Russian Teachermom

Petite Vanilla Bean Scones

2012-01-06T21:22:00.000-08:00

I would like to begin posting my most recent favorite links for homemade stuff with these babies.

I just finished making my very first batch of these and they are simply irresistible never mind the fact that it is about 9pm as I am typing this and I really should be seeing sweet dreams at this point and not walking around my kitchen island contemplating between sniffing the wonderful aroma of one or indulging in one more.

I loooove me a good scone any time of the day. But I especially enjoy petite ones with tea or coffee after a hearty breakfast. The link to this recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman's website. No, this is not a wholewheat/coconut oil kinda website. Most of the things she makes are from real ingredients though and some days it is good enough for me. Some day though, I might want to try to adapt some of the recipes to include more wholesome ingredients.

But if I could only eat one kind of white flour buttery goodness for the rest of my life, these guys might just be it. So further ado here is a link to a recipe for the petite vanilla bean scones.

Enjoy!

December Happenings and Future Plans

2012-01-04T15:16:00.000-08:00

So, even I got tired of pulling up my blog and seeing the same page pop up for over a month now. We were able to accomplish about half of the things planned on our advent calendar--I thought that was a success!

I haven't blogged since then. I don't know why such decrease in desire to blog. Sometimes I am too lazy, other times I am too tired and other times too busy. Busy I have been. The holidays came and went. We've been to more parties/dinners than I can count. We've hosted very few. The older two kids completed 8 weeks of swimming classes. As much of a hassle as those lessons are (especially when they are being held at less than desirable times) it is such joy to watch them not only improve in a skill but also have a blast doing it.

In early December, my sister hosted a wonderful baby shower for me! She worked for days gathering crafts, decorating the house, giving out invitations and arranging meals. Love her!

Some of the ladies who stayed long enough to take a picture :) It was soooo nice of all of you to take some time from the craziness this season brings and come take part in my joy! I appreciate this so much.

For my husband's b-day we went to the cabin again. My handsomeness turned 34(!) this year.

Oh, how I love this man. He is so patient, kind, hardworking, generous, creative, smart, can fix just about anything, adores his children, puts up with me ;). I don't know where he finds the energy after a long day at work to come home and play with the kids. Their giggles fill the household like in no other time of the day and I sit back and watch a kid trapped in a big man's body and find it the most romantic thing of all!

Those couple December days were very warm. Even though there was no snow near the cabin, we found plenty on the mountain.

We then came to the cabin and rested. Some near the fireplace, others discovered Monopoly and played about 4 shorts rounds of it during the whole time we were there.

We returned from the cabin a week before Christmas Eve. What a busy week that was!

I did very little shopping (mostly online for a couple of children gifts). But I did do a lot of running around buying supplies to make homemade chap sticks, hard lotion and scrubs. Of course, someone who is more organized then I am would have probably came up with the idea of making all of these things long before the week of Christmas. And that same person would have probably bought all the supplies a couple of months before the big day and of course would have had all of those things made up and ready to give at least a couple of weeks before Christmas. I want to be that person next year.

Recently, I've discovered a sudden interest in homemade things. So far, I've made chap sticks, hard lotion, foot scrub, body scrub, and cold/cough syrup. On my list to do is vaporub, candles, and soap! I am also anxious to get all these things done before the baby arrives in oh my--4 weeks or so since I know my hands will be a little preoccupied when that happens! Even so, I am very anxious to meet this little person and to welcome him into this world and into the family where all of its member are already crazy about him.

In the near future, I would like to post some of the blog links and/or recipes for all those things. I want to do this because I want to have them all be in one place easily accessible to me and perhaps to some of you who follow this blog despite its rarely updated content :)

Hope you all had a wonderful start to 2012!

Our Advent Calendar-What Are You Doing This December?

2011-11-23T22:27:00.000-08:00

I am known to procrastinate many things, Christmas preparations are not excluded. It seems like I am having a hard time figuring out a perfect time to start my prep. If I prep too early, by the time Christmas comes, the tree looks a bit tired, the Christmas decorations have collected dust, and the gifts have been opened. If I prep too late, I face the risk of what happened two year ago. You can read about it here. I laugh every time I read this.

The other day, I read Tsh's post about an easy Advent calendar that she created and was inspired to begin planning our December! The kids had a day off today, so we wrote our list of supplies and headed to a thrift store and Joann's (there are great coupons for that place online) and bought the stuff for this craft. Now, I am NOT very crafty at all. When I look at the handmade things Alyssa makes, I let out a deep sign as to acknowledge her skill and lack of mine. But this project turned out a success! I loved that all of the kids participated with Ab's leading the whole thing! We found a huge frame for $5 at the Salvation Army and purchased the rest of the supplies at the craft store.

It took a while to come up with a list though. I wanted something doable, fun, stress free and cheap. We decided to splurge on one activity- The Singing Christmas Tree. We justified our purchase by making this be our Christmas gift to each other and the fact that with our new arrival in February, we will probably not be able to attend this event for a few years. Here is our December at a glance:

1. Continue decorating the house
2. Attend Follow the Star
3. Add some ornaments to the tree
4. Attend Singing Christmas Tree
5. Sing Christmas carols
6. Make paper snowflakes
7. Read Christmas/winter Jokes
8. Check out books about Christmas at the library
9. Christmas and birthday gift shopping
10. Attend Appostolic Faith Church's Christmas Celebration
11. Bake and decorate cookies
12. Drive through Winter Wonderland
13. Make and send greeting cards
14. Read a Christmas story
15. Complete a random act of kindness or two
16. Celebrate in winterwonderland :)
17. Make stove-top popcorn and watch The Nativity Story
18. Celebrate hubby's B-Day
19. Make hot chocolate and watch The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
20. Decorate a gingerbread house
21. Attend Grotto's Festival of Lights
22. Read one of the four Gospel versions of the nativity story
23. Open stocking stuffers
24. Christmas Eve
25. Christmas Celebration in church

I will most likely be writing these on a post-it note because I want to have the freedom to change things around and not feel guilty about it. What are some things you'll be doing with your families? Please share but know that I might steal your idea or two!

Just In Time

2011-11-11T23:33:00.000-08:00

My sociology professor once made an observation that we live in what is called a 'just in time' society. The longer I live, the more I find it to be true. Getting to work, dropping kids off the bus stop, bringing them to swimming/piano lessons, arriving at church, finishing up dinner, arriving for an appointment, cleaning before guests arrive, (the list can go on and on), I have a tendency be really good at getting things done just in time and not a minute earlier. Which wouldn't be so terrible if I lived (to steal the words of Mathew West's song) "in a small little world, population-me". But because I usually have to tag along my little family, continuing to live -just in time- puts lots of stress on me and them. Add winterish weather plus a kid who just learned to tie his shoe and I end up really miscalculating the time we need to get out house and drive out of the driveway.

I don't know what it is with me and not liking/willing/trying to arrive early somewhere. Am I afraid that the time will be wasted or that I would be bored or that I would have to occupy my kids with something longer than necessary? I don't know. Probably a combination of these things. The fact is, that when I happen to make it somewhere earlier than needed, I actually like it a lot. I relax on the road; I relax when we get there. I am able to transition and focus on whatever it is I came there for.

Today was another example of me and just in time. My sister, my kids and I finally made it out to take some fall pictures. Unlike many other people, we waited until almost middle of November to do it. I spent about an hour choosing and ironing clothes and dressing the kids only to completely forget that 45 Degree F is actually fairly cold and I should have spent that time choosing some decent coats, hats and scarfs for them. We ended up taking a few decent shots. It started raining soon after we left and the forecast for the rest of the week is more rain. In other words, we took these just.in.time.

My hotblooded girl did not complain about not having a jacket.

With a soon to be big brother. He can hardly wait.

Now and then (Fall of 2010).

The four of us.

The five of us ;)

Thanks, sis. We did it again! Just in time :)

Involuntary Captivity

2011-11-04T22:37:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wished that the time would slow down so that you won’t have to be in such a rush all the time?

I am sitting in a clinic waiting room to which I have been bound for the last three hours. Thirty more minutes and the GTT (a test to check whether or not I have gestational diabetes) will be over. The past three hours of this semi involuntary captivity got me thinking about how all the complaining about running out of time to do things and always needing to go places is only because we have that which so many of us take for granted. The health to do it with. It might be sort of clicheish to be thankful for being healthy, but honestly, He who grants it to us should be praise often. It is because He gives and extends His mercy to us, who often use and abuse these bodies of ours in order get things done, to cut corners, to make it to the end of the day. What if, one day you were informed that the test results didn’t come back negative. That more tests needed to be done. That ultrasound and other scanning needed to be performed. And the flow chart would continue….

My mother in law’s illness is still so very fresh in my memory. I vividly remember the time stopping for all those who loved her. It is as if nothing was more important than catering to her needs and caring for her. All the chores she was always busy doing around the house became irrelevant to her. The last couple of months of her life she mostly spent in her bed, taking medication, waiting for the pain to ease up a bit. It was so painful to watch a woman who had so much strength and endurance to raise 17 children in a Communist country be so still, quiet, immobile. Involuntary captivity at its best. When she passed, things went back to normal for most of us with busy families and the rush resumed and time started to fly again.

It is not uncommon to hear the older generation talk about how things have really sped up these past few years. With the new technology that is supposed to save us time, comes this belief that we could accomplish more during that time therefore we should take on more responsibilities, more obligations. The other day, I had to do a big grocery store trip. The trip turned to several trips as I hit four different grocery stores to complete my list. I then came home, made dinner and baked pryaniki. Needless to say, by the time I sat down to read a book to my three year old, my husband was home and he ran to greet him at the door. “There went my one on one time with him, “ I thought. That day, spending time with him, while intended was not prioritized. I failed to slow down on my own. I chose to be captive of vanity instead. That day, I was given an option to choose. What if that option no longer became available?

Dear God,
Thank you so much for the opportunity to sit here and dwell on how fortunate I am at this point of my life, that this test, though time consuming and tedious is only a test to check a condition that is common and not life threatening for most women. Thank you for inconveniencing me temporary to make me appreciate and understand that life is not an emergency. The health we are given is not a right nor is it permanent, but a blessing and that it is foolish to hurry the destruction of it with stress, hurry, overwhelming commitments and bad diet. Help me do my part to cherish what you have given me. Help me be a voluntary captive of each moment that makes up this short journey we refer to as life.

Amen.

Hood River and Family Picture Day!

2011-09-17T23:27:00.000-07:00

About an hour drive from where we live is a city of Hood River which is known for their beautiful orchards, vineyards, country stores and stunning Mt. Hood views. I don't know why we don't visit this place more often. We've driven through a couple of times, but never really explored it.

Right now, its the pear season there hence the Pear Celebration going on there this weekend. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to visit the places that really highlighted pears and join their festivities, we did have time to stop by and buy oh...about 60 lbs of pears from a local farmer for a whooping $15! And ooohhh, they taste delicious!

My sister generously offered her photography services in exchange for a ride there. We thought the trade off was fair. The time was way overdo to take our family picture. I also wanted to do something I've never done before--maternity pictures. I don't know why such desire all the sudden with the 4th child. Maybe its the fact that if I want to remember what I looked like pregnant, why not capture it when I am looking and feeling my best--5 months:)

The family picture taking again proved to be classic: one family member is usually either not cooperating or making silly faces such as here:

We do much better by our selves:

Add caption

Or when there are two of us:

Alas, a decent family one.

These are the teaser ones my sister sent me. I am expecting and hoping for a couple more family ones that I could frame.

But seriously, I have concluded that taking a family picture brings out the worst in us. Its not like we are faking being a happy family, we are only trying to capture it. All we are asking kids is to smile and stay still for a couple of seconds? Why should it be such nerve racking process? Is it because we are afraid that at the end of the day we'll have no picture to frame? I don't know. Maybe we should do it more often. Resolvedtoworship, I don't know how you do it!!!

'Tis the Season to Be Jolly

2011-09-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

No, I am not talking about the winter season; I am talking about the harvest season going now right now here in the NW.

In fact, it is this season that makes me a bit giddy carrying home fresh, organic veggies from my father's garden. Love you, dad! I am especially giddy because I get it all for free. I get to reap what I didn't sow. Or fertilize. Or water. Or did other things (that I have no knowledge of how to do) that need to be done in order to have seed turn into a fruit, eventually. I know, spoiled is exactly the way I feel this time of the year. Hey, it only lasts for a couple of weeks, plus, all this produce is super good for my baby boy (my neglect of posting makes this old news new for some of you). See, I am not the only one spoiled. My whole family gets to be :) .

Anyhow, the above picture is from last week. Whats missing from that picture is that we also get to enjoy zucchini, lots more tomatoes, parsley, dill, onion, and grapes. So, somebody has not been doing a whole lot of grocery shopping and is not planning to for a couple of weeks.

Having so many fall vegetables at hand, I decided to make this side dish that I always enjoy at Russian weddings. I don't know the origin of it, but the main ingredient there is eggplant, which unfortunately is most enjoyed by only one member of my family--me, thus the reason I've waited so long for making this.

Most of the ingredients came from dad's garden (again, love you, dad!). Eggplant, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and onions need to be sliced and sauteed separately adding about a tablespoon of oil before each vegetable. Tomato sauce, garlic and parsley is then added to a quart size stove top dish and simmered for about 10 minutes. This dish could be enjoyed hot or cold. This is not exactly a detailed recipe because I am assuming most of my Russian speaking readers know how to make this. There might be also another way to prepare this.

Anyway, I've got to run and feed my love this goodness and hopefully convince him that eggplant should be his friend. In the meantime, hope you are being jolly as well this season while reaping yours or someone else's harvest :)

Camping: Past and Future

2011-07-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

Both my husband and I, not to mention our kids, enjoy camping. There is something about being away from the daily routine of the same old, same old (though with kids it is hardly same old, but still), unplugging ourselves from most every technologically advanced tool, watching the night sky bright with stars while lying on a picnic table, doing some kind of water activity all with the company of good friends that appeals to us. Living out of a duffle bag and a handful of kitchen supplies also appeals to us. I love cooking outdoors and find it I do just fine cooking meals on one skillet and one pot. But, almost every time we go, while feeling like we are taking half of the house with us, we still forget one thing or another. Some things, we could do without, but others, such as a flashlight, the thing we forgot this time around, is pretty useful while in the middle of a forest. So, in an effort to leave useless things behind, and be well prepared for our next trip, I am putting together a list. While I do that, I wanted to share some of the memories from this last weekend.

BIG, yummy trout

Baby learning how to ride a two wheeler. He can pretty much do it on his own now.

Log riding was popular.

The kids seemed not to be bothered by all the driftwood on the beach.

All this camping is exhausting!

Love this picture of Abby.

Finding tadpoles was even more popular. The kids were occupied for hours!

Before returning the poor things back to the lake.

These are pictures from the 4th of July weekend when we stopped by for a day to visit Peter's most entire family who were camping there then.

Small boat riding.

Big boat riding

Big boat broke :(

Good sweet, summer memories.

Funny Them

2011-07-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

I know that I will not be the first parents to utter the phrase "my kids crack me up". Their sense of humor and funny ways of doing things is what makes our big parents' hearts melt and forgive and forget everything even when we are a little upset with them. We laugh out loud and grin hourly. In our family, the funniest kid is currently the baby. It is probably a combination of his personality and being three. And perhaps because the older two are currently practicing potty humor which after a while is not that funny to me, if ever.

But the baby, the baby's humor is clean. It is innocent, light, and it is often unbeknown to him that he the reason his mom just left the room is to get out a much needed laugh so not to embarrass him.

Some days, he asks me if I love him on an hourly basis. Other times, he confirms that he indeed was sugar today and accepts that he was a little bet of spice as well. He is the kid who loves to please, stays away from trouble and is rarely naughty which manifests itself in all kinds of funny things. He changes his outfits at least three times a day and is the first one to get dressed and ready to go in the morning. He tells people that prefers to be called Tim or Timofey and not Timka. And as much as I don't like it when he drags me out of bed in the morning because he is hungry the minute he wakes up, I do it because all the kid asks for every morning is cereal. How difficult is that to make?

But, what I wanted to document in this entry are these pictures of him in his outfits today.

This was the second time he changed and he happened to match! Sometime today, he came down dressed in his church dress shirt and his Easter pants. Maybe realizing that mom will not be taking him anywhere on the day she is packing for camp, he decided to take a nap. I found him like this when I came down from working on business things upstairs.

Maybe this is how your kid takes his naps every day and you don't think this is one of the cutest things on Earth. But I know that this child NEVER does this. He needs to be either be read to for a long time or taken for a ride to nap these days.

Next school year, it will just the two of hanging out together for a while before the baby comes. Yes, the baby!!! I will have to write about our new addition this winter later. I know we will have a blast and look forward to having many more laughs.

Raspberry Lemon Bundt Cake

2011-07-17T23:26:00.000-07:00

I was at Trader Joe's the other day and picked up their Lemon Raspberry Bundt Cake. Since about last summer, we stopped buying baked goods because I have discovered what homemade goodies taste like and cost and also discovered that making them was really no big hassle. But, that bundt cake looked really good so I picked it up. As I was enjoying a piece with tea, I decided to look up some recipes that would make something similar. Plus, I had some left over raspberries (unused in varenie because I ran out of cans!) I was anxious to use up so now I had to try to make my own.

I know that this is not a cooking blog, but I post some of the recipes here for a couple of reasons. First, if I don't, I will lose them, and second, by having the things I attempt turn out, I hope to inspire some of you out there who never bake that if I (with my very limited knowledge and experience) could do it, you can too! Really, you can. So, here is a cake that we all enjoyed yesterday with housemates from Vladivostok to whom we are currently renting our basement.

The original recipe came from here. I changed a couple of things, but it was pretty easy to follow overall.

Raspberry Lemon Bundt Cake

makes one 9″ bundt cake

for the cake

8 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

zest from 4 lemons

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons almond meal (I got mine from Trader Joe's but Bob's Red Mill sells it too)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons yogurt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup fresh raspberries, halved

for the glaze

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons raspberry, or other dark pink, juice

7 – 10 raspberries, halved

Liberally butter an 8 or 9” bundt pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for 2 minutes more. Add in the eggs one at a time, and then the lemon zest. Set it aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, combine the lemon juice, yogurt, and vanilla. With mixer on low, add in a bit of the flour mixture, then the liquid, flour, liquid again, and finally the remaining flour.

Spoon a thin layer of batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle roughly half the raspberries on top. Add another thin layer of batter, and then scatter the remaining berries. Spoon in the remaining batter.

Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs and the cake is a light golden brown.

Cool for 45 minutes, and then flip cake onto a platter. Allow the cake to cool completely. To frost, whisk the confectioners sugar, lemon juice, and raspberry juice. Spoon onto the cake, garnish with raspberries and serve.

Goes well with an afternoon coffee :)

July is for....

2011-07-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

strawberries! It used to be June, but with the cold Spring we've had over the last couple of years, strawberries are ripening later. I am so glad I dragged myself out of bed yesterday morning to go to the field for some picking. Even though this was their second round, there were plenty of strawberries there and just as many people of my native origin to pick them! I am telling you, the u-picks are thriving here because of the 200,000+ of us who live in this area and love to pick them not to eat fresh but to make varenye (Russian form of jam without pectin so its more liquid than solid). Varenye. Sign. Maybe a day will come when I learn how to make a good one that doesn't require a ton of sugar, and yet does not taste sour and has a decent shelf life. Also, all the recipes I've looked at give me measurements of sugar/berry ratio in kgs. First of all, I don't have a scale, and second, I wouldn't even be able to estimate because we don't operate here in kgs. Anyway, I have my varenye on the stove now with sugar "na glas" (estimated amount). We'll see.

I do want to share a great strawberry muffin recipe I found online. I want to post it here because I know I will lose it come strawberry season next year. My muffins turned out wonderful, very light and fluffy. Today, I will try to make them with whole wheat flour. I got the recipe here.

Fresh Strawberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups chopped strawberries

3 tsps sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix well.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to butter mixture. Add vanilla. Gently stir in strawberries.

Spoon batter into muffin pans with liners.

Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over muffins.

Bake at 400º for 20-25 minutes.

Makes one dozen muffins.

Violated

2011-06-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

I woke up last night to use the restroom. While up, I decided to check if my kids have a blanket over their bodies. It is often that I find them curled up in a ball, ice cold from the cold that settled in after the warm bodies of their parents left to go sleep in their normal bed. On my way back to my room with my eyes half closed, I noticed someone going through my husband's belongings in his truck. I woke up my husband. It seemed like thousands of thoughts were flying through my head. It was 2:30am and I was wide awake. Has he been there a while? What was he able to take so far? Did Peter forget to take out his wallet again and if yes did the guy already found it? Should I call the police or scare him away? At that moment I decided to flick the light. The sleazeball saw it and ran to his beat up older what looked like red Accord or similar and with loud acceleration got away.

"Should I call the police?" I asked my husband. (Smart thoughts often follow actions)
"Its a little late for that don't you think, " he answered.

He came down the stairs to see the verdict: a staple gun, a framing gun, two finish guns, sawzall, electric planer and a tool bag, his work folder with important signed contracts, camera, his gym bag, all missing. I am thankful that his wallet was at home and that the garage opener wasn't stolen. His other expensive tool was there too; maybe he didn't get to see due to my brave act of flipping the light.

So, there I lay from 2:30 am until the sun rose over Portland at about 5 am wide awake thinking about whether we should have called the police instead and playing the image I saw over and over again in my head, wondering how long it would have taken the police to get up our hill in the middle of the night and whether they would have made it here in time. I lay there feeling violated, tricked, with my little safe heaven world shattered. I've had this feeling before when a car we had when we lived in apartments about 8 years got stolen and totally stripped off its panels, seats, everything. Even though we didn't have theft insurance and had to pay for everything out of pocket , this feeling was numbed with time. And now, not having a television for nearly 5 years and not watching the daily news of robberies, homicides, rape, kidnapping and such as made us relax a bit and pretend that we live in this safe, little, culde-sac where only neighbours or good people drive through who would never do us any harm.

This was a good reminder for us to get our act together and start checking and double checking our cars, doors, windows and such. I don't want to be paranoid about it, but I think there was a reason why I happened to wake up at the very same time that the theft was happening. It would be a responsible thing to do.

When my husband gets home from work tonight, we will file a police report. I went on Portlandmaps.com last night (ya know, I had to occupy my self with something while I stared at the ceiling) to check crime in our area and confirmed that we do live in a safe area with theft and other violations rarely happening.

So lock your cars. Lock your cars. Lock your cars. Lock your cars. There. Maybe we'll remember now.

Dinner Plan for This Week

2011-06-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

So, I got a mean little email from Mint reminding me that we, er, went over our food budget a bit this week. With a b-day, our 10th anniversary, celebrating the end of the school year, Father's day and a cabin getaway, lets just say we got a little off track with our menu plan and our budget in general. Looking at my semi-decent components in the fridge, I think we can stretch the food we have until Sat. No, I challenge my self to. I don't know but this word challenge is sometimes attractive to me and makes me get my act together and raise up to whatever it is that seems difficult at first.

But, I decided that it is more realistic to me to plan for dinners only. All three of my kids like to have different things for breakfast (I know, its sounds like I spoiled them, but with one kid only eating cereal and another making her own breakfast, I am only left with one to cater to) and we are out and about often during lunch that planning exact thing we eat for lunch has proven not to be realistic. But dinner, I can do. So here it goes:

Monday
Russian kotleti, pasta, tomato salad.

Tuesday
Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, corn.

Wednesday
Chicken Fried Rice (with left over chicken from Tuesday)

Thursday
Breakfast for dinner: eggs, potato tots, fruit smoothie

Friday
Tempura shrimp, cucumber, and philly roll sushi

You might notice, that the menu above is not exactly vegetarian, in fact, its lacking a lot of fresh vegetables. Part of the reason for that is that my fridge is lacking vegetables, but I am well stocked on fruits, so we'll be making up the vitamins from fruits this week. I am sure my children won't mind that. Another reason is that due to certain circumstances, I started eating a little more meat. I still stay away from it whenever there are other options available, but I eat a little if there aren't.

Whats for dinner at your place and how do you reconcile children who don't share your taste for veggies?

2010-2011

2011-06-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

It is almost the end of June and its been a week since the beginning of my temporary work free life aka Summer. Wow. I remember going back to work after summer thinking, it's only September. Summer is sooooo far away. Apparently not so. I haven't written much about work this year. I haven't written much about anything, really. Maybe because there was too much on my mind this year and it was hard to articulate it all. I could have written about how hard we prayed for mom's healing. But then I would have to write about how he didn't heal her and discuss a lot of why questions. I could have written about the struggle I have understanding and separating God's will and person's choice and how lifestyle of a human does or does not predestine his or her longevity. But, that I will leave that for another time.

Back to work. 2010-2011 was a great year. I had sweet students majority of whom genuinely cared about learning and about improving their English. There wasn't a day that I dreaded going to work this year. I looked forward to every lesson and seeing every student. Wow, I cannot believe I just said this because God knows there were plenty of times in the years past that I did not feel this way. It seemed like they enjoyed my classes too; we worked hard, but had fun while at it. There was chemistry. They got my jokes, I laughed at theirs. They felt sad for me and expressed their condolences when they learned that my mom in-law passed away. I accepted their sympathy.

I taught two Advanced level ELD (English Language Development) courses and one ESL math class. All classes were considerably small (math had the most at 18 students) which allowed for many one on one interactions.

Working with these students and getting to know them gave me hope. In an era where everyone is plugged in to everything and teenagers are as rebellious as ever and cyberbullying is at its peak and economy does not promise those graduated jobs, there are still good kids out there. God knows I didn't have this fuzzy feeling about my students nor did I think that many of them offered hope. It is true that I had bad, even rotten kids before whom I unfortunately were not able to help and they eventually were "weeded" out. I wrote about these kids on this blog and what a difficult time I had with them.

Though I've lost a lot of kids and felt like I failed them, a lot of them keep stopping by my room and chatting with me. Many of them asked to be my students aids and I have seen them change from a crazy freshman to a mature, college bound senior.

As I think about the upcoming year and the difficult classes I am supposed get I need to remind my self of the only weapon that works for these kids. That weapon is all forgiving, all enduring love. The crazy class of 2008-2009 year was transformed and became teachable (which was a huge progress, trust me) only after weeks of pouring love on to them despite their wild, disrespectful, inappropriate behavior.

So, it is bittersweet for me to say good bye to my good kids this year. I look forward to summer, but I also loved teaching them. I never know what next school year will bring, I only know that I will most likely be there for half of it the reason for which I will discuss in my upcoming posts. It it surely a good reason :)

Aghhh!

2011-05-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

I was trying to add my new read (people, check out Natasha's Kitchen link on the left for some amazing Russian/Ukranian recipes, thanks, Vera :) and accidently erased the ENTIRE list! I think I added most of the blogs I read. But, if you think I missed someone, please let me know. Also, I would like to use this opportunity and do a call out for my sweet readers to suggest blogs that I am missing out on by having no idea they exist therefore not reading them! PLEASE leave a comment with the blog name or/and address. Thanks!

Off to the grocery store to buy a couple of things for Natasha's Napoleon Cake :)

Madeleines

2011-05-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

Today was the day. I made madeleines. The same cookie that sells for two bucks or so each at Starbucks and places alike. Today I understood why these suckers cost so much and the ingredients is not why. These babies are tricky and take a while like clarifying of brown butter which probably took about 30 minutes or so of close watch to make. Then there is the madeleine cookie tray that cost me $30 which of coarse will pay itself in a long run, but my first batch sure turned out to be expensive.

A couple of things didn't go as planned. First, the cookie tray. The recipe said that I was supposed to butter it. It should have probably said "butter it well but not too much because you don't want your cookies to be soaked in butter like SOMEONE's cookies turned out to be". So yeah, my first batch came out stuck to the form and the second was a bit too buttery than I would have liked. Neither result made me very happy. Also, in my annoyance that the browning of the butter was taking so long, I folded the flour first and butter afterward which I assume also contributed to a less than perfect cookie.

Anyway, I am not giving up on these just yet. They are too delicious and way too expensive to buy. But here is the recipe that I got from Ana; hope yours turn out better than mine :)

Madeleines

Heat oven to 350. Butter the madeleine pan.

Clarify 3/4 c. butter in a small saucepan by heating over low heat until brown and nutty, then straining through a paper towel in a sieve. Throw out the solids, keep the liquid.

Beat together:
4 eggs
and a pinch of salt at a medium speed, until thick.
Add:
2/3 c. sugar a little at a time, beating at a high speed.

Fold in:
1 t. orange flower water (or orange zest)
1 t. vanilla
and the brown butter.
Then 3/4 c. sifted flour.
Don't stir past the folding in.

Fill each madeleine well almost to the top. Makes two pans.
Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes.

*** I made another batch after watching this lady here. Though she uses a different recipes, I followed most of her techniques and my cookies turned out to be so much better looking and tasting!

Vegetarian Me?

2011-05-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

So, off and on I throw around an idea of becoming a vegetarian. It basically goes like this: I think about it, then snack on a steak, then think about it some more, then boil up some pelmenie, and so on. I wouldn't say that we consume a ton of meat, but then maybe we do and I just don't think about it as I savor my favorite meat dishes. Becoming a vegetarian would be life changing for our family. My husband is a big time carnivore who thinks that it is not dinner if it doesn't contain meat and who laughs when I mention to him that he might consider ordering a veggie burger next time he stops by at a burger place. My youngest son takes my daughter's meat portion while she takes his pasta portion. And Nicolas is cool with either and I usually eat every one's leftover veggies. So it is no wonder why I would be the one to pioneer this venture.

I love vegetables, but when I look at the vegetarian recipes, I cannot help but think that the rest of the family will simply not eat most of it. My kids don't eat all veggies so if I take meat out, they would have to complement by eating lots of carbs which alone are not super healthy especially if their color is white. So, I will probably going to begin this journey on my own. I will most likely not able to quit cold turkey so it would have be a gradual process.

Maybe some of you who had us for dinner or whom we treated with a fine a shish kabob are picking up your jaws from the floor. I know that vegetarian lifestyle is not very well understood nor supported by the Russian community here. In fact, I only know one person, a girl I went to high school with, who is a vegetarian and I know many Russians. But there are several reasons why I want to try it out:

1) It is now common knowledge that a diet high in fruits and vegetables helps prevent many diseases.

2) We can't afford organic meat therefore we usually consume meat from cows/poultry that have been fed hormones and/or antibiotics and other things to make them grow faster. And this, cannot be a good thing.

3) This idea of switching has been circulating around me for a while and is being recycled through interactions with different people, statistics, testimonies, thoughts about cancer...

I know that completely giving up meat will result only if a complete mind change occurs. I don't want to make vegetarianism a religion though. So I will try it out, but in all honesty, I don't know how long I will last. I am leaning towards being a selective vegetarian, but selective could be so broad! I will sure to keep you posted. In the mean time, I welcome your comments. Have you tried it? How did you do? How did your family do?

How Am I Doing?

2011-05-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

In an effort to save up some money for our big upcoming trip, I have decided to get my act together and start menu planning. So, I've done it now for three weeks mostly planning for dinners and some lunches on the days that I am home. I like that when I go to a grocery store, I have a purpose and that purpose is not to buy all that looks good to my empty stomach, but that which I plan on stretching for an entire week or two. But what I like the most is trying out new recipes that come from some of the blogs I follow and allrecipes.com. Like today's lunch:

Looks simple enough, right? That's the idea. Heavens knows, once sun decides to stick around for a little longer than a day in this rainy part of the world, we will use every opportunity to soak it in and that means spending as little time indoors as possible where my stove is located.

The hamburger mac and cheese recipe came from Laura. I like that it is uses all real ingredients and that my whole wheat pasta (which I am learning to like) does not actually taste like whole wheat. The taco seasoning, pasta and ground beef I got from Trader Joe's which while does not promise every product to be organic stays away from artificial flavors and such.

So, I have not yet perfected this menu planning thing. I change some meals around and I sometimes postpone and other times hurry along our pizza/Burgerville day. But, I love that its helping me stay within our food budget and that means less ~~mean~~ notification emails from Mint.

Now, if I can get every member of my lovely family to be as excited about every meal I prepare as I am. Because after all the work that goes into putting a meal on the table, I have little patience for this:

Sign.

Savoring

2011-05-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

Its 69 degrees at 7pm in Portland right now. Better yet, it is supposed to be a little over 70 tomorrow and I am off from work. Though a bit chilly in the shade, it is still nice to be seating on the deck watching both the sunset and my kids playing on the playground as they soak up the last of sun rays (though indirect) and inhale fresh air. These past couple of days I have been thinking a lot about savoring. Though so clicheish, this living in the moment, in the present, right now more specifically the lack of has been convicting me. Maybe its the fact that my second baby is to begin kindergarten next year or maybe its the that school and work have taken up so much time away from them. Or maybe its trying to balance putting healthy, frugal meals on the table and keeping my house looking decent while at the same time leaving enough time for floor play. Like yesterday, when I spent two hours trying to figure out which coupons I need and how to print the ones I finally chose only to then cancel our Target trip all together because it was too late to go.

Or maybe it is because only yesterday that I ran across this quote while substituting for a colleague and it resonated with me:

"Time -- when pursued like a bandit -- will behave like one; always remaining one country or one room ahead of you, changing its name and hair color to elude you, slipping out the back door of the motel just as you're banging through the lobby with your newest search warrant, leaving only a burning cigarette in the ashtray to taunt you."
— Elizabeth Gilbert

Or maybe its the fact that I am starting to think about getting a full time job in two years when my baby enters Kindergarten. The idea of a decent (finally!) paycheck is attracting and yet coming home exhausted every day is not. The truth is, I have a good life right now. I get to enjoy time away from home doing a job I am passionate about and spending most days of the week at home with my kids, cracking up at their utterances, watching them grow and change, and providing for them in various ways. I think that if the time comes when most of my time will be spent outside of home, teaching someone else's children (wow, that sounds kind of wrong), I will no doubt refer to this time now as "the good ol' days" of sushi and scone making. A time when mornings could occasionally be lazy and laundry got done after everything else that is more exciting got done.

I might just look back and regret being more of an observer of their games than a participant. Maybe I will regret not making time for many girl dates with my daughter or taking them to grandma's and grandpa's too often. I will probably regret not making a baby book for each of them and having no record of their first words and milestones.

There are however, lots of things I'll be glad I did. I'll be glad my kids were read to every night and taken to the library several times a month to choose new books and that TV was limited to mostly family movie nights. I'll be glad we got our money's worth of memberships to OMSI, The Children Museum, and the Zoo. I will certain not regret filling up that punch card from JJJUMP and EPCC Indoor Park oh, and Dutch Bros ;). I hope my kids will remember how much fun they had at Precision Elite Gymnastics, Kid Club Fun and Fitness, the Splash Pad, swimming pools and kid classes.

I'll also be glad I was around to see them take their first steps and crack their first joke. I know that it will serve them well for rarely seeing my husband and me argue and fight though I could have certainly used a bit more refraining from yelling at them.

So, I am going to end this post, close my laptop, plug my iPhone in to charge upstairs and do just that, savor this moment that I have been granted to me and maybe even required? by no other than but my Father in heaven. I will then put them to bed and crash with a book--an act I need to savor more than keeping up with the FB updates.

A Better Way to Shop?

2011-05-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

So I was at Safeway the other day, running in for a quick stop to pick up a couple of items. The quick stop turned into a half an hour wait while the lady in front of me was checking out her items. This lady was nice enough to offer me to go ahead in front of her while she fidgeted with a handful of coupons. I had to run to get eggs so I politely declined. I lately regretted this move. To make a long story short, the scanning and figuring out which of her coupons actually worked for the stuff she chose took FOREVER. She didn't seem to mind one bit the line that was getting bigger with every minute. In my annoyance I almost didn't notice that her total bill came to $38 and that she saved $56. Almost. I looked at my small basket that came to over forty dollars and half of her cart that came to thirty eight and I thought, wow. That's pretty good.

I might have tried couponing in the past, but I do not ever remember being organized enough to have the right coupon when I need it or to consistently save any substantial sum. And I don't want to buy things just because I can get them for a good deal. I have a couple of things rotting in my pantry shelf that were bought that way already.

But today I discovered this place. It has a million deals and I bet I can find a coupon or two for my upcoming trip to Target. And maybe if I am successful at it I ~~would never have to shop at Winco ever again~~ can save money on quality whole foods that are currently costing me an arm and a leg. But, if I am going to take up that lifestyle, I need some tips from some of you who have been successful at consistently using coupons. How do you people do it? And what about couponing with class--is that even possible?

Sour Cream Raisin Cookies

2011-05-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

I apologize to everyone who has been been my blog only to see that not much has been written here in the past few months. I think part of the reason for my slacking is my getting a smart phone. Being constantly plugged in is actually taking a lot of my time while at the same time often coming in handy when I need to get that map or check that important email. And then there is Facebook. After a couple years of resisting, I finally gave in. I don't know, but I am considering eventually weaning my self off of it. I have a love hate relationship with it. I love to be able to connect, but have a hard time finding a balance between sharing information and bragging about stuff.

Anyway, I want to get back to blogging. It is my only way to remember life. Something happened to my memory after birthing three munchkins. I need to WRITE to remember everything now. So, I will write this recipe for these awesome cookies that I made today. My husband looooves raisins but is not too crazy about oatmeal raisin and is tired of chocolate chip cookies, if you can believe it. So, I wanted something soft like chocolate chip but lighter and fluffier than oatmeal raisin. So I found this recipe here, followed it per letter and they turned out delicious!

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

In a large bowl, beat the butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, eggs, and vanilla until fluffy.
Sift flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt. At low speed, beat sour cream into the egg mixture, gradually beat in the flour until well mixed. Add raisins and mix by hand. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.
Mix the 1/2 cup white sugar with the ground cinnamon.
Drop spoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle cookies with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Let me know how it turns out if you make it with whole wheat flour. Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

P.S. I am turning off private setting per my sister's request who hates to sign in all the time :)

2011-04-15T23:33:00.001-07:00

What's Been Happening

2011-03-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, its been over a month since I last wrote my post. I think this is the longest lap yet!

I am five weeks away from getting my Master's Degree. This means that I am in the middle of finishing up my portfolio and the presentation of my Action Research project. Both of these things take a loooong time. I will be ecstatic when I am all finished. Of coarse, during the busiest time of the year for me I decided to take on....ready for this...baking and menu planning! Vera, you probably just fell out of your chair. Vera and my other close friends know that me and baking have a history of disappointments, wasted ingredients, forced compliments, and plenty of discouragement. I got tired of eating (not to mention paying for!) store bought sweets and have been baking several times a week the last several months. I love the taste of freshly baked goodies and don't think I'll ever go back to store bought cookies and such.

This weekend, while my husband was gone for an out of state trip, I menu planned for the first time. I feel that all these years of schooling, baby-rearing, and working have deprived me of being intentional about how my family eats. I mean, we stay away from partially hydrogenated stuff, artificial flavors, sodium nitrites, high fructose syrup and avoid junk food, but I can do better about making sure they eat more raw fruits and vegetables and other wholesome foods. I hope that menu planning will not only increase my cooking repertoire, but it will take the ever so daunting question of what to make for dinner out of my lexicon.

Another thing I've been busy with is hosting tea/dinners/prayers at our house. Mom has not been well at all. This time, cancer came back in a much more aggressive form. So we have been getting together once a week to pray for her. We will soon go onto month four of praying and the prayers have largely taken place at our home since we are the biggest house that is located closest to her home. It is heartbreaking to watch such strong woman decline in health so rapidly. It was only December that she was helping to watch a six month old and now she can barely walk and spends most of her day in bed. Wow.

I have recently realized that through mom's sickness I have developed more respect for some family members and am loosing respect for others. The difference between talk and deed, sympathy and empathy, caring and saying you care, committing and wanting to, what's right and what's fair is so so great. The person I have always respected but have grown even more respect for is my father in law. I would like to write a post about him in the near future as I do not want to forget that which I've observed and came to know about him these past few months.

Both him and mom have served as such great role models for me in their own different ways. I only wish I had the guts and wisdom to tell it to them in a way that wouldn't be forced or awkward.

Shoemaker Without Shoes

2011-02-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been noticing a certain pattern. I've noticed that:

Contractors' own houses have things that need to be fixed which being neglected by them.
Realtors have trouble selling their own houses
Teachers find it difficult to teach their own children and often have children that are outperformed by kids who come from families where parents lack post secondary education
Insurance agent themselves don't have insurance
Teachers' kids often are being taught by others
People who work in the health care industry rarely look healthy themselves
Spa personnel complain about being stressed out
Doctors pressure others to immunize their kids while their own kids grow up without immunizations.
"Beauty" consultants' cake faces are far from beautiful and hairdressers' hair looks disastrous.
Pastors' kids leave the church as soon as they are old enough

Whats up with that? I have witnessed all of the examples and know most of the people described above personally but I don't have a good explanation for why that happens. Maybe its because these skills that define us as professionals becomes such big part of us that there is no sense of urgency to use them well at home as they pertain to us or our loved ones. Sometimes we are so invested into having others benefit from our skills that when it comes to the ones that matter most we simply have no energy left for them. Sad, ironic, but true.

What do you think? Can you name a few other ironies that you have witnessed?

Because I Want To Keep It For Posterity...

2011-02-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

So we are in the living room talking with various sister and brother in-laws when my two year old runs out of the bathroom followed by my husband.

"He just told me that when I get old, he will wipe my bottom too." My husband says on his way back to his tea and conversation.

Now, if only there was a way to preserve these words for the next fifty years or so! :)

Participant vs. Spectator

2011-02-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

My sweet mom takes my kids for a sleepover many Friday nights a month. Their absence gives me a chance to do some studying and clean the house. Because I had to work these past two days and attend school on one of the nights, I wanted to spend Friday night with them. So when I got home from work we opened up the laptop and started searching places that have open play time at 6pm on Friday night. I know it is very like us to plan something last minute and expect places to be expecting us.

After a while it became obvious to us that we had two options: we could stay home or attend open swim at a local community center. My awesome sister agreed to go with us so off we went. I wasn't sure that I wanted to actually swim. This is because I am not that fond of swimming, moreso of getting my warm body into colder than desirable (to me) water. Not only that, but exposing my body that had several parts of it hybernate during the past few jean and long sleeve wearing months (if you know what I mean) was not agreeable with me.

When we got to the pool though, I understood that my presence in the water (especially because we also had four of their cousins with us) would probably be necessary. So regardless of what I wrote above, I decided to expose my pale, previously sheltered from the rest of the world body. As I was swimming and playing in the water with the kids I noticed how I loved it so much more than when I was a spectator during Nick's swimming lessons in the summer.

Driving home I was thinking about how my kids are getting more and more independent and how it is no longer necessary for me to follow their every step. Because of this, I have relaxed quite a bit on the playgrounds and other kid places we go to the point where I just sit there and either read something or watch them play. This was fun at first as I could finally relax and get some rest myself by just sitting there and watching them play . Now, I am beginning to think that I might be missing out by just merely being a spectator. I know that kids need time to play by themselves without me facilitating their play, but they get plenty of opportunities to do that at home.

I know that time will come when I'll be doing a lot of spectating at their sport games and music recitals. While they let me I will join their silly games because watching is not merely as memorable as doing.

Blessed With Grandparents

2011-01-14T10:42:00.000-08:00

My sister forwarded these two pictures to me from Abby's birthday.

Looking at them, I was once again reminded of how great it is to for a child to grow up knowing his/her grandparents. They are an incredible resource of wisdom, love, support, and encouragement for a child. They are also the ones who cut your child slack and spoil them crazy when you get too caught up with discipline and rules. My kids are blessed to have known two set of grandparents and one set of gran grandparents. That is a lot of loving going their way! And a lot of answered prayers...

Update on mom:

The news about her health are up from worst to bad. The doctor said that her liver and some other parts of her body have a mass growing on them. They will do a liver biopsy to figure out where the cancer is coming from. Though there is still a lot of unknowns, the doctor confirmed the cancer is not in her pancreas. This was a huge relief to us. Though we are still very worried now, we've got more hope.

Difficult Year Ahead...

2011-01-10T12:18:00.000-08:00

So we had a really great December. I was off for two and a half weeks and Peter's job was slow enough that we managed to spend quite a bit of time as a family.   In addition we had a few birthday parties including my mom's surprise 50th which was a blast.    We let our kids stay up late to welcome the New Year and sip sparkling cider with us. I wish I wrote about December in December because right now our spirit has hit a low point and non of December seems to matter.

Last Thursday, right before we were to leave to the cabin, we were told that my dear mom-in-law probably has a pancreatic cancer which has spread to the liver.   The doctors are supposed to confirm this on Tuesday through a more thorough scan. Those of you who know about this cancer know that it is pretty ruthless and takes lives of 95% diagnosed. This is because by the time things begin to hurt and one goes to the doctor's office, doctors can do little.

We have cried and cried and cried the last few days. Just last night all 15 of my husband's siblings and their families who live here gathered together to make peace with each other.    Tension, grief, sorrow, hurt, forgiveness, repented souls, promises to God-- all were witnessed and made yesterday. Maybe I will write more about some things that were revealed to me yesterday later.

Right now, I ask that you keep our family and especially mama Galya in your prayers. This woman battled colon cancer mere six years ago. To say that she has suffered much would be an understatement.

We had a lot of great things to look forward to this year including my turning 30 and finishing up my master's degree, my husband's and mine 10th year anniversary, and mama Galya's and papa Kolya's 50th....Now, I don't know if any of these celebrations will occur, I just know that the year will be far from festive.

Why Do We Do the Right Thing?

2010-12-28T00:32:00.000-08:00

Today, after an awesome day of going around town and doing various things to celebrate my mom's b-day, something unexpected happened. As I was preparing my kids for bed, I noticed a tiny plastic frog on the floor. I picked it up and recognize it to be one of the toys they played with at a museum we went to earlier. It turned out that it was a team effort and both of my oldest kids were guilty of this deed. After having a long talk and lecturing my kids on how wrong it is to steal things and what happens to people when they steal things came the verdict for their inexcusable behavior. They are to write a note of apology to the museum staff, return the toy to the play room and personally apologize to the staff member for their wrong doing. After they felt asleep, I was left in my office to think about this incident and doing the right thing. I started questioning why do people choose to do the RIGHT thing? I think that there is a lot of attention being paid to why people do the wrong thing but I am yet to engage in a conversation of what makes people do the right thing.

Today, when you took your groceries through the u-scan register, why did you pay for all of your items? Early next year, why will you report accurately on your taxes even if that means having to pay back the money you don't currently have?   Is it because of the fear of the consequence that could follow if you get caught doing the wrong thing ?   Are you terrified of jail or of what prison time can do to your criminal record?

If you believe in life after death, did you do the right thing because you are afraid of going to hell to spend your eternity?

Yes, prison and hell scare the heck out of me and rightly so. Without law enforcement there would be no order. Because of law enforcement, we slow down on the freeway and obey other laws even if we don't like them. We do the right thing and we get honored for it by not having to pay a fine: the reward which most of us only begin to appreciate after having to pay for our inattentiveness. Without hell, sneaky people that were able to allude justice on Earth would never have to pay for their crime.

My question to you my readers is this: Are human beings able to do the right thing purely because it is the right thing and serves fellow humans well and not because of the fear of consequences? If by some magic powers your were advised that you can engage in any act of immorality under the sun and would never have to pay for it in any way, would you do it? Would others do it?

I don't know if I my kids understood my point tonight. I wanted them to understand that even though they didn't get caught, they took something that doesn't belong to them. They took something that wasn't earned by them or their parents and that is a crime against humanity no matter how small of a damage was done.

Most importantely, I want them to grow up understanding that what makes people noble is not the acts of righteousness that they commit in view of people watching, but it is those acts that might be never discovered.   This is a whole other topic I would like to someday think through.

Doing the right thing is not glamorous and is often inconvenient.  Human beings gravitate toward whats evil and we fight this battle daily. Sometimes we come out winners. Other times, unfortunately victory is forced upon us.

~~Would love to hear your thoughts on this...

The Nativity

2010-12-24T14:42:00.000-08:00

"The Nativity"

Among the oxen (like an ox I'm slow)

I see a glory in the stable grow

Which, with the ox's dullness might at length

Give me an ox's strength.

Among the asses (stubborn I as they)

I see my Saviour where I looked for hay;

So may my beastlike folly learn at least

The patience of a beast.

Among the sheep (I like a sheep have strayed)

I watch the manger where my Lord is laid;

Oh that my baa-ing nature would win thence

Some wooly innocence!

~C. S. Lewis

Merry Christmas!!!

Deliberating Directions

2010-12-20T22:49:00.000-08:00

Over the last two weeks I've had a rollercoaster of emotions. It began when we suddenly realized that we can no longer afford our ~~bad investment mistake~~ fancy house. I mean we could never afford it, it just that up to this point with God's grace we've managed to make the payments. When I look back at these several years, it amazes me that a part-timer and a self-employer of a tiny business has managed not to loose this place to a bank during the height of a recession. God's grace, again. However, that might soon change. When it finally hit us, I (my husband probably as well, but he expressed it in a more silent way than I did) went to stage 2. Panic. Everything from where will we go to where will be our children's new school be hurricaned my brain. When a possible leaving situation was negotiated, I went to stage 3. This stage is probably part of one's survival mechanism. It is responsible for deliberating one's alternative options. Should we try to sell this place or rent it out? Should we try to modify the loan (again) or should we find ways to increase our income? All these different directions; which one should we take? As my brain was exploding from all this thinking, I found my self in church during worship.

Now, I have to be honest that I have always believed that it is individual's responsiblity to get him/her self out of the mess that they have created. Personal accountability is high on my list. So what I was seeking that morning was wisdom and peace to come from my God whom I know not to be the Santa Clause he is often perceived to be, but a loving father that sometimes lets his children fail.

So, as I was praying with tears coming down my face and worship music in the background, I was seeking direction. And by the time the worship was over, I am happy to report that I got what I really needed. Peace. No, God did not engage in my business endeavors. But he spoke to my heart saying that I already have soooo much and a house is so insignificant in comparison. He reminded me that I have healthy, loving, smart, beautiful children. He reminded me that I have supportive, generous, talented, loving, caring, husband without whom I cannot imagine my life. I was raised in a two parent family with parents who instilled so many great values in me and have supported me through education and who love my children enough to spoil them crazy. I have my sister who is my second (to my husband) best friend. All of my needs are met. And. it. doesn't. matter. what happens to the pieces of lumber that hold the roof. Period.

So we are starting our walk one direction at a time and if all of the roads come to a dead end, then we'll be packing our bags. If/When that takes place, I want to remember that day when panic turned to peace and feelings turned to reason and future contemplations were replaced with treasuring the present.

I want to internalize this and have it be the way of life and not merely an emotional spur.

Private Setting

2010-12-09T20:08:00.000-08:00

Hello there, my occasional readers. In a few days, I will change my setting to "private" so the only people that will be able to read my blog will be readers I invite. So, if you would like to read my blog, please write me an email at jantonov2000[at]yahoo[dot]com and I will send you an invite. I am doing this for several reasons:

1) I share quite a bit of my private life here and it something freaks me out that I have no idea who is reading my blog.

2) Other times, having my blog open to the public restricts me from writing certain things I want to vent.

Looking forward to hearing from some of you,

Bye-bye the rest of you!

Big Tree, Small Chiristmas

2010-11-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

This year, we have decided early on that we are celebrating Christmas small. Not that we were ever in a financial state to have elaborate Christmases before, but we did spend a good portion of money on gifts. However, I noticed this pattern of having this empty "This is it?" feeling the evening of Christmas day. The disappointment was in no way to refer to the lack of gifts got in return, but that the month long hassle of gift, decoration and clothes choosing and shopping were all because of one day; no, more like a few minutes of that day. Instead, this year we want to celebrate the season and really take the time to reflect on the significance that the birth of Christ has in our lives. We also want to focus on spending time together as a family going places and doing things instead of me being gone for hours at the time navigating through crowded malls.

A couple of months ago, I asked my children if for Christmas, they wanted gifts or to go places as a family. They all said they wanted to go places as a family. Their answer was surprising but pleasing to us. One of the places we love a lot is the Great Wolf Lodge. The place had a special promotion going on so I solicited several families to join us there. This will probably be the largest thing we do this season. Other activities will be free or cost little. Yesterday, for example we took them to the Grotto's Festival of Lights. I got a great deal through a timely Groupon (again) so a family admission with three hot chocolates cost us $18.

Waiting for a puppet show.

Babe chasing goats. The sugar from the hot chocolate kicked in right about here. He was attempting to catch and kiss every goat that would let him.

Doing fun things for less is that much more enjoyable.

Some other things we want to do this year is take kids to a famous street in an established neighborhood where every house is lit up every Christmas. We will probably do the Follow the Star again this year with them. The kids love it every year. This place makes Christmas come alive for them. Both of these activities are free. We also want to make it to a couple of Christmas concerts. We really loved The Singing Christmas Tree a couple of years ago before we had the boys, but having 5 attendees now might be a bit spendy. We could probably do it if we sit in less than desirable seats, but then the kids would probably not see the stage well. Besides these activities I want to make and decorate sugar cookies and drink many hot chocolates all while listening to as much Christmas music as I am able to tolerate. Singing carols and watching Its a Wonderful Life is also on the list.

And finally, we want to start a few new family traditions. We had our first attempt last Friday. We had a clever idea to drive to a national forest and choose our own tree. This action was the result of last year's disappointing tree my kids and husband brought home which they chose in the dark. It looked hideously small and sorry in our high ceiling living room as few honest relatives cared to comment. I couldn't wait until Jan. 1 when I almost independently dragged it outside to the curb. This year, besides many obstacles such as forgetting our warm clothes in a bag in the driveway (don't ask how we managed to do that), getting there when the ranger station was closed for lunch, driving a truck which kept on dying on stops, and then getting all soaked as it was raining, we got our tree. Keeping all these things in mind, it is understandable why we hurried up and got ourselves this:

Notice the humble gifts below made by our daughter.

We think the tree is cute and worth the $5 permit we paid for cutting it. The honest loved ones who did not go through the pain of getting this thing in to our living room called it less desirable names.
But everyone agrees that it is way better than this:

Portlanders, what are you doing this Christmas season?

You might have seen this before....

2010-11-24T17:45:00.000-08:00

I showed this clip yet again to my students during the last few minutes of class as I've done the last 5 years I've worked there. Some get the humor and some don't. I show it anyway.

Have a great giving THANKS time with your friends and family!

The Power of Crowds

2010-11-22T11:50:00.000-08:00

Hey, whatcha doing this Friday? Waking up at wee hours, perhaps, to get great rip offs? Last year at around this time, I have articulated my best Black Friday tip here. Basically, I don't do Black Fridays. There is something about that good ol' saying that says "Best fish swim upstream" that appeals to me especially on this day.

This year, my belief was further confirmed by this article which talks about some Black Friday myths. With all the buzzz in the media around this day, it is hard not to feel pressured into checking out whats out there. Everyone seems convinced that if they don't go they will miss out on something major. Ahhhh, the power of crowds!

But hey, I know of a place where the power of crowds works for good! If you haven't yet discovered Groupon, you might be missing out on some REAL deals. Kid you not! This year, I've used a Groupon to get an awesome deal for a pumpkin patch and have another Groupon waiting for us to use at the Aviation Museum. I have been tempted to buy more than twice, but in the interest of trying to be good was able to resist the temptation just fine! The savings here are real with no strings attached. They have various deals on spas, restaurants, museums, various stores and many other places. The deals are all local as you give them your zip code and they customize the deals for you. Right now, they are having a Groupon for Nordstrom Rack. $25 gets you $50 to spend at any Nordsrom Rack in the United States by December 31, 2010. So, if you like this place and plan to shop there for the things you or someone you know NEEDs, click on the link above and sign up! Note that the deals usually expire within 24-72 hours. So go do it now! Or not :)

Vintage Me?

2010-11-16T14:55:00.000-08:00

Because it usually takes me a list a couple of years to get "in the loop" of whats in, I think that I have finally begun to appreciate vintage inspired clothes, accessories and other things. I have discovered Ruche, an online vintage style boutique and am really liking their stuff. Right now, I have my eye on:

I usually ignore Black Fridays, but this time I might just take another peak at this website and buy something as the stuff there will be a whopping 15% off with a promo code. Out of the three things I posted, which would you buy if you were me?

Unfriended

2010-11-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

Those of you who belong to any kind of social networking site should get a kick out of this song I heard while listening to the Prairie Home Companion on NPR yesterday. I am still not sure about how I feel this program but this song definitely shines some light on the ridiculousness of some of the uses of those sites. The audio link below plays the entire program, but this song is the first one they play.

Unfriended

I've been unwanted before it's true
And uninvited a time or two
Today I'm feeling unusually blue
I've been unfriended by you

The hourly updates on your activities
Your joys, your pain, your sensitivities
All of the parties you have attended
No, I've been unfriended

I had twenty-nine friends, an old high school buddy,
A couple of guys from Adult Bible Study,
Neighbors, and cousins, a high school classmate,
And then one morning I had sixty-eight.

The list of your friends: 3000 and growing
Three thousand folks who think you're worth knowing
You're a popular person, you don't need me
You've got Carla and Nicholas Sarkozy

Unfriended, where can I go?
Back to the people I used to know.
The women at church, the guys at the bar,
They could try to unfriend me but I know where they are.

I offered you friendship when I saw you online
I thought you'd become a true friend of mine
You posted a comment, I thought we were close
But now I am toast.

I feel like I'm back in my high school cafeteria
And I get the cold shoulder and I'm sent to Siberia
And no one will talk to me, nobody, none,
I once was befriended but now I am Un.

How could you do it, just delete my name?
I'm not a left-winger, nor an old flame,
I'm not a stalker and you're not a star,
But now I'll expose you for the jerk that you are.

You know it's inevitable that we will meet
In real time on an actual street
I'll be so cool — OMG — how sweet.
And I'll look away as I press delete.

Unfriended
Unfriended, boogers on you
You and all the friends you knew
Have just been unfriended too

Travels in Siberia

2010-11-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

What do you know about Siberia? That it is a distant land where dissidents and convicts were sent to and that it is famous for its prisons and sub zero temperatures? Oh ye and where polar bears roam free from shore to mid continent of Asia. Hmmmm. And that the place is barely noticeable on a world map. Yep, a tiny little region that is hardly known to anyone younger than age 50.

My faithful readers, please don't feel bad if you nodded to all of those statements. I was born in Siberia but know so little. But...

I want to tell you about a book that I had whole fourteen days (thanks to the limit of days put on by local library) to read. I first read about it in Reader's Diagest magazine and couldn't wait for my library to buy a copy. When it arrived I was the rightful first borrower and really enjoyed the first 90 pages that I was able to get through before returning it. I really really enjoyed reading this book. Not only because Ian Frazier talks about his travels in a land I was born in, but because he also writes about Siberia's history, natural resources, current events all from a perspective of a foreigner with a sense of humor.

While my short description of its content might sound dry to someone, I guarantee you that it is not at all boring or over descriptive. It is descriptive enough that I imagined my self right there traveling with him (although I doubt I would ever have enough courage to travel to Siberia's s far Far East to the land of Chukotka or eat fried seal liver).

Again, I enjoyed reading this book even at the expense of not staying up on my reading the textbooks. I AM growing tired of textbook reading and even if reading this feeeeels wrong, the Siberian in me says that it is definitely worth my time! So, to Barnes and Noble I go where it is on sale now as by the amount of holds my library has on this book it is evident that I might not get the book back in one piece. Heather, Juliya, Luba, other book worms let me know what you think of this book if you ever get your hands on it!

Its that time of the year...

2010-10-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

Fall is by far my favorite season of the year. I especially like early Fall here in Oregon when leaves are turning colors and the weather is warm but crisp and one craves taking extended walks followed by slow sips of good coffee. Sometimes we get lucky and have many days like this. The day we took these pictures was a nice break from the pouring rain that we had for a few days straight earlier in the week.

I was so glad we were able to fit in this photo session with my wonderful sister, between dental appointments and parent-teacher conferences even if the place turned out to be not very exotic: local park we go to often! But these pictures turned out to be great. Thank you, Julie!

I love the colors in both of these pictures...

My little boy making sure my sister did not leave her camera case behind.

Too bad my husband was working that evening... His absence is especially evident in this picture where an empty seat prevents it from being a perfect family photo. Maybe we can Photoshop him in? What do ya think, Julie? :)

My Everything

2010-10-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Maybe its the way he holds the guitar strings, or maybe its the position of his little foot or the expression on his face that shows his love for the guitars. Or maybe its him wearing his underwear exposing his little toddler legs or the fact that no one posed him for this picture. Or maybe its everything about this picture that I love.

Note to self: Must. Frame.

When I am Not Very Crazy About Russian

2010-10-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

Before I write this post, I want to set the record straight: I love being and speaking Russian, am proud to have been born in Russia and love many things that have their roots in Russia. My blog title even embeds the word Russian. OK. But lately, I found myself being irritated more than once when I am put in Russian-speaking category by various public organizations. Since my daughter started school, school correspondence has been coming in Russian. I don't even understand half of those words. Especially those terms that have been "Russianized" as they do not exist in the Russian language. The school's automatic phone calls about certain events that go on in the district also come in Russian. This would have not been so bad if I didn't use to work with the lady who is making these phone calls and of whom I am not very fond of. But that's more personal. And most recent thing is me being matched up with a Russian speaking case worker who is currently working on my kids' insurance and who acts like the she herself is financing it. I am sure there are about 10 thousand people who could utilize her bilingualism, I am not one of them. I don't want to come on as proud, but hear me out state workers: I get the law that says information you send out has to be accessible to its readers, but please don't try so hard. Just because my name is very Russian and my first language is Russian does not mean that I need your help understanding material that is written at 5th grade level!

The truth is, I have a complicated relationship with the Russian language. My fluency of it measures that of a 6th grader. I love using it and strongly believe in bringing up my children bilingual. Hearing someone educated manipulate Russian language is like music to my ears. However, I can not hold sophisticated conversations nor articulate my point during argumentative discussions in Russian. Thus, if I cannot use English with that person to make my point; I struggle to be convincing.

Anyhow, I might just be a snob or I don't know. My few faithful readers, what do you think?
P.S. Anonymous, I welcome your honest replies :)

One of Our Favorite

2010-10-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

A similar sign as one above greeted us once again last weekend. I don't think I have ever blogged about this place even though every single outing here could have been written about. This trip of ours was the best out of the many we took here. Here is a short story of this little place and how we spent our time there.

Around Government Camp there are of acres and acres of wilderness. One of the Fed projects to stimulate the economy during the Great Depression was to build a beautiful lodge, called the Timberline Lodge. Here is how it looks in the winter:

Well, this is not exactly the lodge we stay in, but we visit it often during winter month to sip their house $5 (gulp) cocoa here:

Our place is a little cabin built for the workers (and maybe by the workers them selves) who worked on the beautiful lodge above. The owners of that cabin are one of my husband's good clients who trust him to keep the keys from this lodge. These people are beyond nice. Once in a while they email us and ask us if we are thinking of heading up there anytime soon. Its a cute little place with a kitchen, dining area, cozy living room, two bedrooms and a loft.

photo taken by one of my kids :)

Besides having everything one would ever need for their stay in this lodge, it is also located right on the river.

My favorite part is that there is no reception there. So Internet and cell phone use is off limit. There is no cable of coarse either though a collection of good movies exist.

It feels different and very good not to be plugged in. Though our family has long ago turned off the TV, my husbands cell phone rings all the time and I am often found by the computer. The days without all of that seemed long, but enriched with lots of conversation (my sister and her husband joined us for our stay and my parents came for a few hours), game playing, mushroom picking, wood chopping, going on walks, magazine reading, drawing pictures of things we see there, delicious, homemade goodies eating and plain old chillin'!

Every time we come out here, I cannot believe that we get to enjoy this without paying a dime. Well, almost. My husband is the handyman for this place. If something needs done, he does it. It is great for us because this work does not take a long time and its great for them not to have anyone come out this far to fix little things. This has worked well for us. I look forward to coming here again sometime in the future. In the winter, we like to go sledding with the kids and come back to the lodge to warm up by the fire . In the summer time, we sit by the river a lot and have gone on hikes near by. Autumn, I think it my most favorite because of how beautiful it is there with the leaves changing colors and mushroom picking and eating! Look at the size of the thing!

Here is another one of its kind we found on the side of the road.

This seems to be a kind of borlet mushroom, but I wasn't sure enough to try to eat it!

Speaking of eating, my baby girl learned how to make scrambled eggs. I found her feeding the family in the morning as I was dragging my sleepy self from the bed.

All in all, we feel truly blessed to be able to enjoy this place, it is one of our favorite places to be. I think about this every time I get out from our stuffy, city filled air car and breath in the fresh air that is there.

What Needs to Happen

2010-10-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

As of lately, I find myself daydreaming about what life will be like when I am all done with school. I first entered college in 1999 when I graduated high school. I began wanting to become an accountant. I loved math and thought a job in a cubicle where I would hump over a pile of paperwork doing computations of sort will suit me just fine. After taking a few business and accounting classes I realized that this job is so not for me. For the first time in a long time I felt stupid! Though I passed the classes with good grades, the elderly accounting tutor became my best friend for those six months. I found the tasks of accountant incredibly tedious with no room for error. Being an second language learner I was not used to the idea of "no errors allowed".

As I was taking those classes, I was also working at the high school I graduated from. I was tutoring ESL students and found that I loved helping them and seeing how they learned from me. As I kid, I always wanted to be a teacher. But the prospects of going to school for YEARS only to become jobless did not appeal to me. People, just in case you don't know this: getting a teaching job is quite difficult especially these days when districts are cutting teaching jobs everywhere. As a student teacher in our district expressed last year finding a teaching job is like winning the lottery these days.

Anyway, because I was starting to hate accounting and love teaching, I decided to give it a shot.
Fast forward to almost the end of 2010, I still love teaching. But, I have been in school for 8 years (part time) not counting the 3 year break I took after I got my bachelors and a teaching degree! I almost forgot what life was like when I was not in school. Now that I have one more term left after I complete this one, it is time to start imagining the completion of this big task of mine.

What needs to happen when I am done is this: me paying more attention to the people I care about. This means my husband, my kids, my husband's and my immediate and extended families. This means reconnecting with my friends and remembering birthdays and cards (Vera, you're my inspiration for this one!). This means paying more attention to the families in church who are in need. I want to be there for my nieces' sport activities and remember to call and send gift packages to my family in Russia. I want to host more dinner parties and be available to attend others'.

All of these things I want to be able to do, God willing beginning next summer. Too much time has been spent on bettering MYself and taking care of my needs. It seems selfish. A former student of mine once asked me whether I want to be remembered for my accomplishments or my character. I answered, "My character" even though I was currently very busy working on my accomplishments.

What needs to happen is me living up to the answer I gave her and the silent promise I gave to myself.

Our New Friend

2010-09-17T01:20:00.000-07:00

Our new friend left us this week. I have to admit that she was a true pleasure to host. Contrary to my views expressed in the previous posts, she has seemed to genuinely enjoy her stay with us as articulated to us by her program coordinator. We did a few fun things together. We took her site seeing around Columbia Gorge and went several malls. I left the mall with ~~a pedicure~~ newly polished nails that I paid a whooping $12 for, she bought a few souvenirs from a local store. What both of us enjoyed the most were garage sales. This was lady's 4th time in America so she knows whats up! Discovering our common hobby allowed for some fun shopping together. Another fun thing we did together was make sushi. After ~~begging~~ asking her a million times, she nervously gave in. Apparently she only makes it about 3 times a year she said. I think my daughter enjoyed helping her more than eating, and she looooves to eat sushi.

I know that the secret to great sushi is the quality of rice. She bought a mix at an Asian store that made our rice taste just like the great restaurant's!

Some of final product: notice how perfection was not our goal here... making it with love was!

On Exposing My Family Affairs

2010-09-06T00:13:00.000-07:00

A temporary member of our family has finally arrived. I have hinted earlier that we are expecting someone to join us this Fall. Well, she is here and is resting now. Only she is not exactly suited to be our daughter as she is about 29 years my senior. She comes to us from Japan and will be with us for the next ten days studying English and hanging out with us. I have to be honest and say that her presence in our home is more awkward than I have expected. And she is not at fault at all. She is very pleasant, nice, patient and helpful. It is the younger family members of ours that are begging for some spanking. Or maybe it is their parents that are in need of discipline. Over the last three days, it has occurred to us that our dear offspring have been deprived of very basic lessons in manners. From making fun of the lady's name to goofing off during dinner to forgetting basic table etiquette such as keeping one's legs below the table and wiping one's month with a napkin instead of a t-shirt all while conversing in a language she did not come here to learn, the first impression of our family must have been a lovely one. She has now heard me more than once saying "Excuse my children" and will soon pick up on how to say "Behave your selves, now!" in Russian.

Now that we are on hosting individual number three in our home (a Ukrainian pastor for two months, a German friend of a friend, and our current visitor), we have thoroughly understood one obvious fact: while it is easier for adults to act like someone they are not, kids have a hard time being fakes. Though we try to stay real, I have noticed that with other people present in our home my husband and I have to be more conscious about our demeanour, our word choice and the tone of voice we use to speak to each other and our kids. To our shame, we realize that a lot of the time the pleasantness feels a bit unnatural to us. This is not to say that we are rude when we address each other, but we feel this constraint to act out our family's norm.

Maybe what we are feeling is normal and expected when exposing one's daily deeds to people outside the family circle. However, hosting a few of these outsiders this summer has helped us take a look at our family from the perspective of our visitors. Though all three of our visitors have been kind enough to keep their opinions about our lovely family to themselves, I can't help but to remain confused about what things should be kept the same in our family (even if they appear strange to others) and what things we need to work on improving. As parents, teaching our children to be themselves while conforming to the norms of the society has probably been the hardest task so far. In fact, I cannot say that I, an almost thirty year old adult has mastered it myself.

But, one thing is clear: exposing your family's business to others is awkward and feels unnatural. Not that we have much to hide, but some things need to be dealt with within the family, exclusively and having other people watching alters a person's behavior for the good and the bad.

I am glad she is only staying ten days. Not because she is a burden but because I am burdened with observing how our family operates on a daily basis. Until this summer, I considered my family to be fairly functional, loving, caring, supportive. Outsiders have (however silently) both validated this fact and opened my eyes to many areas of growth. And for that, I am thankful to their temporary presence.

Handsomeness

2010-08-31T15:06:00.000-07:00

Photo by Juliya G.

Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen? Ever? Of coarse he is! Even though he is chatting all day long now and is finally potty trained (thank heavens!) he is still such a baby! Yesterday, my Russian boy told his older brother, "You're not the boss of me!" in English. I almost fell of my couch. I love his sense of humor and his baby face. Heck, now that he is sleeping through the night, I love pretty much everything about this little man!

Seven: Part 2

2010-08-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

This post is a bit overdue, however, I have learned that if I don't write down things I need/want to remember, I will probably forget them. Such became my brain after three pregnancies and six sleep deprived years. Anyway, I think that seven was celebrated awesome. It took me a few years, but I have finally realized against all Russian culture expectations that it is really is OK to invite just the child's friends and not friends' parents and their x number of siblings. It also really is OK to serve one or two big dishes that the kids will actually eat instead of cooking up many dishes and salads to please their parents. This year, the new way of celebrating kid birthdays worked very well. I will no longer have to dread these parties and actually look forward to celebrating future birthdays.

The party began a day early when some members of the birthday gang showed up at my doorsteps with their little backpacks. Though their overnight visit was unexpected, my panic state was tamed when I saw that most of them arrived with big sisters. Big sisters are good, very good. They helped me clean up and took the crew to the park so that I could decorate and have a few minutes of peace before the party. They also got the little girls dressed up and made their hair and did their make up!

Even the little guy got a make over!

They looked so cute. Everyone else arrived on time and the party began with eating yummy food. I kept it simple with homemade burgers, a few salads, and shrimp fettuccine. One of the big plates was a sushi plate that grandma bought per her only granddaughter's request. It was a popular dish!

After that the girls played a few games ideas for which I ~~stole~~ borrowed from the Internet. It was actually awesome to facilitate the games for a change instead of spending the entire time in the kitchen serving and cleaning up after people! Here is one where the girls were divided into two teams and had to carry a boiled egg in a spoon a short distance and then drop it in the buckets.

Another good one was a nail painting circle. The girls circulated the nail polish around while the music was one and stopped to paint one of their nails when the music stopped. I bought two bottles so that the game would not drag on. Girls were so cute!

Nicolas who wants to do many things his older sister does first joined the circle but then was shamed into the corner to be the DJ for this activity.

Abby was such a good girl on this day. I feared a little attitude and bossiness to come from a birthday girl, but she actually exceeded my expectations. She is very picky with clothes and is forming her own interesting style. She got a lot of clothes, some of which she didn't like, however, while opening the gifts showed appreciation to the girls which made me feel pretty good.

At the end of the day, everyone was safe and sound and exhausted. The guests took their little crafty bag with a prizes home. Little girls are fun. Parties are fun too if kept simple, fun, inexpensive, and small. Happy b-day, big girl! And congratulations to Mama who has learned how to celebrate many more to come!

A Great Read

2010-08-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

I love everything about this post. I cannot say that I live the life she describes, but we are starting to get the point and change our ways and perceptions about the need and the desire to simplify our lives. Enjoy.

Stephanie writes about her hair, on being a minimalist, and some other great things. Read it here.

Seven: Part 1

2010-08-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

My daughter turned seven years old yesterday. As my mom often says on my daughter's birthdays, x number of years ago, I became a mom. It is hard to believe it has been seven already. Though time flew by as it usually does, so much has happened since she was born! She was born into a little apartment. We now live in our second home. I finished my Bachelor degree when she turned two, five years later, I am almost done with my Master's. We have changed two churches since then and made many new friends. Abby became a big sister twice which she has welcomed without any tantrums. She has successfully completed two years of Russian and American schools and I have seen her emerge from a follower to a leader type.

All these years, I have watched some of her character traits change and others stick. She reminds me of me, but mostly of my mom. Some of the things about her I am still discovering and am happy to know that they are part of her. Others things drive me crazy some days. This is mostly because since her brothers were born, she was made to be older, more mature, the should-know-it-better kid. In a way, it is unfair to be the oldest. There is more responsibility and pressure to be that good example, to lead the way to the younger crowd. I often forget that she is still a kid and am maybe more demanding of her in terms of her behavior than of the boys.

Last Saturday, she was sitting in between my husband and I in his truck while driving to the lake. She was chitchatting, goofing off, teasing her brothers who were in the back. After hearing a few of my signs and stop its she asked, " Mom, am I an annoying kid? The truth is she a kid. Being annoying is part of the kid genetic make up. In addition to that trait, kids are also goofy, bouncy, inappropriate at times, stubborn, curious, clever, funny, and sweet. It is easy more pleasant to experience outbursts of the several latter traits. It is often challenging, annoying and head spinning to navigate through the other ones. The truth is that she is sweet, funny, smart KID and I am a very proud mama. I have to remember and cherish that about her and model the behavior I would like to see in her when she grows up. I have to remind myself this often. I am the one who requires most discipline. I am the one who often fails to be a good parent and discipline her with consistency, love and patience. We've been blessed to have her in our lives for these short, long seven years. I pray that God continues giving us wisdom, strength, and patience to raise this little girl to be a wonderful woman.

Happy B-day, baby girl!

Love, mama.

~~~We had a cool celebration of her birth yesterday, once I figure out how to transfer 500 pictures to my very slow, almost no space computer, I will follow with part 2 :)

A Better Day

2010-07-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday greeted me with a bad cough and a bloated tummy. All I really wanted to do was to curl up in bed and bathe in a quiet misery. But then, its blueberry season over here and I needed to go pick some. When I got home, there was laundry that needed to be done and garage that needed to be cleaned. The place needed to be picked up and vacuumed. Dishes needed to be washed, dinner had to be cooked and so one. The list had no end to it. After spending the last six weeks attending classes and working on my paper, I tried spending the time away from all of that with my children. This meant that everything else that had to do with beautifying our home was put to the side.

As I was deciding what to begin doing first, my husband called to say that his good friend is in town for the weekend is coming to stay with us. Just then my sister mentioned that her and her husband are going crayfish catching. So, I did what any good homemaker would do with she has a long to do list: I said, "Can we come along?"

She took the kids to her house and I set out on a speedy cleaning spree. I packed up whatever food we had and took some clothes for change as well. We ended up having a blast.

This place is about one hour away from Portland. I had no idea it existed so close to home. When I think of crayfish, I think of Louisiana, not Oregon. However, we were able to catch plenty in a short amount of time we were there.

We had one net

and many rackets and no bait.

Above is our friend. I promised to sent his wife this picture of him without any explanation just him, in the middle of a shallow river with a badminton racket. No doubt she would have thought him to have gone insane! Actually, these rackets proved to work really well. We must have caught a hundred crayfish or so.

We had to cross the river with all of our stuff and hang out on a small rocky area. Kids were fine with it. Baby sat on various things and observed.

And occasionally took pictures

Here is Peter making fire on our rocky island.

Our friends going in with whole bunch of other goodies such as dill, bayleaf, parsley and LOTS of salt.

Almost ready...

Nice, bright red color.

Ready for consumption. If you are grossed out, but otherwise love seafood, don't be. These are mini lobsters and they taste delicious.

We had a great time. Our meal was followed by yummy fire baked corn and some more good time.

Cough and bloated tummy was no more. Far away from heat, nice breezy atmosphere around friends and family. Children exited from catching their own, parents yummy dinner satisfied. No amount of clean dishes and washed clothes would have made up for this expererience.

What I would Do If...

2010-07-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

...we had less bills to pay?
I would........

Get a facial once a month
Get a professional massage once a week
Move to a different country for the summer (with my family, of coarse!)
Eat organic or close to it
Have someone else clean my house. Often.
Teach English to adults. Immigrant adult students rock.
Enroll my kids in private schools
Experiment with many gormet recipes
Go on many weekend trips
Stock my cabinet with essential oils to use for banya or parfume
Eat out often
Give generously
Have my husband home before dinner.

Ahhhh.....sweet, sweet dreams of mine. I hope some of these will actually come true when we sell our house and pay off another smaller, less expensive house. But not before. Definetely not before.

Hey, how about you, my faithful readers? What would you add to my (or your) list?

Whose Child Is This?

2010-07-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, my parents took my oldest two fishing to a little wild lake and they brought back this:

To show you why we first thought they picked up someone else's child, this is how my handsome boy usually looks-
We are guessing that the poor thing got bitten by something while at the lake. On the first day after his forehead was swollen, and on day 2 his eyes were puffed up.

One feels both pity and desire to giggle when he/she looks at him. Its been said by his loved ones that he looks like 1) alien 2) this person's offspring:

3) is a reject from the planet Pandora

Though we have loved him unconditionally, we will not be sad when our child will look normal again. Because sometimes normal is really what is preferred.

What Have I Been Doing Lately?

2010-07-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

It is still hard to believe that summer is here. The weather has been perfect these past few days but not very summerish. Today is an exception, however; it is rainy and cold here again. We are trying to be outside as much as possible on nice days. I also don't feel summer psychologically. Though I am finished with my practicum (90 instruction hours!), I am taking another class and thus my brain is occupied with a 30 page research paper I have to produce in (oh my!) three weeks! But it is still sooooooooo nice to be home. I have decided not to plan on doing any projects this summer only because I don't want to be disappointed in myself come September. So what have we been doing instead?

~having slow mornings with lots of cuddling and coffee drinking
~swimming and gymnastics lessons
~pretending that we are camping and "sleeping" in sleeping bags
~going to the library, OMSI, new to us gymnastics place and the zoo
~potty training (Lord, help me. I am not even using God's name in vain here.)
~patiently awaiting our daddy to come home from looooong days of work he's had
~weeding
~garage sale shopping
~washing our gorgeous ride
~befriending ourselves with our big neighbour
~relaxing at the cabin
~ignoring emails from MINT that tell us we went over our budget
~thinking of selling our house...

Sounds very productive, doesn't it? Depends how one looks at it. My goal this summer is to spend as much time as I can with my kids. I owe this to them. So if nothing noticable gets done around here, so be it.

My Luck

2010-06-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

I have noticed that lately, past year to be exact, I have been lucky enough to have encounters with DA whales. I have documented my encounters and my awkward behavior around them here and here. Just recently I found out that I am to LIVE next to one. People, my next door neighbor is a brand new superintendent of a district that I am a little too familiar with. Today, I got a chance to meet him. Actually, I don't know if "meeting" is a proper term. The encounter was an unplanned one which is why instead of saying "Hello" or "Welcome" or "My name is..." when I was on my deck and he was on his, I simply waved. My kids were playing on the deck and when I walked out I heard my son answering something to our new neighbor in his broken English that he was making a boat out of cotton swabs.

Maybe if I didn't know his current rank, I would be more relaxed about conversing with him. After all, we are talking about a pretty big person who gets to make difficult decisions and makes pretty money. As a neighbor, I want to make a good impression on him. I want him to think that he is not living next to knuckleheads or parents of ill-mannered children who love to scream "Mommy" out of the top of their lungs when they need something and engage in potty humor out loud. I surely don't want him to think I am a bad mom when I increase the volume in my voice and scold them for being children or when I dress them in unmatched outfits. And I don't not want him to get annoyed by hearing all that Russian we use and may appear like we are talking rough. Oh yes, and I hope it doesn't offend him that the fire pit that we like to light up during the summer evenings and have long conversations around does have smoke that goes up and we believe might reach his windows some.

Welcome to the life in the suburbs, big fish, where one neighbor gets the perfect view of what his neighbor is doing and not doing in his back yard. If I were you, I would get a place somewhere far from here where no one can snitch on you and where you don't get the pleasure of hearing tantrums or looking at your out of shape neighbor in a two piece tanning. Because as it stands right now, summer has finally arrived here and we, little krill will be eating, drawing, playing with water, and occasionally yelling in our back yard. For that, we apologize ahead of time and hope that it won't be an obstacle for the mother of the pack to get a job at your job.

Been Away....

2010-06-08T14:50:00.001-07:00

I apologize, my dear faithful readers that I have been away for a while. I have so many stories to tell you...but had to permit life to happen first. We just came back from a little (much needed!) family getaway at Great Wolf Lodge.

What a fun place! I think I won the contest for wearing the most old-fashioned swimsuit, though. I am sure I had it for over ten years but when I looked at my packed choice of either wearing a two-piece I bought three years ago when I was in better shape or the older one piece, one piece it was. The late night lattes while in practicum and stress are the two things I get to blame for winning the prize.

On a different note, I am looking for a clean, sweet and cheap bed and breakfast place around Oregon or southern WA to go with my husband for a little anniversary celebration. Does anyone know of a good place that is a good combination of quietness and fun close by?

An Out of Ordinary Experience

2010-05-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday, I got to have lunch at the place above. This is a conference room at one of the oldest and most beautiful hotels in Portland and I was invited to come eat lunch and accept a fat check from a foundation that is super nice to young teachers. Now, because going to a place that is more fitting for someone with a lot of zeros after a digit in their savings account balance and meeting people I don't know is my favorite thing to do, I felt super during this experience.

My super experience began with me coming in and helping a lady to pronounce my name. I later helped her pronounce it again. And again. Only for her to butcher it badly when I was called out to get my check. After that, I took a seat at an empty table because my sometime unsocial nature asked for a few minutes of lonesomeness in order to get used to this fit for the queen environment. After a few minutes staring at everything but the people close by, I decided to befriend a couple sitting at a different table. And so I moved. After exchanging a greeting and saying nothing afterward, I again found myself looking at everything but the people at my table who continued their conversation. Finally, I heard a different couple talking about a specific table they were supposed to be sitting at and it dawned on me that every one was ASSIGNED a specific table and NOBODY told me. So, yes I got up again and moved. For the third time. To people who ended drinking up from the two glasses I sipped from: I am deeply sorry.

This was an awesome beginning. I already felt clever and worthy of $5000 they were about to give me. When I finally settled down, I soon learned that at my table sat 1)the finalist for the best teacher of the year at our state and his wife, 2) three out of five trustees of the foundation who were at least two generations older than me 3) a principal of a local school and 4) a teacher who plans to do something really cool with the money he will receive. Absent was my vice principal who I planned on having to do all the talking for me. This combination of table mates made me feel super qualified and I had absolutely no problems engaging in their conversations about different types of wines, indigenous village in Costa Rica, and fancy restaurants of our town. Right.

I made a few attempts to contribute a few words of wisdom, but as expected, nothing thoughtful really came out. The highlight of the luncheon came not when I was handed the long awaited check but when the one thing I did contribute to the discussion was voiced out loud to the entire group by one of the foundation employees who sat at our table after which the whole group laughed. Though I did not mean for my contribution to be humorous I tried my best to laugh WITH them and pretend that I am a funny kind of person. This allowed for some reflection after the fact, let me tell you.

After doing much thinking and evaluating my behavior that day, I came to a conclusion: If I ever find myself surrounded by such environment again, I will pretend to have a strep throat and will WRITE all of my contributions to the table. In the mean time, I will enjoy paying for my graduate level classes with that check instead adding more zeros to my negative balance.

My Hot Ride

2010-05-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

Above is my car. Minus one scratch on both sides and a dent on the back and the front bumpers which really only add to its charm. Most moms would agree that there is no car hotter than a minivan. Tinted windows, slick and clean look, spacious inside yet contemp on the outside: body SCREAMS hotness. And on the inside behind the wheel is a sexy mama with a nose stuck up way high proud of being a mama and driving a debt free vehicle and who cares less if people dare label this car uncool.

And so I was until a few months ago when this started given me some trouble. I first documented one of my first disappointments here. I think I figured out its problem: my car has reached its teenage years. It has a mind of its own, is stubborn, at times non responsive and unpredictable and is a total party pooper. It breaks down after a totally awesome time the kids and I have had and refuses to take my small, hungry, sleepy kids home.

Today, we waited for the darn thing to start for over an hour. Good thing we were near a playground and my sister was with us to entertain the kids while I entertained the idea of either calling the tow truck or pray and hope that the car starts and takes us home.

My adoration for this car is OVER. For now. Though I think this idea is mutual. The car sent us a clear message today: stop being cheapskates and show me some love for Pete's sake!

Canded Truth

2010-04-21T23:32:00.000-07:00

The following is a rant I want to give to a person who has moved in with us for the next two months or so. No, he is not the 4th child I was referring to in my previous posts. This is a man who is a pastor in a different country and who came back to this country to earn some money and do some church business. Though we are happy our home can provide shelter and thus serve him this way, deep down in my heart I wish this happened two months from now. You know, when I will be on Summer break and my marathon practicum will be over with. So, because this is happening at the most busiest time of our married life, there are several things I want to tell this person, but don't really know how. Here is what I want him to know:

1) You are welcome!

2) We eat a lot of leftovers.

3) If there are no leftovers feel free to eat anything eatable thing you see.

4) You will probably never be greeted with a perfectly clean house. Things are not gross around here, just out of place.

5) Not making your bed is not a crime here.

6) Our children are really not as bad as they may act around people they don't know. Only because they really like to make their parents look inadequate

7) Oh...and they ARE being raised primarily by their parents, promise! Just not during the two month you are here.

He's been here for about two weeks and (thank God) is very low maintenance. It is a bit weird to have a person outside your family living with you. It also feels funny to have two tall males roaming in your house...if you know what I mean.

About Being a Hypocrite

2010-04-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

I never respected one. Always was afraid of becoming one. A hypocrite.

Saying one thing, often in a loud, condemning and affirming tone, and then doing that same thing one formerly condemned is what describes the action of a hypocrite. I met a few during my short mature life and from a moment of discovering one's hypocritical nature, lost trust and respect for that person. Being afraid of ever becoming a hypocrite, I watched what I say and do and tried not to judge other people's actions. At least out loud. Because believe it or not, all of us are judgemental to one degree or another. A person without an opinion is hard to come across and is usually a bore. In my opinion.

Anyway, I tried practicing what I preached (ever so humbly) and was not very loud about my beliefs. But time went by and I noticed that I was becoming more vocal about things I would come to realize to be true, or right. And it would be alright and I would keep vocalizing my beliefs if.....If one day I wouldn't catch myself violating the very things I supported and argued about until my face was all red and sweaty with tears running down my face...No, not that vocal.
But hypocritical? Yes.

Which brings me to my confession. I've been a bad mom lately. Real bad. I started my practicum at a local community college which takes up four out of seven week nights. This means that four out of seven dinners my kids are eating without me. It also means that on the days that I work and have the practicum at night, I see my kids for a total of 3 hours a day. How horrible is that? Real. Horrible. My conscience is calling me all kinds of bad words and I quiet it down by shoving a calendar in its face and pointing to summer. SUMMMMMER. Is 8. Weeks. Away.

I love my job and I love to be schooled. I looooove summer. I love my kids more. Much, much, more. Kids + Summer+Mama home with them=happy family and clear conscience. In 8 more weeks.

English Language

2010-04-02T14:01:00.001-07:00

I've seen this before and it made its way back to my inbox. You don't have to be a grammar nerd to enjoy this read.

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,

But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.

One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,

Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,

Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,

Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?

If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,

And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,

Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,

Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,

And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of a brother and also of brethren,

But though we say mother, we never say methren.

Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,

But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;

neither apple nor pine in pineapple.

English muffins weren't invented in England .

We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing,grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.

If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?

We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.

We have noses that run and feet that smell.

We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.

And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,

while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in whichyour house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

And in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop?

Three Reasons

2010-03-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

Above could have been a scene from the garage sale we had this Saturday. Plus the two ladies who taught me how to bargain last time I had a garage sale. It was a beautiful day, perfect to be spent outdoors doing things as a family. It was also a perfect Spring day to have a sale. I have neither done a lot of "garage saleing" nor hosted a sale my self in the Spring. So I wasn't sure how it would turn out. But , I could think of at least three reasons to justify doing a garage sale during the nontraditional (which is summer, here in the NW) season:

No competition within miles in radius
No need to sit in a stuffy garage or cook in the sun
Anxiousness of one to get rid of the junk in the house, garage AND in the storage=satisfaction of the Spring cleaning fever

We had probably over 50 cars stop by last Saturday for the garage sale and collectively (with a few relatives of mine) made about $300 in that one day. Two cars pulled up before we posted the signs. They used the craigslist address which I posted late the night before. People are obviously garage sale hungry already. So c'mon, get your junk together and feed the masses!

And the answers are....

2010-03-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

...yes, no, a partial yes, a big fat no, and no.
A while ago, I wrote a post about waiting for certain things. You can read about it here. Read below if you care to know the answers!

1) I got a $5000 grant towards my master's degree!!! I am so exited! All this took was a letter from my principal and a short grant application. Millerfound.org is awesome!
2)We didn't get our temporary child. Yet. It looks like we will get one sometime in September. More details to come then.
3) Some of Peter's client paid him. We did get a letter from one's lawyer notifying us of bankrupcy. Peter has worked for this particular client over the course of 10 years doing various projects around his two houses. And they always paid, often ahead of time. We hold no grudge against them, but feel bad this has happened to them.
4) A reply from our mortgage company regarding the modification of our loan was a NO! We are not behind on our payments. To qualify, one must be! They actually told us that in a written form. Apparently we make too much money for modification and too little for refinancing. We are stuck in the middle.
5) I did not get the two week teacher exchange trip. I can think of many reasons for that. One (which hurts my ego least) being that I am not a full time teacher and one must be.

As the old saying goes, "The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your arm." It is good to remind oneself of this when most of the answers to your pleas are NO.

Because This is How We Do It.

2010-03-21T20:46:00.000-07:00

How do you plan weekend getaways? This is how we do it. We fix the car, go shopping for snow gear, pack clothes, pack food, and arrange our stay all in ONE day. Did I mention that we often decide whether or not to go on the same day we do everything else? This IS as fun as it sounds. Those of you who plan family outings 2 years ahead may gasp, right about here.

For as long as we've been married, we have been really bad at planning things ahead of time. Maybe its the uncertain nature about my husband's job or the anticipation of something else coming up in the future that might force us to cancel our trip. I am not sure why we do it like that, but we just do. Only eight years ago, it was quite easy. Everything we needed used to fit in one gym bag and we were on our way in less than an hour. Usually. Now, with three little ones tagging along, an impromptu trip preparation is just not as fun as it used to be.

This particular trip was decided on the same morning. On a gorgeous Saturday afternoon we decided to go down to the coast. I quickly packed up extra clothing and threw whatever food we had in the cooler. We were on our way to the coast and were supposed to arrive in an hour and a half. BUT not before my husband stops by and gives this lady and estimate on her projects. Because you see, the house was on the way to the coast and the appointment not like this trip, was made a head of time.

The appointment took longer than he planned, and the lady while spotting my bouncing off the car kids, kindly suggested we drive down to the park that was close by. It turned out that this nameless park was perfect for my kids. Nestled in the middle of this upper-middle class neighborhood, it had two big playgrounds, a paved road that led around a huge pond and lots of beautiful blossoming trees.

With the weather in the high 60s and sunshine that actually delivered warmth, this was a perfect place to be. Kids were exploring and I, just sat on the bench and received pleasure from watching them navigate through a new to them playground. Notice the rubber boots. These were planned to be worn at the beach, of coarse.

Some of you may have guessed the end of my story already. I'll validate your suspicion and say that we did not make it to the beach that day because when we all got into the car to go get Peter, the car would not start. This happens about once a week to us. The car does not start for about 20 minutes and then it miraculously does. Just like that. It is truly puzzling. When we loaded everbody for a two hour trip, we just hoped that today would not be that day. Very educated reasoning, I know.

Me trying to start up the car while Peter was hitting certain car parts with a metal rod.
photo taken by Abby

While we sat there like this and contemplated whether to call towing or not, one nice mane offered us a ride home. He must have assumed we lived in the neighborhood because if he knew that we lived 40 minutes away, he would have to be SUPER nice to do that.
Anyhow, the car started just as we were about to call towing and we buckled up ourselves for a trip home.

We ended up doing things outdoors around house the rest of the day. We even managed to hit another playground by our house. It was wonderful and rare!for the five of us to be together for an entire day, outdoors. Though things didn't turned out the way we had in mind, we were together as a family--happy, healthy and well and that's all that mattered to all of us.

Let the Girl Dream!

2010-03-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

Going to Europe for a family vacation has been a dream of mine since, well, my little family was created. I got a one week glimse at that world treasure good ten years ago when I traveled to Germany with a good friend of mine. A very nice Russian family showed us around Germany and even helped us get on a train to Paris. Then, at nineteen years old, I remember thinking, "Wow, this and this and that is incredible! Where have I been all my life!"

Fast forward to 2010, I find myself still dreaming about coming back to this place. I want to explore more of it. I want to chill on the beaches of Spain and Italy and visit the countryside of France. Oh, and I cannot forget Greece. Ahhhhh, Greece. I want to hit many museums and historic places and go backpacking. All this, I want to do with my family, meaning a husband and three little children. Usually, this fancying dies quickly. All I have to do is look up the checking and saving balance and wolah! Back to home my wondering mind returns. Everyone knows that Europe is expensive. Some of us, just need to be reminded of that from time to time.

But....to quote an old cliche, there is always more than one way to skin a cat! I have recently discovered a way that may actually one day turn my dream into reality. I read about homelink.org and really hope I can participate in a year or two. Basically, this is a home exchange program where a family can exchange their house with a different family in a country of their choosing. The exchange can be stimultanious, meaning they will be using your house while you will be using theirs. This company has been around since 1953 (I have no idea how they did this before internet) and is legitimate.

Do you realize how many thousands of dollars this can save you? I do, and I am sold on this! Too bad this summer is not a good summer for us due to lack of several thousands of dollars for things like air and food for five persons, but as soon as we have enough saved up, it would be simply be a dream come true. But for now, let the girl dream, would ya?

(I really hope some of you will be able to participate in this. Just remember to write me back and tell me how cool your experience was:).

Visitors

2010-03-03T08:11:00.000-08:00

"You look first!"

"No, I think you should do it!"

"Look at that, ITS everywhere!"

"Gross! Disgusting! I can't believe they got it here!"

Above is a summary of a dialog between me and the teacher with whom I share a room. Yes, these expressions were made in our classroom. Yes, we are referring to a mice trap, mice and their (excuse the imagery) droppings. They most exciting thing we have to look forward to is explaining these visits to our students, enforcing the no food/drink rule and cleaning the inside cupboards of our desks. Oh ye, and if someone can PLEASE give us some ideas of how to be proactive to the possibility of seeing a mouse or two running across the room during a lesson, please let me know. As if teenagers are not distracted enough! I think that it is safe to say that the rest of school year will be awesome.

My Valentine

2010-02-14T15:51:00.000-08:00

Would you please be my Valentine?

How to Throw a Party For a Penny: My First Attempt

2010-02-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

Since my husband became the unofficial choir director at our church, we, as a family had to accept the fact the Friday nights will hold no big significance at our house. There'll be no movie going or entertaining guests, or going out to dinner, or just plain old sitting together, doing nothing and starring at the wall while contemplating about the previous week. Not that we did a lot of that before, but at least there was that option. Now take my husband being gone and my kids banished (by me) from my parents' house for not behaving themselves and we get a mama who has the urge to do something or to go somewhere on a Friday night but whose options are truly limited. .

"So, where are WE going to go?" asked my daughter as she watched my husband leave around 7pm.

Well, the place would have to be free, open late in the evening, and accepting of feverish babies, I thought to my self.

My thinking was interrupted by the realization that my husband took the van. Home it was. Now, what is a non-crafty, non-baking, anti-television mom to entertain her kids with on a day when she just feels like crashing for a nap? There is only one obvious answer..to throw a party! I told the kids that after I am done cleaning up the kitchen we will have a dance party, then we will have a painting party and after that we will have a book reading party and go to bed.

"How about it, kids?" I asked with eyes and mouth wide open. My proposal was answered with a weak "Yea..." from one of my kids. I think this might have to do with the fact that the only new word in the activities listed above was "party". Apparently, this did not help to hype things up as much as I thought it would.

So, the partying began with kids painting with water colors and jumping/dancing to one of their favorite CDs. I soon had to take myself to the "bleachers" as the 35 pound baby wanted me to hold him while I dance which only showed his unconditional love for his mama who is very much out of shape right now. After about 15 minutes of this, no one protested when I escorted them upstairs to get ready for bed. After the two of my youngest finally fell asleep, there was one more party to throw. It was the nail painting party that I promised my daughter. After a nice, hot foot soak (I have forgotten how great this feels!), I put some lotion on my daughter's feet and massaged them for a bit. I then beautified her nails with a bright red nail polished that she chose and put her to bed. She liked it a lot and this allowed for a little daughter-mother bonding time which we seem to rarely get now. The partying was officially over.

Though our celebration was not without occasional spurts of party poopers (sleepy, tired kid + sick baby), the evening flew by without tube time and costing any money. I want to be more intentional next time and plan ahead. Some ideas I have for next time are: making a picture collage (either digital or with prints), doing some baking, face painting and having a real tea party. Do you have any other ideas for me? What do you do to entertain your little ones when stuck at home? Please do share!

Never Say Never

2010-02-02T11:12:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in the last post that I do not buy shoes from a thrift store. So what did I do last week? I found ones I could not resist. Both pairs (one ECCO and the other Steve Madden) are in new condition and valued around $100 for each pair. I paid $11 for both. I did some research online and it looks like that anti-fungal spray will ease my worries and take care of that which worried me about used shoes. This is the very first time I bought used adult shoes, I think. Grossed out? I used to be too. But because I used the word NEVER in my previous post, I now know better.

I Am Shameless

2010-01-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

Today, during my encounter with a distant relative, it occurred to me that I got absolutely no shame! Out of all places, I did not expect to see this person at...a second hand store. When I saw her shopping the same deals I was, I did not even blush or appeared preoccupied. Yes, I used to blush and appear preoccupied when I first discovered the place and would get discovered by other people. You see, in Russian culture, shopping at at thrift store is considered something a newcomer to this country or someone who relies on welfare for income does. Most Russians don't consider shopping at thrift store a choice, but rather a necessity. Thrift store shoppers are considered the needy. I have overcome this stereotype a while ago and am now completely comfortable there.

So, when we met, we exchanged our love for this store and bragged about some super deals we've been getting here. She blurted out many brand names she used to get for full price at Nordstrom which she now gets here for 10 percent of the price. In fact, she showed me the cutest girl gladiator Steve Madden summer shoes she had in her cart. I was bummed I did not see them first! She confined to me that she has been getting a lot of her kids clothing there. Her kids always look great. I do not know why I acted surprised! Maybe because I know that they go on many vacations a year and do not have a lot of debt so I sort of assumed that they shopped retail. I do not know why I would think so as many people who are well off choose to spend less on clothing and save the rest for things that matter more.

I heart my local second hand store as well. Value Village, to be exact. Their $.99 deals ROCK! I have gotten a lot of compliments wearing stuff I bought for less than a dollar. I don't buy adult shoes there though. It is just not worth the risk to me. But, I will consider buying just about anything else there, no shame attached!

Waiting

2010-01-22T19:52:00.000-08:00

The past few days I find myself waiting, waiting and waiting. I've been checking my email more often than usually. I anticipate getting the mail in hopes to receive that which I am waiting for. My patience is slowly growing thin, I can hardly wait to receive the following:

1) The answer to my grant application from an organization. This grant has a juicy sum attached to it. I'll let you know if/when I get it.
2) An email from a lady who is supposed to tell us if/when we are getting our temporary 4th child. No, we are not adapting or taking in a foster kid.
3) Checks from my husband's clients who haven't paid him yet. We REALLY need those checks right about a month ago.
4) A reply from our mortgage company regarding the modification of our loan. I do not have high hopes that this will happen. I only pray to God that it does.
5) I applied for another government grant through the Department of State to do a 2 week teacher exchange program in a different country. Nationalistically, I chose Russia as my first preference. I do not think I will get it. The application called for experienced presenters. I.Am.Not. A presenter. I write much better than I speak. And I do not write well. This is a challenge I wanted to take on.

It is not surprising that the things listed above have some kind of financial benefit attached to it. All of it also required an incredible amount of paperwork that have consumed a lot of my time and energy. I would be disappointed, to say softly, if filling all of it out turns out to be wasteful. The answer for all items but #3 will be either yes or no. There are days when I am ready to receive AN answer just to get over the anticipation.

I live in a "I want it now!" society where delayed gratification is rarely taught and admired. A kid in me, wants to scream "Give it to me now!" The adult in me with head hung low in humility, arm stretched out with open palm is forced to say "PLEAAAAAAASE have mercy!"

****While searching for a picture to put up for this post, I found this cartoon and just had to share it with you. Though a bit off topic, this is too funny not to share.

Thank God I don't have to deal with these kinds of waits!

A Bad News For Mommy

2010-01-12T20:53:00.000-08:00

I received some sad news on my way home from college. I no longer have my beautiful wedding ring and band to put on my finger. Here is the story. Jane is me.

Jane decides to clean her rings.
Jane puts the rings in the cup with soapy water in the kitchen.
Jane forgets about the rings.
In the morning, husband sees a cup with dirty water and dumps it in the sink.
In the evening, while Jane is in school, mom cooks dinner and washes dishes. Yes, she turns on the disposal.
Mom pulls out my rings. All banged up. No diamond.
Jane comes home and is handed an envelope by daughter labeled" A bad news for mommy" with the things in side.

What can I say. At least it was a group effort. Initiated by my stupidity.

Jane (holding pieces of precious metals): Well, now you know what to get me for Valentine's Day.
Husband: Yes, another disposable ring.
Jane: Right. I sure deserve it.

On the other hand, if I ever get to crash the Novyi Russkiy (New Russians) or United Arab Emirates party, I will be completely honest, when while contributing to the conversation, I will add that I too, have thrown diamonds down the drain.

Here We Go Again

2010-01-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

Its over. My short lived wonderful time away from school, work, weekend homework time, coordination of care for my kids while I am busy studying, is OVER.

It has been so nice having a whole month off from school. For a whole month, the stress cloud that hangs over me while I am multitasking was not existant. The sun shone through and made me think about how nice it would be when I am all done with my master's degree. I am officially 1/3 done with it. Which doesn't sound like a lot, but by this time next year, I will be almost done with the whole thing. And when I am....I would like to for a while, for a loooooooong while, not set my foot on college campus to take classes. I love studying, if its the ONLY thing I get to do. I do hope to come back to a community college though. This time as an instructor of English as a Second Language to adults. It will probably be wierd at first. What do you do for 3 hours if you don't have disapline issues to deal with? I am beginning my practicum this term. I will probably post my reflections here when I do. So.....Let me summarize our current craze, shall I?

I signed up for 2 courses and my husband is signed up for 2 classes.
I am back at work, part-time.
My husband has been asked to lead our church choir(though we are not sure if this is going to be permanant. I pray that it isn't, but don't tell him that).
We are about to become parents of 4 (No, I am not pregant and we are not adopting. I will write more on that when/if it happens).
Our mortgage went up a bit, which only means that my husband has to work even more.
Spring has been traditionally the season of colds and flus over at my place.

Do you know whats the most frustrating part of this whole thing? It is that we have NO one but ourselves to blame for it all. WE create these responsibilities and WE are the ones left with ten gallon heads at the end of the day.

It is fair to say that we are not living in the present, but rather the future. Which is kind of sad, really. We are working towards a better, brighter future. But what if things don't go as planned? What if future never comes?

I sure hope it does.

The Best of 2009

2010-01-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

Over the last few months, I have probably written more blog posts in my head than the total number of posts for the year. 2009 was filled with many happy moments. There were several very fun days spent outside of home. I did not write about our fun sand dunes trip, or our short beach vacation. I did not write about our wonderful trip to Lost lake where I caught a fish by dragging the line from the water with bare hands. I've also wanted to write about the Mt. Hood cabin stays generously given to us by my husband's client. I really wanted to write about our Hoodriver Mt. Hood railroad trip and give fellow parents of small children the advice of NOT taking their kids on this trip. This and more I wanted to write about, but for some reason or another did not get to.

It took me FOREVER to put this together because the Windows Media player would not cooperate with me! If you ever had problems (and later solved them) with downloading music to your albums, PLEASE let me know. The music here is all I had that would download. Sorry if you find it annoying. I also made an editing mistake when I made this too :)

Any comments made about how beautiful my family is are appreciated! But really, I would be honored if you take a look at this.

Sometimes...

2010-01-01T11:17:00.001-08:00

Sometimes, especially around the holiday time, I want to be my husband. Because then I could

1)not be there when my wife is frantically cleaning the house and preparing to host family for a few nights
2) leave his wife and his friend's wife at home to prepare gormet meals for the evening celebration, and to take care of 5 children ages 6 and younger and solve baby drama
3) attend a calm and festive evening church services while my wife is at home putting the house back in order and setting it up for the party
4) come home to a clean house with a ton of food ready, entertain guests, relax, and go to banya while his wife is serving guests, cleaning up, and putting the kids to bed.
5) Stay up until 5am and then sleep in until noon the next day.

Sometimes, I want to be my husband. But then, I would have to work 12+ hour days and deal with a cranky, naggy wife. And that would not be very pleasant.

Happy New Year, y'all.

So Very Blessed

2009-12-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday started like a regular day and fortunately for us, it ended in a pretty usual way as well. It is what happened in between those hours that made me realize more and more how truly blessed we are.

At about noon, I took my kids to a friend's house for a play date. I came home, put the babe for a nap, cleaned up the kitchen a bit, and then held the sleeping baby in my arms for about an hour (because this is how he now takes part of his nap. Don't ask). As I was holding him, I looked outside and saw what appeared to rain/snow mix. I checked the forecast...nothing alarming. The babe woke up and by this time, the snowflakes were of significant size and I decided to make a fast trip to a grocery store to get some comfort food for what might be a snowy evening. What was supposed to be a 30 minute trip turned out to be a 4 hour ordeal. My brilliant brain forgot to remind me about the fact that we live on a hill and the car I have is not ready or able to maneuver in snowy conditions.

I made it fine down the hill and got my food. By this time, however, the surprise storm was in full blast, and going up the hill the same way I came was treacherous. To make a long story short, our whole family made it home safely in the evening and everything turned out alright because:

the baby though hungry patiently sat in his car seat and sang songs during the 1.5 hour very slow ride. His sweet, worryless tune was calming me down.
we were blessed to have a friend who came over and rescued me and the baby and took us to his house
his house is 5 minutes away from ours
this was the house where my other kids were playing

his wife graciously welcomed us and served yummy treats with fresh raspberry tea. Marina and Bill, I can't thank you enough!
my husband eventually (it took him 4 hours!) picked us up after rescuing his brother. My husband's truck's windshield wipers are broken. I do not know how he did it.
My abandoned car (with my comfort food inside, go figure!) was in one piece when we came to pick it up

This surprise storm was as its full blast during the rush hour. Everyone was caught off guard. It was a BIG mess in the greater Portland area. As I was listening to the radio while driving, I kept hearing about car wrecks, people getting stranded for hours in traffic jams and on the curves, cars unable to make it up the hill on the highways. I kept wondering, what if it was me out there? What do people do if they don't have relatives or friends who are able to help them out during emergencies? What do they do if they don't know God and don't cry out to him for help? Alone, we can do so little. Alone, we are simply not able to make it. Blessed are those who are not alone, who have others to rely on during tough times. Blessed are also those who are able and willing to reach out to others for help. We ARE truly blessed.

Here are some pics of my kids oblivious to all the troubles, having a great time playing in the snow.

Fortunate, happy, blessed, taken care of. My daughters expression above says it all.

Free Stuff

2009-12-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

Is there such a thing as FREE stuff without strings attached? Appearantly, yes! About a month ago, I signed up for swagbucks. I uploaded the swagbucks toolbar and now use when I search online. I get points. Just. For. Searching. The search is powered by goggle and ask.com I don't sell or buy anything. I already have enough to get a $25 restaurants.com gift card. So, sign up. Its free and super easy. Oh yeeeh.... and if you promote swagbucks on facebook, twitter or your blog (like I just did :) you get points too!

Tomorrow, tomorrow...

2009-12-17T21:35:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is....

Friday,
last day before Christmas Break,
pay day,
my hubby's B-day.

I have already decided that its going to be a great day no matter what. I LOVE tomorrow.

Advent Conspiracy

2009-12-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

Over the years, I have gotten tired of hearing my fellow Christians complain around this time of the year that the stores are leaving Christ out of Christmas by greeting them with "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." I would rather be greeted by the first greeting at this time of the year because the birth of Christ has little to do with what Christmas has become. Last year, while listening to a Christian program I often enjoy, I heard the commentators rejoicing over the fact that Sears or some other store after receiving numerous complaints okayed the traditional Christmas greeting. But really, what is there to rejoice about? So what that they tell you "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays"? It is only a marketing gimmick to sell what needs to be sold without making as many people as possible upset.

Finally, Christians around the world are participation in a new (which is really, old) tradition.
I love Advent Conspiracy. The motto is simple: worship fully, spend less, give more, love all.

Check this out:

Also, an article about this new/old way was published in Time magazine. Finally, some positive light on Christianity.

this article

Another Brilliant Act

2009-12-11T19:26:00.000-08:00

Setting: Last period of the day on Friday. The class is a math class where students have limited English and math abilities.

Me: (Explaining a word problem about orchards and apples. Drawing tiny trees).

Student: (Sitting right in front of me) That's a lot of mota.

Me: (Sounding savvy) Yeh, that a looooooot of mota.

Class: Bursting in laughter

Me: (Confused) What are you guys laughing about? Mota, that means "work", right?

Class: Laughing harder.

Me: Ohhh...trabajo, I meant to say trabajo. What does mota mean?

Class: Not answering, laughing away.

Student: It means marijuana.

Me: Embarrassed, red in a face, joined them in laughter.

It took me five interrupted years of teaching experience to make a mistake like this one. I need to go learn Spanish like five years ago.

Fasting This Week

2009-12-01T11:00:00.001-08:00

I am "fasting" from blogging and other social networking sites this week as part of an church wide effort to fast from something that takes up a lot of your free time. It is difficult and I am tempted, but I can do it. In the meantime, I'll just continue to write posts in my head:)

THE Best Black Friday Tip Ever

2009-11-27T07:57:00.000-08:00

Get up early (or better yet, sleep in) have a great cup of coffee in a comfort of your bathrobe, plan your day and spend it with your family. Oh ye... and shop online for the things you truly NEED. Don't succumb to the pressures of the fellow early bird sleep deprived shoppers and buy things JUST because they are on sale! Buyer's Remorse: was a phrase I happened to teach this week to my ESLers. We all know the feeling, this Black Friday, don't become a victim of one!

Good Timing Video

2009-11-24T20:55:00.001-08:00

This video was referred to me by my instructor for an online class I am taking for my master's. I am guessing the statistics provided are credible. It is interesting that I got to watch this on the eve of Thanksgiving. Its short and sweet. I hope you watch it.

One Smart Cookie

2009-11-19T20:33:00.001-08:00

Last week, after receiving about 5 very obviously plagiarized papers, I gave my students a serious lecture about how it is wrong to plagiarize and how dare they insult my intelligence. I made an effort to explain to them that teachers are much smarter than students give them credit. Today, I proved myself wrong.

After administrating a spelling quiz, I turned around to see that the entire list of words tested was posted on the wall. Right behind me. Not a single soul made a beep, a grin, or a giggle during the 15 minutes of me administrating the test. Their ESL teacher proved herself to be one smart cookie today, no doubt about it.

Life's Hard When You're My Student

2009-11-17T14:43:00.000-08:00

Right after the class began I sent two boys down to the office to get a late slip who tried to challenge me on that in front of the whole class, but grumbled their way to the office and back.

During class presentations, a student asked me if he could go back to the library to get his pen and his pencil which he forgot. I gave him, a "you have got to be kidding" look and continued listening to the presentations.

Right before the class ended, I asked for a different student's cell phone when I caught him using it in class who refused to give it to me. I had to call security on him. He is usually a pretty mellow student, but decided to have an attitude today.

The next class of ~~children~~ teenagers that I am teaching is full of not such bright students to whom I usually have to repeat simple directions atleast 5 times. When after explaining that students need to complete TWO sides of the worksheets 5 times, I HAD to shake my head and say nothing when a student asked me, "Which side do we do?"

I really wish I could write : DON'T mess with the lady who had 5 hours of sleep, sat in 3 hours of meetings in the morning and has a VERY difficult exam coming up in the evening. Just don't.

What They Didn't See

2009-11-16T16:21:00.000-08:00

We had three families over for lunch yesterday. When they came in, the house was clean, table set, food hot and ready to serve. Here is what they didn't see:

Saturday
Morning: I take half a day to do homework and study while kids are at grandmas.
Afternoon: I pick kids up, take them to the store, lock my keys in side my van and wait for the roadside assistance to open the door for me. A quick trip turned into an hour. I thank God my parents were with me at the time to help me out.
Evening: Abigail and I watch Fiddler on the Roof, the musical at the high school I work at.

Sunday
9 am I begin making salads for guests during breakfast. This task takes up longer than should as multitasking slows me down.
10am Husband is done reading the Bible to the kids and we rush upstairs to get ready.
10:30 my husband is trying to get the kids out the door when my son starts being picky about his socks and shoes.
10:35 hubby drives away, son starts crying his eyes out.
11am child is still crying in disbelief that his daddy could do such a thing.
I lure him away from the bedroom with a promise of something sweet and go to put my baby for a nap.
11:30 baby is still in my arms wanting to sleep with me holding him.
12pm I finally put the baby on his bed and turn on the live streaming of the church service and start making hot meals. Son is walking around, throwing crumbs of food all over first floor, goes up to the second floor, sees his church clothes, remembers that he was left behind and starts crying again.
12:30 son spills over a greasy bowl of soup the same second the baby wakes up (early) from his nap. The babe is in the bad mood, crying as I am trying wipe the floor, the chairs and son and sautee chicken.
1pm. I am still cuddling the baby and cooking with one free arm, look around to see 1st level a complete mess, kitchen sink full of dishes and countertop filled with unfinished dishes. I feed the baby and go back to cooking. I panic.
1:40 husband comes home to a messy house and a paniky wife. I tell him that next time i would rather entertain on a day when he is home, helping me. He tells me to do the impossible: relax. We I frantically start cleaning the house. Hubby is taking his time vacuuming the place.
2:30 my food is ready to serve, but my guests are not here. I start calling guests and they tell me that my husband told them to come whenever. I give my husband the evil eye and explain to him hot food cannot be served WHENEVER and tell him that he is never to coordinate lunches or dinners with our friends. I glace at my juicy, flavorful chicken that just finished roasting in the oven and think how it would just not taste the same when I serve it WHENEVER.
4pm All guests arrive, and we sit down for lunch.
10pm All guests leave and I feel satisfied that the evening went well and the food was great. We talk about what was, is and what is to come. Guys leave to use the sauna, girls talk about life and babies.
11pm as I lay in bed, I think that I would do it all over again, even if it was just as hectic as today.

Free Day At the Park and Free Clothes!

2009-11-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

What a day we had today! My sister came in the morning and made waffles with my kids. How they love to help out! Watching them being so interested in helping, makes me want do more baking with them.

After our very yummy whole wheat waffle breakfast, we decided to go to the Japanese Garden as today's admision is free. This was our first time to the park and the season was for sure right to go there.

The weathermen promised rain and more rain. It ended up being a perfect fall weather. We were even spoiled with some sun today.

Our model. The babe had no idea where we brought him, but enjoyed looking at ponds.

I love my daughter's profile. She is seriously studying Japanese landscape art here.

The only downside about coming to a beautiful place like this for free is all of the other people who are taking advantage of this opportunity with you. It was crowded! At the entrance we were asked to turn off our cell phones as this area (I am guessing) is an area of meditation. However, there were lots of people walking and talking, and mommies (myself included) trying to get through narrow pathways with their strollers. Though this picture is blury, you can see the most famous place to take pictures there: the bridge. What you can't see it the stream that flows underneath it and other gorgeous colors;trully, one of the best places in Portland to take pictures.

My day was finished with washing and putting away a ton of used boy's clothing my sister in law gave to me. I have never had so many handmedowns; it was pretty exciting!

Nicolas is wearing his "new" sweather and a coat from that ton.
This guys loves to pose and we think is very photogenic.

My Other Love

2009-11-07T20:12:00.000-08:00

Its official, people, I have found myself a new ~~obsession~~ love. In fact, to second a fellow blogger, if I wasn't madly in love with my husband, I would marry Joe.

The store close to my house is celebrating their 1st year anniversary today. I befriended it early on and have been loyal ever since. I only wish I could afford to do all my grocery shopping there. Maybe then, I would actually look forward to this task.

Illiterate and Proud of It

2009-10-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, my husband and I took our two oldest kids to a Disney on Ice show. Besides realizing about ten minutes in to the show that this was a total waste of money, we understood the extent to which our kids are pop culture illiterate. While the little girl next to me was singing along with all the cartoon characters, my children were more consumed by the mechanical side of things:

"Mom, is the fog real?"

"Mom, are the cars real?"

"Is there anyone behind the wheel?"

My favorite, said by my three year old son when he saw Ariel for the first time:

"I don't like that lady. Why couldn't she put on some clothes?"

Half of the show was about Tinkerbell finding a purpose for her existence in the fairyland. The purpose of life was found when she first messed up the garden and then fixed it with one turn of some wheel. I was looking for food for thought or a moral lesson, or setting of example, but failed to see one. Magic, fairies, spells, witches were there and made me quite uncomfortable. You can debate with me that fantasy and imagination is crucial for child's development and that all of the things above are just FUN, but there is something inside of me that calls to guard my children from it. I d0n't see a lot of tolerance for witchcraft in Christianity.

I was happy to answer my children's questions about who it is they were watching and what was going on. It didn't bother me at all that my children weren't literate in the world of Disney. In fact, I was pretty proud of that fact. In our house hours of television and movies are substituted by pretend play and imagination that comes from within their little brains. I was proud because the tube is rarely on because of my children's desires to do other things not because I control it so and the small collection of Disney movies is collecting dust. I was proud because their vocabulary and knowledge not of pop culture but of letters, numbers, kid songs, juvenile science and geography concepts sets them apart from other kids their age.

I am proud to be raising pop culture illiterate nerds. There are so very few of us left.

Swine Flu Song

2009-10-26T21:56:00.000-07:00

Those of you who are familiar with Billy Joel's "We didn't start the fire" song will get a special kick out of this one.

Summer, Come Baaaaack!

2009-10-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

For being able to pretend for a few months that I am a stay at home mom, for dressing kids in one level of clothes, for yummy berries, for splash pads and parks, for hanging out on the deck, and for......yard sales---I miss summer!!!

Lets talk about yard sales, shall we? Why do I miss them? Because I am a new convert to yard sales who has had a blast and great luck this summer. I got many many deals including a fine china set for 8 (that's for over 30 pieces!) in excellent shape for $8. I grabbed it the same second the lady named the price and tried very hard not to expose my grin. I also got my baby a Jeep sports stroller in great shape for $35. My most recent purchases are a must brag. I got this 3-pack set of children's songs in excellent condition for

for $.25. Yes, a quarter. Its currently selling for $12 on amazon.

Also, by some weird luck from a very weird lady, I bought these Russian classic cartoons

for $.50. Two quarters!

Last, but my most valuable purchase yet, I bought a beautiful five strand freshwater rice pearl necklace and bracelet that looks similar to this (substitute the big pearl clip to 14k gold)

for...are you ready for this--$1. Goodwill, can you beat this?

I bought it from the same weird lady who sold me the Russian cartoona who was very tired and over medicated to realize she is selling me something genuine. She was selling a lot of things that were not hers and this set was clipped together as one long necklace with clips at weird places. thinking there was something wrong with the necklace she offered it to me for a dollar.

So yes, second hand stores riding on the recession wave have gotten way to expensive and I have officially changed my allegiance for fun shopping to yard sales. For now though, I am to start collecting junk around the house for the yard sale I will have next summer, and who knows someone might just a find a treasure or two in my trash.

Slow Dance

2009-10-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

Alyssa has posted this on her site and it really spoke to me. My goal for the next 85 years of my life...to slow down.

"SLOW DANCE"

Have you ever watched kids

On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain

Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Do you run through each day

On the fly?

When you ask How are you?

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done

Do you lie in your bed

With the next hundred chores

Running through your head?

You'd better slow down

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Ever told your child,

We'll do it tomorrow?

And in your haste,

Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,

Let a good friendship die

Cause you never had time

To call and say,"Hi"

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

It is like an unopened gift....

Thrown away.

Life is not a race.

Do take it slower

Hear the music

Before the song is over.

Creepy Ads

2009-10-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

One of the blogs I read regularly posted a link to this site of vintage creepy ads. My favorite, the one above (click on it to read the print) is an ad for Lysol to be used for better female hygiene. I laugh every time I look at it. I cannot believe the marketing team was able to get away with it. Some other ads are disturbing and funny like these,

here and here for many more. Heather, I have a feeling you are going to like these!

Please Pray...

2009-10-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

I just learned the news that a friend of ours had passed away, loosing her battle with cancer as well. She had battled it for the last three years, learning of its existence only a couple months after her wedding day. Please pray for the family who lost their only sister, daughter, princess.

Mortality

2009-10-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I went to a funeral service for a very dear acquaintance of mine whom I liked and respected a lot. I met her at an job interview for my first real job, working as a tutor at the high school I graduated from. She had enough faith in me, a then eighteen year old recent high school graduate to trust me with a new position where I managed my time and assignment without much supervision. I liked and admired a lot of things about her. Her classic appearance and her classy demeanor, her ways of showing courtesy and care, her optimism, her professionalism and ability to lead, and most of all, I respected her for being so grounded and for cherishing relationships. You see, for the last five years she held a very high position of an HR director at one of the biggest districts around here. Her office was always open for people to swing by and say high. She did not become a snob. She was always very accessible for people to come in and have a chat with her. She took the time out of her busy schedule to do things like attend weddings of very small people like my sister and I and write notes of encouragement and congratulations to many. She died after loosing a long battle with breast cancer. She was 52 years of old, shy a couple of years for retirement. She definitely left too early.

As I was listening to family, friends and colleagues speak at her funeral service, my respect and love for her only strengthened. I kept looking at an enlarged picture of her in disbelief that this person will no longer walk the halls of the district office, spend time with her children, or kiss the love of her life. She will not be able to enjoy retirement that have been beefed up with savings from the last 28 years of working in education. Her humor will no longer amuse and comfort her loved ones.

Mortality. What a strange concept. How is it possible for a person to one day plan, think, create, love, care, sympathize, and not exist the next?

This funeral service came about a week after my side of the family got together at my elderly grandparents' house to take group pictures. My grandfather is 95 and my grandmother is 87. They have been married for over sixty years. Their bodies and minds are fragile and they spend their days walking or sitting around my aunts house. I was thinking of them during the funeral service. My grandparents have definitely reached the end of their lives here on Earth. Having lived such long lives, mortality seems suiting, natural, if not desirable. As I write this, they have lived a month longer than my friend and continue to live. They, who have nothing more to offer to the society, or their families and who are so limited in their physical and mental abilities to even get to a nearby park.

Why do some die before their time and others continue to live is a question only God can answer. But the reality of mortality only strengthens my believe in the eternal life that must follow after our flesh can no longer sustain us here, on Earth. I hope and pray, that this time comes after I have lived to the fullest, watched my great grandchildren serve the Lord, made a difference or two in someone's life, brought someone to Christ and am able to then command those that survive me to throw a big party in honor of my life and departure.

Unique Pumpkin Patch Experience and Pictures

2009-09-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, I realized that being a mom for the last six years has apparently taught me absolutely nothing. Because if it had, I would have probably:

1) not decide to take my kids to pumpkin patch across the town on a Friday night
2) not had to take a long alternate route because the freeways were packed
3) calculated in the two potty stops (30 minutes of total duration) that I would have to make
4) visited the patch's website to learn that most activities would close by the time we would get there
5) not drive for 2 hours just to be there for 30 minutes

6) not have to lure my kids back to the car by promising sushi

There was maybe but two other lost souls there besides us, so we had the place to ourselves. The thirty minutes that we did spend there were fun with children just enjoying the free space to run around and pose for my sister's camera. She got a lot of very cute pictures of them. Some of them are below. I will post more when she gives them to me. In the mean time, can someone tell me why my pics show up so small in size and resolution? Tina, Heather, Tanya your pictures are always so bright and big, how do you do it?

What would you say...

2009-09-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

...if in the middle of class two girls approached and asked you if they could both go to the bathroom because one needed to show another how to put in a tampon? I said nothing, I was speechless. I then offered one with the problem to take my purse which had a pad in it to the bathroom. She declined as she was too embarrassed. Go figure.

Second Language Milestone

2009-09-24T15:17:00.000-07:00

"Dude, I don't want to do homework for the Russian school, " said my six year old when she came from school the other day.

I thought I heard her wrong and ignored the d-word. So when she used it again and again the next few days while using various "I don't wannu" and "I am not gonna" sentences, I had to accept that my daughter has officially entered the next step in her English language development also known as learning the SLANG. I am happy that she is progressing, but hearing her say words like dude, dumbest, and weirdo makes me both laugh and cringe. It is funny because at this time last year, she entered school knowning no English at all other than colors, letters and numbers. It makes me cringe because I don't think a first grader should be going around using "dude" in every other sentence.

If she starts talking like this early on, by the time she grows up she will for sure beat all those "Like, for sure, dude. Totally. Yah, right" people who have annoyed the heck out of linguists and other educated professionals.

Craziness

2009-09-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

I have obliged my self to a form of insanity which only those who are currently committing the same can empathize with me. Everyone else to whom I whine just shake their heads and think me crazy. Those who do not understand the scope of my craziness think me a wuss.

I have accepted a temporary subbing job for someone who is now on a leave of absence. Not sure now if this was such as clever idea. For four more weeks, I am to be at work everyday before sunrise; very hard to do for someone who gets up at least three times a night. I have to prep for four different classes two of which are new to me. Needless to say, I haven't graded a thing for the past two weeks and the inbox of students' work is currently overflowing. I am also currently enrolled in two graduate level courses, one if which is linguistics. Though the subject is very interesting to me, the workload isn't. The homework duration of 6-10 hours a week, hangs over me like a dark cloud following me everywhere I go, sending occasional showers my way as a reminder that it has not been touched.

So I come home to three little kids who want to hang on me and all I feel like doing is sit there, stare at the wall and collapse for a nap. I feel that I am leaving all of my passion and energy at work and school and bring back my tired body that is useless. I know I am not the only mom who works full time and comes home to other responsibilities. I seriously do not know how or where you get the time and energy to get all of the things that need to get done around the house and spend constructive time with your children. There isn't enough hours after work to do it all well.

Yesterday, we took our kids to OMSI. They explored different exhibits and had a blast. This reminded me of how much I miss being home with them every other day. Going to OMSI was a regular outing for us. Now, I am happy if we make it to the park after work.

I know working full time is not how I want to spend the next few years while my children are small. I am considering putting schooling on hold for a while too. It is simply not fair to do this to my children and my spouse. For now, I am thankful that part of the craziness will be over in four weeks and I will be back to being more of a mom rather than the blob that I am now.

Let My People Go!

2009-09-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

I've heard several improvisations of this song, this (probably the closest to the original)is by far my favorite. I love his voice! Enjoy.