The S Family Chronicles

Boosting a 4 year old's immune system?

2010-12-12T00:26:00.002-07:00

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to boost Anna's immune system? She's been sick with one thing or another almost constantly since Thanksgiving. First a UTI, then a stomach virus and now she has a cold.

She's always been a super healthy kid, she's never even really brought home a lot of the stuff I know she is exposed to in preschool. When I took her in for the UTI, her ped even commented on how few illnesses she has had.

But lately she just seems so run down and she's picking up everything. I don't want her to be sick for Christmas.

She takes a multivitamin and is good about eating her fruits and veggies. I'd rather not give her the typical things adults take when they want an immune system boost; I don't even know if you CAN give those to kids and I wouldn't anyway.

But are there particular fruits and or veggies, other than the obvious vitamin C loaded citrus, that we can try that might help? Isn't zinc the other vitamin that is supposed to help your immune system? What is a natural source of zinc?

Anna Events

2010-08-18T22:04:00.002-06:00

It's been a super busy summer for Miss Anna. She received her yellow stripe on her white belt and danced beautifully in her first ballet recital!

We are so proud of her!

Mother of the Year!

2010-04-12T20:22:00.003-06:00

I just sent all three of my children downstairs to play a computer game that I despise and which, along with all other video games, is typically banned from their life unless it is Sat or Sun, so that I can finish a huge project that has been plaguing me for a solid week.

This is how desperate I am to get to bed before 1 am.

Yup, mother of the year. When do I get my award?

How Much Longer?

2010-03-25T15:06:00.003-07:00

How much longer until the nightmares stop?
How much longer until I have to hide the grief because the people around me get sick of hearing about it?
How much longer until I am not afraid to touch or even look at a baby for fear of making a huge scene?
How much longer until I can honestly say that I am not bitter towards Catholicism?
How much longer until I pray for God's will to be done in e-mom's life and really mean it, not just because I know that is what I am supposed to do and would rather see her hurting as much as I am?
How much longer until my head can convince my heart that it is SO not worth all this pain, fear and anxiety?
How much longer until Anna forgets how excited she was about having a baby sister?
How much longer until my heart stops skipping a beat every single time I sit down at my computer, hoping for an e-mail that will change everything for the better and blot out the e-mail that caused so much grief in my life?
How much longer until my mind accepts that my family is complete and there will be no more little girls for me to parent?
How much longer until I can fall asleep without flipping my pillow over to find a dry spot I haven't cried on?
How much longer until the sight of baby girl clothes don't make my stomach churn?
How much longer until I stop envisioning how every single thing I do would be different if this hadn't happened?
How much longer until I don't feel judged and rejected?
How much longer until I am truly happy again? Because that is what I want.
How much longer?

WARNING: Incredibly Snarky Post (ISP) Alert

2010-03-25T15:01:00.003-07:00

Link

So these are the oh so INCREDIBLY ethical people who decided that *I* am not worthy to parent a child because I am not one of them.

Ya know, today I think I am ok with that. With not being one of them, I mean.

I'm Not Sorry

2010-03-03T22:11:00.002-07:00

A few people have asked me whether or not I am sorry we ever started down this adoption path.

I can honestly say no, I am not sorry.

Don't get me wrong. I am not happy that I feel the way I do. My arms ache for a baby I never had the chance to hold. It is a dreadful feeling and one that I would not wish on anyone.

We could have said no. We could have decided not to take the risk in order to spare ourselves any potential pain. But...the thing is, if we never took the risk, we would have spent a lifetime wondering what might have been.

Yes, we ended up in pain. No, we are not happy about being in pain. But this pain will fade with time, I assume. There is a degree of closure to this pain.

Had we never taken this risk, we would have spent our lives questioning that choice. There would have been no closure; only a lifetime of "what if?"

Do I wish she had never contacted us? Sometimes. But not really. We are starting, ever so slowly, to move forward and to identify positive pieces of this whole bizarre puzzle. I believe that any circumstance is what you make it. We can choose to wallow or we can choose to take the crappy things that happen and use them for some purpose; to turn them into something positive. Trust me, I have done my fair share of wallowing and will likely continue to do so off and on for quite a while, but I know that in the end I will be ok and I will have a greater appreciation of many things as a result of these events. I still have days when I feel angry, when I question everything I said and did, when I want to pick up the phone and beg her not to do this. I am human, after all. But I know that with time I will heal and move forward.

So no, I am not sorry. I took a big risk that could have ended in a miracle that I never dreamed possible. I had to. And if the situation came up again, I sincerely doubt that I would hold myself back from taking the risk again; despite the fear that will no doubt try to hold me back. I have taken many risks that have ended in incredible circumstances. If I had allowed fear to hold me back, I would have missed out on so much.

I'm not sorry.

"It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

-Lord Alferd Tennyson

March 1st

2010-03-01T01:14:00.003-07:00

It has been March 1st for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Oh joy.

I am not usually one to assign deep meaning to relatively arbitrary dates that will eventually come and go regardless of anything I do, but I cannot help hoping that a new month will bring something better for the S family than the month that just ended.

See ya February. I am not sure what in God's name we did to tick you off, but you sure had your revenge, didn't you?

February 2010 Review

Feb 1st: Jesse's grandmother passes away
Feb 14th: Failed domestic adoption of the baby girl we have dreamed of and prayed for after we are deemed an unfit family due to the fact that we are not Catholic.(This event spawned the "Life is Wonderful?" post that tormented so many people with its vague nature. Sorry about that.)
Feb 18th: Jesse's employer announces that the company is closing.
Feb 27th: Jesse's grandfather is diagnosed with late stage bone cancer; there are no treatment options other than pain relief as he is not healthy enough to sustain cancer treatment

February 2010 has earned a permanent seat right next to February 2006. I used to think Feb 2006 would always be the worst month of my entire life; the month I was told my husband had less than 5 years to live without a heart-lung transplant. I didn't think it could get much more crappy than that. Clearly I was mistaken. Or maybe not. I think we have managed to tie that degree of crappy, but fortunately we have not yet surpassed it.

There's always a silver lining, eh?

It feels pretty stupid to hope that because letters and numbers on a piece of paper have changed, our life circumstances will improve, but I suppose the human mind is programmed to look for hope anywhere it can. The end of a month of pure hell is as good a time as any to hope for improvements, don't you think?

I really have no real purpose in writing this, other than the fact that I wasn't sleeping and thought that maybe writing it out would serve to purge some of the pain and allow my mind to stop spinning.

I am now investigating grief counselors because we simply don't know how to process this much pain. Our collective solution has been to shut down and retreat from the pain as much as possible. In doing so, we seem to be shutting out all emotions, both the good and the bad. On many levels I recognize the folly in doing so, but on other levels I simply don't care. I don't WANT to feel this much pain. Ignoring it is easier than facing it. I'm not convinced that I am doing myself any favors by refusing to allow the grief its due process, but denial is all I have right now so I am going to go with it. Frankly, I'm not even sure I'm interested in grief counseling as I am sure that person would have one goal in mind; making me acknowledge and deal with the pain. Denial is comfortable right now.

Despite the grief I won't allow myself to feel, the anxiety that I can't shut out and the depression that has replaced both good and bad emotions, I have reached a few conclusions that I think are important to put in writing.

1. God does exist and He does care. He does not purposely toy with me by putting pain in my life, that is not His nature. Rather, He gives me the strength to function and will work everything out for good in my life if I choose to let Him.

2. These events will not destroy my marriage. Many couples have divorced when faced with far less than we have already faced in 12 years of marriage. We will not be defeated by pain and fear.

3. I will cherish every second of the time I have with my children. I will love them and appreciate them for every characteristic they have, no matter how seemingly obnoxious it might be.

4. I will acknowledge that, despite February 2010 and all the hell it has unleashed on our family, we are still richly blessed and have much to be thankful for.

5. I will not allow myself or anyone else to disregard my pain by pointing out that the pain of someone else is worse. If I am standing next to a person in a full body cast with only my one broken arm, my arm still hurts.

So long February 2010. I'm sure we will revisit you many, many times as the years go by and I can't really tell you what those visits might look like. It's not really important right now anyway. At the moment all I need is some closure and this felt like the best way to find it. Peace.

My Sunshine

2010-02-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

Life is Wonderful?

2010-02-17T09:05:00.002-07:00

Sure it is, I'm just having a little trouble focusing on that fact right now.

This is the title to one of my favorite songs; a song I used to hum throughout the day and believe every word of. If you are reading this on the blog, you might be listening to this song right now.

On many levels, I know that life is still wonderful, because nothing has really changed. Yet I am beyond frustrated by the fact that I have completely lost sight of the wonders of life due to events over which I have no control.

And that makes me ANGRY. Because you know what? Life was wonderful. The very acts of getting up and going to bed, taking care of the kids, working, making dinner, balancing the checkbook, going grocery shopping; they were enough for me. I didn't need anything else. I delighted in the day to day routine because my life was wonderful. Simple, but wonderful and everything I could have ever asked for.

And then events happened. An old scar was reopened. I didn't go looking for it; I didn't ask for it, it found me. I was at peace with that scar. It was nearly faded completely away. I actually had to search for it when I wanted to give it a once over.

And now here I am. Scars are no longer scars, but open, bleeding, incredibly painful wounds because I allowed myself to take a risk, to believe, to step out in pure faith. And now life is not wonderful. Getting up and going to bed and taking care of the kids and making dinner and grocery shopping are nothing but things that need to be done. Now I am profoundly UNHAPPY with my day to day life while not a damn thing about that life has changed.

The absurdity of that makes me want to laugh. I KNOW that nothing has changed. I know that I SHOULD still be as content and happy as I was 2 months ago. I KNOW that. But something has changed. Something I did not ask for and could not control, but, as it turns out, something I wrapped my heart around and believed was going to happen despite all my bravado that I could remain detached in case of what has actually happened.

And this sucks.

Because I WANT to be happy again. I WANT life to be wonderful. I WANT to delight in the day to day routine. I am angry that my equilibrium was rocked; that my sense of well being was demolished and for NOTHING. I don't WANT to grieve this situation because my life should still be enough for me.

But it's not and that makes me ANGRY.

For anyone with the usual clichés going through your head, PLEASE refrain. Just so that everyone knows, saying things such as, "God never gives you more than you can handle" and "It just wasn't meant to be/God's will" will NOT help a person who is in pain. This merely trivializes the pain and implies that God is a terrible creature who lacks any compassion or understanding of our pain. That is not the nature of the God I believe in.

But just so we are clear, I don't believe that knowing God has a plan for my life means that He is my lucky rabbit foot and will ensure that I get my way each and every time I want it.

God's will is NOT done all over this earth on a fairly regular basis. You simply can't make the argument that anything that happens that we don't like just wasn't God's will. Just because I have turned my life over to His will does not mean that the billion or so other people out there have and last time I checked, they all have free wills too. They can do whatever they want, God's will or not, and unfortunately, those actions are bound to affect me from time to time.

Please also do not tell me that God has some grand lesson, a great epiphany, for me to learn. Again, the nature of the God *I* believe in does not indicate that He likes to bat us around like a cat playing with a mouse, just to see what we will do. He would not dangle my heart's desire in front of me, then use it to beat the crap out of me and take it away. It is not His will that I am in pain; pain is a result of the actions of humanity. All I can do is trust Him to help me get through it, believe that He can work every situation, however crappy, out for good in my life and decide whether I want to wallow in this agony forever or try to turn it into something positive in my life.

I know that as time goes by, I will make the choices I need to make to regain equilibrium and recapture joy. But right now I am in pain and I am angry that I am in pain because it is useless pain. It never needed to happen in the first place. I should not have to endure the process of waiting for wounds that were once completely healed to heal all over again.

What a waste.

Indoor Sports Part 3

2010-01-05T22:32:00.002-07:00

(No one can say we don't keep the boys active in the winter!)

Indoor Sports Part 2

2010-01-05T22:29:00.002-07:00

Indoor Sports Part 1

2010-01-05T22:27:00.002-07:00

Anna's Big Girl Bed

2010-01-02T13:28:00.003-07:00

Picture, as requested.

(Yes, I know that 3 1/2 is absurdly late to move her into a real bed. It just sort of happened. I have no excuses or explanations.)

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

2010-01-01T17:23:00.003-07:00

Happy new year!!!!

Several people requested this recipe quite a while ago and I did forget to post it, even though I promised I would not.

I'm sorry!

This recipe is an adaptation of Anna's bikini bread recipe. I changed a few things to account for the moisture content of the pumpkin and have arrived at a recipe that I LOVE. It has ruined me for any other pumpkin bread, to be perfectly honest.

I know everyone says baking is an absolutely precise art but I am not that precise with this recipe and it always comes out fine. I never fill the measuring cup quite to the top for the oil, applesauce or sugars. This dough is very moist so I cut down the liquids a bit and just reduce the sugar out of principle.

I prefer this made with fresh pumpkin but I am sure you can use the canned pumpkin as well.

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon (you can switch this up with nutmeg, cloves and or pumpkin pie spice if you like.)
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
3 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups pumpkin
1 package dried cranberries (the kind without added sugar, if possible)

Combine wet ingredients and sugars and mix thoroughly before adding the cinnamon, salt, baking soda and vanilla. Once this is combined, add the pumpkin. Mix thoroughly and then add the flour. After the dough has formed, add the cranberries.

Divide into 2 loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, depending on your oven.

Doh!

2009-10-11T21:23:00.003-06:00

Sign you are a science teacher who is working too hard:

Setting: Your son is rocking dining room chairs in a precarious manner and you suspect they are about to topple over on top of him.

You say: Isaac! Stop rocking those fossils! Put them down!

Isaac looks at you like you have lost your mind and leaves the room.

Bikini Bread

2009-08-30T22:22:00.002-06:00

Anna's latest fav: Bikini Bread!

Ok, it's actually Zucchini Bread but bikini bread is FAR more adorable to hear her say and she so rarely comes up with "toddler speak" anymore that I plan to encourage the use of bikini bread as long as possible.

Here is the bikini bread recipe that Anna is so enamored with.

This makes 2 large loaves. Or, as my kids prefer, you can grease up your favorite baking mold and make fun shapes. I am currently using a ghost mold which makes the whole thing even more fun. Anna asks for bikini ghosts for breakfast.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or 4 if you like cinnamon. My next move is to add some ginger and/or nutmeg. YUM!)
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups grated zucchini

Bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Love to all!

Um...Ok

2009-07-19T22:41:00.007-06:00

Me: Nathan! Why is your underwear drawer empty and why is all of your clean underwear scattered all over this room? Didn't we just have a conversation about you guys NOT leaving clean clothes on the floor? Why is this underwear all over the place?

Isaac (matter of factly): Underwear fight.

Can anyone think of a clever response? It took so much energy to maintain my parental displeasure affect that I don't think I said anything.

BOYS!

Germs! Germs Everywhere!

2009-07-08T23:44:00.003-06:00

I spent the better part of my childhood wallowing in muddy creeks. While watching my kids engage in the same activity today, I wondered how on earth I managed to survive without contracting some debilitating disease. I fought the urge to bathe them all in hand sanitizer after they dried off, but I did herd them into the shower the second we arrived home.

Muddy Creeks = Bad and Scary

Now you know.

Love to all!

The Big Three

2009-07-07T23:20:00.003-06:00

Anna has been waiting and waiting for that oh so exciting day when she would be able to take classes just like "my boys" as she often refers to her big brothers.

The magic age is 3.

As a now official 3 year old Anna gets to start taking lessons and classes and she is THRILLED.

Today was the first day of her ballet class. She was SO excited she could hardly sit still.

Pictures from the big day below. She is taking the class with her buddy Valerie. I also threw in a couple pics of the boys lounging in the pool as that is where we spent the majority of the rest of our day.

Love to all!

Curses!

2009-07-07T13:47:00.002-06:00

Yesterday afternoon I noticed my sweet little Anna marching around the house saying something that sounded suspiciously like, "Damn it! Crap! Damn it! Crap!"

Appalled, I pulled her aside and informed her that we do not use such words in our house and that she knows better as we have had this conversation after hearing other people use such words. I then placed her in time out.

A minute or two later, Nathan, Anna's ever present protector and publicist, sidled up to me and said, "Mommy, Anna wasn't saying bad words. She was saying Democrat. I taught her to say it yesterday."

Jesse, who is not sure which is worse, made her finish the time out anyway.

Little Patriot

2009-07-06T23:12:00.001-06:00

Must Blog

2009-06-14T23:16:00.002-06:00

Haven't been feeling all that bloggy lately, as you can probably tell. My apologies for the lack of posts.

This evening, however, I just HAVE to record the statements made by two of my three darling offspring.

Background: Due to a game where players are asked to write possible answers on pieces of paper gone wrong, Vik has forever earned the nickname, "Vik-Poke."

This evening as I am rocking Anna to sleep:

Anna: Mommy, why does Rachael call Vik-Poke Vik?

As Jesse is putting the boys to bed:

Isaac: Daddy, which president is on the nickle?

Jesse: Alexander Hamilton is on the nickle Isaac, but he was not a president, he was the first secretary of the treasury.

Isaac: Oh! I know what the treasury does! They search for stolen money and jewels!

Love to all!

Mom's Request

2009-06-09T21:31:00.002-06:00

A favorite outdoor mall of the S fam was recently trashed by a tornado that I was able to photograph from my garage. Nana wants to see the pictures so without further adieu...

Vacation at the Ranch

2009-05-29T08:53:00.005-06:00

My dear friend Danielle invited us to her little corner of heaven for a brief city respite. I have never seen the kids so dirty or so happy.

When do they hand out the cards?

2009-05-18T15:58:00.007-06:00

I should be a CARD CARRYING GENIUS, let me tell you. Today, in a rush to get out of the house, I quickly popped the top off the cat box and gave it a quick cleaning. I put the top back on and hurried out the door to meet a friend for lunch.

We arrived back home to the foul and alarming scent of kitty poo and discovered that one of our beloved felines had soiled the family room area rug.

Grrrrrrrr....

Let me just say, I LOVE our cats. They have been wonderful pets since the day we brought them home. However, I LOATHE kitty excrement where it does not belong. Few things turn my stomach and get my blood pressure racing like cleaning up after cats who go potty where cats should not.

I cleaned up the poo and searched the house for other spots but did find any. Thank God.

Relieved, I went downstairs to make sure the door to the bathroom was open as, really, our cats are not in the habit of relieving themselves anywhere other than their litter box. As I entered the bathroom I discovered a tell tail yellow spot in the middle of the bath mat. At this point my thoughts shifted from wondering about the cats' behavioral issues to wondering if there might be a medical issue as typically well trained cats really don't piddle right in front of their litter box without a pretty good reason.

I wondered, that is, until I checked the litter box and discovered that in my haste to get out the door this morning I put the lid on backwards with the opening snug against the wall. Poor cats. They never had a chance.

Sooo....the next time they hand out genius cards, please shoot me an e-mail because I will be FIRST in line.

In order to make this post about something other than kitty poo, I have included some pictures of the kids and their summer time fun. Today is technically the first non-weekend, non-school day and summer is already in full swing at the S house.

If you are a relative of mine, does this picture remind you of anyone?

The ice cream cup cakes we ordered from Cold Stone for Nate and Anna's cancelled birthday party have been in the deep freeze ever since. Last night we decided it was time to crack those puppies open and let the kids at them. Frankly, after watching the kids work at them last night, I am GLAD we did not serve them at that party! WHAT A MESS!

And finally, Anna, Daisy and the Wonder Pets curled up for a mid-day summer siesta.

Love to all!

Last Day of School!

2009-05-17T00:17:00.006-06:00

We attended Nathan's kindergarten continuation and field day for both boys today. They boys are please as can be with their academic accomplishments and rightly so.

The video is a little dark for my liking, but I didn't have much control over the lighting. Don't forget to pause the blog music before you hit play.

Enjoy!

Anna's Financial Plan

2009-05-13T19:30:00.003-06:00

Background information: Anna keeps any money given to her in a small, purple ceramic piggy bang.

A conversation:

Hey guys, tomorrow we are going to take Esther, Rachael and Nana to the airport so that can go visit Mary and Sammy.

Nathan: I want to go!

Cherith: I know honey but your kindergarten continuation and field day are also on Saturday and it costs a lot of money to fly on a plane. We will save up the money so that you can go some day soon.

Anna: I have a pig! There's money in my pig!

Gives a while new meaning to the phrase, "When pigs fly" doesn't it?

Love to all!

Favorite Mother's Day Memory

2009-05-10T22:19:00.003-06:00

While waiting for the valet to bring our car after an afternoon at the baseball game:

Isaac (anxious and sad): Mommy, when is he going to bring our car? I'm feeling really homeless.

Don't worry honey, I LOVED the breakfast, dinner, roses and all the additional attention. THANK YOU!!!!

LOVE TO ALL!

A Sure Sign of Summer...

2009-05-08T10:42:00.008-06:00

When the boys turn on a sprinkler and arrange it so that they get drenched while playing on the swings or slide, also resulting in mud holes and very odd grass lengths, as you can see from these pictures.

And now for Anna's Friday outfit selection. I am not sure what look she is rocking here, but I think it is pretty darn cute. She informed me that she chose the dress with the coat because they both have squares so they match! Unfortunately, this is the last we will ever see of these SUPER cute pink sneakers, a birthday gift from Aunt Rachael. Not 5 minutes after taking this picture, she ran out in the backyard, thank GOD she removed her coat which I LOVE, and within less than 2 minutes came back inside with dog poo all over her shoes, her dress and even her undies!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!

I gloved up and made every effort to de-funk her shoes despite the gagging, but it was a lost cause.

sniffle

NEW RULE: Only hose safe shoes, ie Crocs, in the backyard.

Love to all and a VERY Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and moms-to-be out there!

Can't Argue With That

2009-05-04T21:46:00.002-06:00

Anna: Mommy! Mommy! My bottom is itchy! It itches mommy! Make it stop itching!

Me: Let me see honey. Oh goodness, you have some nasty eczema going on here.

Anna: My bottom itches! Make it stop!

Me: Ok, eczema-butt, just a second, I will get you some cream.

Anna (incredulously): I don't have eggs on my butt!

Fridays

2009-05-01T14:01:00.002-06:00

In deference to Anna's fierce three year old desire to control everything about her life, I have agreed to allow her the privilege of picking out her own clothes every Friday. It's actually turned out to be kind of fun and it makes for GREAT pictures.

I was VERY doubtful about today's choices until I viewed the final ensemble. I actually think it sort of works...maybe.

I am not all that fond of this Old Navy dress, but she managed to dress it up so that I don't hate it. I do think she is going to freeze in this darling little yellow rain jacket, it is COLD today, but it was her choice so oh well.

Those blue boots are a size too big and are SUPPOSED to be on the, "save for next season" shelf. Hmmmm...

This morning Anna also informed me that she would NOT be washing her hair as it is HER day to pick out her clothes. She wanted one ponytail, NOT two. The result is a somewhat poofy effect since her hair was braided yesterday. Does allowing her to pick our her own clothes also extend to personal hygiene?????

Anyhow, happy Fri! Enjoy the pics!

Confused

2009-04-28T23:05:00.005-06:00

On the topic of motherhood:

How can watching your children grow up bring such incredible joy and such agonizing pain at the exact same time? And what exactly is one to do with those feelings? Weeping quietly over blog posts and pictures late at night doesn't seem to help very much.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATHAN!!

2009-04-27T22:31:00.005-06:00

Oh how can this be? My sweet, darling baby boy is SIX YEARS OLD TODAY!!

SIX YEARS OLD!

Nate, I love you buddy. You are such a sweet, free spirited little charmer. I can't imagine my life without you.

I think this picture of you tenderly cradling a giant Madagascar cockroach whilst smiling sweetly sums up your personality better than I ever could.

Happy birthday sweet boy. Thank you for being our little guy.

P.S. I had huge, grandiose plans to create a super cool slide show of Nate from birth to today, but it fizzled in light of the fact that I am apparently suffering from the incurable plague. Bummer.

Love to all!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA!!!

2009-04-16T23:47:00.006-06:00

Ok, her birthday was on the 15th. But still...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA!!!

My little THREE year old informed me that she will now be picking out her own clothes EVERY day. I think she did a pretty darn good job with her birthday outfit, don't you?

Anyone who reads this, PLEASE say a quick prayer that the mondo snow storm predicted for this weekend falls in the form of rain rather than snow. We will all be terribly disappointed if we have to cancel the birthday party, though we definitely won't complain about one last chance to get in some good, solid sled time.

Love to all!

Really?

2009-04-15T00:50:00.004-06:00

I don't intend to be indelicate nor am I in the habit of publicly posting pictures of the more personal locations in our home in public forums, but I just HAVE to ask this one time.

Are we the only ones whose cats' idea of fun is to hang over a recently flushed toilet and swat at the swirling water?

And yes, in answer to the inevitable question, they have both fallen in on more than one occasion.

Am I the only one?

2009-04-14T18:59:00.002-06:00

Am I the only one who finds the contrast between the message on her shirt and the expression on her face absolutely hysterical?

Anna turns three tomorrow. THREE!! HOW can my baby be THREE???

Happy Easter! (Part 2)

2009-04-12T23:40:00.005-06:00

The S family celebrated a lovely, rainy Easter Sunday. I know I should wish for bright, sunny skis, but I LOVE a good, soaking rain. LOVE IT.

Seeing as I have become THE laziest blogger on the planet, I am now going to treat you to a bunch of photos without captions. Not that they really NEED much explanation.

Love to all!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-11T15:53:00.003-06:00

A conversation:

Me: Anna, what do you want the Easter bunny to bring you?

Anna (with a most scornful look): Mommy, rabbits live OUTSIDE. I live INSIDE.

Me: Yes but once a year the Easter bunny comes inside and brings you a present.

Anna (with a slightly less scornful yet no less disbelieving look): Mommy Santa brings presents, not bunnies.

Me: Yes, Santa brings presents too but the Easter bunny will also bring you ONE present, what do you want him to bring you?

Anna: A snow globe.

SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter, full of meaning and reflection.

And now for some random pictures!

Do you love it?

2009-04-02T20:58:00.002-07:00

Anna has a new protest mantra.

Me: Anna, let's go potty.

Anna: I don't yuv going potty!

Me: Anna, let's get ready for bed.

Anna: I don't yuv going to bed!

Me: Anna, I am going to put your polk-a-dot jammies on you tonight.

Anna: I don't yuv my polk-a-gots jammies!

Me: Anna, please go and play with your toys.

Anna: I don't yuv my toys!

You get the general idea.

Nathan has also developed a rather interesting protest strategy.

Nathan: Daddy, can I play the Wii?

Daddy: No Nathan, it's not video game day today.

Nathan: But daddy I can't live if I can't play Wii!

Nathan: Mommy, can I have a muffin?

Mommy: No Nathan, we just had dinner.

Nathan: But mommy, I can't live if I don't have a muffin!

Cue Air Supply ballad: I can't liiiiiiiiiiiiive if livin is without you! I can't giiiiiiiiiiiive, I can't give anymore!

It's so beautiful man!

Love to all!

WHAT GIVES?

2009-03-31T21:36:00.002-07:00

For the past three years, upon meeting me and learning the ages and genders of my children, I have always been able to depend upon someone to comment on how it's such a good thing I had my boys first because boys are SO much trouble in the early years and so much easier in the teen years. While I don't pretend to understand WHY it is preferable to have trouble children in the early years vs the teen years, I guess I have sort of started to buy into the idea that young girls are easy while young boys are difficult.

And if you believe that I have some ocean front property I want to sell you!

My dear sweet darling Anna has embarked on a mission to drive me absolutely insane. By 11 am this morning she ripped up our favorite book, "What's Wrong Little Pookie?", soiled the carpet in her room because she has decided that she is a baby and NOT a big girl, and locked me out of my bedroom. In answer to my questions about why on earth she would DO such things, she stated firmly, "Because I'm Anna!"

By 1 pm she thrice looked me straight in the eye whilst defiantly doing exactly what I was telling her not to do which included tracking mud all over the hardwood floors and letting the cat outside.

At 2 pm I informed her that it was rest time and barricaded her in her room with a sippy cup, an apple, some music and her toys, in an effort to give myself a chance clean up all of the messes she had made and accomplish SOMETHING other than Anna patrol. She has decided that she no longer takes naps and has stuck to her policy quite impressively. I have been insisting on some rest time each day, but lately she has done more wondering than resting. The barricade proved effective. While she did absolutely trash her room, she played quietly for about an hour and a half.

And then I let her out of her room. Around 4 pm she cut a favorite Scooby Doo book to ribbons with a pair scissors I thought were well out of her reach.

The late afternoon consisted of a repetitive pattern of Anna breaking rules and receiving consequences for her actions. She capped off her evening by locking us out of our room AGAIN, and spreading lotion all over our bedroom carpet. At that point I just started laughing because it was either that or cry.

So what's the deal here people??? What happened to girls being easier in the early years??? The boys NEVER gave me this much trouble!

I feel like I have lived 3 full weeks since I got up this morning. Dear Lord, what will tomorrow bring?

Thanks Alicia!

2009-03-30T20:48:00.002-07:00

Alicia suggested that I set my Facebook account to automatically post blog updates as notes. I pushed buttons for a while, which is how I usually figure out how to do things, and believe that I have the settings correct. Thanks for the suggestion! I did not know I could do that.

Now I have NO good excuse not to update my blog, which means that any future scoldings will be thoroughly deserved.

Wait...maybe I need to rethink this plan.

I am Ashamed

2009-03-29T22:52:00.006-07:00

Facebook has ruined me for blogging. Certain people nagged me to join Facebook and now I find myself corrupted by the ease with which I can upload photos and post pithy one liners about my life.

I am deeply ashamed.

I have been soundly scolded, shown the error of my ways and therefor will recommit myself to regular blog updates.

To that end, here are some of the best pictures from the past few weeks. The S clan has been on spring break and made very good use of the down time.

Love to all! I promise to actually write something sometime soon!

Taekwondo Tournament

2009-03-14T14:53:00.004-07:00

The kids competed in their first Taekwondo tournament today.

On a scale of parental nail-biting, this activity ranks about a 10.9.

Swimming is pretty low on the scale, maybe a 4.

T-ball's also fairly low, a 4 or 5 max.

It was tough watching Isaac play football; knowing how competitive all the dads were and watching the coaches encourage the kind of rough housing that I have spent 7 years discouraging. I'd give football a 9.

To this point, I have loved Taekwondo because it is an individual sport and there is really nothing the boys are asked to do that they are afraid of. Swimming became more stressful when they finished all of the beginner lessons and had to start jumping into the deep end. But thus far TKD has yielded no such stressor.

Until today.

The boys competed like absolute champs. Isaac had the usual Isaac-butterflies prior to the start of competition, but he came through in fine form. Nathan loved every second of it from start to finish.

Anna refused to be put down at all, which was pretty funny. Two might be just a tad young for tournament competition, I daresay. She did end up with a participation ribbon and could not be happier.

I, however, will probably require 13 or 14 hours of sleep to recover from the post adrenaline crash after watching my boys compete as individuals, knowing that they might not both win and knowing how they might react if one won and the other did not.

I absolutely realize that lessons of winning and loosing are necessary, a part of growing up and build character in the end. But you have to cut me just a little slack this first time around. I think this was one of those mom moments you just don't anticipate for what it is actually going to be.

Nathan almost immediately took first place in the forms competition. WAY TO GO NATE! We are SO proud of you!

Watching the judges place that medal around Nathan's neck lit a fire under Isaac, who instantly forgot his butterflies and started practicing his moves. He took third in the forms competition. GREAT JOB IKE! We are so proud of you!

Nate held his own during the sparring competition and came away with second.

Sparring got a little dicey for Isaac as he competed against a kid who, while equal in age and weight, clearly had significantly more experience than Isaac did. Isaac took a kick to the head, ended up on the floor and well...that was the end of that fight. He did regroup, bow out of the fight and come away with second place. We are VERY proud of him for holding it together and ending his tournament with his head held high.

I am extremely proud of both of them for overcoming their nerves and trying something new. I am proud of Isaac for not flipping out over the fact that Nathan now boasts a trophy that is almost taller than he is. And I am particularly proud of Nathan for stating almost immediately that he wanted to share his trophy with Isaac.

SIGH They are amazing kids. It was a nail-biter all right, but it was also an incredibly positive experience for all of us.

Love to all!

PS I am REALLY peeved with my camera as nearly half of the pictures we took are mysteriously absent from my memory card. It wasn't the best picture taking opportunity in the first place, but I was hoping to piece together some good shots by the sheer volume of pictures I took. The pics below will have to do. I am bummed that all my shots of Isaac being awarded his medals are gone.

Um...

2009-03-03T21:53:00.003-07:00

I received a rather firm scolding for not updating the blog recently. Uh...sorry.

I missed an update on Jesse's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!

BUT, I will now post an EARLY B-Day wish to Esther. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ESTHER!

So that pretty much evens out to being on time with both, right?

We have been toying with a Spring Break trip to Legoland in San Diego. Isaac LOVES legos. I mean LOVES them. His rather indulgent parents have even gone so far as to purchase him some hard to find sets off of e-bay. He builds with his legos, he plays with his legos, he talks about his legos, he draws pictures of his legs...the list goes on and on. We visited Legoland many years ago when he was 2 or 3, but we really want to take him now, while legos are his favorite thing.

We are not sure this trip will work out this year so we began searching for alternatives. We discovered a lego outlet store in a nearby outlet mall. What could be better??? Legos? Outlet mall? We are SO there!They currently have a life size lego built Spongebob on display! SCORE! We are also going to have lunch at this GOD AWFUL pseudo-Mexican restaurant that every person in this city LOVED as a a kid but as an adult quickly realized is disgusting and overpriced. The kids love it, we hate it, what are ya gonna do?

This evening, in an effort to inspire angelic behavior for the remainder of the week, we decided to tease the boys with their upcoming weekend activity but not actually reveal any details. Of course they became terribly excited and began listing places we might be visiting.

Nathan: A move?
No.
Isaac: The zoo?
No.
Nathan: The museum?
No.
Isaac: Monkey Business?
No.
Nathan: Funtastic Fun?
No.
Isaac: The bug zoo?
No.
Nathan: A wine tasting?
Um.........

Does anyone out there have ANY idea WHERE this child might have learned about such a thing? Jesse occasionally drinks wine in restaurants, but the boys never accompany us to restaurants where we would order wine. I don't like wine AT ALL. (Give me a good fruity martini any day.) We have several bottles of wine on display in our dining room, but that is about the extent of his exposure to wine.

Anyone? That boy never fails to evoke side splitting laughter from everyone in the room.

Anna gave him a run for his money later in the evening while we were introducing the boys to their cups for their new Taekwondo class. No not the drinking kind, the other kind. With me?

We helped the boys strip down and figure out the apparatus whilst calming the VERY anxious Isaac who was not at ALL pleased with this turn of events.

Neither of us paid much attention to Anna until she walked up to us, stark naked from the waste down, and demanded HER cup. Using all the appropriate terminology I calmly and rationally explained that little girls don't need to wear a cup.

She was not impressed.

She gave me that Anna look and firmly stated that, "I have a very little pee so I need a little girl cup too!"

What else could I do? I folded up some paper towels and allowed her to stuff them in her undies. Problem solved.

What sort of mothering award does this earn me?

Love to all!

Happy V Day!

2009-02-14T14:11:00.002-07:00

Update: 5/15/09

I was all set to post pictures of Anna's questionable outfit choice for the day, only to discover that my card reader is busted!! TRAGIC! So instead I am linking you to a video of Anna's outfit choice from Valentine's Day 2009. Turn the blog music off using the controls on the left before viewing the video.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

You Can't Go Back Again

2009-02-09T14:53:00.003-07:00

In a few short hours I will leave my cave, I mean house, and travel to a hotel where I will spend the night in anticipation of an all day and utterly pointless meeting associated with my full time income. One does tend to feel a tad isolated when one works at home and therefore one usually does look forward to actual, professional get togethers during which one can take a shower in the morning, do one's hair, put on makeup and real clothes and mingle with all the normals.

But not this time.

I am DREADING this meeting as I am fairly certain it will be a complete and utter waste of my time.

That and I HATE hotels. I have recently become a total hotel-phobe. My suitcase is well packed with anti-bacterial wipes and I have my own pillows and blanket ready to go.

If I come home with bed bugs I will be burning down this house and moving into yours.

FYI

Because I will be transporting a few non-mom colleagues as part of this trip, this morning I attempted to de-mom my car.

It didn't work.

After 2 hours of unloading, sorting, putting away, throwing away, vacuuming, cleaning, etc I gave up. I am filthy and will have to shower AGAIN before I can leave.

Let this be a lesson to us all. Once your car is MOMed you cannot unMOM it. So don't even bother trying.

Love to all! May all your hotel rooms be clean and may your Tuesday be much more productive than mine.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-04T15:15:00.002-07:00

*Updated: Ok, not particularly wordless anymore. Several of you have asked so I thought I would just answer all at once. Yes, Anna takes Taekwondo. We signed the boys up last fall and discovered that a parent/tot class meets at the same time. She loves it most days. She has earned her first sticker in the class, though I have NO idea what the significance of those stickers might be. She seriously learned to count to 10 in Korean before she learned to count to ten in English! She's turning out to be quite a butt kicking two year old, though it is usually her brothers' butts she is kicking.

The boys are actually testing for their second stripe on their white belts tomorrow (Sat) morning at (urk) 8:15 am. Wish them luck!

Who, ME?

2009-02-02T22:44:00.004-07:00

Today I found out that I have been selected to represent my school at the National Educational Computing Conference* in Washington, DC this summer.

Wow!

I am terribly excited, having never been to DC, and quite humbled and honored, being the only k-8 staff member selected to attend. I am also, however, wondering what on earth I am going to do with all of the evenings after the conference ends. You must understand that I am used to 2 jobs, schooling 2 kids, a home, a husband, 2 cats, a dog, etc. WHAT will I do with myself?

Ok, am I THE most pathetic person alive? Apparently my biggest source of anxiety is having free time. Can those of you with a psychology background do some sort of analysis on this and get back to me?

If you happen to be in the mood for a mid summer romp in old DC, please do not hesitate to give me a shout out. I could REALLY use a sight seeing buddy.

Upon hearing the news that I will be visiting Washington, DC this summer, Isaac excitedly asked if I am going to visit the Declaration building and if I can bring him home a souvenir copy of the Declaration of Independence just like the one in the National Treasure movie.

Yup.

You will find quite the commitment to an accurate American history education in the S house.

Love to all!

*Look, I KNOW this sounds like pure hell or possibly THE most boring thing in the world to many of you, but it really is a big, exciting deal in my little life.

The Critics

2009-02-02T00:24:00.007-07:00

I have recently been criticized for taking and posting too many pictures of Anna.

Ouch.

Please be assured, dear readers, that I more than adore my boys and that I also take TONS of pictures of them. Those pictures, however, are often blurry, frequently goofy and regularly of nothing more than the backs of their heads.

Have YOU ever tried to take really great, representative photos of 5 and 7 year old boys who are constantly on the move and don't particularly LIKE being photographed?

A sampling...

In the future, I will be sure to post more pics of the boys, even if they do not meet my personal standards of photographic excellence. Really, they do LOOK like our boys and authenticity is key, right?

Love to all!

What Up?

2009-01-31T22:52:00.004-07:00

I don't have anything terribly interesting that I can report. Those of you who are aware of an "incident" earlier this week will be glad to know that it went quite well.

That event rather monopolized our week so there really isn't anything else to report from the S house at the moment. We went adventuring again today, pics below.

Love to all!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-21T10:12:00.001-07:00

Memory Lane

2009-01-19T22:45:00.005-07:00

I've been oh so sick this past week and have therefore been spending a LOT of time off my feet. What better time to troll the S Family's virtual past?

I found the following signatures that I used to use on a message board WAAAYY back when. These pictures are KILLING me...in a good way. Parenting is the ultimate contradiction! The joy of watching them grow coupled with the pain of exactly the same thing! Did I sign up for this?

Anyhoo...enjoy. ETA: These don't fit on the page as well as I would like, but I am leaving them anyway because the pictures are too cute NOT to share.

PS I actually posted TWICE tonight (gasp) so scroll down for post # 2.

Bittersweet

2009-01-19T22:32:00.003-07:00

sniffle

Do you see the same chubby cheeked, darling little angel bug I see? Do you? How old would you say he is? Two? MAYBE 3?

I think so too.

That sweet little chubby cheeked cutie pie lost his first tooth this evening AND seems to be under the impression that he is going to turn 6 in April.

I protest!!!!!

Why Lulu?

2009-01-19T10:03:00.003-07:00

Several of my dear readers have asked me to explain why we call Anna Lulu. I know, it seems like a rather odd nickname choice.

I am here to enlighten you!

For a while we called Anna Turkey.

Turkey seemed rather harsh and abrupt so we added Lu.

Turkey Lu

Turkey Lu naturally progressed to Turkey Lulu.

At some point we dropped the turkey and VOILA!

Lulu

Simple isn't it?

Love to all!

Advantages to Schooling From Home: Episode Whatever

2009-01-12T23:30:00.004-07:00

Finally! A snow storm worthy of the sled! It's about time! This winter has been nothing short of pathetic.

4/5 of the S Family decided to play hooky and take advantage of the winter weather. We had a BLAST, as you can plainly see.

Love to all!

PS I have received a few questions on this topic and thought I would take a minute to address it. The boys are NOT home schooled, according to the classic definition of homeschooling. They are, in fact, enrolled in a public school delivered in the home.

Worst Mother of the Year Award

2009-01-10T15:32:00.007-07:00

And the nominees are:

Me

And the winner is:

Me

SIGH

My usual workout plan requires that I get to bed by 11 pm, get up at 7 am, run, shower and then get the kids up around 8. Working and schooling kids from home has its advantages. 2 of the 5 members of the S house are morning people, the rest of us (the normal ones) consider any time prior to 7 am disgusting and inhumane. Usually, I'm not really much of a schedule person. I never felt the need to put any of my babies on schedules, they slept when they were tired and ate when they were hungry. However, if there is ANY hope of my getting regular exercise, it HAS to be accomplished first thing in the morning, hence the need for a morning schedule. Our days are jam packed with activities, it gets dark too early to go running outside in the evening and, frankly, by 7 pm I am utterly exhausted.

Unfortunately for the brilliant plan outlined above, Isaac had a dreadful time getting to sleep on Thursday night, all due to the lack of a particular blanket to which he is firmly attached. I think I finally fell asleep around 3 am.

People, if I'm going to bed at 3 am there is not a snowball's chance I am getting up at 7. NOT. A. CHANCE.

Because I was not able to work out in the morning, I REALLY wanted to work it into the rest of my day. It was Friday and I had the weekend to catch up on work so I gave myself permission to hit the old treadmill while Anna took her nap. Generally I hesitate to plan activities that take ALL of my attention. I don't take naps when my kids are home, I don't run errands while they are home alone, I don't leave them alone in cars, etc. To be honest, I just don't trust them. Have I ever told you the story about the time I was pregnant with Anna, we had just moved into this house, it was 7 am and Isaac woke up early and emptied an entire tube of toothpaste into the bathtub? No?

Weeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllll then...

I was pregnant with Anna, we had just moved into this house, it was 7 am and Isaac woke up early and emptied an entire tube of toothpaste into the bathtub. As I was working to clean the toothpaste out of the bathtub my doorbell rang. I ignored it. I mean, come on, it was 7 am, I was oh so very pregnant, I was in a robe and my hands smelled of an abnormal about of minty freshness. But the doorbell rang again. And then it rang again. As persistent doorbell ringing at 7 am is NOT typical, I finally decided to answer it. In my robe. Pregnant. Hands covered in minty freshness.

It was my new neighbor. With a little boy. A little boy who happened to belong in my house and who I THOUGHT was sound asleep in his bed.

Neighbor: Hi there! We haven't met yet, I know you are new to the neighborhood, but I found this little guy running around in the street and wondered if he belongs to you.

Me: (as sheepishly as possible) Um, yes, he belongs to me. I thought he was sleeping. Thank you so much!

Nathan: Hi mommy! I can get in the front yard! There's a big hole in the fence!

(The hole in the fence was the open gate. He was able to open the gate at the tender age of three, apparently. It never occurred to me that he could escape the yard on his own.)

Since that oh-so-mortifying experience, I try to avoid any and all activities that might lead to a repeat performance and/or end with a neighbor calling social services.

Soooo...

On Friday I decided that a. I really needed to work out and b. The boys were old enough to be trusted for 45 minutes during which I would not be aware of their every move.

Oh how wrong I was.

In my defense, I DID stand them next to each other, make them look me straight in the eye and recite a list of absolute rules that WOULD be followed while I was on the treadmill. They solemnly informed me that they would NOT go upstairs and wake up their sister, they would NOT answer the door, they would NOT answer the phone, they would NOT ransack the kitchen, they would NOT stare blankly at the TV, etc. To their credit, they followed those rules to the letter.

Unfortunately, I did NOT instruct them that they were not to sneak into my office, creep up behind the treadmill where I could neither see nor hear them and out of nothing but sheer curiosity attempt to stick their fingers into the treadmill's moving parts.

Again I say, SIGH.

Nathan, my curious, impetuous, little daredevil, stuck his left hand under the treadmill. It came to an abrupt stop that sent me flying and apparently caused an ankle injury of some kind. The ankle injury, however, is far less significant than the fact that Nathan degloved (my sister and mom taught me that uber technical medical term) two of the fingers on his left hand.

He does not appear to have any broken bones, thank God, and the wounds are truly not as bad as they could have been. We are SO thankful he is not any more injured than he is, it could have been a LOT worse.

His 5 year old machismo has kicked in and today you would never know anything happened, save for the bandage on his hand.

Nana did suggest that I will at some point need to remove the peeled back skin that still clings to his fingers.

Um........

Perhaps a certain nurse-in-training aunt of his might want to earn some student nursing hours (do nurses student nurse the way teachers student teach?)by flying back here with a pair of small, sterilized scissors and go about dealing with his wound. I'm fairly certain his mother is not up to it.

As you can see, I am more than deserving of the honorarium with which I have titled this post. I'm not searching for a bunch of e-mails telling me what a good parent I am, I truly feel just AWFUL that he got hurt because I was not watching him closely enough. I'll not be working out during the day time anymore. If I can't get up early and I can't run in the evening, it's just not going to happen. As a result, you might notice some swelling in the posterior regions of my person. A small price to pay for my kids' safety, in my opinion.

Love to all!

May your kids be safe and your posteriors not swell!

PS At the ripe old age of 33, my very first wisdom tooth has decided to protrude from the upper most part of my jaw. The trouble is, only one corner is exposed, it is REALLY high up in my mouth, literally where my upper and lower jaw meet, the rest of the tooth is firmly embedded in my jaw and that one corner is cutting into my cheek every time I eat or talk.

Readers, dear readers, I HATE the dentist. Not just a typical kind of whiny, not wanting to go but I'll just get it over with sort of hate. This is a real and true seething hatred. whimper

You're Making me Feel Bad!

2009-01-08T22:10:00.003-07:00

This is Anna's newest and favorite phrase. She uses it whenever life is just not going her way. Sad to say, as the S house resident 2 year old, life frequently doesn't go her way.

And I have to sheepishly admit, it pretty much works like a charm.

Those big brown eyes and that little girl's voice render the most firm of parent ultimatums completely irrelevant.

Today she took it one step further. When Anna's utterly neglectful mother informed her that she would not be able to play as a result of the physical science unit she was desperately trying to write, Anna's shoulders slumped, her face fell and her arms swung listlessly at her sides. After a moment or two, she sighed deeply, slumped to the floor and sorrowfully informed her neglectful mother that, "I look sad mama."

Being the oh-so-resourceful mother I am, I promptly put her on the phone with her Nana who promptly put her on speaker phone for the benefit of her co-workers. Anna happily announced that her name is Anna-Banana and sang a cheerful rendition of Baby Beluga, Choose Jesus and Jingle Bells, Batman Smells. She then informed Nana that she felt much better.

Thank God for Nana and her co-workers! That physical science unit is written and posted and let me tell you it's gold! Bring on those standardized tests!

The Most Beautiful Words in the English Language

2009-01-07T10:58:00.002-07:00

"Mommy I have to go pee."

Enough said.

Here We Go Adventuring

2009-01-02T15:29:00.002-07:00

The second day of 2009 dawned with temperatures FAR above normal. The fabulous weather tempted the S family outside for a day of exercise and adventuring. The S family definition of adventuring is to pack up a lunch, the camera, a backpack full of whatever the boys deem crucial for that particular day and hit the trail.

The weather was fabulous and we found many interesting treasures, observed lots of geese and climbed lots of trees. Pics below.

Love to all!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T21:57:00.002-07:00

The S Family welcomed the first day of 2009 by visiting a local ice skating rink. We thought about taking the boys ice skating last year but never actually made it. I took several years of ice skating as a child but it has been 20+ years since I actually set foot on the ice. I'm not really sure if ice skating is one of those things that once you learn you never forget, but I think I was able to hold my own on the ice. At any rate I didn't fall and my backside was dry when we left. True, I no longer have the ability to zip around the rink whilst dancing to various peppy 80s tunes, but I personally think a dry backside at the end of the day qualifies as decent ice skating. Success!!!

Our niece Averie joined us and a grand time was had by all. Averie and I spent most of our time trying to keep the boys on their feet, as evidence by the pictures below. Enjoy!

That Magical Time of Year

2008-12-26T16:20:00.005-07:00

When it looks as though a toy spewing bomb exploded in my house. I am offering $50 to ANYONE, I don't really care if we have actually met, who will come and assist me in organizing this disaster of a building we call home.

As you can see from the photo, Christmas at the S house was enjoyed by all. We have had a lovely few days chock full of exhausting yet utterly delightful activities.

Merry Christmas and love to all! May your days be merry and bright!

It was a day like any other day....

2008-12-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

...in Christmas Town.

That is, until Boots the Terrible arrived.

The town folk never knew what hit them.

And now for Anna's music show:

Etu

2008-12-17T00:15:00.001-07:00

This evening we visited one of our many local Starbucks in order to secure provisions for a Christmas light viewing drive around the neighborhood.

You will be glad to know, dear Etu, that Anna enthusiastically regaled the lengthy line of waiting customers with a detailed description of the baby ogre that eats pickles and says, "Wah! Wah! Wah!"

I believe my favorite comment was something along the lines of, "My goodness! You sure to have a lot to say for a two year old! I bet your mommy has really big ears!"

Are my ears too big for my head? Go on, you can tell me.

Dear Anna,

2008-12-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

My little Lulu,
There is no possible way I can find words eloquent or descriptive enough to express how much your presence lights up my life. I may grouse and complain about your non-stop steam of consciousness chatter and tendency to stick closer to me than my own shadow, but the truth is that no day in my life will ever be complete unless there is at least one moment during the day when I cannot identify the thoughts in my own head because all I can hear is your chirping little voice. I cannot imagine a day without tripping over you at least once.

My little sunshine,
Just before this picture was taken, you marched your diaper clad behind into the room and proudly announced your readiness to go out and play in the freshly fallen snow because you had your boots on. At that moment you warmed my heart enough to keep us both cozy in any weather.

Dear Readers,
The last few weeks have been oh so busy. I've posted several pictures from the last few weeks below. I particularly like the picture of the boys at the local Christmas parade. Isaac tried desperately to act like he was WAY too cool for Christmas parades, but NO ONE can contain their excitement when Santa makes that first
appearance.

I would also like to assure you, dear readers, that the pictures of Anna with the kitties, though they may appear as if she is in the process of strangling the poor things, are actually photographic evidence of some super sweet moments between them. They are awfully tolerant and affectionate little guys. I love that they sleep under the Christmas tree; our childhood cats slept under the tree every year.

Of course, I WOULD prefer that they not actually CLIMB the tree. This evening as we drove away, Jesse noticed a large block of tree lights, right at the top on the tree, that were not lit. Just as he commented on the fact that the lights were out, Boots' little head popped out of the tree, less than a foot from the top. This tree is over 7 feet tall! Little stinker. He's going to end up with coal in his stocking if he doesn't behave.

Love to all!

Merry December!

2008-12-01T19:02:00.001-07:00

No, Isaac has not grown a mustache. He has taken to obsessively licking his lips which has resulted in a lovely red ring around his entire mouth. The stash you see in this picture is actually a line of red, raw skin from the constant licking. I am open to suggestions.

Yes, that is my sweet little Nathan with that, "I'm too cute for this picture; yeah you know what I mean." look on his face.

Anna's just thrilled to be Anna as, after all, it's pretty awesome to be two.

Love to all!

Isaac's Letter to Santa

2008-11-30T22:59:00.002-07:00

(Transcribed exactly as written by Isaac.)

Dear Santa

I want legos

and

The Lego

Batman game

and a

cemickle set.

Translation: Dear Santa, I want legos and the lego batman game (Wii, I think) and a chemical set.

FYI: Isaac LOVES legos and I am sure will be happy no matter how many sets he receives. He is already receiving several video games and his mother would prefer that he not receive anymore. But his daddy might have different thoughts on that issue. Ugh, chemistry sets! They usually gather dust for a few months, get a day or two of use, then gather more dust until we end up throwing them away.

Nathan's Letter to Santa

2008-11-30T22:50:00.001-07:00

(Transcribed exactly as written by Nathan.)

Tal
satu
I
wut
a
pawraagr megusord
and
I
wut
A
soron
and
I
wut
a
suenl red rnejr.

Translation: Tell Santa I want a power ranger megazord and I want a sauron and I want a sentinel red ranger.

FYI: Sauron is actually a power ranger bad guy that Isaac long ago dubbed Sauron. Nana has claimed the ranger megazord. Sentinel red rangers are, sadly, no longer in production and can be acquired only on e-bay.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-29T20:33:00.002-07:00

Yes, I am a tad late I know. The S family has been enjoying a lovely week of fun and freedom. Freedom from work, that is.

We celebrated a lovely Thanksgiving at Aunt Ray Ray's house. Etu, Ray Ray and I decided to brave the 11 pm opening of the local outlet mall later that night. It was crowded but fun; we shopped until 2 am and then flopped all over Ray Ray's house for the night. As you can see from the pic below, Anna was VERY pleased with her not quite Black Friday haul.

We've spent the remainder of our weekend recuperating, decorating, shopping and romping in the pitiful 2-ish inches of snow that fell last night. November is SUPPOSED to be our snowiest month! The weather this month has been pathetic, just pathetic.

The kids' tree is up and it looks fabulous. MY tree will hopefully go up tomorrow and I am also planning to shimmy up the tree in the front yard, snow or no snow, and wrap it from top to bottom in shiny white lights. I can't wait!

The S family adores this time of year.

I posted a slide show of kids' tree decorating and the family snowball fight using what little snow DID fall below. But first, a picture of the cats that just tickled me to pieces. They are watching our neighbors play hockey in the street.

Love to all!

Watching Dora

2008-11-25T10:23:00.001-07:00

Cheri-Bot

2008-11-22T19:02:00.004-07:00

Some of you may not be aware of my childhood family nickname, Cheri (cherry). I tend to go by Cherith these days, but the fam still calls me Cheri. Honestly, if one of them ever ever dared call me Cherith I probably wouldn't have a clue who they were talking to. Conversely, if Jesse called me Cheri I would probably have some sort of mental breakdown.

All of the above is nearly irrelevant to the actual point of this post. But I don't feel good and don't have anything else to do right now.

Esther joined us for a viewing of Wall-E yesterday. The bot you see here is the movie's resident cleaning bot. He follows the characters around beeping, "foreign contaminant" and frantically scrubbing them down whenever he senses uncleanliness.

Shortly after his first appearance on the screen Esther choked hysterically on whatever it was she was eating at the time and announced, "Look! A Cheri-Bot!"

Because I am a kind hearted soul I am NOT going to reciprocate this ribbing by telling you how many boxes of a hard-to-find Kashi cereal she bought at the store yesterday after shrieking in glee when she spotted it on the grocery store shelf.

Which reminds me, she left one box HERE. I believe this is what we call leverage.

PS Isaac and Nathan found and caught a black widow in the garage. Isaac is ECSTATIC. Apparently the cute little fuzzy kittens were not enough to help him get over the loss of his previous black widow.

Boots, Daisey and $$$

2008-11-15T23:28:00.000-07:00

Soooooo.....

Many of you are already aware of Boots' late night ER trip from a few weeks ago.

This weekend Daisey had her turn!

Apparently during one of their many sibling hair pulling fights Boots managed to scratch Daisey in the neck. It must have been a pretty minor scratch as neither we nor the vet can find any evidence of such a scratch. However, there MUST have been one at some time. According to the vet, their baby skin heals super fast and traps any potential infection inside. In Daisey's case, this infection went to town and resulted in an enormous abscess jutting from the side of her neck.

EW

We nicknamed her goiter and scheduled an appointment with the vet. She had to go under anesthesia and now sports the OH SO FABULOUS yet not quite Elizabethan collar you see in the picture below. They don't actually make collars small enough for our not quite 2 pound Daisey so the vet fashioned one out of a small Styrofoam coffee cup.

Poor Daisey!

She is also on a two week round of antibiotics.

They are sweet, darling little kittens but they sure are getting pricey! Fortunately the vet is cutting us a nice deal on all of their immunizations and so forth.

So now, among other things, I spend my days teaching both my bio children and my fur children the art of sibling relations.

Oh the joys of motherhood! Daisy is permitted contact with her brother only under close super vision until her wound heals. We have the joyous task of cleaning it and making sure it is open and draining several times a day.

Again I say, EW.

Don't laugh at her picture, she's very sensitive about her appearance right now.

Come on lady! This is humiliating!

File em down good mom!

Whatcha doin dad???

LOVE TO ALL

Words Heard Around the World

2008-11-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

"Honey, do you smell acetone?"

I'm not sure there's really anything else to say.

Just in case you are wondering, yes that is nail polish. Yes, she reapplied her Sharpie eye liner and yes, that is how our bedroom carpet now looks.

Also, in an effort to curb these oh so amusing photo opportunities, I have purged my bathroom of anything and everything cosmetic. The next time you see me it will be sans makeup, nail polish, moisturizer etc. It's going to be a long winter.

Love to all!

Words Just Fail Me Updated

2008-11-10T14:37:00.002-07:00

I am totally used to the scene below. Doesn't bother me so much anymore. They find a pair of scissors, they cut their hair. Oh well, it grows back. Right?

Right.

But THIS? This is a new one on me? In case you are wondering that is permanent, Sharpie. SIGH

I took this picture this weekend and think it is so accurately Anna that I just had to throw it in here.

Love to all!

* Had to come back and tell you that tonight while I was getting her ready for bed and scrubbing away, yet again, at the marker on her head, Anna launched into an explanation of WHY her head was covered in marker.

"Mamma I put makeup on my eyebows and den I cut my hair so then I could be so pretty!"

She is so flipping cute it is painful! Do you like her glowering, supermodel face?

Happy Birthday!! (Posted by Jesse)

2008-11-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take a moment to wish my darling wife a very happy birthday today! I hope you have a great day, honey! You do so much for our family, and I'm so grateful for all of it!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!!! Scroll down and view these pics from the bottom up as they are in reverse chronological order. I am too tired to change that. We killed off most of our day at the zoo, feeding the birds.

Love to all!

New Arrivals

2008-10-22T23:53:00.000-06:00

Meet Boots and Daisy. The boys are in LOVE. Anna has inquired at least 345 times as to the location of HER kitty so we pacified her with a cookie.

Love to all!

Dear Genius....

2008-10-20T00:04:00.000-06:00

I don't know what brilliant mind invented these things...but I would REALLY like to shake that person's hand.

These odd looking little seats on a stick will spin a willing child in circles for hours with no help at all from any parental unit. If you have ever taken more than one child to a playground and/or the words, "Push me!" strike terror in your heart then you know of what I speak.

Pure genius. If you ever meet him/her, point him/her in my direction.

This is an awesome new playground recently built near us. LOADS of fun.

Am I the only who thinks this picture would be near perfect were it not for the big old wad of goose poo on Anna's shoe?

Love to all!

Um....

2008-10-15T22:08:00.002-06:00

This evening we engaged in a rather frank discussion with our beloved boys regarding family unity, life choices and the resulting consequences.

It was one of those parenting moments you wish you did not have to experience but at the same time a moment that was warranted.

The boys went to bed subdued yet thoughtful.

Jesse and I felt rather good about our discussion.

That is until I put Anna to bed. Anna and I have a nightly routine of cuddling in her rocking chair before she moves to her crib. Every night as I move her to her bed she reminds me not to mess up her blanky. She is VERY particular about the arrangement of her beloved blanky. It must cover her toes JUST SO or she insists that it be removed and rearranged.

And usually this little quirk is a-ok with me. I enjoy her little personality immensely.

Tonight, however, instead of gently reminding me not to mess up her blanky she furrowed her brow, shook her finger and me and stated firmly, "I yam sick and tioued of you messing up my bwanky mommmy."

We might have succeeded in curbing the boys' behavior but we have, apparently, simultaneously created a monster in our little Anna.

CAN'T A PARENT CATCH A BREAK!!?!?!??!?!?!

Because I can't POSSIBLY leave a post that is about nothing other than my children's' questionable behavior, I have included a few pictures from our recent trip to our favorite local pumpkin patch. This is actually a farmer's market/nursery but they have such awesome, fun, FREE activities every fall. Unfortunately my camera batteries died long before we wrapped up our visit but I was able to take a few cute pictures first.

Pictures

2008-10-12T00:15:00.003-06:00

Greetings from the S house!

I thought I would pop on and share some recent pictures with you as I don't really have anything particularly interesting to say.

This first picture is now Anna spent part of her Saturday. Taking her baby for a ride on her caterpillar; Isn't she a terrific little mommy?

The slide show below is from our zoo trip late last week. Anna and I decided that her darling zoo themed jumper would be just the outfit for the trip. What do you think?

I especially like this outfit because most zoo pictures tend to be taken from behind and it has that CUTE little monkey back there!

Yes, I know I sound rather trite. But honestly, most of our days revolve around work and school so cute clothes and a trip to the zoo are a FABULOUS distraction!

Anyhoo the rest of the pictures are below. We are spending a fabulous, dreary weekend just laying around the house in our PJs relaxing in front of a roaring fire.

Life is good. Busy but good. Love to all

Happy Birthday Isaac!

2008-10-01T21:05:00.002-06:00

7 YEARS OLD. Our sweet, sensitive, selective, cautious, passionate, caring, loving little guy is SEVEN YEARS OLD.

WHERE does the time go?

I planned to scan and post a picture of our sweet boy as a baby but my love/hate relationship with my scanner has blossomed into a full blown hate/hate relationship. I hate it and it hates me. Stupid machine.

Isaac started his day by informing his Aunt Esther that, "I feel different and can run faster now that I am seven." He also informed me that none of his socks fit anymore, he needs new ones because his feet grew when he turned seven.

WHAT.A.CUTIE.PIE.

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch this afternoon. This yearly excursion is another of our favorite traditions. The pumpkins are HUGE this year! We have been visiting this farm for years and have never found pumpkins this big. Jesse is going to have to start carving this weekend if he has any hope of converting these puppies into his usual works of Halloween art.

Here comes another stream of pictures. I know I have been rather lazy about my picture posting methods lately, but it's Fall and anything other than work, taking care of Anna and helping the boys with school take a backseat in my world in the Fall.

I particularly like the picture of Nathan feeding the goat whilst standing next to the sign that explicitly forbids feeding of the animals.

That's my boy.

Tradition

2008-09-28T22:07:00.000-06:00

Jesse and I are big on certain traditions. I believe one of my absolute favorites is the long drive to Kenosha Pass to see the Aspens at the peak of their color change. I have uploaded a bunch of pictures for your viewing pleasure. I actually owe you a TON of pictures but this time of year is pure insanity. I promise to catch up when Oct is over.

I cut my hair, what do we think?

3rd Installment

2008-09-18T23:29:00.001-06:00

And now for the latest episode of Anna's Dance Party.

Rest in Peace

2008-09-17T22:15:00.000-06:00

We awoke this morning to discover that both Isaac's praying mantis AND his black widow died over night.

Any of you who know Isaac know what kind of day we had as a result.

I am not sure devastated is a strong enough word but I am EXHAUSTED and cannot come up with anything else.

So exhausted, in fact, that I flat out forgot a dinner date with my mom and left her to assume that we had all perished in a horrible, flaming car accident.

It's been a day.

Love to all, I am sure tomorrow will be better. (I hope)

Crud

2008-09-12T21:34:00.000-06:00

The evening news has just run a story about Chipotle stock falling today after reports of less than impressive third quarter profits.

I am pretty sure this is a direct result of the S Family's new found, "We will not eat out no matter how busy and stressful the school year gets" policy. Amazingly and uncharacteristically we have been sticking closely to this self imposed ultimatum.

Now I have guilt.

My Old Friends

2008-09-10T21:47:00.001-06:00

Nothing, absolutely nothing, could make this week remotely tolerable other than the appearance of my dear old fruity friends.

If you are unfamiliar with the Honeycrsip please see this post for more information. You will want to familiarize yourself with these little gems ASAP.

I am neither kidding nor embarrassed to admit that when I spied their magical name amidst the many lessor apple varieties at my local super I squealed out loud, clenched my shaking fists and lept for joy.

Now go forth and eat apples. You can all come back and thank me later.

I'm sure you were hoping for a post about more than just apples and I do sincerely apologize, but I am supposed to be working. I promise cute pics soon!

Fare Thee Well Summer of 2008

2008-09-01T22:02:00.011-06:00

Doesn't our Anna have beautiful eyes? I think Aunt Esther took this picture.

I met with a new student and his mother last week. The student's mom studied my face so intently that I finally had to ask her if I had dirt on my nose or some other embarrassing issue. She laughed, apologized and complimented my blue eyes. Apparently she found them quite intriguing. She asked if any of my offspring share my eye color and I had to laugh and inform her that despite the bright blueness of my eyes, those genes are no match for the dominance of the S Family brown eyes. All of our kids have those big S Family brown eyes.

I guess I have always felt a bit disappointed that I don't and probably won't have a child who shares my blue eyes. But honestly, when I look into these striking big brown eyes, I now have to ask myself, "How on EARTH can you be disappointed with those??"

Despite the lousy state of my long term memory, closed head injury and all, I have to say that I honestly do not remember bidding farewell to a summer with quite as much fondness as I have for the summer of 2008.

It has been a lovely few months. Perhaps it's because I actually took the whole summer off? I don't know exactly why I feel a difference this year but I do.

Not that I don't love the fall. Autumn is, in fact, my favorite time of year. I am a sucker for leaves changing color, pumpkin flavored ANYTHING, crisp mornings and evenings, evening walks to the local coffee shop through crackling leaves, the start of school for both myself and the kids; the list goes on and on.

Why did I start this post?

Ah yes. The S Family celebrated the unofficial end of summer with a small family BBQ. Anna was delightfully overdressed for the occasion. She wore the darling dress you see above only once for a wedding and it seemed a shame not to wear it at least twice before she outgrows it.

Isaac and his bugs.

Each and every one of these containers holds a creepy crawly that Isaac or Nathan has caught, housed and lovingly cared for.

While on a Labor Day hike this past weekend I added to the collection by single-handedly catching a three inch praying mantis.

Just so we are clear, I fully expect each and every one of you to repeat this story to the local authorities should my parenting aptitude ever be called into question. You might also mention the baby mouse and the baby bird.

I don't think I'm what you might call squeamish, but I have to admit I was not at all excited about trying to keep hold of that squirming, biting creature.

Isaac is thrilled and now counts the praying mantis among the crown jewels of his collection. Yes, the black widow is still in residence.

I might just rethink that Butterfly Pavilion, aka The Bug Zoo, membership. Really, WHAT is the point when I have the same thing in my family room?

Check it out! Phantom can learn!

That's about all from chez S. School has started for both myself and the boys which means that in the next week or so life will get busy pretty darn quick. I'll post some back to school pics as soon as I can.

Oh yes and all you sports fans out there should know that Anna is jazzed and ready for the start of football season as evidenced in the video below.

Love to all!

Needs no intro...

2008-08-24T22:19:00.000-06:00

In Spite

2008-08-19T00:08:00.001-06:00

Some nights, in spite of the our very best efforts and after reading, comprehending and applying the excellent advice of many well educated experts, this is how the eldest and second eldest members of our offspring end up spending the night.

Hey, can't win every time eh?

So Mary, concern yourself not with the idea that it is only you and/or only Sam. Whilst the information I recently recommended is excellent and should absolutely be given the old college try, nothing is fool proof and there will always be not so great days, exceptions to the rule, yada, yada, yada.

Overall, bedtimes have gone much more smoothly in the S house as of late and to that end I choose to invoke the slogan of my favorite new expert on such matters.

Progress NOT Perfection!

Love to all!

PS I particularly like the way Isaac has arranged his giant tarantula to stand guard over him as he sleeps. I cropped the picture in close in order to give you a better view.

PPS While the boys slept on the floor in the hallway, I believe Isaac's pet black widow, properly contained in its housing unit, enjoyed a nice comfy spot at the foot of his bed.

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE these boys?

Check It Out

2008-08-15T22:22:00.001-06:00

Finally! On the path to independent wealth!

(giggle snicker snort)

My blog is worth $564.54.
How much is your blog worth?

PS Isaac has caught and is now caring for a pet black widow. His numerous bug houses also house a cat faced spider, several wolf spiders and a number of funnel webs. On a daily basis he tenderly and carefully catches whatever insects are at hand and feeds them to his charges.

Oh the joys of motherhood.

Camping with the S Fam

2008-08-11T16:00:00.004-06:00

We are home and we had a BLAST.

Ok, it rained. Ok, it rained quite a bit. Ok I did not sleep for two nights.

But STILL.

No phone, no TV, no e-mail, no fax; What more could a girl ask for? Or rather what more could a girl NOT ask for?

Lots of gorgeous pics below. As you can probably tell, everyone had a grand time. Our last few minutes at the camp site and our drive home are unfortunately typified by the video clip below, minus the booze and imagine the bees are real, but the overall trip was a rousing success.

Love to all!

Love In The Time of Potty Training

2008-08-03T22:24:00.001-06:00

I know I gripe and complain about every milestone my darling Anna achieves; Saddened to have to admit she is growing up. However, I have to admit that I feel NONE of that desperate need to cling to her baby months when it comes to potty training. I will wave bye bye to the "joy" of diapers and wipes with the same abandon with which I greeted the end of my last pregnancy. I hate being pregnant and I H.A.T.E changing poopy diapers.

Not that we are anywhere near the end of the process. Quite the opposite in fact, we have just begun. We are taking a slow and steady wins the race approach as our lives remain a bit summery, meaning lots of travel and activities, to ban the diapers all together.

Anna is quite patient with the whole process considering that her so called mother has virtually NO memory of how we achieved this milestone with the boys. In consultation with our resident expert, the great Etu, we have settled on a process that we hope will be relaxing enough for all involved yet eventually achieve the desired result.

In order to save Anna any future embarrassment regarding the publishing of her daily frequency to the very public Internet, I will provide very few details other than to tell you that today was a pretty good day, considering that it was day 1 of serious effort in this battle. Onward to day 2!

Below you will find an amusing picture of the Day 1 Potty Training aftermath in our guest bathroom.

Below that you will find photographic evidence of the annual extended family summer water balloon fight. An event greatly enjoyed by all who participate, this year's battle was particularly meaningful as it was staged to both entertain and celebrate the continuing recovery of our beloved BaBa from his recent surgery. Rock on BaBa! We hope you had fun!

Next weekend: Camping with all three kids. the horror

Love to all!

Highly Recommended

2008-07-25T12:52:00.002-06:00

If you are in need of a vacation destination, 4/5 of the S Family strongly recommends the San Luis Valley . We are home and we had an absolutely wonderful time. As you can see, my friend Wendy's home is lovely, this picture does not do it justice, as are the 8 acres surrounding it. Many additional pictures below but allow me to first share with you some highlights of the trip.

The boys were utterly blown away by the wide open space and their ability to walk out any door without asking permission or being told to watch for cars. Shortly after we arrived I told them to go out and play. They went outside, came back in, went out again, came back in again and with very puzzled expressions inquired as to the location of the backyard. We all laughed and told them outside was all backyard and they were more than free to explore. I did not see them again for 3 hours. When they returned they were as filthy and as happy as I have ever seen them.

Later that evening Wendy's husband Tom built the kids a huge bonfire. Supervised by Wendy's college aged sons, the kids roasted hotdogs and marshmellows over the fire while Wendy, my friend Danille, who also brought her 3 and 5 year old kids, and I chatted in the house. Later that evening the door opened quietly, Nathan slipped up beside Wendy, wrapped his arms around her, gave her his best puppy dog eyes and in his sweetest voice asked, "Ms. Wendy, where do you keep the gasoline?"

On our final evening the boys, assisted again by Wendy's sons, went fishing, caught 4 trout, cleaned and roasted them for their dinner. Isaac loves fish but he hesitated after observing the removal of the bones. Isaac's fish usually arrives deboned, plated and garnished with parsley and lemon. I removed all trace of skin, fins, etc and convinced him to taste it. Poised next to an open trash can, with a cup of water in his hand he timidly placed a small bite in his mouth. After a moment of thoughtful chewing his eyes opened wide and he said in amazement, "This is good! But...it would be better with ketchup."

The view.

Morning girls!

Throwing rocks in the Rio Grande.

Sand Dunes

Take me Out to the Ball Game

2008-07-19T19:12:00.003-06:00

Friday evening the boys attended their first major league baseball game and a roaring good time was had by all. Well...by everyone except Esther who generously volunteered to take care of Anna so Jesse and I could attend with the boys. Anna was less than cooperative regarding bed time. Our sincere apologies Etu.

Anyhoo, we had a blast at the game despite a rainy start. The game opened with a parade of many, many little league teams. The boys were excited about the opportunity to see the actual field, though I personally think the team dads were even more enamored with the privilege. They tried to keep themselves in check, but the huge grins gave them away.

Pictures below. I am bummed that the speed of my camera did not allow me to get a clearer picture of Isaac on the field. Perhaps it is time to upgrade...hint hint. I am also bummed that some curly haired blond lady's head is in the middle of one of my pictures, but oh well.

Additional notes from recent days:

Whilst singing along with a particularly groovy CAKE tune, I quipped, "You go Anna!" Anna responded by looking directly at me and stating firmly, "I NOT go mamma!"

Whist attending a showing of WALL-E, Nathan noted the image below, turned to Jesse and loudly inquired, "Daddy, is that a boob cover?"

My boys, I assume typically, like to house various creepy crawlies in their numerous bug houses. Currently we have several spiders in residence. One recent evening, Esther and Jesse caught a smaller spider and decided a rousing backyard spider brawl was in order. They won't let me post the first picture I snapped while sneaking up behind them, but they did agree to allow photographic evidence of their very worthwhile activities when taken from an alternative angle.

I will not be crowned mother of the year anytime soon as, exhausted from a night of making tortillas for Esther and Jesse while simultaneously being subjected to a viewing of the WORST movie ever made, I pulled Anna into bed with me the following morning in the hopes of catching another few minutes of sleep. Apparently I slept a little too deeply because at some point she crawled out of bed, obtained a bottle of Children's Ibuprofen, sweetly asked her big brother to help her get the top off and then consumed an unknown amount. She is ok but her digestive system is paying for this indiscretion in a bad way. I had to leave a restaurant and run into a department store to buy her a new outfit after a particularly nasty diaper failure this afternoon. Ah yes and she also found a pair of the boys' art project scissors and cut her own hair.

SIGH

Love to all! The kids and I head out for another road trip on Tuesday morning. I should have some fun pictures to share next week!

Road Trip!

2008-07-13T23:19:00.002-06:00

Hello all! After a lovely July 4th celebration the S Family hit the road and spent a week exploring more of our states natural beauty. Loads of pictures below. Most of them are self explanatory so I will keep the comments to a minimum.

Please do note the following: Anna's 4th of July outfit and bows are courtesy of Nana's Boutique. Anna was LIVID with Rachael and Esther or taking her on that elephant. It was snowing on the top of Pike's Peak. The boys were terribly impressed with snow in July.

Back to work tomorrow. Well...Jesse is going back to work. The kids and I have a week of swimming lessons and baseball games before we hit the road for another trip.

Just my boys, Anna and I. Alone. On a road trip. Just the 4 of us. Alone.

If you are so inclined, you might say a prayer for us. We are looking forward to our trip, but I will admit to having a few nerves regarding the 10 hour round trip.

Love to all!

Princess Persnikety

All American Girl

2008-07-01T21:17:00.000-06:00

Right down to the scrape on her knee.

Love to all!

PS Is it just me or is there a somewhat startling similarity between Anna and Drew Barrymore in her 1984 role as Firestarter in that last photo? You be the judge. She does have the temper..... http://listverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/wp1024firestarter02.jpg

2 Years

2008-06-22T23:48:00.000-06:00

Monday is the 2 year anniversary of Jesse's open heart surgery to repair his tricuspid valve.

This evening we had a lovely BBQ with family, did some laundry, gave the boys hair cuts, did the dishes, played cards, watched reruns of a favorite sitcom, and will soon curl up and fall asleep with the knowledge that tomorrow morning we will wake up, go to work, play with our kids, Jesse will go to rehearsal, the boys have a baseball game...a normal, average, what some might consider boring day and life.

And we could not possibly ask for anything more.

Life is good.

Love to all.

PS In this photo Anna is 9 weeks old and Jesse is a few days out of surgery.

Whee!

2008-06-15T22:23:00.000-06:00

Jesse has finally received his long awaited Wii. I refused to buy one of the over priced bundles that force you to purchase games you might not really want, so I have been holding out to purchase the basic package without a huge mark up. With a little help from Mary in TN, Jesse is now the proud owner of a Nintendo Wii. It really is fun, and I am not usually much for video games. As you can see from the pictures, the kids LOVE it. Even Anna begs to play.

I hope all the father's out there had a great father's day!

An Isaac funny: During his baseball game on Saturday he discovered that his beloved cap had gone missing while they queued up at bat. Outraged, he marched out of the lineup, located Jesse and I and stated with utter disdain (when you read this, add the most outraged tone you possibly can), "That's a bit odd! My hat is gone!"

Mary: At precisely 9:45 pm Sunday evening, as I was rocking Anna to sleep, she popped her eyes open, looked directly at me and stated firmly, "Sammy make noise! He go home now!" FYI: There was no noise being made in our house...what was Sammy doing at 9:45 pm?

Love to all!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-14T22:14:00.002-06:00

There is no possible way I could ever express or explain what kind of a father Jesse is nor how much he means to this family, so I am not even going to try. Truly, there are times when attempting to apply words to thoughts or emotion serves only to inflict artificial limits on how we really feel. So this time I am keeping it simple.

We love you honey!

Happy Father's Day!

PS If you are planning to attend Jesse's gig on the 24th MAKE A RESERVATION. It is going to be PACKED. Make sure you are there by 7 pm or they will give your table away.

A Day

2008-06-12T13:51:00.000-06:00

Really, it has not been all that bad of a day. I am just at the tail end of a wicked, rear kicking, virus and am still feeling rather weak, sleepy and pathetic.

But today I determined that I would, nay MUST, rally myself to the tasks of laundry, carpet cleaning, etc. I despise the feeling that a herd of antelope reside in my home as opposed to a family of somewhat civilized humans.

I was doing an EXCELLENT job of reclaiming my tidy abode when lunch time rolled around. I expertly prepared the kids a lovely lunch of ravioli and raspberries (no really, they LOVE it) when Nathan requested chocolate soy milk. And how he knew it was soy milk I have NO idea. We never told them we were making the switch, we just did it.

Feeling satisfied with my domestic accomplishments of the day thus far and secure in my ability to complete a task as simple as serving milk to my offspring, I secured the chocolate soy milk and gave it a vigorous shaking to ensure the proper mixture for my children's' waiting palates.

It was about 3 seconds later, whilst standing in a sticky brown puddle, dripping wet and watching sticky brown ooze dribble down my walls, drip from my ceiling and otherwise completely cover my recently cleaned kitchen that I discovered a new life lesson.

And since I love you all SO very much, I have decided that it is only right that I share this particular lesson with you.

Little Life Lessons from the S House: Before shaking a carton of chocolate soy milk, make sure to double check that there is actually a cap ON the chocolate soy milk and thus you will avoid great wailing and gnashing of teeth.

I have revised my list of goals for the day and now believe that a nap is very much in order. After all, I AM recovering from an illness.

Love to all!

S Brothers on Theology and Meteorology

2008-06-09T16:08:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since our last observation of the S brothers thoughts on theology. The discussion below touches on a little meteorology as well; My boys certainly have a well rounded liberal arts education in the works.

Isaac: NOTHING can ever kill God Nathan.

Nathan: There is one thing that can kill God Isaac. A TORNADO can kill God.

Isaac (exasperated): Nathan, God MAKES tornadoes and nothing He makes is going to kill Him.

Nathan (more insistently): TORNADOES CAN kill God Isaac!

Isaac: God only got killed once but he rolled that big rock out of the way and was alive anyway. Mr. Bill told you about it, remember?

(Mr. Bill is Nathan's Sunday School teacher.)

Nathan: Oh yeah! And then he threw the rock and it got stuck in the tornado!

I am not entirely sure where Nathan's obsession with tornadoes has come from. True there have been tornadoes aplenty around the country and even more true, his room looks as if it has been ravaged by one, but even so he seems unusually interested in them lately.

Love to all!