Yesterday was Plain Awful

You can say that again.

Yesterday was plane awful.

It was. And you may say, "Stacie, you're prone to exaggeration." And I'll rightly admit I have a dramatic flair for storytelling - but this time it's just a black and white fact: yesterday was plain awful. Because of a plane. Well, actually multiple planes. I suppose I should expound even though my shoulders tense up just remembering the harrowing details.

Let's just say it involved a rowdy drive in heavy snow, security check (which I hate!!! love the end, hate the means. must we take all of our shoes off? must I remove the peacefully sleeping baby from his carseat and put his blankets in the scummy gray bins? do we have to toss all of our water? it's so annoying!) hours of delayed flights, kids sleeping on the Vegas airport floor, paying a taxi for a ride home so our friend could go to bed, and hitting the pillow at 2:15am.

That should suffice. Seriously, in the taxi on the way home - with soft armenian chatter in the background, watching the meter go from 26.75 to 28. 85 - I felt my jaw slacken and realized that it had been clenched for the previous 13 hours. And although deep down I know this isn't true, it just makes me feel better to say that I will never fly again!!! Curse Southwest Airlines and whoever made the decision to give our plane to the flight heading into Orange County because they have a curfew and LAX doesn't!!!

Phew! I feel better. My back still hurts, but I'm over the rest. Ya know why? Because . . .

The sun'll come out . . . tomorrow!!! So ya gotta hang on 'til tomorrow!

Long December

It's been a long December and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last.

Love that song.

Yes, my sporadic and lackluster blogging is finally coming to an end. Somehow I don't think I'm alone in the dryspell, or at least the decreased frequency in posts. And I seriously doubt we've all been checking on one another that much lately with the holiday mayhem and all. Onward and upward, eh.

So the boys are back in town. After 12 days in Canada, we've resumed our post in Los Angeles. It was a winter wonderland in the Great White North, and we partook of all the Creston Valley has to offer. Grandma Rennaker's homemade goods are unparalelled - and she pretty much has a store in the basement. I wish we lived closer so I could shop there. Unfortunately we can't take much across the border or I'd fill a box with home canned everything, fresh steaks, ground beef, big ol' brown eggs, delish dried apples, and the lastest of Marie's wonders - homemade soaps. I told her that wherever we move after school she has to come and help me put in a garden. Perhaps it's being here the city, feeling vulnerable with little space for food storage - but lately I've been feeling this urgency to become more self reliant. I also want more whole food for my family - and nothing beats home grown.

But I digress. Didn't we just have a major holiday? Oh yeah! Christmas was like, only 5 days ago! How was the haul?

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Sorry times up. S'pose I'll have to finish this story tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Long time no blog

I feel like I'm standing windwhipped and dazed on the platform. Life is flying past me before I can even get out my ticket.

The holidays? kids? life? I swear I am savouring to the best of my ability, I'm just not blogging about it.

Legoland tomorrow and maybe, probably, hopefully I'll post the pictures. Heaven knows I'll take a million.

Dalton Bradley

Happy 7th Birthday Dalton!!!

How quickly they grow. I used to shrug off older people telling me that, but now I really understand that it's true! You have to savor every moment of their little lives; they grow so gradually that you don't even realize it's happening. I always think of the movie Finding Neverland, where Johnny Depp says, "Little boys should never be put to bed, because when they wake up they're a whole day older. "

So here are some random pictures from the life of Dalton, about one per year.

Happy Birthday to Dalton, happy birthday to Dalton . . .

Here is a little update on our firstborn son as he rings in his lucky 7th year!

favorite color- back to BLUE, the original favorite (he went with green for a couple years out of

loyalty to his buddy Aidan)

favorite food - corn on the cob

favorite toy - legos, especially the new bionicle and underwater explorer sets he just got

favorite place - zimmer museum, disneyland

favorite movie - Pirates of the Carribean #3 "which I haven't seen, but I know must be really

cool!"

favorite thing at school - "take away", aka: subtraction (go figure!)

favorite sport - baseball (with dad at the park by our house and Dodger games)

favorite book - How I Became a Pirate

favorite scripture story - Ammon and the Sheep thieves (dismemberment? of course it's a fav!)

Seven Years. Also an anniversary of a different kind.

Seven years ago today I became a mother. Our lives were changed when Dalton was born. How do you even begin to express or comprehend the significance of this? The beginning of a new life? the beginning of a new part of yourself? an entirely different way of living and thinking? I remember sitting in the hospital hours after giving birth and feeling the weight of the parental mantel falling on me. It was actually a tangible experience, for me. I can recall the dawning of realization of what it truly means to be responsible for another life in every way - and honestly, it was stressful!

AAAaaahhhh, parenthood.

Well, I'll post about the festivities later. For now, I'm just happy to be Dalton's mom.

California Dreamin'

On Saturday we all headed out to one of my favorite spots, the beach - a place I've been missing because I didn't get to spend much time there over the summer. (I was rather huge pregnant and then purdy busy with a newborn) Well, since it's clearly too chilly now to do the waterplay, it's time for other kinds of fun - like strollerblading. It's been years since I got Darren to put on his rollerblades, so this was a treat.

Baby Davis and I enjoying the sunset by Venice playground.

Mom: "Dalton, look at me and smile."
Dalton: "Not now mom, I need to watch the road."
He's learning bike path ettiquette.

Dane and Davis all snuggly in the stroller. Dane was pretty upset at first that he couldn't ride his trike (holy smokes, that would take forever!), but we finally convinced him it would be more fun this way. He sure doesn't look like he's having fun, but that's only because he's almost asleep. Just a nice side effect of a stroller ride.

So nice that Dalton can ride his bike. He was cranky earlier in the afternoon and was in such a better mood as we got going. Reminds me of that part in Legally Blonde when she says "Exercise gives people endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. And happy people just don't kill their husbands. They just don't." Classic.

Goodbye Halloween

It's been done for days, but here are the boys in their costumes.

1. Davis the "Jack-o-Lantern", minus the interior candle - although he does have a radiant inner light ;). He wanted to be Freddy Krueger, but I thought it might scare Dane.

2. Dane, aka - "Harry Potter". I had to take away the spectacles a few weeks ago to keep him from breaking them (from constant handling), so he hasn't been impersonating the wizard lately. (phew!) But when his Harry alterego reemerged, it was very cute.

3. Dalton as "Indiana Jones". Not a lot of kids knew exactly who this was this year, but I'm sure with the new movie coming out next year we'll see Dr. Jones a lot more. Now that Dalton is tall enough to ride the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, he thinks he's pretty cool (although the ride freaked him out a little).

4. Darren - Daddy gone Mummy. We had our friends the Merrells over and all the boys (they have 3 as well) mummified their dads. This is Aaron and Darren hamming it up for them as they all ran away screaming.

Goodbye Halloween! See you next year.

The Carve

We know they'll rot if we carve early, but we had to be ready for the trunk-or-treat! So last Saturday (my blog is on time-delay) we got out the kits and had a little carvin' party. The boys love this and sit patiently by us as we carve, cheering us on - for about 5 minutes. Then they run off and play, returning intermittently to ask "Are you done yet?" Ah, but it's worth it in the end. Gotta love a good jack-o-lantern. And wouldn't you know it - I don't even have pictures of the finished product loaded. At the time I actually put down the carving knife and said, "That's as good as it's gonna get" I went straight to the sink to wash - I didn't want to look at my butcher job for a while, even through a camera lens!

Our duplex neighbor is the graphic editor of the LA Times and he came out and saw us making a mess all over the paper. He laughed and took a picture of a big glob of punkin innards and said something about how they stress over content and it's really just tomorrow's fish wrapper.

Big goopy messes!!! Why do they always want to taste the pumkin guts?

Dane wanted a happy pumpkin, so he chose this cute face.

Dalton wanted a creepy skeleton - labeled "difficult" to carve. I can't wait until they can do it themselves! Actually, I can.

Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch

A couple of weeks ago we visited Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch in Hollywood. Of all that we did there, I think the kids most enjoyed playing in the haystack maze. A good time was had by all!

This is the pumpkin we picked to take home. He was too cute to resist!

The pony ride was fun - and surprisingly not stinky.

I thought Dalton might be bored - seeing as the ponies are attached to a pole and just go in a circle - but whaddya know? He loved it, too.

Yeah for Mr. Bones!

Halloween 2006

As we countdown to the big day, I couldn't help but look back a little to last year's festivities. It was a monumental year for a couple reasons:

1. Dalton didn't want to be a pirate (he had been a pirate in some form for three consecutive years out of his 6 year life)

2. It was the year that Dane figured out what Halloween was all about. (He was 2) It was fun to watch him take it all in and come to understand the fun of Halloween.

Now that Darren is Dr. Candy Nazi, we are on our 3rd year of "Great Pumpkin" visits. Essentially, they trade their candy for toys and the giant gourd gives their candy to less fortunate children. I wonder when they'll catch on and we'll have to let them learn to self-ration their candy. I know that as a child I would hoard my candy and still have some left by the time Easter rolled around and we got a new batch. So maybe we underestimate their restraint.

So here's a look at last year's costumes . . .

This is little Daners as a pirate. He wanted to be Thomas, but when it came down to the wire he refused to wear the cumbersome get-up. We resorted to the good old pirate standby. He wouldn't even wear the hat for pictures, but he was cute anyway.

Here is Zorro at the school carnival. He sure felt cool - you could tell from his strut. What is it about the costume alter ego that makes you so silly?

I actually dressed up last year - which I love to do but haven't done so much since I had the kiddos. This is my friend Maegan, prego with her little Kieran and glowing. It was hard to recognize her in the wig.

Here is Karalenn Hippen - Halloween Queen! I wish I had a picture of her full costume. I'm sure her blog will show it somewhere. It was phenomenal and entirely handmade. She based it on the "Twilight" books - not necessarily a character, they just got her excited about all things vampire. She spent months on it. I have nowhere near that patience or creativity. Notice my cliche witch costume.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

The Clinic

For all you out there who watch The Office, this spoof is worth your time. It was made by Loma Linda Dental School students and it's hilarious. The dubbing is off at times, but it doesn't deter from the cleverness. It's called The Clinic and so it's actually two spoofs in one - a parody of dental school life and the tv show. Here's the link:

The Clinic


Enjoy!

Burn Baby Burn

We're here in the "disco inferno", aka Southern California -presently the fire capital of the nation. She burns every year, with not enough time to recover in between. Certainly I could come up with some religious metaphor about destructive flames that would condemn Los Angeles, but isn't Las Vegas 'Sin City' - therefore, more burn worthy? Yeah, it's a toss up.

Anyhoo, to respond to well-being queries:

1. Yes, we are okay.
2. No, we are not directly threatened.

HOWEVER, we are suffering!!!!! The sky is all gray and smoky. The air is full of ashy stuff. The smell is a rancid combo of campfire and burnt rubber. It's hard to breathe and we're all staying inside, thank you very much. Even the kiddos at Dalton's school have lost recess privileges, the poor dears - I mean the teachers, of course.

Okay, okay - that's not really suffering. That's inconvenience and a cough.
We still have our lives and our possessions. (cue John Lennon's Imagine)

My sister Christy told me about a cousin who got evacuated at 11pm and found out her house had burned by 5 am. Single mom, 4 kids. THAT's suffering.

Blog Stalker

A curious new pastime has cropped up among internet users, particularly bloggers. Thus, the following . . .


To The Blog Stalker:

You read my blog, you check my site
To compare your own with my mundane life.

Behind you leave no comment-
No trace that you came, then went.
But on to the next link ,
Lest someone might think
Your time is no better spent.

No worries blog stalker, your secret is safe
From those who may judge or scorn.
Blog hop with no fear of scrutiny from me ,
But just be aware as I warn:

You know your blog's linked to quite a few ,
So don't be naive - you get blog stalked, too!



We all do it. And clearly I am no poet.

Davis's New Best Buddy

My wonderful sister Jenni had her third baby very recently. We haven't seen him in person yet, but he looks gorgeous in pictures. He will of course be Davis's best friend; cousins are special.


Introducing . . .

Samuel James Stewart

born October 6, 2007

9lbs 0 oz

21.2 "

Spooky Spider

K - we've got this CRAZY HUGE spider trying to squat on our property. He moved in last week and set up this ginormous web, starting making a killing in the bug catchin' biz, and totally didn't even ask if we were into subletting! Now he's got a couple more webs set up - they're about as thick as yarn- and even invited his lady friend to move in. They're spread all over like they own the place and frankly, we're done putting up with it.

Yesterday Darren went out and was like "Hey spidey, we gotta talk. No offense, i know it's your schtick - but all the wrapped up dead bugs and your freaky size body are scaring the kids." (not to mention the fact that Dane's trike is stuck in that monster web and he really wants to ride it. rude!)

Mr. Spiderman was completely nonresponsive, like he didn't even care that we pay out the ying for rent on this place and he's way overstayed his welcome - uninvited in the first place!!! So we had to evict him. We didn't squish, but we did relocate him and his lady - and then vigorously remove his halloween decorations with a gusto spray from the water hose. So long dude.




Darren's thumb for size reference. He's saying "thumbs up, my friend. we like you and all, but we have our own problems, so move on."

His arrival was seasonally appropriate - I love halloween. And he gave a good scary showing, but I'm just not into arachnid-neighbors.

I never thougtht I'd say . . .

"You do NOT wipe your boogers on Davis!"

The Onion

I've found it. Finally a news source I can rely on and trust to deliver what is relevant, honest, and spankin' hilarious. Here's today's headline:

That Full House Episode Where They Meet The Beach Boys Is On Tomorrow At 3 P.M.

WASHINGTON, DC —Officials have advised all Americans to remain indoors, huddle close with their loved ones, and stay completely silent unless it's a commercial.

Sk8er Boy

Dalton is really into skating lately. He's campaigning for a new board for his birthday in November. Check his moves in the driveway. So sad for a boarder to be confined like this, but would you set a 6 year old free in a Los Angeles skate park? uh . . . no.

Lars and the Real Girl

Okay, so last night I had a personal first, and probably last: Thanks to my lovely, well connected friend Maegan, I got to attend a real Hollywood movie premier. I don't want to bore my family with more stupid stories about encounters with the rich and famous, but this was too fun. We pulled up to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences building on Wilshire and yep - the red carpet, the bright lights and paparazzi. Luckily you don't have to actually walk on the red carpet to enter the theater. BIG FAT NO THANK YOU! But as we were walking in, who should be right there, with his date, chatting up ET? (do I sound starstruck or what?) Ryan Gosling! Check out the pic below. The date is not Rachel McAdams, but we loved her big bootie. (a rump like that was a rare sight last night amid the SCARY facelifts and lip jobs. eek! like halloween on parade.)


Then we entered the theater, where cameras were expressly forbidden. So I snuck a flash-free shot of Oscar flanking the screen. The producer and director spoke, then everyone cheered all through the opening credits, cuz they were there and apparently couldn't help themselves.

After the show there was a reception full of delish food, an open bar (sprite, anyone?), and networking and hob-snobbing. Are you done hearing about this yet?

So, it was a fun night - but the best part really was the movie itself. Lars and the Real Girl - comes out October 12th. I laughed, I cried. I thought about it falling asleep. It's a great story. I highly recommend it! So here's a link to the trailer. And everyone go see it - it's good for Maegan's husband's production company. I should get paid for the plug, eh?

Click here: Lars and the Real Girl

The Potty Trainer

You've got to check out the blog of a friend of ours - Seth Hippen. He's a super duper talented animator and his latest post gives a little shout out to our Daners (and his arduous potty training). Just click on Seth's highlighted name to get to his blog, and be sure to check out all the cool artwork he's got on there.

A Fly on the Wall

This is life with little ones. They're so darn cute while they figure out this big ol' world. All of the following are true accounts.

(in the car on the way to school, following a rousing rendition of "Oh Suzanna")
Dane: I wish I had a banjo on my knee.
Dalton: No you don't Dane. Banjos are HUGE! It would kill your knee.

(during a morning prayer - literally smack dab in the middle of it)
Dane: Jesus and Heavenly Father are pretend. They live at the church I think. I don't see them anywhere around here.

(at the dinner table, out of the blue)
Dalton: I wish we could go swimming at that fun cat pool again.
Dad: What cat pool?
Dalton: That one at that dental school party.
Mom: (picturing a nasty pool of stagnant water, full of mangy cats) What are you talking about?
Dalton: The cat pool! Where I played with that little girl.
Mom: (realization dawning) OOOoohh! The "Kiddie" pool?
Dalton: Yeah, the kitty pool. I miss it.

(getting ready for bed. this has been a common topic of discussion lately.a response to the new addition to the family?)
Dane: Mom, when I grow up to be a dad I want to marry you.
Dalton: No way Dane. If you were my dad I would freak out!
(that would be the least of his problems if Dane and I got married. eek!)

(on the way to preschool - feeling really grown up)
Dane: Mom! My legs are huge. They go all the way down to my feet!

(again, over dinner - when Dalton gets really chatty to avoid food he doesn't want)
Dalton: (after a quiet moment of contemplation) There's a kid in my class, my size, who has a mustache. A real mustache. His name is Christopher.
Dad: What does he look like?
Dalton: Um, he's kinda lightey/darkey (he's Latino). He has dark hair. Stop laughing mom. He's just different, that's all. He's really nice and he's my friend. He just has a mustache.


Aaahhh. kids.

Austen Lovers

If you love Jane Austen, like I do, then check out this link :

Take the Quiz here!

www.strangegirl.com/austenquiz

Take the quiz to find out which Austen-ian herione you are most like.

Gems

Just a couple good quotes from my boys that I jotted down today:

"I don't want to kiss you right now mom." Okay, when will you kiss me? "I can next Thursday." -Dane

"I don't want my sandwich in a heart for school today, mom. I want it like my friends' sandwiches. Just one piece. That's how all my friends have it." -Dane (I'd used a cookie cutter, but I guess it's not cool enough for preschool)

"Mom, I don't feel comfortable at recess. All the girls won't stop chasing me. I didn't even do anything! I had to hide in the boy's bathroom. Then I told my teacher and all she said was 'Aw, I'm sorry.' " -Dalton

Big Bear - Conclusion

I'm sure you lost sleep wondering if Darren and the boys made it out alive, not to mention all our precious camping gear. Well, worry no longer!!! After some negotiations with the ranger and some sneaking beyond the lines by some fellow campers, they were able to return to the site to pack up and get out. 'Voluntary evacuation' - yeah, right! Darren did read online that the fire was the biggest in the nation so far this year. Seriously?

Masterpieces

My sister-in-law Rachel posted some pictures that her budding artist Ana had taken (hers were actually really good), and it prompted me to post some that I found on my camera, courtesy of Dalton Bradley. Clearly my son is Ansel Adams in embryo and I am so proud of the skills he already has as a photographer - in every aspect! lighting, content, framing, composition, color. . . Look for yourself. Any inquiries for prints or purchases should be directed to my personal email account.


subject: Dane playing Trains
title: Overexposed

subject: The bedroom

title: Where My Head Rests

(note: Check out how Dalton rearranged the letters in the alphabet on the wall so that "D" came first - since Dalton starts with "D". egocentric? perhaps)

subject: the artist himself

title: My Rennaker Nose

subject: the throne

title: What All Boys Talk About, Think About, Joke About, etc.

subject: the artist -AGAIN!

title: Mirrors - The Pretense of Reflection (I don't know why he chose that title; it makes no sense!)

Baby Love

Here's another picture of little baby Davis. (it's hard not to say 'Baby Davy' - but I will not! I must not!) He is a cutie pie, but I'm not biased or anything. He's already changing so much and as I watch him grow and then read through the older boys' baby calendars, I realize that this time I have with him as a tiny baby is so fleeting in comparison to what the future holds. I just wish I could stop time ("I'm Mr. Time! Stop Time!" -Seth Manning) and savor the present. I just feel like life keeps me hopping all the time and before I know it, my baby (my first baby, Dalton) is telling me he wants an ipod. (he really did. he said he needs it?!)

So, I just have to take a minute to bask in the love I have for my kids!

Dalton will always be my baby - he broke me in as a mommy. Dane will always be my baby - he still loves to be held and smell his blankie. Davis will always be my baby - that's all I know him as thus far, and he may be my last baby, actually. (Well, talk to me in a couple years.) But nevertheless, no matter how big they get or how obnoxious they might act - these boys are my babies. I grew them in my belly. I see them at their absolute sweetest and most innocent moments. I cheer for their triumphs and I cry for their frustrations. I am immersed in being their mother and I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Big Bear

Holy Smokes!

Well, I missed out on the family camping trip. I LOVE to camp - from tent life to the s'mores to the cheesy campfire bonding. This year's trip was not to be missed; we were headed to Big Bear with a bunch of friends and their kiddos for a weekend of dirty camping fun.

But alas - I had to stay home. It was a last minute decision that boiled down to the fact that Davis (2 months old now) is really congested and sleeping in 40 degree temps would most likely give him something or lead quickly to something else. I don't want to be a hypochondriac, but seriously - why get your new baby sick when you can prevent it? Not to mention that the night before our departure the aforementioned congestion stole all my sleep as well as Davis's . This resulted in a fussy baby, a nasty migraine and voila! . . . I didn't go camping.

So I'm here at home missing my boys. I've already called about 8 times (yes, we actually get reception up there!) Dane puked twice on the drive up then pooped in his underwear - either because he was too busy playing or has no idea where to put it. But things have settled down and they're having a blast. (Darren is too, I'm SURE!)

This afternoon they all headed into town to do the alpine slides and buy a new toothbrush for Darren. He just loves to brush. (actually, I neglected to pack his - oops!) He called me when they got back to the campground to say that the Rangers won't let them back bcuz of a fire threatening the area. Darren said they saw the beginnings of it yesterday when they pulled in, but it wasn't a problem because of the winds, blah blah blah. But now they're being evacuated? Scary.

And yet all I can think about is all our stuff! Do we ditch it? Am I selfish?

Well, I'm checking the Big Bear webcam and forest fire updates to make sure my men make it home alive.

And now Davis is telling me to get off the dang computer in his sooo subtle way.

Davis

The first day of School - Again, already

Here Dalton is headed off to 1st grade, and so excited about it!

Actually - me, too ;)

Check out the little bag in his hand - as we were making his lunch and snack he decided that he wanted to take an apple to his teacher. He wrapped it all up in tissue paper and put it in this flowery bag. I guess she loved it; he told me later that she called him "beautiful boy", which, needless to say, he loved.

And then there was Dane . . . pretty bitter that he doesn't start preschool for another week.

And then the bitterness showed its true colors - so sad! He was rather bummed that he's home with mom still. He did sport his froggy backpack full of cars, though, as we took Dalton in. I think it made him feel pretty big.