New 'Do

This is a terrible picture, but of the 47 I've taken of myself
since I changed my hair, this is the best one.

I've mentioned before that I dislike change, except when it comes to my hair and the weather. Almost exactly a year ago I cut off nine or so inches of my hair, but since then it's grown quite a few inches and I was itching to do something else drastic.  Since my hair wasn't yet long enough to cut off and donate, I dyed it dark brown.

I don't usually tell anyone in my family that I'm planning to change my hair; instead, I like to catch Tom and the kids off guard and surprise them. I see everyone off in the morning, head to the salon, and then look forward to their reactions when I pick the kids up from school and Tom comes home from work.

Hallie was first. When I walked into her classroom she glanced at my face, smiled, and yelled, "my mommy's here!" But when Hallie's eyes drifted beyond my face...her jaw literally dropped. She stood up slowly and cautiously made her way across the classroom to where I was standing. I knelt down so that we were face-to-face, and she ran her hands through my hair and gently touched my cheeks. Finally she breathed a sigh of relief, her smile returned, and she exclaimed, "it IS my mommy! She just has different hair!"

Will was second. Hallie and I walked to pick him up, and he emerged from the school building, just as he always does, carrying his backpack, lunchbox, jacket, and lots of projects he'd created during the week. He handed them all off to me, gave me a hug, and started telling me about his day. When we were almost home I finally asked him, "Will, do you notice anything different about me?" He stopped, looked me up and down, and said, "no, I don't think so." "Really?" I replied. "Nothing different about my hair?" After another solid look, he guessed, "Well, maybe it's shinier?" Good try, buddy.

Will didn't notice a thing and Hallie thought I was a different person.  Typical male/female reactions, right?

They Say It's My Birthday

Hallie told Tom - all on her own - that he
should get me a Katniss cake for my birthday

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, but it was also my birthday.

When I was growing up I hated when my birthday fell on Thanksgiving. One of the highlights of birthdays, at least for me, has always been and will always be getting to pick where we go out for dinner, what we eat for dessert, and which movie we go see. I usually choose a restaurant where I can order spaghetti or a cheeseburger, chocolate or carrot cake, and a Harry Potter movie. (Most of the Harry Potter movies have been released around Thanksgiving, which means that I've been able to go see them year after year for my birthday. Obviously the Harry Potter series has concluded, but next year begins a three-year stretch of Hunger Games movies being released on or within two days of my birthday. I can barely contain my excitement.) When my birthday falls on Thanksgiving, I'm "stuck with" turkey, pumpkin pie, and football. And while I really like all of those things, I still want the opportunity to make my birthday choices.

So this year, I decided to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving - and really enjoy the turkey, pumpkin pie, and football - and save my birthday for today.

I'm actually not at all bothered by celebrating my birthday a day late; in truth, I'm hoping that doing so will break the "birthday curse" I've been under for the last two years.

Last year, after a wonderful first three months of preschool, Will FLIPPED OUT while playing with a friend at recess and BIT this friend on the cheek. I mean, what?! Who does that?! When Will's teacher called me to tell me what had happened I nearly lost it, and when I arrived to pick Will up (his teacher and I decided that since Will loved school so much, the most appropriate punishment would be for him to have to go home early) I DID lose it. Nothing like spending your birthday crying in the preschool director's office. When we left school that day I was crying out of embarrassment and frustration, Will was crying because he was sorry for what he'd done and knew he was in trouble, and Hallie was crying because I'd picked her up early. As a side note, the fit that Hallie pitched that afternoon was so epic that for the remainder of the year I NEVER again picked her up even one minute before the end of the school day.

The year before, Tom, his dad, and Will went out for breakfast and Tom crashed my car into a pole. The three of them were fine, but the passenger-side door was bent in on itself and couldn't be opened or closed from the inside. It made for an interesting 13-hour drive back to Michigan after Thanksgiving, and an interesting quest to get the door replaced as we were trying to leave Michigan to move to Texas.  Nothing like spending your birthday shelling out hundreds of dollars to be able to get in and out of your car once again.

So will this year's birthday follow the "third time's a charm" saying?  Or the "third strike you're out" saying?  Maybe by celebrating on the 23rd instead of the 22nd I can ditch these crappy events that have darkened my day for the last two years. I'll keep you posted.

A Day Off

In honor of the holiday, I'm taking the day off.  Enjoy these two Thanksgiving-related posts on MomsEveryday.com and the National American Red Cross blog!

MomsEveryday: Thankful Children
My article about how I've been helping my children better understand and appreciate Thanksgiving was posted on MomsEveryday this week. Check it out here!

Red Cross: Many Thanks
As disasters always do, Hurricane Sandy reminded me that I have so much - more than I'd originally thought - to be thankful for. This week's Red Cross blog post covers it all, and you can read it here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful...

For my husband and children, who are the reason I get out of bed in the morning.

For my and Tom's extended families - our parents, siblings and spouses, niece, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins - who support our dreams, cheer us on, and catch us when we fall.

For my old friends (old as in length of friendship, not age - just wanted to be clear), the ones who've known me for years and loved me through my awkward teen and crazy college years. I love that when we're finally able to see each other in person after months or even years apart, it feels like nothing has changed.

For my new friends, the ones who've welcomed me - with open arms, both literally and figuratively - into their lives and helped me make this place my home.

For the roof over my head, the food on my table, the clothes on my back, and the ability to give a little of what we have to those less fortunate.

For the opportunity to reinvent myself professionally.

For the incredible public school system and elementary school in which my son is enrolled, and the equally fantastic private preschool my daughter attends. And for their teachers, who because I know how challenging my children can be, I consider saints.

For my - and my family's - health. It's terribly easy to forget to be thankful for our health, because when we have it, it's the furthest thing from our minds. Lately the four of us have had a few minor health issues (allergies, colds, high BP, high cholesterol, muscle pulls, tendonitis, ligament "problems", and ear and systemic infections), and I'm just so grateful we haven't had to deal with anything more serious.

And on a slightly lighter note, and though these are slightly ridiculous, I'm thankful...

For the public library, which surprisingly continues to loan books to my family.

For my drink (extra) refrigerator, without which I would have nowhere to store extra desserts, decorator frosting, Tom's pickled peppers, and my Blue Moon beers.

For my exterminator, without whom I could not live in Texas. And he's from Iowa, so I like him even more.

For my laptop computer and smart phone, both of which have allowed me to become even more OCD organized than I already was. I honestly don't think I could keep the Ferris Family Ship afloat without them.

For boots, especially my new maroonish-red (a perfect Aggie color!) cowboy boots and black knee-high boots that don't hurt my feet AT ALL.

And lastly, for the cooler fall weather, which incidentally is perfect for boots.  And jeans.  And light-weight sweaters.  And walks outside in the evening.  Fall in Texas is nothing like fall in the Midwest, but I'm thankful that a season other than summer has finally arrived in College Station.

I wish you and yours the happiest of Thanksgivings tomorrow.  May your day be full of that for which you are thankful, and may you be surrounded by those you love.

What Does He Do Again?

People ask me all the time what Tom does for a living. My first answer is always, "he's a professor". If they ask what he teaches, I answer, "engineering", they nod their heads in a way that indicates they don't need/want any additional information, and our conversations end there.

On occasion, someone to whom engineering is not a foreign language (as it is to me) will ask an additional question, usually something like, "in what department does he teach?" I answer, "Industrial and Systems Engineering".

On an even rarer occasion, the person asking all these questions knows what Industrial and Systems Engineering means and inquires about the area in which Tom's research falls. I answer, "Human Factors" or "Cognitive Ergonomics", depending on how I feel that day.

At this point, anyone still listening to me (most people's eyes have glazed over and I can tell by looking at them that they're thinking about what they're going to have for dinner that night) will say, "Oh! Ergonomics! Like comfortable chairs and computer keyboards that don't make my wrists hurt!" And I will reply, "actually, no. That's physical ergonomics. Cognitive ergonomics is more like ergonomics for the brain. Tom designs systems - in operating rooms, intensive care units, cockpits, etc. - that allow humans to use them more effectively, especially in high-stress situations".

"Oh." And that's ALWAYS the end of the conversation. And sometimes the friendship. (Just kidding about the friendship. But not the conversation.)

When it comes down to it, I'm not very good at explaining what Tom does, why it's important, and the potential impact it has on our world. The man who wrote this article, however, IS very good explaining all these things, so if you'd like to know more about how Tom's making a difference, check it out.

Tom makes me proud.

Peter Piper

Remember when I wrote about how we couldn't grow anything in our garden except peppers? (And one salad's worth of spinach.) That's still true - we can't grow anything except peppers - but I think at this point we've moved beyond "growing" peppers to something more intense, like breeding peppers in preparation for the end of the world. These little green vegetables have taken over our garden.

Our third batch of this size.

This would be great news, if I liked peppers even a tiny bit.

Tom is not very comfortable in the kitchen. He makes excellent salsa and guacamole, and does a great job manning the grill, but he doesn't spend a lot of time reading recipes. He decided, however, to give "pickling" a try since even he couldn't eat that huge pile of peppers before they would go bad.

After two hours of grocery and jar shopping and four hours in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon, Tom emerged with four large jars of peppers, expertly and gorgeously pickled with carrots, cauliflower, and various spices.

I won't be eating any of these peppers, but I can certainly appreciate
the effort Tom put into their pickling and how pretty they look now!

The problem is that since the day of pickling, we've harvested yet another huge crop of peppers.  Any ideas about/suggestions for what Peter Piper can do with them?

Weekly Wrap-Up (11.16.12)

The Island of Misnamed Toys

Until recently, Hallie has given her stuffed animals - at least those who aren't already named when they arrive in her arms - fairly literal names: her pink octopus is named Softy, her honey-colored bear is named Honey Bear, etc. But now Hallie has branched out, and named two recently-acquired giraffes "No One" and "Nowhere". She has no idea why a stuffed animals shouldn't have such a confusing name, and doesn't understand why we don't respond when she exclaims that "No One has the hiccups!"  At least she hasn't gone this far...

You may have already seen this video, as it "made the rounds" earlier this year courtesy of the Rants From Mommyland blog, but if you haven't, it's worth checking out.  I laughed out loud the first time, and maybe the second and third times, I watched it.  This little girl sounds a lot like my Hallie Claire.

In A Perfect World
I love and agree wholeheartedly with this beautifully simply philosophy. The problems are that 1) we can't seem to grow anything except jalapeño peppers - which I don't like and off of which I certainly can't survive - in our garden, and 2) my local library is one tantrum away from refusing me entry.


Doppleganger
Do you remember, as I do, watching Bob Ross paint "happy little trees" during art class in elementary school? Back then I was equally fascinated by how simple he made painting look (in less time than it took me to dress Barbie for her wedding to Ken, Bob Ross could create a beautifully intricate work of art), his mesmerizing voice, and his very "full" head of hair. There was something special happenin' up there on that head of his, though I'm not really sure what that something special was...

When I first met Tom's family, his youngest brother, Grant, was only 12 years old. Tom and I have known each other for 13 years, so Grant is of course all grown up now. And as it turns out, Grant grew up to be...Bob Ross.

Red Cross: Make a Plan - Check!
I committed myself publicly (online, in a Red Cross blog post a few weeks ago) to finally putting together an emergency preparedness kit and making an emergency preparedness plan for our family so that I would actually follow through and accomplish both tasks. I posted about putting together our kit about a month ago, and now I've posted about our experience making a plan; check out the process and learn how you can create your own here!