2010

We welcome 2010 with much gratitude, and reflect upon all of the blessings of 2009.

First, we are grateful for our wonderful neighborhood, and most of all, great neighbors. This year, neighbors have graced our front porch with gifts ranging from delectable cookies to a nightstand! (No, that is not a misprint. A nightstand. Which perfectly matches the one we have in our bedroom. Incredible, no?) Our Christmas Eve neighborly offering was a wrapped present for Greta, with love from Shane, Alison, and Henry. Inside: rib bones. AHHMAZING!


Second, I am grateful for my new favorite barista: moi! And to my lovely husband for the indulgent --but perfect-- gift for me this Christmas. Latte, anyone?


Third, I am grateful for an extended family which embraces all of us despite the occasional breaking of a glass (we owe you, J&M!) and adores dogs as much as we do. Yes, the Buck pooches did all receive the gift of prime rib this holiday season! (And perhaps even saved a morsel for little Carter, who mistakenly thought for a moment that this gathering was the appropriate line for dinner.)

Fourth, I am utterly in debt to my own personal cleaning staff. (What are you gaping at? Doesn't your cleaning staff wear spandex cycling kits from time to time, also?)

And, finally, for smiling, happy children (in matching Irish sweaters, nonetheless!), because without them life would be terribly dull.
Oh, yes, we are blessed. Happy 2010 to all of our loved ones!

Snowy Surprise

This afternoon, we had the most incredible surprise of gorgeous giant snowflakes! Those lovelies continued to fall gently around us for hours, and we took advantage of every moment. Our neighbor pals came out and joined us, and the kids enjoyed impromptu snowball fights, sled rides, and even ring-around-the-rosy!

And somehow, Curtis the Brave even managed to ride his bike home through the snow.

Ornate Offerings to the Cookie Gods

Mary and a few pals descended upon our kitchen to decorate holiday cookies. And the result was the tallest, heaviest, most ornate cookies you've ever laid eyes upon!

Exactly as it should be for a threesome of five-year-olds.

A little game called catch-up

I promise we haven't painted our children purple or shaved their heads. You must be wondering, given the span of time that has gone by without posting any photos. But, no, it's just that life has been full. Of good things, of course.

So, first, a long-awaited Halloween picture. Mary and Lucy's costumes were made by none other than the amazing Grandma Buck! Here they are at the Monster March with their pal Ellery.

Next, a snapshot from the girls' first "Kiddie-cross" bike race at one of Curtis' weekly cyclocross races. Mary was quite competitive, even in those silly pink snow boots!

And, for laughs, a photo of Lucy keeping herself "quiet and busy" while I was on a conference call! Love the look? You should have seen her before she washed her face!

A picture of one crowded backseat -- Uncle Ryan with the girls (and pooches) over Thanksgiving in Bend.

Next, a snapshot from Mary's Nutcracker recital from her first (and possibly last) ballet class. She performed well and maybe even enjoyed herself despite being placed in the wrong position in the line-up during the performance.

Fourth, a photo of our birthday celebration with Papa Loeb! His granddaughters sure loved helping blow out those candles.

And finally, a shot from our magical adventure on the Polar Express. Yes, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.

Obviously!

So there I was, sitting in front of my non-responding computer, puzzled, when I muttered: "Why oh why is my laptop frozen?"

Mary, standing behind me, piped up: "I know why."

Me: "You do?"

Mary: "Of course I know why. Because it's cold!"

Me: "Oh, aren't you clever?"

Mary: "Well, not really. It's pretty obvious. Why else would it be frozen?"

Wanna Play the Shadow Game?

Unfortunately for Mary, she has learned how to play the Shadow Game* on exactly the same day that her teacher gave her glowing praise for her above-grade-level skills and delightful classroom presence.

Those two seemingly-unrelated facts canceled each other out in that imaginary, giant scoresheet of Parenting Moments.

Kidding, just kidding. . .well, sort of.

*If by some grace of God, you haven't been properly introduced to the Shadow Game, here's a little preview:

Me: "I'll be in the basement folding laundry."
Mary: "I'll be in the basement folding laundry."
Me: "Oh, good, you're going to help me."
Mary: "Oh, good, you're going to help me."
Me: "Let's go. Start folding!"
Mary: "Let's go. Start folding!"
And on and on and on and on and on. . .

Overheard

A few choice sentences from the Loeb household today:

"Mom, I'm bored. Can I please, please, please mop the kitchen floor?"


"Ellery told me that if you get married, you have to kiss a boy, and that is why I am never, ever getting married. Gross!"

"No, Daddy can't pick you up from ballet this morning, he is busy butchering an elk."

Sap

This week has been uber-busy as I try to complete a few big consulting projects, which means there hasn't been much time for those silly luxuries like sleep or exercise. And without those things, I'm often not feeling very gracious. But, this morning, as I walked home after taking Lucy to preschool, it hit me. "It" being an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

I. Love. My. Life.

We are so fortunate to have our health, much laughter in our home, a roof over our heads, creative and bright kids, a (mostly) lovable gray dog, close family and true friends. I guess it's that Thanksgiving thankfulness, striking a week early.

So now it's time to get back to these projects. I promise more interesting posts will come next week. Until then, I hope all of you, my family and friends, are hit with a surprise dose of that gratitude-laden joy as well.

Guest Author

Curtis has been elk hunting for nine days and is hopefully returning late tonight. Being solo, I haven't had much time this week for blogging, so I asked Mary if she wanted to guest author a post. She was delighted! So here is a blog post, brought to you by Mary (age 5) done in her own typing with my help spelling:

we are typ[ping on moms computer right now but before we go to bed I think we need to eat dessert right mmom

dad is in the muntainss hunting for kiytty cats for us and will bring 2 of them home to us to b pets so we cannot wait for him to get back from his hunting trip
that is all
mary

Waving the white flag

Apparently, I shouldn't have taunted H1N1, as he decided to pick on me. But, really, with Lucy up at night sneezing those little swiney molecules right into my face, reaching for me in the dark and grabbing my mouth by mistake, the germs were given to me more easily than a direct-deposit paycheck. So, it's no surprise that the devilish H1N1 got me, too. It was a very rough week.

The good news is we are over the worst. Lucy recovered well, and is back to her full-fledged energetic self. I'm finally rid of the fever, and working on saying adios to the cough.

One amazing thing that happens when you spend many feverish days in bed: you get to hear snippets of your spouse in what is typically your role. Curtis was incredibly patient with the girls, played imaginative games with them, told them tall tales (they are now under some strange impression that there is a "Good Behavior Pill" they take each morning, which I need to understand more clearly), he was great at making Mary's lunches every day (no illegal m&ms as far as I know), and even did load upon load of laundry. Nothing could have made me happier. Except, of course, not having that cursed 103 degree fever to begin with. And special thanks to my mom, for soup delivery and school pick-ups. We are so grateful for the help, and hope you doused yourself in sanitizer before you left the premises.

Anyway, that's the update from Casa Loeb in case you were worrying. I would try to think of some clever way to close this lame health update, but I'm not quite that well recovered yet. Blame my boring post on Mr. H1N1. (Just be sure to do it anonymously, or he might come after you, too!)

Halloween pics (I hope we have some... Curtis??) to come soon...

Foul Play

Okay, fine, Mr. H1N1. You got us. Happy now? But it's hardly fair to go after the three year old. Pick on someone your own size, will ya?

Marathon Monday

Today was Amy's Dublin marathon with Team in Training, and she should be nicknamed SpeedyFastSuperQuickAmy after her performance today! She finished in 3:57, which is quite the accomplishment. We are so proud!!

Congrats to Amy on a course well run, and here's to hoping for a course straight to remission for Tom!

To Whom it May Concern

Dear Mr. H1N1,

Yes, we see you stalking us. We know you've trapped the neighbors, settled into the schools, and have even tiptoed into our church. But we are swift and determined. You will not catch us (meaning: we will not catch you!). So please stop trying. Go away. Far, far away.

Sincerely and armed with gobs of hand sanitizer,
The Loebs

Hunting season

Hunting season must be approaching. Lucy is one of two little girls named Lucy in her preschool, so she is known to everyone there as Lucy L and the other little girl goes by Lucy M.

So today someone at the airport asked what her name was. She said, "I'm Lucy Elk."

"Elk?" he asked.

"Yes, Lucy Elk! Just like when my dad goes hunting," she replied.

(Lucy Elk, Lucy L, get it? Yeah, I'm certain Curtis is busting with pride.)

A wedding, and a tale of two cities

This weekend, while Curtis attended a work conference in San Diego and the girls hightailed it to the grandparents house, I escaped for two nights to attend the marriage celebration of my friend Kris and her new husband, Helmut in Los Gatos, California. It was a wonderful, fitting party for these two special people, and somehow, I was so busy having fun that I forgot to take a photo of (or with!) the happy couple.

In a small window of free time on Saturday, I was able to see our sweet cousins, Brandon and Bailey, on the soccer fields. They are both exceptional players, and I enjoyed every minute of being a stand-in soccer mom on the field watching Bailey's game. And secretly, I hoped to blend in so nobody cried, "Imposter!" as I cheered for Bailey's team and politely clapped for the opposition. Must've pulled off the soccer mom look with some success, because no one called me out on it.

In addition to Bailey's amazing goalie skills, I was in awe of the diversity on his team. To illustrate, here were the names on the back of some jerseys: Madhav, SiMan, Zion, and Parth. (And yes, with much respect to avoiding racial stereotypes, it is safe for you to guess that Madhav is not a little blond, blue-eyed boy.) Now, for contrast, here are the names of a few of Mary's new friends: Maggie, Emma, and Josie. And of course, you can see our dilemma. We love Portland. LOVE LOVE Portland. But I miss the diversity of our former home, and the opportunity for the children to learn about different cultures, languages, and traditions from real-life pals instead of books.

Don't get me wrong. Our quality of life is significantly improved here in Portland. We don't sit in traffic for hours each day. Instead, we ride our bikes or walk as our primary mode of transportation. Portland doesn't have that awful, murky smog layer that was visible as my plane was descending into San Jose (cough, cough). But, one of the biggest trade-offs is that we miss the immense diversity of the Bay Area.

A recent Newsweek article pointed out the fact that we shouldn't encourage our children to be colorblind. Instead, we should explore and celebrate our varying heritages and cultures. Which is mighty easy to do with our pals here in Portland. And I can't help but wish it were a little bit bigger task of exploration. Sigh.

Renegade Lunch Packing

Okay, back to regular programming again.

The other night, I was packing Mary's lunch for school the next day as Curtis looked on. I offered that perhaps he would like to include a note for Mary in her lunchbox. He jumped at the chance and spent a full 10 minutes drawing an adorable, elaborate picture of Mary and Dad biking to school. But when he went to place it in the lunchbox, he looked at me with alarm and said, "Where are the treats for Mary?" I pointed to the cookie and said, "Right here." He shrugged and said, "That wouldn't qualify back in my day."

The following day, on the way home from school, Mary announces that candy is not allowed at school. "That's right, those are the rules," I say to her, and then I inquire, "did somebody bring candy to school today?" "Yes," Mary answers, "ME!" Turns out Curtis didn't feel that her little organic cookie was sufficient, so he included a small package of M&Ms in the lunchbox while he was placing his picture inside. And Mary got caught.

Yep, that's us. The family that packs illegal candy bars and the sort in with the school lunch and gets called out for it. In the first month of school. Gulp.

The Rules of Kindergarten

Mary announced this morning over pancakes: "The teacher told us the weirdest thing yesterday!" We waited for this weird piece of news. "She told us that there is no kissing allowed in school. Isn't that strange?"

A flurry of questions followed, as we tried to determine what caused the teacher to establish this rule. The bottom line: "A boy from another class was kissing a girl in our class at recess."

Oh, my. Somebody just shoot me now.

It's here...the big "K" day!

Today was Mary's first day of kindergarten. By all measure, a big day. Sure, she is riding a bike without training wheels and is reading and can complete the entire monkey bar set without assistance. No doubt about it, she is growing up. But for some reason, kindergarten feels like a monumental milestone.

Mary woke early, put on her plaid skirt ("my school uniform" as she calls it even though she is headed off to public school) and chattered on and on about school. Our lovable, second-grade neighbor Henry pedaled alongside Mary for the journey to school this morning, showed her where to wait for the morning bell to ring, and left her with a giant dose of confidence. Once in the building, Mary put her backpack and lunchbox in her locker (who knew kindergartners had lockers??) and then sat immediately in her chair and busily began to complete the work placed in front of her on her desk. I bent down to kiss her goodbye, and she playfully swatted me away and said nonchalantly, "I'll see you later, Mom!" So after a swift stolen kiss to her cheek, I promptly left the classroom with a stiff upper lift, then felt those unexpected tears fill my eyes as I stood in the hallway. Fortunately, there were plenty of other weepy mamas to commiserate with me at the PTA-sponsored morning coffee. And fortunately, too, there was Curtis for moral support. And of course, there was Lucy for distraction.

After a busy morning, at 1:50pm, Lucy and I excitedly set out on our bicycles to meet Mary after her first day. We were two blocks from the school when I realized I forgot the key to Mary's bike lock. So, we pedaled home at breakneck speeds, and then I rush rush rushed Lucy back (better than any Marine drill sergeant!) to the elementary school. When we were a block away, we saw some students approaching and I realized that despite our best attempts, we were late. I ditched my bike by a tree and pushed Lucy on her bike as quickly as I could to reach Mary, who was waiting unconcerned at her teacher's side. After apologies and explanations, I was told Mary had a wonderful day.

On a day that reached 91 degrees, the traditional fresh-baked cookies to celebrate the first day of school just didn't seem practical. So instead we made a stop at Staccato Gelato, which is conveniently on the way home. Mary, grasping her chocolate cone, asked me if she could sit with her friends. "Sure," I replied quizzically. And in astonishment, I watched as she walked right up to a group of unfamiliar faces, sat in an empty chair and said hello to a few little girls. I followed, and she turned with a smile and explained that these were her friends from school. How wonderful to see our oft-shy Mary embrace budding friendships so quickly and easily.

Yes, I can already tell. Kindergarten is going to be fantastic. And let's hope weepy mama syndrome is short-lived.

Gardening Glory

Our four little raised beds in the backyard have been extremely productive this summer. My daily bounty looks something like this bowl above. So, it was appropriate that we used garden produce to create a birthday luncheon for my dad, King Jim of the Green Thumb.

We enjoyed an heirloom tomato tart that included fresh basil and some of our gorgeous copia tomatoes which I proudly nurtured from seed beginning in April (I felt like a new mother when they finally ripened!), and an arugula, cucumber and cherry tomato salad.

The cake had to follow the theme, of course, with a little garden atop a chocolate layered confection. Happy Birthday to Papa Buck, AKA my gardening inspiration!

Irish Eyes

God help me. Mary woke up this morning, donned this lovely plaid skirt, requested some good jigging music and began Irish dancing all around the house. I asked her what she was doing, and she replied, "Playing Catholic school girl."

Grandma, I think she definitely takes after you! (And I'm sure Great-Great Uncle Jim would be delighted, too!)

Lucy's first day!

This morning was Lucy's first day of preschool. The day started with her receiving her schultuten bag, filled with her school supplies. Next, a quick bike ride to school.

We arrived at St. Agatha's to a classroom of teary-eyed (and in some cases screaming) children. But Little Miss Spirited Lucy was not phased. She played with playdough, jumped over to the sand table, then off to the play kitchen. She kissed us goodbye, and we walked out the door.

As we were standing in the hallway talking with another family, she peeked her head out and for a split second I wondered if her fierce independence had wavered. But, surely, that was not the case. She just wanted us to try a cup of tea she made for us, and then said, "Okay, you are leaving now, right?" And off we went!

Of course, I am now wavering....how I miss our little Lucy. The house seems much too quiet.

Chocolate Chip Tooth

Talk about a great way to lose a tooth: Mary's just came out in her warm, fresh-from-the-oven, gooey chocolate chip cookie!

School Readiness

When you're a big kid ready to head off to Kindergarten, you have to make sure you are prepared for the big challenges ahead. So what do you do? Ask your mom to "practice" by packing you a lunch everyday! Lunch is, after all, the most important part of the day.

Then, according to Mary, to make the practice authentic, you must leave the house and find a spot to independently enjoy your lunch. Until, of course, you need a bit of help opening that Tupperware! Then just forget the independence thing and holler for your mom!

(Sis Lucy participated too, even though the poor kid is relegated to having lunch at home with mama for the next two years.)

Crazy Eights

Did somebody say, "cupcake?" Just for you, Greta!

Delicious!

Our beloved gray dog turned eight today-- a milestone we are overjoyed to celebrate!

She enjoyed time at the park with us this morning, a cupcake after dinner (one of those specialty confections made just for dogs, so don't worry about having to call Animal Services to report me!), and a walk with all of us this evening.

Despite her cancer returning, she is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, she was mistaken for a puppy at the park this morning! And she held her head a bit higher than usual today, even ignoring the troublesome Siamese that hissed at us as we passed. Surely, she must know that being a senior citizen brings with it an air of dignity.

Happy Birthday, Greta Girl!

Schultutens

Just what is a schultuten, you ask? Well, for starters, it's supposed to have little dots above the second "u"... but I'm not bright enough to figure out how to add them.

A schultuten is a German tradition-- a cone-shaped gift bag, holding school supplies for a child's first day of school. As we ready our Mary for kindergarten, this little tradition seemed like a great idea. I took the girls to my favorite little fabric shop and let them pick their designs.

Then, I found an online tutorial (from an incredibly gifted mama right here in my neighborhood of all places!), and somehow managed to muddle my way through the creation of these two schultutens. Let me just say that it does not appear that the crafty gene is inherited. Sadly, I do not have one millionth of the sewing talent of my mom.

Despite my tawdry sewing talents, I cannot wait to give the girls their bags on the first day of school filled to the brim with crayons and glue and other sundries.

P.S. The photo of the girls enjoying a sunny post-dinner swim in our hot tub is for Brian, who doubts that we have much sunshine in Portland. Today, 86 degrees and gorgeous.

Super-solar-fragilisticexpialidocious

Since I've now received my third phone call congratulating me on my pregnancy, I better the clear air here...and fast! The "big news" I alluded to in my previous post had to do with the SUN, not a SON!

Now it's apparently going to be a huge disappointment (or perhaps a huge relief!) to you all to learn that the exciting news is that we have joined Solarize Portland! It's an initiative to encourage neighborhood collaboration to enable more Portland homes to install solar panels. Kinder the earth and kinder to our energy bills.

So, there you have it. No need for another person to call and ask about the impending due date!

Rainy Day Crafts

Since Mr. Sun didn't respond to our requests to please come out and play this week, we needed some fun indoor crafts. I swiped this idea from a great site, and the girls had a wonderful time picking out fabric scraps and using the oft-forbidden glitter glue (which is normally found under lock and key around here because of previous mishaps) to decorate these little characters.

Once the wee decorated dollies were dry, Mary made a small home for them complete with functioning doors and windows. Viola, hours of entertainment on a rainy day!

Regarding our elusive friend Mr. Sun, we have some big news coming from the Loeb household...soon!

Lederhosen Who?

Uncle Ryan with the nieces and the henhouse.
The family on the front porch.

Grandma and Mary.

Curtsies after an evening production by Mary and crew.

Amy's birthday celebration...a shared smile between mama and daughter.

We have just returned from a week of adventure with all of my siblings, spouses, children and the parents. The locale? Leavenworth, Washington, up in the Northern Cascades. The adventures? Endless!

Amy's husband Tom found a spacious 100-year old farmhouse for us to rent for the week, which was the perfect spot for us to unwind, prepare big meals to enjoy around a gorgeous and enormous table, play board games, and even feed/water chickens! We watched a spectacular theatre performance of the Sound of Music, floated down the Icicle River into town on a very (emphasis on very) slow current, hiked, biked, winetasted, and laughed. Each night, Mary would enlist the help of her grandmother and a few other lucky (or perhaps unlucky?) performers to entertain us under the lights of the porch with dance and music, usually with comical results. It was a wonderful week.

And here are a few acquired tidbits while on vacation:

1) Roosters are nasty, and you should not be in the chicken coop with them unless you have swift defensive skills.

2) When floating down a river, the only way to avoid being dumped into the water is to have a toddler on your lap. Think leukemia, recent surgery, or wearing contacts will exempt you? Not in this family!

3) The Farming Game requires at least six hours to play properly. We should have started earlier than 8pm.

4) Wearing lederhosen in public always draws attention...and not always the positive kind.

5) When a printed trail guide says a mountain bike trail is technical and advanced, trust it.

6) Hens sometimes roost above their designated roosting nests in a henhouse. Always look up in the henhouse before pulling a Henny Penny and declaring that hens are missing...unless you want to watch all of your in-laws spend an hour searching 20 acres of land for assumed-missing hens.

7) Everyone except Emily is tired of reading about Northern Exposure Re-runs in the Buck Banter. (Okay, fine...everyone except Emily AND the Buck Banter editor.)

8) Having family you really enjoy spending time with is a rare and wonderful thing! We are indeed the luckiest of luckys.

PROST!

Runaways and Renegades

When it's 106 degrees, inside the house and out, what's a girl to do? Escape to the beach, of course! We picked Nana up along the way, and had a wonderful time in the 65-degree coastal fog of Neskowin. We spent the afternoon digging in the sand, running near the waves, and basking in the cool weather. Bliss!

When we returned, it was clear that those strong rays had been shining on the garden in a super-mega-watt type of way. Check out the renegade "dinosaur egg" variety of lemon cucumber we found this morning!

Marathon Mama

For those of you who don't already know, my amazing, brave, big (though significantly smaller) sister Amy is running a marathon in October, in honor of her husband Tom. It's a fundraising effort through Team in Training, the phenomenally successful program put on by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Funds raised by Team in Training helped to bring Gleevec (the "miracle" drug for leukemia patients) to fruition.

To read her story about deciding to run the marathon and to get updates on Tom's health, visit:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/vtnt/dublin09/abahrman

From this site you can also make a donation and help her reach her goal. Thanks to everyone who has already given toward this wonderful cause!

Trio

It must be a universal trait that grandmas and great-aunties like to buy matching outfits for little girls. Here is a snapshot of the three cousins together in their incredibly beautiful blue dress-up duds. So precious with little Chiara sandwiched between the big girls.

And, it wouldn't be a post without a quick update from the backyard. Our latest crop: carrots! Up next, tomatoes...a LOT of tomatoes.