Annual holiday photo, take 3981

The Holiday Cards Project is still kinda stressing me out. Ever since we had kids, I've felt pressured to come up with cards that feature a cute photo of our offspring. It really shouldn't be that hard getting two boys to pose for a photo. Right?

I mean, after all, it seems that every parent I know handles this without incident. My friend Laura manages it with *five* (with another on the way) kids! Five! They wear adorable matching outfits and all smile at the same time, with everyone looking into the camera. There is no eye-rolling, no crying, no sulking.

For me and Vic, it is exhausting trying to get the boys to cooperate. By the time we are done, everyone needs a nap.

Annual holiday photo tradition

Can someone explain to me the secret to holiday photo cards - the ones where everyone in the family wears matching outfits and everyone smiles? Seriously, I want to know what it takes to make this happen. How do other parents do it?

Both last year and this year, I tried to get the boys to pose for a Christmas-themed photo I could use for our holiday greeting cards. With my sister in town for Thanksgiving, I thought the extra pair of hands would come in, well, handy when trying to wrangle the guys into place. Not so.

Last year, Auntie Linda, Nico and Nolan posed for a photo where the boys made it clear what they thought of the idea of taking a holiday photo. They thought the same of it this year too, apparently.

Rest in peace, Linda Clark

Linda Clark passed away on Wednesday, December 2. She took her own life, leaving behind family and friends who will miss her deeply. We miss her already.

The church that held her memorial service on Saturday was full. So many people came to honor Linda's life - I wish she could know that.

Linda was a dear friend I'll remember most for her wicked sense of humor. I loved her for it - and for her passion and her boldness. She said things aloud few people would dare express openly. She was imperfect, like all of us, but she acknowledged her flaws; she never pretended to be someone or something she wasn't.

She had a deep maternal instinct that comforted me, a mother myself. As a stressed-out working mom, I often feel overwhelmed trying to juggle all my responsibilities. Linda shared countless parenting anecdotes and tips with me, stories about her daughter and son that put things in perspective, stories that had me in tears from laughing. I don't know how many times she picked me up when I was down, lifting my spirits with her wit.

I wish I could have comforted her in her moments of darkness. I wish I had known the depths of her despair and helped her find a way out of it.

She was a tough lady, strong and brash. She battled depression but I didn't think there was anything Linda couldn't handle.

I first met her three years ago when she worked at Case Western Reserve University. She joined Word Nerds, an informal network of campus communicators I co-founded. Her presence in the group gave us a jolt - that laugh, those stories! When she left the university we formed an offshoot of the original organization: WordNerds Without Borders. We met every month to share and discuss creative writing projects.

Linda was the star of the show at our writing group gatherings - always keeping us talking, laughing, thinking. Some of us are introverts, yet Linda found a way to draw us all out to share our stories. She was a terrifically talented dynamic, creative force - a writer, an actor, an illustrator and more.

I'm heartbroken that I won't hear that big laugh in my living room ever again.

Thanksgiving: the most wonderful time of the year

The past few months have flown by in a blur of work and family issues and activities. I can't believe the winter holidays are upon us already. 

Last week, my sister flew in from San Francisco to spend a week with us. We've had a great time hanging out with her! Both boys adore their Auntie Linda; they have such a deep bond with her even though they don't get to see her too often. Lin was there for the birth of both boys and she has been a treasured presence in their lives ever since.

This past weekend was really fun. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. This year, we spent Thanksgiving at my father-in-law's house and the following day at my parents' house. We had a wonderfully delicious yet nutritious meal at my father-in-law's house. At my parents' place, Mom prepared an assortment of traditional American Thanksgiving staples (turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce) along with Taiwanese dishes (sticky rice, stir-fried shrimp, steamed eggplant with garlic). We stuffed ourselves.

Throughout the weekend, we played a lot of board games (I'm the house reigning champ at Scrabble, Nico's the one to beat at Sorry!) and had tons of fun playing Rock Band (I think the best combo for us was having Nico at the mic, Lin or Vic on guitar and me on bass). We also watched a bunch of movie DVDs. The weather was beautiful and Lin and I went for a nice long walk to Shaker Lakes.

We also started what I hope will become annual Thanksgiving weekend family traditions. During Thanksgiving, Nico announced to the family all that he is thankful for (I think the Buddhist school lessons are starting to make him more appreciative and grateful!). When Nolan starts talking more, I hope he'll do the same. On Saturday, we donated 13 bags of clothes and toys to Goodwill. 

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I'm going to try to keep a positive attitude through the hectic winter holiday season. 

The force is with me

I am quite impressed with myself at the moment.

I completed the boys' Halloween costume hunt a full month before Halloween! This is highly unusual for me, as I'm usually scrambling at the last minute. After all, I'm the mom who gets holiday cards out super late - as in January/February ("They're Lunar New Year cards!"). Last year, I didn't have to worry about Halloween costumes since Auntie Linda provided Nico's Iron Man costume and Nolan wore Nico's hand-me-down giraffe outfit.

This year's hunt for Halloween costumes started a few weeks ago. I had set up a recurring annual reminder on my Google calendar to "begin researching Halloween costumes" on September 1. So when my reminder triggered, I asked Nico what he wanted to be this year. Our conversation went like this:

Me: Why don't you and Nolan go as Transformers? You could dress as Optimus Prime and Nolan could be Megatron!
Nico: But Optimus Prime and Megatron are enemies.
Me: I know, but they're brothers.
Nico: But they're enemies.
Me: I know. That's what makes it funny.
Nico: Why is that funny? Nolan's not my enemy. I'm going to be Darth Vader.
Me: Then maybe Nolan should be Luke Skywalker?
Nico: What? That makes no sense! Nolan's not my son. I'm not his dad.

We flirted with a number of other dual costume ideas - Batman/Robin, Darth Vader/stormtrooper, black-costumed Spiderman/red-costumed Spiderman - but ultimately settled on Nico going as Darth Vader and Nolan going as an Ewok. If I go trick-or-treating with the boys, I'll be Chewbacca, of course.

I then did a bit of research and found out that a full Darth Vader costume cost around $70. No freaking way. That's not even including the light saber! Of course, there are less expensive versions starting at around $20, but knowing Nico, they would be unacceptable.

So I posted my Facebook status as:
[Lisa is] is trying to find a reasonably priced size 6-8 kids' Darth Vader costume and size 18-24 month Ewok costume. My life is incredibly exciting.

Next thing you know, I had 11 comments, ranging from "Holy cow, you're already thinking Halloween" to "A *real* dedicated Mom would sew the costumes from scratch. I'm just sayin'...."

I had procured a fantastic Halloween costume through eBay years ago, so I decided to try that route. In the next few days, I lost seven auctions. But then I won two. Voila, we now have a gently used children's Darth Vader Halloween costume, replete with full bodysuit and shoe covers, belt, helmet-mask and light saber. We also have a new toddler Ewok costume.

I can only hope to be this organized for the winter holiday season.

September afternoon

Nolan outside

Over the weekend, Nolan and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. I wasn't sure how he'd do, since we stroll him most of the time. Usually, when we do walk anywhere, we don't get too far before he wants to be held. Now that he's two, though, he is ready for longer strolls. So on Sunday afternoon, he and I set out for a neighborhood walk - just the two of us.

It had rained the night before and the ground was still wet. Nolan was in a super happy mood. He and I don't spend much time alone with each other and I really enjoyed being able to focus on just him. Often, he is just along for the ride while I run errands or shuttle his brother to various activities. On Sunday, we had a great time just enjoying the fresh air.

Every few steps, Nolan stooped to point at something and comment on it. He stomped in puddles and picked up all kinds of things from the ground: pebbles, buckeyes, twigs and colorful leaves. He laughed as acorns fell on us and around us from the trees overhead. He picked up the acorns from the ground and threw them in all directions. He picked up fallen branches that had leaves attached and mopped the sidewalk with them.

The weather was perfect and I had a great time with my little guy.

Farewell, NFL

A few weeks ago, my friend Chris sent his annual NFL football email to his pals: "Join my Yahoo! Sports Pro Football Pick'em group".

I was tempted. For about a second.

Then I decided against participating this year. The Brown are horrible and I have no idea what is going on with all the other teams. Plus, the Browns are horrible (did I already say that?).

It's been liberating having my Sunday afternoons, Monday nights and Thursday nights back again. I can use all that time to, I don't know, fold some laundry?