wintertime

+Today is the first of December and I have already made three different kinds of cookies. I even went to a workout class at the ymca, and came home and mixed up my all-time favorite sugar and spice cookies. Might have to slow down on the baking a bit...

+I recently was telling my friend Rachel about The Christmas City Express in Duluth and felt compelled to tell the world about it once again. If you have a train enthusiast in your family, it really is worth the drive.

+It was 37 degrees on Saturday and our whole family acted like it was springtime. Rory got his chainsaw out, Ivar started making snow castles from his sand toys and Elsie asked to play with her little sand box on a chair in the driveway. I sat in a camping chair and marveled at how 37 feels balmy.

+We had our first suppertime candle lit Advent lesson. The kids weren't really into it. I ended up reading a kids book about baby Jesus and we sang Joy to the World. Mostly I bribed them with a cookie if they sat still for the story. We'll keep working on this all month long. Might have to keep baking those cookies after all.

+We went sledding the day after Thanksgiving at my mom's house. It was so awesome. Ivar laughed so hard and Elsie was fearless.



+And finally, on Sunday night on our way for hamburgers and grocery shopping we got a flat tire. We're not sure if we ran over something or what, but we had to call a tow truck and it was quite exciting for the kids. But we realized a few things while waiting in our warm car on the side of the road so close to home: we didn't have winter gear in the car. We didn't have extra hats or mittens or boots. We haven't even thrown in an extra blanket in the back. We usually will create a winter survival kit, but for some reason this winter felt so early that we haven't pulled it together. We were grateful to be close to home, able to wait in our warm car for the tow truck and to have a nice neighbor to come and pick us up. But we took it as sort of a nice reminder. I found this list and now will spend this week getting our cars winter-ready. Hope this is a helpful reminder for you too!

so thankful

We started out our Thanksgiving day watching the Macy's Day Parade which was sadly full of interviews with NBC actors and not very many balloons. Which made for boring television for Ivar and Elsie. However, we did catch this OceanSpray commercial where the turkey slips off the tray and splashes into the bog and it struck Ivar as hilarious. We were taping the parade so we could rewind and watch it again and again. And again. And again again. Every time the turkey splashed into the water Ivar laughed harder and longer. Ah, that boy loves slap stick.

Then we drove to my mom and dad's house for the feast. Sonna read an essay she wrote all about what she is thankful for and it was lovely. We all ate until we were stuffed full. 

After lunch we played three rounds of all family hide and go seek. Which might be my favorite new pastime. Surprisingly, there just aren't a lot of places for grown adults to hide in a house. And between the running around trying to find a spot to hide and then staying still for the minutes it takes to be found, this is one hilarious game. One round I was hiding behind the christmas tree with Elsie (a definite liability) and watched my mom cover herself with a purple sleeping bag while sitting upright on the couch. Oh it was so funny.

You've got to play hide-and-go-seek at your next family gathering. You've just got to.

We slept overnight and I got to watch Little Women with my sister and mom and nieces and daughter and it was awesome. We woke up early this morning and had swedish pancakes, went sledding, played board games and even got our christmas trees. It was a great Thanksgiving and left me feeling very, very grateful.

a homemade christmas wreath

Somethings in the air this season. I'm feeling really crafty. And creative. And ready to play. So on Tuesday during Elsie's nap, I took Ivar outside to gather pine branches to make a Christmas wreath. 

I have made a wreath one time before, when we lived out in Montana. It was at the Advent Retreat at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp and though I remember having made a wreath, I didn't remember the technique at all, But I did remember that I thought it was easy enough that I boasted I would never have to purchase a wreath again. 

And I'd say that again. It is pretty easy, but it is also very prickly. 

I didn't have a wire base to built my wreath on, but I did have two wire hangers from the dry cleaners. Keeping the hooks as they were (so handy for hanging later!), I just bent the triangles into circles and then used wire to tie them about an inch apart to provide a bit of a wider foundation.

I also didn't have green floral wire. But I did have white string. I started by tying my bottom most layer and then adding more and more. By the end, I was able to tuck little pieces in strategically so that I covered up the white string. The wire would have made it a whole lot easier, but it turned out great! And for the bargain price of zero dollars, I'd say this was a great afternoon project.

 ...and check out this sweet picture from that Advent Retreat in Montana. We lived out in Montana for a winter while I wrote my masters thesis and Rory wrote his weather software. Annika and Jedd lived in the cottage at the Bible Camp and we lived in the nurses cabin. It was a dreamy six months, living on Flathead Lake, sharing most suppers with Annika and Jedd, and spending my afternoons and evenings with my adorable nieces. What a dream! And seven years later I am so glad we lived so fully and so freely before we started a family. What a sweet season to have shared.

vertigo treatment!

A few Fridays ago I woke up with a violent case of vertigo. I've only had one episode before when Ivar was about six months old, so I was really surprised. For six hours I felt terrible. The pictures weren't attached to the walls, the walls weren't attached to the room, things moved far away and zoomed up close. It was awful.

I stayed on the couch most of the day and had a moment in motherhood I'll never forget when Rory left me for an hour to take a sales call. Elsie jumped on the couch while sympathetically reminding me, "Mama sick. Me sick too. I snuggle with mama!" And then would jump on my body, snuggle and get up to jump again and I would commend myself for being such a hero.

By mid afternoon I was able to eat toast and keep it down. And by the evening I was able to sleep, but only on my left hand side. If I lay flat on my back or on my right side the whole world went helter skelter again. 

It was like this for six days. I could only lay on my left side. Any rolling over would bring on an episode. I was better when standing or sitting, but I could never throw my head too far back, or lean it on the headrest of the car. And most of the time if I moved my head there was a delay for the picture to catch up with my eyes. Like I was watching slow motion, except I knew I was moving normal.

It was gross. I went to a chiropractor, I prayed, and I was just about to go to an ear, nose and throat doctor when a friend at our small group told us about a procedure his chiropractor does for him when he has a vertigo spell. When everyone left we googled it. It required me getting on the kitchen table and Rory doing some big movements with my head and when we watched it done on youtube Rory politely declined. It was going to end poorly, probably with sickness.

But then Rory found a video that seemed compelling and the exercise she recommended was worth a shot. It was less jerky. So with the help of youtube, Rory coached me through a series of motions. The series took about two minutes and the first round was really uncomfortable because I had to hold a pose through the uncontrollable spinning. We waited 30 minutes and then did it again. And that time I heard something and felt immediate relief. We waiting another 30 minutes and did the exercises two more rounds with no spinning and that night I slept on my right side!

It was pretty miraculous for me. I was really weary from a week of messed up vision. And I was beginning to wonder if this was going to be my new normal. I am so grateful it is not.

But this video will be! I've had a few more dizzy moments since, and each time I do my half somersault move. It's amazing.

The likelihood that you will ever have a spell of vertigo is pretty slim. I've since learned that my Grandpa Harrington suffered terribly from this, which is fascinating to me. That it might be genetic? I have no idea. But I am writing all of this for two reasons: 1) so that I have quick access to this video whenever or wherever I need it. 2) in case you ever hear of someone who needs relief. This little video is worth a shot. It worked for me and I'm so, so glad it did!

Preparing for Advent

Advent is the season on the church calendar where we prepare our hearts for Christmas. But as a mom, I feel a real responsibility to prepare for Advent, so that I can take the lead in reminding my kids the real reason for the season.

Ivar is four now, and traditions are being set. Rory and I are talking really intentionally about how we want our kids to remember their childhood, how we want to create traditions, how we want things to feel and look and smell. One huge decision is that we want our kids to have Christmas morning at our own home, and we want to celebrate Christmas eve at our own church. These are both things we remember from our own childhoods, and want for our kids. But it means not joining our extended family for those times. Thankfully (and I am SO thankful!) all families involved have been gracious and understanding.

What I've learned is that building tradition takes intention. But what I remember about my own childhood is that it is the little things. We always had an advent wreath on our kitchen table during December. And it was lit at each supper. Sometimes we would turn the lights out after everyone was done eating and sing a christmas carol. I'm not sure how many times we actually did this, but it is etched in my mind with the happiest and warmest of memories.

So my goal is to keep it simple. I spent Sunday night looking on pinterest for Advent Ideas, and felt convicted that you could really overdo it and loose the whole point of the season. So I googled for Christ-expectant Advent ideas and found an awesome article that spelled out a simple Advent plan, the one I remember from my childhood. So here's my plan:

1. Make an advent wreath. Maybe just five mason jars filled with sand with three purple, one pink and one white candle. A good explanation can be found here. And keep it on the kitchen table all of December.
2. Light one candle each week leading up to Christmas. I love the anticipation this builds. I remember loving church in December and watching the acolyte light one more candle each week...because it meant Christmas Eve was that much closer! Ah! The anticipation!
3. Eat our supper and then turn out the lights. I know from experience that this always quiets the room.
4. Read the scripture for that day and sing a christmas carol. We'll add one carol a week so by Christmas my kids should know the words to four carols.
5. Pray and thank God for sending his baby boy Jesus for us.
6. Turn the lights back on.

So that's my Advent plan. If you have older kids (elementary or middle school, I still recommend The Family Book of Advent, but it still seems a bit too involved for Ivar and Elsie.) How about you? Do you have any favorite Advent traditions?

(The picture above is my cousin Sarah (the blondie) and me dressed up as angels for the nativity we act out each year with the cousins. My grandpa always read the scripture and even though he died when I was fifteen, I can hear his voice clear as day when I think of him reading, "In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered...")