How We Halloweened

Although the lead-in to Halloween was WAY too long this year (my fault for putting the decorations up on October 1st), the big day finally arrived and my little fireman and fairy were not disappointed. Because all of the houses in our neighborhood are raised, our neighbors take Halloween to the streets which makes it WAY fun. It really was a special night full of bonfires, spiced (and spiked) cider, and so much candy that our teeth hurt. 

We began in the usual tradition: with a big pot of chili and my mom's Mexican cornbread recipe which is the best thing you'll ever put in your mouth. This meal is the ONLY way that Halloween can begin. It's a tradition carried over from my childhood when my mom did her best to fill our bellies in hopes that we wouldn't eat too much candy (it didn't work, then or now). 

My little ones seemed like old-pros at trick-or-treating and really were the last ones standing in our neighborhood. Like last year, they'd have kept going if people weren't turning off porch lights. And now, as usual, I'm very happy to be finished with Halloween and moving into the season of gratitude. Right now I'm grateful that my mantel no longer looks like this: 

And of course, as usual and most of all, I am grateful for these little guys and the fact that I get to experience everything for the first time through their little eyes.

And now can we please put up the Christmas tree?

Mexican Cornbread:

1/2 can cream-style corn

1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal

2/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 or 3 jalapeno peppers, chopped fine

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients lightly in a bowl, reserving half the cheese to pour over the top. Pour into greased baking dish and add reserved cheese. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

We (don't) hate math

When your kids get to preschool age, things start to get really fun. NOT all of the time. We still watch too much TV and trash the playroom and get on each others' nerves. But when your child becomes deeply interested in the world and able to communicate, there are so many fun things to do. Like math!

Foard has been really curious about numbers lately. He'll hold up his fingers for me to count (Mommy, guess how many this is? Seven! And if I take one away...six!). And he loves to count things like leaves and coins. So I searched the web for some preschool math activities. What did our parents do without the web? There's some great stuff out there that is right up his alley.

Today, we did this. And he loved it.

I made a number tray out of a muffin tin. I wrote numbers 1-12 on Post-its (Mommy, twelve is a big number. It makes me tired). Then we filled the holes with the correct number of beads. 

 I like these beads because they present opportunities for so many different games. After the first round of counting them in the tray, he made sure the colors in each tray were the same. We could also use them to spell numbers or words.

It was a great way to use his "big boy time," which is code for his sister is sleeping and I need something to do to entertain him. There are more great preschool math activities here, along with other educational games and activities. But really, what DID our parents do without the web?

Collecting Walk

What is it about this time of year that makes us want to go out and collect things? Last fall we went for a nature walk, Foard holding a bucket and Stella in her stroller. This year she got a bucket too!

They took their collecting jobs very seriously. The boy is really into leaves right now, and he found some good yellow and red looking ones. He also found lots of rocks (heavy), crabs, sticks and a few acorns. And there was plenty of time to stop and rest and observe things around him, like the tide coming in.

Stella didn't put much in her bucket, but she pointed out things across the Wando River ("boat! boat! moon! moon!") and covered herself in dirt. She loved it.

After the walk the little collectors played in the water in the Daniel Island children's park and swung on the shore of the Wando, watching local fishermen pull in their catch. 

We may make these sweet little animals with our findings, or we may be content to just count them and arrange them. We'll be doing lots of activities like this now that the weather is getting cooler. And I will need to keep them busy, since it's only September 12th and Foard is already asking if its Halloween time yet and when we can get our Christmas tree.

All of our little beauties in the bucket.

Here We Come Preschool

I wasn't sure if this summer was ever going to come to an end. I mean, it was glorious and....LONG.  The lack of structure was nice at first but by August we were all climbing the walls. Don't we all love the beginning of school? The colorful school supplies lined up in stores remind us of cozy routine and the comfort of structure. We know that even in Charleston, where walking to the mailbox is still a sweaty endeavor, fall is just around the hot and buggy bend. 

My little ones don't quite know how to feel about the beginning of a new school year yet, so I was filled with anxiety for them. Will I always have jitters on the night before their first day of school? I felt exactly the way I did before my own first days: nervous, excited, full of anticipation, unsure what to expect.

My boy was just plain excited, as much about the new shoes he picked out as anything else.

He even wore them to breakfast. Did I mention that they are HUGE?

This year he will be eating lunch at school, which is a new thing. He picked out a Lightning McQueen lunch box and found a simple note inside today. He is not able to read yet but can recognize a few words and symbols like Mommy, <3, and Foard. Last year his favorite activity was the playground, and this year he can't wait to do art.

The girl was having a great morning until we got to her classroom. She skipped along with her brother, unsure what all the fuss was about but excited by the mood in the air.

It will take her awhile to adjust to school days, but I know she'll do it. She's a social little thing. She especially enjoyed our walk and picnic lunch in the Old Village during the hour between her pick-up and her brother's. (Seen on a chalkboard in a store window: "The things you take for granted, others are praying for.") I am looking forward to that rare regular hour with just her and me.

The first day of school is such a mixed bag of emotion. In addition to my happiness at having six hours a week all to myself for the first time in two years, of course I was sad to drop them both off. Mostly I think about how different they are from this time last year, and how much this school year will change them. Already they seem more mature than they did when I dropped them off. Is that possible? They'll be totally different kids in May, and I'll never be able to get these little guys back again.

Sweet and Salty Days (and cookies)

Hello, August. What happened to July? 

These are the dog days of summer for sure. There is no escaping the heat and no escaping my preschoolers. It's not that I don't enjoy their company. It's just that occasional absence makes the heart grow fonder, and we have had not a single break from each other for quite a while.

Thankfully, we've had some diversions, like learning to ride a pony...

(she was much less nervous than her brother)

And of course some salty mornings on the beach, which never get old...

 I have loved watching them playing together. The older they get, the more they like to hang out. And lately they've been snuggling up together like puppies on the couch. 

We have several friends who've had new babies lately, so this weekend we made these salty sweet cookies to share with them. They turned out so good they didn't last long at all.

Salty Sweet Pretzel Cookies

makes 24

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg 

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1/2 cup broken up pretzel pieces

Sea Salt

First:

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

Next:

In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and vanilla extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture in batches and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and preztels. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Last:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of dough and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Mash the cookies down a little on the pan to help them spread, leaving about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Recipe adapted from here.

Happy birthday America!

Sunset Beach

There is a bit of work involved in taking two young children on vacation for two weeks. Sleeping in one room is not easy, especially when your one year-old likes to wake everyone up. Getting them off of the beach and showered multiple times a day is tiring, and watching them on the beach all day when they are running in two different directions is not exactly relaxing. But those are not the things I want to remember about this year at Sunset Beach. 

What I do want to remember is this:

Popsicles on the deck with cousins

Stella's fearlessness around the ocean (and in the sand, on the steps, climbing the couch, and anywhere and everywhere)

Lots of time playing on the beach with cousins

Foard and Elk in their matching Volcom shirts

And spending time with Elk in general.

Also, my mom's joy in getting to spend time with all three of her grandchildren:

And our many, many sand castles:

We carried on the tradition of walking to the pier every night to get ice cream. Foard usually chose strawberry because red is his favorite color, but sometimes he chose "poconut". Stella walked on the hottest sand up by the dunes saying "hot, hot, hot" but not thinking to move. They are wild and rascally, but they loved being around the family and they settled right into the Sunset Beach routine.

When we moved to the coast I thought our Sunset Beach trip might lose some its luster, since we go to beaches all the time. It has not. It's not about being in a house on the beach, it's about being with family in the same house we've been sharing for 34 years. It's about watching my children play with their cousins on the same little spot of beach I played on with my cousins when we were little. It's about sitting on the deck strumming guitars and singing, and no matter how many directions we go in during the day (riding bikes, kayaking, yoga, surfing, skimmer boarding, Seafood Hutting) every single night we all sit down to dinner together.

Very little about Sunset Beach has changed in 34 years. There's a new bridge and a few more houses, but the island still feels quiet and safe. There are some new businesses, and some have gone. We have lost some people on the trip and gained some others, and some people leave for a few years and then come back. It is still a magical place where we can walk down the beach at night singing songs about the moon, chasing crabs, and searching for the triangular windows that let us know that we are almost home.

I am sad every year when I leave Sunset Beach. Always I think about how nice it was to be tucked in our beach house with my most loved ones for a week or two, and always I think about how things inevitably change for both the good and bad. The dunes shift, new houses are built. Children grow up and grown-ups grow old. I really hope that the sun never sets on our annual family Sunset Beach trip. My children are just beginning to be old enough to understand its magic.

Thank God for Fathers

Thank God for Fathers like this one:

He is patient and loving and works hard all day only to come home and roll up his sleeves to give baths, play with trash trucks, and clean dishes. We're so lucky he's ours.

Thank God for my own father...

...for always providing well for us, and loving us, and taking my children for their first boat rides.

Thank God for Stepfathers...

...for telling us jokes and teaching us about investing and oral hygiene. 

And thank God for the greatest grandfather who ever lived, and the fact that we'll see him in just a few days.

If the story was told, only heaven knows

But his hat seemed to me like an old halo

And though his wings, they were never seen

I thought that he walked on water

Happy father's day!