This Labor Day Weekend our family went to Camp Meriwether, a Boy Scout camp on the Oregon Coast near Tillamook, to be part of a family weekend. I was quite excited because I haven’t been back there in over 20 years when I first went as a young scout. This was my favorite Boy Scout Camp too. Since then they have had some improvements including a climbing wall. Typically on these weekends they do not have the climbing wall, rife/archery/shotgun ranges open but one of the days they made an exception and opened the climbing wall because some of the instructors were giving training. Mylie jumped at the chance to climb the wall. This was also just recently built and was the first summer they had it opened.

I wasn’t nervous for her except I worried that she wouldn’t be able to make it to the top and would feel unsatisfied with herself. As we waited in line I don’t think she ever had a thought that she wouldn’t make it to the top. She surprised us all by taking it one step at a time with great guidance from the instructor. He helped get her started but once she was going he said it was all her. He was there to belay her to keep her safe. Eventually she made it to the very top of the 45 foot tower. Because we only had one camera, I took it up the tower so I could get pictures of her from above and was not able to get down from the tower to take pictures from the ground. Once she reached the top giving me five, she repelled downward and made it to the ground faster than I could run down the steps. I was very proud of her accomplishment.

Later that day when she was walking back from the showers with Karli, she told her she really likes herself. I love her good self-esteem!

Can you spot the difference in these two pictures? It’s subtle, but it’s most definitely there. The difference is one is starting her first day of Kindergarten, and the other one is graduated from Kindergarten. Amazing, isn’t it?!

The first girl is almost three inches shorter.

The second girl now has two baby brothers instead of one.

The first girl can only write the first letter of each word in a sentence.

The second girl writes pages upon pages of stories, complete with quotation marks and illustrations.

The first’s favorite thing at school is snack time.

The second’s is Library.

The first draws stick figure people with one large egg head with lines out the sides for arms and legs.

The second draws full-color pictures, with fully-clothed people, background scenery and speech bubbles.

The first is scared to get on her bike with training wheels.

The second rides her two-wheeler around the neighborhood for hours.

The first girl can count to 100.

The second girl can add, subtract, count money and is starting to tell time.

The first might have a panic attack if her schedule or routine had to change.

The second can roll with the punches and is becoming adept at handling disappointment and scheduling conflicts.

The first girl likes to play computer games.

The second girl instant messages her dad, has an address book, and calls family members at will.

I’m sure I could go on forever. The difference in these two little girls in just 9 short months is nothing short of miraculous. I can only imagine what changes first grade will bring.

And just for kicks because these pictures make me giggle:

This year, for Mylie’s 6th birthday, we really lucked out. Kindergartner’s last day of school happened to be on a Monday, but the rest of the grades ended on Tuesday. So, we decided to go for a middle-of-the-week approach and host it on Tuesday while everyone else was in school!

This year’s theme:

Dance, of course!

We started the party in the morning at our house. We had Mylie’s favorite dance songs playing as the guests arrived, and they all got prepped and warmed up.

They greeted each other with glee and silliness.

Next, we played “Ballerina Says” (a version of Simon Says) and then they got to watch Bella Dancerella, a dance video, and show off their super cool moves.

After a pizza lunch, we opened presents and ate cake.

And then we hauled ALL TEN LITTLE KINDERGARTNERS over to Skate World for an afternoon of roller skating. I’ll be really honest and tell you that the REAL reason we chose this particular Tuesday to hold the party was not because Kindergartners were out of school and no one else was. No, the real reason was because it was “Cheap Skate” day at Skate World, and I could get all 10 girls in for $1.00 each, saving me almost $70.00 in admission charges! That was my proud mama moment Plus, they’re party rooms are cramped and nasty… not nearly as cool has having the party part at our house.

Most of the girls had never been roller skating before, and those that had had only been once. So it took a bit of coaxing, hand holding, and crawling along the edge of the rink, but within a half an hour of being there, most of the girls were “flying’ as they liked to put it. They even got gutsy enough to participate in a round of “Red Light, Green Light” and danced along while they skated to “YMCA”.

It was a super fun experience, and the whole day went rather smoothly. The girls all got along great, had fun participating in all the activities and had a good time skating. After 90 minutes, though, most of them called it quits, as their poor little legs couldn’t hold up those heavy skates anymore. But by that night, Mylie was begging to go back the next day! Yea for having another activity to add to our repertoire this summer!

Happy Sixth Birthday Mylie!

What’s Your Favorite:

Color – Pink & Blue

Number – 6

Thing at School – Library

Song – Teddy Bear’s Picnic

Music - Interpretative Dance from the book on CD, Doobie Doobie Moo

Kind of Dance – My Solo (Jazz)

Food – Mac & Cheese…. with Whip Cream (?!?!)

Friend – Lucy

Place to Visit that you’ve already been – IHOP

Where would you like to visit? – California

What do you want to be when you grow up?  - Firefighter (we’ve moved past the Gravedigger phase, I see)

What does Daddy do for work? – Get Money

What does Mommy do for work? – Watch the Winters Kids

Who are you going to marry? – Brayden… because Landon doesn’t want to, and Brayden said, “I’ll marry you.”

How many kids are you going to have? – Three. Two girls and one boy.

What will you name them? – Daisy, Rachel and Evan.

I honestly never knew it was possible to enjoy a baby so much. Don’t get me wrong – I love my babies. BUT…. let’s just say, I’m not really a baby person. They’re cute and (sometimes) cuddly, although mine have never really been. So even though I love my kids, I generally really start ENJOYING them once they’re into toddlerhood (in that brief wonderful respite before they become screaming banshee preschoolers).

This little man has changed all that.

Oliver turned six months old today, and I really have very few words to describe him other than SHEER JOY. He has an insatiable zest for life, people and knowledge. Baby brother has more personality in his little toe than most people acquire in their whole lifetime. He has a smile that just won’t quit, and eyes that gleam right along with it. Buddy has never met a camera he didn’t love and who didn’t love him. And his brain is always in hyper drive, cranking along so much I can just about hear it. Everywhere we go, people are commenting on how amazing he is… whether it’s his dimples, his smile, the gleam in his eyes, or just his conversational abilities. And I’ll admit… I’m just as smitten. He’s a total flirt, and I’m fairly certain he’d have a fairly lucrative career as a used-car salesman cuz Little Man O could sell just about anything to anyone with a wink and a nod.

This little man went from being my most high maintenance baby after birth to being a total trooper. As the third child, his nap schedule is crappy. Some days he gets two, others only one. And yet, he goes a long for the ride, and is thoroughly joyful about it… as long as he’s got someone to talk to and something to play with. Don’t let little mister get bored, or you’ll hear about it.

There really is no middle ground with this guy. We call him “All or Nothing Oliver” because he’s either all on (most of the time) or all off… and there’s not a lot of warning between the two.

At six months, this little man is a highly efficient crawler, and can speed to any corner of the room to find any unsafe particle that his siblings have deposited on the floor. Child-proofing for this one in combination with his two whirl-wind sibs is going to be a NIGHTMARE. And did I mention, he’s a mouther? It’s been a constant in-the-mouth obsession since he was in the hospital. But I actually find myself missing him when he’s not around, which is a big thing for me. Typically I feel kind of chained to my nursing infants and look forward to any moment to myself. But not this guy.

So, to my Little Mister Happy Pants…Happy Dappy Doo…Mister Prince…Captain Adorable… on your half birthday, I just want to say how HAPPY you make me and all the rest of us! We love you!!

TRAINING WHEELS!

That’s right my friends and loyal readers, we are a training wheel free family, and we’re never going back. Wait, you must be saying… what about your younger children? Surely you won’t throw that darling baby on a bike and make him ride for his life? Ahhh, I reply, of course I will! Because we’ve discovered a new passion. STRIDER BIKES!

We got Nolan a Strider Bike for his birthday last December. And because it was HIS and not HERS, of course, it’s the only bike Mylie’s been wanting to ride. She’s had very little interest in her own bike ever since she got it, and was terrified of going to fast on it or riding over curb cuts, or very little inclines. But because the Strider Bike was low to the ground and used feet power, she would go all over on it. And, as is the design, she began to get really good at balancing.

So, when a friend at school said she was getting her training wheels off this weekend, Nick suggested we remove Mylie’s as well. She hesitated but he persisted. And, once they were off, it only took a couple of false starts until this occured:

For the first two days, the starting and stopping was a bit rough, but it didn’t take long for her to become a riding maniac. Now she’s all over the neighborhood, and even got to ride to school when we caught a brief respite from the rain. And Mom and Dad are realizing how much more FUN life is without training wheels. We’ve got all kinds of bike riding plans for this summer. And for his part, Nolan has become so good at balancing on the Strider Bike already that we’re expecting to have him up on a real bike by the end of summer. Yes, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Just getting started

Venturing Out

Mastery

This year I got a new perspective.

This year my husband focused less on a gift and more on the giving. He planned ahead. And he put in a TON of effort. Not to do any big thing… but to do ALL the little things. He made breakfast, lunch, dinner AND dessert. And he did all the dishes. And he got the kids ready for bed. He spent darn nearly all day in the kitchen, and by the time it was over he was exhausted.

There is, of course, the side of me that was just excited about this so that he can see what it takes just to simply survive one day as me. Not that he’s ever judged me when the house isn’t clean when he comes home. No, far from it. But who doesn’t like it to have someone walk a mile in their shoes?

But mostly, this was one fantastic Mother’s Day because he devoted every ounce of his soul into serving me today. Not pampering… there were no peeling of grapes or fanning with palm leaves, and my feet are still badly in need of a pedicure. But genuinely lifting the load from my shoulders and doing too many little things to count. And it was nice.

The article I read said that one reason mothers don’t like Mother’s Day is because they hear all kinds of stories of wonderful mothers who did amazing things and never raised their voices and always baked fresh bread, and it makes the rest of us feel incompetent, and adds to our list of stuff we wish we could be better at. But then it went on to say that what motherhood is really about is all those little things. The feeding of three square meals a day (plus snacks), and providing a safe and loving home where the kids can spill paint and pee on the floor and go to bed on (almost) clean sheets knowing they’ll get to wake up and do it all over again and that their mom’s going to be there for them.

So, thank you honey, for showing me how important all those little things are. How nice it is to go about a day knowing it’s just going to be there. Maybe if that’s all I do for my kids in this lifetime, I’m most of the way there.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t give a big thank you to my mom. If there’s anyone who did (and continues to do) all those little things, it’s my mom. She did the big things too, but – as a single mom for much of my life – she managed to get dinner on the table almost every night. She kept us safe. She kept us warm. She kept us clothed, and bought us instruments and computers and got me through college. And we knew that no matter what, she would be there fighting for us till the end of time. And even today, I know that she’s got my back, whether I’m having my own babies, or navigating this tough sea of motherhood, she’s there supporting me, serving me and cheering me on. And though I always was grateful for it, I know now just what a big deal that really is. So, thanks mom.

This is the kind of Mother's Day bouquet I can get behind... one I don't have to water!!!

The Munchkins that make it all possible

Sometimes I have a hard time knowing what to say about Mylie. This little-getting-bigger-by-the-hour person can infuriate me more than just about anyone on the planet. She’s bossy, indignant, stubborn, whiny and not very introspective. She has horrible listening skills. But there are so many more things about her.

*She’s helpful. If I ask her to run upstairs and grab something for me, she will usually run up and do it immediately… even if I tell her she can wait until she’s done with what she is doing.

*She’s responsible. I can trust her to follow the rules, which let’s me feel good about letting her go ride her bike in the neighborhood or go get the mail for me and other big-girl chores.

*She’s real. She lives 100% on the outside. What you see is what you get. She holds nothing in. Nothing. Ever. Like, no internal monologue. Refreshingly, this means she doesn’t play moody mind games that girls like to play.

*She LOVES to write notes. Every member of our family receives on average about 4 cards, notes or journal pages a day addressed to us. They’re taped to the walls all over our house. They’re on every flat surface we own. And they mostly say the same things over and over with similar pictures. But they’re sweet.

*She is a fantastic dancer. What we love to watch even more than her routines from class are the routines that she makes up. She is constantly choreographing new stuff, and she is amazing at capturing the feeling of each song she chooses. The Tangled Album, Chronicles of Narnia and Pirates of the Caribbean are among her current favorites to choreograph.

*She’s an even better reader. The girl probably reads at a 4th grade level. Unfortunately, her reading far outpaces her vocabulary, so even though she can read most any word, she often doesn’t comprehend it’s meaning. I’m sure they’ll even out soon.

With all this good stuff, I feel bad that I often dwell on those negative things. I wonder why she’s always talking back, and why when I try to sit and have a conversation with her about her behavior she glazes over and immediately asks if she can have a snack or watch a movie.  I wonder why at the age of almost six she still fights me about using the bathroom, and occasionally has accidents from waiting too long even when I’ve tried to tell her I know she needs to go. And I wonder why she falls on the floor screaming like she’s dying for what seem to me to be tiny little grievances.

I need to remember, however, that I would feel awfully bad about myself if someone were dwelling on all my negative character traits instead of focusing on my positive ones. It’s so hard as a mom trying to maintain sanity, but I need to give her more” attagirls” and less “what were you thinkings?” And I need to remember that I’ve got a good twenty-four years on her and there’s a lot of learning she has left to do. Even though my Father in Heaven expects me to be perfect even as He is, He doesn’t dwell on it when I fall short. Luckily for me, He picks me gently up and tells me how precious I am. How much more, then, does this sweet, precious and so-grown-up little girl need that from me? Yep, I guess I have a lot of learning left to do too.

Feel free to laugh at either Oliver or Daddy – whichever you find more amusing. There’s nothing quite as sweet as a baby’s first giggles.

She’s also had to learn the hard lesson that will only become more common if she chooses to continue down this dance path. The challenge of time conflicts. This year one of the competitions was Easter Weekend – the same day as all the Easter Egg hunts! She was pretty upset about not getting to make it to any of her favorites, but it was a valuable lesson in prior commitments and being there for your team.

So for your enjoyment and ours… here is Mylie and the Element Part-Time Jazz Company in “White Stripes.”

And then there was the sleeping… Once he got to sleep he would do a pretty darn good job of sleeping for long stretches. Crazy long sometimes. But the going to sleep was like nothing I’d ever experienced. I would nurse and rock and bounce and he just kept fidgeting and flailing and generally staying awake. Sometimes for up to five hours. And in the early morning feedings, he would sometimes do the same thing for hours at a time, not going back to sleep.

About eight weeks in, I discovered the super swaddle. Not any contraption… no, just the technique of straight-jacket swaddling him so that he was so tight he felt totally secure. We had tried swaddling from the beginning, but I ramped it up a bit and became super consistent. That seemed to do the trick. If he’s allowed to wave his hands around (which he will do at full tilt in all waking hours) he will not go to sleep. But if they’re extra secured, we do okay. And in the middle of the night, I figured out that I can’t lay down to nurse him. Nope, got to swaddle, and sit in the chair. If I do that, I can often be back in my cozy bed within about 20 minutes… which beat the heck out of lying in bed with an agitated baby for hours.

Once we figured each other out, life has started to get good. Oh, that and… he found his thumb!! I mean, seriously… the whole self-soothing ability has gone from non-existent to top-notch almost over night. We love thumb suckers in this house! So now, our little high-maintenance man has turned into kind of a cool kid. And when you throw in his killer grin, he just about knocks your socks off. See for yourself…

And HELLO NOLAN! Nice to have you back!

For now, we’re on a roll. We signed Nolan up for a little music class that a friend is teaching out of her house. It’s delightful, and she is doing all kinds of music appreciation with them. Today they had a little performance of the songs they learned. Unfortunately, we got there a little late and Nolan was a little out of sorts because of it (not to mention in desperate need of a haircut). By the end he warmed up, though, and had a good time. And he got a recorder to bring home (Oh joy!) which promptly broke upon us arriving home (Oh darn!).

First, the good news. Thirty is the new 21. But the bad news is, I never really thought I’d make it to my thirties. I mean… I just never really thought past my twenties. I always knew I’d go to college and probably grad school. Then I knew I’d have a family. And I was pretty sure I’d do that all in my twenties. Perhaps I thought I’d die a horrible tragic death after that and everyone would talk about a life cut short (that’s the drama queen in me). But really… I just never saw myself go past 29. And then last year Nick threw me the “Forever 29 Surprise Party.” Part of me kind of took that as a bad omen that I might actually be forever 29. So, I’m happy to report, I made it through.

But I kind of have to think, “now what?” All day long the song in my head has been Tim McGraw’s “In My Next Thirty Years.” So, I’ve kind of been compiling my list of my next thirty years. Here’s what I’ve got so far.

• A few more triathlons
• Go on educational adventures with my kids
• Visit Washington DC
• Write (and publish) a book
• Learn to sew
• Travel to Australia… or Spain… or Cambodia. Ah heck… all three.
• Build my dream home
• Run for public office
• Go to law school
• Have a few adorable grandchildren

If I sat here long enough I could think of a million more. The possibilities are endless. In fact, they are so endless that I think I’m going to like this new stage. I feel like I have  a whole ‘nother 30 years to decide what I’m going to be when I grow up! And maybe by then I’ll figure it out. Or maybe I’ll just save that for my final third.

For my birthday today, my wonderful fabulous splendiforous husband took the day off work! I woke up to breakfast in bed and 30 balloons each filled with something he loves about me. I was also gifted an already-scheduled massage. I got to go to a leisurely lunch with a friend and then we went out for a date night dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. This Friday the celebration of me will continue with a date night with friends to Comedy Sportz. I am so truly spoiled and blessed. And to prove it, here is a picture of my balloon-popping helpers, because heaven knows I couldn’t have managed the task by myself:

And the even better news? Thirty balloons really isn’t that many… look at all that floor space left. I guess maybe I’m not that old after all.

…And then I had kids.

I'm sure I'm the only one who ever feels like this...

It’s taken me about 5 and 1/2 years (aka since I became a stay-at-home mom) to figure out how little internal accountability I have. I was great with deadlines all through school, and could prioritize with the best of them. But once I had no more external deadlines imposed on me, I became very dysfunctional. Household chores that I didn’t feel like doing one night could easily get put off till the next morning. And why not? I didn’t have a schedule to keep.

But the more time goes on, and the more kids I have, the less that mindset is working. Plus, I want to teach my kids to have internal accountability. SO… I found this amazing little product and I cannot begin to tell you what kind of wonders its working in the Winters Home!

Accountable Kids is an all encompassing “system” for teaching responsibility, accountability and structure. We have tried other systems in the past, both home-grown and purchased, but they have all lost their luster fairly quickly. We started “AK” about six weeks ago, and we’re still going strong!

The basic idea incorporates a set of “Core Chores” that the kids have to complete. Very basic stuff, the fundamentals you HAVE to do each day to survive. Things like, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, etc. There’s a set of Core Chores for morning, afternoon, and evening. If all the chores are completed in a timely manner, they can earn a Ticket which can be redeemed for typical activities they like to do (TV, Computer, games, crafts, etc). In essence, very similar to other systems we’ve adopted.

Mylie's Chart

But AK takes it a step further. In addition to earning tickets, kids can earn “Best Behavior Cards” when we catch them doing something especially nice. I love being able to “catch them doing something good.” Also, they can earn “Privilege Passes” which helps modify specific behaviors. For instance, Mylie often comes out of her room after bed time. We can agree that if she stays in her room for the whole night, she can earn a Privilege Pass, which is redeemable for a predetermined reward (i.e. staying up a few minutes past bedtime). The final components of the system include earning “Bonus Bucks” for doing extra chores, which are redeemable for cold hard cash, and earning stars toward Special Date Nights with mom or dad.

Again, nothing life altering on the surface, but when put together in this way, it has really helped our family. Each child has a special chart with “Reminder Cards” that have a pictorial representation of what they still have to do. And they get the immediate feedback of flipping over the card when they’re done. At 5, Mylie is completely self-sufficient with the routine now, and gets up in the morning and has most of her morning chores completed (make bed, get dressed, fix hair, eat breakfast, take vitamins, brush teeth) before I’m even out of bed.

Nolan's Chart

The most unexpected reward of the whole system is what it’s done for the parents. It’s inadvertently set me up with a more standardized routine, and it’s harder for me to let it slide. It’s there, hanging on the wall, for all of us to see. So if we’re running late in the evenings, I can no longer just “skip” family scripture study. It’s on a reminder card, and the kids won’t let us! And it’s also helped me to remember that certain basic tasks really should be completed before I even allow myself to get on the computer in the mornings. I am currently working on creating a chart for Mom & Dad, so not only do we have a visual representation of what we expect of ourselves every day, but the kids can know “OH! Mom & Dad have to get those things done before they can play with me!”

And while some people can probably implement most of these routines on their own without a chart, for our kids, having the visual reminders is imperative. And it might be quite possible to create the whole system for yourself, make your own cards, etc. But when I started thinking about the time and materials it would take to do it, the cost for the system was actually very reasonable.

Our Accountable Kids Wall

We are thrilled with our new Accountable Kids system. The first couple days I kept hearing “This is so much fun!” Of course, we’ve had a few push-back moments since then, and a couple rounds of “You’re not making this fun anymore!” when chores weren’t completed and a ticket was not issued, but we forged on, and in general everyone knows what the expectations are.

The thing that I like the best is it’s really customizable to your family routine. You choose which chores are required, which chores are extra, when and how often they need to get done, etc. You can also choose what you offer best behavior cards and privilege passes for, and you get to choose how much tickets and bonus bucks are worth. And if the system seems to overwhelming to implement, it comes with a book that explains it all, using actual developmental theories to back up their system. You also only implement each piece a little at a time, so it really is not very overwhelming. And, if you go a whole day without using it – doesn’t matter! You just start again the next day.

Compared to systems we’ve tried in the past, this one ranks about a 4.5 out of 5 stars. My only real complaint about it is that they recommend kids have their core chores completed by a set time to qualify to earn tickets, etc, but for little ones who have no concept of time, this is hard to do without a lot of prodding from me. So we often use this system in conjunction with another one we have (Miracle Music), which sets their morning and evening routines to music, so the kids learn how much time they have to get the job done. Otherwise, the system has really fit nicely into our family. So, if you’re like me and think a little more structure could take you and your kids a long way in life, you may want to give this one a try.

We made these fun little Love Bug Cookies that went a long with a super cute poem composed by Yours Truly for our friends. And you know what those darn bugs did? They snuck around on Valentine’s Eve, and did all sorts of mischief!

First, they spread Conversation Hearts from the kid’s doors down the stairs and to the dining room table…

Where they found decorations and candy covering the table…

Only candy for Breakfast Hors d’oeuvres can elicit such excitement.

The Love Bugs left explicit instructions that we were to make pink heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast with red syrup and pink milk. Interestingly enough, this whole table was picked clean of candy before the pancakes were even off the griddle.

The Love Bugs also sneaked into Nick’s Car where he found a package of “Our Love Is Red Hot” spicy treats and a mix CD of love songs. I’m pretty sure the kids (and Nick) consumed nothing but sugar and food coloring for the ENTIRE day. I’m always a bit on the fence about whether the short-lived fun is worth the inevitable fall-out. But look at those happy faces. I guess I have my answer. Hope your Valentine’s Day was Red Hot!!

What a Mug

I have mulled over this post for quite some time now. I’ve vacillated on what to say, how to say it, and whether it should be said at all. And to be honest, I’m not sure I’ve come to any conclusions other than I have to go with it. I should have a record of my feelings here and now. Because here at the Winters’ home, we’re officially heart sick.

About a year and a half ago, in June of 2009, I took my kids in for their well-child check-ups. At the time, their pediatrician noticed they both had heart murmurs. They didn’t seem overly concerned, and we got lost in other conversations, and the topic was dropped. Then, a few weeks later I had to take Mylie back in for another reason. At that time, the doctor mentioned again about her murmur and thought we should get it checked out. I reminded him that at our last appointment, he had been a little more concerned about Nolan’s murmur, so he gave it another listen and requested for me to take them both to a cardiologist, just to have it checked out.

About a month later I took both kids in for Echocardiograms (ECHOs). While Mylie’s murmur was benign, they were concerned about a thickening in Nolan’s heart, and wanted us to come back for a follow-up in about 8 months. The cardiologist seemed pretty relaxed, so I thought it was a fairly insignificant diagnosis.

Fast forward 8 months to March of 2010. We take Nolan back in for another ECHO, and meet with the doctor. He tells us that his initial assumptions had been confirmed and that  Nolan has Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy (HOCM). He explains that a part of his heart muscle, in between the ventricles, has become overly thickened, and is somewhat obstructing the bloodflow between the two chambers, therefore causing the heart murmur. And then he asks if I have any questions.

Questions? I don’t know. I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of this disease before. What questions am I supposed to have? I mean, the only thing that comes to mind is, is it serious?

It turns out it is indeed very serious.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is one of about 4 types of Cardiomyopathy. It is the leading cause of sudden death among athletes.  Pediatric Cardiomyopathy occurs in about 12 children out of every million, and unlike other congenital heart conditions, there is no surgical treatment or cure that can repair the damaged heart or the stop the progression of the disease.

There is a vast amount of literature on adult cardiomyopathy but not all of the information is relevant to children diagnosed with the disease. Unfortunately, there has been little research and focus on pediatric cardiomyopathy over the years. Consequently, the causes are not well understood. According to the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry, less than 25% of all patients have an identified cause despite rigorous, standardized evaluation. What is known is that the underlying causes of cardiomyopathy in infants and children may be considerably different from that diagnosed in adolescents and adults with similar symptoms. Pediatric cardiomyopathy is more likely to be due to genetic factors while lifestyle or environmental factors play a greater role in adult cardiomyopathy (Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation).

A diagnosis at a young age usually, but not always, signifies a serious heart condition that requires aggressive treatment. The concern lies in the uncertainty of how the heart muscle will respond with each additional growth spurt. With some older children, the condition may stabilize over time with the aid of certain medications or surgery. In severe cases, small children may experience progressive symptoms quickly leading to heart failure. This presentation contrasts with most diagnosed adults who may only have minor symptoms without serious limitations or major problems for years (Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation).

Luckily, for us, Nolan appears to be very asymptomatic. He does tend to tire more easily than his peers, though not significantly. When he gets worked up or gets sick, he develops a very palpable and very rapid heart beat. And our biggest blessing is that at least we know. So many kids who have this disease do not know about it until it’s too late.

So, I suppose that the reason this post has made it’s way to the blog at this time, is after 18 months, it’s finally sunk in that this is real, and it is not going away. We have recently been in for our 3rd ECHO, and there’s been no change. He still has too much heart, and that’s just not a good thing. Luckily, it hasn’t progressed, but the doctor has decided that it’s severe enough to put him on a medication. The medication (a Beta Blocker) won’t cure anything, but will hopefully manage is heart rate, and slow it down, so that it doesn’t overwork itself. The biggest threat to his life is electrical malfunction.

So with this last visit to the cardiologist, along with the prescription for life-long medication, I’ve finally started the grieving processes. I am grieving for the losses he has no idea are in store for him. Life as we know it has changed. He won’t be able to play competitive sports. He won’t be able to fully participate in gym class, and probably won’t be able to keep up with his peers. He may have to carry around an external defibrillator. There is a high likelihood that at some point in his life he will have to have heart surgery (either a myectomy, or an internal defibrillator or – worst case – a heart transplant). I’m grieving that he’ll be on medication for the rest of his life (and he’s only three). And I’m grieving the loss of my perfectly healthy wonderful little boy.

But on the other hand, I’m celebrating. How lucky we are to have found out now, before it’s too late. How lucky that he is young enough that I can steer him in artistic pursuits, and toward golf, and bowling. How wonderful that he won’t have to “give up” his favorite sport. How lucky that we have the medical technology for the types of surgeries he may need, and for the genetic testing to know if the rest of us are at risk. And how lucky we are for our faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ that we can know that he is being cared for by the perfect physician – and one who loves this little boy even more than I do. And in the meantime, I get to love him with everything I’ve got. Because I ♥ This Guy. And THAT is the best blessing.

…turned 8 weeks old on Friday!! Can you believe that?! Eight weeks!! That’s two months!! Seriously not acceptable behavior. So, since I can’t figure out how this is possible, I figure I need to record a little about him because he’s going to be 8 months old before I know it.

• To celebrate his 8 week birthday, Mr. O slept for 12 hours straight. That’s right…not 6 and then 6. Twelve hours without waking up once. It was glorious for his mama.
• He has the BEST smile, two ginormous dimples, and is already laughing. He is even saying “Ga” already and cooing.
• When he is not smiling, he is crying… or screaming. There’s really very little in between for this guy. He has a very LOUD and very SHRILL scream.
• He hates to be set down. Ever. For even one second. He will scream like he’s dying if you do so.
• He also hates to be naked. Ever. So much so that he thinks he’s dying when you try to change his clothes. Therefore, he wears the same sleeper for up to three days in a row as long as it doesn’t get soiled. After all, he IS the neglected third child.
• He is SUPER aware of everything that’s going on in the room. At six weeks old he could track sounds and movements like a three-month old.
• Due to his awareness, he already needs to be entertained. He actually already plays with the toys on the exersaucer by batting them with his fists.
• His arms are constantly waving all over the place with his hands balled up in tight little fists. He is trying desperately to find his thumb.
• Because of this, he has a horrible time self-soothing. When he’s really tired his arms wave even more, causing him to startle himself awake. We’ve found the only sure way to get him to sleep is to swaddle him… very tightly. The only sure way to keep him asleep is to (gasp!) put him on his tummy. Yes, we thumb our noses at the medical establishment. But that’s a post for another day.
• One night it took us FIVE hours to get him to sleep.
• Luckily, we’re starting to figure out his tricks and seem to have turned a corner on the “settling” issues… as long as we’ve got something to swaddle him with and something for him to suck on.
• He is Mylie’s pride and joy. She wants to hold him ALL the time, and the newness still hasn’t warn off. Unfortunately, he’s not a huge fan and will cry after a couple minutes. Luckily, this doesn’t seem to bother her.

This little guy is definitely making his place in our family. We are having a good time getting to know him and are looking forward to the adventures this little ball of fire is sure to send our way!

See that giant plastic tub in the background? The one marked “Duplos”? Well, Nolan received that whole tub full of Duplos (big Legos) for Christmas. Most of them are a set that my brother and I had growing up and includes Duplo Trains and Train Tracks, along with Windmills, Googly Eyes, Slides, and a variety of other types. And not a day has gone by since Christmas that they haven’t been dumped in my living room floor. Because you can’t play with Legos without dumping out the entire bin. It just doesn’t work.

This particular creation was a train station (I think) built by the kids (meaning Mylie, Nolan AND Nick) and using every single piece in our collection. Nick claims it was just a clever way to get them cleaned up off the floor. Mylie wouldn’t let us touch it for days. We finally got it taken apart only after agreeing to photograph it thoroughly.

A view from the top... you'll notice the ticket counter, as well as the man who missed his train and is sleeping on the floor, among other guests... all of whom have names, such as Lollipop & Lime.

From the outside looking in....

As you can tell, the edifice was modled after buildings of the 1960's, complete with peace sign decorations. Peace out, bro.

The kids had a great time, especially at first. However, because it took their balls about 30 minutes to reach the end of the lane each and every time one of them bowled (except for those special circumstances where the ball never did make it down), we quickly realized that 3 games each was going to be WAY too much for all of us. So, we managed to hang on through two games and then we made friends with the people next to us and let them take over our lane for the 3rd game and we took off. But we had a great time and will probably do it again soon… but maybe just one game.

Learning the ropes

This is the expression we got after each turn... regardless of how many got knocked down!

Mister Independent says, "I do it myself!!"

You can tell the quality of the throw by the pride in the "waiting stance".

If you look really closely at the ball, you'll see it moving about as fast as it was going in real life...

Despite his speed, Nolan seemed to do quite well for himself, as evidenced by his score versus Mom's.

And Oliver, for his part, did what he always does. Slept. Then ate. Then cried. Then slept. Much fun had by all.

After Christmas he didn’t let the idea drop, but his friends were all out of town until this week. So, both Mylie & Nolan each got to have one friend over to help in the demolition. Now please understand, this is the Costco kit, out of the box. We did not make anything from scratch. It is stale and hard and probably full of preservatives and any number of disgusting things. And it tastes AWFUL. It’s not even kind of good. It’s truly vial.

Somehow, that doesn’t matter to kids… at least not ours…

The countdown begins... the excitement is palpable...

Demolition begins

Delicious and nutritious.... NOT!

Oh the carnage!!!

We had so much fun destroying and eating the house, we’ve decided to make it an annual tradition. However, with more advanced warning, maybe we’ll make our own gingerbread next year, lest the children’s stomachs turn to cement bricks.

Below are some of his cutest one-month pictures. And to see our recent Family Photo shoot, see Steve Lents Photography.

So, today, another incident happened. Something that started out simple and stupid, like asking to watch a TV Show before school. I told her she could, but then she pushed the envelope and asked for a movie instead. I told her she couldn’t because there wasn’t time before the bus came, and she tried to bargain, saying she’d only watch a little bit of the movie and turn it off when it was time to go. Having allowed this before, I knew it never ended pretty when I said it was time to turn it off, so I declined, telling her it was a TV Show or nothing. Being on a short fuse that she was, she exploded into a fit a whines and cries. So I turned the TV off. She turned it back on. I sent her to her room. She slammed the door. I showed her how unacceptable that was. She kicked the door. I told her if it happened again she would be grounded for a week. Eventually, she retreated from damaging property and just screamed five-year old obscenities at me from her room. I ignored.

The real kicker was when I proceeded to turn on the TV Show for Nolan and made her stay in her room the whole time. Yeah, that was truly vindictive and passive aggressive of me – I don’t deny it.

One of the other things we’ve noticed when trying to deal with this kind of behavior with this particular child is that once things are calmed down and we go to try to talk to her about it, she puts up kind of a wall. It’s not that she refuses to talk about it – it’s more that she’s incapable of the auditory processing it takes to listen to what we have to say and apply it to her behavior. Thus, lessons are not learned, and the behavior continues. So we’ve been slowly implementing a new tactic – note writing.

We’ve found that if we write our feelings down as well as the problems we see with her behavior, it has much more of an impact. We got this idea because she is CONSTANTLY writing notes to her friends and us. So, after she had been cooling off for about 30 minutes, I slipped a note under her door that told her how much I loved her and appreciated all the help she’s been giving me with her brothers, but that having tantrums when I tell her no is unacceptable.

A few minutes later when I called her down for lunch, she smiled sweetly when she handed me this:

Translation: Dear Mommy, I don't like you when you're mean. I still love you. Love, Mylie

The best part was, she was so very proud of herself. She asked if I liked it, and I told her I loved it. In kid speak, it said basically the same thing I had just written to her. And truly I was very proud of her for attempting to sound out all the words for herself. Normally, she gives up on words she doesn’t know and just uses the first letter of the word in it’s place. I think she got the message too, because at least three times today I saw instances where I expected a meltdown that didn’t happen.

I think the pen might turn out to be very mighty in our house, indeed.

(click on the picture for a larger version)

I'm sure it's your turn....

There was one little thing that, although we factored it in, we did not adequately check our math. The little thing was, I was supposed to be giving BIRTH just three weeks before the production!

So, on December 18th, just three weeks post-partum, we took sixty local children ages 5-12, along with 120 costumes and sets and props and put on a WONDERFUL production of The Nutcracker. Somehow, despite numerous technical difficulties in a theater that wasn’t ours where we weren’t allowed to touch anything and where we only got to rehearse twice, and despite two of our leads PUKING on the day of the performance (one of them AT the theater), somehow it still just worked. It always does.

And I will never do that again (the whole, delivering babies right before hand).

For really really cool pictures of the performance, go to Steve Lents Photography.

Now that we made the house both Mylie and Nolan are already talking about when they get to break it up and eat it. He wants to invite his friends over to eat it after Christmas. Can you imagine a bunch of 3-year olds eating hard, stale, disgusting gingerbread with hard frosting?

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Getting to the performance wasn’t too bad and I thought being there 30 minutes early would have given us enough time to get a cupcake at Cupcake Jones before the performance. Unfortunately parking was a bit of an issue and Mylie kept complaining she had to walk far. Once we got parked I had to carry and run with her to make it on time. The show was excellent, especially Miss Hannigan. It was hard to tell if Mylie had a good time because she just seemed to be tired the whole time. She also missed out on the cupcakes. Maybe next time.

For Nolan’s date night on Saturday we went with Karli’s aunts and uncles to Gospel Christmas put on by the Oregon Symphony and some local talent. This has been a tradition for her family for some time now but she was unable to come due to just having Oliver. Since Mylie got to see Annie the night before, I thought I’d give Nolan a try to see how he did at a performance. We went right after Mylie’s performance at Zoolights (see part 3) so he was already tired and the show did not start until 7:30 PM and went until about 9:30 PM. It also had a few extra encores. He actually did quite well the first half and even clapped many times but the second half he was very tired. He still stayed quiet and did a good job waiting. Folks around us were quite impressed with him too. He seemed to like the music but probably was a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing.

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The first day Mylie did not have school and I had passes to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville so I took the opportunity to take the 2 kids again. This is the museum where Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose lives. Going during the day on a Monday was the best idea ever because it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. I even did not have to stand in line for the flight simulators where normally I would have to shoo off the kids who would cut in front of me just because I was an adult. This museum is quite cool and they keep adding on to it. They even have a water park opening in the summer of 2011 that has a 747 on top of the building with water slides inside.

It was so cute; Mylie brought a notebook and pen so she could write down things she saw. Items were “sheep”, “large plane”, and “signs”. She also was very excited to drive through the “country” since we had to go through some rural parts to get to McMinnville.

The kids did amazingly well and the hardest part was trying to get them to move on through the museum instead of sitting in the airplane chairs. Throughout the museum they have airplane chairs provided for patrons to watch their videos. They were fascinated with the seat belts and especially the fold-out tray. Nolan got upset with me when I tried helping him open it.

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New water park with a 747

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before his birthday party he got to “open” his present from us. It was not wrapped because it was a Strider bike, which is basically a small bike without pedals. It is great because he can learn more of the balancing than worrying about pedaling. Slowly he seems to be learning it but hopefully the weather here can clear up so he can go at it again.

We decided to have a simple birthday party with everything that has been going on. We rented a gym for about an hour where the kids could play on trampolines and a foam pit. Unfortunately the gym was not set up very well for 3 year olds so the instructor had a hard time controlling them. When trying to get them to follow orders, I kept muttering under my breath, “They are only 3.” I think the kids still had fun. After the gym we went upstairs and had cake and Nolan opened his presents.

These past few weeks it has been amazing to see how much Nolan has grown. He has been a lot of fun and hopefully the terrible threes (I believe 3 is worse than 2) for him will not be the same as they were for Mylie.

Now that we have been home from the hospital for a few weeks things have been going well despite colds going around. Both Mylie and Nolan still enjoy him being in our family and don’t feel neglected if we are holding Oliver instead. Lucky for them they have each other to play with and do so quite well.

Being the third child Oliver sure does not have as many pictures as his predecessors but here are a few:

Oliver's First Picture

Big Sister

Big Brother

Big Brother and Sister

Oliver's First Smile

For one last hurrah before the baby comes, Nick and I were able to get away for a kidless weekend excursion to Seattle. We are big fans of the reality show, So You Think You Can Dance, and although the tour was scheduled to come to Portland, the performance was on a Sunday. So instead, we hit the Tacoma performance the day before on Saturday! It gave us a wonderful excuse to get away on a much needed vacation.

The Cast of SYTYCD

Our two all-time favorites from the show - Kathryn & Russell

Um, coolest move ever!

More of Kathryn because we love her

It turns out, seeing the dancers live, though a lot of fun, wasn’t a whole lot different than just watching the Season Finale live. And it was a little creepy watching all the 30-something women around us screaming like teenagers for the 18 year-old boys. Nevertheless, we had a good time.

The best time of the weekend, though, was getting together with friends. We were able to stay with our good friend Katie and Zach, and had lots of fun catching up with them. We were also able to go out to dinner with other friends, and those things were what made the weekend really special. Especially when I realized how much harder it will be to get away with 3 kids.

And what Halloween would be complete without a rabid frog prince?

Our Halloween was a full one, with Trick-or-Treating around the shopping center on Friday afternoon, our Ward Halloween Party (over which I was in charge) on Saturday, and Trick-or-Treating in the neighborhood on Sunday. That was more than enough to wear this old pregnant lady plum out.

Our Fall is not complete without a visit to Bauman Farms. We drive about an hour and pay a ridiculously exorbitant amount to get in and do all their fun activities, but you really can’t beat all the hay mazes, corn mazes, apple cannons, obstacle courses, hay rides, bouncing pillow, nut houses and any number of other adventures. And they add new things every year. They’ve got us hooked.

This year was our standard fare:

Sticking our faces in cutouts

The Giant Swings

More cutouts

Giant Bouncing Pillow

Hay Mazes and more Hay Mazes. And corn mazes. And rope mazes.

And more swings

AND THE VERY MOST BESTEST PART THIS YEAR WAS:

We got to watch this helicopter...

...drop this 500lb Pumpkin...

...into this swimming pool...

...full of rubber duckies...

...and lots of water...

...and get totally smashed.

Destruction is awesome.

Yup, those were pretty much the sentiments around our house today… Mylie’s first day of Kindergarten. Kindergarten has been a dream of hers since she was, oh… about 2. Sure, she happily bided her time in Preschool, allowing it to suffice for awhile. But the big dream was always the local public school… the one where her friends go.

Let’s just say, there was no looking back. Not a hint of doubt or worry. In fact, we had to spend a great deal of time convincing her to let us take her to the school on the first day instead of plopping her on the bus. Because, really, she would have rather taken the bus. But since we promised to let her take it home from school, as well as letting her ride it to school every day from now on, she humored us by letting us drive her to school.

I can’t say that I really got overly emotional. After all, it’s not even 3 hours a day. She used to nap for that long. And mom and daughter had definitely reached a point where we were needing that break from each other. It is amazing to watch her handle everything in stride, however. A hug and a kiss and off she went, into the wild blue yonder. And really, I know as a mother I’ll always matter… but to know she is sufficiently prepared to handle this next step without a glance backwards – I’ll wear that as a sign of a job well done.

Quintessential First Day Shot

And another for good measure

What's with all these parents crying?

You can't imagine the search that went into finding just the right backpack

We lucked out and got almost all of her friends in the same class

Can't see it here, but they held hands on the way to class. A.Dorable.

Catching the first glimpse of the rest of their lives

Found the nametag, and now we're set. See ya mom and dad!

And back home again, where little brother wanted in on the action

Once we FINALLY got the car loaded, and FINALLY picked up Nick from work, and FINALLY worked our way through holiday weekend traffic, and FINALLY found our way to the campsite by about 9:30pm and FINALLY got the tent set up and everyone to sleep for the night… it actually ended up being a very fun weekend. We had a great location, backed right up to the park’s playground and fountain, we had front-row seats each night for the campground entertainment, we got to entertain some family visitors from the area during the days, we had LOTS of fun with Dip-Sticks (best ever water-shooting toys) and Frisbees, and even managed an excursion to the Fish Hatchery and the Reservoir for some (somewhat chilly) swimming. I’d say we’d do it again in a heartbeat… except next time maybe a little closer to home, and perhaps not on a holiday weekend.

This is Nolan, after discovering the magic of Dip-Sticks, and promptly soaking himself with them.

Probably trying to get someone else to douse him with a Dip-Stick

There's something about Uncle Cody's hat that just requires funny faces

Or maybe it's just genetics...

Yeah... must be the genes.

Mylie earned her Junior Ranger badge from the Forest Rangers while we were there

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for fish hatcheries, and was excited to be able to share the wonderment with my children

Trying to scrape more fish food off the ground to feed to the fish after our quarters ran out

There is little joy in this world that compares to watching a fish feeding frenzy

Nolan, for his part, was still relegated to the Parent-Child swim classes. Can I just tell you how much I despise these? For starters, they are at our local swim center, which is fine for casual swimming, but I have not been too hot on the instruction. (Mylie takes at a private neighborhood pool, and Nolan will next year). And I HATE the set-up. I hate that they have swimming lessons going on at the same time and in the same pool as Water Aerobics, with the loud music and mic’d instructors. And I hate their changing facilities and don’t even get me started on the atrocious parking.

But I was sly as a fox this year, and signed him up for evening classes so that Nick would be available to take him. I may have added in some sob story about not wanting to be in a bathing suit pregnant, but Nick (being the good dad and all around good guy that he is) would have taken him anyway. Nolan had a great time and loved the class, but had a hard time waiting until the very last day to get to go down the water slide. Funny enough, once he got to go, he HATED it. We think it was more about being required to wear the flotation device than the actual slide though. He does not like to be inhibited in any way. So, in the end, we were all glad he got to take the “lessons”, or as I call them… moderated free swim, but I definitely look forward to next year when he can start in at the other pool at take real lessons. (Who knew I was such a snob?)

Floating on her back without human assistance = HUGE step forward

Visualizing the jump

And... JUMP!

Hey Mom! You should try this, the water's great!

I would be smiling, except I've got this annoying vest on...

Yeah, that feels nice.

Waterbug

Telling Mylie all about it

Syncronized Smilers

1. How could I not? Look at that face!
2. He’s a snuggler and he let’s me (on occasion) rock him for no good reason at all.
3. He loves to be carried everywhere. Okay, really, most of the time that annoys me. Especially because I’m carrying another baby around with me all the time. But when I stop and think about it, I do really appreciate it.
4. He gives the best kisses.
5. He is totally independent. I just admire that in a kid. Except for those times when I tell him no and he decides he’s big enough to do it anyway.
6. He’s got a great sense of humor.
7. He absolutely adores his big sister, even while he’s standing his ground with her.
8. He’s got a hugely long attention span for a 2 & 1/2 year old… especially when it comes to trains and cars.
9. He can now pronounce “Mylie” perfectly, but still chooses to call her “Lolly.”
10. He loves to sing. And does it well. And can match pitches. And that just thrills the little music nerd inside me.
11. He gets worked up easily, but calms down just as easily.
12. He now says, “I love you mom.”

Our theme continued this last weekend when we were able to go back to the beach with two of my best friends from high school and their families. The weather was supposed to be sweltering, even on the Oregon Coast. We came prepared for much sun. But, as is typical in on the Oregon Coast, the cloud cover never lifted and it was almost chilly all day. Didn’t stop the kids from having a good time, but it did make us forget about the sunscreen… so nearly all of us ended up with a little burn, including the little newborn that was with us. So sad.

Here are some of our favorite shots from the day.

Nolan's our nester, and loves to snuggle up whenever possible

Little B plays with her mom

Nick's been working on perfecting his photography skills, and was quite pleased with this shot

These two share the same birthday, exactly one year apart.

Bravin the waves with Dad

The 5 o'clock shadow is a mixture of jelly, sand, and cheetos powder

Run for your lives!

Dude. That water is cold.

He played happily in the little natural wading area all day, coming over only for more Cheetos.

Nothing like some refreshing water/sand/jelly.

Our favorite part about this beach is the cool "Lost Boys Tunnel"

The Great Beyond

First to arrive was my best friend and college roommate and her three kids. Our kids are all perfectly stair-stepped about 16-18 months apart, with 3 girls at the front and now 2 1/2 boys at the back. It makes life really fun, and the kids get along phenomenally. Somehow, we ended up without any pictures though. Hmmm. But we did get a Girls Night Out while Nick watched the kids, and it was heavenly.

A day or so after their departure, we welcomed Nick’s cousin, her husband and their two kids who stayed with us for about 9 days. Their oldest is just a few months younger than Mylie, and though they hadn’t met until just this summer, we’ve been convinced for quite awhile that they share the same genetic code. It was fascinating to see these two strong-willed little girls in all their tantrum glory being watched by each other. It was as if they both had at least one moment of “Is that what I look like when I do that?” We may have seen some behavior breakthroughs, but only time will tell. But in between tantrums and melt-downs, they both had a lot of fun together. Our saving grace was that we sent them both to 3 hours of Vacation Bible School each morning which got them out of the house and allowed us to have some quality time with the little boys. It was lovely.

Peace and quiet at home (kind of) while the girls are at VBS

Visiting the County Fair

The girls got to be in a Wild West Show at the fair

They played fabulous cows

Each kid got to pick one ride to go on... Nolan was pleased with his choice

The girls opted for the Balloon Ride... Despite our efforts to talk them into something a little less...lame. And yet, they loved it.

We headed to the beach for one chilly evening. The poor Californians nearly froze to death.

But the girls had a great time

And the boys spend most of the time with their heads in the sand. Typical.

After we bid adieu to our family (who we can now call friends as well!), we welcomed my other best friend and college roommate to our home. Luckily, this one came without kids or spouses, so things were a bit calmer. After a few days experiencing Portland and trying to talk her into moving out here from DC, we headed up to Seattle to connect and spend some more quality time with our other roomie and reminisce. It’s funny how you can go five years and so much can change in your life, and yet get together with someone and it seems no time has passed. Gotta love that.

Funny, I don't remember being so short in college.

Girls Night Out with the best dessert you could ever imagine

BFF's. No, I'm not a teenager, but they really are best friends forever.

And with that, Chateau Winters closed up shop. It was a wild ride. Maybe we’ll do it again next year. But maybe next year we’ll uninstall the revolving door space it out a little better. Or maybe not.

How did we manage that, you may ask? Well, it started earlier this spring, when I was supposed to be teaching a Theatre Camp this week. I asked my mom if she might want to come up and stay and watch the kids while I did that. She agreed, but the decided, maybe it would be easier if they came to her house. Didn’t matter much to us, so we thought that would be fine. But then, we ended up having to cancel the Theatre Camp. And we gave Grammie the out, but she decided to take on the munchkins anyway! Which meant that we got to stay home ALL WEEK with no other obligations and no kids underfoot.

I have no pictures from this glorious occasion. And really, I don’t even have many fun stories to tell. We went and worked in a Phone Bank for the Washington County Republican Party. We did some desperately needed yard work. And we had a date night. In the middle of the week. Just because we could. Saw a movie and didn’t care what time we had to be home for the sitter. It. Was. Awesome.

By the end of the week, Grammie had had her fun and was ready for rescue. So we’re hoping for enough amnesia that she’s willing to do it again next year. And maybe the year after that. And the year after….well, you get the picture.

Since we are now officially 19 weeks into this mess, I suppose it’s time to let you in on a little secret. We’re preparing a special Thanksgiving treat at our house… slow cooking it to perfection. That’s right, we’re having baby #3. It really hasn’t been much of a secret, since we let Mylie in on it really early on. She just couldn’t figure out why mom was sick and sleeping all the time and it was really starting to bug her. But of course, when you tell a 4-almost-5 year old something like that, you don’t expect it to stay a secret very long. And it didn’t.

But, as is in the job description for every third (or later) child, this baby is already getting neglected. It doesn’t have it’s own web page, gender poll, name poll, or name suggestion app. And it didn’t even get a proper email or blog announcement until just now. Ahh well, as Baby’s Daddy knows… it’s just the lot in life for a third child. Luckily, we have a new fancy-shmancy camera now, so we might actually take some pictures of the kid once it’s born. And since none of our children have true baby books (because we’re those kind of parents), Baby won’t have to feel left out on that front either.

But I digress. We’re thrilled to be having another little person join our family. It’s been tough getting to this spot. It took longer than we’d hoped, and after having a 20 week loss of a baby, I tend to be a nervous wreck (to put it mildly) up until and for a week or two after the ultrasound. But we had said ultrasound today, and baby is alive and kicking… a lot! So, without further ado…

Meet Baby... Already sucking a thumb in utero.

...and... It's a BOY!!!

Soccer was just 45 minutes a day for only 5 days… a little chance for the kids to kick the ball and do some drills, and run around. But it was Mylie’s first experience with the sport, and she had a great time.

We headed straight from there to swimming lessons. I can’t take all the blame here for the back-to-back scheduling, because with our swimming sessions, you go Tuesday-Fridays for two weeks, but you don’t find out your time slot until the Sunday or Monday before hand. Luckily they were close in proximity enough that we could fit it in.

Then, on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for two weeks we headed to Karate Kids – a small karate class put on by our local Parks & Rec. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I thought it was a bust and totally lame, but Mylie liked it and the price was right.

Poor Nolan mostly got dragged around to these activities, but he and I did get to play some together. Next year he’ll finally be 3 and will have many more things open to him. We’ve also got him scheduled for a gymnastics class and his own swimming lessons later in the summer.

Despite my best efforts of pre-planning and trying to spread things out, it ended up that the tickets we bought her for her birthday to see Disney’s The Lion King, ended up being for the SAME DAY. So, naturally, we decided we could do it all. So, we spent Friday night at a grueling and long dress rehearsal. Then on Saturday, we hit the matinee performance of The Lion King, grabbed a quick bite of dinner, and headed to her dance recital, which happened to be just a few blocks away in downtown Portland. Mylie waited back stage until the second act before her turn to dance, and still she held out and you couldn’t even tell how exhausted she must have been. Ironically, the song she danced to was called “I Want It All,” from High School Musical 2, and we couldn’t think of a more appropriate song for our little starlet.

She knows where she's going... Pay no attention to the abandoned shoe on the floor. The kids actually did a pretty good job dancing around it.

You'll find her in the back on the right

Celebrating a job well-done

Watching Big Sis

The star receives her fans

Despite the blurry picture, there's no question who carries the title of "Mylie's Biggest Fan."

Okay, well, maybe I’m being a little over dramatic. I know, right? You never would have expected that from me.

Nevertheless, it did dawn on me recently that I kind of had my shot. I mean, sure, I get to lead and guide and direct for many years to come…. but any tiny amount of control I may have had over any piece of a blank slate is probably gone. Although, as time goes on, I’m realizing that the “blank slate” theory just doesn’t carry much water.

Nope. Mylie was Mylie from the time she was born. She’s a quick learner and a perfectionist. She is horrible at auditory learning but great at tactile. She’s bossy and a born dancer (which makes her perfect material to be a choreographer, which she also loves to do). She has a small speech impediment (still has trouble with those pesky ‘R’s) but she has no idea that she does.

She is social and caring, and absolutely loves to talk. When she can’t talk, she has discovered the new-found joy of note-writing. Both Nick and I receive about a dozen notes a day, and she has been reprimanded in preschool and Sunday School for passing notes. She reads at an exceptionally high level, and even I’m not exactly sure how or when that happened. I know I can’t take credit for it.

She’s a perfectionist and will often get frustrated (and sometimes quit) when she can’t do things right on the first attempt. But she is learning what a difference practicing can make. She has no fear of being in front of crowds, but gets a little shy in front of smaller, intimate groups.

She is 99.99% her father’s daughter…. they are like two peas in a pod. Which, unfortunately, tends to cause them to butt heads on occasion. She is not a girly-girl at all, but does love anything pink. She doesn’t particularly like to play with dolls, but she LOVES to mother Nolan. Fortunately, she does a pretty good job of that most of the time. Despite sibling spats that pop up frequently, the two of them get along wonderfully, and are the best of friends.

I don’t know if I did anything right in these first five years as her mom. I know for sure I’ve done an awful lot of things wrong. But we’re learning and growing together, and even though these formative years are over now, I look forward to the next thirteen even more (and many after that, of course), when I can let her take more of the reigns as I step back into the role of leader and guide. One thing I know for sure, my life wouldn’t be the same without her!

]]> http://wintersteam.org/winterskids/2010/06/14/the-end-of-an-era/feed/ 1 http://wintersteam.org/winterskids/2010/06/14/europe-a-synopis/ http://wintersteam.org/winterskids/2010/06/14/europe-a-synopis/#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 05:00:53 +0000 karli http://wintersteam.org/winterskids/?p=1947 As most of you know, Nick and I had our first European adventure for 10 days at the beginning of May…. which explains the lack of posts until now. Between Easter and the end of April we were focused primarily on preparing to leave… and watching volcano reports.

Luckily, we did manage to make it out and back in between eruptions and ash clouds, and were better for it. Our flights both directions were canceled, but Iceland Air moved us over to British Airways, affording us direct flights between Seattle and London. It shortened our travel time by a few hours, which was great!

Our kiddos were able to spend some quality time with Nana and Papa Winters, which is a rare treat, and they were spoiled rotten, with trips to Chuck E Cheese and a back yard complete with donkeys to entertain them. And in the process, they learned to appreciate dear ol’ Mom and Dad a little bit more. Oh, yeah, and we missed them too.

So with out further ado, here’s the quick and dirty version of our trip. We have about 420 more pictures that we will be compiling into a book of our trip, so for those of you who care… you can come see it anytime. For now, we picked our top 38. The photos below are just thumbnails… you’ll have to click on them to see the full picture.

After seeing the changing of the guard, we had to hustle back to the train station to collect our luggage and then zoom over to the metro to take the hour-long Tube ride to the airport. We sweated bullets worrying that we wouldn’t make it in time, but somehow we managed to get there just as boarding was starting. Perfect! We had to wait to take off because the Ash Cloud was forcing all air traffic onto one runway, and then we  had to head out to the east, and skirt around the volcano to the north. It felt like we were being chased out by ash, kind of like Jeff Goldblum and the T-Rex on Jurassic Park. But we made it, and have LOTS of chocolate to show for it. We had a great time seeing what few sights we got to see, but generally had the best time just hanging out with our friends in Belgium, getting a true (albeit small) taste of what life is like over there. One thing is for sure, we got the travel bug, and hope to be doing much more of it in the future!

Are you sure about this, dad?

He’s down!

No wait, he’s up!

Race ya!

This is the most fun I’ve ever had… except for that time I got to jump in the mud.

Nothing like a good mouthful of dirt

And the ever famous puddle jumper:

Come on in, the water's fine!

But Nolan recently got an opportunity to top them all. A few weeks ago we got to go to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn. Since winter is insisting on lasting FOREVER, it had been raining for weeks, and we were well aware that there would be mud. And I came prepared. Of course… I don’t think anything quite prepared me for what actually took place.

Upon arrival, he immediately discovered the duck races, leading of course to a total and complete soaking of his jacket.

We had to take a little ride around the farm on the cow train in order to dry off.

But then the real fun begins…

Testing the Waters

Mud Puddle Target Aquired

Ooooh, this is good stuff!

No turning back now...

Mud totally rocks!

Mylie was there too... just a bit more... cautious

This was the best picture pose we could come up with

With all the muck, I thought I needed at least one pretty picture

Lil' Rascals in search of more mud

Wanted to get a nice family shot... had to crop all the mud-stained clothes out of this one.

At this point, the mud has soaked through his pants into his diaper

And we top the adventure off with a nice face plant in a puddle

But wait, check out the lady pointing and laughing at him as he passed

The Walk of Shame back to the car... Mom refused to carry him!

And yes, in case you’re wondering, I did (amazingly) come prepared with a whole new set of clothes. I did not, however, have any rags or towels, and burned through almost a whole container of baby wipes trying to get him to a clean enough state for said clothes. It never fails to amaze me that this funny, mud-loving boy could actually be related to Mylie, who has to get up to wash her hands at least twice during most meals. Funny kids.

And the prize winning shot of the day:

The Gang

My wonderful awesome spouse knew of my desire to remain 20-something, and so he planned a surprise party for me, with the theme of “Forever 29.” He did a wonderful job, and I really had no clue what he was up to. Truly, he is a really bad liar and I never expected him to be able to pull something like this off.  He even got friends and family to write favorite memories of me which he put together into a little book. Much awesomeness. We had a wonderful mesh of family and friends come to enjoy the day with us, and more who participated long distance with their messages. It was so much fun!

Waiting For the Party to Start

Nick also made a large poster of me that was a collage of pictures of my growing up years all put together to make my portrait (and yes, he’s talented… but he had software to help in the process… he’s not that talented). On the bottom it had big words printed to say “Karli – Forever 29.” I’ll admit, it kind of creeped me out and seemed a little like memorial. So, I decided that even if it would be cool to be 20-something forever, I think I’ll be happy to move on, because one more birthday means one more year I have been blessed to spend with all of you wonderful people that are in my life. But I still might tell people I’m 29 for as long as I can pull it off

P.S. Here is the mosaic using the program found at http://www.andreaplanet.com/andreamosaic/

Mosaic Poster

When she was born, she couldn’t quite get the thumb into her mouth successfully, so a pacifier sufficed for the short term. But she was merely weeks old when she was able to find the appropriate digit consistently, and after that the pacifiers were generally worthless.

I’ll be honest… we knew we were judged. Friends and family alike would make comments like, “Oh, I would never want my kid to suck her thumb. You can throw away a pacifier, but what do you do with a finger?” And we would merely look at them and smile sweetly. Because the truth is… as an itty bitty baby she was so cute sucking away on her little thumb. PLUS, we had a baby who knew how to self-soothe, and we never had to make midnight trips into the nursery to pop the paci back in. Nope, our kid slept 12 hours by 12 weeks and took two 2-hour naps a day, credited partially to the fact that if it fell out, she could stick it right back in without having to regain complete consciousness. It was lovely.

Really Truly - Thumb Sucking Babies Are Sweet

Buuutttt…. then she grew up. She turned two. Then three. Then four. The dentist started commenting about how we needed to get her to stop. Her teeth started to protrude out a bit. And we started itching for her to quit the habit. It just wasn’t that cute anymore, and it was border-lining on gross.

Thumbsucking at Two... kinda cute

Thumbsucking at Three... Not so cute anymore

For those of you who know us well, you’ll remember some of the difficulties we faced continue to face with potty training. Through all the suggestions we’ve been given and tactics we’ve tried, it continues to be a power struggle (though much better now than it used to be). So, as we’re just barely over that fight, I’ve been in no hurry to start a new one that I was sure would have similarly frustrating outcomes.

Luckily, even though we can’t remove or cut off her thumbs, I did believe I had a secret weapon up my sleeve. Her thumb sucking was almost completely tied to her blankies, and only happened when one was in hand. So over the course of the last couple years I’ve tried to discourage the blankies. First, they were no longer allowed in the car or out of the house. Then, we had her leave them in her bed except when watching movies or TV. I’ve been prepping her for the last couple years that at age 5, the blankies will be banished to bed only. She’s been prepared for that momentous day for quite some time.

To up the ante on quitting the thumb as well, I, being the stupid mother I am who never learns her lesson, decided I would throw a trip to Disneyland in the mix. I know, I know, I can hear the gasps now. But, since I wanted to take her to the Happiest Place on Earth about the time she was five, and because she had specifically said she wasn’t going to quit sucking her thumb until she was five, I figured the timing would work out swimmingly. Plus, after the potty training hell, I figured 5 would turn more into 6 or even later. I was sure I was safe.

Yes, famous last words. Turns out, the kid has more gumption than I knew. A few weeks ago, she was looking at her teeth next to Nolan’s in the mirror. She asked why hers had such a big gap and stuck out and why Nolan’s didn’t. While we’re not for making girls all self-conscious at an early age, Nick was honest with her. He told her it was because she sucked her thumb, and that if she continued to suck her thumb, it would get worse (okay, he was only partially honest… she would have a gap regardless… she and Nolan got COMPLETELY different sets of teeth out of the gene pool). So she, of course, said, “I’m not going to suck my thumb anymore.” And we smiled and nodded and then rolled our eyes at each other. I’m pretty sure, “Yeah right,” was what I muttered under my breath.

Um, yeah. Guess who hasn’t sucked her thumb since that very moment? That’s right, it’s been almost a month with no wet thumbs in sight. The girl up and quit cold turkey. We haven’t gone so far as to video tape her sleeping, and she did admit that one time she woke up in the middle of the night and found herself sucking, but stopped immediately. Still. Cold turkey? Really?

And now, of course, I’m the sucker who has to try to figure out a way to make good on the Disney promise before she starts calling me a liar. But really, couldn’t she have decided to do this a little before we booked the vacation to EUROPE?! How are we supposed to budget in Disneyland for a four year old who all the sudden decided she wanted to grow up, and with straight teeth to boot? Ah well, I guess what we fork over for Disneyland will just come out of the pot we were saving up for braces for her, right? Right.

Move Over Mickey, cuz here comes Mylie!

We’ve been making many more library trips lately, as Mylie is devouring books. We’ve found the 1st-2nd grade readers to be just about perfect, and she has really been enjoying reading those to Nolan. Some of her favorites include the Poppleton books, Amelia Bedelia books and The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth. I’ve also been noticing so many more businesses in our community now, as I’m having their signs being read to me as we drive pass.

And then I found them. Some friends clued me in to The Magic Tree House Series, which is an adventure series of short chapter books in which a brother and sister pair are magically transported through their tree house to various places and time in history. There they learn all about what happens in that time period and have fun adventures. Yeah, it’s awesome. And though I know they’ve been around for awhile and are probably old news to all y’all with older kids, I’m totally loving this new magic world. Because, not only are the books educational, but many of them come with separate educational non-fiction guides about the historical period. AND, I can go online and print a plethora of worksheets and other activities to go along with them. I’m giddy. I’m in love. Oh, and Mylie likes them too. And, though she couldn’t sit down and read them to herself quite yet, once I’ve read them to her, I’ve caught her going back and reading the chapters out loud again. And I’m all the more excited because until she was well over two, we couldn’t get her to sit still to read a book to save our lives. But we may make a bookworm out of her yet!

The Magic Tree House - A Magic New World

P.S. Nick was bummed that no one ever comments on his posts. Have some pity… share the love below.

Both Karli and I have wondered when this day would come for our little boy. Possibly it has already but I saw it quite obviously today. Somehow all boys know how to make anything turn into a gun. Mylie was eating her dinner while Nolan was playing in the living room (he was already done with dinner). All of a sudden I heard “pquew, pquew” (how would you spell it?) coming from both of them and they each had a crayon and were shooting each other. It is amazing how kids learn from their surroundings but I am not sure from where this one came. I don’t even know which one started it first. I tried prodding to find out where they learned it but Mylie did not confess to anything.

Now, I was one of those kids who could turn anything into a gun. I also remember playing toy guns with other boys in our neighborhoods and had quite the fun time. One day we even had a shoot out where we got to choose the toy gun and what part of the body we get shot at. The one who “died” the best got to take his turn and choose the next toy gun and body part. I even made a wooden toy gun in my wood shop class. Imagine the public schools allowing that now.

My point is I am not an overly concerned parent but it’s just another step in our kids’ development. Even though I don’t want to encourage the behavior, I find it fun to see how their imagination works and reminds me of myself as a kid.

Here are the responses:

D – He works at Blue Stations and has a bubble machine and a picture from Chuck E Cheese. (Where do I sign up for THAT job?)

Mylie – He works for people who don’t have any money. He sits down at a computer. (That’s too bad – I was hoping he was working for people WITH money. I like the people who pay us to have money. She must have been paying attention when we were discussing the passage of measures 66 & 67).

C – He eats his lunch. (Always a good thing to do for work. Perhaps a professional taste tester?)

J – [shrug] (Our most common first response)

S – [another shrug]

L – He fixes wood if they broke. Then they put tool things on, then screws them. (Good description! Sounds like she’s been to work with dad before…except…he’s an accountant).

M – He’s done with work. (Aren’t we all, kid, aren’t we all?)

I think I may have uttered a slightly coherent, “Oh?”

“Yes, it’s called The Eater and the Cookie.”

“Mhmmm. Ah ha dya plaths gme?” (That’s, And how do you play game, in still-asleep-speak).

I was then given step-by-step directions on how we were going to play this game. Right now. In the loft. I managed to slip in 90 seconds of extra sleep by making her use the bathroom first before we proceeded to the loft for further instructions. In case any of you want to play, here’s how it goes. I made her come in and dictate it to me, lest I mess up any instructions.

“First the eater saw a cookie and packed it up and bringed it on the vacation.

“Then the eater ate it. All of his cookies.

“Then the eater had a tummy ache.

“Then he came home and rested.

“And then he got better.

“And then he ate some more.

“The gray big blanket is the tummy and when you eat me, I get under the blanket. First you have to pick me up and eat me from  your mouth and then put me under the blanket. Then I get out and you see another one. That’s it. That’s the story.”

So there you have it. I played. I ate. I got a tummy ache. I ate again. And then I had to carry my ginormous cookie downstairs for more “vacation.” Then we made the cookie eat her own breakfast.

Trust me… I don’t get it any more than you do. It was funny to watch how adamant she was that we act out this incredible new scenario she just dreamed up, as if it were the greatest idea anyone had ever had. I am pretty convinced the girl never shuts off her brain, though. Otherwise, how would you come up with such a game in your sleep? I see sleep disorders in her future.

"The Cookie"... She does look rather delicious.

Last summer I had a dream.

Okay, that is completely and totally inaccurate. Let’s start over.

Me as a Townskid in "The Music Man", age 7

When I was growing up, I was heavily involved in our local community theatre. In addition to participating – from age seven on – in their annual musicals, I would spend most of my summers in theatre camps there. And each summer, there would be a variety of teenagers that would assist the camp directors as apprentices.

I idolized those teenagers, and thought they pretty much had the coolest job in the world. And it turns out… they did. Because at some point, I got to be that teenager, and I got their job. And it just so happens that when I did, it was with a brand new director that had rolled into town.

Lois, the new Youth Theatre director had begun her own non-profit youth theatre in Portland just a couple years before she started coming down to Klamath Falls in the summers for theatre camps. Eventually (insert long story here), the whole operation moved down full time. So summer after summer (and occasionally during the school year) I worked for her through high school and into college.

To make a long story short… eventually I had to grow up and move on. You know, get a college degree… do that whole “get married, have a baby thing,” and I stopped going back in the summers to help. For her part, Lois grew her theatre program substantially, but eventually had to close it down when she moved back to the Portland area. She sadly hung up her hat and thought she had closed that chapter in her life, as I had a few years earlier.

But the show must go on!!

It turns out that both she and I (and our families, of course) moved back to the Portland area at about the same time. Of course, we’re on opposite ends of the city, so we didn’t get to see each other a lot. But at one fateful dinner party last spring, what started out at the beginning of the evening as “Man, wouldn’t it be fun….” turned into “Well, why the heck not!?” by the time everyone went home.

One thing led to another and, Northwest Youth Theatre is back in business baby!!

From our website: The mission of Northwest Youth Theatre is to educate and enrich the lives of young people by providing meaningful opportunities for them to explore the performing arts. Our purpose is to provide education and experience in the performing arts to children regardless of their past experience or training. We offer youth a variety of performing opportunities, through after school and summer day camp programs, and NYT classes are filled without requiring students to audition — we believe that by working on performance skills and team-building activities in the rehearsal process, every group of young people can produce an excellent program.

We’ve put in lots of hours getting it up and running again, but boy is it fun. We’ve enlisted the help of our loving, patient, tireless and wonderful husbands to assist us in such duties as website development and marketing. We have found incredible generosity from the Hillsboro School District, and especially Brown Middle School. And most importantly, we’re quickly finding the kids!

Photos by Steve Lents Photography

We started out in the first rehearsal of our Fall ’09 term with about 7 kids. It was disappointing, but we were hopeful. By our performance in December, we were up to 21. And a few weeks later when we started our Winter ’10 Term, we hit 40 students, and at this point, we’re a little worried about having to cap our Spring ’10 enrollment because in the 3 days that registration has been open, they’re already steadily rolling in. We’re excited, to say the least. Not to mention that the students we have are just about the greatest EVER. They are so much fun to teach, and are so full of energy.

The best part about this job, is it’s something I love. I feel at home here, and always have. And now as a grown-up, it’s even more wonderful because I get to share it with my own kids. Mylie has loved being in both productions we’ve done so far, and is already jazzed about the next one. We feel truly blessed that the doors have continued to open for us on this latest adventure, and look forward to all that is in store for us down the road!

Mylie as a Dog in "A Place in the Christmas Choir"

And P.S. Don’t forget to check out our super-cool website on which Nick has labored intensively as my slave.

And P.P.S. If you’re in the area, please join us for our Spring Performance of “It’s A Jungle Out There” and “At the Hop” on Thursday, March 18th at 7:00pm at Brown Middle School.

So, yesterday the kids and I were driving by a cemetery when Mylie commented, “That’s where the people died!” Not sure if she fully understood the concept of cemeteries, I corrected her. “Yes, that’s where they put the people who have died.”

We passed the cemetery, but her curiosity did not wane.

“How do the people get in the grass?”

I was concerned about disseminating truth without scaring her, but I simply said, “They dig a hole in the ground, and then they put the people in there,” in the most cheery voice I could muster.

Apparently, I didn’t need to worry about the creep factor because she said, “Maybe when I get bigger… when I’m a teenager girl… I can dig the holes!” Not wanting to discourage her career opportunities, I said, “Oh, it’s called a grave digger. You want to be a grave digger when you grow up?”

“Yeah! I want to be a grave digger!”

“Oh, that’s neat. Why do you want to be a grave digger?”

“Because I like to dig.”

Simple enough. I tried to leave it at that until she asked, “Are grave diggers usually girls?”

The women’s libber in me responded “Well, a lot of times they’re boys, because it can be kind of hard to dig big holes like that, but if it’s what you want to do, you can do anything you want!” Of course, now I feel like I’m encouraging her to dig graves for a living.

The conversation more or less ended there, when she got distracted by reading the street signs to me, but it was a salient enough experience for her to tell her dad that night that she was going to be a grave digger when she grows up. Of course, I know that all kids have ideas about what they want to do that simply disappear over time. Nick, for instance, wanted to be a smoker when he grew up. And I’m not saying that being a grave digger isn’t a respectable and necessary job. All I’m saying is, it’s not exactly what you dream for your little girl. So, hopefully this is one career dream that will rest in peace.

Here’s the recipe, if you’re interested:

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

1.Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans, 8 1/2×4 1/2×2 1/2 inches, or 1 loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches.

2.Mix sugar and butter in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour into pans.

3.Bake 8-inch loaves about 1 hour, 9-inch loaf about 1 1/4 hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

From: The Betty Crocker Bridal Edition Cook Book

During Nolan’s haircut, he looked like a scary monster.

During Nolan’s haircut, we realized how dark his hair has become. No more little blond baby.

During Nolan’s haircut, Nolan used the comb to check us to make sure the length was suitable.

After Nolan’s haircut, he was just about too cute for words.

Last week, Mylie and I made cookies to deliver to friends. We tried a new icing technique from Annie’s Eats, and I thought they turned out fabulous! We also used the cookie recipe from Nick’s cousin, Brandy, and it is definitely our new favorite.

Yesterday, after church, Nick and Mylie made some homemade Valentines for me (Nick had gotten his present the night before after the kids went to bed…. Get your mind out of the gutter people! It was a box of See’s Chocolates that we didn’t want to have to share with the kiddos). Nick made a cute little heart pocket-envelope and the two of them filled it with things they love about me. Some of my favorites: “Your sense of humor” (Nick), and “Food” (Mylie). But the best by far was the one that said, “I love your body.” And no, you gutter dwellers, that was not from Nick. That was from little Mylie!

We’ve booked our tickets and will be heading out mid-spring to visit our good friends who have lived there for the past two years. We’ll be making a couple stops off in London and Paris too, and anywhere else our gracious hosts tell us we must see. For a girl who’s entire international experience can be described as… Vancouver, B.C…. this is an exciting and welcome chance of a lifetime! ]]> http://wintersteam.org/winterskids/2010/02/11/and-the-answer-is/feed/ 5 http://wintersteam.org/winterskids/2010/02/08/where-in-the-world/ http://wintersteam.org/winterskids/2010/02/08/where-in-the-world/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:49:00 +0000 karli http://wintersteam.org/wordpress/where-in-the-world/ …are Nick and Karli going on vacation? We just booked tickets to here:

Nolan’s newest biggest accomplishment is discovering how to get out of nap times. And not just, “I don’t want to go to sleep so I’ll stay awake in my crib”. Oh no. He wants to get everyone out at nap time.

On Thursday, he came up with this brilliant scheme:

Just before I was about to put him to bed, Mylie comes running into my room as says, “Nolan did something bad.”

“Oh? What?”

“And I did something bad too.”

That’s when I knew I was in trouble. “What did you do?”

“Just come see.”

So, I came into the kitchen to this scene.

I almost lost it, but something stopped me. Instead, I took a deep breath and said, “Well, you better get down and play in it and have fun, because you’re going to be cleaning it up. And it WON’T be happening again.”

Did I mention the outfit he’s wearing was actually black when I put it on him that morning?

They had an excellent time pretending it was snowing in the kitchen and bringing all their toys in to join the party. After almost an hour, I finally called the game, and threw them in the tub (which made a sickeningly thick corn starchy water). Naptime was further evaded with an immediate trip to Target, and we are now the proud owners of one of THESE babies on our pantry door:

So, after one napless day, I thought he’d be due for a good nap on Friday. So, to really tire them out, we went for a bike ride. Okay, I was the only one getting tired out since I was riding the bike and they were in the trailer. For a treat, I took them to Taco Bell. Nolan finished his lunch first, and really wanted out of the high chair. I agreed on the condition that he wouldn’t run around or else he would get back in.

It worked. For a minute. And then he decided running up and down the booth seats was too irresistible. I told him to come back; he declined. I counted down from five. When I reached one I went to grab him, causing him to sprint back (along the seat) to his spot. He was just about there when we had one of those slow-motion moments as I watched him trip over Mylie’s leg, and tumble with his face headed right toward the edge of the table. He barely grazed it, but by the time I got to him there was already blood all over the place, and he had filleted a small piece just outside his lip quite nicely.

Ugh. Did I mention I was there on a BIKE?! I tried to get the bleeding to stop with him still screaming. Then, leaving all our trays on the table, I hauled both kids outside, got their helmets on, put them back in the trailer, handed Mylie a napkin and told her to hold it on Nolan’s lip while we rode, unlocked the bike and trailer, attached the trailer back on the bike, and took off to my friend’s house (the poor woman I call any time my kid punctures himself). She was nice enough to take a look at him, stash my bike and trailer in her garage, and then haul both of her own kids into her car where we threw Mylie in the back seat and shoved Nolan on the floor of the front seat so she could drive us back to our house. Once there, we loaded up in our van and headed the 20 minutes to the doctor’s office, where we waited another 30 minutes to be seen. Of course, by the time the doctor saw it, his lip was too swollen to derma-bond back together. We decided against stitches, so…. we left. Neat. Turns out the cut is small enough that stitches would have made almost the same size of scar so….

At least he got himself out of another nap.

I couldn’t get a great shot of the little monster’s lip, but you get the idea.

Seriously, boys are a different breed. After four and a half years of girl, I have not once had to consider stitches, and now in the last 2 months I’ve had to consider it twice with little brother. This kid might make me crazy….

Each week at church, Mylie attends Sunday School classes for kids ages 3-11 (broken up into age groups), called Primary. As a part of the Primary program, kids are asked to give talks on different subjects each week. This week was Mylie’s turn.

As usual, Mom and Dad had the best of intentions about writing out the talk early, giving her lots of time to practice and having her totally prepared. And as usual, at 8:00pm on Saturday night, we remembered about our good intentions, and raced up to the computer to put something together.

Now, it is typical for most four-year-olds to have a parent at the microphone to feed them their talk while they repeat it. So, that’s what we anticipated doing. But when I printed out her talk and handed it to her, she started reading it all by herself. In fact, with the exception of the last six lines, she cold read the whole thing almost perfectly. I helped her sound out the last couple of paragraphs, and after that she was reading those too. So, after about 10 minutes she had the thing down and was excited to get to do it all by herself.

And that’s exactly what she did. Little Miss hopped right up to the microphone this morning in front of all her peers and read her talk all by herself. I stood next to her and pointed out the couple times where she lost her place on the page. Other than that, it was a one-woman show. Yeah, I’ll just say it… mama was proud.

So, for those of you who couldn’t be there this morning, here is Miss Mylie’s talk, as read to the Primary today:

Article of Faith #1 says: We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

I know that God created me.

I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus love me.

They love all the children of the world.

When Jesus came to the Nephites, he let all of the children come sit on his lap, and touch his hands and feet, and he blessed them. He loved them.

We were not there to touch Jesus or sit on his knee. But we can still know that he is real. We know that he loves us just as much as he loved those little children. Maybe when he comes to earth again we can be there to touch his hands and feet. We can follow his teachings today so we can be ready when he comes again.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Lolly and Neeno are the terms by which these two have come to be known in our house. The nicknames are really not nicknames so much as, it’s how Nolan pronounces their given names. And we think it’s downright cute. These two partners in crime have started to worm their way back into my heart. We had a really long year brief stint recently where, although I loved them very much, I didn’t really like them a whole lot. In fact, there were a lot of days I didn’t much like to be around them at all. It was one tantrum after another, and competitions over who could do the most damage to my ear drums with Mariah Carey-style screaming. And then there’s the whining. I swear, before I had preschoolers I thought, “Well, just don’t give them what they want when they whine and they’ll learn not to do it.” Yeah… I guess that may be true, but I didn’t realize preschoolers are such slow learners!! Even though I have NEVER given in to a whine, it’s still an ingrained tactic. It must be part a part of our genetic makeup as humans.

But that’s all starting to change.

Both kids have discovered a new parental tactic which gets them far more than they ever dreamed possible… politeness! Lolly has taken to randomly telling us thank you for things. “Thank you for making me this yummy dinner, mom,” or “Thank you for playing with me today.” Sometimes she’ll throw in a real zinger: “I had a great time being with you today, Mom.”

Neeno also says thank you for just about everything, including diaper changes.

Me: “Nolan, can I change your diaper?”

Neeno: “Geek ku Mommy.”

Lolly: “Nolan, do you want to be my pet kitty and have me boss you around and lead you around with a leash?”

Neeno: “Geek ku, Lolly.”

Truly, it’s just about the sweetest. thing. ever.

The other heartwarming trend that is appearing is how much these two love each other. Since Lolly was never really baby-crazy like a lot of first-born girls, she didn’t really ever dote on Neeno. So, they were close enough, but nothing special. Lately, it seems, though, that a new relationship is budding. Perhaps it’s stemmed from sharing a room, or perhaps it’s the northwest weather which keeps them locked inside the house for way too many days in the winter. Whatever it is, it’s beautiful.

These two have so much fun playing together. And they like the same things, which is amazing to me for a brother/sister pair. Lolly LOVES to play with Neeno’s trains, and Neeno loves to sing and dance to Lolly’s show tunes. And though their play time is punctuated with regular intervals of screaming and chasing each other down for a toy that one or the other has stolen, they quickly resolve it and move back to their games of make-believe.

So… I’m happy. I was really feeling down for awhile, like I had done something to cause my children to be bratty, ungrateful monsters. Turns out, it’s just another one of those phases that “they” don’t tell you about. It just happened to be a REALLY long phase at our house. But boy am I looking forward to this lovely new chapter!

So, after I aired all my dirty laundry in my last post, I thought I deserved a little reprieve. It turns out, I do (sometimes) have mommy successes and I need to broadcast them as the come.

I’ll be the first to admit, however, I hate making my kids breakfast and lunch. Breakfast I hate, because, well, I highly dislike most breakfast foods. Luckily, my kids don’t and would be perfectly content with cereal every day. I often feel guilty about letting them do that.

In the case of lunch, however, I am the one who would be content with PB & J’s every day. It’s so much easier… such an efficient lunch. And yet my kids grow weary of them. Unfortunately, when I try to get creative, it usually blows up in my face. I read about all kinds of moms who make lunch out of things they can put in muffin tins. My kids just stare at muffin tins and then look at me like I’m nuts for trying to serve them something in such a ridiculous manner.

I’ve tried making “ants on a log,” or a various assortment of things rolled up in a wrap. They occasionally eat quesadillas, but once I got the healthy tortillas, that lost it’s appeal as well.

But today, I succeeded. Mylie has been studying butterflies in preschool this week, and for some reason requested a butterfly lunch on the way home from school today. I took the opportunity and ran with it!

I give you:

The main reason I’m so ecstatic about sharing this lunch was that it was a raging success! Both my kids devoured every last bite, and asked for more. Of course, if I were to offer any of those things to them individually, they’d give me that crazy look again. So, thank you Eric Carle, for inspiring healthy eating in the Winter’s Home.

I’ve espoused the wonders of “Google Reader” on here before. Google Reader, or any other “feed reader” allows you to “subscribe” to your favorite blogs, being notified instantly of any new postings. And as soon as I caught the fire of a feed reader, I ran with it. One blog that I follow will link to a new blog that they like, and so I discover hundreds of new blogs. I am also able to cyber-stalk friends and past acquaintances by finding links to their blogs on my other friend’s blogs. It’s a wonderful system.

But here’s the rub. I am currently subscribed to 132 blogs. Yes, that’s right. 132. No wait, I just added another. Now it’s 133. And I’ve got them all sorted out in folders for different categories. I’ve got blogs on Digital Scrapbooking, Emergency Preparedness, Home Improvement, Education, Crafts, Penny Pinching, Family, Friends, Fun, Recipes, Religion, Politics, and blogs to tell me about when Google updates it’s feed reader. Seriously, it’s an addiction.

Now, of course, some bloggers are like me… their activity ebbs and flows, sometimes going dead for months. But, others make their living blogging, and so they post upwards of…well…let’s just say the number is infinite.

At first, I was really excited about all the cool information I was collecting. I got great deals, I got great craft ideas, found awesome recipes, and kept track of my family and friends. But as time went on, what I really started focusing on was how much I’m NOT doing. I’m not spouting crafts out my ears, like my friend Summer. I’m not an ace of cakes like Nick’s cousin. I don’t do educational activities each day like the chick on Chasing Cheerios. I try using coupons and save our family a little money each week, but it’s chump change compared to what the women on Frugal Living Online and Super Coupon Girl save. Occasionally I find the time to make my family a nice, well-rounded meal, but Annie at Annie’s Eats works full time as a Resident Medical Student, has a toddler, and still manages to create gourmet dishes from scratch AND blog about them – usually daily. I think I feed the kids fairly healthy food, but when I read the blogs at Super Healthy Kids it makes me feel like I’m practically poisoning them with garbage.

And then there’s the parenting skills. I’ve got a couple good blogs that post GREAT articles on parenting techniques. My favorite, Half-Full Blogversations, espouses such gems as “Emotion Coaching” and “Positive Parenting” and “Teaching Emotional Literacy.” They teach you how to stay calm when you’re angry and believe that rewards are bad for raising healthy adults. Sounds pie in the sky great, but when I try it out on my own kids – well, let’s just say the conversation doesn’t go quite the way they describe it. And when my kid gets more worked up the calmer I stay, I have to wonder what I’m doing wrong?

Growing up, I always pictured myself as becoming the kind of mom that did cool projects, that always had a stash of things to pull out of her hat to do. I pictured myself loving to spend time in the kitchen cooking with my kids. I pictured educational adventures abounding, and my children gathered at my knee singing in 4 part harmony. I thought I would be the quintessential Maria Von Trapp mixed with Martha Stewart with a little bit of Marie Curie thrown in. And that’s just what I see when I look at all these blogs. The culmination of everything I ever wanted to be… and I continue to fall short.

But wait… there’s still the life lesson. This Christmas, my wonderful and adoring husband gave me the best Christmas present ever… he published my blog into a book. It was something I have wanted to do for awhile, but… again… couldn’t find the time to fit it in. So, I got a little time to spend perusing the last two years of my life. And a light started to come on…

Then, as we’ve thought about our goals for this wondrously hope-filled new year, we’ve started to list our priorities. What is it that we want to make sure we fit in to each day? Turns out… all those things I thought I wanted to do are not even listed on my priorities list. Sure, I’d still like to get there some day. But what most of those people do… well, they specialize. They’re like a gourmet restaurant that knows what they do well, and they serve that up perfectly every night. They’ve got talent and they capitalize on it. Of course, I’m not saying these people can’t do anything else besides what they blog about. It’s just, that’s the only thing we get to see about their lives.

My talent? Well, from the day I was born my talent has been a desire to do EVERYTHING. And some of the time, I can make it happen. But as I grow older, I’m learning that “Jack of All Trades, Master of None,” is not just some meaningless adage. My list of things I want to do keeps growing bigger and bigger, and my time availability keeps growing smaller and smaller.

So, my goal for this year? I’m going to stop comparing myself to the blogosphere. I’m going to remember that what people publish is just a little tiny capsule of their lives… one that they choose to let you see. I’m going to remember that I’m just one person, and couldn’t possibly do the work of 133. I’m going to focus on my priorities, and realize that even if I yell at my kids, or never make a paper mache’ volcano with them, or let them watch TV for an hour every day while I sit at my computer, I can still keep my priorities in order. I can and will do the important things… I will read to them, I will spend a little more time with them. I will teach them the things that I AM good at, and I will give them the space to determine what they’re good at. I will pray with them, and read the scriptures with them. And, hopefully, I will teach them how to love, be loved, and how to love themselves. And maybe one day I’ll figure out how to do it all, and I’ll be that gourmet meal of a mom. Until then, I’m going to be satisfied with this delicious buffet line I get to dabble in and sample from.

As some of you may know, this year instead of sending Mylie to a preschool program, we opted for doing a co-op preschool. I vacillated on this decision a lot at the end of last year. We really did like our preschool program at Liberty High School. The administrator and the student teachers were excellent. I found, however, that it was becoming way too easy for me to “check-out” in terms of Mylie’s education.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I was super concerned with the curriculum at the 3-year old level. But too often, when I’d ask what she did at school, and she’d say “nothing,” I would just leave it at that, and not care to ask any more.

I decided that was a bad precedent to set going forward. So this year we dove into a co-op. And today the inevitable happened… I had to teach.

We are using a wonderful curriculum that I think is so cool. It’s called Kidgenuity (formerly known as Smart Cookies), and although the lessons are fairly well layed-out, they do require a bit of prep work, especially your first time out of the gate. Let’s just say we’ve had a few late nights around here for the last week. I was nervous about 8 (mostly unfamiliar) kids descending on my house, and delving into paint projects and glue sticks and the like. So I spent extra time to make sure I was ultra prepared.

And I think the preparation paid off! The morning went swimmingly, and I actually nearly enjoyed myself. In fact, the only major hitch was this:

Yes, don’t let his sweet innocent face fool you. This kid was a holy terror during preschool. I had decided to keep him around, because I thought he might enjoy some of the activities, or else he could spend his time reading all the books. But oh, no. Never one to back down around kids twice his size, Nolan must have thought these kids were here to take away his life and liberty, and he staked claim on his property for sure. He spent the entire first hour and a half SCREAMING. He screamed while I held him, and screamed louder if I set him down. So I spent half the time trying to direct traffic with one hand and a bursting ear drum. Needless to say, Nolan’s preschool privileges have been revoked, and he will not be joining us next time.

Other than that, however, it was pretty fun. I especially enjoyed getting to see all of the kids’ talents emerge during the independent station work. Each kid gravitated towards a different activity, and it was amazing to see how some would do SO well at a certain station that was so difficult for others. And then the roles would switch at a different activity.

It almost makes me look forward to teaching again. They’re definitely a bunch of smart cookies.

The Classroom Setup (before the onslaught)

Our lesson was on Clothing Patterns, so the kids got to learn about different types of patterns they encounter daily: Stripes, Plaids, Solids, Checkered, Prints & Polka-dots.

Crayon Pattern Rubbings
Watercolor Patchwork Quilt
“U” Collage
(our letter of the day)
Clown Dress-Up & Lacing Animals

So, if you know me at all, you may be aware that I’m somewhat craft-ily challenged. Oh sure, I can create things. Especially of the digital variety. And I can even do stuff with paper and glue and scissors. Sometimes. If there’s a pattern. And very detailed instructions. And someone telling me what to do. Every single step of the way.

But all y’all out there who have crafty creativity flowing out of you and pouring onto your blogs and such… well, that’s just a different realm for me.

Once, Nick and I thought we were crafty. We thought we were going to hand-make presents for everyone for Christmas. Seemed like an economical way to give meaningful gifts. So what did we think we could create out of thin air without so much as an example to go off of? That’s right… snow globes. Any of you who were part of the Great Snow Globe Catastrophe of 2003 will remember… and we sincerely apologize.

But I am pleased to announce the beginning of the end of my craft impairment. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. This week I have created not one… not two… but 3 different projects using only the power of my brain (i.e. no patterns). I submit them below as evidence.

I was browsing through the Oriental Trading website, when I saw a project kit for these. I almost ordered them to use next year, when I took a closer look. I thought, “I could do that!” Typically, those are my famous last words, as the plan in my head rarely turns out the way I want it. But Mylie and I made these earlier this week out of toilet paper rolls and construction paper, and I thought they turned out swimmingly.

Mylie vacillated this year between being Tinkerbell and being “Jessie” from Toy Story II for Halloween. Since it is sacrilege in our family not to have a theme, poor Nolan’s options were either Peter Pan or “Woody”. And though I think Nolan’s squishy fat legs would have been adorable in green tights, it appears that every little girl in the country is going as a fairy this year, so we opted for something a little different. Nolan’s inner macho-man (as well as his future teen ego) thanks us. So, Toy Story it is.

After over a week of isolation due to the H1N1 that hit our house hard, we were a little behind on the costume making. But, by last night we had finally rounded up all the needed supplies. But, since Toy Story is apparently the most unpopular theme this year, I was unable to locate any patterns. For anything. Anywhere. So, it was up to our brains and eyes to figure it out. Let’s face it, I was rather hopeless.

Seriously, the last thing I have sewed in my life was in my sophomore year in 4-H. And the last time I had to create a pattern from scratch? Eh… never. It was anyone’s guess as to whether we could pull it off, but we did it! Nick and I worked from 10pm to 3am last night and we did it!

A few details to call attention to:

Cowgirl Shirt Panel with authentic swirly thingers

And did I mention they’re sewed on, not glued?
Woody’s Felt Cowboy Boots
That’s right people. I made a 3-Dimensional Pattern without even using a tutorial from the internet. Because none exists. Seriously, go check if you don’t believe me. I made those puppies with sheer force of will.

Authentic Cowgirl Shirt Cuffs
Nick made this pattern, I did the sewing & decorating. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

So there you have it. Crafts by Karli (& Nick). Don’t get too excited… I’m not going to be starting a craft blog anytime soon. Let’s just say I’m pleased to discover that a little shred of a domestic diva is alive in there….somewhere. And if she only comes out once a year, well, I’ll welcome her with open arms. And take lots of pictures to prove her existence!

I remember shortly after Mylie was born, and I had to go grocery shopping for the first time by myself. It was summer, and it was hot, and I was in a quandary. What do I do after I have loaded my kid and my groceries in the car? Do I leave the door open while I go put the cart back so she doesn’t smother in the heat during the 45 seconds it will take me to get to the cart carrel and back? Or do I leave the door open, and risk having a stranger grab her from my car in the 45 seconds it will take me to get there and back?

I ended up leaving the door open and keeping my eyes glued to her the whole time (because my x-ray death stare was sure to deter any would-be kidnappers), nearly running the cart into a couple parked cars in the process. After that harrowing experience, I learned that finding a parking spot right next to the cart carrel was more important than getting a spot close to the store. I would occasionally circle for minutes until I could find one that fit my parameters.

Boy, have I come a long way since then.

Flash forward about three years. I am having a horrible day. While dragging my toddler and newborn out of Costco on one very rainy day, and trying to get them into their car seats, I set my purse on top of my car, and proceed to drive off with it there. I don’t realize it until it’s too late, of course. Through process of elimination I figure out where I think it fell off (a crazy busy street) and drive by a few times, but don’t see it, and can’t just stop with the kids in the car to search. I decide to head to my UPS Store because we get our mail there, and that is the address on my license. I figure if anyone picked it up, they might try to return it there.

Because it’s still pouring down rain when I arrive, and I’m already very stressed out, I leave my kids in the car while I run in just to ask if they’ve had my purse turned in. I’ve parked right in front of the glass windows and can see my car the whole 3.5 minutes I’m in the store. I even see the woman that stops in front of my car. When I return, she curtly informs me, “Is this your car? You know, they arrest people for that.” I try to keep my cool while I explain, “I just had to run in for a second.” She gives me a glare that says, “Well, a second is all it takes, missy!”

And there’s the rub.

You see, because, it doesn’t just take a second. Not usually. In fact, very rarely. Not in a circumstance like that, in a busy parking lot, next to Safeway, up front by the sidewalk where lots of people are walking by and obviously aware (like that most helpful woman) of what’s happening around them. In fact, her watching out for me proves my point that my children were perfectly safe!

But I’m not just talking about kids in cars here. No, my soapbox extends much further than that. As my children grow older, I am continually frustrated more and more by what I am not able to let them do. I can’t let my four-year old ride her bike on the sidewalk outside our house by herself (without people coming to my doorstep, anyway), and I can’t let her walk behind me in Target without people telling me that there are dangerous people about who might snatch her if she’s not in my line of sight (true story). And the thing that really gets my goat is that I am forced to make my parenting decisions not on what I believe is the best thing for my family, but on what other people think I should be doing. Or more accurately, on what will or will not cause others to turn me in to the authorities.

So, being the incredibly logical thinker that I am, I decided to do some research on what my gut was telling me. And you know what? It turns out that the world is just as safe as I thought. In fact, it’s safer than it was 30 years ago! My go-to girl on this topic is Lenore Skenazy, who you may remember as the “crazy subway mom” from 2008. With her help, I’ve done my research and looked at the statistics that we’re dealing with here. As she explains on her blog,

“Had the world really become so much more dangerous in just one generation?Yes — in most people’s estimation. But no — not according to the evidence. Over at the think tank STATS.org, where they examine the way the media use statistics, researchers have found that the number of kids getting abducted by strangers actually holds very steady over the years. In 2006, that number was 115, and 40% of them were killed.

“Any kid killed is a horrible tragedy. It makes my stomach plunge to even think about it. But when the numbers are about 50 kids in a country of 300 million, it’s also a very random, rare event. It is far more rare, for instance, than dying from a fall off the bed or other furniture. So should we, for safety’s sake, all start sleeping on the floor?”*

Now, some may argue that there is still that tiny, random chance that our child could be snatched, and how could we ever live with ourselves* if something happened to our child? Well, my vote is we’re not living now. We’re keeping our kids cooped up indoors and then wondering why they’re fat and addicted to video games. We don’t let them get out and socialize, and we wonder why they’re incapable of handling situations on their own when the get older.

Secondly, and probably more importantly, the risk of your child getting killed in the car that you are driving is, like, a bazillion times greater than that of getting abducted and killed by a stranger. And yet… I strap mine into that hulking metal beast pretty much every day. And raise your hand if you’ve talked on your cell phone with your kids in the car. Your risk of getting your kids killed just shot up a few hundred percent.

So, my point? I strap my kids in the car. It would probably be very hard to live with myself if something happened to them while I was driving. But I continue to take the risk, because I can’t live my life in a bubble. And I do try to take measures to lessen the risk. I’ve got approved car seats, and I try to latch them securely. Similarly, when I let my four-year old ride her bike alone outside, I take the proper precautions to make sure she wears a helmet, knows the boundaries, has street sense, and yes, we’ve had the stranger-danger talk more than once.

And I do try to check on her every couple of minutes. But I’ll be honest… it’s less about me being worried about something happening to her, and more about me being worried about something happening to ME, if someone should turn me in for “endangering” my child. After all, we are encouraged to report each other if we even “suspect” abuse (audio case in point, below).

So, in protest of the ridiculous rules, regulations and laws that are beginning to clip my parental wings, I have joined the ranks of the self-proclaimed parents of “Free-Range Kids,” trying to do our part to raise our kids with a little more autonomy and independence, and hopefully, with the brains in their heads to back it up. We support walking (gasp!) to school (before you tell me how dangerous your neighborhood is, do you have the stats to back it up?), and letting your kids (when they’re ready) take public transportation alone. We support trick-or-treating because there has never been one documented case of someone being poisoned with Halloween candy. We support letting parents volunteer in schools without having to be put through painstakingly rigorous and expensive background checks. We support men, who are not all sex-offenders by nature. We support common sense replacing one-size-fits-all governing. And most of all, we support parents – and not lawmakers – determining when they’re children are ready for independence. Because, as Lenore says, “Children, like chickens, deserve a life outside the cage.”

*For more statistical references, try these links
Land of the free, home of the scared: An interview with Lenore Skenazy
Phony Numbers on Child Abduction
Today Show Revises Number of Missing Kids Downwards

Our only picture of Mason

I found out I was pregnant in September of 2006, just weeks after Nick had accepted a position in Portland and had moved down without us, while we waited for our house to sell in Seattle. It was tough going at first, as I had a small toddler and was essentially a single mom trying to sell our house, and I had horrible nausea around the clock. But, we were extremely excited, as we had gotten pregnant much quicker than we had anticipated, and loved the idea of having our kids close together.

Other than the nausea, things went quickly and well, and we finally moved into our house in October. It was actually 3 years ago today, as a matter of fact. I found a midwife here who I adored and was quickly out of the first trimester, and started to get a bit of energy back.

On December 5th, I went in for our routine midterm ultrasound. Looking back after the fact, I knew something was wrong at this point, but hadn’t been able to even acknowledge it to myself. For the week before that, I had suddenly stopped waking up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, and felt as though my pants had stopped getting tighter by the day.

So, when we got in to the ultrasound and the tech had a strange look on her face, I knew something was indeed wrong. She had me use the restroom to see if we could get the baby in a better spot, but even as I was in there, I knew what was happening. I came back and she looked once more before telling us she was going to get the doctor. Nick and my mom were very confused once she left, so I had to tell them there was no heartbeat. The doctor confirmed this when he came back.

It felt so odd at that point because I wasn’t surprised. I felt almost relieved, like it had been a horrible secret I had been inadvertently carrying for the last week. That feeling didn’t last long, however, before it gave way to the tears and sorrow.

The personnel at my clinic were wonderful, however, and handled the situation wonderfully. I met with my midwife who gave me my options. Because I was 20 weeks along, I could choose to have the baby surgically removed, or I could choose to deliver. At that point, I just wanted it out, but she wanted to make sure I didn’t make any quick decisions, and wanted me to wait until the morning to decide, after I met with the surgeon. I will forever be grateful that she required me to wait.

My mom had to leave and go home the next day, and Nick had to go back to work, so I met with the surgeon by myself in the morning. She tried to explain my options to me, but I didn’t quite understand what she was telling me. It finally clicked what would happen if I went with the D&C route, when she asked me if I wanted to be able to see my baby. I wouldn’t have that option unless I delivered.

I decided I did want to see it, so she quickly called my midwife, who happened to be on call at the hospital at that time. She sent me straight there from the clinic. The hospital staff was prepared to greet me, and took care of me with the utmost respect and dignity. Nick arrived after a couple of hours. They administered some medications that would ripen my cervix and cause me to deliver the baby, but it took a number of doses and a number of hours. Finally, some time around 3 in the morning on December 7th, it was time. I called the midwife in and delivered a tiny little baby boy, whom we named Mason. His umbilical cord was wrapped 3 times tightly around his neck, and my midwife believed this may have been what caused his death, though we’ll have no way to ever know for sure.

I was amazed at the care that the hospital showed us. They took him and weighed and measured him, just as the would have done with any newborn. He weighed 7 ounces and was 8 1/2 inches long. They gave us an unofficial birth certificate with his tiny foot prints on it. Using a black & white disposable camera, they also took pictures of us holding him, which they gave to us to choose to develop or not. The camera, along with tiny infant clothing were placed in a beautiful keepsake box for us.

We have not developed the pictures. I am not altogether sure I want to trade the picture in my head in for reality. Though it was a difficult experience, thanks to the hospital staff and our friends and family, it also became a spiritual one. Being able to deliver him and see him gave us the closure that we might otherwise not have had. Knowing that it was most likely due to an umbilical cord accident let me loose some of the blame I had saddled on my own shoulder, despite my midwife’s best attempts to convince me that there was nothing I could have done.

Almost exactly one year later, we were blessed with another wonderful and perfect baby boy. I was concerned to have another boy right away, because I didn’t want to feel as though he was “replacing” Mason, and making everything “okay” and “right” in the cosmic scheme of things. I know now, though, that one does not replace the other. Mason was our son, and we respect that and miss the life that could have been. We honor the things he has done for us, and the lessons he has taught us. And we praise God for the healthy and beautiful son that we have with us today.

So, to all of my wonderful friends and family out there who have lost as we have (and I know there are many of you), I light my virtual candle with you on this day as we celebrate and remember.

Last year, our friends recommended a Pumpkin Patch to us that they always go to every year. We had a great time, and decided we needed to make it a tradition as well. And this year, it was bigger, better and WAY more fun without a baby in a stroller.

Bauman Farms is way more than your typical Pumpkin Patch. They have a TON of activities that both kids and parents can enjoy. It costs a pretty penny ($10 a person over the age of 2!), but for a once a year tradition, we’ve decided we can swing it.

Click for larger version

We got there right after opening this year, which was perfect and allowed us to participate in all our favorite activities before the real crowds started showing up. Our top picks this year included the Zip Line, Covered Wagon Hay Ride, The Kids Zone, The Hay Castle, The Corn Maze, The Jumping Pillow, Kids Hay Maze, the Frontier Fort with Slides, and the Hazelnut Pit. Mom and Dad also liked the Dark Maze (that’s right, totally dark inside) but the kids weren’t huge fans.

I finally got video uploads working again, for your viewing pleasure:

At the end of September, Nick took the kids on one such aforementioned hike, to Wahclella Falls on the Columbia River Gorge. He was lucky this time and was able to find not only a friend for Mylie, but her dad came too, so Nick got to have a buddy as well. This is one of his favorite hikes, and the kids seem to always do amazingly well. Mylie was excited to wear her hiking backpack the whole time, and Nolan can always be seen sporting his Indiana Jones hat. The kids made it the whole time without complaining, and even got to watch the salmon spawning.

And me? I shampooed the carpets, got my hair cut, and went to dinner with a friend. A lovely adventure indeed.

Let’s face it… I didn’t really ever want boys. I saw them as rambunctious creatures who destroyed property as little kids and were rude to their mothers as teens. I was a girl mom… ready to teach them to dance and sing and…well… do girly things.

And then I met Nolan.

Even up until I gave birth to him, I still secretly hoped the ultrasound was wrong and that he’d end up being a girl. But as soon as I met him I knew there had been a giant boy-shaped Nolan-sized whole in my life that was now filled.

And boy has he got me wrapped around his little finger. It doesn’t help that he is now in my all-time favorite kid stage. You know, where they are now able to communicate and really learn things, and everything they say is adorable? And even their tantrums don’t hold much weight (especially as a second child… “Whatever buddy. I’ve heard it all before. You’ve got to be MUCH more convincing than THAT if you expect me to react.”).

Some of my favorite things:
*Nolan is OBSESSED with trains. He will point out EVERY rail road crossing we come to in the car, ones that I’ve never even realized existed. He loves those Brio-type train sets (no, we don’t have one yet), and he will scream for 45 minutes after you drag him away from one… even if he’s had the good fortune to play with it for over an hour. When he gets ahold of the little train cars, he piles them in his arms and won’t even set them down to play with, lest some other kid even think about taking one for even a second.
*He is slightly less obsessed with planes. He loves to point them out too. And make anything fly.
*He is a total book worm. He would be perfectly content to have me read to him all day. Every day.
*He is great at entertaining himself.
*He refuses to call any animals by their names. He will only call them by the sounds they make. Nolan, what’s that? “Neigh!” You’re right, that’s a horse. Can you say horse? “Neigh!!” Yes, the horsey says neigh, but can you say HORSE? “Neigh!!!!!” (You get the picture).
*He can also roll his ‘r’s. You know, like when speaking spanish? Or like a motorboat? He learned how to do it at nine months, and it makes a very good motorcycle immitation, with which he obliges us anytime a motorcycle drives by.
*His vocabulary is exploding. Of course, most people still wouldn’t understand it, but we do! And he does have a tendency to say everything backward… Cookie= Eekoo, for instance.
*He loves to copy anything Mylie says, does, thinks, etc. And he has started saying prayers at night too, which just melts my heart.

I truly love this kid. I cry just about every time I look at him though, because I think, every day he gets one day older, and one day closer to being three years old, when I won’t like him anymore. Sad. Oh well, I’ll enjoy him while I can!

Being the bad and lazy mother I am, I didn’t really actually do any updates for Mylie on her birthday this year. Nor did I post her first day of school pictures. So, to redeem myself, I’m combining it all into one. Here. Now. Better than nothing, right?

Mylie started her second year of preschool in September. This year, instead of going to the high school program, we have opted to do a co-op. I wanted to try my hand at being a little more proactive in her education, as last year I found it was a little to easy to sit back and watch (or not watch, as the case may be). So, we found a wonderful curriculum and a little group of 8 kids and have jumped in with two feet. Mylie seems to be having a great time, and if you ask her she will consistently tell you that her favorite part of preschool is “snack.”

And where to I begin with the updates?

Mylie is four. She loves to mention that to any guests at our house. She is so very excited to be so grown up, and I have to say the feeling is mutual. By the end of her “threes,” I wasn’t sure if she and I were going to make it much longer under the same roof. And though we are still challenged at times, I am able to see a very tiny light at the end of the tunnel. Tantrums have toned down a bit, as has her obsessive compulsions over things like textures and dirt and the tightness of her clothes. Those things still bother her, but she is developing better coping skills to handle them, especially when she can’t change them. I’ll hear her say things like, “I’m going to deal with it, Mom,” which is a HUGE step for us.

By the end of summer, Mylie was really ready to get back to dance. She got to move up to the next level this year, which moves much faster, and keeps her on her toes (no pun intended….really!). She really does have a budding talent, and has been able to recognize the value of practicing. She will say, “Look Mom! I’ve been practicing!” when she gets something right.

I’ve also started giving her some informal piano lessons. I broke out my old Level 1 piano books, and she’s been enjoying them. Now, before you go accusing me of bragging or being one of those pushy stage moms, let me clarify. I’ve come to the realization this year that I am just not crafty. I don’t have a huge wall of craft supplies all neatly organized. I can’t pull fun projects out of my rear thin air. Trying to put them together stresses me out. But I can dance with her. And I can teach her piano. And it’s been (mostly) fun. At first, I was a bit frustrated by her inability to listen to ANY sort of direction before proclaiming she could do it. Yes, I know she’s four, but still. At least pretend to listen to me. But last weekend, something clicked for us, and in the last 4 days, she’s learned two songs! And since she’s had freakishly large hands since birth, I think she’s got a good future ahead of her.

I continue to be amazed at her memory, and that’s kind of an understatement. There are times when I swear the girl has not forgotten a word I’ve said to her, ever. Even (and sometimes, especially) when I don’t think she’s paying attention. For instance, we have started to read the Articles of Faith (some of our scriptures) every night after dinner. Though she often doesn’t seem to be paying attention, the next night when we come back to them, she has a good portion of the previous night’s memorized. After two days she could recite the first two, and we didn’t even think she was listening.

Also, one time she asked me where the gas from our cars came from. I explained the process once in layman’s terms as I knew it (from dinosaurs, to bones, to oil, to pumps, to factories, to trucks, to gas stations, to cars) and she repeated it nearly verbatim to anyone who would listen for the next week. On September 11th, she started asking about why the flags were flying, and I tried to give her a not-too-scary-but-truthful explanation. Tonight, without prompting, she retold the story again….flawlessly.

I’m sometimes afraid I’m not enough for her. The girl totally wears me out. Not physically, but mentally. My introverted mind needs breaks, and being the extrovert she is, hers never stops. She is constantly asking “what are we going to do next?” before we are half-way through a current task. She will plan out her entire day in the morning, and is constantly thinking 5 or 6 steps ahead. She also has an incredibly difficult time entertaining herself. Now that she no longer naps (and quiet time is difficult with the two kids sharing a room), I often feel mentally exhausted by mid-afternoon.

I do love her though, and she is an amazing kid. It is fun to watch her personality as it continues to grow and shape itself. Every day I’m just thankful that we are no longer in the “threes”. Here’s to the fours being a MUCH better year!

Earlier this summer (back when I thought it was going to be a low key summer), I decided that a 30th Birthday always calls for some sort of surprise. Many of my friends have been having surprise parties, but I thought that was a little too obvious. He’d be expecting it. And since he typically manages to ruin my surprises anyway, I didn’t want to risk it. I needed something new, something fresh, something bold. And then it came to me… a surprise getaway vacation!!!

First, I had to figure out how to get him out of work for my little present. I toyed with the idea of trying to call his boss, but that seemed like getting too much out of my control… and I don’t trust the co-workers not to slip. So I decided I would just tell him that we would be spending the week after the Triathlon in Seattle, seeing friends and family, and he needed to take the week off. He didn’t give me too much grief, though he thought it was weird since we had already spent one week there this summer.

Then I arranged for our friends to watch the kids. We were staying at their house anyway, so we wouldn’t have to uproot the kiddos. I had my mom book the plane tickets and accommodations so that the charge didn’t show up on our card (ahhh, yes, I’m smart, I tell you). I typed up kid-watching instructions, printed out itineraries and confirmation codes, and even forged his signature on the bottom of the kids’ medical release forms – all without detection.

The night after the Triathlon, I smuggled two carry-on bags outside the door of the guest room we were staying in (after borrowing them from our friends). I set my alarm for 3:00am, and got up in the middle of the night to pack our clothes. Then I tried to go back to sleep. You can probably guess how well that worked. The alarm went off again at 5:00am, and this conversation ensued:

Karli: “Honey… wake up! I have a birthday present for you.”

Nick: (unintelligible mumbling)

Karli: “Honey, you need to wake up. I have something to show you.”

Nick: slightly more coherent…“Why? What do you have to show me?”

Karli: “I’ve got a birthday present for you?”

Nick: “Do I really have to see it now? Can it wait?”

Karli: in a firm do-as-I-say mom voice “No. You need to get up now.”

At this point he clued in that he needed to get his act together, and he got up and got dressed. He was actually quite well-behaved from this point on, and didn’t even ask any more questions… just did as he was told. We threw the bags into the back of the car and started driving, and he still didn’t know where we were headed.

As we turned off toward the airport, he got a little more excited. I was able to keep the location secret up to the point where I had to print off the boarding passes, which I presented to him with a little “Ta-dah!” face.

We arrived Monday morning in Las Vegas, and stayed until Wednesday evening. We had some great food, spent a little time with some friends who live there, and did one of those Time Share sales pitches, so we could get tickets to the show we wanted to see.

We got to see Ka’, by Cirque du Soleil, which is hands down the best show we have ever seen. It was absolutely incredible, and completely worth the trip down, in and of itself. We stayed at the Luxor on the south end of the strip, and wore ourselves out by walking up and down the strip to the other end a couple of times. On Wednesday, before we left, we also went to The Price Is Right, Live, which is a stage show based on the real game show. Same games, audience participation, real prizes and gigantor name tags and everything. We had a blast, even though Vegas is a filthy place full of disgusting people who walk too slow. Let’s face it… we were kidless for 3 days… we could have gone to Death Valley and had a blast . A BIG thanks to Cheri and Darren for stepping up to the plate on that one.

So, Happy Birthday to Nick…. and here’s to trying to top THAT present in a year and a half… go ahead… I dare you!

This is by far the best article on Health Care Reform I have ever read. Please share it with everyone you know. It is non-partisan and uses a down-to-earth common sense approach. It investigates what’s really wrong with our health care system… not just the symptoms that we are experience (like high prices and lack of health insurance). And after focusing on what’s wrong, he actually provides great solutions.

How American Health Care Killed My Father – The Atlantic (September 2009)

I’ll be honest, it’s a really long read. The first five pages are simply to establish his rationale. I think they’re important to read, but if you want to just skip to his solutions, read page 6.

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It all started in January of 2008. I got a call from my two friends in Seattle. One (Cheri) had recently become an avid biker. The other (her daughter-in-law and my close friend from college, Nora) had long been a runner. They had heard about a really cool women’s-only triathlon that takes place each August in Seattle. And the best part was, you could sign up as a relay team! They realized that together they already had two legs of the relay… they just needed a swimmer. And low and behold, they knew someone who needed to get back into shape after having a baby. So they called naive little old me.

Luckily, I didn’t know enough at the time to know what I was getting into, so I agreed. You may remember some of that story.

Of course, the thrill of accomplishing something so challenging in such a wonderfully supportive environment, led us all to believe that we could master the whole thing this year. Instead of signing up as a relay team, we all signed up as individuals.

Cheri sent me a training book (12 Weeks to Your First Triathlon), and I made up my little training schedule. Of course, I didn’t have anyone down here that was doing it too, so it was hard to keep up the motivation to train properly. I had some great friends that came to work out with me and encouraged me, but it’s not quite the same as having someone with the same deadline. Then, to add to the challenge, my summer promptly filled up to overflowing, and making time to train the way I wanted became incredibly challenging. So, though I continued to work out, I wasn’t getting in the kinds of workouts I desired.

So the day of the race drew near, and I started to freak. Our time slot (wave) was near the end, so I had visions of making it to the finish line after everyone had packed up and gone home. I knew I could finish, but I also knew I would be slow. But, I had paid the money, and had two friends keeping me accountable, so there was no backing out.
So, we showed up, donned our purple swim caps, and jumped in the chilly Lake Washington water at about 8:15am.

The water was slightly warmer than last year (possibly due to starting the race an hour and a half later in the day), and having friends with me made it so much easier than last year. Oddly enough, I got kicked a lot more this time. I think that might be because the women in our wave were the “buddies” or people just doing it with their friends for fun. Not as well trained, or prepared, perhaps. Lots of people were backfloating, which caused them to go all over the place and swim in front of me going the wrong direction. At one point one woman floated over my legs going the wrong direction and I inadvertently used my feet to push off her rib cage. Ooops!

I am excited to say that all the anxiety and trials I experienced in the water last year sufficiently prepared me for this go-’round. For the entire 1/2 mile swim, I did not have to stop, I did not panic, I was able to crawl for most of it with a few breaststrokes to catch my breath, and best of all – even though the swim was 150 meters LONGER than last year – I still improved my time by FIVE MINUTES! And with energy to spare…

Whereas last year, I got to pass our timing chip off to the biker at this point, this year I actually had to hop on a bike, all soaking wet. My biggest mistake here was not washing my feet off well enough. Lots of sand and goobers between my toes. I threw on my socks and shoes, team shirt and helmet. Then I waited for Cheri to finish her swim (we were doing this together this time… not necessarily going for the fastest time) and helped her with her gear, and we headed off on the 15K bike ride across Lake Washington on I-90.

The day was beautiful, crystal clear, and not too hot. The ride is pretty straight forward… just out and back… but there is this one tiny little access road that it’s on a steep hill to get the riders to the deck of the I-90 bridge. It’s divided off for people to walk their bikes if they can’t make it. Because it’s narrow and often crowded, it can lead to a bottleneck and crashes. We had taken a look at it the day before and I decided I was just going to get off and walk it, so as not to get half-way up, need to stop, and cause a collision. Well, by the time I got there, I had so much adrenaline and energy built up, that I just rode to the top of the darn thing without ever stopping! Part of it was made easier because there weren’t a lot of people around, but I did it nonetheless!

They close down the express lanes to cars for the race, so we had the middle of the bridge deck all to ourselves. It was peaceful and beautiful. The deck is mostly flat until the end, when there is a long climb up to Mercer Island. Once on Mercer Island, you turn around and head back. The whole thing was fairly enjoyable until about the last two miles when a few of my toes and one of my hands went numb (I had forgotten to bring my bike gloves).

I made it back to the transition area where I had a little extra time to rinse my feet off some more, and put on new socks. Unfortunately, I was using my same tennis shoes for both the bike and the run because I don’t have bike shoes. So, even though I had new socks on, my shoes were still wet, and I had barely started on the run when I felt the skin rubbing raw on my heels from the dampness. I stopped to adjust a few times, but ended up just having to grin and bear it.

I was still surprised at the amount of energy I had. Actually, much more than I normally have when I run/walk. I think this was due to how my legs were already so warmed up. We ended up walking most of the 5K run due to Cheri’s asthma troubles, but we did manage to run a small section in each mile, plus we did a really great dance as we past the African Drumming Group that (apparently) plays every year. And you know what? By the time we rolled across the finish line… people were still there! There were still lots of people to cheer for us!

Of course, there is nothing quite like the feel of accomplishment after completing such a feat. And a lot of people think we’re really cool now. But the thing is, I feel like sort of a scam artist by taking their compliments. I’ve heard a lot of, “Wow. I could never do that.” But the thing is…. you can. Trust me, if I can, you can. I am not an athlete. I didn’t train nearly enough. I have arthritis in my knees. And did I mention, I LOATHE running? The only thing I did that was different was to try. I gave it a go. And it was darn fun. And what’s even cooler is that I’m not even the biggest underdog that was out there. There were women in their seventies and eighties. There were women who were probably close to 300 lbs. There were 14 year olds. Every shape, size, age and ability you can imagine were out there, just trying and having fun. And most of them did it. And every single person out there was incredibly supportive and encouraging of everyone else.

At one point, the day before, we got in line behind one of the women who was in the “elite” group (we knew because of her race number). We started talking to her, and she told us how last summer she had completed an Iron Man Triathlon. She had started by doing this particular sprint tri years before, as a complete novice, and said she would always come back and do the Danskin because it was where she got her start, because everyone was so friendly and supportive, and because it changed womens lives. She ended up finishing second overall.

Of course, we definitely couldn’t have done it without our support team. Talk about encouraging… they came and cheered and waited (and waited and waited) for us. Even though they only got to see us for a minute or two and each of the transitions, they hung out and had fun. And little Miss Mylie cheered for most anyone who past her for most of the 2 and 1/2 hours she waited.

I learned that, like most of life, the hardest part is the unknown. You don’t know what it’s like, so it seems scary. I was terrified, to be honest. But it was fun! And I will be going back. Next year I plan on improving my time by about 40 minutes. Seriously. The whole time I was thinking of those now corny sayings, like, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” and “If you think you can’t, you won’t,” and “Altitude is determined by attitude.” I can’t think of a single person that I know who wouldn’t be able to do this, and anyone who tells me she can’t is lying to herself.

Like my favorite saying from this race goes:

“The miracle is not so much that I finished the race… The miracle is that I started at all.”

June 7th – 13th: Mylie’s birthday week which included a family party, a visit from both grandmas, dance class, Little Gym, and a Cinderella Cooking Party for the kiddos, visit to Chuck E Cheese with cousins, and helped Uncle Cody move out.

June 14th – 20th: Visit from a family friend, Clogging, dentist appointments, dance class, Little Gym, game night at our house, a friend’s birthday party and dance recital pictures.

June 21nd – 27th: Had friends over for dinner, Clogging, Swimming Lessons, Dance Class, Dance Dress Rehearsal, 2 Day Garage Sale, Tickets to our favorite comedian, and a Dance Recital.

June 28th – July 4th: Our 7th Anniversary, Karli goes to Seattle overnight to have her triathlon bike worked on, Swimming Lessons, Little Gym, Mylie’s First Track Meet, National Holiday, small town celebration, big city fireworks.

July 5th – 11th: Block Party, Little Gym, Visiting Teaching, Clogging, Chiropractor appointment, and finally a free weekend!

July 12th – 18th: Clogging, Chiropractor, Friend had a baby and helped watch her kids all week, Vacation Bible School, Deep Cleaned and Organized House, Girls Night Out, Little Gym, Game Night at a Friend’s House

July 19th – 25th: Left for Seattle all week to work, Nick came too and stayed with the kids during the day, visited old friends, saw friend’s brand new baby, drove from Seattle to Klamath Falls on Friday for a Ross Ragland Theater 20th Anniversary celebration, drove home on Sunday.

(Ooops, apparently lost camera here, because we have no pictures!)

July 26th – August 1st: Extra clogging rehearsals, all time record heat wave, live in our kiddie pool and eat our body weight in popsicles, air conditioning breaks, power goes out (aka no fans), Little Gym, Dr Appointments for the kids, Get air conditioning fixed (a little late), Clogging performance at the Washington County Fair, Nick’s “Kickball Without Borders” charity event, date night to see Harry Potter.

August 2nd – 8th: Clogging, Oil Change, 3-Day Blinds Quote, Swimming Lessons, Little Gym, Finish planning 10 Year Class Reunion (over which I was in charge), Drive 5 hours to Klamath Falls, Attend Class Reunion Friday-Sunday, drive home.