creationship

'Tis the Season...

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 02:24:00 +0000

...to tell the truth.

"Mom?" Syd asks slowly from the kitchen.
"Ya?" I call over my shoulder, my back to her while I type away on my computer.
"Do you believe in Santa?"
tap. tap. silence.

Now let me preface this next part by saying that I carry around an inordinate amount of guilt over the fact that my 8 year old still believes in Santa. Every year I vacillate between a love of the magic of Santa's mysterious arrival and guilt over the big, fat lie that is Santa Clause. Over the last few years, as I've tried to slowly de-emphasize the jolly old man, he has gotten increasingly less credit around our house by being the one to give Sydney the less cool gifts (I admit, I like the credit for the cool stuff). Yet, her belief holds firm. Really firm. She loves the magic...and I don't blame her...

"Hummm... What makes you ask me that?" (I really don't want to just come out and say NO)
"Well, Rebecca said that her mom and dad 'do the Santa thing' (air quotes and all) and that they are the ones who come and do Santa's job. I don't get it."
"Hummmm...." (Quick and brilliant response, I know.) "Well, do you believe in Santa?"
"Ya!!! I do! But people keep telling me that Santa isn't real."

Oh crap!!! What I've feared is now before me and I'm going to have to say Well, actually, my dear sweet girl, in whom I have tried to instill honesty and truthfulness, I have to tell you...I've been lying to you since you were born. How do you feel about that? Should I take you to a therapist now or just start setting aside money for later?

"Well, honey. Humm...let's see. Ummm. Hum. Well. Ok." (alright, alright, I didn't really do all that hum-hawing, but I sure felt like it. I just sat there looking at her, wondering what to say).
"Well, have you ever heard about how Santa Clause started?"
"No."

Please try to picture her enormous, chocolatey brown eyes, wide with wonder and concern over the fate of Santa. This was no small discussion.

"St. Nicholas was a man who lived a long, long time ago and he loved Jesus. He inherited a lot of money from his father and, instead of living like a rich man, he chose to live like a poor man and give his money to those in need. But he did it in secret so that no one would praise him for doing that."

And, since that's all I could remember, I did what any 20th century mom would do. I said...

"Should we google a little more?"
"Sure!"

So that's what we did. We googled St. Nick and learned all about his sacrificial deeds and the legends that surround him and how, over the years, his name changed and the legends continued and, there ya have it! Santa Clause. Done. Whew...I breathed a sigh of relief. But, of course...

Contemplative daughter. Contemplative moment. We're not done yet.

"Mom?"
"Ya?"
"So...who's been putting the presents under the tree?"
Busted.
"Well...how do you imagine that the presents have been getting there?"

Oh man...I am so bummed about bursting her bubble, but I'm relieved that she is figuring it out, but I feel sad that the magic is about to be over, but I want her to have a deeper understanding of Christmas, but I want her to stay a little girl, but I don't want her to get made fun of on the playground for believing in Santa, but...but...but...and on and on my mommy-madness goes....

"I don't know. I mean...I think Santa does it, but how can he if he's been dead for so long?"

Dang...she knows the answer to this. No doubt about it. Good man lives. Good man dies. Good man isn't still alive. Good, dead man can't be bringing her presents. She really wants to believe in this.

"Well, Syd. The whole story of St. Nick started with a kind man loving his neighbors so much that he wanted to give them good gifts and he wanted to do it in secret. He wanted to help children and he did that in secret, too. I wonder if that was pretty fun for him...to give secret gifts to people he loved. Do you think that some other folks might love their little girls and boys so much that they might want to give secret gifts to them to make their eyes light up with excitement and make them feel so special?"

"Mooooooommmmmm" she says with a too-old voice that says "be serious!"
"Whaaaaaaaattttt?" I mirror back that 16-yr-old sass.

silence. she just looks at me.

"So what do you think?" I ask.
Big shrug.
"Do you think it's good...bad...weird...?"
"All of the above."
"Ya...I agree."

She leans into me and gives me a hug but leaves her head buried in my shoulder. I can't help imagine her feelings; the death of a beloved fantasy; the passing of innocence...magic disappearing like a morning mist.

"What do you think?" I ask again after a while.
She just shrugs.

"Do you think it'd be ok to pretend there is magic on Christmas morning?" I ask.

She nods her head emphatically....and then sits there thinking.

"Ya," she says...."And maybe we can pretend this conversation never happened."

I bust out laughing. "Deal! Let's make popcorn."

Pumpkin Patch 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:46:00 +0000

Pumpkin Patch 2011

Happy fall to me :)

Love this girl

Sweety Pie

Don't they look cute together?

No lack...

...for drama...

...or smiles...

...or goofiness...

...or fun...

...and she's off!

Mama's pumpkin

"Daddy...do I have to carry my own pumpkin?"

One of these things is not like the other....

These blue eyes kill me everytime!

Oh my...love this boy!

Bright Eyes

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

well, hello happy blue eyes

hum....a little less happy

and so NOT happy...

"How YOU doin?"!

Walk-a-Thon 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:29:00 +0000

Last week, Syd's school hosted their second annual Walk-a-thon. It was a great success and, remarkably, pretty fun. (You know every school event isn't fun, right?!) Sydney actually raised the most money in her CLASS and won a free lunch from Firehouse Subs (which, just so happens to be our friend and neighbor's restaurant, so Syd was WAYYY excited about that!) that will be delivered to school just for her! Pretty big deal.

Well, here are a few pics of the event...

"My School Rocks!!!"

all dressed up and no place to go

the "Warm Up" zone...it's smart to prepare before you WALK!

our little neighbor friend. syd is a master hulahooper, too, but I only have video of her. i'll post that soon.

we were toward the front of the walking masses. this is just a portion of the folks who came out to support the school.

he didn't make a peep the whole night! He was seriously tuckered out...

Lil' Seamstress

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:04:00 +0000

Sydney is so proud of the quilt she made this summer at her first sewing class.

In this pic she wanted to make sure to show the back of the quilt at the same time...since she worked so hard on that pretty border.

It's official!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:39:00 +0000

Our pictures turned out hideously blurry...but still! It's official!

Here we are behind the judge's desk. Syd has the gavel.

with my mama!

with our lawyer!

with our fabulous judge!

3rd grade

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:03:00 +0000

already? whaaat? when did you get so big????

Welcome Baby Xander!

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 03:18:00 +0000

On July 12, 2011 we went from this:

to this...

and we are forever changed...

Can you believe the sweetness of this picture?

and OH MY GOODNESS!!!!

Happy Father's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 15:41:00 +0000

To my dad...I miss you.

To my dad-in-law...I'm so thankful for you.

Sydney, this one's for you

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 02:39:00 +0000

You are one amazing little girl and you are changing so fast! I was just thinking about the many different things going on in life and wanted you to know a little bit about what you were like at 8 years old. 8 YEARS OLD! It's hard to believe. It seems so cliche to say "where has the time gone?!" and yet that's what I find myself asking...all the time.

You brought home a huge packet from school today full of cursive writing. Beautiful cursive writing. I knew you were learning "some" cursive, but I had no idea you were writing whole words and sentences...and your writing is beautiful.

You are a brilliant reader. In the top of your class. Reading at a end-of-year sixth grade level. And you're smart. So smart. You struggle to think you are because you have a hard time focusing and "sticking to it" sometimes. But you are. You've always been so quick, so curious, so "must know!" So maybe you're desk is messy (like a tornado did a little dance in it) and you struggle to complete tasks on time...but it doesn't matter. You have a brilliant mind and I love your curiosity. You make me want to ask more questions.

You're currently obsessed with the second-grade "Invention Convention" at school. I think it's a tall order for second grade, but you're leaping in full force and you are SO excited. So far, your ideas are:

1. A volcano that spews cornstarch goo. You remember playing with "cornstarch goo" when you were little and I guess it stuck...because that's what you want flying out of your volcano. I'm passing this one off to DAD!

2. A bug catcher. But not just any bug catcher. A bug catcher that begins with a trapped spider which will spin a web for you...inside of a container...and then you will somehow LURE other bugs in...which, of course, will fly into the spider web and won't be able to get out. Then, not only have you caught the pesky bugs, you've fed a spider AND can observe the bugs without having to touch them. All my problems are now solved.

3. Launcher. You don't care what you launch...as long as it goes far! You told me that a boy made a launcher last year and the teachers still joke that there are beans on top of the cabinets. Perhaps you're really shooting for Invention Convention notoriety.

You got an mp3 player for Christmas and listen to it all the time. Sometimes I watch you boppin' around the house singing with those little headphones on and I can't help but think that 1. you are adorable and 2. time is passing too quickly.

You've started to spend more time on your hair. A lot more time. You like to part it clear down by one ear and "swooooop" it over to the other side so that it hangs across your face. You kind of look like a teenager when you do that. Hum. Not sure how I feel about it.

You are delightful, sweet girl. Creative, interested in so many things, insatiably curious, energetic, boisterous. I could learn many things from you about enjoying life a little more...and enjoying a moment in time with my family.

Snow Days

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:57:00 +0000

This is our first winter in our new house and neighborhood and I am happy to report what happens around here on a true-blue snow day. Kids everywhere (often in frighteningly large, loud, crazy groups), moms (I shall remain nameless) realizing they never bought snow boots for their kiddo and so sends her out in thin rubber gloshes, good friends, ages ranging from 4-11 all playing together, happy faces, cold noses, even colder toes, pleas for hot cocoa with extra, extra whip (I obliged), 10 happy kids dropping wet things all over my house, and hallelujah! a fire place and movies to finish up a c-c-c-cold afternoon.

Let me show you...

syd, elisa, jack, katherina. aren't they all so beautiful?

time for the real fun...

sledding. they actually spent a LONG time sledding down a hill in our neighborhood...

but i stayed home, so this is all i got!

sisters!

this is what my foyer looked like after 10 crazy kids played in the snow for 3 hours and then tromped to my house for hot cocoa (with extra, extra whip. of course!) and a movie.

i loved every minute of it!

second floor view.

it was much worse in person...i wish i could have really captured it!

can you find 9 kiddos in this pic? they're all there. the 10th is off to the side...i couldn't fit him in.

and one TUCKERED dog.

i forgot about the popcorn and marshmallows.

believe it or not, they all went out for ROUND 2 after the movie. undeterred by the c-c-c-cold.

i love snow days. they make happy, happy kids and happy, happy memories.

and i love big rugs. big rugs in foyers. thank you, Jesus, for the big rug in my foyer.

that helped me not lose my mind today.

Somethin' Sweet

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 21:47:00 +0000

I started a little photog session of these adorable pig-tails

and the cutie pie in the middle

before I realized...

she had snagged a sweet somethin'....

...when I wasn't lookin'

Powdered sugar evidence if you look really close!

I'm still not sure if she was trying to hide it!

I absolutely adore this kid!!!

Lata.

Linds

a few pics...

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 02:31:00 +0000

A visit from the Krauses.

Brook and Jer visited too...but somehow my camera was trained on the littlest Krauses only! Go figure.

Aug, 2010

Q liked Charlie. Charlie like Q. Until Q decided to try out her new teeth on his ear. Poor Char Char.

Syd, on the other hand, LOVED 'd babies...both of them...all the time. And never once did she get bit. However, she gagged violently when Q spit up on her. I almost fell over laughing.

She'll be a good big sis...one of these days.

Darling.

School Walk-a-Thon

aka The most brilliant fund-raiser EVER.

Raise money. Walk.

No junk to distribute.

100% goes to the school.

No more fund-raisers all year.

Brilliant!

Some take the "walking" part seriously.

Doot, dah-doot, dah-doot

And some might be classified as over-achievers. I love this kid.

He shows up to a "WALK-a-thon" and BOLTS for 25 minutes straight...meanwhile, my kiddo and I are "doot, dah-doot, dah-dootin'" at the back of the line.

Ah, well, to each his own, yes?

Oh, and this is our house...yay!

Sept 2010

Someone's growing toooo fast

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 04:15:00 +0000

2nd grade. Really? Already? So fast? Riding the bus?

Second grader!

With a rockin' new backpack. She was obsessed with the little kitty key chain hanging off the side. It was the selling point...and the cheapest one there. win-win.

Lovely girl. Inside and Out.

She was having a little trouble with her "natural" smile that morning. We almost got it here...But it still has a touch of "mom, seriously. stop." in it.

Be still, my heart. Here she goes. She's a bus-rider now. There's no going back.

Oh my. So big.

And.

She's.

Gone.

This is what Charlie does when he's sad about Sydney leaving.

And the mourning continued...

As he looked longingly after the departing bus.

It's ok, Char-Char.

We'll make it.

Lil' Fishy

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:43:00 +0000

Get ready.

Get set.

Go!

She loves to do the "Mermaid." Didn't we all? Swimming down deep, flipping that pretend tail...dreaming, for a moment, that your hair flows through water like Ariel's? Then, up for the glorious reveal on land, water splashing behind your back as you sing "Paaaaaart ooooofff yooooouuuuurrrr wooooorrrrrld." Oh yes, every girls' dream.

Ta Da.

She would be in the water all day if her wimpy mom would willingly suffer the heat and humidity.

Lata.

a year ago...

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:46:00 +0000

Cleaning up his computer, Patrick found this video. It was over a year ago, but I had to share.

Syd Turns 7

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 19:15:00 +0000

Syd turned 7 in February. It's July!!!!
Whoops.

Here is a quick 7th Birthday Breakdown...

A Few Good Decorations

Some Super Duper Great Friends

Cake, of course!

And perfect weather for playing in the snow!

Lots and Lots of Fun!

First Grade

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:31:00 +0000

Here's a little recap of first grade at her new school...mostly picture style.

"NUTS"

Sydney was a pistachio in her First Grade Musical "Nuts." She had a solo and speaking part and didn't miss a beat. LOVED IT! Cutest pistachio EVER! I have more pics to upload from that later.

School Fundraiser: Sydney was hoping to win the Webkinz gift basket. There had to have been $300 worth of Webkinz goodies in there. I kinda wanted it too.

Good Friends. What a blessing.

All School Open House

We got to come in and see all of the big projects and art that our kids had been working on all semester. Here are a few highlights.

Left: Sydney's self-portrait. Very Picasso-esque.

Right: Wax Art, I think.

Shark Diorama. I was SO impressed by this. She actually did it at home but it all evolved from her own creative mind. Dyed playdough for the coral. Sharks printed out on the computer, colored and hung from the "ceiling." And lots of other fun ideas. It was pretty cool.

Pottery

Each first grader made a book about one of their classmates. This is the book made about Sydney by one of the boys in her class. it was pretty sweet. She felt loved by it.

Total Goofball...showing off her very cool locker.

I love this girl!

Trying out for her talent show! And she made it! She sang WONDERFULLY and I could NOT stop smiling the entire time. I was so proud of her. She said she was nervous but she just got up there and went for it!

Thanks for coming to see my talent show, G'ma and Poppie!!!!

Days of the Week...

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 02:45:00 +0000

Driving away from the carpool line, Sydney's buckling her seat belt and thrashing all over the place trying to get "situated." Like most other children who have to sit in school all day and don't have nearly enough recess, Sydney is FULL of pent-up energy when we pick her up. She typically bounces from chair to chair to couch...all over the living room while she tells us about her day. It feels similar to watching little airplanes do touch-and-go landings at my in-laws airport except that they actually touch and GO somewhere...at least circling around the sky a bit before they touch down again...but Sydney does more like a touch-bounce-bounce-bounce, touch-bounce-bounce-BANG into something, touch-bounce-bounce-bounce while talking a mile a minute and flipping her hair all over the place and saying "it was, like, SOOooo cool!" But anyway...where was I????

Oh ya, driving away from school.
Patrick: So, Syd. Did you have gym today?
Sydney: NO Dad. It's MONDAY! Ok, ok, ok. I'll tell you our school cycle!
Patrick and I glance sideways at each other...we asked for it, I suppose. I admit we don't remember what days she has what classes...but today I wrote it down.
Sydney: Ok! On Monday, we have art
On Tuesday, we have PE and Music
On Wednesday, we have library.
On Thursday, we have PE and Music AGAAAAAAIIIIIIIIINNNNnnnnnnnn!
AND ON FRIDAY (giggle, giggle)...I know it seems as though we're out of things to do
(pause...for effect)
...BUT WE'RE NOT!!!! We have COMPUUUUUUTTTTTTERRRRR! (giggle, giggle).

I'm not really sure why the conversation was so hilarious to me. But it was. She's perty fun.

lata.

A little Christmas...a little late

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:31:00 +0000

So...I'm behind. Super huge surprise. My USB card reader for my camera has been AWOL (ahem, Patrick) for MONTHS and so all of my precious, not-always-so-great photos have been locked inside the world of a lil' bitty digital card. What a sad, sad life.

So, I'm ready to catch up the bagillions of people (Hi Nana. Hi Grandma and Poppie. Hi...oh wait, that's it...) who are chomping at the bit to get a glimpse of the almost-supernatural phenomenon called my-kid's-life. It's a shame I've wasted all this time, eh?

So, let me take you back to mid-December and Sydney's farwell party at her school...

It was a cold, dreary day. I faced an almost impossible task of making an eight minute "going away party" for my child into an unforgettable moment. It was daunting...to say the least. But I grabbed the reindeer by the horns, so to speak, and wrestled that task to the ground. I'd like to say I won, but an exhausted first grade teacher, 22 six-year-old kids with nothing but Santa's-almost-here on the brain, and (seriously) only eight minutes to make the moment last forever...well...like I said, it was an almost impossible task.

HOWEVER...I'd say these were a hit:

I was pretty excited about how they turned out...and I made them three more times. I just couldn't stop. Did I mention they're red velvet? And had a Hershey's Kiss hidden inside? And that they made an atrocious mess in the first grade classroom? And that that may very well have broken her teacher's last thread of sanity for the semester?

Aren't they all so cute?

Mrs. Meyer, first grade

Overall, it was a good moment. And I think we made a lasting memory.

Little Reader

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:44:00 +0000

"Mom...I'm going to go bury my head in a book," she said today while thinking about how to kill 15 minutes before leaving for school.

She is skyrocketing with her reading lately and it is SO fun. I'm actually really amazed.

Family Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:49:00 +0000

Sincere gratitude goes to Jeff Moore. Thanks to him, we have family pictures for the first time in yeeaaaaaarrrrrrrssss. And I mean that. YEARS. I think Sydney was 2 the last time we had any "official" family pictures taken and that just ain't right.

Anyway, I just wanted to post a few because I think they turned out pretty darn good. Thanks again, JEFF. You ROCK... and have single-handedly saved the historical documentation of our family. My scrapbook lovin' family sends their many blessings, thank-yous and tears of gratitude.

Two things you should know before you browse these photos. One, how painfully shy my child is. And two, how I did NOT teach her those poses.

The End

Me vs Disney

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:53:00 +0000

Syd, yelling from the shower she just stepped into: Moooooommmmmm!!!???
Me, from a foot and a half away: Yes?
S: Can you fix the shower curtain?
Me: Of course.
Fixed.
Syd: Thanks. You're the best Mom ever in reality.
Me, laughing: Reality?
Syd: Ya. I mean, there are some pretty great moms in cartoons. But you're the best one EVER...in reality.

ha ha ha...I think that's a truly heartfelt compliment. But... I just gotta say BLAST those Disney Moms! I don't even know which one I'm being compared to. I certainly didn't ask.

Cutest wicked witch...

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:45:00 +0000

...you ever did see....

Yep, you heard me. Against all that wants to protect my own squeaky clean image and wants to tell everyone who sees my daughter's Halloween costume that she's actually very sweet and doesn't like EVIL stuff...I let her be a wicked witch for Halloween. The Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba, to be exact. But here's how it happened:

about three months ago
Me: So Syd, what do you want to be for Halloween?
Syd: Well...I either want to be Elphaba or Dorothy. But, I really want to be Elphaba, but Dorothy would be ok, if Elphaba isn't ok.
Me, looking to Patrick for help and seeing only amusement in his face: You want to be the...the...(throat clearing) Wicked Witch????

Now, let me insert my inner dialogue. I LOOOOOOOOVE Wicked, the musical. I get Elphaba and she rocks the socks right off my feet. My child has adopted my love for the whole story and SHE gets Elphaba and Elphaba rocks HER socks too! BUUUUUT, I'm a good girl and good girls' lil' girls don't trick or treat as the WICKED WITCH! I mean, what will people think? Will they think that we go to church on Sunday but secretly worship the devil? (I KNOW that's what my neighbor thinks, especially now that we have little soggy ghosts hanging limply from our trees ...but that's a story for another time).

But back to our conversation.

Me: So, why do you want to be the Wicked Witch?
Syd: Well, because Elphaba's not really wicked, Mom!!! She's just misunderstood. Everyone hates her because she's green and that's not nice. She wanted to be good, but everyone was soooo mean! It was NOT nice.

Enough said, brilliant, sensitive child. You can be the Wicked Witch but ONLY if you declare your reasoning at every threshold!

Ding Dong.
"Trick or Treat. I'm Elphaba and just really misunderstood!"

And the cutest lil' witch you'll be.

...with the greatest cloak-span

...and goofiest grin...

These were ALL her idea.

Yep, this one too

and this one

and DEFINITELY this one!

lata.

*kudos goes to Nana. Thanks for the crazy awesome sewing skills and making all of our Wicked dreams come true!

When I grow up...

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsey) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:08:00 +0000

I want to be an artist...

I thought I'd give you a glimpse of Sydney's utmost passion: art. Almost all of these pieces are from her kindergarten art class. I fully expect to see some new ones come out of her creative FIRST GRADE mind this fall.

Bold, simple, and her name is written in the clouds. Hum....

An abstract pencil sketch of a flower.

I love love LOVE this rendition of Frosty the Snowman. She did this one at home, actually, and her idea of Frosty looks delightfully cuddly to me. And the pipe! I can't get over the huge pipe!

This was her first true watercolor experience at school and I LOVE it.
I wish you could see it up close.
Notice a theme with her "S"? It's always backwards. We're still workin' on that one!

This is one of Patrick's favorites. Sydney is unsatisfied with it because it isn't "finished."
She's waiting around for me to get some brown watercolors so she can
fill in the legs and hollow arm.

This is one of the first art projects she did in kindergarten. It's made of scraps of material left over from other projects. She had a BLAST with this as she is absolutely fascinated with using recycled materials for crafts. I have to admit, I get a little irritated when she tries to rescue some nasty piece of junk from the trash. The words "but we can use this for crafts!" are like a life motto for her. But... I like that about her.

The words on the bottom read:
This is my turtle. It lives in the pond and it can swim in the pond to the next grass as well. It sleeps in its shell and it lives around the earth. It walks real slow but it's fast in water. My turtle lives around the water on the waterbed. Sydney, August 2008

A good one to end with.
Free. Bold. Colorful. Bright. Boundless. Unhindered.
Yep, that about sums her up.

I hope you've enjoyed a glimpse into our little artist. We fully expect her to become very, very rich some day and take care of us in our old age. Hum....want to buy a painting?

Lata.