The Swamp

We have a small pond in our backyard, installed by the people who owned the house before us. I love having it; it sits right outside our bedroom window, and when the windows are open, the sound of the trickling water is very calming.

We take care of the pond the same way we do most of our yard - benign neglect. It's been an embarrassingly long time since I've cleaned it out. So Saturday afternoon, while hanging out in the back yard with the kids, I decided to clean out the pond's filter. If I had known then what I was getting myself into, I would never have started.

It turns out that the filter was completely overgrown and connected to all the other plants by a thick matting of roots. In fact, the whole bottom of the pond was one 6-inch-thick mat of roots and gack and slime.


After 30 minutes of fruitlessly trying to pull everything out, I came to the conclusion that it was time to put on my rain boots and wade on in. I ended up having to hack the mass into pieces with a spade and then wrestle it all out.

This about half of what I pulled out of the pond. It stank of rotting material and will probably be a good addition to our compost heap. Except I didn't realize until I had loaded all of this in the wheelbarrow that the front tire was flat. Fixing it would have meant pulling everything back out again, so it's still sitting on the walk in the back yard.

All of the kids were fascinated with this project. The took great interest in the bugs and slime that I pulled out. But they were terribly upset every time they thought I might have skimmed a minnow out along with the slime. So I gave the girls the job of skimming and saving the fish.

When B got home from work, he joined in the fun and climbing on in the pond, too. He's wearing my big plaid boots, but I think he'd kill me if I posted a picture of him modelling them. He took apart the pump, cleaned it, and installed new filtering material. Ella supervised his work to make sure he didn't accidentally scoop out any fish or slimy critters.

Of course, we had to go to a pond and garden store to buy new filtering material, and that turned into an expensive trip when you add up the plants and mulch we bought, too.

A mere 7 hours after I started, the pond was finally re-filled with a clean bottom, a functioning pump, and re-potted water plants - and lots of very happy minnows.

The Parent Trap

Ella has her friend M spending the night tonight. The girls have been buddies since they were about 18 months old, and spending the night is their new favorite thing. M arrived with her American Girl Doll Kirsten in tow, along with Kirsten's luggage. Kirsten and Ella's doll, Hermione, have been sitting next to each other on the sofa all evening, having a good chat, I suppose. Right now the dolls are being changed into their nightgowns and sleeping bonnets. Later they'll be tucked into Hermione's crib for their own little slumber party.

The main activity of the evening has been watching The Parent Trap, the original version with Hayley Mills AND Hayley Mills, and the girls have been mesmerized by it. I love that they think this is a cool movie, despite its lack of animation, special effects (unless you count HM sharing scenes with herself), and princesses. They've been cackling at the pranks pulled, and getting some bad ideas, I'm afraid, and guessing what's going to happen next. It's so nice to see that they are still 6 going on 7 instead of 6 going on 13 - at least for tonight.

Lily has been hanging out with the big girls. She considers this just as much her sleepover as Ella's. She isn't quite old enough to understand that she's the pesky little sister in this situation. Fortunately, Ella and M are pretty tolerant of her presence, and her gymnastics on the blow-up mattress in the living room. Lily couldn't still tonight if her life depended on it. B and I have tried to lure her out of the room with promises of one-on-one time with us, but she'd far rather watch a movie she doesn't quiet understand with the big girls.

We've been so fortunate with the girls' friends so far. They are all really neat kids with great parents. I know at some point it will change, and they'll bring home friends we aren't fond of, so we're enjoying the good times while they last.

Lemonade and cupcakes

On the 4th, Ella and Luke came up with this plan to have a lemonade stand. On Thursday, it changed from a lemonade stand to a restaurant with daily specials. Ella was drawing up menus with lots of items listed. At one point, she came in to raid the refrigerator for food to sell on the corner. I talked her and Luke into waiting until today when we could do it right and offered to help her make cupcakes to sell.

We made cupcakes last night, and I let Ella do most of the work, including frosting them. I think I managed to keep her and Lily from licking them too much. Of course, the first question out of her mouth when she woke up this morning was when were we going to set up the stand. She and Brandon spent the morning printing up flyers that I helped her and her friend Jacqueline deliver to a few chosen neighbors.

Once we got the stand set up, I was concerned that no one would show up. Turns out I needn't have worried. The neighbors we invited all came and bought stuff. The guy mowing the lawn across the street paid $5 for two cups of lemonade. Lily spent pretty much everything in her piggy bank on cupcakes drinks. Our wonderful mailman bought a cup and left a tip. Aunt Ali and puppy Enzo came by and bought a cup or two. Strangers passing by on bikes stopped in for a drink. It was great to see everyone come out and visit. In the end, the kids made $46! When Ella and Luke told me that, I was sure they had made a mistake in counting, but they both said that Lisa had double checked their figures. They've already divied up the money. But Brandon is talking about having them pay parents back for supplies and marketing and graphic design services.

There were a few hiccups. Lily had a meltdown because she wanted her own lemonade stand. But I pacified her by letting her use my camera to take pictures - and she got a lot of cute ones. It also got really, really hot. The cupcakes melted by the end of the day, and Russell and I got sunburned sitting out there chaperoning.

It was a great experience for the kids, and I know we'll get hectored into doing it again, and that's just fine. It's one of those childhood memories they'll look back on fondly, at least they better!

I am the Eggman, I am the Walrus, koo-koo-ka-choo

One of my favorite things about being a parent came to me completely by surprise. I never thought I'd have so much fun being Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny - Ella just now has her first loose tooth, so I'll be adding Tooth Fairy to the list soon.

Growing up, I believed in Santa Claus way longer than I should have. Even when I "knew" the truth, I still bought into the whole story. Of course, having a sister who was seven years younger probably had something to do with. Mom and Dad continued to play up Christmas and Easter for her, and there was this part of me who was willing to completely suspend belief around those holidays. The fact that Sarah and I still receive presents from "Santa" probably has something to do with it, too.

At our house, presents from Mom and Dad and Santa didn't show up until after we'd gone to bed on Christmast Eve - even when we were adults. Sarah and I would go off to bed and listen to Mom and Dad carrying everything downstairs. It was as much fun to listen to when we were adults as it was when we were kids.

But now that I have kids, kids who really, really believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny, I'm the one doing the late night present deliveries, and it's so much fun. Christmas Eve, Brandon, Sarah and I spent hours after the kids had gone to bed wrapping all of the presents - different paper for Santa gifts, of course - and arranging them under the tree.

And Saturday night, Sunday morning actually, Brandon and I were running around in the yard hiding eggs at 2:00 am. I was up to feed Campbell and it was 35 degrees out, so I figured the eggs wouldn't spoil. Plus that way I didn't have to wake up extra early to set them out.

The payoff for all of this is watching Ella and Lily and their absolute belief in the magic. I cracked a confetti egg over Brandon's head late Saturday night and left the confetti on the floor. Ella and Lily were thrilled to discover the mess and came up with all sorts of stories about what happened to the egg - did the Easter Bunny drop it? Did he crack it and leave it as a surprise? Did he do it in everyone's house?

Ella also left a note and a plate of tomatos for the Easter Bunny, and I wrote one back to her with a drawing of the Easter Bunny. She was SO excited to find the note and picture. She has it hanging in her room now, above her basket of goodies.

I dread the day when the magic ends and the kids realize that Brandon and I are the ones behind the presents and treats. But I'll enjoy it for as long as I can. And like my parents, I'll continue to give "Santa" presents until Ella, Lily and Campbell are grown and gone.

Baby makes five

When Lily turned two, I started bugging Brandon about having another baby. He'd respond with lots of reasonable, rational arguments about why we didn't need to have another baby. I understood and agreed with every one of them, but I kept coming back to one answer - there was someone missing from our family. Finally, months later, Brandon admitted that he agreed with me; someone was missing.

Last night it hit me that we are finally complete as a family. Campbell ate his dinner before we did, but I left him in his high chair and put a spoon, cheerios and a cup of water on his tray to keep him entertained. We pulled him up next to the table while everyone else ate. It was the first time we've had the whole family at the dinner table together - all five of us. And it just seemed so right, so perfect. Campbell is who was missing from our family, and now he's here.

It was such a fun meal. The girls chattered to each other and told me and Brandon about their days. Campbell kept Lily busy dropping his cup of water over the side of his tray - she'd pick it up for him every time. It was just as it should be.

Snow days

It really did snow here - not much, but it snowed. We had so much fun yesterday just watching the big fat flakes coming down. The kids were all so excited, as was I - possibly more so. I even dragged Campbell out so we could take a picture of him in his first snowfall.

As a result of all the snow and ice, the kids have been out of school for two days, and they're going a bit crazy. I've actually held up better than I thought I would. I think Brandon's being home to help had a lot to do with it. He cooked dinners and went to the store and played with the kids. It made a difference that I wasn't solely responsible for entertaining them. We really had some very good family time together.

Yesterday we had a big group lunch at Lisa R's house and all the kids watched a movie while the grown-ups talked. It was a very nice break. And I realized, yet again, what fantastic neighbors we have and how fortunate we are to all get along with each other. Neighbors don't do much good if you don't like them.

As well as I'm holding up, the girls are more than ready to be back at school again. They are so tired of each other's company it's not even funny. While taking my shower this morning, I was interrupted at least 10 times by the girls, who wanted to tell on each other. After my shower, I confined them to separate rooms for 15 minutes of alone time, and of course they whined that they missed each other. I can't win for trying sometimes. I was very glad to have to take Campbell to his check-up today just to escape from their fighting.

Ella's school starts two hours late tomorrow. I'm still waiting on word about Lily's. As much fun as we've had during the past three days, I think we'll all be happy to be back in our normal routine.

Winter weather

You would think that we were expecting a blizzard the way people were behaving at the grocery store this afternoon. I went in to do my normal weekend shopping, prepared for the same-old quiet store I always shop at. Instead, it was a madhouse, with people desperately snapping up whatever foodstuffs they could get their hands on.

The weather people are all having a field day, predicting "winter precipitation" for the next few days. That means we could see a little freezing rain, a little sleet, a little snow - the emphasis in all cases on "little." Overpasses and bridges might freeze over - maybe. But that's about it. It's not like we're going to get a foot of snow over the next 24 hours like the folks in Colorado have had multiple times in the past month. Folks up north must laugh at us.

But back to the store - I have never seen that many people at our little HEB, not even on the day before Thanksgiving. And they were buying the strangest stuff. I could understand the bread shelves being empty, but all the toilet paper was gone, too. Fortunately, I didn't need to buy any. The beer supply was very limited, but there was tons of milk available. And for some reason, cheese was very popular.

I laid in a good supply of stew and soup-making supplies, along with beer and wine and lots of milk. I'm rather looking forward to the possibility of inclement weather. Brandon won't be able to work, and we'll be able to hole up here for a few days of concentrated family fun. Plus, the girls would love to see even the smallest amount of snow. I'm even going to try to sneak a run in, despite the frigid temperatures. I'll need to escape in some way.

So. . . let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Please.

Christmas Unwrapped

It's been a good Christmas, so far. No one's ended up sick or in the hospital - yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't have repeats of past years. Also, this was the first time in two years that we haven't travelled. I don't think Ella remembers having Christmas morning at our own house. It was nice to be home on Christmas morning. I don't think we'll go anywhere for Christmas again for a long time. My parents and sister were able to come here, which made it even better to be home.

We started the festivities at Brandon's grandmother's house with that side of the family. I didn't realize gift giving would be happening, so I didn't bring any of their gifts. Oops. The girls had a great time handing out and opening presents. They did it so quickly that I lost track of who gave them what. The big hit, as far as Lily is concerned, are her fancy slippers. They have little heels and feathers - just the thing a three-year-old would love.

Christmas morning started with the girls hitting our bedroom door with a thud. They burst in shouting, "Santa came! Santa came." The proof? He ate the cookies and drank the milk that they left out for him. Just seeing the gifts wasn't enough - once they saw the empty plate they were convinced. Once the present opening started, Ella was ruthlessly efficient. Lily, however, kept getting distracted. She'd be halfway opening one present when Ella would hand her another. She'd drop the original present, still wrapped, and start on the next one. It was pretty funny. We kept having to turn her around and get her to focus on one gift at a time.

Ella had asked Santa for an Easy Bake Oven, and she got one. This has extended her belief in Santa for another year. She's already make one cake. And she tells everyone she talks to about it.

My parents gave the girls each an American Girl Doll (http://www.americangirl.com). Ella was so thrilled with hers that she was speechless. She held it with this look of absolute joy on her face. My mom was worried that she didn't like it because Ella didn't say anything. I had to reassure mom that that's how Ella acts when she REALLY likes something.

The highlight of Christmas for me was watching my dad open my gift to him. He loves the Town Lake running trail and has asked that his ashes be scattered there when he dies. So I got him a brick that will be installed in one area of the trail. It will have his name on it. He teared up when he read the gift notice. It made me feel really good that I got him something that meant so much to him.

I had asked Brandon for a necklace that had a silver pea pod with three pearls in it - one pearl for each child. I showed him the necklace in the catalog and explained it to him. I even left the catalog on his desk. He got me the necklace, but somehow he missed the whole point of the pearls - mine has four pearls. I've been saying ever since that it's proof that we're going to have a fourth child. He says he's returning it as soon as possible.

So now we've cleaned up all the presents and found new homes in the closets for all the toys, and the excitement is winding down. I'm ending the season profoundly grateful for what I have - an amazing husband; three happy, healthy kids; good friends; and wonderful family. It's a pretty good life.

Happy New Year to all.