Another May, Another Day

What month is it?

I can usually keep my days straight, but this little blog is getting away from me.  I used to feel a small tug of guilt that I hadn’t updated the thing in a while… now my goal is to just get something down once a month.  Anything over that is gravy.  Do I sound like an underachiever yet?  That’s okay with me.

What is so strange to me is that I write so many articles that never get posted.  On Mother’s Day, I outlined a full diatribe about birthmothers, adoption, and my own birth experience with Bea… all while cleaning the kitchen.  Bea had another birthday, and I mentally scripted a long reminisce of her babyhood and childhood—Mr. Anonymous and I were up late decorating the house for her birthday party.  But my laptop isn’t handy when I’m standing on the dining room table trying to hang streamers from the chandelier.  The garden is bursting with luscious roses, giant bearded irises, scent-drenched lilacs, enormous peonies, and riotous clematis, but when I’m weeding, I’m not typing.  I’m teaching a sewing class in twenty minutes, and my desk is stacked with quilt blocks and fabrics (and a small beading project), so there isn’t really time to write about that either.  Mr. Anonymous is adding another bedroom onto the house (the man is a machine, seriously), and that’s totally newsworthy, but I’m not going to get into that right now either!

So what’s on my mind?  What’s been bustin’ my chops that last week, waking me up multiple times in the night?

I need another girl name.

No, we’re not expecting right now… but here’s the thing: Bea has been ardently praying for another sibling (and, for the record, that’s how Doc and Birdie came to be a part of our family, so don’t roll your eyes).  Birdie has joined in, too.  That’s the sort of thing we take seriously around here.  God hears the prayers of children.

Names are a big deal.  I’ve had a life-long preoccupation with them, so the naming of my own wee ones is done with a lot of thought… and since I’m blessedly not a single parent, Mr. Anonymous has to feel pretty passionate about them as well.

We like to keep a name for each gender in the back pocket, and we’ve got a solid one for a boy.

But inspiration for another daughter…

*sigh*  It’ll happen.  It always does.  And it’ll be perfect.

Today, though, it’s making me crazy.

That’s it.  That’s the only fly in the ointment.  Otherwise, our life is all cherries and sunshine!  Birdie and Doc are the best of friends, the ladies love sharing their room, Bea is almost done with school for the year (give a cheer!), Doc has learned how to ride his two-wheel bike, Bea has become self-motivated to master French, Birdie truly believes that we will never abandon her (big win there!), and life is chock-full of wonderful people in our lives.  Our world is a good place.

I hope yours is, too!

Double Anniversary

Yesterday, marked three years since a friend called in hysterics, confessing that she said we’d adopt a baby.  That started the journey to Doc becoming an Anonymous.

And Birdie came home five short months ago today!

When I began this blog in 2009, I never dreamed that I would have three children by 2013.

It’s just plain wonderful how God’s plans are better than we could ever imagine.

And on that quick note, I’m off to pack, pack, pack.  We leave on vacation, as the kids would say, in just “two more sleeps”!

IF they can sleep!  We’re silly excited around here!

Doc has a new bow tie (by request), the twins have new seatbelt strap covers and full amuse-me-in-the-car kits for a more comfortable ride, Bea has an entire BAG of new books to read, and I just finished stitching a dress for a gala we’ll be attending while away.  Mr. Anonymous has all his favorite road trip food to enjoy.  It’s going to be a GREAT time!

Hope your day is the anniversary of something fantastic… and if it’s not, do something today that will be worth remembering next April 2^nd.  Happy day to you!

March Musings

Sometimes I wonder: is it okay that I frequently post awesome, cute stuff my kids do because it makes me just so happy?

Or does that seem self-aggrandizing or somehow arrogant?

Or does the fact that this blog is anonymous remove all taint of that?

Or is it fine that I want to post about the darlingness of my children because, hey, I’m the author here and proud of my kids?

My.

I am decisive.

*snort and chuckle*

Moving forward then…

During Sunday services, Birdie began to frantically tap me on the arm.  She’s recently potty-trained, so any alarm makes me think we need to rush to the facilities.

I looked down at her intent face and raised my eyebrows.

“Mama!” she gasped.  “I WUHF YOU!”

Birdie had never said “I love you” unprompted until then, and—quite honestly—it took a moment to register what she had just uttered.

Her heart-on-the-sleeve eyes searched mine with a worried expression.

I did the only thing I could think of in the face of such concern.  I kissed her soundly on the head while burying her in a bear hug.

Finally, she pulled back, revealing a magnificent smile.  “Good,” she whispered and went back to singing.

Yes, people.  That IS what adoption is all about.  Giving a child the life of not only being loved—but a life where she can feel safe enough to love back.

Hasn’t God done that for us?  He adopted me as a Christian to be His own child, and now I can love myself and others because I know what real love is.

In similar news, Doc is as wildly protective now of Birdie as he is of Bea—which is saying something!  That boy is fierce!

He asked if he could grow a mustache about a month ago.

Our response?  Go for it.

Several times a day, he’ll seek out a mirror and gently finger above his upper lip and frown.  Bea has begun to fashion paper ones for him to wear depending on his outfit.  Today was blue in a gaucho style.

Bea and Birdie are now sharing a room.  We had a young lady living with us for six months, but she recently moved into a new place with some friends.  Birdie had been in our room (the Mr.’s and mine) since coming home, but on the four month anniversary of her arrival, she got the lower bunk in the “Girl Room”.  There was a fair deal of decorating and arranging and deciding whose space was whose.

Oh, the excitement!

The Mr. and I were slightly apprehensive that perhaps the move would be bumpy.  After all, the girls are so very different in personalities and, um, tidiness—but things have gone beautifully!

Bea is enjoying having a sister to dress in the mornings, and Birdie is strongly opinionated with Bea’s wardrobe.  It’s an unusual dynamic, but both girls are happy, so we don’t interfere.

And, truly, they are precious together!  They plan all sorts of little adventures for Doc (playing ‘roller coaster’ or ‘pioneers’ or acting out the role of Michael from ‘Mary Poppins’), and he retreats to his basketball net when it becomes too much for his masculine sensibilities.

My best friend (aside from Mr. Anonymous) is to be proposed to in next couple weeks.  I am giddy for her, and it’s a nice secret to keep.  Their wedding is either going to be absolutely massive or an elopement to a tropical place.  It should be interesting.

And then there’s the dog… who refuses to be completely housebroken, who requires constant attention, who plays aggressively with the little ones, who will happily snatch food off of their chairs while they are eating… most of the time, I would absolutely refuse to return a dog to a rescue organization—but I’m wavering with this dog in this circumstance.

She’s young.  And, of course, we knew that when we got her.  She’s feisty.  We suspected that.  What we did NOT expect was to adopt another child within two weeks of bringing the dog home.

And does that make an enormous difference?

I’m beginning to think it does.

*Eyeroll*  One day, I’m ready to take the dog back; the next, Mr. Anonymous is.  But we have yet to agree at the exact same moment during the rescue organization’s business hours.  We’ll see what the next few weeks bring.

And that’s enough for now!  A vacation is on the horizon, so I’m sure I’ll post again beforehand.  The anticipation is deliciously exciting!

Enjoy your last whiff of winter; spring is ready to debut!

The Picture of Happiness

We got Birdie’s newborn pictures in the mail from the hospital where she was born!  These are the only pictures of her we have from before she came to us.  She was 9 lbs. and 10 oz.!  What a chunk!

Right after they came, we sat on the couch for an hour.  She’d stare at each one and say, “Aww!  Baby Birdie!  See more?”  We cycled through them again and again.

Then she wanted to see Doc’s baby pictures and then Bea’s.  Finally, she wanted to see hers again.  At last, she said with a tickled sort of awe, “Birdie was BABY, Mama!”

With a tight hug, we told her that she had indeed been a baby.  “Now we put Birdie baby on wall, too?” she asked, pointing to the pictures in the dining room.

Mr. Anonymous and I looked at each other over the tops of the kids’ heads.  ‘Worth every penny,’ I mouthed as he nodded.  To us, these photos are priceless!

2013

It’s a sparkly new year!

You know what I’m going to do with it?

Love it!

If 2013 is half as incredible as 2012… whew!  I can’t wait!

After maniacally scrubbing cleaning the house for our lovely social worker to visit a few days before Christmas, we hosted both sides of the family (on different days, of course, because *snicker* we’re not CRAZY!) for their own Christmases, hosted a Christmas Eve eve dessert night (you know, the night before the real Christmas Eve), and then shamelessly enjoyed ourselves all of Christmas Eve and Christmas day with a lot of truly dear friends… and some of the time all by ourselves!

Magical!

We took Birdie to see the snow for her first time (we had been so SURE we’d have a white Christmas, but—oh, well!).  Seeing it out the car window, she decided it was ‘scare-wee’.  Not expecting this, we flew into sales mode, reassuring her that snow was peaceful and happy and clean and amazing.

But she stuck with ‘scary’ as her adjective of choice.

What to do?  Mr. Anonymous found a rest stop and a fresh heap of snow.  He filled up cups for all the kids and passed out plastic spoons (you keep plastic spoons in your glove compartment, right?  They’re beside the chopsticks, loose straws, and unused napkins.).

Doc and Bea lit right up with shouts and squeals.  Birdie wrinkled her nose but was curious.

“Taste it!” Mr. Anonymous urged her.  Looking over at her siblings tucking away like they weren’t going to get a brain freeze, she hesitantly scooped the tiniest amount onto her tongue.

Wide-eyed, she exclaimed, “It ice!”

We laughed and said that, yes, it was ice, but its name is ‘snow’.  She found this very entertaining but disagreed.  Even on the way home at the end of the day, she’d point out the window and say, “OOH!  The ice so pwetty!”  Now when we read books about snow, she’ll point to the pictures and say in a confidential way, “Dat weally ice… but name snow.”

In crafting news, I finished a friend’s baby quilt FINALLY today.  It’s been planned and put aside since they found out the gender four months ago.  *eye roll*  What can I say; we’ve been busy.

Doc has given me an all-new appreciation for boy quilts.  He does NOT want to cuddle under a pacifier-printed, baby piggy blanket at two.  OH, NO!  He wants the camping quilt or fishing quilt or truck quilt or airplane quilt.  If the others are offered to him, he makes this sickened, mournful face and says, “Mama, I just no yike it!”

Therefore, for his new little friend, we went a different direction than anything else that will be at the baby shower this weekend.  His mother confided in me what the tiny fellow’s name is, and his initials spell ‘BAM’!  I had this upholstery weight fabric from the ‘as-is’ bin in IKEA that had comic awesomeness all over it.

So the theme of this quilt is GODZILLA TAKES METROPOLIS:

The back is lined with fleece because this sucker is heavy.  If it had batting in the middle and a basic cotton weight on the back, it would smother baby BAM.

Too much?  I don’t think he’ll think so… and his parents will be cool with it, too.  But we’ll find out soon enough!

A lot of blogs have been posting all of their new year’s resolutions (which is great!).  My usual resolution is to be more organized, and—for sure—I’ve already deep-cleaned the house once since New Year’s Day.  And every year I learn a new artform.  Fine.  Those are enjoyable!

But…

But there is another.  And I don’t want to breathe it aloud or wisk it into cyberspace until there are a few months of success under my belt.

So for all of you out there who are quietly working on yourself: good job.

I’m pulling for you!

Down in Chalk

A friend sent me this link last week, and it looked like FUN.

But I’m honestly not especially clever or witty, so coming up with something original to print up was a big roadblock.

Then Mr. Anonymous leaned over and quietly kissed me on the forehead last weekend after Doc and Birdie went down for their naps.  With a goofy smile, he said this:

He’s a good man.

Clever, too.

‘Tis the Season!

It’s interesting how different a house with three children is from a house with two.

It’s also interesting the type of comments that are made to us now.

When we had one child, we experienced horrified comments like, “Well, when are you going to have another?!  You can’t let this one be spoiled!”

When we had two children, sometimes people would remark, “Hmmm, there’s such an age gap.  That’s unfortunate.”

Upon Birdie’s arrival, we were greeted at the airport with a sign that proclaimed the “Anonymous Horde”!  And we are often told now that we have “so MANY kids!”  Friends have begun to hesitantly ask, “Is this going to become your, you know, thing?  A thing where you just adopt a gazillion kids?”

And really, it strikes us as humorous.

Because when it was “just” Bea, we were content.  And when Doc came along, we were thrilled with the age gap between him and his older sister.  And now that Birdie is a part of the Anonymouses, our old life seems like a pokey memory.

‘Will we adopt more’ is the big question.

In short, I have no idea.  We didn’t plan for Bea or Doc or Birdie, and look how incredible they are!  We were ready for them all, but they were each a big surprise.  What we’re telling our concerned friends is that we don’t have a plan—and that’s perfect for us.

(Before you think we’re those super-irresponsible la-la-la people who lean on society or the government to provide for our little ones, we have our retirement fund in place, college planned for, savings in the bank, and feed a staggering number of extra people at our table each week… and are grateful to God for it.)

Another interesting thing that comes with having five in the household is when sickness visits, it stays for a second round.   YUCKY!

The “twins” went to bed early tonight after lots of napping and insane amount of whining.  Truly pathetic babies.  Bea has been the sniffle princess for a couple weeks now, and her cough just won’t quit!  There was an entire afternoon where all of us were sparklingly healthy, but that’s a fading memory at this point.  Ah, well.  Perhaps we’ll be hale for Christmas!

And speaking of Christmas, I’m off to stitch some final gifts.

Hope your days are merry and bright!

Ta Da!

No post for October… you may or may not have noticed.

It was a busy month.

We have a new daughter.

*deep breath*

Let me type that again (it just feels so great!):

WE HAVE A NEW DAUGHTER!

The craziest thing?  She’s the same age as Doc.

Yeah, we’ve got twins.

TWINS!

Bea has been fantastic.  Doc has surpassed our most optimistic expectations for having a new sibling.

And Birdie?  Well, she’s just wonderful.

The Fuzz dog passed away right after my last post.  So before we had heard a word about Birdie, we brought home another pup.  This one is (ironically) two years old.  We hadn’t meant to get her, but she was so stinkin’ charming.  *shrug*  What’re you going to do, you know?

So the Anonymous family now has three kids, a feisty dog, and a couple insane parents.

Life is funny.  Life at our house is hilarious!

And nap time is now over, so that’s it for me!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ciao, Summertime!

What a week!

I finished my second silver ring… still not sure if I love the process (carved first in wax, mould, cast, file, polish, clean, find a flaw, file, polish, clean, find another flaw, polish, clean—yeah).  But I do like when someone complements my jewelry being able to say, “Oh, thanks.  I made it.”  It feels cool to give one of those little self-effacing shrugs and glance down at my hand.  The fact that I really like that feeling…  hmmm, maybe it doesn’t show something worth keeping in my character. (Self-reflecting can be a drag, you know?!)

Moving on!

This week brought three eager college girls to my studio; they all wanted to learn to sew, so I started them out on knit.  That’s right, KNIT!  Take that, cotton weave!  Although, I do love me some cotton weave—these ladies wanted maxi skirts, gorgeous, flowing maxi skirts.  We measured, selected fabric, cut, stitched, and (here it comes!) SURGED the garments.  Yep, Mr. Anonymous has once again melted my heart with a piece of crafting goodness.

It’s a total chunk of metal, but it races like a hummingbird’s heart after an espresso con panna.  Wow!  I’m honestly considering naming it; it’s that incredible.

Anyway, they’ve now moved on to beginner embroidery.

After they master that, we’ll begin Christmas gifts.  (I KNOW it’s September; yes, really I do.  But if I’m going to assist with their work AND get mine done, we’re starting before it’s officially autumn).

I’m thinking coasters like these in sets of four or six would be an inexpensive type of gift for them to make.  (This one went to my excellent mother-in-law today; she’s got a thing for matryoshka dolls).

There’s a term for golfers that get all jumpy and struggle to perform when under pressure on the course: it’s called getting the ‘yips’.  Ever since everything happened with adoption at the end of winter, I have been freezing up when it comes to sewing baby quilts.  It was more than not having the heart to stitch them; it’s been sort of a mental paralysis.  Or, as I refer to it, baby quilt yips.  This week, I decided that enough was enough.  Friends are having these precious bundles, and burp cloths and booties weren’t going to hold out forever!  I washed the fabric, had a little cry, ironed it all out, ate a piece of dark chocolate, sketched a design, poured myself a cup of coffee, started on the blocks, had another little cry, pieced everything together, went and kissed my kids while they slept, quilted the layers, got Mr. Anonymous to come sit in the studio while I worked, made and sewed on the bias tape, and finally, FINALLY, stood up FINISHED!

Seriously, it was a tremendous relief; I’m even embarrassed to type it, but there it was DONE, and I was liberated.  What an emotional ordeal over a blanket!  It feels like I could rock out a hundred for the stash at this point (and perhaps I should in case the yips return, but let’s hope they don’t!).

Otherwise, the kids and I assembled this construction paper bunting for the sunroom ceiling in honor of autumn.

I traced their hands, and they cut and roughed a little color over the top before we laced them on the yarn.  I like how it turned out, and I think it will last fine until Thanksgiving (although Doc’s climbing skills are off the hook.  We find him hanging off the craziest stuff!).

Hope your everyday is fine, fine, fine!

Babies and Stars

Doc is now two.

TWO!

Is it killing me just a little bit?  Hmmm, yes, just a little bit.

Seriously, how did happen so fast?!  One day we were bringing him home, and now he speaks in full sentences!  (Granted, they are Yoda-type sentences, “Mama, me outside go, me?”.  But they are, in fact, sentences).

We went to camp as usual this year.  It’s shockingly full of sugar and minimal sleep and almost way too fun to even go, but we do… and it’s always the best time all summer.

One night, while watching the evening game with Doc snuggled on my lap, he happened to glance up at the sky.  He let out a little gasp, thrust his pointer finger into the heavens, and asked, “That, Mama?”

I looked up into the night and then smiled.  Not being accustomed to being awake so late and so far from the glare of civilization, it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t recognize the twinkling pinpoints of light above us.  I answered, “That’s a star, Doc.  Star.”

He withdrew his hand but continued staring upward.  “Stah,” he said slowly.  “Stah, Mama.”  Then he stared me straight in the face and patted his chest.  “Stah.  Give it to you.  Stah, Mama.”

We’ll simply say that my eyes got full all of a sudden as I squished the breath out of him.

So, like I said, it’s killing me a little bit that time is wisking past us.  Who doesn’t want a precious boy who gives his first stars to his mom?  I’ll take that any day!