The girls love playing superhero. Kevin gets the role of Batman and Leina is his side kick Robin. Funnily enough, in their version of Batman, Robin runs around making the rules and bossing poor old Batman around who is often found sprawled upon the bed perusing a woodworker magazine. Who knew Batman was a woodsmith? Kulia, not to be left out, has developed her own character named “Superbaby!” (Yes, the exclaimation mark is meant to be inside the quotes. That’s how she says it.) Super baby runs around after Robin and can only be stopped for a drink of milk or when patches is lost/misplaced. The other night Leina asked for a mask and I whipped this up for her.

I give you, Robin….

And Superbaby!

Kevin has grumbled that he wants a mask too. Now that picture would be worth some bucks.

Aside from costuming superheros, I’ve also begin working on Christmas presents. Yes, I know it is only early October but I’ve learned my lesson. One minute the leaves are falling and the next the light up reindeer have migrated to our front yard and the tree is lit and decorated. So I’m starting early this year. Very, very early. So early, in fact, that I have penciled in time for the flu, a few colds, and a couple of dark procrastination periods. HA! Take that Christmas! Here are a few of the on-going projects scattered across my desk.

First, a Thanksgiving banner for sweet Anna…

Then, a very cute crow quilt for Auntie Bev that I found the pattern for at the quilt show with Kat. (Here’s hoping she isn’t a veiwer of my website…)

I am currently taking orders for other Christmas presents. If you have been nice this year, please leave a comment with your request and I’ll put you in the cue. But now, I must return to my needle and threads. Only 78 days till Christmas!

(Oh yes, did I mention that Kevin finally left me directions for how to post pictures to this site. Are you excited or what?!?!)

I love it when the seasons change. I think it may be because I spent so many years in Southern CA where the difference between summer and fall is a mere 5 degrees. Lets face it, palm trees in the fall look pretty much the same as palm trees in the summer. And winter. And spring.

So when I moved here to Oregon, that first fall was magical. I vividly remember walking the back path to campus with my mouth open and my eyes like saucers. I still have the leaves I picked up and marveled over. I loved pulling out my sweaters and boots and winding a scarf around my neck. Coffee tastes life-sustaining on a blustery fall morning and the casserole section of all my cookbooks become dog eared and dirty.

New seasons always feel like new starts for me. A chance to shake off last seasons failures and start fresh. New wardrobe – new beginnings! So I find myself embarking on new plans. A plan to whip this house into shape. A plan to finish my crazy projects that have stagnated. A plan to whip my lazy butt in shape. Of course, all this planning exhausts me but a nice cup of coffee yanks me back on my feet and I’m off again. So this fall, I plan to shed a few pounds, clean out some dirt, and put the finishing stitches on a few projects. Of course, somewhere along the line I’ll burn out but that’s ok. Winter is right around the corner and another fresh start will be here before you know it.

Now all I need to do now is dig out my black kick-butt boots and I’ll be mentally prepared to tackle fall head on.

Kevin just called me from San Francisco. Yes, he is back on US soil and I am so very happy. If all goes smoothly, he’ll be walking through the front door sometime this afternoon and it won’t be a moment too soon. Of course, he’s been up for 14 hours straight and has another 10 to go before bedtime so I’m guessing he’ll be a bit punchy but I don’t think the kids will care. I know I won’t.

We had a minor breakthrough at preschool this morning. For the first time, Leina ran into the classroom and then turned to me and said, “shoo shoo mommy.” No crying or fussing. No hand-holding and anxious eyes. Just excitement and eagerness to get started fingerpainting. That’s what I’ve been waiting for!

After drop off, Kulia and I headed home for some tv and snuggle time. Leina normally dominates the remote so for sister to get to pick her favorite shows is a real treat. Her current favorite is Yo Gabba Gabba which totally freaks me out. Why do kids love such strange shows?? Thankfully, the little laptop works on the sofa so I’m not forced to watch it. I do love the snuggles though. I have to sneak in as many as I can because once Kevin is home, I’m going to be playing second fiddle. I can hardly wait!

Kevin has a return date! Yes! He has promised me that he will be home sometime on Thursday. No more delays, no more push backs – he’s coming home. Phew. I don’t know how much longer I can keep up this song and dance routine.

I tried explaining to Kev that it’s kind of like running a race. They tell you it’s a 2 mile race so you pace yourself and it’s tough and you’re hurting but you see the finish line up ahead. But then, right before you reach it, they take it down and tell you, “sorry, our bad”. And so there you stand, exhausted, no longer at the end of the race but somewhere in the middle. When you ask how much farther you have to go, they just shrug and say, “we’re not sure, just keep running and we’ll let you know.” The last few days, I’ve been running along with no idea when the course will end. Kevin knew he had to stay longer but he had no idea how long. Now that they’ve re-strung the finish line, I feel a little pep in my step again. I now have something to shoot for. Of course, there’s always the possibility that they’ll move the line again but I prefer to take the optimistic route. The end is in sight. I just have to hobble a little further and then, relief!

The girls are doing much better than I am. Every now and then they’ll moan for their daddy but for the most part, they seem to be pretty unfazed. Of course, once they see him, I’m sure they will just melt into his arms and forget all about me. Sigh. It ain’t easy being mom. The up side is, I’m betting I can leave Kevin and the girls home this weekend to re-bond while I get to actually go somewhere without kids. Can I just tell you how excited I am about the idea of using a public bathroom without two small children watching and questioning my every move? Just the idea of peeing in privacy sounds wonderful.

Probably too much information, huh?

Thursday, you can’t get here soon enough!

Yup. That’s right. Kevin has been delayed. Things are going poorly. So poorly that he has pushed out his return date until who knows when. Ugh. I’m running pretty low on spirit right now. I’m just tired and there’s always more to do and no one to help me do it. The girls are doing ok. They are beginning to say that they miss their daddy more and more and I can only agree.

So I’m in the process or re-setting my mental picture. Kevin will not be home tomorrow as planned. This means I must find the strength and energy to last another week without him. Where, you ask, will said strength and energy come from? Well, Liza dropped off a pint of Haagen Das cookie dough ice cream which definately helped. A few more of those, and I’m sure the week will fly by, right?

Unless….. hmm… anyone out there interested in taking my kids for a week? Anyone? They’re really cute and they don’t eat too much.

Yeah, I didn’t think so. But you can’t blame a frazzled mom for trying, right?

So today was the big day.

The first day of preschool.

I have to admit, the morning was a bit rough. Kevin usually runs the show in the morning so it was pretty strange getting breakfast ready for the kids by myself. Leina was nervous and barely ate anything. She’d vacilate between excitement and anxiety at the drop of a hat. Add to it the fact that we had to be heading out the door by a little past 8am and the morning was a blur.

Luckily, once we got her to her class, she jumped in with both feet. I watched her for a while but then filed out with everyone else. Leina just smiled and gave me a little “shoo shoo” sign. She went on to have a great first day but Kulia and I spent the morning moping.

“Where Leina?” Kulia would ask me every few minutes. “When we get her?” was the second most asked question of the day. Even a pink frosted donut with sprinkles and a trip to the toy store couldn’t satisfy her. She wanted her sister back. Poor thing. We were both wandering around a bit lost without Leina to chatter to us. However, when I went to retrieve Leina at the end of the morning, she announced that she wanted to do it again. I just know she’s going to love this school thing. Now I just have to figure out a way to fill the hole she leaves behind!