kandas-adventures

Waiting for a Long, Free Afternoon

 

For Christmas we decided to make a playmat for my nephew (age 4) and niece (almost 3).  I'd seen the idea in Family Fun magazine a few years back and had bought a roll of artist's canvas to make one for the school auction.  I made the one for the auction back in 2005, and intended to make another one for my girls shortly thereafter.  Well, somehow the roll of canvas got tucked into a corner and we never did make a mat for the girls.This time they were old enough to make a mat mostly on their own, so they practiced by making a mat for their cousins, with the goal of making their own mats shortly thereafter.... sound familiar?

 

The mat was completed, and gifted along with a set of matchbox cars for each child.  Now the roll of canvas is back in the corner, the paints and brushes set aside, and we're waiting for another long, empty afternoon to present itself so the girls can make their own.  We learned while making this one that it is not the kind of project to leave sitting out unattended while the paint dries.  Our cat walked across it and left colorful pawprints all over the wood floor!

If you'd like to make your own mat, you can find instructions here.

Flashback Friday -- Christmas Surprise 1978

I loved camping when I was a child.  Part of it was my love of the outdoors, but another part was because it was one of the few times I got to be with my dad.  A couple of times my dad made the mistake of bringing along some new child-hating girlfriend he'd hooked up with, and I made sure to make as much trouble for her as possible, in hopes that she would stomp off and I'd get my dad all to myself again.

One time my older half-sister came along.  I didn't mind sharing her with my dad.  Above is a photo of us camping on Lopez Island in the 70's. I'm the hugger on the far-left, there's my half-sister, my dad, little brother, and that's the van my dad camped in.  He built a platform bed in the back, and he and his girlfriend would sleep there, while my brother and I slept in a tent nearby (or not so nearby, on that one trip I was particularly nasty toward his girlfriend du jour).  

Sometimes in the off season my dad would make time to see me, and I always begged to go to the RV shows with him.  Together we'd inspect the latest models of trailers and motorhomes and dream about what we could get if money were no object.  I started to believe that if a motorhome materialized in my life, my dad would want to use it to go camping all the time, and I'd get more time with him.

So I asked Santa for a motor-home when I was 8.  And 9.  I remember looking out my bedroom window on Christmas morning, certain that a beautiful new motor-home, or at the very least, a cozy trailer, would be parked at the curb.  But the street was always empty of RVs.

However, I received a Barbie Camper when I was 9!  I didn't have Barbies, but I had the hippie "Sunshine Family," and they couldn't wait to go camping.

So even though I didn't see my dad that Christmas, my mom knew how much I wanted a camper, and she splurged for this yellow beauty to ease the ache I felt, for both my dad, and the camping I so longed to do.  It was great therapy -- play therapy -- for my 9 year old self.

Today that camper is in my garage.  My daughters played with it for a few years, but it really doesn't compare to the detailed Playmobil camper they have.  I should get rid of it, but I can't.  There are too many memories, too many fantasy camping trips played out within that yellow plastic shell.  When I look at it, those memories come rushing back, with all the details.  It's really eerie how vivid childhood memories can be.

Christmas 2011 in review

The family excitement starts on Christmas eve.  We head to my aunt's saltbox farmhouse, swinging through Seattle on the way to pick up my mom.  At Aunt Ruth's my cousins and their families flood in, some fresh from church, others watching the clock so they can get to the later service on time.  

The cousins socialize, and crowd around the children's table at meal time.  

Dinner was a prime rib roast, with all the fixings, followed by red velvet cheesecake, lemon tart, and assorted home-baked cookies.

Although we were all just together 2 weeks earlier for Lucia, we enjoy the 4 extra hours to continue the conversations.  More than likely it will be another 11 months before we see each other again, even though we always resolve to get together in the summer, but it never seems to happen.

This year my cousin's 17 year old son played Santa, even though there were no little ones in attendance.  The kids played along as the elders shouted, "give Santa a big thank-you kiss!" and some kids pounced on him, while others whined "eeewww!"

After the party we drove in Seatte to see light displays until cries from the back seat of "I'm feeling carsick..." caused us to call it a night.  We dropped Grammy at her house and headed home.

Christmas morning "big sis" arrived around 8:30 (she'd spent Christmas eve and the night at her mom's condo 2 blocks away), followed by Grammy at 10:00am.  The girls were allowed to open their stockings over breakfast, but had to wait until Grammy arrived and finished her breakfast before the big present opening began.  Both girls got "nanoblocks" kits to build an animal model, which kept them busy.

We had German Stollen with rum sauce and Cinnamon chip rolls for breakfast.

We sat around the tree for the rest of the morning.  Above, competitive Little K is looking glum because she's been "keeping score" and feels her sister has received more presents than she has.  In reality, she's just ripped open her packages a lot faster, while her sister has taken her time and still has some to go.  Does the rivalry never end? Grrrr.  But Christmas isn't over yet...

The big gift was a note from Santa in the tree along with a gift certificate from the Humane Society for the adoption of one kitten -- the foster kitten that we've had since September that both girls asked Santa for.  After 34 foster kittens, we finally got one that we just couldn't part with.  She's got some medical issues, but she also has the most loving personality, and we're happy to be able to offer her a home where she will be cherished and properly cared for.

My husband is a last-minute shopper, which means he's also a last-minute wrapper. On the morning of the 24th when I was out at the market getting the last fresh ingredients for our Christmas meals, he was scrambling to wrap things at home, and couldn't remember where I kept the gift boxes, so he got creative with a pair of scissors and a cereal box pulled from the recycling bin.  Above, my eldest daughter laughs at the 1/4 cereal box containing a present for her.  And my husband, he's holding acutal cereal -- granola -- given to him by another daughter.

The girls got some fun gifts, including Playmobil.  At 10 and 12 you'd think they'd have outgrown it, but they seem to be into it more than ever.

In the afternoon we cleared the table and brought out the board games.  As the game was underway, grammy caught up on her email and showed us stupid you-tube videos, while Daddy napped in the recliner.

We especially love the epic rail-building games, such as Eurorails, and Empire Builder.  The game takes about 3 hours and is heavy on the strategy.

The next day (Boxing Day) my dad came for Christmas and crab fondue.  His usual girlfriend was unavailable, so he brought an old girlfriend from the 1970's.  I had a gift for her, as well as for the usual girlfriend.  When I gave my dad the gift to take to his usual girlfriend, this one asked, "Who is ..." and my dad sheepishly replied that she was his girlfriend for the last 7 years (on and off, of course).  She looked a bit crest-fallen -- I think she thought SHE was his current girlfriend.  He's always played the field, and she's known him for 35 years, so I don't know why she was surprised.  Oh, those awkward holiday moments!

My dad does all his shopping at thrift stores now, so he had some funky treasures for us all.  A got a little house that you put a candle behind and the windows illuminate... and it has a built in music box.  I got a casserole dish.  And Little K got a vintage mink cape!  Real mink!  I'm totally against the fur trade, and I don't know when or where this little girl will wear it.  It will probably go in the dress-up box.

Above, A and Grandpa enjoy the newest boardgame "Pajaggle," a gift from our neighbors.

It was a good Christmas, and I am so thankful to have my crazy extended family nearby to share the holidays with.  Good memories were made this year.

Merry Christmas 2011

I took the girls to see Santa, and since he was so busy getting ready for the big day, he had one of his "senior elves" standing in for him at the photo place.  The theory goes that all those Santas you see at malls and parties are senior elves in training, and the newer, younger ones have to wear this fake beard until their real ones grow in, which can take many years of doing your time in the chair at malls and photo studios.  This Santa was a particularly young one since he had white makeup on his dark eyebrows, and a dark stubble on his upper lip.  He did have a twinkle in his eye, though.

The girls asked for a couple things.  Little K asked Santa to let us keep the foster kitten we've been caring for.  Her first request was a pet rat, but I told her that Santa never brings things to kids that the moms don't want to have to end up being responsible for, so I think she changed her request to something more plausible, because she knows this mommy loves kittens.  She also asked for a toy sailboat, which was a last-minute request inspired by her playmobil advent calendar, which included a child with a tiny toy boat.  

A asked for an ipod shuffle so she can listen to music on the school bus.  Her beloved bus driver, who used to entertain the kids with jokes and trivia questions, transferred to a different route, and now all the kids have retreated back into their electronic devices and she has no one to talk to on the 40 minute ride.  A also asked for Cod Liver Oil again, lemon flavor please, and Santa just about busted his padded gut laughing at that request!  Well, he will be passing over Norway on his way to us, so I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to pick some up along the way.

The girls will not be getting everything on their lists.  They get just a few little things from Santa, and the majority now comes from family, friends, and mom and dad.  

My husband and I got to visit with one of the more senior elves, and according to him we're both on the "nice" list this year.  That's a relief.  I'ts always a close one for me.  Neither my husband nor I asked for anything from Santa, because we feel we are already fully blessed.  

We will spend the next two days at home, with our door open to family, friends, and neighbors.  We will play boardgames, work together on a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle set up on a card table, and there will be an open buffet of food on the kitchen counter: German Stollen fruit bread, cinnamon chip rolls, fruitcake, cheese, olives, meats, crusty potato and rosemary rolls, fresh fruit, vegetables and dip, and lots of cider and egg nog.

We'll revel in our blessings, and remember those who are alone, away from home, or missing loved ones at this time of year.

If you celebrate Christmas, please accept our wish for you to have a joyous holiday filled with the love of friends and family.

 

 

Celtic Yuletide 2011

Every year we enjoy the Magical Strings Celtic Yuletide concerts -- this was their 33rd year performing!  They started performing as a couple, adding their 5 children through the years, and now they have a good collection of daughter-in-laws and grandchildren, as well as a school full of Irish dancers joining them.

Little Hayden, age 3, alternated between miniature harp, tambourine, drum, ukulele, singing, and watching the percussionist.  Actually, he spent much of the time mesmerized by the drummer.

This little guy was on stage for much of the show, which went from 7pm - 9:30pm.  I coundn't believe how well-behaved he was!  Both of his parents as well as his older sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents are all performers, so I suppose it is in the blood for him.  Still, though, very impressive.  His dad is the cellist, and his mom and aunt are waiting in the wings on either side of the stage, ready to snatch him if needed.

This is the one year old daughter of the drummer, who just learned to walk.  She toddled around on stage in this Irish dance costume which matched the older dancers.  So adorable!

My dad and daughters ready to hit the stage for the processional after the intermission.  Costumes are provided in the lobby for you to choose from.  About half the people on stage are kids-at-heart in adult bodies, like my dad.

Grandmother Pam leads the processional, with Little K on the tambourine behind her.

Final bow, until show #34 next year...

If you'd like a listen, click here, here, and here.

Santa Lucia Celebration 2011

We had our annual family Lucia celebration last week.  Here are scenes from the day:

The dresses, ribbons, and crowns are laid out on a bed, awaiting the girls.  Some of the gowns are handsewn, more than 50 years old, and were worn by me when I was young.  Somewhere along the way, as things were passed down through the generations, the original crowns from Sweden, which held real candles, were lost.  Now there is just a cheap battery operated crown (made in China), and tinsel garland crowns.  Usually I have my girls make crowns with cedar branches, but that didn't happen this year.

The girls get dressed and try to decipher great aunt Ruth's handwriting.  A is chosen to read the story of Lucia this year, and she is stumbling over the words.

We all go over the lyrics for the Santa Lucia song.

Two moms direct, while I photograph.

"She'll go down first and read, then you lead the others down the stairs..."

A enters the room where the extended family is gathered, and begins reading.  The other girls are up the stairs around the corner, giggling.

A reads as best she can, while my cousin's wives assist her with deciphering the handwriting.

The recitation complete, the singing begins, and the rest of the girls sweep down the stairs with plates full of cookies.

Little K offers you a cookie!  I recommend the dark chocolate shortbread stars from Trader Joe's!  I know, I should have baked cookies, but Trader Joe's made it too easy for me to cheat.

Our 6 Lucia girls for 2011, ages 9 to 15.

My cousin, who is a year older than I am, reminisces about the Lucia celebrations past, when the boys had to wear gowns and participate as well.  They were called "Star Boys" and carried wands with a star on the tip, and wore red cone hats.  They boys dreaded it, but were threatened with not getting anything from Santa if they didn't cooperate.

After the sugar from the cookies took effect, and the girls had changed back into their party dresses, the kids began a spirited game of "find the leader," where one person leaves the room while a leader is selected, and then returns to the room to find all the kids in a circle making the same movements.  Suddenly the gestures would change, and the "it" person had to determine who was leading the changes.  Hilarious to watch!

The dog complains that with the kids so much older now, there isn't as much dropped food for him to score.  Only one slice of ham made it to the carpet and quickly into the dog's stomach.  Like all families, there is an ebb and flow of reproduction.  Right now all the adults are finished having babies, and the oldest kids are still a decade away from starting their own families, so things will be more sedate each year for awhile.  I remember when I was a teen, and how boring the family parties became without little ones scampering about.  Then, my cousins started having kids, and I had mine, and suddenly there were babies and toddlers everywhere again.

A learns yo-yo tricks.

Although we all live within 45 minutes of each other, we never seem to get together except in December.  It's fun to see how the kids have grown and changed in a year's time.  I'm grateful that we carry on these traditions and are still in touch.

Ironically, this branch of the family is on my dad's side, but he is never invited.  At the party are my mother (his ex-wife), and the widows of his two deceased brothers, and their children with their spouses, the grandchildren, a new husband for one of the widows, and some in-laws, extended family, and friends.  This tradition of celebrating Santa Lucia with my dad's side of the family was started in the 50's by my dad's sister's husband's mother.  She hosted for nearly 40 years, then there were about 10 years when nothing happened because no one dared to try throwing the big party she was famous for, and we didn't have any young girls in the family to be Lucias anyway.  Eventually sentimentality crept in, little girls were born, and my aunt and cousin's wife and I revived the tradition.  It will never be as grand as Aunt Bardy's Lucia, but we carry it on in her honor.

There I am at age 4, at the far right, in 1973.  Fond memories.

Some of my cousins, celebrating Lucia in the 1960's.

Christmas 2010

The celebration started with Christmas Eve dinner at my Aunt's house.   She is Martha Stewart when it comes to decor, cooking, and ambiance.  In her mid-70's now, her energy amazes me.
The adults table...
And the kid's table.
The Christmas eve token present: coin banks for the girls, books for my cousin's daughters. Before we knew it, it was Christmas morning.  The girls slept until about 8:30, and we had breakfast and opened presents shortly after 9am.  I LOVE that my daughters sleep in on Christmas morning, despite the excitement.

This is how the tree appeared on Christmas morning.  K's pile is the lighter wrapping to the right, A's is the blue and green wrapping, and the other gifts are between family.  It was a light load this year, mostly board games, books, and little practical things.  Both girls received some cash from family -- K used hers to buy a little camera, and A is still deciding what to get with her cash.  She's learned well that it's better to wait and be sure, than to have buyer's remorse.  For now her money is in the bank.
Big sis was with us for Christmas morning and the girls gave her a board game.
A got a book about knot tying, something she was introduced to through Girl Scouts and has become quite interested in.
K got a Teddy Bear, something she's been wanting for months.  It seems odd that the girl with 100 monkeys has suddenly diversified, but apparently she felt her childhood would not be complete without a Teddy Bear, so here he is.  I love how simple things give my girls such great pleasure.
My husband played with the train.  I really fell down on the decorating job this year.  I let the kids decorate the tree, and only about 1/3 of our ornament collection made it out of the boxes.  My husband set up the train himself the day before Christmas.  I didn't bother to decorate the mantle, the bathroom, the chandelier, or anywhere else.  The month was so busy, that it simply was what it was.  Simple.
Christmas was good this year...
Just look at the jolly elves at our house on Christmas day!

Lead up to Christmas 2010

We've been busy, so here's a look at the week leading up to Christmas... above, a fun Christmas tree maze at a new hospital open house...

 

Checking out the stroke assessment room in the ER.  A is wearing her scrubs, and still hopes to be a doctor someday.  Whenever there is a new medical clinic or hospital opening, we ALWAYS have to attend the open house.  Little K goes along for kid activities. 
Finger casting.  Her pet kiwi bird also got a beak cast.
Checking out the pediatric training dummy.  It has soft pockets in the limbs for giving injections, and a weak computerized voice says "ouch" and "I want my mommy."  It would be more realistic if it screamed at high decibels and kicked and bit.

Riding the new CT scanner at the hospital.  Our neighbor is the technician who installed it and was proud to hear that we enjoyed his handiwork.

While at the hospital we got to see Santa.  The REAL Santa.  I couldn't help sneaking in the photo, since I love the dear old man so much, and wanted to be near him!
After the event the trees were given away free, so we took our tree home to decorate for the animals in our backyard.

The next day we had an early Christmas at my Dad's 5th ex-wife's boyfriend's house.  My dad, his ex-wife, and her boyfriend were there, as we had the usual blended family celebration.
We know the circumstances are a bit odd, so we all play along as oddballs.

Not hard with my dad around.

As always, the food was spectacular.  We had king crab this year, and even though I'm allergic, I had some and then about 10 antacids as a chaser, because it was too good to pass up.

Grandpa and his girls under the Swiss Christmas tree.

The next day we tried ice skating at the outdoor rink.  It had been 4 years since the girls were on skates, and they did pretty well, despite the crowds, pushing, and obstacles.
We attended the Magical Strings concert and A was selected for the juggling act -- she's at the far right, looking dazed.

My dad joined the fun, too.  Here he is at intermission, being himself.  He was sitting on the end of the handrail cycling his legs, pretending to be a bicycle riding donkey.
I coordinate community service at a nursing home for our Girl Scout service unit, so I arranged for us to sing Christmas carols to the residents.  They are always happy to see us.
A went back to the endodontist and the news is not good.  Her tooth has died and a root canal is scheduled.  Poor kid!
We went to the Pacific Science Center with friends and the kids found an old phone box at a restaurant, made "cell phones" from paper cards, and pretended to make calls.
I took A into the city for some one on one shopping (so she could buy presents for her sisters), and we ended up playing board games at Blue Highway games on Queen Anne Hill for a couple hours.  They have an extensive library of games to play, and we bought 3 games from their salesfloor.
And at home we played lots of games.  We love being able to stay up late and play hour after hour of strategy games.  SO that's our busy week BEFORE Christmas.

Happy Lucia

Family tradition lives on for the next generation.  Seems like just yesterday I was in a gown and wearing a crown, but mine had real candles alight, which left dripped wax in my hair until at least new year's.  These cousins are aged 7 - 13 with the oldest girl wearing a battery operated crown.  Mine made their own crowns with ribbon, straws, and yellow tissue paper flames.  Not the same, but as long as there are delicious cookies passed around by graceful young ladies, the elders are pleased.  Oh my gosh, if I'm no longer in a gown, that means I'm now an elder!  Yikes!

December in Review

As usual, illness curtailed our planned holiday celebrations.  Little K came down with a bad sore throat on the 17th, and by the 28th she was in the doctor's office with a double ear and sinus infection.  Up and down the street, most of the neighborhood kids were also fighting colds, and our plans with my niece and nephew were postponed because they had stomach flu.

The post I made on Christmas day was actually from an early Christmas celebration we had before my stepmom left for Switzerland for the holidays.  We spent Christmas day at home.

 
Christmas morning chaos -- Little K was tossing packing peanuts in the air.  She'd been sick for a week already and I was so happy to see her in better spirits that I let her continue tossing long after I normally would have corrected her. She did get to clean it up, though.

 
Most days were spent at home playing board games. 

 
Earthopoly, similar to Monopoly, is an obvious favorite for the family of an eco-scientist.

 
We introduced A to Risk, and now she wants to play it all the time (that girl has a competitive streak, to be sure).

We played the following games (many multiple times):

Carcassone

Clue

Earthopoly

In a Pickle

Risk

Settlers of Catan

Simply Catan

Snowstorm

Telepathy

The Snowman

 
We also did a couple of 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzles (one in a record 5 hours!)  These ones by Heronim Wysoki are our favorties.

Things we didn't get around to doing this holiday season:

* driving around to look at light displays in Seattle

* attending a Thistle Theater puppet show

* going to the Nutcracker (too expensive, anyway)

* baking cookies

* going out to a party on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve (we stayed home)

* visiting a mall santa

* seeing reindeer at the garden center or zoo

Things we did manage to do:

* attend "snowflake lane" celebrations in downtown Bellevue

* attend a Magical Strings concert

* decorate candy houses (done hastily in our kitchen just before Christmas)

* have crab fondue

* celebrate Christmas with my stepmom, her boyfriend, and my dad

* participate in a church nativity program

* make pinecone birdfeeders

* visited a big nursery to look at the poinsettia displays

* mom and daughter date so the girls could shop for their sister

 
Here's a photo of the girls on Christmas Eve day.  We took a little drive because Little K had been housebound for almost a week, and she did appear to be better that day.

 
We went to a favorite pottery maker and each girl picked out something that "called to them."  For A it was this new mug for her morning coffee (yes, she's a true Seattleite, so she has coffee each morning). K picked out a little bowl.

 
K wants to be a potter when she grows up.

 
We stopped by and old variety/dime store for some last-minute shopping.

 
Christmas morning:  both girls got new bathrobes.

 
K, who had been sick for a week, began to perk up as the present opening began with her stocking.

 
A had asked Santa for Cod Liver Oil.  Seriously.  She is probably the only child on the face of this earth to request it, so how could Santa resist?

 
Besides the fish oil, A asked for books.  Santa loves those requests.

 
Both girls look forward to their new toothbrushes, and this year they got electric ones.

 
Using birthday and Christmas money from and Aunt and Uncle, both girls got their first American Girl Dolls.  At $100.00 each, they were a long time coming.  In this photo you can see that Little K's getting a bit dazed.  Later in the afternoon she had a meltdown, followed by a much-needed 2 hour nap.

 
Santa brought the neighbors a trampoline.  Here A (in pink and red) tries it out, while Little K was at home sleeping.  Apparently Santa set the thing up in the dark of night in freezing temperatures, and the 4 kids in that family were totally surprised the next morning!

 
Little K has only gotten dressed about 4 out of the last 14 days.  Today is another day of pajamas for her, and she's upset once again that her sister is off at a playdate while she's kept home to nap.

 
Perhaps if the girls hadn't been determined to stay up PAST midnight last night to ring in the new year, K would have been better today.

 
Here's to a HAPPY and HEALTHY New Year!