The post-Christmas purge

Is it just me?  Am I the only one who feels a sudden and urgent need to clean, organize and purge the minute Christmas is over?  Maybe it's a natural reaction to all the excess - to need to rebalance with a reduction of some sort.  On the 24th, I always sit on the couch and stare in wonder at the beauty of our 9' tree, the warm glow of the lights, the colorful gifts beneath, but as soon as the 26th rolls around, the tree suddenly seems a monster consuming our living room, the toys have taken over, the Christmas knick knacks seem to be attacking our once peaceful house.  And every year on the 26th, I am totally over it.  I need to clean and get organized for the next year!

So this year, my purging and cleaning project ended up being the playroom.  We had a monstrous entertainment center with a 350-lb TV (from before the days of flat screens) and loads of AV equipment (a VCR and old Xbox, etc.) that was NEVER used taking up a large portion of that room.  I had been hinting at Brett for some time now that I would like to get rid of that monster, and he had been giving me lots of push back.  The problem is that the entertainment center was too big to get down our stairs (it really tore the walls up going in and we swore it would never go out in one piece).  So, a few weeks ago, I visually reorganized the playroom, then went to Ikea to get what I needed to make it happen.  And Brett finally agreed to attack that monster up there.  He took the entertainment center apart piece by piece until it was just a pile of wood, screws and hardware.  Sadly, it had been a relatively expensive piece from Bassett, but we decided it was not worth ruining our walls to get something out that was of no use to anyone, since TVs don't need those big entertainment centers anymore.  Our neighbor helped Brett carry the 350-lb TV down the stairs, down the sidewalk, and back up his own stairs into his playroom!  We were so glad to find a home for it!

With all our newly reclaimed space, we put in a larger (adult-sized!) table and chairs for art projects and homework.  Previously we just had a toddler sized table, which has been great, but we are ready to move on to something bigger at this point.  We also got some storage units for managing all the toys up there.    And two book ledges for forward book display. The kids really flock to the little library now that their favorite books are front-facing and easy to access. Pierce sits in the Elmo chair and reads all the time. It's so cute.



Our "library" using $10 photo ledges from Ikea.

  

Our new school room for art projects, homework, puzzles, crafts.  This is a dining table from Ikea along with chairs for both little people and normal people.  The storage unit (also Ikea) is just removable plastic bins for drawers - easy for little kids to use and replace.

  

I also bought these plastic storage cups for crayons and markers from Ikea.  They were meant for storing kitchen utensils, but they are perfect for arts and crafts.  The easily pull off the rail and sit on the table.  $1 each.

So, I can breathe a sigh of relief as we have tackled one major project to start the new year fresh! We spend a LOT of time in that room, so it is a real blessing for the kids and me to have it organized and functional. Brett did all the work since I am not supposed to do any heavy lifting and I also am not in the least bit mechanically inclined. Thanks, Brett!!!

Thinking about Christmas

Like most Americans, I do love this time of year! I love the decorations, the lights, the freshly made cookies, the joy in finding at least a couple cute Christmas cards in your mailbox each day, the time off from work and school, the excitement at church for the coming of our savior, just the entire buzz. But with all this joy, the holidays also bring stress, expenses and decisions to be made about what Christmas will be for your family. Will it be entirely commercial? Entirely spiritual? Or a combination of the two? We have been trying to balance all this for the past few years, especially as Sydney gets to be big enough for making real lasting memories, for setting expectations, and for forming her own values. We have really worked to simplify the commercial and gift-giving aspect in our house and to build meaningful family traditions that do not revolve around “getting” things. But it’s not easy. It’s a battle against the messages our retail and commercial society is sending. I’m not sure how successful we’ve been. But we are trying, and we are mindful of our purchases and choices during the season. In our house, we don’t put a lot of focus on Santa and making lists for him, threatening with him watching to encourage good behavior, elves on the shelves, and so on, mainly because we don’t want to make Christmas all about GETTING those gifts from SANTA! Last year we tried implementing the gift of 3 idea: Jesus received three gifts at his birth, and so our kids also received three gifts. However, we did three from “Santa” and three from us. So, really, six. Which is less than Brett got as a child (far less from what I hear), but certainly still a LOT. Then you take those six gifts (bought within a budget, of course) and add them to the dozens of gifts they get from extended family, and our children are still being spoiled rotten. (To be fair, they have 7 grandparents and 7 aunts and uncles, so the gifts multiply quickly!) I’m not sure how we get around this entirely. Anyone out there have other suggestions? I read on a blog recently that a mom gives her children: one thing you want, one thing you need, one thing to wear, one thing to read. I love the idea!

Another thing we’ve been doing the past few years is to give more to charity than we spend combined on all our friends, family, and entertaining. Last year, we bought a “stepping stone” for the construction of a new orphanage in India through Homes of Hope. This year, we included the kids in the charity process to try to start teaching them about giving. I gave them the gift catalogue I received in the mail from World Vision and let them choose a few gifts each. It had lots of neat things to choose from, and pictures of each option, so it was easy for the kids to select. Sydney selected giving to the clean water fund and buying two flocks of chicks. Pierce picked donating toys and fruit trees (with some guidance from me!). Brett chose to give to the emergency food fund. And I chose to give school supplies to schools in developing countries. That was fun shopping! Then, as a family we bought a goat through Heifer International and sponsored a girl for a year in one of Home of Hope’s orphanages in India. Plus, we will give to our church tomorrow at mass. These gifts are so productive over the course of a year when compared to the things we give our children. It is really a joy and a privilege to be able to give these kinds of gifts which will continue to nurture people for years to come.

I’m curious about other families’ favorite Christmas traditions and also about what you do to keep Christmas both meaningful and affordable! I know many American families finance their Christmas indulgences, but I can’t imagine the stress that would bring come January! What do you do to stick to a budget? How do you determine your budget? Do you think your kids are being spoiled? What charities do you enjoy supporting? Leave a comment or send me an email if you want to share!!!

Merry Christmas, friends and family! Wishing you a joyful and peaceful holiday!

Christmas festivities

Like everyone else we have been busy with all the fun things you get to do in the weeks leading up to Christmas. There are so many great Christmas traditions to enjoy with children! Two weeks ago, we visited Santa at our church. Pierce, still skeptical, at least did not scream and cry this year. He even mustered up the courage to tell Santa he wanted “Trucks and treats” for Christmas. So simple and so cute!

This is me easing Pierce into Santa's lap! :)





Sydney was an angel in our church’s Christmas pageant. She had one line (that all the angels said together), and she enjoyed dressing up in white with wings. St. Nicholas came to visit the kids and tell them about his life in the fourth century and how he inspired the modern secular “Santa Claus.” That was a treat!

This weekend we made gingerbread houses as we do every year. The kids LOVE this activity! Can you blame them? Pierce actually did all of the decorating on his this year – what a difference a year makes. Last year I think we basically did his for him. The houses are now a more mangled version of the pictures you see here since the kids are nibbling at them every chance they get. These are from Trader Joes ($7.99), and I think they are so much cuter than the other options out there.

Someone is sneaking a snack while I'm trying to take the picture!

Pierce was SO proud of his house. Love the cheesy grin!

Voila: the finished products. Pierce's.

And Sydney's.

My memories of making gingerbread houses as a kid involve graham crackers and hours of engineering in order to assemble a horribly ugly and unstable boxy structure. It was fun and I'm sure we learned some geometry and such, but honestly, this quick 3-step assembly is more my speed! Especially with a 2 and 5 year old!

Happy Holidays! Hope you are enjoying the fun of the weeks leading up to Christmas as much as we are (and that you are more organized than I am!).

Technical Difficulties and other things...

Brett's computer died a few weeks ago. Because of that I have not been able to update my blog because I use his computer to download all of our photos and then we push them (magically) to my computer (because my photo card reader has been broken for a long time). (Excuse the horrible run-on sentence! Yikes!) You'd never know that Brett earns his living working on computers by the sad state of things around here lately. I know I am soon due for a new laptop myself, but other than the photo card reader problem, this 6-yr old machine seems to work just fine. So, I'm pushing back on Brett's suggestion to replace it just yet. I think it has at least another year in it!

Anyway, life has been very busy since Halloween really. I’ll try to play catch-up this week and post about our new backyard, our beachy Thanksgiving, Christmas activities, Sydney’s acting debut in our church’s Christmas pageant and so on. For now, about Sydney’s new school…

Sydney started at a new school last week! St. Mary Magdalene Catholic School in Apex. I know, I know. You’re thinking, “What? In the middle of the year? Right before Christmas? Why?” We just didn't feel she was in the right place at our local public school for a number of reasons and we found a great local Catholic school with one opening in a kindergarten class, so instead of waiting until the fall to compete for that spot with several other families, we went ahead and switched her! So far so good. Her new school is smaller (2 classes per grade instead of 8), which I love. She wears a uniform, which I love. Her teachers are really kind and caring Catholic women, which I love. The school teaches one grade ahead for all students and provides additional accelerated material for those needing a little more of a challenge, which I love. And her schedule is much earlier (8am to 2:50 pm as opposed to 9:15 am to 3:45 pm), which I also love. (Ok, I do NOT love the sound of my alarm at 6:00, but otherwise, the earlier days have been great.) We are more productive and it just works better. She has time to play and just be a kid after school instead of rush rush to dinner and bedtime (her bus was getting her home at 4:30 previously). So, for now, we are all happy. The tuition payment hasn't hit the bank account yet - we may feel a slightly diminished sense of joy at that point, but I'm sure it will pass. :)

The first day of school:



On the third day of school, Sydney got to participate in their class "play" - the ABC's of Christmas. She quickly memorized her lines, "K is for the kings who traveled from the East to come celebrate the first Christmas feast."

Mommy's little helper

It's funny how your kids take on habits, likes, interests and skills, and how they aren't always the ones you thought they would be for each child. For example, you would think that of my two children, a boy and a girl, the girl would be more inclined to be mommy's little helper around the house. And the boy would be too distracted with manly pursuits like playing trucks to notice a domestic chore that needed tending to. But, no, I tell you, that is not the way the cards have fallen in this house. Sydney is a wonderful daughter, but she is not too keen on helping out around the house and never has been. She'll do it if you ask her (multiple times), but otherwise, forget it. Pierce, on the other hand, has recently become my little helper. It is hilarious how he has so much initiative and really tries to help without me asking. He loves to take the recycling out to the bin in the garage, he carries folded laundry to the proper bedrooms without being asked, he helps me unload the dishwasher by putting all the kids' dishes away while I do the adult dishes. He loves to watch me cook and to "help" measure and scoop and stir and knead (and make big messes). Yesterday, I was getting ready to make a loaf of bread and Pierce said, "Wait mommy. I help you. I make the bread." I said ok without really looking at him and when I turned around he was in the fridge. "Pierce, shut the door. You don't need to be in there. Close the door please." And when I turned around he was right next to me, placing the yeast and ground flaxseed on the counter top. Those are the only two ingredients I get from the fridge to make bread. He knew exactly what to get for me. I was so proud and surprised! Later that day, our ice dispenser was going a little nuts on us and we had crushed ice all over the floor after trying (unsuccessfully) to fill a bottle with ice. Pierce saw the ice and immediately said, "I get it," and ran to the pantry. He came back with the dust pan and broom and set to sweeping up that ice (also unsuccessfully, but what a valiant effort!). I love that little boy.

Little House on the Prairie

There are so many joys to being a parent. As well as so many challenges. The funny thing about it all is that you are constantly surprised by what parts of parenting bring you the most joy and which parts are so difficult. It rarely plays out the way you thought it would before you became a parent. One of those many little joys I never much considered is sharing literaturewith your children. We've read to Sydney and Pierce pretty much every night of their lives before bedtime. Now both children LOVE to read and Sydney is a very advanced reader. So, this year I purchased the Little House boxed set as a little gift for starting kindergarten, imagining that we could slowly read them together. I know they are recommended for children ages 8 and up, but I couldn't resist sharing these classic, well-written, and wholesome novels with Sydney. So we started reading. I think at first she was a little bored (there are only pictures on every other page, after all). But as we got into the first book she fell in love with the little Ingalls girls and their story. We are now on book 3 (we skipped book 2 because Sydney really wanted to follow Laura and Mary, and book 2 followed another little boy). She is really getting into it and we read a chapter a night. I think I look forward to it as much as she does, maybe more. I don't know that I ever really read all these books as a child, so it is new for me as well.

The other night I came into her room to sit down and read before bedtime. I opened the novel, pulled the bookmark out and noticed that I didn't recognize the chapter name. I flipped backwards a few pages and realized that that little monkey had read a chapter ahead the night before! I looked at her and said, "Sydney, did you read ahead?" "Yes. I wanted to see what was going to happen." "Well, that's not fair!!! Now I don't know what happened! You'll have to find another book to read quietly to yourself while I read this chapter and get caught up. Then I'll read to you!" Ha! I had to laugh at myself and at my daughter! It's fun to share something with her that we can both enjoy so much!

For parents of little girls, I highly recommend this series. And 5 is not too young to read together. The stories are beautifully written and they tell of times when life was so much simpler, but so much more work. I think they are great for young girls growing up in a culture where everything is instant, easily accessible, and no one seems to want for anything.

Quick peek

Here’s a peek into our house during the last two weeks:
The centerpiece of the kitchen table is a box of Kleenex (which changes daily)
The hum of humidifiers lulls us all to sleep (if only momentarily)
The kitchen counter resembles a start-up pharmacy
The mayoclinic.com is my most visited site of the week
The parents are playing musical beds taking care of whomever is sickest
Slippers and blankets are set by the back porch door for multiple nightly croup-calming outings
…And we are all exhausted

Ok, both kids have battled croup and upper respiratory infections, and that is all I can say about the last two weeks here. Little else has been accomplished.

In fact, our box of veggies arrived today. I stared at it with dread for a while this afternoon. Too tired to sort and store. I checked outside – cold enough – out goes the box onto the porch until I have the energy to deal with it!

Oh, and we missed out on our scheduled flu shots last week because we were too sick to get them! Ironic, huh? Need to reschedule!

Here’s to hoping you are healthier than we! Winter has arrived at the Burkhart household.

Boo!

Sydney wanted to be a cowgirl for Halloween this year! Yay for not being another princess!!! So, Pierce obliged and agreed to be a cowboy. Next year he may have a stronger opinion about his costume, but at two, I don't think he cared! They were really cute, although these pictures don't really do justice. The cowboy costume is super easy and inexpensive: $1 per bandana, $1 for Pierce's hat, and the rest we already had. Yay for that! (Well, except Sydney's cute boots, which I reluctantly bought, but am thrilled that she loves them and has worn them to school several times).

For dinner we had spooky sushi. It was something we could quickly eat with our fingers and I could make during naptime for a smoother evening!

How to stretch a pricey organic chicken!

It got cold quickly today! Wow! I love having soups and stews during the winter. They are the ultimate comfort food on a cold day. We eat homemade soup at least once a week November through February. And I recently discovered the beauty of making your own chicken stock to use for soups. Homemade chicken stock is really really tasty, not to mention economical. I'll post the recipe I use at the end of this post.

So, today Pierce and I went to the grocery store to pick up an organic chicken and a few other things so that I could make chicken and also homemade stock from the carcass. I paid $13 for an organic free-range chicken (gulp!), and that was on sale. However, I have strong opinions about not eating cannibalistic birds that are raised in little cages and injected with antibiotics and growth hormones that my kids and I will eventually ingest, so the $13 is really no big deal. Keeping our budget in mind, here's how I stretch that $13 bird!

I roasted it in the crock pot today - super easy and super delicious - using this recipe.

When it was done, I picked the meat off the bones and had enough meat for three meals: we had some of it tonight on homemade pizza dough for BBQ chicken pizzas. Yum! Then I put a bunch in a container to make chicken salad for lunch tomorrow. And the rest went in another container to make homemade chicken noodle soup tomorrow night for dinner. Then, I made stock with the remains of the bird.

Homemade chicken stock (adapted from a recipe I found in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine):
Put the carcass of a fully-cooked chicken, its juices, and skin, etc. into a large pot and cover with water. I used about 14 cups of water for my 4 lb bird (you could probably stretch it to 16). Add a celery stick, a small onion, a bay leaf, fresh rosemary and thyme if you have them (these herbs grow year-round, so they are handy for your little garden), some pepper corns (about 10) and a dash of salt. Bring it to a boil, boil for a minute, then reduce to simmer partially covered for about an hour. When you are done, strain it into another large container and measure out the stock into containers to freeze. I usually put about 4 cups per container because I find that most soup recipes call for 4-6 cups of stock. If I need 6 cups for a recipe, I add 2 cups of water to my 4 cups of frozen stock and one vegan bouillon cube (low sodium) to stretch out my homemade stock. So, tonight I got 3 full meals worth of stock plus a smaller 2-cup container that would be good for flavoring rice or risotto or something.

Ok, so when you look at the $13 bird after all we got from it, it doesn't look so bad! 3 meals and 4 "boxes" of organic chicken stock (which cost about $2.50/$3.00 per box).

I just read on another blog that chicken noodle soup is actually an immunity booster (not just a comfort food when you're already sick!), so it's time to start cooking!

Quebec City (that's in Canada!)

Brett and I just spent a long weekend in the charming (and francophone) city of Quebec to celebrate our anniversary. Every time I would tell someone I was going to Quebec, I would get a blank stare. Strange. Did they not like Quebec? Did they not understand my pronunciation? Or had they never heard of Quebec? My gut tells me it was the latter. Shame, shame. Oh, well. Most Americans don't know the first thing about our "lesser" neighbor to the North, so that's the way it goes. Anyway, it was my first trip up there, too, so I can't say I knew a whole lot about Quebec beforehand (well, except that it was located in Cananda and was French-speaking!).

We had a great weekend, in spite of the cool weather and pesky rain. The city is charming. You feel like you are in Europe, but magically you have no jet lag! We shopped, ate, toured, and visited the Montmorency Falls and a few other outlying sights. Rejuvenating and beautiful. (Don't let the photos fool you, it rained 75% of the time we were there!)


The St. Lawrence river runs along the city of Quebec.


Handsome Brett in front of the Chateau Frontenac.

Variety of art for sale.

The bright side of the rain: a rainbow several times a day!

Charming centuries-old architecture.

Feels like Brittany, France to me.

A view from the lower town up to the Chateau Frontenac (now a hotel). The walk back up was a great work-out (and a great way to burn off all those pastries and desserts!).

The powerful Montmorency Falls (higher than Niagra Falls, but not as wide). Yes, we crossed the foot-bridge above the falls. The power of the water coming over the edge was amazing from so close a perspective. Pierce asked us if we got our suits on and went down the slide! Ha!

The Chateau Frontenac (view from the water).

The massive Basillica of St. Anne (about 20 minutes outside of the city). Anne was Mary's mother, and this basillica was built in her honor. It is a major pilgrimmage site, especially for those with physical ailments who have heard of its healing powers.

Money Matters

A child’s relationship with and understanding of money is comically bizarre. Pierce thinks all plastic cards (including driver’s licenses, store loyalty cards and hotel key cards) are money. When he finds a plastic card, he smiles and says, “I got money!”

Sydney has a little money jar where she puts money she finds, is given and earns. The other day it had four dollars and some change in it. She has been begging me to take her to the dollar store to buy a few things, so since she is tracked out from school and we had some errands to run while Pierce was at preschool, I told her we could take some of her money to spend. She wanted to take all four dollars and I had to explain to her that we never spend all of our money at once and certainly not in one store. So I let her take $2. As I was closing the jar, she said, “Wait. What about the taxes? How much do I need?” Good for her for remembering our last outing to spend one dollar and how we needed a little extra for taxes! So, I started to count out 14 cents for her. Again, “Wait! I want to give her more than 14 cents so I can get change.” So, back went the dime and four pennies and out came a quarter. Satisfied child, amused mother.

At the dollar store, she only found one cheap, made-in-china, guaranteed-to-break-instantly toy. So at the check-out she handed the lady $1.25 (one bill and one coin), and smiled at her maturity. When she got back 18 cents, she was thrilled and had a huge grin on her face. Five coins in exchange for one. She must have thought she was getting paid to shop! The marvels of childhood!

Nine years!

It's been nine years since Brett and I joyfully walked down the aisle to our awesome gospel choir singing, "Oh Happy Day!" And it was a happy day! Sweaty hot, but happy!


A lot has changed in nine years, not the least of which is photography. As I was looking through my photo files for one of the many great shots our photographer took on that day to post here, I realized that I was actually looking in the wrong place. All our wedding photos are in an actual physical box in my living room, not on my computer. Back in 2002 digital photography was not where it is today, and although she shot our wedding with digital (I think!), the images were outrageously expensive to buy, so we just opted for the prints. Alas, I have not one single digital photo of the two of us to post here. Sorry! I do have one of me, alone, but still, I have a veil on. This wasn't even taken on our wedding day, but a month or so before when we were practicing with my hair! Oh well!




In nine years we have:

Lived in 5 different homes in 4 cities and 2 countries.
Had two great kids.
Gotten one PhD.
Held at least a dozen different jobs combined.
Visited 12 (maybe more?) countries on vacation.
Started lots of great family traditions.
And had a great time!


We are off to Quebec City next week to celebrate our anniversary! I am really looking forward to it. We chose it because we could feel like we were in Europe with the architecture and the French language, but not have to cross the pond and save a few thousand dollars! I'll post pictures when we get back!

Homemade Applesauce

We made homemade apple sauce for the first time ever today. Not sure why I never made this before because it is SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS and extremely easy to make (only one ingredient!). We took a bunch of the apples we picked last weekend, peeled and cut them, put them in two large pots with a little bit of water and cooked over medium heat until the apples softened (which didn’t take long), then pureed them in the food processor in batches, returned to a “boil” and canned them. This was by FAR the best apple sauce I’ve ever tasted and it had nothing added to it. It didn’t need it. Which makes me wonder why most store-bought apple sauces have sugar in them… hmmm. Where are they getting their apples? We used a combination of Fuji and Golden Delicious to make ours. I had read that these two made good apple sauces, and they happened to be what we had on hand. We got about 8 or 9 jars (ate one and put one in the fridge, the rest are pictured here and will go on the shelves). They won’t last long, though. And we still have a lot of apples left in our box, so we may do round two tomorrow or sometime this week. A lot of apples went into these little jars, though. It’s surprising how many it takes to cook down to this. You probably don’t want to make this with $3/lb grocery store apples, but the $1/lb orchard ones instead!

This is a seriously simple recipe and is so worth trying if you’ve never made your own apple sauce. You don’t have to can it, you can just enjoy it now and freeze any extras you have. ‘Tis the season, folks!

Here's how the process looked!


All three pots going at once!


After the puree - a creamy dreamy apple sauce wonder!

Boiling in the canner.

Voila: the finished product!

Grandma Julie

Grandma Julie makes our kids all kinds of wonderful treasures! She knits and sews, and every time she comes to visit she has created some great things for them: sweaters, bags, stuffed animals, purses, dresses, hats and so on! Last time we saw her she gave the kids these magnificent knit hats for winter (among other treasures). They are so soft and so cute! It was actually almost cold enough on Saturday at the apple orchard to wear them, so the kids were happy to try them on and model.

Thanks, Grandma Julie!!!

Apple Picking

Just about every fall we make a point to go apple picking, usually during our fall mountain trip. This year we don't have a trip to the mountains planned, however, because we have so much already going on in October and we went to the mountains in July. So, we decided to go to an orchard about an hour from our house today for some apple picking. The rainy weather almost kept us from going, but Brett said the Doppler radar showed no rain in Ramseur, NC, so we decided to give it a go - even though our windshield wipers were on almost the entire trip. When we got to Millstone Creek Orchards, it was foggy, but no rain. We had a really great time picking. The trees were young, so the apples were really easy to reach. Picking apples is so much fun - we could have stayed all afternoon. We ended up with one bushel (about 4o pounds of apples) and one peck (about 10 pounds) of mixed Fuji, Golden Delicious and Granny Smiths. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it! Based on our past consumption, we'll eat them all! They keep well (at least a month in a cool place). Our family can easily eat 4-6 apples a day. Also, we'll make some pies and are going to try canning apple sauce for the first time! Hopefully we'll tackle that tomorrow.

In spite of the hundreds of low-hanging apples, Brett insisted that some of the "best" ones were up high... So, this was how he got them!


...which seems really unnecessary when you look at this picture where my 44" tall child's head is above apple level!

The apples were so dense on the branches that it was actually hard to refrain from picking even more than we did. They were so easy to get to and so beautiful!

The kids loved today's adventure! After picking, we enjoyed hot fresh apple cider and some fun on the tire swing.

If you’ve never been apple picking, I HIGHLY recommend it as a family activity. Nothing says fall like trampling through an orchard with a worn woven basket in your hand and collecting the magnificent fruit of fall. Here’s how we found this orchard: http://www.orangepippin.com/orchards/united-states/north-carolina