A Slice of Wife

Gnomia

A Slice of Wife — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 03:08:14 +0000

Today Cecilia brought home her latest knitting project: a girl gnome that she has named Gnomia. (She plans to make a Gnomeo and a baby Gnomie to go along with Gnomia.)

It’s intentional that Gnomia has no facial features. This is a technique used to promote more imaginative play. The children can imagine all sorts of facial expressions.

I love the braids and the cape.

New Neighbors

A Slice of Wife — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 02:26:40 +0000

Over the past 2 days, I’ve been noticing an alarming amount of flies buzzing around outside of our house. I’m talking thousands of flies buzzing around my head, plastered on the side of the house, congregating on the fence posts, chillin’ on the garage doors. Disturbing, and I’ll admit, gross. So what happened?

The cows moved in, that’s what happened. The OSU ranchers have moved the cows to the field across the street from our house. We were told that the cows would rotate through that field at some point, not forever, but for a brief period of time. In fact, now that I think about it, we were also warned that with the cows, come the flies. Yup, still so much to adapt to out here in the country.

Da Cows. Not quiet animals, I must say.

A couple of shots of springtime in Oregon…

Taken by Fred

One of the best things about spring in Oregon

The Origins of Moomin

A Slice of Wife — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 22:55:33 +0000

If you hadn’t seen or heard by now, we got a new puppy. And I’m simply in love with him! I think my husband is jealous.

Our puppy is 9 weeks old. He’s a mix of a standard schnauzer and a mini poodle, aka a Schnoodle, and we named him Moomin. Moomin is cuddly, loveable, playful, inquisitive, loyal. We’ve waited a long time to get a puppy, since before Cecilia was born, but it was worth the wait because Moomin is the perfect addition to our family.

The frequently asked question regarding our new dog is, “Moomin? Where did that come from?”

Here’s the story for all you Moomin fans wondering how Moomin got his awesome name! This past holiday season, Fred and I came across a children’s book titled Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson. It’s a fantasy book that caught our eye because the characters on the cover were these super cute hippopatamus-looking creatures, and it got rave reviews, particularly from one of Fred’s favorite authors, Neil Gaiman. After reading the back of the book, we decided it would be a fun read for Cecilia so we bought it for her for Christmas.

The story centers around the Moomin family: Moominmama, Moominpapa and Moomintroll. Moomintroll (also known as Moomin in the English translation) is the boy of the family who is ”interested in and excited about everything he sees and finds, always trying to be good, but sometimes getting into trouble while doing so, he is very brave and always finds a way to make his friends happy.” (Quote from Wikipedia) After Cecilia read the book, we all agreed that Moomin would be a great name for our new dog.

The Moomins have appeared in comic strip form and in an animated series. My friend, who grew up in Sweden, told me the Moomin Trolls were very popular when she was growing up. As a kid, she used to watch the animated series quite often.

So there you have it. The origins of our Moomin.

Wapiti

A Slice of Wife — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:10:56 +0000

You know you live in the country when you see a herd of elk (aka wapiti) grazing in a field 2.5 miles down the street from your house.

The girls and I have been dying to see this herd of elk for the past few weeks. We’ve seen cows, a bull couple, coyotes, Bobby the bobcat, a hungry vulture, and finally the elk.

Unfortunately, my iphone picture below doesn’t do the elk justice. I should start carrying around Fred’s fancy camera for wildlife moments such as this one. It was an amazing sight turning the corner and seeing these incredibly large animals grazing in the field.

I can honestly say, I love where I live.

Elk – one of the largest land mammals in North America

A Day on the Farm

A Slice of Wife — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 04:04:50 +0000

For the first time since we moved to our new house, this was the first weekend during which the whole family was home for 2 days in a row. We spent the weekend working and playing in and out of the house and enjoying the early spring weather. What a treat!

The girls playing with cousin T

Crocus, crocus, open up…

And the daffodils look lovely today…

One of many projects: Taking apart and re-building fences. Fred spends most of his free time studying for his oral boards and planning out the best way to deer fence our property.

Exploring our small pond full of very loud frogs

The girls are leading us through the Oregon State pasture across the street from our house. There are two bulls who live in the next pasture. I think Penelope is making sure the bulls aren’t coming our way.

Oregon State research ponds are a short walk from our house.

Soap Creek

Following the elk tracks with Tita Malia and Tristan…
Apparently, there’s a herd of about 80 elk that meanders through the valley now and then.

Hagg Lake 25K

A Slice of Wife — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 04:59:25 +0000

Squish. Squelch. Schloop. Slurp. Schloop. Slurp. Squish. Squelch. Slurp. Slide. Slide. Whoa! Woohoo!

Those were the most common sounds heard on the trail around Hagg Lake yesterday morning when I ran my very first 25K trail race, the Hagg Lake 25K, also known as the Hagg Lake Mud Run. Prior to the race, I dismissed the “mud” in Mud Run. I figured I could handle a little mud. Let’s just say I have a new appreciation for running in, on, through and with mud.

Hagg Lake was ridiculously fun and like no other trail I’ve ever run! Lucky for me, it was a “dry” day. I cannot even imagine what a wet day would be like.

The course started with a 1.5 mile out and back on road before we hit the single track trail and started the loop around the lake. There were a few brief stretches of road now and then, which offered me a nice break from the mainly muddy single track course.

The mud was slick, squishy, clay-like and ankle deep in parts. At times I was glissading down small hills, and at other times it felt like I was running with ankle weights, because the mud was so thickly caked on the bottoms, sides and tops of my shoes. Running up a small hill required a thousand quick, little steps, otherwise I would have lost traction and slid down backwards, like some other runners were doing! I had no idea how much more effort, energy, focus and balance it would take to run this course as compared to the trails I run every day!

I ran with Fred, who was recovering from bronchitis, so we took it pretty easy during the first half. We were able to maintain our pace and even pick it up and pass some people during the 2nd half. We ended up passing about 30 people in the 2nd half, which is pretty cool to think about, and we finished in 2:50. I definitely could have pushed harder in parts and probably could have finished faster; however, my main goal was to simply finish the race, and do so without losing a shoe. I felt pretty strong for most of it, though the mud added a level of difficulty to the run and I definitely felt tired and drained by the end.

While running the race, I figured this would be the only year I would run Hagg Lake. If this was a “dry” year, the thought of running the course in a “wet” year was a bit daunting. However, the race directors were fantastic, the race was very well organized, the rolling course was beautiful, and there was such a positive, joyful attitude out there with the other runners. The experience was a challenging but fun adventure, and I was so happy to be out there partaking in the adventure.

So this morning, as I was completing the post-race survey, I found myself signing up for the raffle to win a free entry into next year’s race. Because honestly, what better way to kick off a season of trail running than by playing in the mud with other enthusiastic and adventurous runners.

25K down. Next up: Peterson Ridge Rumble 20 Miler in April!

: Done! Notice I still have both shoes on!

‘Twas the Night Before Valentine’s Day…

A Slice of Wife — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:21:57 +0000

…and all through the house, Penelope was screaming, “MOMMEEEEEEEEE! I NEEEEEED YOU!” Shrieking, really.

Cecilia climbed up the stairs calmly asking, “What’s wrong Penelope?”

Where was I? Ok, I admit, I was kind of ignoring Penelope. I mean, she pulls the “Mommy, I need you” phrase A LOT. So at some point, there’d be a “boy who cried wolf” situation. This was it.

Penelope, absolutely hysterical, continued, “I WANT MOMMY. I NEED MOMMY!”

“Mommy…come here!” Cecilia started yelling, with some panic in her voice. That was my cue that something was actually wrong. It wasn’t just that Penelope couldn’t get the toothpaste cap off or she couldn’t reach the towel.

As I ran up the stairs, I saw Cecilia pushed up against a wall pointing at something on the bathroom floor. Meanwhile, Penelope was practically climbing into the bathroom sink, tears streaming down her face, cheeks bright red, panic and fear in her eyes.

I looked at the bathroom floor and saw something black, about two inches wide and slightly shorter than the length of my palm.

Here were my thoughts, excuse the language, but I tend to swear a lot in my head: WTF? What the hell is that? A piece of poop? A slug? How would a slug get in the house? I looked closer and saw fur and feet. Ew a mouse? No…there’s no tail. Those look like…wings? Holy shit is that a fuckin’ bat? Why the fuck is there a dead bat on my bathroom floor?!? Now what? My kids are screaming and I’m supposed to keep calm right? Good god there’s a fucking bat on my bathroom floor!!!!

“A jar!” I said out loud.

I ran downstairs and got the biggest jar I could find, brought it back up and placed it on top of the bat. The bat wiggled. Ugh! What if it’s alive and gets out from under the jar?

“I know! A laundry basket!” I said to myself. So I put a an upside down mesh laundry basket on top of the jar. But wait, what if it starts flapping around in the laundry basket? I lifted Penelope off of the bathroom counter and closed the bathroom door. There. If the bat happens to be alive and escapes my jar-basket trap, he’ll just fly around in the bathroom until Fred gets home, I thought.

After calming down the girls and putting them to bed, I texted Fred, whose plane had just landed in Portland.

Uh. U got to get home. There’s something in the bathroom. Not sure what it is, think it’s a bat. It’s under a jar under a basket with the door closed.

You see, I don’t do well with animals that shouldn’t be in my home. Mice, rats, bats…I don’t want them in my house.

Fred got home about 2 hours later. He brought home cannolis from a pastry place in Boston’s North End, as well as a box of Voodoo Doughnuts for Valentine’s Day.

I left him a dead bat under a jar under a basket behind a closed door. Happy Valentine’s Day, dear!

On the Banks of Soap Creek

A Slice of Wife — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:58:02 +0000

We moved to the country about 10 days ago. It’s beautiful and quiet here, except for the sounds of frogs and coyotes at night. Deer often graze in our back field, and there’s a bobcat that was hanging around for a while when we first moved in. I thought she had left, but yesterday afternoon, while Penelope and I were about to enjoy some quiet time on the porch swing, she spotted the bobcat running from our little pond, through our front field and into a thicket in the neighbor’s field. I hear there have been a pair of twin bobcat cubs roaming around the ‘hood too. Cute, I guess. That is life in the country!

Despite being in the sticks, we actually do have neighbors that I can see from our house. There are 4 houses behind ours, each house has a sizable amount of acreage. One neighbor and her grandson brought us chocolate chip cookies a few days ago! I met another very nice neighbor down by the mailboxes. Apparently all the neighbors have lived here for the past 20+ years and can tell us all we need to know about the Soap Creek Valley. The couple directly behind us lives in a house built partially underground. I’m dying to get a peek of it. It reminds me of the Laura Ingalls Wilder book we are currently reading: On the Banks of Plum Creek. Did you know that Laura, Mary, Carrie, Ma and Pa lived in a dugout during the first half of that book? That’s what I think of when I think of our neighbors behind us in their underground house, though I’m sure their roof isn’t made of sod with worms crawling in and out of it. Underground homes can be quite sophisticated these days.

Yesterday, the girls and I took a walk across the street and through the field to explore Soap Creek. We followed some tire tracks through the field.

“Mommy,” said Cecilia. “This is like On the Banks of Plum Creek! Penelope and I are Mary and Laura, and we are following Pa’s wagon tracks to go to town and go to school!”

They pretended to be Mary and Laura the entire way there and back. Ah, life in the country!

Modern day prairie girls following the tracks…

Lessons from the 2nd Grade

A Slice of Wife — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:07:15 +0000

This past Saturday, Fred and I attended the 2nd grade Parent Meeting at our daughters’ school. Every few months, each classroom teacher holds his/her own parent meeting in order for the parents to come together, get to know each other better, learn about the latest happenings in the classroom and discuss any of our own questions and concerns. These are usually well-attended, even fun meetings, because the parent body is comprised of individuals of all backgrounds who are supportive of the school, the teachers, and the Waldorf curriculum. Most of the meetings also have 1-2 activities in between periods of discussion. The activity is often one that the children do, and the teacher takes the parents through the activity in order for us to experience what the children experience in the classroom. This meeting’s activity: Form Drawing.

Form Drawing is an aspect of the Waldorf curriculum that helps to develop hand-eye coordination, spatial sense, fine motor control, brain development and flexibility in thinking. Here are some examples of form drawing:

Each parent found a spot at a 2nd grader’s desk, unrolled our crayon pouches and watched as Mrs. M demonstrated the form drawing we were to draw ourselves. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous. What Mrs. M demonstrated looked like a complex pattern, and drawing of any form is not my strength. It was as if Mrs. M sensed my fear because she then said, “I always tell the children to bring their courage to all that they do. So just bring your courage to the form drawing.”

Bring my courage. I loved that. My form drawing was still mediocre at best, but I brought my courage and completed the 2 form drawings as best I could. The experience reminded of a few of my favorite quotes these days:

“We must walk into the arena with courage and the willingness to engage…we must dare to show up and let ourselves be seen.” – Dr. Brene Brown

“Do not live in fear. Dream big.” – Tom Wells

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” -Beverly Sills

I love that my 7-year-old daughter is learning to bring her courage to everything she does, to everything new that she tries. There are several new adventures ahead for me: moving to our new house and starting our mini-farm, raising a puppy, several trail races to complete, and the new adventures that unfold as a wife and parent. To everything ahead of me, I will bring my courage.

L’il Artists

A Slice of Wife — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 15:36:12 +0000

Now and then I like to post pictures of my kids’ artwork. It’s a fun way for faraway friends and family to get a glimpse of one of their favorite hobbies. It is also a way for me to document the progress they have been making as budding artists. I’m always impressed with their progress, especially since I, myself, was never, ever, ever, an artist. Like, ever.

Me and Cindy in the Garden by Penelope age 4.5

Untitled by Cecilia age 7.5

For this last one, I think Cecilia drew inspiration from our friend Rita who is a fabulous artist (and mom/cook/wife/photographer,etc) who often draws her inspiration from Hungarian folk art and flower patterns.

Pen and Paper Drawing by Cecilia