Happy Reverse Day: 10.09.08

Meant to put this up this morning, but you know how it goes!

A friend got married this year on 06/07/08, that was fun, so we'll always remember their date, and then we'll use their date to figure everything else around it, like, the year we moved back to the east coast.

A cousin was born on 08/07/87, so I can always remember his birthdate and thus date everyone else forwards and backwards from him.

Then, same cousin got married this year on 08/08/08...I like it!!! Congratulations again, Greg/John! They were going to get married on 11/11/11 but didn't want to wait that long, can't blame them for that.

We ourselves got married on leap day, well, because it was on a Saturday: 29 Feb 92, which is always fun, but means we've had 4 real anniversaries, next one will be our 5th/20th.

But most people don't usually think in reverse. Today is 10.09.08. That means we only have two more backwards dates to use in our lifetime: 11.10.09 and 12.11.10.

I know, I need a real hobby.

It's the homework, it's all too much. Advice: NEVER take a class when there is "stuff" going on in your life. Like, moving, for instance.

One of my greatest fears

...is that Christopher will fall down the stairs. Sure, sure, we have all done it, especially as children. Guess we are all over protective parents, or maybe it's just me.

Then, it happened!

Late Sunday morning, he had gone upstairs to his room to play. I was in the living room when I heard the "Aaahhh!!!" ba-bump-bump-bump Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!! bump-bump-bump-bump AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Of course, all of this happened in a split second, so when I got there, he was all crumpled up at the bottom step, more stunned than anything. All the feelings of dread came rushing to the forefront as I scanned the situation to see if he was bleeding or if he could still move, had broken anything, or worse.

He was fine! Oh, thank goodness! It was his first time slipping on the stairs, and he did lose one of his shoes on the way down, but he survived intact! I know we have all done it at one time or another. My most recent time was just a few years ago, when Christopher was just a small babe and when we often made the trek upstairs in the "fishbowl" townhouse on campus in California with the baby in our arms. Fortunately he wasn't with me that time.

So, now I can relax a little, knowing that he's had the stair slipping experience, and that he'll better know what to do the next time. There's "always" a next time.....

Tooth #4 Made it to the Tooth Fairy!

Guess what we were all doing at 2:58 AM this morning!

I couldn't sleep, so I was downstairs working on the laptop. Next thing I know, about 2:30ish, I hear the little guy stirring around upstairs, then moving from room to room. Failing to find me in bed, here he comes downstairs. I expected to hear something like when are you coming back to bed, or what are you doing, but, no. He says, "Hey, my tooth fell out!" When we asked him where it was, all we got was, "I don't know, it is lost now." So, up I go to search his bed, the floor, the hallway, our bed. Finally found it on the floor under his bedroom light switch, by his doorway. Don't ask. He probably got up and kept wiggling it, then dropped it when he turned on his light for some reason. We'll never know!

Then, he woke up and came back to our bedroom about 7 AM, all happy that the Tooth Fairy was able to find us at the new house, and also get his tooth on such short notice! Lucky boy!

Both his two front teeth have been wiggling for the past couple weeks, this one was like a hinge the past two days. The other one should be ready in the next week or so.


Chris is already practicing his new favorite song: All I Want For Christmas is..."


Poor guy, he has room to play, but not everything is where it belongs, so a hallway will have to suffice when a bridge has to be built.

The Best Part of a Practical Joke...

is the belly laughing!

of course, no one is hurt, all in good fun! but the laughter by all is truly the best part! we all need to laugh more, it's scientifically proven to give you better mental and physical health benefits.

Ed and Mona,

we will soon arrive in hand with the first of our peace offerings. you will love them. you are our favorites. you made our day(s). do you like homemade pumpkin pie? how about a bbq? did we mention how you are our favorites? we love you the best!

now, as for the joke, it was an accident. it evolved on its own. we couldn't control it. it just took over. it created a personality all of its own. (okay, okay, we take full responsibility for our actions, but maybe you can have mercy or go easy on us? retaliation is not always all it's cracked up to be.)

step back and think about it now, the possibilities: ....it "could" be feasible to host a reunion at your home. we didn't really have a good idea of how many people would show up, had it been for real, since we didn't do the math, but if folks arranged for port-o-potties, tent, and tables and chairs, and, of course, you really wouldn't need to clear out your garage, then it "could" happen. LOL!

but I have to tell you, that after moving all our stuff around so much these past few months in the two moves, and still not being settled, the thought of arranging for a large party would be so stressful. the logistics, alone, to plan something in a mere couple of weeks, could make someone crazy! not that we were trying to make anyone crazy. no way, nah hah, not US, no way, man!

okay, see you soon, really yummy and delicious peace offerings in hand.
you are our favorites!

Homegrown Popcorn

We just love popcorn in our house, especially when you pop it yourself in a pan and use a little butter to flavor it. Not imitation butter or margarine, or the imitation flakes. Not microwave popcorn that leaves a layer of partially hydrogenated oil as a coating in your mouth, but home popped popcorn!

It is one of Chris' favorite snacks. He might say he's full, but then offer him some popcorn, and he has yet to refuse. I make it when we go to the movies, and sneak it in. Not only because I'm too cheap to pay $5 or $6 for a bucket of popcorn, but because it tastes better than what is offered at the theaters. We have modified our butter to only a little butter and we mix it with olive oil, which is actually good for you, so now its "healthy" popcorn!

One of my recurring fun memories of childhood is when Gramps decided to try to grow popcorn one year. I might get part of this story wrong, because the memories of a child sometimes do that, but I only remember him planting the popcorn one year. I think it had to do with the fact that corn cross-pollinates, and he didn't want the hassle of the cross pollination between the popcorn with pretty much everything else. He had field corn for the pigs and chickens, and he planted a lot of white and yellow corn for all of us kids and his kids and company and for canning, and such. The popcorn would then be no good at all, and it would alter the quality of the other kinds we liked so much.

Picture and more info found here.


After the popcorn ears were ready to be harvested, we pulled them off the corn stalks and started to process them. I don't remember if we had to let them sit awhile, or if they were already hard on the corn stalk. I think they were hard. We then shucked the corn and put all the ears in bushel baskets. Mom got a few bushels for us to process at our house, and we helped Grandma do hers. I do remember getting blisters that sometimes popped, because we had to use our thumbs, fingers and hands to pop off the kernels. Then, we had to pluck out any that were not good, may have had a worm in it, or the like. We packaged the shelled popcorn and put it in containers in the freezer. Even the kernels were small, they popped really big popcorn.

It was interesting to find out that the oldest known fossilized popcorn kernels date back 80,000 years from a buried city in Mexico City.

Really good/fun recipe for popcorn balls, made with marshmallows, I've yet to see a kid who didn't like this one, given to me years ago by a friend:

POPCORN BALLS -- 1X and 3X

1/3 cup unpopped popcorn -- 1 cup unpopped corn
2 tsp olive oil -- 6 tsp olive oil
3 cups miniature marshmallows -- 9 cups miniature marshmallows
2 tsp butter -- 6 tsp butter

Pop the popcorn with the olive oil. Melt butter in a separate pan and add marshmallows, stir until all melted together, stirring constantly. Pour marshmallow mixture over popped corn, stirring gently. Coat hands with oil or butter, and shape popcorn mixture into balls.

Owen & Mzee

Christopher asked us to read him a pile of books tonight, but one he keeps pulling out is the story about the orphaned hippo, Owen, and the grumpy 138-yr old tortoise, Mzee. It's a true story, about how they became best friends, and where they live in Kenya, Africa. Because Owen was only a year old when the two met, he was still learning how to be a hippo. Mzee taught him how to eat, and how to behave, not a likely outcome between a reptile and a mammal.


(These two pictures were borrowed from their official website)

Here are pictures and a brief story about their friendship

and here

Owen was eventually introduced to another orphaned girl hippo, Cleo, and they are partners now. Because Cleo was rough around the tortoises, Mzee had to be relocated to another area of the park, which meant the breakup of Owen and Mzee.

I tell you, we really, really should learn from animals. They do what works, they make things work. They live honestly.

But, off the soap box, this is a really FANTASTIC story about unlikely friends!

Happy Birthday, Mar Ran & Ann!

Happy Birthday to a woman who is ageless and timeless and eternally beautiful on the inside and out! And that is the truth! Ann is a wonderful human being, a best friend, beautiful woman and we are so very fortunate to have her in our lives! My only regret is that we didn't get to know her before 2002. But I feel like I've known her all my life! Anyone who meets her becomes her friend. She's like a mother to me and a sister at the same time.

Bill & Ann at their home



It would take me days to sum up all that Ann is to so many people, and even then only scratch the surface. It's a fun project I intend to do and complete. For today, we will wish her the best birthday of all, and MANY more! Wish we could have been there with you to help celebrate!



She's the President of our son's fan club! She has members in CA, TX, LA, OH, IL, NY, NC and more! People we've never met! We were fortunate to get to take our new baby to her house on our first visit we had with him. She made him feel a welcome to the family that has just grown ever since.



He trusts her implicitly. Today he called her to sing the birthday song for her, as only a 5-yr old can do. Yay!



Ann just loves his curls, so we let him keep them last Christmas when we drove from NM to CA. She always makes him feel so loved, how could a child be so lucky, how could we have gotten so lucky to have her!



Mar Ran & Chris



Married almost 45 years, and still happy together!



Ann's hobbies are too numerous to list, would take days to describe and give them credit. Here's her annual tradition of a lamb cake that she makes every Christmas. She's been making them for decades!



A money boutonniere, a gift for one of Bill's award ceremonies.



Ann has some of the most beautiful porcelain dolls. She makes the body parts, fires them up in her own kiln, paints them, makes their hair, and makes their clothes. I never saw such an amazing collection of dolls. She gave me one of her baby dolls that she made, before we got Chris. She slept in his crib until he arrived! Here is one that stands near the fireplace. On this day, she was keeping company with the cookies, carrots and milk left out for Santa's visit.



Ann,
You are amazing! I hope you have the most wonderful birthday day, week and month! Can't wait to see you in person again!

Love to you both always!