Nancy Drew

At your service. I love love love mysteries. They are definitely a vice of mine. Digging into a good mystery (or even a bad one, let's be honest) can entertain me for hours.
Hours.
Like Nancy, part of my job as mom is to play detective; which as I've alluded to earlier is basically my entire role as mom to the tight-lipped Miss Pea. I've already enlisted my personal George Fayne in the form of my niece Heidi who is at the moment an excellent source of pertinent information. I intent to shamelessly exploit this gold mine until she catches on, which I might add may be soon since she's a clever one.
I don't go around solving significant socially sensitive crimes of national importance; I normally solve crimes against domesticity like the following:
The Curious Case of the Missing Pants.
The Secret Hiding Spot.
The Phantom Tooth Brush.
You get the point. Anyone hot on a domestic case of right now? Would love to hear them...
Yours peering through a looking glass,

Zoolights

Despite fighting a cold and hyped up on cough medicine, we had a fun time with my family at Zoolights. Pea absolutely loves animals did not understand that since it was dark most of them were "sleeping." However, she did get to see the meerkats and a jaguar (her favs) so we were in luck there! There were amazing lights and music which Babe H "danced" to. Folks, it's time to retire the famed Snuggie. Harp is too heavy as I discovered last night whilst hiking with her strapped to my body at low breathing capacity (see first sentence). Kind of makes me sad, but such is life...
Both my girls are getting quality face time with their Uncle Chase who will have to be leaving us bound for his home in San Diego Sunday. Sort of sad because Pea is having a fun time with her namesake (i.e. super fun stroller rides and laughing at all her antics). However, he's told us he'll meet us in Disneyland when we go this spring so she can have that to look forward to!

Bemusings: On Turning Corners

As a family, we've had some major accomplishments this year. We've closed some chapters and started new ones. Not necessarily in order, but the following has been achieved/happened:
Complete potty training.
Having our last baby.
Becoming a mom of two.
Losing baby weight.
Crossfit. End of story.
Organizing our home to accomadate said baby.
Starting preschool.
Birthdays.
Hawaii trip.
5th Anniversary.
Family ups and downs.
Financial ups and downs.
Hard work.
Hope.
And many many more revealations, decisions, breaking points, and proud moments. As we go into the new year I find I'm on the fence. Not specifically about one particular issue, but about the general direction we're headed in as a family and for myself personally. The theme of last year seems to have been learning. Being schooled. Day in, day out training literally and methaphorically. I am wondering what theme I'll be reflecting on next year, but I can't help but think I've been training for something. What specifically I couldn't tell you, but I've had that feeling for a while now.
Which can be exciting or scary depending on my mood.
This next year: our baby will turn one, our oldest will turn FOUR, my 10 year high school reunion will happen, Tyler will be in his last year of the 20's, and things will happen I cannot yet predict.
But. I'm curious and hopeful and ready...

Christmas 2010!

Here are my favorite shots of Christmas Eve and Day 2010, hope everyone had a magical Christmas!

Merry Merry!

The Good, The Bad, and The UGLY

Last night was our Crossfit Basic Ugly Sweater Christmas party! So fun to see everyone in their ugly Cosby Christmas sweaters. Have to post three things:
1. Casey should have won...no doubt right? (oh and don't worry: that red eyelet collar WAS attached).
2. I actually saw with my own two eyes our crossfit-crazy, gluten-free trainer EAT a plate full of Andi's mac n' cheese. And yes, it was my favorite thing all night and a bonafide Christmas miracle.
3. Both Ty and my sweaters were women's. I let him choose which one he wanted; he chose birds of a feather...
Fun to hang out with our CFB community!

Snowflake Lane 2010!

This tradition was lots of fun this year especially with Pearson! She LOVED the Snow Princess, Rudolph, and Frosty! Oh, and the drums. She's very into drumming these days so it was a big hit. Harper did not really know what to make of the whole outing. First she was strapped on me and the loud drum beats made her blink a thousand times. No crying though so it must have been tolerable! Here's to next year and a fun time with family (and friends!)

A(u)nte Up

You will NOT believe what just happened to me at lunch today...

Stop reading if you're still eating. Fair warning.

I had my niece Heidi this morning as Andi was at a doctor appointment for Bell Babe #3. She didn't really eat the breakfast given to me for her, BUT she did eat a massive sugar cookie at my girl Katie's house. We were all invited for a play date/cookie decorating session this AM. After some fun at Katie's place we headed to McDonald's for lunch. Let me clearly state after subsequent events I am NOT, repeat NOT going back there for a while. What prompted my hasty departure and possible banishment? Oh, get ready.
After refusing to eat anything (if you know Heidi, you know this is a red flag) I made her take a bite of hamburger. Mistake. Of EPIC proportions. She had the bite in her mouth for maybe two seconds and gives me this look and I think I knew what was about to happen.
Vomit. Projectile. Everywhere.
On Babe H, on the table, all over Heidi, Pea's rain boots, my pants. You name it. I sprang into action like a ninja. I had to ask myself, why are there NO wet naps at McDonald's? An establishment basically catering to children?
I started cleaning frantically. Pea is gagging non-stop. Harper is bewildered. Heidi is crying. Just when I think I know what I'm dealing with. More; one last massive spill of sugar cookies and stomach acid and any surface thinking it was spared was then covered. I can't really explain the mayhem which followed, but it involved:
-Helplessly "wiping" up the girls, collecting stained clothes, calming crying and gagging...
-A kind woman to watch my girls for me while I ran to the bathroom.
-Carrying out three basically naked kids from McDonald's.
-Glares from the poor 16 girl who had to clean this mess.
Sufficed to say, I A(u)nted UP today. Oh, and I think I might crack open the wine Andi got me as a gift...
Heidi, here's to hoping you feel a bit better this afternoon!

Red Cowboy Boots & Cinnamon Ice Cream

You will want BOTH after this post. Brace yourselves. Andi gave me all the wonderful pictures she took of the Holiday festivities this weekend so there will be quite a few! Let's start with Saturday eve's progressive dinner.
It started out at our place with Christmas Martinis & Prociutto Pops!



Then we went to Joe & Taryn's for this AMAZING soup. As stated here, his work is intimidating to say the least, BUT wow was it worth it!

Then on to Andi's for the main course: braised short ribs & goat cheese polenta. Umm, SO good. And I am not a rib eater. Magnific!

Last stop? Shannon and Tim's (in combination with Melissa and Zack) for bread pudding and homemade Cinnamon ice cream. To die, seriously. Little known secret; bread pudding is just about Ty's favorite dessert of all time. He was happy about this!

After a rousing edition of the newlywed game where I had a couple pretty awkward insert-foot-in-mouth moments, we went our separate ways only to meet up again on Sunday at...
The Lang family Christmas! It's quite the affair; complete with skits (our little belles did Rudolph Ella style), prayer, jokes (some inappropriate of course), the Christmas story, and family gift exchange/shouting match. Here are some of my favorite pictures from this year! Can you fathom the little cousin picture next year with 5 new faces? So fun...





P.s. as promised Ty made up for himself this year and having Harp here was the best gift we could have received...

Dropped like a Bad Habit

We have developed a bad habit. Harper will NOT sleep. So I kept feeding her at night whenever she wanted. Remember this? What was I thinking? UGH, I curse myself every time on this blog! Anyway, it is pretty much how you think: horrible ear piercing screams during the dead of night for a WHILE now. Ty said this morning, he thinks he's losing his mind. I concur. Vehemently. She had an ear infection last week; it's all cleared and still.
So tonight is night three of letting her cry it out. I am hoping against hope the screaming sticks to under an hour. That would be a treat.

Speaking of bad habits...Do you have any? I certainly do. One of my worst is that I use my bathroom sink as a literal trash can...it drives the hub completely insane. He has staged a hostile take over of his own sink and really, who can blame him? I CAN blame him for his bad habits, but so as not to air his dirty laundry I'll just say they mostly involve leaving EVERYTHING he uses out or UP if you know what I mean.

Also on my list? Coconut M&M's (they are still amazing and every time I think I love them more), never repeat NEVER emptying the lint trap in my dryer (I get a stern warning of impending fiery doom from Mr. B nearly every time he does laundry, which is often since he doesn't let me do his anymore...that is a WHOLE other post and I'm not saying I don't deserve it), and finally pluck, pluck, plucking away at my eye brows. In recent years I've gotten this habit down to a manageable time limit and brow thickness for which I could not be prouder.

Hmm, two things of note: I wrote almost a whole paragraph in one sentence. So wrong, but who's checking except maybe my mom AND also I NEED some coconut M&M's.
Now.

Snow Belles

STELLAR p.j. find this year! Snow Belles...perfect. All the Bell girls have them this year. SHOUT OUT to the best Aunty Em a girl could have. She sent these to die for Christmas babylegs and personally made flower clip. She's simply the best AND talented!
What a fun way to celebrate the season!

Everything That Sparkles!

Saturday night we attended Nee Nee's 60th "Everything That Sparkles" Birthday bash, where we had a sparkling time at. She is much loved and we LOVED the chance to dress up and go out on the town! Highlights? Her life size mirror image cake, her hysterical birthday video, and chatting with family who are also our dear friends!
Life is good.
Shout out to Andi for the amazing pictures! We're all lucky to have a photog in the family...
Don't you love all the pregnant Lang ladies? I sure do!

Weekend Roundup!

This weekend officially kicked off our Holiday festivities! On Saturday, I got the girls all gussied up in their Cowgirl Christmas outfits and we headed out to Santa's workshop to deliver our requests, pose for a picture or two, and generally start the season off right. As a welcome surprise my girls had NO meltdowns; Pearson actually TALKED to Santa and sat on the couch next to him. Harper loved it and just gazed at Santa whilst tugging on his real beard. In fact ALL four Bell belles did really spectacularly and I was definitely impressed as both mom and aunt. Also if you can't tell, Momi wrote to Santa and it was "signed" by Miss Pea.
AND...
Happy Birthday to my sweet Mom today! We LOVE you.

Cowgirl Christmas

Special post dedicated to the girl's Christmas outfits this year. I really love them; so cowgirl chic. Seems like they're a hit...check em out!

Craigslist Killer (of Dreams)

Last night we put our cat on craigslist.
Free cat, litter box, and bed. First person to call wins the lucky prize of owning Kat Von B!
We got a call from a father who just bought two kittens for his little girls for Christmas. The kittens promptly ran away. He lives like two miles from us; we're taking it as a sign that KVB is going to a better home.
I feel like a horrible mother. I am killing the dream of cat ownership for Pearson. Though at the moment, ownership emcompasses "petting" her, playing doctor with her (wherein KVB ALWAYS receives shots), and yelling at me to feed her when her food bowl is empty. However, though I may be one dream stealer, I keep emphasizing how she will be able to get a dog when she turns five and that's been our promise to her for some time now. A promise we intend to keep!
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are NOT cat people. Let's just all accept it. We adopted KVB for Pea's second birthday and since that time it's been a roller coaster of the following:
-Clawing
-Constant Meowing (seemingly only in the early morning and at bedtime for the girls).
-Peeing and pooping inside Pea's castle tent in the playroom. (So passive/aggresive: for spite I am positive).
-No cuddles, not even one.
However, to be fair to her I rephrased these attributes in her craigslist ad respectively as:
-Curious
-Friendly
-Resourceful
-Independent
So, goodbye Kat Von B. We will sort of miss you...

Bemusings: On Will

Definition of will (part 1): volition: the capability of conscious choice and decision and intention.
I'm realizing maybe for the first time that I can be unpredictable to others. Not really a loose cannon (I know a few of those and most of them do not know they are loaded guns), but maybe in a shoot from the hip kind of way. Make a decision and let it ride...

Shoot first, ask questions later.

Timeout: If my overuse of similes and metaphors pushes you to the brink of sanity, I am extremely sorry. I literally can't control it; flowing from my furious fingers like lava (and there we go again...dang.) You can quit reading my posts if so, I am trying to be open to criticism as of late.

Time-in: As I was saying, I'm sure NO ONE I knew from growing up thought I'd move away for school, or get married, or have a child (if ever) before I was even 24. Frankly, that last one did surprise me too. I am at the age now where friends and acquaintances view my life as either The Holy Grail or The Deadly Plague depending on the direction of life as it were. Domestic Bliss? Man-made prison? I'll admit a three week stint with a baby who has an ear infection feels ball-and-chain-esq. No doubt there are mitigating circumstances and ranging opinions or pure ambivalence.
That's all fine and dandy.
Definition of will (part 2): a fixed and persistent intent or purpose.
But I suppose what matters most is what He thinks of my life, my behavior, my growth. I often think about the fact that God knows what we will choose before we make the choice. That He does not foresee our lives, but sees them because He is omnipresent; here then, here now, there in the future. All three, all at the time. To me it is a blessing knowing that nothing is really set in stone except that Jesus is the answer to the question and that He is victorious. Our lives can be lived dynamically as an interplay with Him; a mutual relationship and not fatalistically. We have will, He has a perfect will. I suppose then the goal should be aligning them as we live out our life with Him, not despite Him.
Definition of will (part 3): bequeath: leave or give by will after one's death.
This is what I want part of my legacy especially for my girls to be.

Gosh, you guys. I am a writing machine this week. I have been wanting to write these things down. Maybe my diary is a better choice? I guess life's too short to hold back. However, I promise a lighter note in subsequent posts this week...maybe something on ice cream or kisses or Christmas decor. And not poop, definitely not poop...

Bemusings: On Vulnerability

Since Ms. Lane has some time to ponder...
Warning!
Treading into deep water. If you'd like to stay in the kiddy pool for a bit longer I understand; it can be nice! I just got pruney in there soaking for some years.
Lately I've been thinking about image. What we project, what others actually see in comparison to what we intend. I may regret this. In fact I'm sure I will, but I want to know my blind spots in order to refine myself (possibly in the fire if these revelations are painful!). I think I've started on this path, but without outside help I won't get the full picture. In this vein, I'm praying for more to be revealed. And if you'd like to tell me a blind spot; I am open to it even if it might hurt. I suppose in some ways this is an experiment and I think that's allowed. My hypothesis is that by opening myself up to this, not just myself but others will benefit? Maybe that's assuming more than my Mom and Dad read this blog...
I digress.
On masks since these bemusings discuss congruency...
The mask we wear can be put in place for a number of reasons; self-preservation, perfection, guilt, pride, the seven deadly.
You name it.
What we present to the outside world can vary so drastically from what is actually happening in our lives that it can be quite amusing. Or horrible depending on the circumstance.
Metaphorically, this mask is a glass case where our heart is kept. What we think is safe (fear), beyond reproach (perfection), and in some cases hidden (self-preservation) is not. Fragile, yes. But maybe more vulnerable than that.
Seen.
God sees. We are never hidden from Him, even if we are hidden from others, even others we love.
Things He knows about me that I now know to work on: generosity, discretion, and patience.
Back to the lab,

Deja Vu

Remember this incident last year? I just had deja vu in the worst way. The same thing just happened again in my living room with Harper only this time Babe H ATE it. Literally.
I was eating my dinner and when I saw something on her face and shirt I thought she threw up everywhere, but then horrifyingly I realized I had not feed her anything dark green for dinner. No, it can't be. NO!
Oh, but yes. AND...
She ATE it.
The image of her smearing poop across her face and innocently smiling is burned into my brain like a branding iron on cowhide.
I scrubbed her entire mouth, body, and the tub. The carpets, her clothes, my hands.
But still.
I'm officially grossed out. Again.

Lois Lane

Roving reporter. Street smart, but can't seem to recognize that Clark Kent is Superman though all he does is change suits and take off his glasses?
Normally this is me. However, starting to recognize my blind spots.
And I think I'm currently living in Bizarro World.
You know that's the place Superman finds himself in where everything and everyone is backwards or opposite. First, I'm volunteering for every conceivable thing and now I'm ahead of the game for the impending Christmas season. This is so strange because I'm a champion procrastinator; ring leader of last-minute. A detail-oriented girl I am not. Of note, this is something I've recently discovered and it's freeing. Maybe I was fooling myself, but I considered myself detailed. I am meticulous when it comes to painting, writing, and plucking my eyebrows. Things I'm passionate about. With almost everything else it's about simply getting it done; broad strokes (painting pun...I can't seem to help it, dear readers) if you will. Awareness is half the battle, now I prepare for things differently. Accepting this about myself has literally changed my life for the better.

Know Thyself.
Thank you, Socrates. Good advice.

Back to Bizarro World: House decorated? Check. Lights up? Check. First wave of Christmas cards sent? Check. Still there's much much more to accomplish, but I'm so far ahead of where I normally am: maybe this year Lois can kick up her heels and ponder why Mr. Kent is so familiar...

Crystal Clear

It is now crystal clear I am NOT an outdoorsy type of girl. It just isn't for me OR for Pea judging from the meltdown we had at the end of today. However, there actually were some fun times on Crystal Mountain before the meltdown AND most importantly a Christmas tree was obtained despite my doubts as we ascended.
We truly were the Griswold's. Hiking through mountainous terrain in search of a good old fashion family Christmas. The little girls did some sledding, the men hunted and gathered, and the women watched (sidenote: we were there with TWO 7 month pregnant gals!). We purchased our permits in Enumclaw and then headed to ground zero. You cannot imagine how far up the mountain we had to go; I was fearing an avalanche or worse a tumble down the mountain in our Jeep, but as Ty so eloquently put, "You've got to go the distance for the nobles." Our tree is the best we've ever had...thanks to Ty's scouting efforts and epic climb to find the perfect Holiday noble. Go LTG!
Sledding...

Buns in the oven...

shenanigans...

Scout...

Doubt...

Proof!