Family shelter

Crikey. I am a social worker, and I still end up surprised when I read stuff like this--I'm still naive about family poverty and homelessness in my community. I guess it might be in part because I have always worked with families who, although they definitely were living below the poverty level, still had some kind of home or shelter, whether it was a Section 8 apartment or a relative's couch. I'm embarrassed to say it's hard for me to believe there are families living in their cars, but here you go.

Well, to quote 80s GI Joe: "Knowing is half the battle." See, all that after school TV made me a better person.

Emergency shelters

MULTNOMAH COUNTY

Warming Center for Families: 1435 N.E. 81st Ave., Portland, 503-253-0148
To donate: The center needs pillows, blankets, sheets and pillow cases. Drop them off at the center or at Human Solutions, 12350 S.E. Powell Blvd., or at these three Key Bank branches -- Gateway branch, 1205 N.E. 102nd Ave.; Lloyd Center branch, 825 N.E. Multnomah St., Suite 175; Gresham Mall branch, 390 W. Burnside St., Gresham. Drop off food (snacks that require no preparation such as fruit, nutrition bars and juice boxes), dishes, eating utensils, paper towels and cleaning supplies at the warming center or Human Solutions.
Volunteers: The center needs people to staff it. To help, go to
www.humansolutions.org
or call Becky Mullins at 503-256-2280.
For other shelters: Call 2-1-1

Our Little Deer is Nine Months Old!

And it's a Festivus miracle that I was able to take these photos, between the tricky lighting and the ever-so-curious baby.

This photo was attempt no. 238....

How do you baby-proof a Christmas tree?

Ready for my close-up, Mommy!

And here's my daughter next to the most worrisome non-lethal baby hazard of them all.

Public Service Announcement

Sigh.
My friends over at The Lorpi Files have a friend whose baby is in the hospital after having swallowed a button battery (about the size of a nickel) that leaked acid into her esophagus for days. That's the short version of the story--where's the emoticon for "absolutely horrified"?

While her situation is extreme and a perfect storm of somewhat-rare-occurence and apparent incompetence at the ER, I learned that battery-swallowing is on the rise because of all of our gadgets, plus because of musical greeting cards (don't send those to friends with rugrats).

It sounds like baby Hazel is through the worst of it but not "out of the woods," so I will be praying for her and her family and invite y'all to think good thoughts/send loving-kindness/light a candle/say a prayer--whatever you tend to do in situations like this.

And I'm going to be roaming the house with a roll of duct tape, hunting for little gadgets.

Goodbye, Miss Know-it-All

The above photo is a naked re-enactment of the look Anneke gave me today after I sternly told her "no!" when she tried to chew the computer wires. And I realized I'm in BIG trouble. She knows what "no" means, but my behavior management skills are no match for her cuteness! Is it possible to set appropriate limits and smother a child with kisses at the same time?

I have a lot of past clients who would probably be all, yeah, now where's your Love and Logic?

Thanksgiving and special bonus features

Anneke's first Thanksgiving was lovely. The only thing missing were publishable photos of the event--I will save them for family viewing only, as we are all pretty much sacked out unattractively on comfortable furniture apres delicious meal. I really wish we had taken one or two family shots around the table, but that would have involved timers and maybe even a tripod. Next time I'll go to the trouble now that I have realized it would have been worth it. Said meal was at Grandma and Grandpa's house with Uncle Kevin, Aunt Stephanie, and Claire. I can't tell you how grateful I am not only to have my inlaws in town, but that I married into a truly, truly wonderful family. The above photo is Anneke and Ms. E. in their Thanksgiving best. This dress will probably get a lot of wear between now and Christmas because I absolutely love it. We got to stop by Ms. E's house to have hors d'oeuvres and champagne cocktails before heading over to G&G's.

Anyway, I'm making up for lack of Thanksgiving photos by including bonus baby photos. Aren't you thankful?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay, just for the record, here's what I have to say about the Thanksgiving meal:

1. All y'all that go on about finding fancy, healthy alternatives to green bean casserole can kiss my grits. That includes you, Mollie Katzen, and your seared green beans. Yes, they sound delicious. I will probably make them sometime. I will admit to going highbrow by making from-scratch cream-of-mushroom soup and using fresh green beans. And maybe even chanterelle mushrooms. But give me a pan of the Campbell's soup special and I'll all but stick my face right in it. This is not the time of year to get all uppity about side dishes.
   
2. Dressing. Sigh. And with apologies to my dad for what I am about to say: My Mamo makes the absolute best cornbread dressing. Every year I try to replicate it. A couple of years ago I actually cross-referenced about ten dressing recipes, from sources as varied as The Joy of Cooking to The Cotton Country Collection (a Junior League classic!) and drew out a grid of the ingredients. And you know what? Dressing is just not that complicated. Last night I called Mamo, and of course she does not really use a recipe. She walked me through it, and it totally made sense and sounded easy. Tonight I tried once again, mixing the ingredients and cooking up little balls of it in the skillet to taste it. The batch I finally settled on isn't bad, but it lacks the unctuous chickeny-ness that Mamo's always has. The closest I came was when I made up a batch and then cooked whole, bone-in chicken pieces on top--chicken fat makes everything better. But Mamo does not have to resort to these tactics. It's still a mystery...maybe the missing ingredient is a lifetime of cooking three meals a day with whatever is in the fridge and cupboard. I'm just glad I still have her to call, even if she usually says, "oh, well, you just put it on the stove and add a little of this and a little of that and cook it till it's done."
3. Dave is making pecan pie. We'll see if it's any match for my Aunt Brenda's. The pecans are from her yard in Texarkana.
   

P.S. Daddy, you make the very best chicken fried steak.

Baptism

"Sacraments...make something that is already true and available real for us so that we might fully benefit from it." This is from the booklet "Holy Baptism: A Guide for Parents and Godparents," which we received in our pre-baptism meeting. And so yesterday morning we affirmed that Anneke is God's own. Of course, it was lovely--my church really makes a big deal out of baptisms. The children come up from downstairs and sit around the font, VIP style. Anneke was stripped nekkid and plopped into the font. She settled right in like it was bathtime, splashing all over Rev. Joan's Bible and lapping that holy water right up! We were all laughing, and that was my favorite part--that such a sacred occasion was marked by laughter.

The anthem during the service was a choral arrangement of the gospel/bluegrass song "Calling my Children Home" by Doyle Lawson and Charles Waller. It's haunting and sad, about missing your children who are far away. I really missed my parents yesterday, and, as with most things in life these days, a song like that has new meaning for me now that I am a parent.

But Dave's parents were there in the second pew, as well as some of our good friends. Anneke has her Mormon Godmother, Auntie Emily, and her Jewish Godmother, Diane. Both of these women are going to be there for her and will honor and support Anneke in her faith. They will also be there when she is a sulky teenager or when I am being a worrywart mom. And Anneke has a parish sponsor, Peggy, who will be a special person for her at church. I got to know Peggy when I was on the Vestry, and then she did the flowers at our wedding as well as Diane and Matt's. She reached out to me when Dave was recovering from his accident and left lovely presents for Anneke and me on our porch one day last spring.

These folks and a few friends came over for brunch afterwards. We were all wiped out by the time everyone left! But it was a perfect celebration, and everyone who came is someone I hope will know Anneke throughout her life.

One thing missing were in-focus photos. It was just too much to fiddle with camera settings with everything else. But not to worry! We'll upload a video soon. And I think Ms. A got some good shots of Anneke in her christening gown.