Holi-Update: 5 Days of Christmas

4 days ago:
While Grandma Kelly, Erin, and I cuddled with Aeli and his nasty stomach bug on the futon, Stefin and a few good friends held a solstice ceremony outside: sweats, yoga, meditation, and some readings. I would have participated if not for that pesky rotavirus. But being as it was, I think we had lovely, albeit vastly contrasting, shortest-day-of-the-year experiences.

3 days ago:
Made this Lechon Asado, with the esteemed assistance of my mom. Thank goodness, because this pork shoulder was about twice the size I was anticipating. I don't know if I would have had the gumption to hack apart that joint of raw meat. But Grandma Kelly did it in style.

"A butcher would probably be really mad at me for how I'm doing this."

And with the other half of the shoulder? Delicious pulled pork crock-potted in Brooklyn Black IPA, maple syrup, and bbq sauce.

2 days ago:
After a walk through the quarter- where the vibe was quite strange- (more Bukowski than Santa Claus), we brought worker-bee Erin home to feast on some pulled pork, while we continued to fail to put Aeli to sleep, even though he was super tired. He just teetered on the brink and once was out for fifteen minutes, but that's the most we've gotten from him this afternoon. In "Happy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" (a gift from Stefin's mom), it says that nothing under 45 minutes really "counts" as a nap. So. Good for us.

In happier news, I made these Pecan Bars (not sure if I can resist long enough to get to the step about chocolate dipping...). Holy yum. (And butter!)

Yesterday:
Aeli went to the park with the g'rents and Auntie E. (Photos below by Erin)  

"G"s Louise!

Photo by Aeli and Erin

Later, we went to the Celebration in the Oaks at City Park and successfully missed it yet again! This time, because it was closed (last time- it was about to close- and I started to go into labor).

Today, of course there was the excitement of gifts, and family traditions relating to gingerbread, melted cheese, and terrible jokes (where you're like, "Was that a joke? I thought you just weren't making sense.")... but mostly it's just magical to all be hanging out together.

Currently working on: crepes for us, a nap for Aeli, and a delicious beer. Ho ho ho!

Growing Up: A Snowball Effect

Aeli and his classmates when I walked in to pick him up the other day. They were taking turns answering the questions, "What shows or movies do you watch? How do you watch them?" Lots of "ipad" in the responses.

Remember this? Orcas Island, 2011

This boy loves helping in the kitchen. This morning, wanting to help me make eggs. I told him to go get the big chair. He confidently walked over to the chair, and with no further direction, removed the flat of water bottles from the seat of the chair, and hoisted it onto the table (which is at the height of his little toe-head). He didn't even do a congratulatory "Did it!" as he so often does after accomplishing a small, independent task. Humility!

Oh, and also?

Fall Means...

 Some days are cold and we have to send the kiddos in hats because, as their teacher explains, "Their hoods fly off when they run and play."

 Warm mornings lend themselves to playing on the new STAGE in our backyard (a neighbor's discarded home-built bed...)

 Notice the jungle of flora back there!

Making amazing pork stock from the bones of the pig we roasted (all the meat now gone!). We will be boiling some flavorful quinoa 'round these parts, tell you what.

 Papaya trees have been transplanted (post-hurricane that knocked them over in their buckets), and fire-pit has been built. Now long smokey evenings can be spent in a circle. Beer and instruments abound.

Aeli can start seriously rockin some flannel and corduroy! 

Also: my sister is here! We welcomed her righteously, and I wore three costumes in one day.

Fly Killa

We're hosting Daufilme this weekend- not a traditional Daufilme in the sit-down, dinner-and-an-outdoor-movie way, but a tradition nonetheless. This will be year 3 that Josh and the boys make the trek to buy a pig from this farmer in Mississippi who drives a good bargain and starts drinking early. Then they'll kill it, and do those related tasks, bring it back, keep it in a bathtub of ice overnight, and spend the majority of Saturday tending to the fire and rotation cycle to roast it just right. The strategy this year is moving away from the above-ground-cinder-block ovens they've built in the past, and toward a big ol' hole in the ground and a bunch of banana leaves. Everyone is excited. Especially the vegans and Jews.

Oh, but wait! Also, Stefin's been getting back into the garden groove the tiniest bit ever since some nouveau New Orleanians have moved in across the street, who are able-bodied and generous of spirit. So, a couple of weeks ago, Stefin convinced them to help him go to the horse-stables around the block, and transport trash-cans full of horse poop back to the yard, to be part of our compost and generally show our support for the cycle of life.

So they did, and that's cool, although do you know one thing that really LOVES all this break-down-of-manure-business? FLIES.

Oh.   My.  !@#$%&*

I feel like I am losing my mind. The manure doesn't smell anymore certainly- it actually just looks like mulched dirt. And some folks have ventured that the whole neighborhood is just fly-y right now and it's not necessarily from our backyard, but it is unusually buzzy around here. Those exoskeletal poop-eaters that have maneuvered their bold way into our house are making me crazy. Wherever I sit, I bring the fly swatter with me.

When Aeli sees them he says, "Rye?!" and points. Then, when they fly off: "Oh no! A-way?"

Yesterday he killed one with the swatter. Seriously. Ninja-quick. Then he goes, "Arbage?"

Thank goodness. He's on my side.

I'm doing my best not to transmit my borderline-irrational stress about these clumsy bugs to our baby. So instead of screaming and flapping my arms wildly each time one runs into my face, or two bonk into my shoulder or neck right after another, I try to make the massacre of them into a casual game. You know: stay positive.

And Stefin's folks are coming into town tomorrow too. Just in time to help us celebrate the un-Kosherest of pre-Halloweens, with an entourage of flies.

Well, at least I have this:

Lately

Yesterday walking home from school Aeli picked up a flower that had fallen from a neighbor's window planter. "Wowa?" he says.

Then two tattooed twenty-something ladies stood up from a nearby stoop. Aeli pointed, eyebrows raised and said excitedly, "Mommy?!"

They came toward him, grinning huge, and giggled quietly as he hammed it up, smelling his flower, twirling his body, and throwing the flower around while kind of grunting in a sing-song way. I learned the girls were not from here because they said something I didn't understand and when I asked "Vous-etes francaises?" they didn't say anything.

BIG DEVELOPMENTAL NEWS: Aeli has started saying sorry on his own (sometimes). Last night in a moment of frustration, he threw his shoes at Stefin. Emerging from time out, he walked up to Stef, and did the sign-language at the same time as saying, "Ory," in that voice that is just like icing on a cake made by fairies.

More rain joy from last weekend:

Right Now: Joy.

Daufilme was cancelled due to rain, which is great because we can now spend this day chillin out max and relaxin all cool, with newly arrived and temporary visitors who are all some of the best people in the entire world.

The Maestro

Should I go Tiger Mom with Aeli's interest in guitar?

Isaactacular!

We had prepared, expecting not only THISMUCH rain, but also 100 mph gusts of wind and no electricity, so we were fine.

Here are some of the things that happened during Isaac:

Aeli wrote to his estranged loves.

Aeli got on Josh's shoulders.

Josh got on Stefin's shoulders.

We hung out before the real winds started blowing in ponchos and short-shorts. (We performed a Really Good Dance on the sidewalk, street, and intersection in front of a local bar.)

Josh and Joel wrestled.

Played all sorts of instruments.

Improvised candle-holders.

Generally, just jammed.

The next day:
Without power, the sidewalk was the coolest place to be. Aeli, having been cooped up with kin for 24 hours, found refuge with Mayor Matt nextdoor.

  We were on our stoop reading, eating muscadine grapes; Josh was on his stoop, faking like he was studying for the GRE, and words were exchanged. One of the words was "margaritas," which caused the boys to pull out the generator, and us to fill our block with a roar not unlike what I imagine a Nascar car sounds like up close. Also, everything smelled a little gasoliney. But it was cool. We plugged in the fridge, charged our electronics, and blended some delicious drinks with our melting berries.

Aeli lusted for electronics, as usual.

Sans electricity, we gathered. Aeli kicked me out of the living room, so he could do a solo dance for Joel; everyone else kicked it on the sidewalk, in various modules.

Also, there were sparklers. Aeli's first.

The power went out, it certainly was loud, there were definitely a handful of substantial leaks from our ceiling... our towels all had to be used to sop up water from above... showers were cold, but it was hot anyway... our phones didn't work, and we had no internet (GASP!), but through such trying times, we were stuck with a big group of some of our best friends.

 All in all, pretty magical.

Preparing for Isaac

 Monday: Move the canoe.

 Take down the mast, lights, and wires. Move plants, wheelbarrows, and barbecue.

 Clean out containers for potable water.

 Tie up random neighbor's bike. Turn bench on its side.

 

 Dinner with the compound, and other good friends who live within a half-mile.

 Cucumbers from the yard and homemade pumpkin pie.

 Hurricane jello shots, from Kenny. (Don't worry, he's a doctor.)

 Play games.

Tuesday:

 Watch/listen as hurricane is reclassified as just a tropical storm, then a Category 1 hurricane again, and back and forth and back and forth.
This is what it looked like outside this morning.
Yoga, guitar, walking outside.

It's starting to rain now.

We're so grateful to be here.