I was a parent helper in Andy's class today for the Halloween party. I snapped a few pictures while I was there, but haven't pulled them off my camera. I also came home with this treasure.
Andy obviously had a black eye (from the neighbor's playing with beyblades in an unsafe manner).
But the face
!!
I better watch my back because I am pretty sure social services is going to be sent to us.
Seriously.
What a poor little orphan boy.
Reminds me so much of Goob from Meet the Robinsons
Brian, you better not submit this to one of those "awkward family photo" type of websites... I know it belongs there!
I seriously can't look at this picture without cracking up. When I showed it to Andy's teacher she said, "they do retakes". I replied, "Oh, NO WAY! This is absolutely a keeper!" And it is. I will treasure it forever.
Happy birthday to my truly wonderful mother-in-law and father-in-law.
You raised an amazing son who is a gentle, thoughtful father and patient, compassionate husband.
I will be forever grateful for this.
Even from my earliest memories, you have always been kind and patient, generous and good. Marrying so young, we needed a gentle, guiding hand to help us figure things out, and you guys were just that. I love that I know you so well. That we were able to spend our first 6 years of marriage living only a few miles away. Going out for pizza on Friday. Sunday dinners on... well, Sunday. Meeting up for lunches frequently during the week. The guys golfing on Saturday, and Trudy and I spending the day together, working on projects, shopping at country stores (I miss that one in Amana!), developing a love for TJ Maxx (which still holds strong today!) I felt instantly included and part of the family, equal in all things, including love. I think I have taken this for granted, not realizing how rare a gift it was....thank you. I am so lucky to have married Chris not only for the wonderful man that he is, but also for the wonderful family that I married in to- constantly and unconditionally supportive in all things. I know I would not be the mother and wife I am today without you. Thank you. I love you.
Every day after school we meet up with the neighbor kids on the school playground.
We walk home together on our treelined streets as leaves slowly fall and dance to the ground just in front of us.
It's magical.
After arriving home, the kids drop their bags, get a snack (usually a fresh baked treat from one of the moms- today it was chocolate chip cookies from us) and go out to play until dinner while the moms lounge on patio chairs reading books or chatting, taking turns to go in and work on dinner.
We met up with my family at Yellowstone Lake in western Wisconsin over Labor Day weekend, and celebrated my 28th birthday. Favorite parts: s'mores and campfire stories by Grandma Jo and Chris, running trails in the morning with my dad, Nate falling in love with fishing, watching Andy and Jackson play together, dad's breakfast crepes, just spending time with the family. My, I love you guys. Thanks for thinking of me.
Chris's brother was in Iowa for a few days in August and drove up to Milwaukee to spend some of the time with us before returning to med school in California. His visit fell in the middle of the week, so Chris was not around for most of it. When I first realized this I panicked a little bit. Usually Chris's parents come visit when his brother does. This was the first time he was visiting alone, and with Chris at work, I was afraid it would be awkward. He, a MDPHD student. Me, a stay at home mom. How much could we really have to talk about? Then I realized that if this was one of my brothers, I wouldn't think about that at all. And just like that, I realized he is one of my brothers. And it doesn't matter if his interests and mine are completely different. We are family. Family should erase all of the boxes we put ourselves in, define ourselves by and lump us all together in the same box. The love you have for each other and for the other family members is the common ground you start with.
park-playing.
frisbee tossing on the beach.
ice cream eating.
Yeah, we had a good time. all by our selves.
Park Review:
We visited Possibilities Park in Port Washington (right on the lake, just north of downtown). It was a smaller version of the Imagination Station in Oconomowoc, so I was a little underwhelmed from previously visiting the Imagination Station. The great things about this park were: they had a water misting area to cool kids off, it was right by the lake with stairs down to the lake. The beach was very clean and the waves were big. I hadn't prepped for a beach day- no swim trunks or beach toys, but if we go back, I absolutely would. Bathrooms right next to the playground (Imagination Station had port-a-potties). Many picnic tables and grassy areas to run/play/picnic. Great place to spend an entire day: take beach stuff, picnic lunch, soccer ball, bubbles. Port Washington also has a historic light house to visit (but I think it's only open on weekends). Worth the visit. Oh, another fun tip. This park is not a traditional playground. It is geared more for imaginative play (and handicap accessible). I took a bag of dress-up clothes and Nate (and Uncle Jon) ran around like pirates (there was a pirate boat much like the one at Imagination Station) looking for sunken treasure. Nate shared his pirate hat with a handicap girl in a wheel chair. Her mom was so delighted, she called the grandparents over to take pictures. It was a great experience for Nate to play side by side with many handicapped children. So two thumbs up for that. And remember to take dress up clothes!
One of my favorite bloggers over at You Are My Fave wrote this post for Babble and I feel it expressed what I was trying to say better than I did. Definitely worth reading.
"Martha Washington, the first first lady, said that, “The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our disposition and not on our circumstances.”
I think we’ve all been guilty of playing the happiness trick on ourselves before. The happiness trick is starting out a thought or sentence by saying, “I will be happy when…” You can fill in the blank.
Concerning motherhood this thought may come when you can’t get pregnant. I will be happy when I have a baby. It could be when you’re overdue and uncomfortable. I will be happy when they get this baby out of me! It could be when you’re sleep deprived. I will be happy when my baby sleeps through the night. Or it could be when your kid is a temper tantrum throwing toddler. I will be happy when my kid goes to school all day.
Do you see the pattern? If you have this mindset, it’s never ending. Your life won’t be instantly happy if one of your problems is solved because another problem will inevitably arrive.
1. Happy women focus on moments, more than goals, plans or dreams. 2. Happy women accept what they find. Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation, giving up on your dreams. In fact, more often than not, accepting which moments strengthen you and which don’t reveals to you exactly how you can live out your dreams, whether at home or at work. 3. Happy women strive for imbalance. They seemed to realize that not only was a perfect equilibrium nigh on impossible to achieve, but also that even if they did manage to achieve it, it wouldn’t necessarily fulfill them anyway–when you are balanced, you are stationary, holding your breath, trying not to let any sudden twitch or jerk pull you too far one way or the other. You are at a standstill. Balance is the wrong life goal. 4. Happy women learn to say “Yes.” Yes, to the strong-moments in each part of your life. Yes, to the people who help you create these moments. Yes, to your feelings as these moments happen.
You could easily change the word women in each of these sentences to mothers. Happy mothers focus on their happy baby giggles not that their goal to shower didn’t come true. Happy mothers accept the fact that they don’t like to do certain things with their kids and don’t feel like a failure because of it. Happy mothers don’t stress too much if their day doesn’t go exactly as planned. Happy mothers say yes to a the neighbor who wants to help out and don’t feel guilty about it.
Easier said than done? Yes. Impossible to change your disposition to sunny. Absolutely not."
Ugh. I can't believe I left that lame post up for so long.
Sorry about that.
I haven't been blogging because after Trudy's visit, I was in the final days of preparation for a big dinner I was asked to cater/decorate for. Our stake (group of congregations in the area) hosts a dinner before the Relief Society broadcast each fall, for 220+ women.
That was this past Saturday. As you can see, I am just getting back on top of things.
Thanks in large part to my mom and a few really good friends, I survived. (I didn't take any pictures, but have heard many people did and have asked a few to email them to me...if I get some I will post them). I learned a lot. I had so much fun with my mom doing all of the prep work: watching super lame movies at night (and commentating/ predicting what new lameness would happen next), chucking berries (that we accidentally pulled off the branches- you will understand when you see the pictures) at each other, picking leaves off of branches for hours and hours as we sat and talked, and when it was all over shopping on Monday at our favorite Milwaukee stores. I really wish she lived here....
For the days leading up to the big event I put everything off. The boys would ask, "can we bake cookies?" and I would say, "on Monday". I mentally could not take on anything more than this dinner, even making cookies. So, needless to say, Monday- Wednesday have been filled with things I put off.
Last night we went to the Brewers game (they were not the firm's tickets. They were up in section 400, which we have found is our favorite place to sit because then we don't have to worry about the boys goofing around and ruining the game for people who paid mega bucks for their tickets).
It was a great night and now it's 8:30 in the morning and the boys are still asleep. Chris is off to work and I am ironing while listening to this soundtrack
which I could listen to all day. Only, I was listening to in on playlist.com (because I was too lazy to get the cd out of the kitchen cd player which has not been uploaded onto the computer because.. well... I am too lazy) and I found list playlist
which I am 1/2 way though and feel this person is a kindred spirit to put this combination of songs together. P&P, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Nat "King" Cole, Debussy, Ella Fitzgerald's "At Last" (my wedding dance song, which, btw, is pretty unfitting, saying I married Chris at 19 Can't really say I waited for it and could say, "at last". Except maybe for the fact that I had been ready to marry him since age 16:) ) and "Come Thou Fount" (my favorite hymn). I seriously had to double check to make sure I did not make this playlist. Kinda creepy.
Also, I love playlist.com because 1) I can share my playlists with Brian (and he with me). It makes us feel closer. 2) I can listen to that catchy song I heard on the radio without having to buy it (because I know I will be sick of it in a week). It's like Pandora with more control. I can listen to free music all day, but I get to pick the songs.
Anyway,
I took a minute to stop and blog because I was standing there ironing, listening to music I love, thinking of people I love, thinking how wonderful life is. How lucky I am. Which is really saying something, as I was ironing at the time that I had this thought. I am so blessed.
BTW, any of you who are wondering how things are going with big law struggles... I have realized that 2 constants in life, family and faith, are the most important things in life and those things I do have control over. To strengthen. To improve. There are so many things in life that are out of my control, and as a control freak, it's hard to let those things go. But by focusing on the two most important things in life that I do have control over, they will carry me through the bumps in the road caused by all the things I don't have control over. So my perspective continues to be changed. I continue to focus on the good in my life. Life continues to be cherished.
Okay. I know that's not how the song goes, but that's how my song goes.
It's 1am. I just finished stitching Andy's name on his tote bag so we are ready for 1st day of preschool tomorrow. I know I am crazy, but I secretly love staying up late working on projects. I feel like a careless rebel.
Yawn.
Things to blog about that aren't going to be blogged about today: Andy's birthday in I.C., my birthday and labor day weekend camping with my family, first day of school for both boys.
My mother-in-law is going to come in town tomorrow for a quick visit, so I will be back to blogging in a few days.
My parents dropped me off in Eugene on their way south to Utah (for round 2 of the road trip). I had secretly hoped Chris would be able to come, but my backup plan if he couldn't was to fly home after the weekend at the coast. I am too in love with this guy. I couldn't do 2 wks apart. (I think this was the longest we had been apart in 8yrs of marriage).
I waited to buy my tickets last minute (again, hoping that Chris would be able to come) which resulted in a really terribly itinerary. A red-eye with 2 stops.
My parents dropped us off in Eugene late afternoon. We ate dinner and watched planes take off until our plan loaded around 7pm. Things were going fine. I had prepped Nate that this plan was small and only had 2 seats per row, so he would have to sit with a stranger. Then minutes before they called us to board, Andy looked at me with teary eyes and said, " I'm going to cry on the plane, Mom". "No! It's going to be fun! Mommy will be right there. We will be able to look out the window and see the clouds." Now, with tears streaming down his face and lips quivering he sobbed, "I'm going to cry on the plane, Mom!" he just kept saying it over and over again. People were taking notice and mumbling things like, "hope I don't get a seat next to that kid" Ahh! Andy loves planes! I had brought a handful of our picture books from home about planes that we had been reading all afternoon so they felt like they knew what would happen (we haven't flown since Caden's baptism when Andy was just a baby). I calmed him down, but could tell he was still anxious. Our turn to board. I pick Andy up and he starts to whimper, "i'm going to cry on the plane, mom! I'm going to cry on the,plane!" over and over again. I shift him to my hip so I can hand them our tickets and he just loses it. He starts screaming and thrashing, "NOOOO! NOO!!! I DON"T WANT TO GO ON THE PLANE! I'M GOING TO CRY ON THE PLANE! I'M GOING TO CRY ON THE PLANE." I have to slide him down and pin him between my thighs so I can get give the gate check my i.d., etc. and our tickets back. Done. I pick up Andy who is thrashing like... like I have never seen him before- like someone riding a bull. And screaming, of course. As he thrashed my carry-ons start to slip (one tote on my shoulder, backpack on back). I just drop them as we go, not being able to manage both, planning to come back later. Thank goodness for a kind hearted flight attendant who picked them up as she followed cautiously behind. Still thrashing and kicking, Andy is grabbing on to anything that we pass- flight attendants, the edge of the plane (that one was hard, he had a death grip that I had to pry his fingers off), the pilot.....this entire time I was shushing him and trying to sooth him. After he tried to grab on to a first class passenger's shoulder as we passed by, I gave that up. Trapped his arms between my chest and his chest with one of my arms tightly against his back and one of my arms tightly holding his legs. Still screaming, and gagging from all of the screaming. We get to our seats. I set him down and say, "Andy, I have to put our bags up in this cabinet. I have to get Nate buckled in his seat. I need to you sit here for just a minute. sniff, sniff. "okay". And that was it. I got Nate settled with a very kind woman who read his Lego books to him. Andy looked out the window the entire time. "Look, mom! Those clouds look like cotton candy! Look, mom! Those clouds look like ice cream" and so on. Bless his heart. He didn't cry once on that flight. He was a pure delight and it was wonderful watching him experience flying for the first time (that he could actually remember and understand what is going on). San Francisco was beautifully lit up as we landed about 9pm local time. Uncle Jon lives here and the boys desperately wanted to see him, but all we had time to do was grab some dinner and get on the next plane. This air port was great and right by our gate there were a few things for the kids to play with. We only had a few minutes, then on to the next plane. In my tote I had brought pillows and blankets. Andy insisted on sitting by the window again. Not a single tear or whimper as we boarded this flight. BTW, on the first flight Nate just walked right on the plane right in front of me as I wrestled with Little Bear. Thank goodness he was not having an anxious moment too. After take off I tucked the boys in and we slept the entire 4+ hr flight. This was the part I had been dreading the entire trip. The boys slept through everyone getting off the plane. I packed up our blankets and pillows. Still asleep. i woke Nate up and told him he needed to walk, but he was just too tired. Andy was zonked. Those big cries really take it out of little guys. I ended up carry both boys and my huge tote off the plane. I know I looked ridiculous and people kept asking, "Are you alone?! " in a scandalized tone. We made it off the gate. I sat down with two tired, crying boys. The gate attendant called a shuttle for us. Thank goodness. But we only went down the hall and then had to get off to go down the escalator. Really? We waited 10 minutes for this guy to show up. Why did they offer a shuttle?! sigh. nothing to be done about it. I pick up my tired kids and carried them to Antarctica (because I am pretty sure I just walked across the world) to get to our gate. And yes, we looked absurd. Many people pointed and even exclaimed, "look at that lady!" or ""oh my". I've got a backpack on, A boy on eat hip. And a HUGE tote somewhere in the midst. I get it. We load. We fly. We eat gummy bears for breakfast (which, if you are wondering, when you already feel sick from lack of sleep, only makes you feel worse). We get off. Everyone is energized by the idea of seeing Dad and both boys can walk this time. Thank goodness! And another thank goodness to Chris who came all the way up to security where you have to give them your tickets (instead of meeting us down at baggage claim). He took the bags and the boys and somehow I was able to drag my body to the car.
It was an exhausting day. But all in all, the kids and I had a great time. Yes, Andy cried a little bit on that first flight. And we flew all night. But the kids were so well behaved. We had a great time looking out the window as we flew, eating pizza in the middle of the night, and yes, even having gummy bears for breakfast. I love those boys. And even in unfavorable circumstances, we make memories worth keeping. So those flying with young kids. Do it. Even if you have to fly alone. It's always worth it.
The beach house was wonderful and beautiful and left little to be desired.
Arcade machines and a wii were the big hits for the little kids.
Massage chair (that I never tired because of the way people cringed when using it) and hot tub were a hit with the big kids.
Brian's birthday was a week before the trip, so we celebrated it now that we are all together.
of course, Andy has no clothes on. Surprise, surprise.
The big kids (my siblings and I) planned to go out to a karaoke bar to celebrate.
Would that not have been hilarious?!
A karaoke bar in a vacation town?
We were thrilled with the anticipation of being greeting by all kinds of crazy. Plus I had my harem pants on and everyone agreed that I must request "Can't Touch This" . And just because I know you are all singing it in your heads right now, go ahead and play this
l;;
kareoke bar- check!
Hammer pants- check!
dance moves- check!
kids in bed....
The last thing to do before I could break it down like Hammer was get the kids to bed...
and...
I fell asleep.
ah!
It happens all the time at home when I put the kids to sleep, so I should have been better prepared to fight it off. I woke up a few hours later. Brian and Dad were chatting it up in the hot tub, Chris and Andrea were watching a movie, Ben and Erica were putting their kids to sleep. Mom was watching a movie. Mike was playing with his kids.
I knew the opportunity had passed, but because of it, others opened up... so maybe not such a bad thing. (at least that's what I told myself when I realized I crashed our plans)
Next time guys! And I will make sure to bring Hammer pants for everyone!
On to bigger and brighter things.
We spent our last full day at the beach, of course.
This time the tide was out and we were able to explore the amazing tide pools finding fish, sea anemones, star fish, crabs, etc.
Can you believe this was all covered the first afternoon we were there because they tide was in?
Scroll back to yesterday's pictures. Never mind I will do it for you.
We are in the exact same location! We had no idea this was even there! Or the treasures it would hold...
Things we learned that day:
1.Ben is the best sand castle builder
2. Brian has gained a lot of patience.
This picture makes me laugh. Brian had started (many times) and tried to build (many times) a sand castle but all of the kids, for some reason, were drawn to his castle and kept "helping him". In the top picture you can see Lauren running over to join in. Love it. If you look in front of Brynn there are a bunch of "windows" the kids, so thoughtfully, poked in to the wall. Not once did Brian tell them to leave or stop. He just shrugged his shoulders and laughed. A far cry from the Brian who two years ago on a trip for a similar thing- Caden's baptism- who earnestly shushed a whiny, tired Andybaby during the talk before Caden's baptism. As if a 9 month old was going to heed his shushing! We still have a good laugh about that. "Andy, shhhhhhh!" He, himself would admit that he was impatient and annoyed by kids. Bri, you're growing up. You are a fantastic uncle and never let any impatience or annoyance show... even if you do still feel it! And I will always love you for that.
3. If you hold something up to someones mouth, they will automatically open it
And that's how grandma ended up eating an ABC sucker she really didn't want, and grandpa ended up spending the next 5 minutes feeding Jackson pretzels right in to his mouth:)
5.Velour does not mix well with sand. (see Lauren)
6.Kids never tire of this.
Brynn.
I love this little girl. Her sweet, gentle disposition. Her raspy little voice and English accent. How she mothers my boys and how they listen to her. I am so glad after the chaos and heart ache and hurt feelings, we can still be a part of her life. I love her dearly. Happy 8th Birthday, Brynn. I am so glad we are family. You are truly delightful.
Tomorrow blogging the flight home (because that is absolutely worth blogging about) and then back to normal posts. Woo hoo!
Growing up my mom always asked me what was the best part: of my day, of my trip, of a movie, anything. This tradition has carried on with Chris and me as each night we recap the best part of the day. Now, I am going to share the best parts of my life with you. Most of my post will be about my boys Chris, Nate and Andy because they are the very best part of my life.
