The Taming of the Forsythia, OR:

How I'm Making a Place for a Lilac Tree

First things first:  Blog fail.  I know.  To sum up:

• Christmas: Excellent, and (mostly) chaos free.
• Got rid of dog~ good decision; great new home.
• Kids got a new kitten.  Her name is Moira & she is feisty.  And in heat.
• Hate snow~got stuck in the driveway & in the ROAD on more than one occasion, usually with the needle fluttering just above E.
• Started making WINE!!! with my bestie~ more to come on this because it is super exciting!
• Lucien was in the school play.  Lots of practices~ did a GREAT job!
• Got a new van~ love it.
• Also got Netflix~ love that equally.
• Forsythia.

We have a giant, unruly forsythia in the front of our yard.  It crowds the rhododendron and wild rose bush that grow on either side of it.  I hate forsythia with the burning passion of 1000 fiery suns.  The worst thing about them? They root themselves!  This means that the long, whip-like branches, once long enough to reach the ground, root and grow new branches.  It is infuriating, and it must be stopped.  Plus, I just really don't think they are pretty at all.  Today, I decided that I have had enough.  It was time to trim it back.  I spent an hour cutting, raking, pulling, and cursing William Forsyth.

Before

 A little background:

Our land was originally part of Matt's great-aunt's farm.  She is 91 and lives about 10 yards from the wretched bush, which has been there for 50 years or more.  Although we now own the land, the bush really is hers.  I talked to her about it in the fall, and we agreed that it needed to be cut back.

I found a cute patch of nasturtium underneath the mess!

 It turned out that what was likely originally one tree is now a complex series of intertwined branches, whips and trunks.  Some of it still living, some not.  I did my best to thin out the branches that were clearly dead, or looked like they might take root soon.  My main objective was to get the thing away from the roses and rhodo, but felt myself getting very close to being out of control.  If I could have my way, I would have cut the whole stinking thing down.  Realizing that this might upset Matt's aunt, I refocused.  I decided to tame and thin, but the real focus now is clearing enough room to put a lilac tree between the demon tree and the wild roses. 

After (for now)

Lilacs are my favorite, and we don't have one yet.  Earlier this year, I talked to the guy at one of our local greenhouses, and he is looking for a yellow lilac.  They are pretty hard to find, but super pretty.  If we can't get the yellow, any other color will do, really.  Literally ANYthing else would work for me.

The carnage (thus far)

This will be the spring of The Great Landscape.  Matt is a genius with stone and has been hard at work already.  He also recently surprised me by planting a new pear tree.  He also built a new fence  and a neat-o trellis to head my garden.  We celebrated Easter by working outside, and I planted some peas and string beans.  We are giving a garden the old college-try this year.  I am fully committed to making it work, but we'll see how it goes.  I would be more than tickled if we could get a good harvest of organic produce.  

Once I'm pleased with the results of Operation Forsythia Freedom, I'm going to try to build some Salad Boxes™ .  

Photo credit: University of Maryland Ag Dept

They are adorable, and I think they could work out really well. 

Click on the picture caption if you want the directions to make your own!

All the Kristi(y)'s

I have what I believe to be an inordinate amount of people named Kristi(y) in my life.  There are 3, actually.  All 4 of our girls started going to pre-k together when they were 3.  Kristi3's daughter stayed back last year, so they are not in the same class anymore, but they remain friends.  Kristi1 and Kristy2's daughters are Ella's very best friends in the entire world.  Ella & I are very lucky to have these 6 ladies in our lives.

 Kristi3 has three kids.  Our boys have also gone to school together since they were 3.  She also has another little girl who is 2 and hilarious.  I just want to put her in my pocket. =]  When the boys were in kindergarten, one of their classmates died unexpectedly.  I don't know if I would have been able to get through it if it were not for this Kristi.  She is selfless and nurturing and really helped me through, without even blinking.  Last winter she was diagnosed with MS.  It has been so tough for her.  So many tests and so little answers.  I think she is finally doing a little better, and I'm so glad because I miss her like crazy.

Kristy2 is a rock star!  She has three adorable, sweet, funny kids, two crazy dogs, a great husband, and recently went back to work in Special Education.  She is so laid back and calm.  She makes you feel calm just by being around her.  I don't know how she pulls it all off, but she does, and with a smile.  She is a marvel.  She has a "the more, the merrier" mentality, and Ella has been spending a lot of time there over the past year.  She is so good to my girl, and SPOILS her!  She is the kind of person who would share her sandwich with you if you forgot your lunch. =] 

Kristi1 is my best friend.  She is funny, smart, and passionate.  With the exception of our political leanings, she is also so much like me, it is kinda scary.  Her birthday is the day after mine, so I think it is a cosmic match.  We are both so very Type A.  She is tough, strong, and has a heart as big as all outdoors.  She also gets me in a way that not everyone does.  For example, during the whole dog drama scene, she knew without even having talked to me that it was bringing back all of the pain of my Dad being sick and losing him.  She just knew.  I don't think anyone else got that, and it just further proves to me what a special soul she has.


I am extremely fortunate in a lot of ways.  I wish everyone could have 3 Kristi(y)'s.

For the Love of Christmas

What is wrong with enjoying Christmas?

Is it really so bad to encourage your kids to believe in Santa?  To want to let them keep that magic as long as possible?  

We are not religious.  I'm not talking lapsed Catholics here (although Matt was raised Catholic), I'm talking no religious leanings what-so-ever.  (I actually have very strong feelings about this, but won't go into that now.  My feelings about organized religion are another post for another day.)  We love Christmas.  We celebrate it as a time to focus on our family, the importance of giving and sharing, and just general love and peace.  We do not reserve these feelings or actions for December.  We are well aware of the origins of Christmas, and that for a lot of people, Christmas is only about the celebration of the birth of Christ.  We don't roll that way.  I don't chastise people for their beliefs; that is not the way we roll, either.  We have our personal feelings, others have theirs.  The end.  Normally.

A recent Facebook post from one of my aunts infuriated me.  This is how it read:

  

".. why do we lie and say the easter bunny is coming or santa is coming so u better be good..Those are lies.. the tooth fairy all of it LIES.. why not be honest is because it takes away parents enjoyment.. why not teach them there is no santa and educate about the birth of Jesus? Why do we not set and example"

Lucien is friends with her on Facebook.  (He rarely uses it, and just likes to play the games.)  Lots of other kids use it, too.  Why would an adult do this?!  What sort of Grinch would want to take the magic of Santa away from a small child?  Don't they grow up and lose their innocence quickly enough?  I can understand that she may feel this way.  While I don't agree with her religious beliefs, I can respect them.  I wish she would have showed the same courtesy to those of us who want to preserve belief and childhood while we can.  It is my right as a parent to decide what I do and do not expose my child to, and this was not her decision to make.  Luckily, neither of my kids saw this, and I have hidden her on Lucien's account to avoid any mishegas in the future.

The really sad part is that she has several grandchildren of her own.  I wonder if she called them right up to tell them the "truth".  I highly doubt this.  She is the last one I would have expected this from, and I must say that I am more than a little disappointed.

On a lighter note, No Chaos Christmas is going fairly well!  I think the kids are noticing the difference.  I'm starting to get just a little panicky; I no where near done my shopping.  BUT, I am working on a list tonight, maybe doing a little online shopping, trying to get out sans kids this weekend, and should be in pretty good shape by next weekend.  We will also be finishing up the shopping for the 3 kids the girls at work and I are buying for.  (love, love, love doing that!)  YAY! 

Ok~so we are on an upswing

I might have been a little hasty in calling the week crap.

The dog is doing better.  We picked him up Friday afternoon (along with a gigantic vet bill).  He still was not really eating, and mostly slept.  But, I think he is on the upswing.  He is eating a little, barking a little, and this morning he seems to be more himself.  I think we will be keeping him. =]

Yesterday was a great day.  Lucien had a basketball game, wreath selling for Cub Scouts, and then went to play at his friend's house.  This left Ella and I to have a Girl's Day.  We went to Ellsworth for some laid back Christmas festivities.  We went to the parade there.  It was wet, and rainy, and too much fun.  Although she tried to play it cool (she is 7 after all), Ella was very excited.  With shiny eyes, she watched as Cinderella, and Scooby Doo, and tiny ponies moved slowly down Main Street.  She would barely even drink her hot chocolate, as she didn't want to miss a second of it.  

After the parade, we walked to the offices of the Ellsworth American newspaper, where they were giving a book to every child.  She carefully looked through the tables of books, finally choosing one about a reporter for a school newspaper.  She is so very thoughtful, and wanted to be sure it was ok to choose one for Lucien as well.  From there, we walked up Main Street to the Grand Theatre to await the arrival of Santa, again, trying to play it cool.  Santa arrived in the same car he had rode in during the parade.  From here, playing it cool was over!  She squealed and bounced, and expressed her concern that she did not know what to ask him for!  The line was not very long ahead of us, but gave her enough time to decide that she would ask him for a Zhu Zhu pet.  When we got into the theatre proper, and neared the stage, we noticed that they were giving out little goody bags to the kids.  Again, she wanted to be sure to get one for her brother.  Finally, the big moment had arrived; it was Santa time.  She was adorable, and polite, and Santa was everything he should be.  

We walked off the stage, she chose a cupcake from the treats table, and we decided it was time to get something real to eat.  We walked just a few storefronts down to the Riverside Cafe, where we had brunch.  She chose scrambled eggs and I had the veggie benedict (my fave!).  She entertained me while we waited, making up stories and telling me random facts.  From there, we headed to Walmart to pick up a few things we needed.  The girls in the office and I have chosen 3 needy kids from our school to buy presents for this year (as we do every year) and I always like to involve the kids in doing this shopping.  El and I got a few things from these lists (which include snowpants, boots, and long sleeved shirts :( ), and headed home.

Lucien got home shortly after we did, and we decided to make the cookies for his Cub Scout Christmas party that is this afternoon.  We had intended to go to the Festival of Lights parade in Bangor, but I got the time mixed up and it was really raining, so we spent a much needed, cozy night at home instead.  The cookies that we made were super easy, but mega delicious!  Really, they could not be easier.  All you do is wrap cookie dough around a bite-sized Snickers bar.  Bake, eat, heaven.  The kids had fun choosing different sugars and sprinkles to roll the uncooked cookie balls in.  With the cookies done, we jammied up, ate a couple of the extra cookies, and watched a movie.

(cookie pictures coming as soon as Matt gets back with my camera!)

After waking up to a blanket of snow, the kids and Matt are outside sledding.  Next, they are going to go cut a Christmas tree for Matt's 90 year old great-aunt, who lives across the street.  I'm off to make a salad to take to the Christmas party this afternoon.


This is so not crap.

ps~ I figured out how to get the pictures off my Blackberry!  =]

This week is crap

So much for no chaos.  This week the dog got sick.  Like, really sick.  

On Monday night, he threw up aaaaallll over the house.  At first, we thought he had eaten a couple of chocolate chips from the kids' cookies.  But it kept happening.  All day Tuesday and into Wednesday morning.  He was also not himself.  He hasn't barked since Monday night.  Sooo not like him.  He also had zero energy.  So, when he was still sick Wednesday morning, we decided we couldn't wait, and had to take him to the vet.

They did a whole bunch of tests, and finally decided that he has pancreatitis.  This means that his pancreas isn't working correctly, and basically leaking digestive fluids into his insides.  We caught it early, so the vet seemed confident that he would recover well.  He is on IV fluids and pain meds.  I talked to Dr.Miles (ps~love, love, love Lucerne Vet & Dr. Chris Miles!!!) this afternoon, and she said while he hadn't gotten worse, he sure hadn't gotten any better, and she wanted to keep him for at least another night.  I took the kids to see him after school today, and he looked slightly perkier than yesterday, but barely moved.  He mostly had a happy to see them look in his eyes.  So very, very sad.

This is so strange to me.  I've not been a huge fan of this dog, especially as of late, but this sickness of his has really hit me hard!  We even had someone come to meet him on Monday afternoon, to see if they would be a good fit to be his new family.  For all of my campaigning to get rid of him, as I'm suddenly faced with the possibility of  losing him, I am heart-broken.  I really feel like it is more than mere compassion for an animal in pain; I think I actually love this dog.  He misbehaves, grates on my last nerve, frustrates me, and causes me general stress......but in the words of Ella, "I would miss that little fluff-ball."  The house does just not seem right without him.

And so, we continue to wait and see.  And hope for the speedy recovery and timely return of my gray hair.

Vacation, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the beginning of No-Chaos Christmas

Wow!  What a week.  This past week was great, relaxing, fun...

Yes, I'm actually talking about Thanksgiving.  There really was no drama.  No fighting.  No crying.  Just good.

My kids had no school last week, so I decided to take Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off to spend time with them.  It was a good decision.  We were lazy.  We stayed home.  We did nothing spectacular, really, but it was great.  Matt and I even managed to squeeze in an at-home date.  Wine, pizza, and Scrabble.  It was the most fun I have had in months.

We had Parent/Teacher Conferences for the kids on Tuesday night.  Our instincts that they are utter and totally delightful geniuses was confirmed.  

Thanksgiving was a breeze.  On Wednesday, my fantastic kids helped me clean and bake all day long, never once complaining, or asking if they could be done.  They just kept asking what they could do next.  Thursday morning, they watched the parade, then played nicely together with no arguing.  My turkey was not frozen, cooked right on time, and looked perfect.  We ate on time.  My mother did my dishes!  Family and friends came, had dessert, stayed just long enough, and my mother-in-law took my kids home to sleep at her house.  This is an arrangement we have sort of fallen into over the years.  She keeps my kids so I can go Black Friday shopping; I shop from her list so she does not have to go.  It works really well.   Matt and I were in bed by 8:30.  Right on schedule for my shopping blitz.  

Because Walmart and Toys R Us were opening at midnight, I intended to get back up at 11:00 and head in to town.  At around 10:55, I woke up to headlights shining into the bedroom from the driveway.  A little unsettled by a late-night visitor, I woke Matt up to investigate.  It was his mother.  Her friend was leaving to go home and had backed out of my in-laws' driveway and directly into the ditch.  Matt promptly got up to go help.  I got up, got dressed and went down to see what was up.  (My in-laws live about 150 yards down the road from us.)  When I got there, he had already hooked a strap to the truck and dragged her out.  I continued on my quest for inexpensive toys.

Walmart was easy.  I was able to get most of the things on my list.  I had strategized, planned, made spreadsheets.  I was a shopping machine.  Then I got to Toys R Us.  They had already been open for an hour, and there was a line around the building.  Two people came out, they let two people in.  There was no way I was standing in that line.  It was ludicrous!  It was 1:00am.  Target was the next store on my list, and they did not open until 4:00.  I decided I would go there park, and just wait.  This would be a good chance for me to rest for a while before my next round.  So I did.  I slept in my car like a hobo.  It was surprisingly NOT really that cold.  I put my seat back, pulled the extra blanket I had left in the car over me, set my cell phone alarm, and slept.  When I got there, there were about 40 people waiting outside.  When I awoke at 3:30 to get in line, 10,000 people had arrived!  Okay, maybe not quite that many, but it sure looked like it!  The line stretched the length of the building, to the end of the parking lot, and down to the back end of the parking lot.  It was nuts.  30 minutes later, those people were all inside the store.  It was a sea of Canadians pushing shopping carts.  Navigating the aisles was impossible.  The few things I manage to grab earned me a 45 minute wait in the shortest line in the building to check out.  It almost made me reconsider doing any more Black Friday shopping.  Almost.  After I left Target, the rest of my shopping was considerably less eventful.  (The highlight of the day was watching the couple in front of me at Kmart wait 45 minutes in line to purchase a $5.25 tin of popcorn.  Seriously.)

Today was our first official day of "No-Chaos Christmas".  I explained this theory to the kids.  They are totally down.  I'm excited for this to work.  We started the day with them playing in the snow.  Neither of them has snow-pants or winter boots yet, but that didn't bother Go-With-the-Flow Kables.  They got out their sleds and went shooting down the driveway, they had a snowball fight, and made snow angels in the driveway.  And they took the dog with them.  After they came in, we packed up and headed in to town.  We had plans to do a little shopping and go to the movies to see Harry Potter.  We left way early.  We didn't do the downtown thing, but instead went to Marden's.  I decided this counts because they are a Maine owned company. =]  We milled around, took our time, looked at whatever....I let Lucien push the cart.  We even bought a few gifts and our Christmas cards.  We got in the car with plenty of time to spare.  Went to the movie; it was great.  The kids loved it.  I loved that on the way home, Ella entertained Lucien with silly voices and a story she was making up on the fly.  They giggled and talked really loud, which would normally elicit a "Please not so loud in the car" from me, but I was cool.  I went with it.  It was fine.  I was not distracted to the point of rear-ending the car in front of me.  I did not miss a tricky corner and drive my family into a telephone pole.  We made it home safely.  Matt was here when we got here.  The kids snuggled down on the couch with him.  Ella was out like a light.  Lucien and Matt lasted a little longer, but not much.  

So, tomorrow is the last day of our vacation.  The kids and I will be in "back to reality" mode.  Laundry, changing beds, shopping for new boots and snow pants.  We agreed tonight that next weekend we will put up our tree.  Matt likes to cut one from our woods.  I'm hoping to go to a nearby tree farm to cut one there.  They have sleigh-rides, hot chocolate and hot cider, a gift shop, doughnuts.  Whatever...either will be cool....no stress, just kid-magic. <3

Black Friday is one week away!!!!

What I neglected to mention in my "No Chaos Christmas" post is that I will be making one very important exception.

BLACK FRIDAY!!

I looove Black Friday.  I'm talking a scouring my favorite sites for ads, making an Excel spreadsheet, store game plans, layering clothes kind of love.  It is one of my favorite days of the year, and certainly the only day of the year that I get up at 3 am.  I know, it is totally nutty.  I accept that.  I embrace the nuttiness; it is part of me.  While others may cringe at the thought of the crowds of stampeding maniacs, I look forward to it.  For most of the year, in fact.  It is crazy fun and exciting.  I also love that by getting such good deals, I can likely get a few extra pressies for the kiddos.  Over the past few years, I've really been able to perfect my game plan.  Here are a few tips for first-timers or those looking to improve their BF haul.

       -  When parking, think about where you most easily be able to get OUT of the parking lot.  Nothing puts a kink in your BF shopping like trying to get out of a parking lot for 2 hours. (Trust~I have been there!)

       -  Don't use a cart!  They will only slow you down and get you stuck in a part of the store when traffic is not moving.   If you think you will be getting more than you can carry, take your reusable shopping bags to help you out.

       -  Consider checking out at the jewelery or some other alternate check-out counter.  People often don't think of this and it will save you a lot of time!

       -   Make a list and stick to it as much as you can!  Remember: It is only a good deal if you or someone you know will use it.  Don't waste your money on $3.00 mini-crock pots if you don't need them.  There are more good deals out there!

Well, it is time for this bargain shopper to finish her spreadsheet. 

Happy shopping!

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