I have some news...

Friends! It's only been a minute since my last post (jokes). I've not been sharing life on this platform, and I miss it. Just add 1 year, 10 months of life growing and happening and shaping since the last time Moxie got attention, and that's where everyone is. I've been growing older along with the children, which makes me even more shocked, scared, humored that I'M HAVING A BABY!!!!! It's like the craziest. Heading into the second trimester this week, still having flashes of what-the-heck-is-God-thinking blink across my brain... No, this wasn't planned (I would've wondered if I were you, too). Let me clarify: this wasn't planned by us. This life has been on history's timeline since the foundation of the world, and that's what stops my sad/sorry tears...and opens the floodgates of gratitude. I should explain the sad/sorry. My collection of 4 children has finally hit a sweet spot. They can pretty much take care of themselves. Oliver can boil the water and make the mac n cheese. They can all unload the dishwasher and use the bathroom and make their beds and ride their bikes and brush their teeth and feed the cats and dress themselves. Most can read and play the piano too. There are parts of my job as a parent that I had retired from. Prematurely *palm to forehead*. Also, we have a small house with 3 small bedrooms, and we've done the math perfectly so that each bedroom has two people. Where are we going to put a baby and all the gear that comes with it?! These are the things that stunt my enthusiasm...but they're all nothing compared to the promise of new life. So here we go, jumping back in with both feet, preparing to welcome another tiny person into this tiny house.

I've been meaning to share these pictures since my friend Margaret took them, and now that they're going to be outdated, I have to swoosh them into the world.

(That's the face I made when I saw two lines on the pregnancy test.)

Excitedly awaiting the Great Bambino, due 4/27/20.

Georgianna Lynn

When Oliver was younger I was pretty good at documenting all the nutty stuff he said (homeboy be cray cray).  But if I don't write it down as soon as it leaves the horse's mouth, I'm probably going to forget it.  So once our second and third cherubs came along, keeping track of their childish speak was all but out the door.  Until recently when George started saying the darnedest things.

When I told Gmeister that Megan and Mike were coming for lunch, "There's a microphone coming over?"  [I would call this 'classic' if she was 100 years old.]

About post-it notes, "It dicky on da back."

Looking at a picture of a man in a book, "Is him his chiwdwen's daddy?"

Andrew told G not to let him forget wrapping paper when they went to Target
G: Why?
A: So we can wrap the presents and put them under the tree.
G: So Santa doesn't have to?
*side note: we don't tell our kids there's a Santa Claus.  Not because we think it's bad, we just don't.  But this girl George?  She's a born believer.  Even when she asks if Santa's real or not and we say it's just a fun thing to pretend, she'll talk and talk about him bringing us presents and how he'll manage without a chimney.

'Red Handed Jill'

Disaster [entirely] averted

Boring. Mrs. Hack called Anna this afternoon to cancel their lunch date for tomorrow at 1:00 because it was snowing today at 4:00. Welcome to Ohio.

Disaster [nearly] averted

"Hi, Anna. This is MRS. Hack."
Gulp.
Ruby - ahem - Mrs. Hack, stated her status straight away. Remember Mrs. Hack? She was the crescendo in Anna's Christmas luncheon saga. True to her word, she called my sister up last week to 'do lunch.' After asking Anna where she'd like to go (to Anna's mortification and abundant hesitation), Mrs. Hack was persistent enough to pull an answer out of Ann. Ruby could pull a tooth out of a tiger. She's very persuasive and persevering. Though Anna's initial response was panic, she knew she had to say something -Mrs. Hack wasn't giving her anything. "Panera's always good." Mrs. Hack's reply: Oo, that's true. The only problem with Panera is that their bread is quite hard.
Nice try, Ann.
They eventually did decide on Panera as their rendezvous point despite their hard bread. They set the date and time and...Anna discovered she had class all day that day. What a bummer. No matter, they just rescheduled. This Tuesday is when our story will get colorful - Ruby red, I'm sure. I can't wait to hear the full report!
So after she thought she had an excuse -class is even legitimate- Anna came to realize there is no excuse for Mrs. Hack, she'll find a way. She makes things happen.

Comic relief

Over Christmas I had the joy of spending time with my entire family. It was so very merry indeed. We all laughed and had good talks. The most I've laughed, possibly ever, was at Anna. I would say with Anna, but she wasn't laughing. Here's the story...
It begins with Anna having the -ahem- privilege of going out for a Christmas luncheon with Luke and all of his coworkers (superiors - scientists, PHDs, colonels, etc.), and their wives. Oh joy, thought Anna.
Now, you know when you have something dreadful to do and you're just getting yourself so worked into a tizzy? You hang onto a thread of hope that things won't be as bad as your imagination has led you to fear. If only that were the case with Anna.
See, she just started digging into her food with gusto, hoping no one one would notice her, and certainly to avoid -the death wish - eye contact. Wouldn't you know it, the general didn't get the body language, and struck up conversation with my sorry sister.
General: So Anna, Luke tells me you're getting your Masters in nursing.
Anna: *GUFFAW*
The poor dear. She just found it so ironic that someone with such a stack of education under his feet, would assume she's already onto her Masters.
After recovering slightly from the shock of her own response, but still looking red in the face, Anna wanted to say she was going to get her Bachelors then Masters, but she put the two together. What do you get when you combine Bachelors and Masters? Well, Anna told the general she was getting her bastards in nursing. Wow, that's something new.
Luke momentarily takes over the story here. He said he stared at his plate for a second, then swooped in and saved his mortified bride. "What Anna means is that she'll get her Bachelors degree, then her Masters..."
Okay, two moments of embarrassment behind her, Anna forges on, hoping to be a most forgettable person amongst this crowd of dignitaries. But did I mention there are three irksome degrees to this saga? The third being the piece de resistance.
I now introduce Luke's boss' wife, Ruby Hack. She had gotten Anna's number from Luke at a prior meeting, wanting to take Anna out for coffee and a chat. So as Ruby's leaving this luncheon she reaches out her hand to give Anna a little wave and say, "I'll call you," when my overeager sister reaches out and attempts to shake it. Ruby's left hand, out there limp just for a friendly gesture, has just turned my poor Annabelle into the most distressed creature. Confounded. Disconcerting. Vexing. Perplexing. Needless to say, Anna's not exactly waiting by the phone for Ruby's call to go out to lunch. Not that again.

O oliver I.

Looking and sounding so disappointed in himself, Oliver says regretfully, "I can't even read."
Oh buddy, you are two whole years old, so it's about time you learned.

Hilarity on 5 Mile

The toilet on the landing, very conveniently located right inside the lower entry door... so it's no longer a problem if you're gardening and suddenly gotta go. Sadly Andrew dispatched the toilet, which I scolded him for.

Olives enjoying watermelon in his new yard.

Some clothes left from the former owner. Thanks, Gladys.

Dear Gladys had enough scarves to outfit the world... or at least every female at the next Kasper garden party.

O William

My dear Mr. Pahlmann has done it again! I was reading this morning, wanting someone else to share in my joy and entertainment. Please do.
After he talks about the unnecessary frills of formal decorating (i. e. forbidden passage to parlors and guest rooms), he then cautions against being too careless with the casual side:
"I cannot refrain from interpolating here that I think casualness can be carried too far. The overstressing of easy living has resulted in some houses I have had the misfortune to visit being scarcely distinguishable from a pigsty. I think it is a mistake to reduce surroundings, in favor of casualness or easy living or anything else, to such a low common denominator that there is no pride or dignity left.
"Children who are brought up in such houses will have to learn about order and respect for property somewhere else. A certain amount of discipline is necessary in life. A child who is reared in a concrete cell, with furnishings he can and does take the hammer or the hose to, has every opportunity of becoming a barbarian. I am aware that I may be treading on the toes of progressive theorists in child psychology, but I base my contentions on horse sense."
It cracks me up! He tells the truth with such sarcastic flair, wearing his passionate conviction on his sleeve. I'm only on chapter 4 of 34, so I can't wait to see the next of many revelations I'll receive from my new friend.

Note from Andrew

This seems a bit morbid for my blog, but Andrew insisted that I post it. Here it goes...
Though I didn't witness this myself, Anj says shortly after he lit the first bonfire, it looked like things were about to get messy. As he was unwinding the yards of garden hose to tame the blaze, he suddenly spotted a ball of fire coming from the pile. A flaming rabbit shot right out! Peter cottontail scurried past him (on his way to a snowdrift I hope). Messy indeed! Silly rabbit. Tricks are for kids.

Here it is!

My new favorite reading material. I want to blog the entire book, which doesn't seem legal, but it's so well written I long to share it with everyone - as I'm reading I feel like Scout and Jem are going to come bounding around the corner and start telling me about Atticus' way of making their little house feel like home (To Kill A Mockingbird).
Anyway: "We can all have happy, comfortable, pleasant homes if we care enough. It is necessary to care. You can transform unprepossessing materials into a happy home if you care, think and plan... Interior decoration begins with a study of the people who are going to live with it. This is not only necessary for the best results but often turns out to be loads of fun. It also costs nothing, which lends enchantment. Know thyself!" Are you inspired? Oh I hope so.
This has been my bedtime reading, which doesn't seem like a good idea. It's like consuming an energy drink before hopping on an airplane - not smart! Andrew is so patient with me as we sit there with our books. He'll be quietly reading some melancholy mystery, and I'll interrupt him with interjections like, "Get this-!" and, "Oh my! That's exactly right!" My poor darling. He is also an artist, though, so my excitement is sometimes met with mutuality when it comes to new ideas.
This morning while doing my BSF I was enlightened further as they directed me to Deuteronomy 6 & 7, where it talks about loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. God tells the people to talk about this and the rest of the Ten Commandments all the time, "Impress them on your children... Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates." How awesome to be deliberate about making Christ the center of your home. Pahlmann doesn't mention God in his design theories - I'm not sure where he stood with Him. I know I'm passionate about the Lord and I'm passionate about design, so naturally enthusiasm is mine as I consider the two together.
Oh, I've forgotten to cite that Oliver is often subjected to my design woes as well. He's my little sidekick as we meet with our clients (my mom and my sister's mother-in-law so far). He's going to really love it when we get into some projects that require demolition...

my gal sal

sally is one of the funniest people i know. she doesn't let on to this usually..you see her and think she's just some raving beauty who is somehow above the rest (because she's too pretty to be equal). then she starts singing 'from this moment' in a voice so inhumanly hilarious and she makes this face that is so inhumanly scary and scarring, that you become confused and don't know which one is her really -the bomb shell or the bomb. this takes talent. she really does have a killer voice, too..besides the voice that sounds like it may indeed kill you. she's so in love with taking abstract photos of herself you must hide your camera if she's around or you'll find yourself innocently scrolling through your family pics on your camera one day and come across something that could cause a mild heart attack. smart as a whip, pretty as a picture, skinny as a rail is my sister sal.

the other day we discovered that mom's camera has the ability to take continuous shots without having to readjust every time..just a constant stream of clicking. we tested this out at great length and i also became addicted to self-photography..look out! here are some of the highlights of our photo sesh..

At Large

This is a picture of Andrew & I last year at Mom & Dad's for Christmas.

I've just been thinking about a year ago at this time and how painfully pregnant I was. This thought led me to the memory of going in to one of my check ups and having the Dr. tell me my blood pressure was a little high- great, overweight with high blood pressure = ME. Soon after that appointment, which was toward the end of the ninth month, I went in for an unscheduled appointment as a result of my paranoia. My Dr. didn't have any openings, so I saw a different guy who I'll call Dr Smith. A very nice guy, he comes in, glasses on the end of his nose, looking at my file (which was almost as big as me by this point) asking what the problem was. I had been experiencing heart palpitations and was nervous that it was an unhealthy combination with the 'high blood pressure'. I almost crack up just thinking about it -he goes on to examine me at length, all the while giving a narrative so full of highly intelligent, speedily mumbled medical jargon, I still don't know what he said. I listened carefully for words like 'problem' or 'complication' -since these were terms I could understand- and I came to the conclusion that things must be alright since I didn't recognize any of the words Dr. Smith used. Luckily my brilliant nurse-of-a-sister Anna came along so she could translate after we left. (It was also unlucky that she was there, though, because if we looked at each other we got the giggles!) Due to the mumbling, she didn't catch much of what he said either, but could deduce that everything was fine.

And behold, everything is fine. It's been just about a year now, and we've got an overly active toddling Oli whose mommy can't remember life without him...but imagines it was pretty peaceful...and boring.

Worst day of the year

We took down our Christmas tree yesterday. Taps would have been very appropriate as I removed ornaments, watched Andrew take off the lights...then, all of a sudden, the whole thing tips over!
A mistake that we made our first Christmas was thinking it would be easier to take the stand off OUTSIDE, which meant we tipped the tree over INSIDE..resulting in sap-water stained carpet. I thought we learned from that...
So, amidst my sadness I had to let out some giggles because the thing just kept going down as poor Anj tried (with much physical force, I might add) to extract the last of the lights. He thinks the silly thing was probably just balancing all season. There was water all over the floor, mingled with so many needles and pine cones. A fearsome thing to behold.
Now today the house is nothing but gloom. Lonely nails, empty shelves, the tree tossed carelessly in the snow bank. With the same intensity that I love Christmas, I loath putting everything away and pretending that regular decorations are just as warm and fantastic as Christmas ones.
About the tree balancing act: I can't believe it never crashed the zillion times Oli tried taking it dancing...

More Festive Photos

Oliver checking out the present situation

Jess and Jonny frosting cookies..or their hands..

Anna and I in our cheery Christmas shoes

Sally using the greenest frosting ever as lipstick

Sally trying to kiss me with said green lips