Thanksgiving at the Sleeping Lady

We decided to celebrate Thanksgiving in Leavenworth at the Sleeping Lady Resort. We're looking forward to a big family gathering in December but with no family around for Thanksgiving, we thought it would be fun to just take the kids on a quick little trip. We've been so busy around home that getting away for a pause from life was just what this holiday called for. I had been wanting to go to the Sleeping Lady for awhile and it was really wonderful.


The Thanksgiving dinner was amazing. There were so many gorgeous and nutritious salads, a special buffet table for the kids, and the traditional turkey dinner was presented beautifully. The kids just loved the entire room full of mini-desserts from tiny pumpkin cheesecakes to chocolate covered strawberries, to pie, and creme brulee. Little fruit tarts, figgy bars, festive cookies and the list goes on. They were in heaven!


Our room was so fun. The girls slept upstairs in the loft, there was a twin bed downstairs for Rollin and a bed for Zig and I. All the rooms are lodge style...it reminded me a lot of Sundance. Very clean, natural, and not overdone.

It was cool, but the sun was out so we were able to do some hiking and exploring after lunch. We spent about an hour skipping rocks on the icy river and had fun watching Zig tossing boulders crashing through the ice. He kept warning the kids about slipping on the ice and guess who took a huge tumble! We all got a good laugh...I just regret not having my video camera on.

We had fun checking out the organic garden which supplies the restaurant during the growing season as well as the greenhouse...these things are particularly interesting to us these days. They recycle everything at this place and we saw the big compost things that process their plastic cups made from corn. So cool!

In the evening we went to the big hospitality lodge and the kids played games and ping pong, and had some hot chocolate. There was only one television on the premises and it was in another really fun building...I saw through the glass that Texas was playing A&M so we decided to go watch for a bit, in honor of Ryan, of course! The game wasn't close though and then another family came in with a movie. We all watched a movie until Nina was asleep and Rollin was snoring sitting straight up in Zig's lap. We had a long full day and everyone collapsed into bed.

We had to head back on Friday because we just have so much to get done this weekend. Zig has been working many evenings till midnight planting bulbs. I asked him if we were entering the garden show or hosting a wedding that I didn't know about ;) We are having the front of the house painted as well as the kids rooms. The front is almost done and I still haven't picked the paint for the kids' rooms. I am delaying the process with my indecision and meanwhile the beds are in the halls and all five of us are sleeping in my room. My goal is tomorrow. We'll see.

I feel so beautiful today!

After a "touching" moment in the bathroom this morning, I feel like I have been stripped of whatever pride I once had.

And it's Rollin I get to thank for this one.

I was bathing all the kids today. On the days I wash their hair, it's easier just to get in with them. I was in and out fast because it's Sunday and that equals being in a hurry for our family. We have afternoon church but we usually take it easy way too long in the morning and then rush like crazy.

I had already dried Sela's hair and I was busily trying to dry Nina's (it's kind of like a little assembly line), when Rollin decided he wanted to get out. I dried him off and he was just playing in the bathroom waiting for his hair to be dried. I was still in the buff, naturally, and focusing intently on Nina's hair (she has THE most sensitive head on the planet) when I felt a little poke from behind. Rollin poked my bum (to use one of their words). Big deal, I wish I could say it was the first time. HOWEVER; the disturbing part was that it jiggled this time. I felt it and I did not like it, but even Rollin noticed!

I had to pause and say to myself "did that really just happen?!!" When the giggling began, I knew that it was in fact my body that produced such roars of laughter. Then he poked it again and just laughed and laughed. It was seriously like the biggest belly laugh I've heard from him in a long time. Next thing I knew they were all laughing hysterically and asking for a turn (it's appalling, I know). The final straw was when they wanted to run and get dad so he could see! What the ****?

As much as I just love to entertain my children, I decided to get dressed and end the freak show that my pregnant body has become around here!

All pride is gone.

Bring on Christmas!

The girls were begging to wear their Christmas dresses today so we began the season a little early. Only a few days till Christmas music. It's all very exciting.

It's cracked!

There's nothing like waiting 7 months for a kitchen table and when it finally arrives, discovering it is cracked. The whole table situation has become a big joke with the interior decorator and I. There had been so many delays that anytime she had a shipping update for me, I just laughed and said "I'll believe it when I see it." I tried to stop caring so much. It had been promised two months ago and was really the only item I indicated was a huge priority when we started the furniture shopping for this place, meaning I wanted it soon. We have been eating on my desk for over a year with a few random chairs. We sold our other casual dining room table and chairs with the other house. Anyway, I was dying for this table to come. Meal times are such a big part of our days and I love to sit down comfortably and have a table that's pretty and functional. Kind of small of me I know, but I became mildly obsessed with getting my table.

When the table finally came, it was the chairs that I was a bit surprised by....they are exactly what I ordered...the poppy color was just so bright at first glance. It's different going from a swatch to eight chairs, but I do love them. I was even suprised when Zig came home from his trip and thought they looked great. The kids love the fun color and it's all very comfortable.

About four hours after I signed off that everything was perfect, no damage, no problem, absolving the delivery company of any blame for damages, I was wiping the table and discovered a 2 inch crack on the side. The table was clearly dropped somewhere along the way. And it's HEAVY. It's hard to say where as there were many stops and checks coming from Italy. I just sat there and stared...NO WAY! I immediately called Louise and the delivery company in a panic. Louise was great and took care of it and another table top is being "rushed." That's kind of a joke, but whatever. The most important thing though is we get to keep this one until the new one comes. That's all I cared. The crack is not visible at all and is on the side. I think I was so desperate to get this table that I would have almost taken the cracked one if it meant sending it back and having to wait who knows how long for another.

So all is well. Zig is happy he doesn't have to hear about the table anymore, though he is confident I will move on to my next thing (the kids rooms! ;) My desk is now a desk again and we have been enjoying having a real table. Having the infusion of color in the kitchen, where I spend so much time, really makes me happy! The sun is always shining in our kitchen, trust me...haha!

16 weeks

It appears that on baby #4, you just think about being pregnant and your belly pops out. The baby is only about as big as a finger. There's something very wrong with this picture!
























Seeing the above photo puts a damper on my excitement about the return of these....

Quiche, anyone?

On Sunday night, Zig discovered the highly anticipated first EGG!

Now that we have power and the chickens have the extra hours of light they require in the winter, one of the chickens finally laid an egg. The kids (and myself) were truly ecstatic. We all got our boots on and ran out to the coup to eheck it out. Then Sela and Zig cleaned out their laying boxes and put the straw in with hopes of getting the chickens to lay in the proper place. The first egg was pretty small and a bit dirty since the chicken just laid it right in the middle of the floor. Zig had some fake eggs he put in the laying boxes that are supposed to help the chickens learn where to lay. Lo and behold, the next morning, another egg, right next to the fake egg, just like it should be! And today we had our third. It's so much fun to go and open up the little boxes from the outside and see an egg. I love it.

Time to help Sela get going on her marketing plan!

Future Mother of the Year....

I was just chatting with Nina last night in the bathtub and I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up.

Without pause she said, "I want to be a mommy. And I will take my kids to Jamba Juice everyday. And when we get home, Sela will watch my kids so I can watch TV and have treats. If the kids act up, I will put them in the crib so I can watch my movie again. I'll be a fun mom."

Sela and I just looked at each other and laughed. That is so Nina. I can't wait to remind her of her words when she becomes a mother!

Meal Planning

Well, I decided to get back in gear this week on my meal planning. Trying to avoid the ten trips to the grocery store and still nothing for dinner problem!

Monday: Turkey Meatloaf, Vanilla Smashed Sweet Potatoes, Salad
Tuesday: Rosemary White Bean Soup, Parmesan Crostini, Salad
Wednesday: Grilled Lemon Chicken with Peanut Satay Sauce, Green Beans, Cole Slaw
Thursday: Mushroom Tart, Salad
Friday: Homemade Pizza, Salad
Saturday: Salmon and Veggies en Papillote, Rice
Sunday: No Hurry Vegetable Curry (crockpot), rice

Another sunny saturday, 800 more bulbs planted!

I woke up on Saturday with a pretty good list f things I wanted to accomplish. The weather was great and I really wanted to go for a run...my hair is in dire need of help, I had some shopping to do for the house, groceries, PTA project to hammer away at, sharing time to plan, and the list goes on. Nothing urgent, but with Zig manning the kids, I saw an opportunity to get a few things done solo.

Zig had the kids outside just after breakfast and they started designing the flower beds they were going to tackle. Zig talks to the girls about a plan for how to lay out the different bulbs and they settle on a color scheme. It's pretty fun and Sela really gets into it. Then Zig prepares the ground and digs the holes and the kids spread the bulbs. This is our second saturday of working on this and based on the number of bulbs yet to be planted, we have several more weekends ahead. Here's praying for more good weather!

While the kids were so content and occupied outside, I, unfortunately, never felt energy enough to get in my car. I laid in bed for several hours, then moved to a chair in the sun. While trying to get my vitamins through the window, I noticed lots of dust in places I had never seen. That was discouraging. I guess I don't sit still long in the corner of the room to notice this enough. So, the mental list grew and dusting the living room was added! I haven't been this tired with a pregnancy before and some days it really gets me down. I kind of get a glimpse of what mild depression might feel like. Fortunately, I have some good days mixed in and the heavy duty iron supplements help my energy most days. This will pass, but the holidays are coming and I love this time of the year so much. I want to be back to my normal energy level SOON!

I was so proud of the kids. They worked all day long. They have fun too as they go. Zig is good about that. Nina and Rollin called it a day at about 3:30 and entered the house covered in mud from head to foot. Rollin must have played in some water because when I took his socks off, his feet were so wrinkly and soggy. Sela, the dedicated soul that she is, stayed out till dark working right alongside Zig. She was super happy doing it and finished the day planting pretty blue flowers right outside her bedroom window. Her labors will be worth it when she gets to enjoy all the beauty she helped create this spring.

Everyone then got a good bath, the Saturday night treatment. Rollin and Nina needed a good long soak to come clean.

Last weekend after we worked all day outside, we decided to take the kids to a new restaurant I was very excited about called Preservation Kitchen. I read about it in the local paper and based on the review, Zig was thinking of having his holiday party there for work. It was billed as a place serving great local food, mostly organic, seasonal, etc. It's in an old mansion and the ambiance was very nice. There were no children in the entire place, but our kids were good sports. They like a good variety of foods, but the menu was very grown up, even for them. Wild rack of boar anyone? It seemed like another restaurant very much about the wine list, but serving fairly average food. Neither Zig nor my entrees were anything special. Big bummer.

Anyway, we let Sela choose where we would eat this Saturday since she was the most dedicated worker. She chose Coho, a casual little place in Redmond. It was packed but the kids were happy and it was loud so we could relax, if that makes sense. If you have a Rollin, it makes sense! It was fun to be together, and by dinner-time, that energy I was waiting for all day returned. Not in time to get much done, but in time to enjoy a night out with the family. I'll take what I can get!

Babies on the brain!

Morning musings with Rollin (until my battery ran out)

Just give em' a flashlight!

Last night I was sitting in the living room with several books, a few pubilcations with local events, and the calendar and doing a little planning for the next couple of months while the kids were running around playing. I was starting my list of advent activities for December and making a few other holiday related lists. Eric and Zig were working on the power for the dog house and chicken coup and Zig called out that they would have to turn the power off for a bit. He brought the kids the flashlight and then the lights went out.

Something magical happened when the lights went out...we have some tall white walls in the living room and the kids began making all kinds of shadows. The further back they went, the more like giants they appeared on the wall. Then they discovered that they could have one person go close to the wall and appear little and the other person far back and it would look like a giant stepping on the head of the little person. Boy did they get a kick out of this! There were shrieks of laughter and it went on for about 20 minutes. Sela kept saying "This is the best night EVER! This is the best Veteran's Day! This is the best November!" It was so delightful to sit in the chair in the corner watching them and listening to their childhood exuberance. As I thought about all the activities I was planning I realized that it is often the unscheduled moments that bring the greatest joy. Amidst the schedule and plans, it's also important to allow for a little serendipity now and then.

Fall is for LOTS of planting!

Last week we had thousands of bulbs show up. Being the single minded and slightly obsessed person I have become waiting on some furniture items to show up, I mistakenly hoped it was my chairs being delivered when I saw the boxes lined up along the fence. It turns out Zig has ambitious plans for our planting activities this fall! I mentioned wanting more cutting flowers, but wow, I wasn't expecting quite this scale. I don't know why it surprises me as I should know by now that Zig is an all or nothing guy. Do it right and thorough or not at all. Rollin and Nina were enthusiastic little helpers and helped Zig get the first bed going. We are really hoping it doesn't freeze before we get them all in. Here's to planting!

Just the boys...

Zig, Eric, and Rollin had a little outing last Saturday. It had been in the works for weeks so Rollin was looking very forward to it. He blew mommy a kiss and off they went. They had big plans...first they went to a metal scrap yard to look for some specific thing for the fire pit. On their way they happened to find Rollin a free bike on the side of the road. Eric must be a good luck charm. He was SOOOOO excited and just loves his "new" boy bike. He told our neighbor at the bus stop this week "I have a big boy bike now and I don't have to ride the bunny bike anymore!" In the afternoon, they drove to Issaquah to see a tree house that had a suspended walkway kind of like the one we want Eric to build for our tree house. They took lots of pictures and brought back some great ideas. Then they headed to the Harley Davidson shop where who knows what they were up to. But they all had fun and were in great spirits when they came home. Rollin's favorite word is now is "mocercycle."

Going, going, almost gone.....

After several weeks of mostly dry and lovely fall weather, it started to rain on Saturday. I realized I had barely captured any of the amazing fall foliage, even though every day I am completely awestruck by the beauty all around me. There is a red Japanese maple just outside our kitchen window that is so stunning it almost doesn't seem real. The leaves are just amazing this time of year. We love to walk to the bus as the leaves gently fall all around us. There is no more glorious time of year. And it's also relatively brief which makes it even more special. Knowing that winter is knocking at the door makes me want to savor each day as the last leaves fall. As the saying goes, the best things in life are free, and I'm so grateful for this time of year and the joy it brings.