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Villa Villekulla bio picture

Welcome to Villa Kulla!

A bemused tale of how one Dane, 2 Ethiopians, a Detroiter and an American/Dane found Pippi Longstocking's house in the Baltimore area and moved right in. Technically Pippi's house is in Sweden, but moving there would have been a commuter nightmare- so we found the closest thing to Villa Villekulla in our neck of the woods.

Our house is an old, money pit and John and I are learning to be crafty- very, very crafty. This blog is my little place to journal  and post photographs of our children, Kaia (8), Josie (6) and Noah (4) as they grow, and to share my decor obsession by posting visual and tasty things I find on the internet and elsewhere.

Thanks so much for stopping  by!

Charlotte


My Sister

I think I want to do a post today about my little sister.

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Pernille and I have been attached at the hips our entire lives.

Here we are, little-

Pernille’s photo was taken in 1971.
Pernille 1971-1

Mine was taken before color film was invented.

IMG_0003

I rarely post about my family members because I’m afraid they’ll get mad at me and stop lending me money. Of course, I do post about the smaller children in our family because they always make for good stories and they don’t have any money anyway, so really, why spare them? I ask.

My sister has some serious man skills- as in skills that are stereotypically masculine. Her talents should not go undocumented for one more day.

You see, she can repair toasters and computers and put up dry wall and cut massive bathroom tiles with a ginormous tile cutter the size of a Volkswagen Beetle that she carries up the hill to her house, all by herself. Because she’s that strong.

IMG_2542-1

She has like Schwarzenegger sized biceps that her husband forces her to show everyone when he’s had a little too much to drink or forgets to take his Adderall- or both.

In fact, her huge biceps were one of the selling points that my sister’s youngest son used to get my brother in law to marry her (did you follow that?). My then 8 year old nephew said to my now brother in law “Have you seen Mom’s muscles?, Man they are HUGE! even the doctor says so“. And then brother in law was so smitten that he married her right there on the spot, because he always wanted a pair of muscles.

Fællesbilleder_Anne & Peter080603 101-1

(I have to say, in case you think I am being mean to my brother in law- that we have been friends for over 16 years so he won’t be offended that I may or may not have implied to the Internets that he has a drinking problem, has ADHD and has no muscle tone to speak of.

Anyway, Pernille and I were roommates even after the 16 years we spent together in our parent’s house. While we were living together in Denmark we had to move from one apartment to another.

Here is a picture of us that has nothing to do with living together or moving. In fact, it was taken much later, like in the nineties just as the back pack purse craze was sweeping the nation. Unfortunately there is also a penis in the photo. I thought about erasing it. Pernille suggested that I digitally enhance it- I ended up doing neither because I have better things to do than Photoshop wieners all day long.

Does anyone else think it is kind of funny that David ran off to battle Goliath and didn’t even bother to put on a pair of underwear?

firenze
okay back to the move. I became overwhelmed by this move because I don’t like to lift heavy objects or do things that make me dirty or physically tired. I whined alot and my sister needed to get me out of the way, so she just planted me in one of those cozy little European sidewalk Cafes, where I spent the rest of the afternoon drinking Machiattos and eating dainty little finger sandwiches, while she moved the entire apartment by herself!

She even moved our third roommate, who was still sleeping, on a mattress that had to be moved out.Third roommate never even noticed that she had been put into the back of a moving truck and taken across town, carried up 3 flights of stairs and deposited in her new room. Granted Third roommate was seriously tiny and seriously hungover and could easily have been overlooked anyway.

(By the way- because Third roommate very well could be reading this, I have to explain that this incident occurred many years ago and she is now a respectable mother of 2 teenage girls, has a job with real responsibilities and hardly ever passes out drunk anymore, I don’t think….).

Anyway, my sister never even complained. She NEVER complains. Which makes her seem kind of like a saint. A giant muscled saint.

It is truly a wonder that we are related by blood. Because I am such a complainer, a glass half empty kind of girl. And I have no man skills- come to think of it, I don’t have an overabundance of woman skills either. Once I attempted to iron my blouse with an electronic golf putter, while my sister quietly watched me until she finally could take no more and yelled ‘what the hell is wrong with you!‘.

I swear there is a point to this story.

I think the point is that Pernille very well could be one of the 7 wonders of the world. When she was born the OBGYN stated that she was the most beautiful child he had ever delivered (although I bet he says that to all the babies), she has freakishly long legs, is super smart, highly astute, patient, strong like bull and intimidatingly sensible which makes her seem really mysterious in that Hollywood leading lady kinda way. She has a highly developed moron radar that unfortunately is frequently pointed and beeping loudly in my direction- or in my brother in law’s direction. I sometimes wonder why such a smart person would voluntarily surround herself with so many morons.

This is brother in law
thomas snow angel

Just as an example of what she has to endure between me and her husband, I give you here a recent conversations between us.

Pernille (sister): Did you know that the population of Maryland is the same as the entire country of Denmark?

Charlotte (me): Really? Hmmm, I don’t think that is correct because the currency of the Danish Krone just went way up compared to the dollar.

Pernille (sister): What?

Charlotte (me): Well if you divide the dollar by the Krone it is nowhere near 5 million.

Pernille (sister): What the hell are you talking about? What does the currency have to do with the population?

Charlotte (me): Huh?

Or like when I called and interrupted her in the middle of an important phone convesation to ask her whether she spoke English or Danish to her dog.

If I didn’t have my sister around I would likely be living in a commune somewhere in New Mexico, with 17 adopted children and no money- Which is exactly why I had my nephew show my best friend his mom’s biceps, so that he would marry her and bring her to America to keep me off of the streets. And it worked!

I wanted to leave you with a photo of my sister and her biceps, but when I asked her to pose like a bodybuilder, once again I got the ‘what the hell is wrong with you?’ reaction. So this will just have to do.

utzonwilliamsburgroses 104-1

rebekah - I got distracted on my way to printing a label for an envelope to send some important crap to a client. I saw that indeed Charlotte had posted again and so of course I dropped everything. What a wonderful post about your sister. She sounds quite quite amazing.04/21/2010 - 12:44 pm

Christoffer - Hej Charlotte, hvor er den god denne post. Super sjov. Havde helt glemt jeres conversation om population og currency. Griner stadig, mine medarbejder ser på mig som jeg er en moron. Simpelthen utroligt som Olivia ligner Pernille i billedet fra '71. KH04/21/2010 - 11:43 pm

Cindy - Pernillle, will you marry me? What's that... Already married? Me too04/23/2010 - 1:19 pm

Sherry - I have met this beauty and her husband who came flying out of his home to greet me with a gas mask on after returning from a shoot in Mexico during the H1N1 epidemic. What a nut! Pernille is intimidating in an intriguing kind of way. So glad I didn't know about her biceps - I would have been even more terrified of her!04/25/2010 - 1:14 am

Jess - I'm glad you didn't just write about wieners:) Sounds like you're a lucky sister!04/29/2010 - 8:47 pm

More Spring kids.

noahspringsmilejosiekaiaspringgiggle
josiespringsmilekaiaspringsmile

Christine - The most beautiful children! They look quite happy.04/19/2010 - 7:18 am

Sherry - Such beautiful photos! Glad you are posting again!04/25/2010 - 1:11 am

Jess - gorgeous!04/29/2010 - 8:35 pm

Happy Easter!

josieeaster

Jess - Happy Easter to you too!04/09/2010 - 8:53 am

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Holy Crap!

I missed an entire season of blogging. It is almost spring and now I don’t even know how to get started again. I tried to post right after New Years, but the task of finding an extension cord so that I could remain firmly planted on the couch with my puter was insurmountable and then I tried again a few weeks ago- but somehow ended up on NickJr.com in a bubble blowing contest with Ni Hao Kai Lan.

So much has happened, and it’s kind of like when you haven’t called a friend back for too long and the longer you wait the harder it gets, because now you need to set aside hours for the conversation in order to catch up on everything- and who has time for that?

Maybe I will just skip everything that has gone on here for the past 4 months and start all over. I will begin with our dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, an impromptu idea I had while I was at the eye doctor today, where I do some of my best thinking.

I convinced John to meet us at the restaurant on his way home from work. It has been 2 years since Kaia came home with us from Ethiopia and although we don’t officially celebrate ‘Gotcha day’ because I really hate that term. Gotcha Day sounds like Jason Bourne and I flew to Ethiopia- in disguise, hopped on a motorcycle, sped through the streets of Addis Ababa and snatched some unsuspecting kid right off of the sidewalk on her way to school, stuffed her in a backback and brought her home, all in one day.

And mostly, because- the actual day that we got her was really extremely sad and difficult for her. Instead we mark her arrival to America with something special. Usually an ice cream cake for dessert at home, nothing too fancy. Okay, I just said that she has been home for 2 years and then I go on to say that we usually have cake, which is kind of lame since there only has been one anniversary so far. so there really is no usually just yet.

Back to our dinner; John thought it was a terrible idea- to go to the restaurant. He is not a risk taker like I am, he does not seek out drama like I do, but he agreed to meet us there anyway.

The dinner was going well and the kids were uncharacteristically well behaved, until Noah almost died choking on a french fry. I am not exaggerating, I had to Heimlich him like 4 times! I didn’t even know that I knew how to do that! and it seems that I have mad skills too. The ordeal caused quite a scene in the restaurant. While this was going on, Josie, who is not one to be bothered by the misfortunes of others, slid under the table and wandered off to explore the ladies room. This is always the first thing she does when we enter a dining establishment- one never knows what kind of undiscovered treasures could be hiding in a public restroom.

I did not realize she was gone because I was busy saving my son’s life and John did not notice her sly little escape either because he was super duper busy watching me saving our son’s life and when Noah finally shot his french fry out of his mouth, like a Scud missile covered in ketchup, halfway across the restaurant, followed by projectile vomiting onto the table- only then did we notice that one of the others had gone missing. We were strangely calm though- because this happens frequently and we usually find her anyway. Also, we had just saved a life and we needed to take a moment.

A waitress returned with Josie shortly thereafter, the table was cleaned and we tried again to have a nice, calm dinner- except now John makes the fatal mistake of saying “I told you this was a bad idea“. And then I was all muttering some profanities under my breath, but just loud enough so that he heard the part where I called him a dick, where after we lunged into two completely separate and urelated arguments that were running simultaneously, wherein John complains about my unrefined use of the English language and it’s long term effects on our children (he seems to forget that I am a foreigner) and I am complaining more generally about his general dickyness that evening.

So all in all a very pleasant dinner, which I am sure Kaia will file under “family celebrations gone terribly awry” for her soon to be published blog or myspace page. I shall now leave you with this lovely photo of our little anniversarian and with promises of more regularly scheduled blogging in the future- kind of wondering if there is anyone out there even checking my blog anymore…Mom??
kaiadress

Christine - I don't check your blog as it is on my roll and hops to the top when you write. I am glad you posted, your blog, a feast for my eyes! I am sorry about the hair-raising french fry experience. Has your heart rate slowed yet? My husband and I can quickly deteriorate into something like that, too, especially after a near miss with the kid. So glad to see you back. The photo is beautiful, love that pose!03/16/2010 - 8:22 am

rebekah - I've missed you so much and this post surely makes up for the tsk'ing you gave me on my post - which is funny because you came out of the etherworld like a ghost just to call me on a vague and totally unsatisfying post that no one else called me on.03/16/2010 - 9:20 am

julie - Welcome back! We missed you.03/16/2010 - 12:06 pm

stephanie - I lost track how many times I guffawed at this post. It was plenty. But the mere thought of the Cheesecake factory makes me hyperventilate. That menu is just.too.much. I can never make up my mind and when I do, I think I'm making the wrong choice. Oh and I was so the little girl that always needed to check out the ladies room, too. In fact, I still do. Glad you posted again.03/16/2010 - 1:30 pm

Lene Lovschall - Kaere Charlotte Du er den sjoveste og sodeste i hele verden. Savner dig. kh Lene03/16/2010 - 4:48 pm

Kristin - welcome back fellow blogger - have to say only you can use the term dickyness in a post and make me wish I could use it too! happy 2 yr anniversary day, I remember it well! thought of you yesterday - we don't celebrate "gotcha day" either, stupid, stupid, stupid term in my opinion... of course we didn't even celebrate the anniversary but that's just how we roll - we really suck as parents sometimes!03/16/2010 - 8:34 pm

Bridget - I saw your blog on my blogroll and I got a little giddy inside. All worth it. You are hilarious! 1. Congrats on saving your son's life 2. Congrats on finding a missing child 3. Congrats on 2 years (!) 4. Congrats on blogging about an argument (you're my hero!) 5. Congrats on your return.....please don't leave us for so long in the future!03/16/2010 - 9:48 pm

paige - tee hee--you said dickyness in front of your mom! are we married to the same man--because that's exactly how this scenario would play out in my family (okay, minus the missing child--my extra kid, the one not choking would be shrieking in empathic gales or something helpful like that) glad to have you back!! Oh,AND my mil saved my husband from near-death at a bbq place when he was 6? 8? and she repeats it every time I see her (so several dozen times in the past 16 years). So you'll have a great story to share with his spouse in the future--everybody wins!03/17/2010 - 8:37 am

Jess - I've missed you so!03/17/2010 - 2:52 pm

Kristian borch - Du er kraftedme sjov - eller rettere det du laver er sjovt. Well, jeg mener det du altid roder dig ud i er sjovt. Ikke sikkert lige mens det sker, men i hvertfald når du fortæller om det. Det er noget skidt at jeg ikke længere bor 3 timer fra DC, for så var jeg kommet forbi til en omgang grine flip. KH Kristian03/24/2010 - 3:47 pm

Tami - You are on the reader and I also miss your posts. They often make my day. You are hilarious! Children are resilient and as women we learn young that men are dicks (and love them all the same) from our fathers...I'm just sayin'. LOL03/27/2010 - 2:50 pm

Staci - I am a random visitor to your blog. I like the term "dickyness" as well. Great story. Glad everyone is ok. Keep blogging.04/03/2010 - 2:43 pm

Cindy - Typical Charlotte, making me roll. I am up and down on the blogging, hope you an inspire me. I promise not to exhibit dickyness.04/07/2010 - 2:55 pm

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Gone crafty crazy

Another month passes without a post from me. This time I have some serious excuses.

Firstly, I am making my own rugs. For every room in the house. They have to be hand stenciled, primed with gesso, hemmed, and protected with 7 coats of finish- this is time consuming. When I am not making the rugs, working or taking care of the family (in that order- of course), I am usually out getting more supplies.

My second excuse is that I have become addicted to ‘Dexter’. You know the friendly neighborhood serial killer on Showtime. John and I cram in one or two episodes pr. night. More on the weekends. I usually don’t watch much TV- but this show is phenomenal. The actors are superior to anything I have seen in a long time and well- I just can’t get me enough of ‘Dexter’ oh and rug making. But soon I will tire of both and will be back to blogging. Because I am non commital that way. I was the kid who bought all of the horseback riding equipment, took two classes and then became obsessed with synchronized swimming or something equally obscure, only to take up boxing two weeks later.

I do have a bunch of posts up my sleeve. I must post about Bangkok- which was amazing- and I must show you all the Buddha’s I brought home. Way too many- according to my mother and sister. How many Buddhas can someone possibly need? they asked alarmed at my compulsive Buddha shopping.

Okay- back to the rugs. Because I know you are wondering who in their right mind would make their own rugs. Of course clearly I am not in my right mind- but still. We have 3 kids. It rains and snows and they drag it all over the house. Our dog does gross stuff on our rugs and frankly I have had to throw out way too many in the past years. I have been searching high and low for rugs that could handle our lifestyle. I have cried to husband ‘why hasn’t anyone invented a family friendly rug?” Husband told me to invent one myself. So I did. These are made out of painters drop cloths. You know the kind you buy at Home Depot to protect your floors when you paint. They are skid proof, water proof, snow proof, dog pee proof. They can be mopped, spilled on, wiped off and best of all they are painted to match our decor.

I am very proud of myself, can you tell? So do you guys think I can finally open my own Etsy shop? I really want one. And you don’t have to be honest.

This first one is a runner for our kitchen. The purple one is not finished but for the girls room- the last one is very bright and playful and will be for the kids play room. The chair shows the drop cloths in their original form.
ruglast
rug3rug1rug4rug2

Christine - Oh my, those are beautiful, amazing! What an undertaking! ETSY shop, yes! But what would you have to charge to make it worth your while? I love the idea of all the buddha's. They are soothing. I have two right beside me as I sit here. Can't wait to hear more about Bangkok, too.12/09/2009 - 6:35 am

rebekah - Wow. I have to say that you are seriously brilliant. Those are awesome.12/09/2009 - 7:24 am

Julie - This is the best invention since sliced bread. Beautiful too.12/09/2009 - 7:26 am

Leslie - Beautiful, Charlotte! I bet it is a great way to destress. Hoping you are having a wonderful December!12/09/2009 - 7:49 am

paige chhapman-layland - I made a rug from a drop cloth once. It had all of the attributes that you report and it also took an age to finish. Kudos, lady, you are amazing! Please make more so I can buy one.12/09/2009 - 8:09 pm

Sherry - Unbelievable. I still have plain canvases laying around from when I attempted to emulate your last project - decoupage. I think I won't even buy the drop clothes as they will never be painted. I do need a dog pee proof floor covering though.....12/09/2009 - 11:06 pm

Jess - yes, you should def. start an etsy shop! and when you are ready for orders I'll have quite a few for you! don't work too hard though, I miss you!12/15/2009 - 11:46 am

Tami - I handpainted a indoor outdoor carpet and it is great and you can do the same thing but not as detailed. Email me and I'll send you a picture. I want to do the dropcloth rugs as well when i redecorate which I'm deciding about now. Let's get together! Open a store! I want to open one soon also.12/20/2009 - 8:38 am

Cindy - I'm confused as to how you manage to fit so much into your life. The rugs' amazingness is only bested by your capability to fit so much super stuff-doing in your life. Love the stenciling.12/27/2009 - 7:43 am

kristine - so i'm late with the commenting but since you hardly ever post i see i'm kind of still on time wow! open esty no forget that - just please come to New York and do something with my house!!!! i'm begging you seriously hope you're well need more posts03/15/2010 - 9:16 pm

Notes from a mom who has never been away from her children.

Hey- I am going to Bangkok in two days- what do you guys have planned this week?

It’s not a big deal, you see I often just hop on a plane and fly halfway around the world WITHOUT my children. I am a jet setter like that, and us jet setters are really blase about taking 21 hour flights to hang out in a country where they have tsunamis and gun fights in the streets between anti-government protesters and police and where weaver ant eggs are considered a delicacy and giant water bugs in red curry sauce are served for dinner- oh and where my parents live.

The kids will be fine, their dad is going to be home 24/7 tending to their every need in much the same manner as I do.

This is their dad:

johnmask
Oh God help us!

The truth is that I don’t really jet set anywhere, but of course you guys know that already. In fact, that pumpkin I carved  last Saturday was the wildest thing I have done in a long time . I free handed with a very sharp electric pumpkin carver, so it  really was pretty risky.

Also I am a nervous flyer.

Someone once told me that people who are afraid of flying are generally control freaks.

Which I am so not!

spreadsheets
These oversized spread sheets were just something I whipped up to make things easier for John.

I know that everyone of you would do the exact same thing if you were about to get into a flying machine with 300 people who all have the H1N1 virus and will likely plunge into the Pacific Ocean just as we clear Alaska.

The good news is that my sister and I will be traveling together.

The bad news is that she is even more afraid of flying than I am.

She is also not particularly fond of our layover in Seoul, which she thinks is way too risky due to it’s proximity to North Korea. She pointed out that there is a whole list of ways our lives can be ruined or end, before we even get to Bangkok. For example what will we do if Korean Airlines runs out of gin and tonic 3 hours into the flight?  or another major concern of hers (which now also has become mine)- besides, of course, the very real threat of being taken as a POW by Kim Jung il- is that someone might plant 60 lbs of cannabis in our rucksacks just as we board the plane in Dulles and we will get arrested in Thailand, where our particular case will be used as an example to deter other young free spirited backpackers from doing this sort of thing (except we are well into our 40′ies, uptight and carry purses). Whereafter we will be thrown into a hellish Turkish prison in Bangkok, where we will live for many years in a nightmare of unspeakable conditions before we go to trial and lose, despite Secretary Clinton’s efforts to negotiate with the Thai authorities.

So, no, I don’t think I am being too overbearing for making sure that my family knows what to do every hour on the hour, in my perhaps permanent absence. They will thank me  one day for these past five evenings of power point presentations of who needs to have their butt wiped by dad one extra time for good measure and who has to return their library book on what day, as well as which day to clip fingernails and what soap to use on which child with the sensitive skin.

These are the faces that will keep me going as I am clinging to the life boat, resisting the urge to let the North Pacific Drift take me away into the cold November night.
kaiapretrip

josiepretrip

noahpretrip

Farewell my friends thank you for everything……

paige chhapman-layland - you are such a goober! you'll have a fabulous time, and you will adore those little faces with a renewed fervor after some time away (not that this ever happens to me--I A-D-O-R-E those sweet little dumpings of mine every minute of the day). Go forth, carry hand sanitizer and Cliff bars and all will be well. Enjoy!11/03/2009 - 12:23 am

Christine - Truer words were never spoken, girl. (That from the weirdest catastrophizing freak you'll ever see on a long distance flight. To anywhere.) The trick is, see, you've thought of every possible terrible outcome so none of it will happen. That's my practice, I will never be taken surprise by something terrible because I imagine every possible freakishly weird possibility. Works like a charm.11/03/2009 - 6:35 am

Leslie - I know you're overwhelmed, but try to enjoy yourself. Those sweet faces will be fine! Sending you a big hug!11/03/2009 - 7:11 am

rebekah - Yikes honey. Slap yourself in the face and get on with it! There will be at least a few moments when you don't miss them and your world will be quiet. (Just feeling jealous and also wondering how you'll blog every day from over there:))11/03/2009 - 7:42 am

Liz - Have a safe trip, and thanks for making me laugh out loud while sipping coffee - a great way to start the day!11/03/2009 - 7:52 am

Jess - Hold on tight to that life boat girl!11/03/2009 - 10:18 am

Sherry - Lets just hope they don't get lice while you're gone. Did you cover that with him? :)11/03/2009 - 1:28 pm

Cindy - Sniff, sniff. These photos are so so brilliantly larger-than-life, I feel like I could annex myself to your family by jumping through them. Cindy11/11/2009 - 2:18 pm

rebekah - Hey chica! You're back, right? Nominated you for that kreativ blog award. I'm sure I'll be one of many. Hope your trip was fabulous.11/24/2009 - 10:21 pm

Cindy - Charlotte, there is a rumor you're back. Hope all is well. I sent you an email a while ago, but I know you're busy... Wishing your family a wonderful Thanksgiving.11/25/2009 - 1:10 pm

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Halloween

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Jess - very cute!11/02/2009 - 11:52 am

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October in Pictures.

First there was the unscary ghost that hovered around our front porch all month.
josienoahporch Then there was that bat, that some say resembles an owl, but really looks like one of John’s socks with eyes- that took up residence in our chandelier. batAnd I must not forget the formation of the Catonsville bike club that motivated Josie to ditch her training wheels.bikeclubIt was frustrating in the beginning.josiemadBut finally success.josiebikeLovely friends from Barcelona and London came to visit.annestheranndinnerPine cones and fall leaves were collected for Josie’s papier mache creationpapiermacheModeling their new warmer clothes was fun. Well….maybe not so much for little brother.newclothesYoga was incorporated into Josie’s daily routine. Namaste.yoga“How many more days til Halloween” was asked on a daily basis.

jkpumpkin3With the colder weather came more indoors stuff- like snuggling on the couch while watching ‘Cat in the Hat’ 86 times in a row.dadkidsAnd here is the only photo I appear in for the entire month of Octobermomnoah

Nancy Meyer - Oh lady life is large! Congratulations on your new space.10/31/2009 - 5:26 am

Cindy - Wow, C, those are GORGEOUS photos...10/31/2009 - 8:54 am

paige - ooh, comment the first, on your new blog! I LOVE it here--it looks just like you, or at least the you I imagine. So glad to see all of your pretties--children, house, and husband in this post!10/31/2009 - 9:03 am

Leslie - Love love love all the pictures! Hoping for a GREAT November and December for y'all! You deserve it!10/31/2009 - 9:28 am

Jess - I love it! The look of the new blog, and how gorgeous your house is! You've been busy! The pictures were amazing!10/31/2009 - 10:07 am

Debby - ZERO more days til Halloween!! Charlotte - the new blog, and the house, look amazing...like a Pottery Barn catalog. Hope all are well. I have been meaning to write a lengthy e-mail, and I will. Love, Deb10/31/2009 - 11:23 am

Tami - I love, love, love what (I can see) you have done with your home. Beautiful. The pirctures are awesome and the kids look so happy. You have a fun home. Can I come over and play!!!? I'm really going to move to wordpress because it looks so much better than blogger. Maybe I'll figure it out this time. :-)10/31/2009 - 2:18 pm

Sherry - These photos are amazing. Is this John's camera? Beautiful!10/31/2009 - 11:50 pm

Christine - C, I'm in love with the photos and your style, girl. Your house is just inviting and lovely, very much my style, I mean, what I would like my style to be. Your family, just completely warm and sweet and beautiful.11/01/2009 - 6:53 am

Bridget - LOVE this new site! Totally drooling with jealousy!! Was it impossibly difficult? Your photos are amazing. Gorgeous!11/01/2009 - 4:06 pm

Sarah - holy moses- your new blog is gorgeous. The neighborhood bike club looks like something out of Leave it to Beaver-- can I come live there too? kids all look happy-- what a great place to be.11/01/2009 - 11:31 pm

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Distinguished

Before I bombard the internet with massive cuteness I just want to say thank you for all the supportive and uplifting comments to my last ’secret’ post. I already have so many great resources passed along to me by so many of you that I am up to my eyeballs in research and decision making, which is a very good thing. Feels so much better being pro-active.

Noah is on his way to the local University to teach his Latin class. He told me that he looked distinguished. Noah knows a lot of very big words and likes to use them whenever he can. For example he told me this morning that his oatmeal tasted very fascinating. Which I took as a compliment.

My mom just left to go back home and Noah has been very concerned that I might feel lonely while he and the girls are in school. He told me that he could easily skip his teaching job today to stay home and keep me company and so that I won’t cry from loneliness. I said that he was very gracious but that he has a lot of work to do at school and then he informed me that he had quite a bit of work to do at home too; like lifting boxes and repairing stuff. He cracks me up.

Might be a little overkill on the photos, but it is so hard to pick just one photo from all this cuteness. You can’t see it in the photos but there are, of course, leather patches on the elbows of his prerequisite professor blazer.



Julia - That's some serious cuteness.10/01/2009 - 2:01 pm

kristine - OK - first you need to come to my house and fix it up! i'm not kidding - Help! Look at your house.

secondly - i cannot have to many fotos of your son!!! he is amazing - and i love fascinating oatmeal!!

thirdly - proactive is good - support is good - friends are good - that's all.10/01/2009 - 2:06 pm

Christine - Massively Madly Cute! Why choose just one?!10/01/2009 - 2:08 pm

habeshachild - oh my gosh! cuteness aplenty!

seriously - he looks like he belongs in a J.Crew catalog. or maybe Banana Republic. or something else hip and distinguished.10/01/2009 - 6:24 pm

Nancy - Oh I love a guy in a scarf.10/02/2009 - 3:28 am

los cazadores - As a logistical matter, it's incredible the massive cuteness even fits in this post, there is so much - the blazer is awesome.

Cindy10/03/2009 - 3:07 pm

The "I Can’t Think of a Title" Post

I have finally figured out a way to password protect posts on my blog. I am password protecting some posts to protect the privacy of my kids and my family and sometimes just so I can swear freely without getting flagged. If you are one of my regular readers or I know you please send me an email at habeshahouse@gmail.com and I will give you the password.

Just click below on the show encrypted text after you get the password to read my first private post.

Cathy - HUGS!!! I have no advice for you but admire you putting it out there and maybe in a way saying it out loud will help. You are a good mom. I know I haven't met you in real life but I can tell you care about your kids. I know you will figure it out and you will do the best you can with what you have. you will do more than push through. You will be an amazing mom to all of your kids when they need you most. Some days will be tough I am sure. But know you have a world of cyber friends to lean on. Hang in there.09/26/2009 - 7:44 am

Jess - Oh Charlotte...09/26/2009 - 8:11 am

filoli - 1) yes, password por fa
2) how do you do this on blogger?09/26/2009 - 3:33 pm

kristine - Oh girl i wish i could give you a hug and a glass of wine (or vodka or whiskey.)

it is good to have a 'label' or perhaps a definition if it points you to some techniques or tools.

Q does not like school, complains all the time. what's the label for that? she runs to school, she writes letters to her family in sanksrit? she and all of you will be better than fine. loud is good but exhausting.

i have one child and our lives are crazy - no i haven't posted the crazy stuff. you have three - and a little boy - and the two girls both with high energy levels? oh girl. the two of you do need to find some time out. how you do it i don't know - we've had great difficulty managing that one. once we flew my mother in so we could have one day alone. we drove an hour a way to a b&b. on the way back we were talking and i said to Y 'can we not talk? this is our last hour of quiet for maybe a year.' we drove home in silence. as i write this Q is behind me bouncing off the walls. literally.

i wish we lived closer. i'd come over add Q to the mix and let you guys out for a night.

it will change. it will be better. keep writing. we'll keep reading and it will get better.09/26/2009 - 3:36 pm

paige - well aren't you debbie downer today...

girl, denial is a powerful tool. your brain became ready to hear spectrum disorder for the first time. Now that you know, you'll be able to make choices, and help J make choices too. it gets better from here, really.

lots of resources to share if you want them, as you want them --my big kid is 'under the umbrella' too.

i'm glad today is a better one. remember that we're all here, no matter what sort of day you have.

xoxo09/26/2009 - 8:10 pm

habeshachild - must have password.

please. :-)09/26/2009 - 9:12 pm

lifeonplanetearth - I don't know very much about this stuff except the extensive reading I'm doing about how children learn. Thomas Armstrong has some interesting research about 'multiple intelligences' and 'the natural genius of kids'. http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm I don't know for sure, but maybe it's better to ditch the labels and accept that each child progresses at their own speed in their own way and does not have to conform and fit into a box that school or society creates and calls 'normal'.
Peace and hugs for you.09/27/2009 - 5:54 am

Bridget - I wish I had the wisdom you need. I wish I had the words. I admire you. Your courage to put words to your emotions and let it go. That takes a kind of bravery that no doubt will help you through these times. Your daughter is beautiful and she sounds like a complete joy. THAT is happiness.09/27/2009 - 9:13 pm

rebekah - Gosh. And here I thought it was going to be one big f bomb post.

I am hoping for some progress and peace for you, and I'm trying to think of optimistic things to say, but right now my heart is breaking for you instead. It must hurt so much.09/28/2009 - 8:29 pm

paige - how are you today, ma'am?09/28/2009 - 10:00 pm

Christine - Well, you sound very real and I always love to hear real writing. That being said, I am sorry that reality is a strain, even though it is still good, this label is a strain. I have heard some good kernels of wisdom lately and want to give them to you. Kristine wrote on her blog about having "the strength to carry it."

http://spontaneousdelight.com/2009/09/28/father-b/

That resonated with me.

Also, my husband and I were talking this morning about being in action about things and how my self-esteem can get in the way. He said it is important to be "in shape psychologically" in order to deal with what comes at me. I then thought about what it means and what it takes to be in shape psychologically. Truth is, it's a balancing act. When I come at my family already feeling depleted because I am always doing stuff for them and continuing to ignore myself, it is just a vicious cycle of not quite hitting the mark. When and if I keep things a little more balanced, then I am actually more available in the small moments.

I just wanted to offer that to you. BTW, I am a special ed teacher and I can tell you I learned so much about myself and all people, autistic or not, by becoming thoroughly educated on the topic. (Hey, I know, not as easy if it is your kid.) The occupational therapy alone did wonders. It made me realize how much my own body requires in order to feel in balance with my mind.

I hope you keep talking about it. You make me want to password protect a post or two.

p.s. I know you are not a shitty parent.09/29/2009 - 7:15 am

Julia - Pretty please can I have the password.10/01/2009 - 2:03 pm

filoli - So much, so much, so much going on here. At least you see the issues and that puts you way ahead on the curve. If I can get my head figured out, I will send you an email. Also...you.cracked.me.up in this "thank you for saying it - fiiiiiiiiiiiinalllllllly!" kind of way.10/01/2009 - 3:42 pm

stephanie - And this is why we all need to live on a commune somewhere instead of all over the place so we can stop over and give you a hand.

I'm not a big cyber hug kind of gal but I really feel ((hugs)) are in order. I wish I had the words for you or the knowledge but I don't. I'm new to you and all but I already think you're pretty damn amazing.

I know you just moved to a new area but any chance of doing a trade with your neighbors that they watch your kids one night and you watch theirs?10/01/2009 - 7:05 pm