Halloween

The 2009 Sanford Family Pumpkins. We really enjoy this... the parents more than the kids I think. We were joking about how pumpkin carving is an important annual creative outlet for us. We take it very seriously. From Left to Right: Gregg's, Gretchen's, Hannah's, Emily's
Right before the Halloween parade at Gretchens preschool. She was the world's cutest giraffe. Other costume highlights: UPS man, blue lobster, Cat in the Hat (the dad) with Thing 1 and Thing 2 (complete with blue hair hairsprayed straight up in the air), and a little girl dressed up as Ironman (the superhero)
We walked up to Pierce's in a chaotic line and trick or treated at the check out and deli counters.

The trick or treating gang: Dorothy (Gretchen), Snow White (Hannah), Fairy (neighbor friend), Spiderman (cousin), Ballerina (cousin)
Snow White even has a poisoned apple.

The after shot. Smudged make-up, circles under the eyes, frazzled out on sugar. This cracks me up every time I look at it. Classic!

October

Hannah lost her first tooth in the car earlier this month, after a day of apple picking and apple eating. She was so excited she was crying.
Apple picking with the cousins. They were the taste testers. We went to Door Creek Orchard and I was very excited to collect the windfall apples for a discounted price for my apple butter.

This is a sweet picture from Papa's 30th birthday. Hannah made him a mushroom crown. I made Pakistani food (that I learned to prepare in my Pakistani cooking class!) and had a couple friends over for cake.

Yes, those are birthday cakes! Aren't they cute!

Conversation with Hannah

Today on the way to school Hannah said "Mama, when I am big like 15, or 14, I am just going to go out into the big world on my own. Don't worry, I will be able to find my home again."
This is what I am facing in the teen years I am afraid. She is going to want nothing to do with me! It's always been a challenge to find reasonable boundaries for her, she is such an independant spirit. She detests boundaries. I suppose this is a good trait to have, but it sure is a challenge to parent. :)

This statement followed a long discussion of how much she loves the earth, and nature, and animals. She told me she buried the dead bird (that we found in our yard last spring) because she loves animals SOOO much and wants them to go to heaven. She told me she likes to go into the woods all by herself because she is not even afraid.

I wish I had a tape recorder last night. She left the dinner table and said something like "I have to go clean my room right away." WOAH!! She has suddenly decided that she wants a clean room, but more importantly, and totally mermaid room. She keeps giving Gretchen things that are not "mermaid" for her room. She hung shreds of green and blue paper on her door as seaweed and put a sign on the door that says "Entrance to the Mermaid Room."

My camera is out of batteries, but as soon as I get it charged up I will post some pictures of the costumes from trick or treating. Happy day!

pictures to share

I found Gretchen doing this in the bathroom the other day, and she said "Mama, LOOK, I'm just like Grandad! She's been watching Grandad and his crazy hair combing skills, I guess.

Gregg and a coworker found this on a mushroom hunt. Chicken of the Woods, and it actually tastes like chicken! It's awesome!


Our little mushroom hunter. We have been on many mushroom forays this season. So far we have found (as far as edibles go): honey mushrooms, chicken of the woods, puffballs, and I think there is more, but you would have to ask Gregg.


Our carrots were beautiful this year! Photograph by Hannah.


Squirrel Moon Dance and Music Weekend at Folklore Village. SO fun! music and dancing non-stop all weekend, with wonderful people, in a beautiful place. what could be better?

obligatory first day of school pictures

Wow. I have a Kindergartener! Hannah is loving it, and we love her school (Emerson Elementary) and her teacher. We have officially entered the world of school: lunch boxes, PTO meetings, bake sales, early bedtimes. Hannah already has her first crush (what!?!?) My jaw dropped the floor when she told me that "I think I kind of love Aiden!" We in for trouble, I think.
Gretchen started 1/2 day preschool, 3 days a week, at Lakeview Cooperative Preschool. She feels pretty cool having her own school. Her teachers are always telling me she had a happy day, which is probably why she melts down as soon as we get home. release.......

Fall has been so beautiful this year. a little rainy. As i look out the window right this moment, I actually see tiny snowflakes! unbelievable. I had to scrape the windshield for the first time this morning.

Erik 1979-2009

To the memory of our dear friend Erik: someone who truly knew how to love and live, he believed in the goodness of people and the world and infected everyone he met with it. You will be greatly missed and always alive in our life. Thank you for the memories and adventures.



Erik always had some crazy skills. here he is showing us how to build a fire out of a stick and a piece of grass.

Hunting the buffalo in the wild wild west on a road trip our freshman year of college.

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountaintop, then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

-Kahlil Gibran, on death from The Prophet

Outdoor Sculpture "The Awakening" at the National Harbor.

Hot sweaty girls. This was after our long run to catch the ferry boat.
One of the many highlights of our trip to visit the grandparents in DC. The slip and slide! It had a sharks mouth that you slid through!
This is at Grandma Sanfords in Viola, WI. pickin' and grinnin' on the front porch with Gregg's cousin Cody.
Just wanted to share some pictures, I will write more later when 2 girls are not clinging onto me begging me to do their "letters" on the computer. Anyone with kids: starfall.com. My kids love it. I do too.

We're Back!

So, I took a 6 month break from this blog, but here I am, trying again. Life happens, and blogs get forgotten. Life goes on.
Muffin really likes markers that smell good. She received a pack of smelly markers a while ago, and for weeks the tip of her nose was a collage of multi color smears. She enjoys telling me what they smell like... grape, cherry, etc. This morning I was doing dishes and she came to the kitchen while I was doing dishes and asked me to smell the marker she was coloring with. It was a peachy colored marker, and a non-smelly one by the way. I smelled it and told her I thought it smelled kind of yucky. She chuckled and very matter of factly told me "It smells like diaper. I have alot that smell like diaper." Hee hee. Shes so cute.

We just got back from our vacation to D.C. to visit Papa's folks. We had a fun-filled week. National Harbor and ferry ride, National Aquarium, Smithsonian Museums, slip and sliding, good time with family. We took pictures of the Obama's vegetable garden while everyone else was taking pictures of the White House. We went contra dancing at Glen Echo, in Maryland. Wow, what a dance. Papa played in the open band and made $20! I left my dancing shoes in Wisconsin but still danced my heiny off in my flip flops with at least 300 other people. My feet are still recovering.

Since we have been back, I am trying to convert our weed patch back into a vegetable garden. We harvested a nice crop of carrots today and a zucchini about as big as a canoe. We also found a baby (tiny tiny) mouse or vole in our hay bale, which was so exciting for the girls. When we left, they left the baby a mini carrot. I am also trying hard to find a job and to get on top of things before Bug starts Kindergarten in TWO weeks! How did this happen!?! I took her and her cousin to the fabric store yesterday to pick out fabric for a rest mat cover that I am going to sew for them. She chose sparkly disney princess fabric. Shes all set: markers, pencils, kleenex, glue, crayons, lunch box, princess backpack, princess rest mat (that I would be completely shocked if she laid and rested on, but maybe they work some sort of magic in Kindergarten that makes them rest)

In accordance to the goal I set before, I am hoping to update the blog at least once a month. We'll see! Its a fun way to share the Sanford family happenings and a few pictures. I just tried to add some new pictures, but I need to purchase some more storage capacity on my Picasa Web account, which means it will have to wait until next paycheck. But next month, I promise!

Dress Up Tea Party

Here's the birthday girl! I can't help but go all out for birthdays. My mom always made our birthday so special, and love doing that for my girls too. This year, for birthday number 3, we had a dress up tea party. The girls and I went to the local thrift store and for 15 dollars got 8 tea cups and saucers, 8 china plates, and a load of fake flowers for decorating. (Plus, a really groovy vintage dress for Mama to wear for the party)
The table looked so cute and all the kids were adorable. We had raspberry and blueberry tea with milk and sugar cubes (which were almost all gone at the end of the day... whoops! sorry parents!) I also made mini tea sandwiches, mini muffins, fruit, cheese cut out in cute shapes, raspberry brie tarts, and mini quiche.
Bug handled her little sister's special day like a champ. No fits of jealously. Even when Muffin got the mermaid doll that Bug has been asking for for weeks and weeks. She has been so desperate for this doll, she wrote a note to the flower fairies and hid it under a table. She is convinced they will bring one for her now. Its all i can do to not just go out and buy it for her.
the lovely Sanford ladies. never thought I could get so into this girly stuff. :)

My grandma used to make my cake every birthday, and since my girls don't have their grandma's nearby, I always make their cake too. I let them choose what kind of cake they want. It is always an unusual challenge every birthday. Bug has had ladybug cupcakes, a caterpillar cake, flower pots full of "dirt" and "bugs", and a mama spider cake with a bunch of baby spider cupcakes. This year will be the first non-insect cake... she is already requesting a mermaid cake. Muffin had a teddy bear cake, and last year was a Pig cake. I will never forget that one. It was red velvet cake, so when you cut into it, it was bright red. The whole time she was eating it she kept laughing and saying "Eat Pig! ha ha ha!" Well, this year she insisted on a princess cake. It was an interesting challenge... last minute I sent Papa to the store for a box of cake mix because it wasn't tall enough. She turned out pretty good though!

It was a really fun day.

December Fun

My parents and us out on Lake Monona after a fun time sledding with the girls. It's so neat to walk on a frozen lake! We made snow angels and wrote our names by them also.
Downtown Madison (the capitol building is in the background) is on an isthmus. The lakes are exciting places here, even in winter. They are full of people ice fishing, cross country skiing, wind sailing, flying kites, and snowshoeing. There is a big festival called Kites on Ice on the lake when the winter is cold enough. There are usually several ice skating rinks plowed out. Interesting artwork usually pops up on the lake during the winter months. This winter there is a grouping of dinosaur skeletons emerging from the lake. In past years, I have also seen the statue of liberty, dancing penguins, and a huge blue whale.

This is Bug and Grandad... right before they wiped out hard.
Granny at the beauty shop.
Papa working on his new hobby: bow making. These are logs (black walnut I believe) he harvested. He split them and they will cure for 6 months and then the carving begins!
Uncle E-Block. We always get him a gag gift. It is tradition (one of my favorite of the holidays, it always brings massive amounts of laughter.) This year was good: rap grillz, bling, and the shades, of course. Muffin is sucking her thumb there, probably very confused, and a little worried.

a few Christmas pictures... just a little late.

Fairy girl


Princess girl


Bug made Papa "toilet paper bean bags" for Christmas. She wrapped them up and wrote a note and everything. It was a very special gift.


The Christmas train. Doesn't this picture look like it belongs in a magazine about happy family life?


I LOVE this picture. This was right when everyone woke up. We forced them all to sit at the top of the stairs and swarmed them with cameras and flashes and lots of commands to "SMILE!" I think their faces are hilarious. T is cooperating, but you can tell that smile is a fake. Bug looks miserable and in pain. Muffin is totally out of it, in La la land. G is saying "get me the heck out of here, you people are crazy." Ha, i love it.

My little Bats

These pictures are the girls in their bat costumes. Pretty fierce. Although I always inform them that bats are gentle and harmless creatures despite their reputation and portrayal in various media.
We lived with the bats once. I will never forget the feeling of waking up in my bedroom (on many occasions) in the middle of the night to bats flying over my head. Or, reaching to get a bowl off the shelf and finding a bat inside. Or, reaching in the washer to peel off the sock that got stuck on the side only to realize it is a bat.
I really do like bats. I would prefer that they live somewhere other than inside my house. However, if they are the little girl variety, I can let it slide.

Pretty Pretty Princess Papa

this is Papa's FAVORITE new game: Pretty Pretty Princess. He especially enjoys the clip on earrings. The girls and I picked up the game at the thrift store for $1 and it has provided us with many many laughs. Quite a deal for a buck!