Happy Birthday Naomi

Tomorrow is my sister Naomi's 35th brithday! It's also my 3oth birthday as I was born on her 5th birthday. Growing up we always celebrated our birthdays together. As we got older and more involved in our own seperate lives, we would just talk on the phone or send birthday cards to each other for our birthdays. For the past 6 years though, we haven't had any contact on our birthday. I always think of her, like I am right now, and wonder if she might be thinking of me too. How could she not be thinking of me on our birthday? I get sad wondering if she's even alive. Then I get mad thinking that she's probably out there somewhere and is just too selfish to pick up the phone to call anyone. Then I get sad again as I come to the conclusion that if she is still alive and out there, she isn't the person I used to know. The hardest part is not knowing.

I went through some boxes of photos today and scanned in some pictures of Naomi for the purpose of posting them on my blog. Maybe some random person will come across my blog, recognize her and know something about her whereabouts. Not too likely, but ya never know. If you've seen her, please contact me! She uses various different names, one of them is Sarah.

The last time anyone saw or spoke to Naomi was March of 2003. Armando and I stopped in L.A. for a few days on our way through California on a road trip to Mexico. We hung out with Naomi a couple of times, all too brief. I had no idea it might be the last time I saw her.


Below are a few pictures of her over the years. The photo above was when she was about 12 or 13 and the last photo at the bottom of the post is of her and I when I was in L.A. back in 2003.

Happy Birthday Naomi - we love and miss you!

Acorn Park

Just steps from Geneva's front door is the appropriately named Acorn Park. It's so nice to have the park so close to take Esperanza to, or to send the other kids to play there with Esperanza. Usually Angelica will take her over there at least once a day to play, giving me a much needed break. One day last week when the kids were all in school and Geneva was at work, Esperanza and I went there to play for awhile. Esperanza loved finding all the acorns on the ground. She would try to fit as many into one of her tiny hands as possible (usually only 3) then get frustrated when some would fall out as she tried to pick up more. I began putting them in her pockets & hoodie so she could play with them later. She hadn't really figured out the concept of pockets previously so she was a bit confused...then understood once we were back at the house taking them out of the pockets. They were added to the big basket of acorns on the kitchen table that have already been collected by the other kids (don't worry, there are plenty left for all the squirrels).

Here's Esperanza strolling along the concrete path at Acorn Park...

Anycia's St. Michaelmas Play

Esperanza and I spent all of last week at my sister Geneva and her kids' house. It was a busy week with the kids in school & Geneva working. Our previous visits had been during summer break when there wasn't as much going on. Esperanza and I tried our best to adjust from our routine and slide into theirs. Esperanza didn't skip a beat, I skipped a few I think. We really enjoyed the week and spent a lot of time with the kids.

On Tuesday, Esperanza and I went to Anycia's Waldorf school to watch a play that she was in. I think it was called St. Michaelmas (Geneva?). Unfortunately I don't know the story well or I would give you a little more information about it. The children performed the play outdoors on a field to an audience of family and friends while it sprinkled lightly upon us. It was a beautiful day, wonderful play and I was so glad to have had the opportunity to be there!


And here is a cute video clip of Anycia's class at the beginning of the play

Bath Bubbles

Esperanza used to be so difficult in the bath tub, and then I bought some BUBBLES! Bubbles make bath time sooo much more fun. I hope it isn't one of those things that doesn't last long, cause thats usually how it goes for us. For now though, we are enjoying baths with bubbles. Too bad I didn't get any great photos of the actual bubbles, but I did get some great ones of Esperanza. She makes the silliest faces lately and I finally captured some of them on camera...she's so funny!

And my favorite...

First Day of Autumn

Ahh - the Autumn Equinox arrived. My favorite time of year is Fall. It is a time when I feel most balanced and grounded. Maybe it's because I'm a Libra and everything in the universe is lined up in perfect harmony for me this time of year. It is pure bliss and the months ahead are welcomed and cherished!

Some of the things I love about Fall; the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, falling asleep to the sound of rain, the colors of the leaves as they slowly change, it's a time to relax after a busy summer, sweaters and scarves, being able to go to the park or hiking without a ton of other people there, the longer nights and more time to 'dream', curling up in a blanket on the sofa with a book in the middle of the day, the undeniable urge to bake sweet unhealthy treats, and of course the wonderful selection of seasonal beers that come out this time of year (Pumkin Ale - Yay!). Of course, with Esperanza literally running circles around me these days, I'm not sure how much relaxing I'll get done this time of year...but I'm looking forward to her showing me many new things to love about Fall.

I won't dwell on it at the moment, but there is one day during this time of year that I do not look forward to - my birthday. Not becasue of the getting older thing - I honestly don't mind that. It is not just my birthday but my sister Naomi's birthday as well. I was born on her 5th birthday. She has been missing for several years now and each year when our birthdays approach, I am saddened more so about all the unknowns than at any other time.

Oh and one other thing I don't like about fall...cold season is here. Last night Esperanza went to bed with runny nose and we were up most of the night since she couldn't breathe laying down. Reluctantly, by about 2 in the morning I decided enough was enough and got up with her. I made some tea for both of us as well as some cough/throat lozenges with honey and slippery elm powder, ate a necterine and hung out for a bit as if it was in the middle of the day. Not sure if the lozenges helped Esperanza or not but just being up in the middle of the night with the assumption that I was okay with it made her feel better. We spent our first day of Fall indoors mostly with the ac on sipping garlic lemonade, sucking snot out of Esperanza's nose and having a pretty rough day to say the least. It was a reminder to stock up on some herbs and also get a dehumidifier (any one have recommendations on what kind/brand??)

Dang-it...one last thing that is beginning to bother me about fall...global warming has made fall feel like summer. Though the wind was blowing and the noticable distance of the suns glow, it was so hot and hummid today! Certainly not sweater and scarf time yet.

Back to the good stuff about fall -I also love the beginning of fall because it is harvest time!!! Yesterday, on the Eve of the Equinox, Esperanza and I were invited up to my friends farm to gather some produce and eggs. I forgot to take pictures of the garden, but it is beautiful. It has been over a month I think since we were last there, and this was what it looked like then

Before we picked veggies we strolled through the pastures where the goats, llamas, horse, and hens roam and got some fresh eggs. One of the baby goats is very people friendly and Esperanza got to pet her for awhile. Same with the horse. Unfortunately he is very old, otherwise I'd have put her on him. They have a ton of chickens with more eggs than the two of them need. Lucky me! I'm in heaven cause they have offered me eggs whenever I need them for a very cheap price. Yay! No more grocery store eggs for us. Then we went to the garden and picked green beens, carrots, beets, swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, summer squash, and I think thats it. Corn and other squash still aren't ready...Look at these eggs! And notice that beautiful heirloom tomatoe they gave me as well

Before we left, Esperanza managed to topple over face first into the concrete and scratched her nose up pretty good. Poor thing, now that she's walking she falls down and hurts herself ALL the time.

Happy Autumn Equinox!

The Endless Scarf

Though it is probably of no real interest to others, I figured if I posted pictures and a brief story about my knitting project, it would inspire and guilt me into finishing it soon.
A couple of years ago a dear friend of mine introduced me to knitting and actually went out and bought me all the supplies I needed to get this new hobby started, then spent several hours teaching me how to knit. For a few weeks I was really into it and made some progress on my first project, a 100% wool burnt orange colored scarf. Then I got a little bored with it, realizing it was going to take a lot of time to get it done, so I put it away. I've taken it out only a few times since then and made very little progress. Now, with the crisp evening air reminding me that the Autumn Equinox is just days away I'm really determined to have this scarf done and available to wear before the weather gets cold this year. The past few days I've spent at least part of nap time each day knitting (sadly, Esperanza only takes one nap a day now) and some time in the evenings knitting. It isn't being put away at all - it's getting done this fall!

The first picture is a way better representation of the color - still working on those photography skills...Now I'm not one to brag, but for a beginning knitter - and aside from being slow - I'm a really good knitter! It is turning out so beautiful with tight stitching and a fun ruffle edge (hopefully I can remember how to do the other ends edge when I get there). I'm on my third ball of yarn and have decided that once that ball is gone, I'm done! That is how I am going to put an end to the tough decision of how long I want it. The pattern I used shows the scarf really short, and I want it super long...otherwise it would have been done a long time ago I suppose.

My next knitting project will be smaller, probably a dish cloth. Okay, off the computer and back to knitting...

Dress Up

This past Sunday we got Esperanza's pictures taken by Polkadot Photography as a fundraising event for baby Nicholas. At first I was thinking I'd just dress her casual and leave her hair down so it could blow in the wind...maybe even get some naked shots. Then, I thought about dresses and pig tails. I got so excited about dresses and pigtails the days leading up to the event that I tried several dresses on Esperanza to find the 'right one' and did her hair a couple of times to practice (pigtails aren't easy).

As a sidenote, I have to mention that I had bought a couple of summer dresses for Esperanza way before she had started crawling, and didn't think anything about it. This was a mistake. Since she's my first and only baby, let alone first baby girl, I hadn't even given a thought to the fact that she would be crawling at the time those dresses would fit her, and that babies can't crawl in dresses. I don't even think I could easily. Sad! Really sad, at least for me because dresses are so stinkin' cute on little girls. I have two dresses that are short and snug enough that they hike up when she crawls making it possible. But really, two dresses are just not enough (I'm still working on getting rid of the afluenza bug).

So, now that Esperanza is walking you can imagine how giddy I am about the whole dress factor. Yesterday and today she has actually been walking more than crawling. We played dress up the night before we got her pictures taken, and thankfully the 12 month old sized dresses still fit - Yay! We even got to choose from a couple of dresses she got as birthday gifts earlier this summer. Without further ado, here's the fashion show...

Maybe we could wear a head band...

Or slicked back pigtailsWe could do naked baby picturesOr wear this cute dress with the hair down Or this pretty dressHmm, this dress is nice Look, I can still kinda crawl in it too

So that was the dress we went with, the one she could crawlk (crawl/walk) in. The photography session went really well with only a few crying spells from Esperanza. She seemed intrigued by Jenifers big camera and I'm looking forward to seeing the looks captured on Esperanza's face. The fundraiser itself was a huge success as well and the day brought in almost $1600 all donated to Unite For The Cure. We are so blessed and thankful to have had the opportunity to get professional pictures done. Thank you so much Jenifer for donating your time and talent. And while we couldn't donate as much as my heart wished we could, it felt good to give even a little bit toward such a wonderful cause. It was also nice to see some girls I hadn't talked to since high school and also to finally meet baby Nicholas. He is such a precious baby and it was amazing to see that his physical limitations have absolutely no impact on his sweet personality, as he was oozing with the pure joy of being here.

When we got home, Esperanza was desperate to get out of the dress and back to crawling (crawlking takes much more effort). Before I gave in though, I got in a short photo session of my own...

Photo Sharing

I've taken way too many pictures over the past month. Rather than just hoarding them on my computer and/or taking the dreaded time I don't have to upload them onto hotmail and email them to different people, I'll share them through my blog...Enjoy!

Esperanza figured out how to pick her nose

Oh look, we match!

Off for a walk through some trails Mary and Esperanza walking in the water. Antonio, Anycia, Mary, Esperanza and I treaded through some overgrown brush/grass, mud, bamboo, spider webs and blackberry bushes to get to this spot...and then found an actual trail on the way back. Anycia and Antonio in the bamboo during our walkAnycia and my super obnoxious neighbor girl Lily. Lily leaves Anycia love letters on my front door! Me, Esperanza, Cyndi, Roman and George Roman & Esperanza Mary's black bracelet was a big hit among both of them and Esperanza kept taking it away from Her cousin Roman. She's kind of a bully already and sweet Roman is such a ladies man and puts up with it - sometimes with his feelings getting hurt.
Tony playing with his baby Roman Geneva and her lifelong BFF Jacob Esperanza's first intentional and supervised coloring experience. Just for the record, it didn't go well - we'll try again in a couple of months. Mary blowing out her birthday candle on her birthday
Esperanza sitting on the kitchen counter eating grapes off of one of the many bunches of grapes we picked from the overgrown grapevines at my parents house.
Nursing Here is Antonio squeezing the juice out of marrionberries. My mom convinced me to do seedless jam this time around. As you can see, it was messy work that Antonio thoroughly enjoyed. A big thank you to Antonio also for getting up at the crack of dawn to go berry picking with Armando!

And while we're in the mind set and visual interest of pictures there is something I want to share with my readers - a girl I went to high school with is having a photography fund raising event this weekend to raise money for a cure for SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrothy). Her baby boy was diagnosed with this life threatening disease when he was under a year old. If you live in the Portland/Vancouver area, have free time on Sunday, want to get some beautiful photos taken of your kids, and want to help donate to a great cause - click HERE to visit Jessica's blog for more info on the event, SMA, her beautiful family and their amazing journey.