tell me how to find the "secret passageway")

Our pastor

The designer of the website, since he was in England, declined my offer of oatmeal cookies but was very helpful and told me the key to the secret passageway. I got a lovely form letter from our President with a charming gold seal upon it, and from my pastor (granted there are 7,000 in the congregation) I got a nice email too.

Here are some people I would like to personally deliver baked goods to:

Dick Francis, novelist, homemade bread

Anne McCaffrey, novelist, a bubbly pie

Nastia Liukin, olympic gold medalist, the buttery oatmeal cookies my mother makes

Gary Paulsen, novelist, Iditarod runner, Chocolate chip, chocolate cookies

Laura Bush, First Lady, homemade bread

Aung San Suu Kyi, homemade bread

I don't know exactly why my affection, or respect for writers, world leaders and athletes takes this form. I think it has something to do with the instinct to feed that which you love. If I'm proud of someone I want to feed them, cook them a dinner, bake them a pie. One part of the Bible that I always thought made perfect sense was Esther cooking two dinners for her husband. Teachers always tried to stress that she did this because he was the king, he could chop off her head, etc. But I always thought it made perfect sense! She probably cooked him chicken fried steak. And that widow that Elijah went to (or was it Elisha?) was making dumplings as a last dinner! Makes sense.

One of my favorite books as a child was little black Sambo. I hear it's been criticized as being racist. I've never understood that. You have a well-dressed little African boy. He is beset by tigers and intelligently, though sadly gives up his beautiful things. BUT! they get their just deserts and in a delicious turn (quite literally) of fate turn into - of all things - BUTTER! I mean how much better can it get? Ferocious man-eating felines or butter. Sambo gets all his stuff back (and in my book, all his things were these lovely saturated colors like hot pink and teal, and gold, and you get the idea), and when he goes home his mom makes him pancakes with the butter!

Another food story that I like was when Jesus cooked fish for all the disciples when he got back. I think everyone should throw a fish fry right after Easter in honor of that. In fact, I may start that tradition! I'll think about it while I go whip up some sugar cookies for my son's teachers.

RBG

My brother in law recently informed me that all computer wires are in Red Blue and Green. Abbreviated RBG. It brought back to mind a museum exhibit I had seen once with the same title (to wit: Red Blue Green). They were all really simple lithographs with just the three colors. I remember thinking at the time...And they're exhibiting this? But maybe there was a point there somewhere.


Today I was taking pictures of Peter outside. He's so beautiful (empirically he is, there just no denying it) I do this a lot. So here is my version of RBG. I have to say, these are beautiful colors. Almost a recipe for photo success. Another photo taking tip: Dress your kid in a color that matches your playground (there are usually at least two to choose from), take them to the playground and snap away! Go for solids, and neutral. If your playground is all wooden, pick any solid color that your kids look good in! There's a video for you at the bottom. Time to give my model a nap.

Coming soon: Our worm ranch!

Have a good weekend everyone!

State Fair, Spelling and Silly 2 year olds!

Cute little pigs at the Texas State Fair:
Creepy four-horned goats!
James and I had a great time at the biggest state fair in the USA! No really Oprah said it was!

And we were there on the same day as her! But we didn't see her. We did see a baby giraffe, alpacas, llamas, camels, baby ducks and petted most of them too!

It's amazingly expensive. We got $20 worth of tickets and it was only enough for about 2 "rides" for the two of us. I let James go through a fun house on his own. We went into a "Snake House" and saw all manner of really long, or really lethal snakes. It was cool. We even saw a spitting Cobra (I think I always thought those were a joke). I told him we would have to do free things to fill up our time, that we couldn't much more than one or two rides. I let him pick.

He picked the ride that spins you around like you're in a pie-dish and the panel you're leaning back against slides up and there you are stranded in mid air. I would've been sick anyway so the seizure-inducing strobes, deafening heavy metal, and drug induced cgi perks! James was really scared right before it started but I told him he would love it. He did.

We wanted to go on the big Ferris Wheel known as the "Texas Star", but it was being worked on when we went by. We thought it was out for the day so we used up our tickets, then it opened. Bummer. I got James a legitimate original "Fletcher's Corny Dog" on a stick. I tried a fried Reeses Peanut Butter Cup, and we brought Mark home a fried Honey Bun. All and sundry will be amazed that I did not try the much-touted fried butter. My legs were tired and the stand that had it was on the other side of the park.

The only thing I made James do that he didn't want to do was go to the quilt exhibit. It was great but they were all up so high you had to crane your neck to look at them. Probably so people wouldn't touch them. In the same building was the butter sculpture. James was impressed. In a very cold, office-sized room was a replica of an old-fashioned bar, with a bartender, lady, fighting duo, overturned chair,table and barstools. All life size and ALL out of butter. The fact that it was all pale yellow took some of the drama out of the subject matter.

We had a wonderful time and the next day my legs hurt from walking and my shoulders hurt from carrying our backpack. As it should be.

Now for your delectation and delight, some of James' school work:

James’ spelling word sentences (spelling word is underlined)
October 6, 2009
1. The bark of the tree is brown.
2. I lock my bicke evry day.
3. I like black dogs.
4. You go back to your room!!! (exclamation points are his)
5. I pick you.
6. The clock tels time.
7. A tack keeps things up.
8. The duck qaked.
9. I sat on a rock.
10. The spark brnd my morshmelowe.
11. I stuck sum gum to the wall.
12. I work at shcool.
13. I got a check from the bake.
14. My brothr is wacky.
15. I fownd a nickel.

And also…
How to Make a Peanut
butter and Jelly
Sadich
First, you need 1 peace of bred. Next, you need Jelly, peanut butter, a knife, and a plate. OK first, you need to spred the Jelly on 1 haf of the bred with a knife and the peanut butter on the athr haf then you fold the sandwich. and Finolly eat it!

Peter is lots of fun right now too! A few days ago I finished unloading the dishwasher and closed it up. Peter ran over to it and opened it up again. He pulled the top drawer out and grabbed an apple. He must've stashed it there when my back was turned.

Today he picked up an alligator-shaped chime set (yes I'm married to a band director) and said "I bring my iphone Mommy. I was so confused until I realized that he was referring to his XYlophone! I think of it as a keyboard!"

He has discovered "like", but not the first person pronoun "I". So it's"

Me like Elmo Mommy! Me like this. Me like you Mommy (my favorite), Me like James. Me like big red dog. Me like gummy fruits, and sometimes of course Me NO like this. But not as often as you might think.

I have really really missed the internet. Our modem has been broken and it took about two weeks for a new one to be delivered. I've like to gone crazy! So I'm back on now, and hopefully mostly sane.

I Ween!

No, this blog has nothing to do with nursing (that would be I Wean!).

This blog is about (surprise surprise) Peter and James!
Peter's vocabulary is expanding like, well, something that expands really fast.
We are having to watch what we say more carefully for we never know when Peter will echo us:
"fat guy?"
"cut me off?"
"can't you drive?"
and of course the ever popular stereotypical...."why?"
My favorite is when he accomplishes anything he feels pleased about (a hop, finding a letter, ramming two cars together), he celebrates a victory by shouting: "I Ween!" often with both fists in the air and tiny index fingers pointing stubbily to the ceiling.
Corrie gave me what may have been a compliment her charming back handed way (back of the hand - like a slap eh?) "Peter is the most stereotypical two year old I've ever seen."
Thank you?
Maybe her spiritual gift isn't encouragement.

I'm just teasing Corrie. You didn't hurt my feelings, I thought it was really funny.

Last week, while I was in the bathroom (don't worry this won't be gross) - I had the door locked. Which may be why Peter doesn't know the word "door". He thinks the thing that swings closed on hinges is a "doorlock". Anyway I was in the bathroom and recieved indelible proof of the reader culture that Mark, James and I are demonstrating for Pete. He began to send me books under the crack of the door.
"Here you go Mommy!"
I recieved all seven of the Chronicles of Narnia, and a pamphlet by John Piper on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

Lest you think that I was in there for a long time (with the door locked and my 2 year old unattended)- they were all stacked next to the bathroom door, and were fired through there in a matter of minutes. It was rather exciting for me too.

I started cutting out fabric that Corrie brought me from L.A.'s fabric district. And in saying so I make this the 3rd blog (I think, unless I missed one by Barbara) about fabric bought on ONE TRIP! And I wasn't even there! I think that's cool. I decided to try and match the pattern across seam lines, so I had to cut the fabric all wonky, and not in an efficient space-saving method at all. Still, the skirt looks groovy so far.
However Peter decided that since his Mom was bent practically double on the ground doing tedious work with scissors, ruler, and pencil - this was a good time to go climb on her back! Poor kiddo. I didn't do much fun with him today. I plan to make it up to him tomorrow.

My fabric is a big bold black and white print, with funky modern flowers. It rocks! You picked really well Corrie. By the way Corrie, although you mentioned that you bought fabric, you didn't show us a lovely pic of what you got like Rachel. Tsk Tsk (I love pitting bloggers against each other!) Please remedy that!

Good night all
Lissa