Four Feet More

Finally, the Christmas shopping is done, the pizzelles are baked (waffled?) and the presents are wrapped. Our disastrous cranberry cordials (which tasted like cough syrup) have been rescued, thanks to an extra infusion of vodka and sugar. It's been a busy holiday pre-season, and frankly, I'm ready to get down to the actual holiday.

Tonight we'll do our annual family dinner and celebration of the day we brought Vika and Eamon home. On the menu, roasted capon (I'm feeling very Victorian with that one), mashed sweet potatoes, some vegetable (not sure what - Jeff's cooking) and cranberry sauce. We'll also spend some time today at mom's, visiting with my step-family.

The kids will get to open two gifts today. One from us (always a pair of PJs), and one from Merripen (since he is leaving tonight with Santa). Vika is in that total girl mode where she wants us to dress alike. Often she'll come into the bathroom, make a note of what I'm wearing, and then rush into her bedroom to put on something similar. So, to accommodate this peculiarity of hers, I bought us matching PJs. We may look completely dorky in our lavender Nick & Nora owl jams, but Vika will LOVE it.

Tomorrow will begin with a breakfast of gingerbread waffles with cranberry compote and lots of present opening. Of course, that's after Jeff has gone downstairs and checked to make sure Santa came (the kids are a bit worried he may skip our house this year - with good reason).

But, before all that, we'll hold our annual viewing of the video below and spend some time remembering that hectic Christmas Eve 4 years ago. The Christmas Eve that delivered us all home, safe and sound, a family at last!



Have a happy holiday everyone! I wish you good health and much joy in 2010!

He's our new house elf. Only he doesn't cook or clean for us as the house elves from Harry Potter do. He's more of a scout, watching the kids and reporting both their good deeds and bad back to Santa.

On Thanksgiving, my step-father, Ed, presented an "Elf on the Shelf" to all 4 of the "big kids" (my brother, step-sister, step-brother and I) to share with our families. It was a bit emotional as he talked of this tradition he wanted us to start with our kids and keep going to remember him and mom after they're gone. A bit maudlin really, but the gesture was appreciated, nonetheless. The elf came with a storybook, which the kids and I read last night, and at the end were instructions to choose a name for the elf.

The kids’ first choice was "Willy," after the elf in "Fred Claus." Personally, I hate that name, so I told the kids that "Willy" was another name for a boy's private parts, and suitably horrified, they dropped the name from contention. (I know, I'm a terrible parent). Then, on the way home from Mom and Ed's, Eamon said, "How about we name the elf Jon Stewart?"

I think my heart grew a little bigger for the boy at that point. ;)

Finally, after some more discussion, I suggested "Merripen." Jeff and Vika both liked the name right away, but Eamon was still pushing for Jon Stewart. However, when I explained that Merripen sounds a bit like "Merry Christmas" and reminded me of the hobbit Merry from "The Lord of the Rings," Eamon decided he liked it too, and thus, our elf was named.

Here's how the elf works. He arrives around Thanksgiving and observes your kids until Christmas Eve. Each night, he flies back to Santa in the North Pole and gives his report. The next day, the elf is sitting in a different spot than he was before, showing that he did indeed move during the night.

The kids already love this idea. This morning, Eamon rushed down to find where Merripen was sitting today. He and Vika are in a bit of a competition to see who can find him first each morning. Vika, ever the clever girl, is writing letters to Santa and hiding them around the house. She whispers to Merripen where they are hidden so that if he is truly magical, he can take them back to the North Pole each night. If he's not magical, she thinks that she'll catch Jeff and I in some elaborate holiday conspiracy, thus proving her suspicions that Santa doesn't really exist. Hopefully we'll manage to stay one step ahead of her (and since Eamon can't keep a secret, we can probably get him to rat out her hiding places).

And so, a new holiday tradition for our family is born. Hopefully it is one we will carry on, long after our children abandon their status as "believers."

Last night was our 2nd annual Fall Feast. You may remember last year's Fall Feast, when I frantically tried to cook a turkey to Martha Stweart's specifications and wound up with a nearly black, dried out bird. Actually it wasn't that bad. But it wasn't that good either. Thankfully, this year Jeff cooked the turkey, while the kids and I assisted with the blue corn bread stuffing and sweet potato pie. We also had broccoli and Gruyere gratin, cranberry sauce, and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes (which were heavenly).

To top it all off, Ali joined us for the Fall Feast, and the five of us had a really nice time. Vika and Eamon were both positively giddy when they found out that Ali would be joining us. Vika even commented that "We haven't had dinner with Ali like this in about 5 years!" It has really only been 2 years, but to a kid, I guess that seems like an eternity.

Since the Sweet Potato Pie took a bit longer to cook than we anticipated, the bird was put into the oven late. Which meant that we had about an hour and a half to kill. So, we put our new "Star Trek" blu-ray into the player and the five of us squished onto the couch to watch. Ali hadn't seen it before, and the kids have seen it about 7 times now, so they were quick to educate her on the ways of Star Trek. Whenever Spock did the Vulcan Salute, Vika and Eamon silently raised their hands and did the Vulcan Salute back to the TV. Ali was sandwiched between the two of them, looking at me with a "What the hell is this?" expression on her face. But by the end of the movie, Vix and Eames had her doing the Vulcan Salute too.

It was a fun evening, and the first time we've hung out with Ali alone in about 3 years (she usually brings a friend). Hopefully this will happen more in the future and our relationship with her will gradually be repaired.

This weekend marked a very special anniversary in our household - three years ago, on November 8th, 2005, we met our kids for the first time. I'm not going to post the family video this year, but if you want to check it out, click here.

Instead, I'm going to tell you how we celebrate this occasion in our family. For the last 3 years we have had a "Metcha' Day Dinner," to which we invite family and friends. We always serve Russian food, so our guests are required to be adventurous. Here is the menu:

• Appetizers: Salmon Blini, sardines and crackers, and salmon caviar.
• First course: Borscht with dark Russian bread and butter
• Entree: Golubtsi (Russian cabbage rolls) and Gypsy Potato Paprikash
• Desert: Russian tea cakes and wafer cookies (which the people at the orphanage referred to as "cake.")
  

The beverage selection for adults includes vodka and strong Russian tea, and sparkling juice for the kids (which Eamon still calls "peeva").

Jeff and I enjoyed the food in Russia so much, that this has become one of our most anticipated meals of the year. Vika also loves it since borscht is her favorite food and she could eat a whole plate of sardines in one sitting. It's fun to introduce family and friends to the flavors we experienced while meeting and adopting our kids.

This year's Metcha' Day Dinner was especially successful. Our friends attended as well as my family, and we all had a great time swapping stories and hanging out. Mel, who's a NICU nurse, has some especially crazy delivery-room stories, which she thoughtfully decided to share after dinner was over. Vika and Eamon also had a great time playing with Chad (Mel's son) and stayed up until 11 pm, running around, laughing and dressing Chadly up as a "rock star."

Sadly, none of Jeff's family chose to attend. I'm still a bit annoyed and hurt by their continued disregard of our family. I don't understand why they make no effort to be a part of our lives or get to know Vika and Eamon. But in the end, I have to remind myself that it is their loss - and really, no one missed them much anyway.

It's funny how the idea of family shifts over time. Sitting at around a table laughing with my friends, listening to my family discuss politics at the next table, and watching the kids play with their "cousin" Chad, I felt content and surrounded by love. What more could you ask for when celebrating the anniversary of the best day of your life?

Here's the annual Family Jack-O-Lanterns shot. Can you tell which one is Eamon's? He carved a very small portion of the pumpkin, and then I wound up carving the rest. It was a pain in my butt, getting out all those small pieces, but Eames is happy with the result. Oh, and in case you can't tell, it's Darth Vader. Vika carved her pumpkin (the cat by the tree) all by herself! The rest of the night she kept saying things like, "That looks like a professional pumpkin!" and "Never has a kid done one that good!" As the evening progressed, it became harder and harder for me not to roll my eyes when she complimented herself.

Tonight we'll go trick-or-treating in mom's neighborhood, with Vika dressed as a fairy and Eamon dressed as a Clone Trooper. The kids wanted Jeff and I to dress up this year too, so we're going to humor them. After sorting through entirely too many trampy costumes at the Halloween store, I finally decided to be a Hogwart's student. Honestly, it was the only costume I could find for an adult female that wasn't slutty! Well, the nun costume was pretty modest, but I decided to skip on that one. Jeff's going as Zorro (who I had a mad crush on as a child - only the Zorrro I liked was the George Hamilton version, from "Zorro, the Gay Blade." Obviously, the whole "gay" part went over my head....). Fingers crossed, the kids will bring in plenty of Twix bars and Snickers which I can sample after they go to bed. ;)

I hope you all have a happy Halloween!

I finally got around to loading my photos onto the computer. I know, I'm a slacker - but better late than never. So without further ado, here you go:

This first one is of Eamon at his birthday party. Doesn't he look dapper in his little tie? I saw it at Old Navy and knew I had to buy it for him. The best part is that the little white designs in the black stripes... they're skulls and cross bones. As my friend Mel said, it's "preppy, with an edge." That's my son. Edgy. :)

Here's a shot of Eamon wearing one of his favorite gifts. For those of you non-Star Wars fans, it's a Clone Trooper (the army that later becomes the Storm Troopers when the evil emperor takes over). The hilarious thing about this costume, which unfortunately did not transfer onto film, is that it is almost completely transparent. So, when Eames put it on, with nothing but his black chonies underneath... well let's just say he made quite the fashion statement. Every guest at the party pulled out their cameras and quickly began snapping pictures. Sadly, Eamon played so hard in this costume that he ripped a hole in the leg within a half hour of putting it on. Did he take it off and return to his earlier “edgy” look? No. he continued to run around, with a pale little knee poking though the rip in the fabric.

The weekend after Eamon’s party, the four of us went to the pumpkin patch with my mom. Unfortunately, our regular pumpkin patch, where we take our annual family portrait, was closed this year. Some nonsense about letting the fields rest. ;) So we went to a new patch this year, which was still fun, but not nearly as picturesque. As a result, we didn’t get a great family portrait, but we did get a couple of nice shots of the kids.



After our family portrait session, we found the perfect pumpkins and assisted mom in her quest to acquire a cornstalk for her front porch - an annual tradition for her. As an aside, mom used to get a large haystack for her front porch as well, and it would sit there for months because she couldn’t get rid of the darn thing! For Christmas, she began wrapping it like a large present, and by January, the hay would be molding underneath. So glad she has abandoned that part of her Fall décor.

As we stood in the checkout line to buy our pumpkins, I did a quick tally in my head and realized that our four pumpkins were going to cost us nearly $100!!! I know that part of what you are paying for is the experience of going to the patch, but this seemed a little excessive. So, we quickly scrambled to set 3 of the pumpkins aside (we arranged them artfully by a corn stalk at the beginning of the checkout line – where several others were arranged. Were these also hastily set aside by families horrified at the exorbitant costs?). We still purchased Jeff’s pumpkin at the patch, but later bought mine, Eamon, and Vika’s at the local grocery store ($15 for 3. A much more reasonable price).

I hope you all are enjoying your Fall traditions. Next up for us is the annual “Fall Leaf Hunt.”

I love Fall. It's my favorite time of year. Even though I was anxiously awaiting Summer (the school vacation was desperately needed), around the first of August, I started wishing for Autumn.

Crisp, cool days. Leaves turning colors. Hot apple cider and warm pumpkin scones. Decorating the house for Halloween and visiting the Pumpkin Patch. So many of our family traditions revolve around Fall.

Since bringing the kids home, Fall has become even more special. It is when we celebrate our "Metcha' Day" with a Russian feast in honor of Vika and Eamon. Carving jack-o-lanterns has become a much more light-hearted event. Before, Jeff and I would compete to see who could create the best jack-o-lantern. Now we laugh as Eamon cringes in disgust each time he pulls the goo out of his pumpkin, and Vika carves so thoroughly that her pumpkin's "face" becomes one big hole. We go on leaf hunts and watch "The Nightmare Before Christmas" while drinking hot cocoa. On Thanksgiving morning, we watch the Macy's Thankgiving Day Parade in our PJs, marveling at the Broadway dance numbers and enormous character balloons.

To me, more than any other season, Fall is about family. What are some of the traditions your family shares in the Fall?

Eamon lost his second tooth yesterday, thereby making a double-wide gap in his bottom teeth. He was very excited about the impending tooth fairy visit and insisted that we read "The Night Before the Tooth Fairy" (we were supposed to read this book when he lost his first tooth, but were out late that evening and didn't have time). All day, Eamon kept reminding me about the book, and when bedtime came and we settled in to read it, he was beaming.

After the story, we placed his tooth carefully in his special "Tooth Fairy" pillow and put him to bed. Then Jeff and I watched a "Daily Show," talked bit, and went to bed. Without checking the pillow.

This morning, around 7 am Jeff wakes me up and says, "Jen! Did the Tooth Fairy come?" I snapped out of my grogginess in a panic and gasped, "No!" Thus began "Operation Tooth Fairy." Jeff crept downstairs to get the dollar and snuck into Eamon's room to do the exchange. I listened quietly without moving lest I wake the boy up. Jeff returned a while later, looking a bit agitated and asked, "Did you put the tooth in the pillow?! I can't find it!" He went back into the room again, I heard a bit of scuffling, and then he came back, shoving the tooth pillow at me. Eamon's tooth had lodged itself into the bottom point of the star pocket on front. I dug the tooth out, Jeff stuffed in the dollar, and quietly put the pillow back in Eamon's room.

Then, we waited. Last time, Eamon woke up at 6:30 am to check out his loot. This time, fortunately, he slept a bit later. Finally, around 7:30 am, he came running into our room yelling "YAY!" and waving his dollar in the air.

Whew. Disaster averted. No thanks to the dang Tooth Fairy. Slacker.

This week, we made our annual New Year's Day trip to the beach. This tradition began a week after we brought the kids home, on New Year's Day, 2006. It was particularly cold and rainy that year, and the waves at the beach were massive! Poor Eamon was scared out of his gourd.

Last year's trip did nothing to alleviate Eamon's fear of crashing waves. After a rogue wave nearly washed him out to sea, he became a certified land-lubber.

This year was much better. The day was sunny and warm (for January), and both kids had a great time exploring the beach and climbing the sand mountains. Here are some pictures from the day, including one of me in the infamous green vest (which I've decided I like, despite it's nearly fluorescent-emerald sheen).

Well, it finally happened. After months and months of waiting, Vika lost her first tooth. Not in the way we would have preferred though. Do you remember how a few months ago we learned that Vika's teeth were rotting out of her head, and she had to have several cavities filled? One of those cavities began bothering her again, so a week later, we took her back to the dentist for a check-up. He said everything was OK, but to keep an eye on it.

A few weeks ago, Vika came up to me and said, "Mama, what's this?" She then pulled her lip aside and revealed what appeared to be a horn growing out of her gums! Not a pretty sight. The poor kid had an abscess! She said it wasn't hurting her, but we still went through the steps of putting her on antibiotics, and last week, the tooth was extracted. *sigh* We really didn't want to resort to that, but the damage to the tooth was too great to try and save it.

The upside of the whole situation was that Vika was about to experience her first visit from the tooth fairy. The girl could hardly contain herself! Jeff made her excitement even greater when he told her a story of a visit he got from the tooth fairy as a child. He said he felt a little rustling under his pillow, and when he opened his eyes, there were three dots of light floating by his bed. He closed his eyes, so he wouldn't scare the tooth fairy away, and the next morning, there was a bright, shiny quarter under his pillow!

Naturally, Vika ate the story up. Her eyes glowed with excitement as she wrapped her tooth and put it in her special tooth fairy pillow. Then she went straight to bed, prepared to feign sleep so she could see the tooth fairy for herself. That plan lasted about a half-hour, and then she was out like a light.

Jeff and I set to work arranging a special nocturnal visit. Jeff was especially determined to make this a night to remember. So, he grabbed his flashlight and covered the front of it with a piece of foil in which he had punctured 3 small holes. This was intended to project fairy lights onto Vika's ceiling. My job, he explained, would be to replace the tooth with four quarters while he rummaged under Vika's pillow to nudge her awake.

Armed with our foil-covered flashlight and quarters, and dressed in dark clothing, Jeff and I quietly crept into Vika's room. I took the tooth and placed the quarters with such stealth that there was no way I was going to be caught. Then I waited in the hall, watching, as Jeff began to work his tooth fairy magic. He projected the light onto the ceiling, and gently pushed his hand under Vika's pillow, moving it slightly. Then he quickly hid beside her bed, waiting for Vika to open her eyes and see the fairy lights.

Nothing happened.

So, he repeated the process, nudging the pillow a bit harder this time. Again, nothing. By his fifth attempt, he was practically lifting Vika's head and pillow off the bed to get her to open her eyes. I tell you, that girl sleeps like the dead!

Finally, dejected, he left the room and joined me in the hall, where I stood, silently laughing at him. Poor guy. It was such a great plan, and I applaud his efforts to give our daughter a close encounter of the tooth fairy kind. Perhaps we'll have better luck next time.

Today is Jeff's 44th birthday. It is also his brother, D's birthday (D's exactly 2 years older than Jeff). To celebrate the occasion, we had the family over this weekend for a party, and Jeff made 2 Boston Cream pies from scratch (yes, my husband had to make his own birthday cakes - I'm a terrible wife, I admit it).

Jeff's a "from scratch" kind of guy. He loves making good food, from fresh ingredients, and he does it really well. I'm more of a "prepared foods" person. A typical dinner made by me would include macaroni and cheese (from a box), and "sizzle chicken" (chicken breasts browned in butter and olive oil, with a little salt and pepper). In disgust over my culinary shortcomings, Jeff has pretty much taken over all the cooking in our household (My devious plan worked! Muwahahahaha!).

For his birthday, Jeff declared that he and I were going to have a "bonding experience" in the kitchen. And no Cath, it is not what you are thinking. He decided that he wanted to try making tamales from scratch. During the day, he, Vika and Eamon prepared the masa and chicken filling. Last night, after putting the kids to bed, Jeff and I worked through the evening separating corn husks, stuffing, rolling and tying tamales. Then, as I climbed the stairs to go to bed, Jeff put the tamales in the steamer to cook.

About half an hour later, he came into the bedroom wearing a huge grin on his face. I cautiously asked him what was up, and he said, "Dude! I just tried a tamale, and they are SO GOOD! They're like little tufts of heaven!" Intrigued by this description, I went downstairs to try a bite of the heavenly tufts, and OMG! It was one of the best things I've ever tasted! The chicken, garlic, chilies, and tomatillo combined with the masa just melted in our mouthes. Heavenly was certainly an appropriate word to describe such flavors.

Tonight, we ate the tamales for dinner and toasted Jeff's birthday. It was a wonderful meal, which Vika and Eamon enjoyed as well (we've been pushing them to eat Mexican food, with increasing success). Afterwards, Jeff sat at the table, smiling, and said, "I'm so happy right now! Why didn't we make tamales sooner?"

It seems another family tradition has been born.