The Circle of Life and snow...

As I sit here waiting on news about my grandfather, papa, I think about the strangeness that is life.  At this very moment, one of my best friends is in labor.  She tried for over three years to conceive, suffering four miscarriages and an inutero virus that threatened the life her finally healthy fetus. 

My grandfather is dying.  I don't expect him to live through the new year.  He is old, and has been sick for many years.  It is his time and I am sure my grandmother is eagerly awaiting his arrival.  I will miss him.

The circle of life is such that we dance with joy at the birth of a baby and cry with sadness at the loss of a life.  Such is the way.

And then there is snow!

Hurry mom, take a picture, we want to play!

I may be biased...

But she is simply beautiful!

happymommy

UPDATE:  BFF Baby born at 5:09 PST, Grandfather passed away at 8:30 PST.  Life, it is a circle!

A comedy of errors, kind of... Not really...

Although we had a wonderful Christmas Eve with family complete with a sleigh ride and an even better Christmas day with more family, the past seven days have been the near death of me.  I am blaming the entire experience on the fact that our travel day last week went off without a hitch!

James is still sick.  In fact, I had to take him back to urgent care on Christmas Day because his fever was still high all the time and he was just miserable.  Turns out he had a double ear infection and a sinus infection.  Antibiotics were procured after a long wait due to it being CHRISTMAS DAY!  I am not sure if it was him being sick that morning or not, but James was frightened of all of his presents except for Mr. Potato Head.  For that, he jumped up and down in between crying and wiping his snot on my shirt!  James managed to pass his germs around successfully and as of now, Grandpa and Cousin R went down. 

And then there was last night.  Lilly had remained relatively unscathed, just a small runny nose but all in all she was having the time of her life.  Flash forward to 1am this morning.  We had to move around the sleeping arrangements because more family arrived, so Jeff was sleeping downstairs on the couch and Lilly with me.  At 1am, I turned over, looked at Lilly and she proceeded to projectile vomit all over me and the bed.  Twice.  I scrambled to get help to help clean up the bed while I cleaned up Lilly.  She went straight back to sleep and seems fine today.

Now lets flash forward again to about 7:45 this morning.  James was waking up so I went downstairs to get him and started to change his diaper in the dark when I noticed a strange coloring around his mouth.  I ran him upstairs and found dried blood around his mouth and nose.  I lost it.  After a thorough cleaning, I deduced that he had a bloody nose sometime during the night and it had dried.  I immediately called the doctor, cause you know, his brain was bleeding and he has been sick for a week.  Turns out they weren't worried and I was told to just watch it.  He still has a low grade fever and isn't the happiest of babies but as we get to our 48 hour of antibiotics, I am hoping beyond hope that he begins to get healthy again.

It hasn't been all horrible.  The family fun has been full of laughs, food and wine, so there is that.  Lilly had the greatest time with her cousins and took part in the traditional Christmas Eve skating.

My in-laws neighborhood is simply beautiful on Christmas Eve.  

Their house lights up the cul-de-sac!

Everyone got great gifts and the little ones were simply in heaven! 

(Well James was in heaven he just didn't know it.)

This is a horrible picture but see, he is having fun!

Lilly also went to her first Bronco game with her dad.

I can't say I have been having the time of my life like my little Lilly.  I hadn't slept more than three to four hours straight since we arrived.  Jeff finally took the monitor away from me on Christmas night so I could get some sleep.  Even before the craziness that was early this morning and James pool of blood, I had reached my limit.  This morning I attempted to take off and spend some time with myself.  I needed a break from the kids and being inside.  I hadn't really left the house other than an occassional errand here and there.  It was getting to me.

I tried to enjoy myself but after getting lost, having a restaurant I wanted to enjoy being closed and finally a failed shopping experience, I just had to laugh and acknowledge, that as a mom, this is my life.  I endure the days and nights of sickness and no sleep.  I may get a chance to be young and carefree every once in a while, but the realty is that I am mom.  I embrace it.  Mostly!

happymommy

Pictionary and other Christmas stories

I am not going to write too much about how I have a sick child.  I mean the panic of having a little boy with a 104.5 fever is enough to make me want to write about nothing.  It was pointed out to me by one of my readers (HI SHARON!)  being sick in Denver over Christmas is a holiday tradition with my family.  So, I am embracing the sickness and hoping it goes away soon! 

Grandpa comforting the sick child!  AWWW!

One family traditon that I wish I still embraced was playing board games, card games and other fun non-tv or computer activities.  However, Jeff and I aren't really game players, and neither is his family.  I think sometimes it would be nice if we would all sit around and play cards or a board game, but I leave this to my parents and sister's family.  

I remember many times when I was younger playing Trivial Pursuit or Pictionary with my sister and parents.  Most likely I was rolling my eyes, willing the phone to ring so I could talk to my friends who were sure to be doing something much more exciting.  Every once in a while I acknowledged I was having a good time and even smiled!

My father was, and turns out is still the most epic of Pictionary players.  His drawing remains unmatched and honestly might need to be in the Museum of Modern Art!  

Guess this drawing...

Or better yet this one...

And I dare you to guess this one...

Happy Holidays from the entire happymommy family!

happymommy

Answers:  
Drawing 1:  Dracula
Drawing 2:  The Solar System
Drawing 3:  Rope Climber (of course it is!  Of course!)

The Power of Family...

I just finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo today and honestly, I felt off.  I am not sure what it was about that book, but it was unsettling to me.  Maybe it was the subject matter.  Maybe it was the ending.  Maybe it was the thought that in this world there are people who have lives like the characters in the book and have to fight their way through life:  without love, without hope and with nothing happy to look forward to in their future.  I KNOW there are people who suffer so much worse and still manage to live day to day.  There are entire countries whose inhabitants have no where to turn for their next meal.  It made me sad, and it made me look around at what I do have and truly appreciate.

I write a lot, A LOT, about being thankful for my life, my family and my many blessings.  Maybe in the new year I will write about how no one has commented on my new hairdo, made a statement about the whole three pounds I have lost, or actual important subjects that extend beyond my own life.  But tonight, I share family.  Merry Christmas! 

The Mighty Motorcycle Gang!

Oh, and Cousin Ryan pretending to be part of the Gang!

Cousins watching Frosty the Snowman!

The little one didn't nap today...

He tried really hard to hang with his cousins and sister!

A great day!  But in the midst of all this family happiness, I need to remember not everyone is so lucky.  What can I do to reach out to others and help make their lives happier?  I will be better about donating, about following through on my ideas to help and giving extra time to those that are less fortunate than I.

Happy Holidays!

happyrachael

PS:  I loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  It was well written, kept me engaged and left me thinking.  I read it in a day and a half, and would have finished it earlier had I not had to get on a plane for all this family love.  I already bought the 2nd book, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and will probably read it in the next couple of days.

My update....

We have arrived in the great city of Denver!  Honestly, we have never had such an easy day of traveling in my life.  We made it to the airport in record time, through security quickly and the flight was uneventful.  It was simply fabulous!  The kids were incredible, and I managed to keep it together.  What in the world?

One year ago....

And today...

Anyone see the difference?

My little family loves being here.  We hang our perverbial hat and make ourselves at home.  And we have a great time!

And then there are the cousins!

Jeff and I continue to be amazed at our life!  We are lucky, our children are blessed and we know it.  Each and every day, we know it!

happymommy

Oh the joys of parenting....

After last Sunday's losing the child episode, I thought it would be smooth sailing until we left on our yearly adventure to Denver for Christmas.  I sure was wrong.  

On Monday morning, James started complaining about his belly but he seemed fine, albeit a tad pale but I took him to daycare anyway because there was no throwing up or fever.  However, when I picked him up he was full on sick.  103 temperature for forty-eight hours.  On Wednesday he woke up right as rain and once again I tricked myself into believing all was well with the world.  HAHAHA!

Lilly was up all Wednesday night with a raging fever.  Of course, Lilly had a big playdate at our house that afternoon, so in addition to worrying about Lilly, I had to freak out about Lilly giving her little friend the plague.  So Thursday, off to the doctor we went.  Lilly was shivering with fever, and James was jumping around singing.  I wanted to have the doctor check to make sure it was just a virus and there was no ear infection or some other malady.  No ear infection, just a virus.  But wait, let's check for strep.  ARGHHH.  Thank goodness the initial test came back negative because having strep meant so much more than just getting antibiotics.  I would have to call the mother of Lilly's friend, who has three children and is getting ready for her own Christmas trip.  The school would have to be notified, so parents could get that dreaded letter saying their child had been exposed to the dreaded disease.  James' daycare would have to be notified and the woman who runs his daycare just had a baby, ON SUNDAY!  And then there was Lilly...

The poor child was miserable.  She didn't want to eat, drink or even watch TV.  Her temperature soared to 104.1 and I started to lose it.  I prepared myself for a trip to the ER because I just knew she was going to start having seizures and develop rheumatic fever.  Imagine the paperwork involved in that!

The part of being a parent that starts with worry, leads to panic and finally pure, unadulterated panic is not written about in any parenting book.  I imagine the worse case scenario and take it one step further.  I had Lilly already admitted to the hospital and was trying to figure out how to get my mom over to watch James so Jeff could come to the hospital while we stood vigil!  Needless to say, Lilly slept with me last night and after a fitful night of sleep, she woke up this morning good to go and happy as a little clam.

The moral of this story is that I am insane.  Clearly, I love my children.  Clearly, I may need therapy.  

Happy Holidays!  Writing may be more sporadic than usual, or more often over the next two weeks.  You know me, I am nothing if not inconsistent!

 Picture brought to you by Elmo's Monster Maker and Sesame Street

happymommy

My child was lost.... And I lost it....

If I write one more time about how I have nothing to blog about I am going to put forks in my eyeballs.  But honestly, I have nothing to write about these days.  I mean my life isn't boring and I have much blog fodder, but the need to write about it all is next to none.  I try, in my head, but getting in "on paper" is just plain hard. 

I did have the pleasure of spending yesterday afternoon with some fabulous people while we waited out the "dry run" for Lilly's dance recital.  There were more laughs and oh my lordy moments in that hour of waiting than I have had in awhile!  Shout out to Kris for being awesome and enduring an hour of crazy with the parents of 5 year olds!

The Dance....

Not the greatest of dances, but oh so cute!

And then there was today...

James is dressed and ready to go...

We went to a fabulous Christmas party with people from every walk of life.  Santa was there, food was abundant the the kid to adult ratio was like 32:1.

I will not go into the specifics of why my son was unsupervised for about two minutes, but needless to say, those two minutes sent me into a panic.  Two minutes led to 5 minutes which led to many more minutes.  I was running around thinking oh he is just here.  Oh, I'll find him there.  Ten minutes later, I still can't find him.  By this time, I am hyperventilating.  I have images of him being stuck under the pool cover.  Maybe he fell down the stairs and broke his neck and no one can find him.  I am running around like a lunatic:  STRAIGHT INTO A GLASS PATIO DOOR!  I don't stop for a second.  Now, all the other party attendees keep saying, "are you ok?"  "did you lose something?"  YES, YES, I DID LOSE MY CHILD.  DO NOT MIND ME RUNNING INTO THE GLASS DOOR JUST GO HELP ME FIND MY SON!.

Over the last two years I have cussed my son.  He cried the first six months of his life.  He whines a lot.  He is very particular and needs things just so.  But if something were to ever happen to him, there really are no words.  He laughs, has the best humor and is one of three people that I will never be able to live without.  And then there are stories like this out there.  Really, world?  Really?

My brother-in-law found James playing baseball in the corner of the back yard; just happy as a clam.  Leave it to my BIL to make everything right.  I haven't hugged and kissed James more than I did tonight. 

I am tired.  Exhausted and overwhelmed.  And my head hurts from running into the glass door.  But my children are alive and healthy.  I couldn't ask for anything better than that!

happymommy

Hockey and Elbows....

Before I start into my normal fun quips about family events and pictures of my cute children, I want to give tribute to a wonderful woman whose life was cut short today by the awfulness that is cancer.

Elizabeth Edwards died today after a six year battle with breast cancer.  She was a dignified and proud woman who led her life with grace and class.  She lost a child at a young age, and one may say she has now joined him to watch over her other children from afar.  A woman, a mother and a wife; she was all of these and she did them better than I could ever hope to do.  We will miss the guidance this woman could have offered us should she have escaped this deadly disease.  She will be missed.

I have no segue from that to just yacking nonsensically about my life and my cute children.  Sorry.

Jeff plays league hockey twice a week.  It does not affect our family life because the crazy man plays at 10:45 most nights and leaves long after the children are in bed.  Last night was the final playoff game for his Monday night league.  He made the game winning goal and got hit  in the elbow with a frozen puck going 50 miles an hour. 

Um, not good. 

 And yes, this is his elbow.  He swears it is fine.  We shall see...

Last month we went to A Night in Bethlehem at my church with our friends.

Great fun was had...

James was especially entertained!

And yes, he is wearing his Brobe headband from Yo Gabba Gabba Live.

We are preparing for our yearly Denver trip by getting out the jackets and the boots for snow.  I am a weather wimp and need no snow gear as I don't go in the snow, but the kids are a different story.  

Lilly is good to go.

Happy Holidays!

happymommy

Holiday Parties...

Tonight is my husband's work annual holiday extravaganza.  In the three years Jeff has been with his company we have been to Vegas for the night, an Italian joint, Sonoma for wine tasting, a grand meal and an overnight and this year we are headed to Brazil.  Not the actual Brazil, but a restaurant where waiters walk around with meat on a stick and you eat until you pass out from the glutony.  I am looking forward to the Brazilian experience tonight at this restaurant.  Supposedly there is dancing as well as eating until you die!

On another note, Lilly is in the process of taking a break from writing her letter to Santa.  So far this year, we want Zhu Zhu pets (kill me now), some follow Thomas thing that will ensure I die and new ice skates.  Although she will not get all of this, or even any of it, it is entertaining to watch her get excited about Santa.  We will go see him tomorrow in a parade by our house.  The joy of watching a young one start to appreciate the tradition is exciting.  Ok, who am I kidding?  The girl just wants things.

Wish me luck at my overeating adventure.

happymommy

Flash Mobs...

I am obsessed with Flash Mobs.  It all started with this...



Then there was this...

Oh Oprah...

And then today, Jeff sent this to me. It was beautiful, surreal and I cried. Cuz it is Christmas and I love everything Christmas.

happymommy


**Update... after looking for the links for this post, I found like a million other Flash Mobs. I don't want to share them because that would be annoying, but if you ever have hours to kill, go search Flash Mobs on You Tube. You will thank me. Or hate me.**

Sad it is over...

I love Thanksgiving.  I think I mentioned that before, like a hundred times, but I really do love it.  The cooking, the family time and the leftovers.  This year I added running five miles to the mix and except for not being able to walk on Friday, it was a great experience.

Turkey Trotting....

Not exactly sure why my hair looks like that.

I don't have a bunch of pictures from the actual eating festivities because I was too busy stuffing my face with my mom's glorious food and daring my extremely liberal sister to bring up more political topics to the republicans in attendance.  That was fun!  I am always sad to see Turkey Day come to an end. 

Looks like I am not the only one!

I was exhausted and full, in my belly and my soul.  But now, I am so ready for Christmas.  Bring on the cheer and decorations.

This is about the extent of our decorations around here since we always leave for two weeks and head to Denver.  (And we do have house sitters so no attempting to rob us.  We don't have anything anyway, so it would be futile!)

I love, luv, lurve Christmas!  We get to spend two weeks with Jeff's parents and are always surrounded by friends.  Sufice it to say people, I love the holidays.  They start in October with the celebration of my anniversary, birthday, then Thanksgiving, followed by Christmas and the New Year!  By the time Valentine's Day rolls around, I am all holiday'd out!

I truly hope all of my four readers had a great Thanksgiving and are looking forward to an even better Thanksgiving!

happymommy

Cooking...

I love Thanksgiving!  Love, luv, lurve it!  It means eating with reckless abandon, family and so many laughs.  This year, I decided to run the Turkey Trot in Golden Gate Park for some crazy reason.  So at 7:00 am on Thursday morning I will be heading across the bridge to injure myself.  I am actually looking forward to the torture!

After I run, I will speed home to cook, cook and cook some more.  The rolls!  The Green Bean Casserole, fake and real! The Apple Pear Butter!  The Beet Salad!  Jeff is in charge of the mashed potatoes!  We gather all our food, head back across the bridge and spend the afternoon with my family.  It will be so wonderful and not at all relaxing, but it isn't supposed to be.  Thanksgiving is about being thankful, food, family and friends!

James finds the whole thing hysterical!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL!

I'll "see" you on Friday!

happymommy

I conquered and they Yo Gabba'd...

After yesterday's realization that I had to do something about my spice cabinent, I actually did something!  I organized.  I am not too sure why I need four Italian Seasoning mixes, five things of ground cumin, two bottles of liquid smoke and worse, six bottles of poulty seasoning.  I still have all of these, but they are at least organized!  I fought the spices and today, I won!

Remember yesterday's spice cabinet? 

While I was busy organizing and figuring out why I needed four bottles of ground ginger, Jeff took the kids to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live.  They had the time of their lives.  I have many pictures to download and share, but for now....

 They left me at home so I could conquer...

Then they arrived...

And saw this....

And so it began...

And they waited...

Until there was dancing...

Not the best video, but look at the fun being had...

And look, it's DJ James Raz..

Oh wait, it's DJ Opa...

happymommy

My sad, sad kitchen....

Loyal readers, hi mom, know I love to cook.  On my recent birthday trip to Tahoe, I had the privilege of baking and creating masterpieces, or at least edible meals, in a gorgeous kitchen.  Every Christmas vacation, I get to cook in my mother-in-law's kitchen where things are organized and there is plenty of counter space.  

Today, while dealing with my twitter addiction, one of my favorite tweeters and bloggers, busydadblog posted this picture of his spices and kitchen.

First of all, I am in awe.  This looks like heaven.  Check out busydadblog for an explanation of the post-it notes.  All of this made me question my inability to keep something I love organized.

I mean look at my spice area.  

Now scroll up and check out busydadblog's spice rack again.  

I am ashamed. :(

Ok, maybe I am not ashamed as that would be silly, but I am determined to fix this.  Tomorrow Jeff is taking Lilly and James to Yo Gabba Gabba live by himself.  (This will be an entire post unto itself if Jeff survives.  His idea, by the way, and I wish him luck!)  While he is gone, I will organize this one cabinet.  We are about to undergo a house renovation which will include a kitchen remodel so I don't need to go crazy, just get organized.  I have a mission.  Unless I decide to nap.

happymommy

Much to the chagrin....

I know people, all four of you, where have I been?  I turned forty and now I am never around to entertain you with stories of James and Lilly and talk about my weight.  It is no mystery.  My life has been taken over by an iPad. 

I rarely turn on my laptop anymore.  I could blog from my wonderful iPad, but to be honest, Steve Jobs has really done a poor job with the keyboard aspect of both the iPhone and iPad.  Blogs take a little longer and more effort than one handed chicken pecks.  

My goal is to try harder and blog more.  So while I gather my thoughts and think of the next story to share, I leave you with a picture of Lilly at ballet.

Isn't she lovely, and so talented!

Also, lately I have been spending a lot of time reading this blog.  You know, because I have nothing better to do!  For those of us who use autocorrect on our iPhones or any other smart phone, you will find this immensely hysterical.  I have spent way too much time laughing until I cried.  This site is NOT SAFE FOR MY MOTHER TO READ!

happymommy

Still tired...

So, as you know I went away for five days with no children and I am more tired than I have been in a long time.  Four days of acting like I was twenty-one and then thirty-one is exhausting.  I cooked more, laughed more and hung out more than I have in five years.  I had the time of my life, and I couldn't be more thankful to Jeff, my in-laws, parents and sister for making it possible.  Not to mention the wonderful friends who took the time to come hang out with us.  

We came home to a sick baby, and immediately felt at home.  I mean what is Monday afternoon without diarrhea and a trip to urgent care.  We are on the mend and ready for the weekend so we can be all kinds of busy again.  And how in the world is it Thanksgiving?  I mean really, time moves so fast.  I must remember to appreciate every minute of it even when James is crying, Lilly is whining and I have to figure out what to make for dinner.  In-n-Out it is!

happymommy

Where is happymommy?.....

Happymommy is on VACAY!  WITH NO CHILDREN.  However, I have been gone from them for 24 hours and I miss them immensely.  I guess it shouldn't be surprising that I miss my kids, but I didn't think I would miss them so much, already.  

 Happy Grandparents!

Jeff rented a house for us in Tahoe for five days and so far, it has been spectacular.  I am so lucky to have a husband who loves me, who gets that I need some time away and who really wants me to be happy!  And, the grandparents who flew in from Denver to care for our kids? I mean who is so lucky?  And the other grandparents who are on call to pick Lilly up, take James for a day and take over when the Denver grandparents have to head home?  Jeff and I are so very blessed.

The house Jeff rented is beyond fabulous!  I would sleep in the kitchen if I could.

We have been cooking and playing and having the time of our lives.

Oh, and I am blogging!

happymommy

Pixar and Good Ol' Soul Food....

Today the happyfamily had the most wonderful day.  So often we tend to spend Saturdays in our pjs doing nothing and then wondering what happened to our weekend.  I wanted to take the ferry into the city and eat oysters at Hog Island Oyster Company, but remembered the SF Farmers' Market happens at the ferry building each Saturday morning.  Today was a beautiful fall day with a hint of fog, and I figured it would be crazy busy and not great for avoiding stress.

Instead, we headed over to Oakland to see the Pixar exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California.  I can not say enough about how wonderful the experience was.  Lilly was entranced.  James was in awe of all the Buzz Lightyear pictures everywhere.  If you live anywhere near Oakland, this is a great half day excursion.

 I see Buzz.....

Look....

Since I was craving oysters, I went to the interwebs to find a great seafood place in Oakland.  This led me to crave some good ol' Soul Food.  Not sure how oysters led to collards, but it did and boy howdy, I was not disappointed.  After an extensive Yelp search, we ended up at a down home, new as of April restaurant where I had Shrimp and Grits, collards, fried cabbage and peach cobbler.  BayLeaf was wonderful and I will go there again and again.  Every one had something different and everyone raved about the food and the atmosphere!

Fried Chicken, Collard Greens & Cornbread...

Yummy!

And we got to see our favorite little baby Sadie!

Today was another day I am pleased to say, life is good.  We are blessed.

happymommy

Update:  I have been in no way compensated for either visiting the Pixar exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California or eating at BayLeaf in Oakland.  My family enjoyed these on our own dime.