Rock To Wind A String Around

Happy Easter Monday. My mother (who is here for a prolonged visit) is fond of telling me that Easter Monday was a real holiday–banks were closed, no one worked.  Apparently, it was like the day after Thanksgiving, but without the low low prices.  My mom is also fond of reminding me that I was born on Easter Monday (but in April, not during this wimpy too early Easter-March season), three weeks later than my due date. There was much rejoicing when I finally arrived, 15 hours after my mother’s water broke at church.  Good times!

The children were delighted with the haul that the March hare provided–between allergies (for both tots) and Elliott’s new braces, it was hard to shower them with candy, so the baskets were full of toys and trinkets instead. Astrid Meklit was excited about her stash for about 5 seconds, until she realized she could wear the basket around her neck like a cow bell. We peeled off her gorgeous dress once she splashed it with carrot soup, so she walked around in a diaper, a white mary jane and ruffled sock (the other set got lost during the dress peeling) her new yellow sunglasses, and her Easter basket until we could shuttle her to the bathroom. Sadly, the battery for the D70 was charging during this interval–this outfit was photo-worthy!

My mom’s been here since Thursday and Astrid M is much enamored. I keep leaving them alone for short intervals–to run to the market, or drop books at the library and Astrid could care less. On Sunday night, we left her entirely alone with my mom at bedtime (no back up support from anyone, not even Elliott) and they muddled through. Astrid was happy enough to go through the bedtime motions with my mom, but she was still awake when we came home 75 minutes later. This happens occasionally with me, so we weren’t too worried, but still, it would be nice to know that she’s able to rest easily in my absence.

Our time not filled with Easter celebrations or short trips away from my children has been filled with trips to look for the elusive Amish (and their delicious scrapple) over in Plain City.  We’ve been twice since my mom came in on Thursday.   My parents summered camped for years in the Pennsylvania Dutch country and miss many things about the Amish now that they’ve sold their summer cottage RV.  Unfortunately, they miss the rolling farmland and quiet demeanor of the Amish less than they miss the scrapple, chicken croquettes, red pepper jelly and rice pudding that graces many an Amish table (and English IGA).  We found none of these foods in Plain City, but we did find places to look for Amish furniture (and we saw some non-rolling farmland) so really, it was win-win for all!

The 26th will be the one year anniversary of the day we met the lovely and talented Astrid Meklit.  Although I have great plans to blog the day, it will be bittersweet.  I’m eager to share the trip, the meeting–every sweet and crazy moment from the last 365 days,  but it’s hard, because each memory is cloaked in so much emotion.  So be patient with me–I plan to share, it just may take another 365 days to do so…

So Erin, go get a bra. That’s what we used to say in 5th grade when saying “bra” in front of other people made us (not a royal us, the other 5th graders, silly) feel cool and just a little bit bad.  Now I say, ‘this isn’t a real holiday’, but I was pinched any number of times this morning by an evil boy until I was forced to rout something green out of my closet.  The same boy spent his morning doing timed St. Patrick’s Day word searches, “mom, I can’t find Book of Kells, and what is a Kell anyway?” and he’s planning to make some soda bread this afternoon, so really, it’s an Irish fiesta over here.  Once we’ve officially finished the celebration off all things Irish, I’ll drag out a few bunnies or something.  Really, Easter in March is just too early.  I’d be tempted to skip decorating all together but my mom’s visit starts on Thursday and she decorates to the nth degree for even the minor holidays (think Steel Magnolias in scope) so the least I can do is scatter a few chickens in spring hats around my foyer.

So check out the groovy rocks on my blog.  All thanks to the multi-talented Dawn who was kind enough to explain to me (without rolling her eyes) how I could change the picture in my chosen theme.  Dawn has even indicated that it’s possible for me to use my own photos for my theme, but I’ve decided to take one teeny step at a time–no need to be crazy!

Took a chilly walk down to the neighborhood park with my beloveds yesterday and spotted various bits of spring emerging. There were snowdrops at the base of a tree and all sorts of bulb shoots are popping up in my own yard.  Our neighbor across the street emailed me some splendid pictures of a coyote in his yard (to prove its existence. Elliott told me J saw a hyena in his yard and Albert and I were pretty sure that wasn’t true. But a coyote–that I can wrap my head around) and we’ve had all sorts of deer stop by our yard for lunch–it’s a regular Wild Kingdom around here.

So, Happy St. Patrick’s Day everybody, and you Cowtown folk, keep your roadrunners safely inside for a bit!

Oh right, and Dawn (see, she really is the wisest of the wise) said to remind you all (okay, remind you two) that a new place means a new feed, so you’ll need to resubscribe if you want to be among the first to read my musings.

The 20.4 inches of snow that enveloped Cowtown were a boon to entrepreneurial Elliott (why yes, that is what he called himself all weekend). He cleared driveways and sidewalks as soon as the snow slowed, and he made a mint. He’s been praying for more snow since!

With no place to go, and little to distract us, we got a lot accomplished over the weekend. Our tax estimate (we’re still waiting for Astrid’s green card so we can apply for a SSN, so we can’t actually submit our claim anytime soon) is done. We finished the claim for our move too and while none of these activities would be deemed smart enough at Dorothy Parker’s table, I’m glad to have them done. I did some creative cooking too, because I didn’t really shop for the storm, and we adored the sweet potato and lime soup that was the result.

On Monday, we took a brief trip to a local park for sledding. Elliott was thrilled—-the hill was almost bare, but he wasn’t deterred. He came home muddy and disgusting, but completely happy. Astrid Meklit, on the other hand, wants you all to know that sledding is a terrible idea. She hated the whole experience, although she did stop crying long enough to eat some snow. She’s willing to repeat that experience but she may never sled again. Just a glimpse of the sled in the corner of the garage was enough to make her wail as we left for circus class this morning.

I’ve been shopping like a fiend for the upcoming wine country weekend. The problem with purchasing your entire wardrobe from T@rget (okay, not really, but I do have a frightening number of black t-shirts from the Greatland) is that eventually, you’ll need pieces that um, look nicer and well, more adult. I’ve bought just about everything I need, but I am woefully ignorant when it comes to purchasing accessories. I shopped in store after store before turning to Etsy, land of really groovy, one-of-a-kind jewelry that can be purchased for less than the costume jewelry at M@cy’s or Nordstr@m’s. I still need a new bag, but other than that, I’m pretty much finished, and there is much rejoicing in all quarters.

And, in heart-melting news, Astrid M. said, “I love you” to me for the first time ever. A little garbled at first, by the third attempt she was shouting it pretty clearly. The salesclerk at Talbot’s agreed, “Wow she really loves you.” Right back at you,  Asti-girl…

So Elliott has the annoying habit of catching a cold, getting rid of it in the customary 7-10 day time period, but he encourages the cough to linger. I’m not sure why he’s developed this particular bit of magic, but we’re off to the doctor (again) this afternoon for another round of antibiotics. The current cough has been here for approximately 4 weeks and while it doesn’t seem contagious, it also isn’t getting any better. He was diagnosed with mild asthma years ago, but this cough is wetter than the asthma hack, so I guess it really is time to do something about it. I hate to give him antibiotics (he’s only had them 4 times in his lengthy 9 years) but I fear this will be #5, and the third time he’s had them in 12 months.

Thanks to everyone for the fab fashion advice and to the various peeps who have attempted to alleviate my guilt over leaving Astrid Meklit. It all helps, really! I had some additional shopping (for suggested clothing/accessory items) planned today but we’ll be doctoring it up instead. Maybe I’ll escape shop solo when Albert is home this weekend. It’s been a LONG week!

A whole lotta nothing going on at Casa Mary P. We’ve actually been quite busy with all of the mundane aspects of life, but nothing feels particularly noteworthy (or in this case, blog-worthy). Albert worked in London last week–his first European trip (confined primarily to the district surrounding Heathrow so not quite as Londonesque as he would have liked) and came home with an icky cold and an overwhelming case of jet lag. We had our last post-placement homestudy visit on Friday–we haven’t seen this social worker in almost two years, so it was nice to catch up with her. Elliott remembered that Kim wasn’t here just to see him, Astrid Meklit hogged the spotlight, and I did most of the talking while Albert worked hard to stay awake–so really, a BOOMING success all around.

Albert is expected to attend a launch party in Sonoma over the last weekend in March, to celebrate the successful implementation of the phase of the project he worked on while in SF. His wife is also expected to attend. While the idea of a weekend in wine country is appealing (there is a massage involved!), I haven’t left the lovely Astrid Meklit yet for more than a 45 minute stint to get a haircut last fall. She hangs easily (after a minute or two of upset) with her daddy and Elliott, but she hasn’t stayed with a sitter (and really, she hadn’t seemed ready) and now I’ll be leaving her for an entire weekend. My mother (who’s been planning to visit anyway) will come stay with us for a week before I leave, and we hope that Astrid will feel comfortable enough with grandmom and Elliott too, for the time I’m away. The whole idea was non-negotiable (even though we REALLY are expected to be there, if you know what I mean)  until I realized I’d be able to see my amazing friend P and her baby E the day after they get home from Ethiopia. I’m a little nervous, but I think we’ve done enough attachment groundwork to make this minimally traumatic. My mom plans to send me out a few times during the week before I go, so she can do the care giving for Astrid on a trial basis. I think Astrid will feel better if we try this a couple of times for short periods rather than dealing with my sudden disappearance for an entire weekend. Advice is welcome…

I am equally nervous about wardrobe selection for the weekend. For the 3 of you who don’t know me in real life, my wardrobe is populated with many pairs of jeans almost always topped with a black shirt–usually a v neck t-shirt but sometimes a sweater or a blouse with buttons. Clearly not appropriate for this weekend. There’s a welcome cocktail gathering, Saturday breakfast and spa treatment ( I assume I’ll need something more casual to wear for this) before we’re off for wine-tasting for the day and then a fancier celebration dinner. Sunday morning will be a quick breakfast before we fly home. Help me with my wardrobe, please. I’ve bought two wrap dresses (because I couldn’t choose between them) one is a smaller mod black& cream print, the other is a dull teal blue and chocolate brown print, also small, but not as mod–more wallpapery looking. My friend P said that I could wear them on consecutive evenings, but I’m not sure. I’m afraid the teal and brown (because it is brown) will look too fall-like, although Albert initially thought the brown was black–it is very dark. I’ve also been coveting a flowered silk skirt and ruffled cardigan in the Boden catalog–too casual or frumpy for evening wear? I have a pair of black pants, new black flats and a pretty aqua-colored spring coat that I thought I’d wear for the wine tour–presumably, I’ll pick up a blouse to sport under the coat, as for the rest though–HELP. I am SO not joking. I am eager to look like I fit in, which requires a tricky amount of dressing up but not over-dressing for things. I do not want to look like the stay-at-home mother that I am.

So advice please, remembering that I am very busty and NEVER go without sleeves. Every single cocktail dress that I looked at (and I think they would be dressier than I need anyway) is sleeveless, which led me to the accommodating wrap dresses with their 3/4 sleeves. Work attire at the big 5 firm is business casual–Albert usually wears wool trousers, a dress shirt and a sportscoat, but no tie. He can’t imagine taking a suit for this event.

More news to follow about the non-profit group that some of my friends and I have started.  We’re spread across the country and everyone is very busy with 60 other things but we’re all committed to Ethiopia and its children.  I’m the fundraising chair, and although a bit anxious to make this a successful venture, I’m also terribly excited about this work.

Happy Monday!

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