Nothing to Write Home About

Update on Jayden

2011-10-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

Jayden has been back in HeadStart for a few weeks now. I try to get the older kids' schoolwork done as much as possible in the morning while he is gone because he really wants our attention in the afternoon.

He's growing more and more each day, it seems. This picture brought tears to my eyes because it's the first time he has drawn more than squiggles, and he actually copied the teacher as she drew the picture next to him.

I got a letter from his doctor about the results from his MRI and bloodwork. Both were normal. The doctor said that kids on the autism spectrum usually got normal results on the MRI scan and blood tests. She wasn't ruling out autism- just ruling out anything else that might have been an issue.

In other good news, Jayden potty trained this summer! For a while I was skeptical that it would happen. He had issues with #2, but he did overcome with bribes of some Cars 2 toys. ;) He does wear a diaper at night, but he's been waking up dry many days, so we might finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. My daughter turns 9 this month, so we have been seeing about 9 straight years of diapers without any breaks.

I'm realizing that I haven't done much updates on the rest of my family, so I'll try to do a post later, but it's time to do some schoolwork with the kids!

Quoted from a Facebook Friend...

2011-08-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

Being over 6' tall doesn't make you better it just makes you tall. Having an IQ over 120 doesn't make you more superior it just makes you intellectually smart. Autism doesn't make you less worthy it just makes you autistic. The neurosurgeon uses equipment made by a factory worker. We all have a role in this world, no role is more or less important.

I have had a lot of experience with Autism before I had my own child who falls on the Autism spectrum. My cousin has Asperger's. I've worked as a therapy technician with children and adults who had various developmental disabilities- including Autism. I worry how my child will be looked at by others. Even though I know that he's a great kid, and I have other people tell me what a great kid he is, I'm worried about future peers, co-workers, bosses, people in the community who might just see his Autism and not his good characteristics.

The other day at McDonalds, he was running around with a little boy the same age as him. He didn't play the same game that the little boy wanted him to play. The boy kept asking,"Why don't you want to play with me?" I explained to the boy that he was playing with him- just in his own way. But you can't really explain to a 4 year old about Autism. My 7 and 8 year old don't even really know much about Autism- just that they love their little brother even though he acts differently sometimes and annoys them by repeating things over and over again.

I know that we've come a long way in teaching other people about Autism, but there is still a long way to go. It's a lot like racism. A lot less people nowadays treat people differently because of the color of their skin than they did in MLK Jr.'s day, but there are still people today that are stuck in the old way of thinking. Times have certainly changed since the Autism label first came out, but there are still people who don't and won't understand Autism. I pray that knowledge will continue to grow and that people will realize just how much impact our special kids have on this world.

Thanks to my friend, Katheren Gomez, for capturing this great
picture of my guy.

MRI-me oh my

2011-08-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

My little Cars fanatic with his two new friends that he earned by
going #2 on the toilet. ;)

It has been a while since I've updated on Jayden. In July, we drove to Spokane to see the Pediatric Neurologist. She did a great job with Jayden, all the more impressive since she is deaf. She confirmed that he is on the spectrum- on the high functioning side. She said that she wanted him to have an MRI and some blood tests to make sure that nothing else was affecting his brain.

Moving forward to this last Monday. We drove up Sunday night to Spokane again. This time we spent the night at a friend's house because our appointment was bright and early at 7 a.m., and I didn't want to have to drive for an hour and a half with a possible cranky kid who could have nothing to eat or drink since he had to be sedated.

We got to the hospital with no issues. Jayden hopped right into a Little Tyke's police car they had out for kids going into surgery. One of the perks of having this done at a children's hospital. We were able to get Jayden onto the scale with little fight- which was a good thing. For some reason, he normally balks at stepping on the scale. He even allowed the nurse to take his temperature and blood pressure- although, he hated it when the cuff got tight(not that I blame him).

He watched t.v. while we reviewed all of his health information. The nurse gave him the medicine to reduce anxiety and give him amnesia(I was secretly hoping for my own dose of the stuff). After he drank the medicine he said, in a deceivingly happy voice,"Yummy!" and then proceeded to make a face like Mr. Yuk. After a while, the stuff started kicking in, and he slumped over in my arms.

Next, they brought in a Child Life specialist to distract him while they did his I.V. and his bloodwork. Even though they put numbing cream in the spot a bit earlier, he did say,"Owie!" He kept trying to look over at what they were doing while the CL specialist held a book up in front of his face and turned on a toy that lit up and spun around. He settled down when she put it on his stomach because he liked the vibration that it made. I'm going to have to get one of those toys for him.

This was taken when the medicine had really kicked in. I thought all would be okay after this. Well, they had me come with him to the MRI room. We had to wait out in the hall for a bit, and he started getting restless and was trying to pull out his i.v. Well, the tears that I had tried to hold in for a while came out again. They got him on the table and started the medicine to knock him out. I watched them hook him up to the monitors and hold his chin up and suction him out so he could breathe okay. It reminded me of when I did child/infant CPR classes, and I started crying more because he looked so lifeless on the table. The anesthesiologist reassured me that he would be okay, and I knew he would. I wanted to say that I was really just emotional because of the reason we were here in the first place, but I just nodded and sniffled.

I went down to the cafeteria and got a coffee slushie and some fruit and a bagel, and headed back up to the waiting room. I saw all the people waiting for their children or waiting with their children for their own surgeries. I wondered if these children had it worse than Jayden. After all, Jayden is healthy. I have to be grateful for that.

They brought me back to the recovery room, and I took this last picture of him before we woke him up. The nurse was really friendly, and she had a cute British accent. We tried to rouse the very tired boy as we talked about our daughters and their experiences getting their tonsils removed, and the fact that the final episode of the Bachelorette was on that night. We finally got Jayden awake enough to eat some crackers and drink some juice. She gave me the discharge instructions, and Jayden and I were wheeled out to the van.

He slept most of the way home- even as we were stuck in traffic on the highway where there was a car accident. We stopped at the rest stop along the way, and he proved that potty training is still going well- even though he was too loopy to be able to walk or stand upright. And yes, Jayden is finally potty trained! Well, during the day at least.

So now, we are waiting to hear back on results. I will probably give them a call tomorrow since they said 3 days for results. I'll update sooner than a couple of months this time. ;)

4 Years Ago Today

2011-04-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well, a year ago from today I did this post about where I was 3 years ago from that day so if you want to see my largely uncomfortable pregnant self again, you can click on that link, lol.

I can't believe that 4 years has gone by in such a relatively quick time. I know I shouldn't be surprised because I have two other kids who hit the 4 year mark, but maybe it seems to go by quicker when you have more to deal with. ;)

I'm so thankful to have this time to reflect on the past 4 years and how far Jayden has come. He really is a joy- despite the times that aren't so easy. I love watching him learn and grow and run around the house singing,"Happy Burp-day to you." He was singing it to Isaiah, and I told him that it's HIS birthday. He says, "No! No, thank you!" Maybe he wants to be like Peter Pan and never grow up. We just got him to finally say how old he is(3 years old), but now I am trying to teach him to say that he'll be four years old. Silly kid. Gotta love him!

Jayden's appointment

2011-04-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

It went pretty well. He has grown 3 inches and gained 5 lbs since the last time. The doctor said that he wasn't concerned with Jayden's nutrition(did I say he is a sensory eater?) because of his growth.

Jayden let the dr. listen to his heart and lungs, but that's as far as it went before he started getting anxious and wouldn't allow him to look in his mouth or anything else. Fortunately, the doctor has a great bedside manner and didn't push things. We talked about how he has improved with the therapies he has received in preschool, but I told him that I was still concerned about his other quirks and meltdowns. I showed him the pictures from this blog- thank heavens for smart phones! He told me that there wasn't really a pressing need for him to get assessed because he was already getting the therapies he needs at school, but he understood my desire to get closure on it all, so he set up the referral for Jayden to see a pediatric neurologist. It probably won't happen for a while because there is only one pediatric neurologist this side of the state, so we'll be on a waiting list, but I'm relieved that we have taken the step.

S-P-E-L-L

2011-04-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

He really loves to spell.
Mostly things that he has seen on movies. Our refrigerator is covered with letter and number magnets. He also likes numbers. He's been able to read and identify his numbers and count things since he was about 2 1/2.

There is a term for the ability to read above the expected age level and to have an intense focus on letters and numbers- all the while having a hard time with comprehension and the ability to communicate. It's called hyperlexia.

Currently, Jayden's teachers are using these hyperlexic qualities to help him. They ask me to write a script for him to say when he is doing Sharing Time at school, and he reads off the script while showing off his toy or item. It's working well, but now he talks like he's reading from a script sometimes.

His favorite books are anything by Dr. Seuss. When his class celebrated Dr. Seuss week a short while back, he had a grand ole time! The only problem was that he hoarded all the Dr. Seuss books to himself and would get upset if anyone wanted to read with him.

Today is his 4 year well-child checkup. I will be talking to his doctor about his development and the possibility of getting some more assessments done. I hope we can get through the appointment okay. He has a tendency not to appreciate doctors very much. I will post an update later!

All Your Little Cars(and other items) all Lined up in a Row

2011-04-06T23:51:00.001-07:00

A hint that might lead one to believe that Jayden is on the autism spectrum is:

And he gets mighty upset when someone messes with his order in any way.

Autism Awareness Month

2011-03-31T21:11:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in forever because I find posting things on Facebook satisfies my need to share my life with family and friends. I have decided that this month, I should go back to blogging because April is Autism Awareness month, and this is a subject that is hitting close to home.

Almost a year ago I posted this entry about Jayden's 3 year check-up and my apprehensions about his lack of speech. The plan was for Jayden to go to HeadStart and see if things would work themselves out with extra outside help.

I'm happy to say that things ARE improving. He has developed more vocabulary. He is starting to play more with other kids- whereas before, he was mostly doing his own thing and didn't care to be very social. He's receiving therapies that seem to be helping a lot.

Therein is the pull. He is receiving therapies because it has been determined by the Special Education team that he qualifies based on the SSIS(Social Skills Improvement System) and other assessments they performed. The SSIS includes an assessment of autism behaviors. Jayden placed within the above average range for behaviors related to autism. This wasn't a big surprise to me. I had suspected such for a while, but it makes it a little more real when you hear it from others.

Those of you who know Jayden well might be shocked to hear that he could be autistic. He shows love and affection and interacts. It's a myth that people with autism lack the ability to show affection and love. In fact, it's a myth that if you've seen one person with autism, you've seen them all. There is a reason that they call it "the spectrum." I am fortunate in that Jayden seems to be on the high functioning end of the spectrum.

Some things that indicate he could be on the spectrum:
Speech delay
Difficulty with social interaction
Repetitive behaviors
Lines toys up
Becomes very upset if his order is messed with
Echolalia
Difficulty with change
Hyperlexia
Sensitive to some sounds
Food aversions

Some of these issues lead to behaviors that seem less than desirable to the general passerby. I'm sure that people might look at Jayden during a meltdown and think that he just needs to be disciplined and I feel like a bad parent at those times. I think that one thing people need to be aware of this month(and others) is that autism is an invisible disorder. Don't sit in judgment on a situation where a child is having a meltdown. It could be that the child is a little hellion with lack of discipline, but it could be something that is beyond control. I know that I've been judgmental in the past, but I'm not so quick to be that way now. A kind word goes a long way.

It hasn't been easy for me to come to terms with our situation. Parents want the best for their children, and I want Jayden to have a good life without too many struggles. The truth is that we all have our own struggles to face, and I hope to be able to help Jayden face his struggles. He hasn't officially been diagnosed with autism(something I need to work on in the coming year), but no matter what label he gets, the label that I hope to put on him is LOVE. He's a great kid, and I'm proud to be his mom. He makes me smile every day(even on the days that I want to cry).

There's a lot more that I want to say about this subject, but I'm leaving on a weekend retreat later today, so my plan is to blog frequently through the month about autism and Jayden. I'll be adding more pictures and stuff, so check back soon!

Squirrel in my Bag and Snake in the Sink!

2010-08-20T00:15:00.001-07:00

Today we went to a park for an outing with people from Parents as Teachers. We grabbed lunch from McDonalds because I forgot that we were out of bread. After it was over, I grabbed my bag which contained a few leftover fries and set it on the grass while the kids continued to play on the playground. When we were getting ready to go, I told Kyrie to go get the bag. She came back with,"Mom! There's a squirrel in the bag!"

We sat and watched for a while.

It found the french fries! Moments later it went back down and came up with a ketchup packet! Guess it wanted a little ketchup to go with the fries!

Late tonight, I decided to make a trip to the gym. When I got there, I used the restroom and started to wash my hands. I got my heart rate up before I even stepped on the treadmill when this snake came up out of the drain! I let out a scream! I didn't bother to reach over and turn off the water. There were two guys and two other girls working out. I told them about the snake in the sink, so we all gathered around the bathroom and stood there watching it. One girl told me that the manager had tried to get the snake out earlier, but was unsuccessful(Thanks for the warning!). We called the manager, but she was in bed and didn't want to come down, so she said if no one was going to get it, we could shut the door and leave a note about the bathroom being out of order.

For some reason, I decided to put on a brave face and pick the snake up and carry it outside. I don't know why- maybe I was afraid of it coming out under the door or something. Anyway, I hope it stays outside now and enjoys it's freedom.

And that was my experience with wildlife- twice in the same day!

4th of July

2010-07-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

If you want to see all 63 photos I took of the day, you can click on this!

We had an excellent 4th of July. Went to church in the morning. In the afternoon, we attended the parade:

This is my favorite picture!

After the parade, I put the final touches on the raspberry pretzel jello salad that I had prepared the night before for the party we were attending that night. Note to self:Spray whipped cream might be convenient, but it will surely melt and run later on.

Later that evening we left for the party that was a few blocks down the lake from us. The neighbors were setting off a lot of fireworks, and Jayden was very overwhelmed by it all. I think it was partially due to the fact that he was tired, but Mark decided to take him home and put him to bed.

Isaiah and I took a little boat ride on the lake before they shut it down for the fireworks. It was pretty smoky coming back to the dock because of all the fireworks being ignited. The man next to Isaiah is Captain Ken. He is a sailboat enthusiast. After we got back to shore, he taught Isaiah how to tie knots. They really bonded.

Kyrie and Isaiah were the only kids at the party, so a lady there gave them all her sparklers to play with and we got to play with some personal fireworks.

At 10:00, they shot off the fireworks over the lake. It wasn't as big a show as last year, though.

It didn't matter too much because we got to enjoy all the other fireworks that the neighbors were setting off. ;)

Happy 234th birthday, America!

Another schnuzzling post

2010-07-02T22:50:00.001-07:00

So it's been a while since my last post. I would like to blame it on all the fun that I'm having on our vacation in Seattle. Mostly it's because it was easier to post all the pictures that I've been taking on Facebook.

I saw a post on another blog I follow about sleeping babies, and it reminded me of this picture that I took of Jayden about a week or so ago. Once again, he has fallen asleep in a funny place in a funny position- holding a SpongeBob card. And yes, this poor child is only wearing a diaper. I am lucky to get him to wear that. He is fully clothed when we go anywhere, but as soon as we get home, he is asking,"Shirt off? Pants off?"

Well, we've been here for about two weeks, and we are planning on staying through the end of July. It's a pretty long vacation, but we're fortunate to be able to do it since Mark can work from anywhere and we have a basement apartment to "live" in. Since we've been here, we have gone on hikes along the Puget Sound, attended an International Festival with Taiko drumming, Hula dancing, aerial arts, juggling, bouncy castles and train rides, and more. The kids have been swimming at the Club pool a couple of times(it's still hasn't warmed up too much here). Kyrie has reconnected with her friends, and has been to the Seattle Center on three different occasions with her neighbor friend. They've ridden the roller coaster there a couple of times. I'm amazed at her bravery. She must get it from her dad- I don't like roller coasters.

Today I took the kids to see Toy Story 3 in 3D. I don't think the 3D effects were very spectacular, but will warn anyone(especially mothers) who hasn't seen it to bring a tissue or two. It was definitely good writing. I also liked the cartoon short that came before it.

We're looking forward to the 4th of July(as I type, I can hear some fireworks being shot off in the neighborhood). Church in the morning, parade in the afternoon, and a BBQ and watching the fireworks from the neighbors' house(they live on the lake where the firework display will be shot from). We had a good time last year- such a good time that Mark wanted to make sure that we were here for the 4th this year.

Hopefully I will get around to posting more while we're here. I have a lot of pictures I haven't shared yet. And probably will have more pictures and fun times to report as the month progresses.

Uncle Manny

2010-06-08T22:50:00.000-07:00

Our dear friend Manny will be moving to Virginia in July. We will miss him!

Give me some knuckles!

"BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABY Jayden!" as Uncle Manny says.

Our kids love him!

Actual New Pictures!

2010-06-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

Kyrie lost her third tooth last night. All bottom teeth. No signs of her top teeth budging yet. It's always exciting when she reaches another milestone, though. Bittersweet, because it means my oldest baby is growing up!

These are also cell phone pictures, so not the greatest quality:

Cell phone pictures- Exhibit D

2010-05-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

Before Kyrie got her own room:

Cell Phone Pics Exhibit C

2010-05-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

A New Little Friend
My mom is normally a Great Dane person, but she got a chihuahua to keep my grandma company(although my grandma isn't too fond of animals in the house). My mom is also involved as a board member for her city's humane society. For the past couple of years or so she has been fostering some chihuahua dogs.

Anyway, the last time we went to visit her, Kyrie fell in love with this foster chi. Mom tried to convince us to take him home, but we aren't really the chihuahua types.

So exhibit C- Kyrie and Cole

Cell phone pictures-Exhibit B

2010-05-26T22:58:00.000-07:00

Christmas lights. I love them. One of my favorite things about Christmas. It's nearing summer now(although it is still pretty cold here), but I'll post some Christmas pictures anyway.

Before we left Seattle, I took Kyrie and Jayden(Mark and Isaiah had already come back to Pullman) to a botanical garden in Bellevue where they decorate the whole park with Christmas lights. Really beautiful. Here is a picture I got with my cell phone. It's a swamp with swans, dragonflies, lily pads, and all sorts of wetland flora and fauna.

After Christmas, I did a girls' outing with Kyrie and a couple of my friends. We enjoyed the lights in Lewiston at Locomotive Park.

Cell phone pictures-Exhibit A

2010-05-26T02:22:00.000-07:00

I drank too much caffeine today! Have been doing a little bit of organizing in my desk. Ran across my micro SD adapter. Fun pics that I've never shared before! I found 50 of them that were worth sharing, but you won't be bombarded with all of them now. Let's see if I get around to a post a day with different pictures to share.

Exhibit A:

Schnuzzle with Mr. Giraffe

Jayden schnuzzles again at lunch time:

Kyrie's Starry Night

2010-05-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days in Art, we have been studying Vincent Van Gogh. Kyrie got to try her own attempt on The Starry Night.

Sleepy Boy

2010-05-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

Jayden schnuzzled again today.

Mother's Day

2010-05-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't get a chance to post pictures from Mother's Day besides the family shots that turned out oh-so-nice.

I tried to get pictures of me and the kids, but as usual, Jayden wasn't a willing participant.

Mark did manage to get a shot when Jayden peeked his face in to say "cheese."

Mark got my friend to watch the kids while he took me out to lunch. We were going to go to Mongolian BBQ, but I had mentioned that I wanted to check out Red Bento sometime, and at the last minute, we decided to pull into the parking lot and go for it. It was a good choice. We had California rolls and yakisoba with shrimp. The food was delicious and the service was pretty good. I was a little chilled in there because they had the doors open to let all the smoke(I think they burned some food) out.

Afterward, we headed to the U of I arboretum. This is the place where I used to go for quiet time when I was in college. It was the place that Mark proposed to me. We went for a walk around the trail- walked all the way to the end because I knew of a bathroom, and needed to use it pretty badly. Remind me not to drink a bunch of Dr. Pepper before I go on a nature walk. ;)

We saw a few bunnies.

Self portrait

The barn at the end with the bathroom. ;)

It was a beautiful day.

Why You Haven't Seen a Picture of Our Whole Family Together For a Couple of Years

2010-05-10T00:24:00.000-07:00

I'd like to present exhibit A.

Just barely sit down and Jayden already proceeds to kick off one shoe and struggle. I try tickling him, but it's not helping. Isaiah doesn't look at the camera.

Exhibit B:

Isaiah looks at the ground while Jayden goes for the other shoe. Mark's smile starts to slowly fade.

Exhibit C:

Isaiah still looks away. Jayden is still not happy. Mark says,"Okay, we've had enough." Kyrie still has her pose.

So my apologies to my aunt who has been begging me for a family picture for a while now for my grandma's memory scrapbook, but you might have to deal with individual pictures. Or wait until my youngest outgrows his dislike of getting his picture taken- which could be 10 years from now. ;)

3 year check-up

2010-05-07T23:40:00.000-07:00

I took Jayden to his 3 year well-child visit. I was kind of apprehensive about the visit today. I know that Jayden doesn't like anyone messing with him. I have to sit on him to brush his teeth. Hair cuts are not fun. I didn't expect today to be any better. It wasn't. He didn't want the pulse oximeter on his finger. He struggled when they were taking his temperature. We were already off to a bad start. If you are a faithful blog reader, you will know that the tears come too easily for me sometimes. I was already tearing up when the nurse took us to the room. We talked about my concerns with Jayden- mostly about how he was behind his peers in speech. Jayden played with the fun toys they had in the room- happy and seemingly oblivious to what was going on.

The dr. came in later, and we talked for a little while. We went over the things that he does say- fortunately, I had been compiling a list, and he was impressed with the fact that he identifies shapes, colors, letters, numbers, and even some words that he can read. He watched Jayden playing with the IPod Touch and commented on his fine motor skills. The doctor put my mind a little more at rest when he said that he was less concerned about Jayden's speech than I was. He did a quick check of Jayden(and Jayden showed him exactly how much he dislikes being messed with).

We will be going back in a few months to see if there has been more progress, but I have already enrolled Jayden in Headstart for the upcoming year. He will have access to a Speech Therapist there, and I'm hoping that having a little more interaction with peers his age will be helpful.

When we got home, I took his carseat out of the car. He has reached the 35 lb limit for rear-facing in his seat, so we'll be turning him around now. We have chosen to keep him rear-facing for an extended period because studies have shown it to be safer and more effective than forward-facing. I used this opportunity to wash the car seat cover(that thing was dang hard to remove), and now I will have to go re-install the seat so it will be ready for Mark to take the kids out tomorrow(I will be working crowd control for graduation all day). But here are a couple of obligatory pictures.

Jayden's 3rd birthday

2010-04-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

We kept the night pretty simple. A couple of our friends came over and we served cake and ice cream.
I made this little IPod Touch cake for Jayden because he LOVES my IPod Touch!

I decided that I should be in the picture sometimes, so I handed Mark the camera. I love this picture- even if I don't have make-up on.

All-in-all, a pretty good day. Jayden actually attempted opening gifts- a task that he usually leaves up to us. He did a decent job at tearing the paper off once we got it started for him. He played with his new toy helicopter for a while before heading over to the computer- another favorite past-time of his.

Happy birthday, little guy! We sure do love you!

3 years ago today

2010-04-27T22:32:00.001-07:00

We headed to the hospital to get things underway. No baby making his appearance today. We just got things started. My extremely swollen feet and body were so ready for this day!

Learning to Ride

2010-04-25T23:45:00.000-07:00

Me: Pull down your helmet in front to protect your forehead.
Isaiah: I don't have four heads!

Some friends of ours passed down a few bikes to us a week ago, and Isaiah has been so excited to try out his "new" bike. Another friend found a helmet for him and gave it to him on Thursday- the wait was hard for him since I told him that he couldn't ride until we got a helmet.

He soon came to the realization that riding a bike wasn't easy, and I quickly came to realize that teaching him wasn't going to be easy, either. I didn't have to teach Kyrie how to ride, she just hopped on her friend's bike and started pedaling. I guess things can't always be so easy. Heaven help the kid when it comes time to teach him how to drive. ;)

Earth Day Part Deux

2010-04-23T23:18:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago some people celebrated Earth Hour. My friend does this with her family every year. And I usually end up being there when they are celebrating. For one hour, they turn out all the lights and unplug things and have fun in the dark for an hour. I've been wanting to do this with my kids for a while. So tonight, we decided to extend Earth Day for an extra hour.

We played hide and seek in the dark. The seeker wore all the glow stuff and the hider got to arrange the glow stuff however they wanted. Then they took turns finding each other in the dark. I even hid a couple of times.

Then we passed around the ball made from glow sticks. The only problem was that they kept popping out of the hubs. Next time I'm going to super glue those suckers in!

We told some progressive stories in which each person took a turn telling a part. I found out how obsessed my middle child in particular is with Wii. He made sure to incorporate it in whenever it was his turn.

For the last 15 minutes, the kids put on a dance recital while I videotaped part. I would share that, but it was mostly just chaos- not really worthy of sharing here. ;)

The kids were pretty hyped up during this time, and I was worried that they might not fall asleep very well(they got to take the glow stuff to bed), but they went out surprisingly well. It was a fabulous time. I think they're looking forward to our next celebration of Earth Hour.

The two kids together

Kyrie

Isaiah

And Jayden had fun, too, but he isn't really into holding still for pictures, so just imagine a blur of color here. ;)

Earth Day

2010-04-23T00:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not as super green as some people I know, but I try to do my part by recycling, using the reusable shopping bags, unplugging things when I'm not using them, etc. But today I thought I would get the kids into the spirit of Earth Day. We decided that we would leave the t.v. off and unplugged today. I made a little sign and hung it on the t.v. to remind the kids not to turn it on when they woke up in the morning. Kyrie had the idea of everyone wearing green.

I didn't find it too difficult to change our usual habits a bit. We got started on Math right away and the kids had a little free time to play before we took off for Bible Study. Mark walked to the church to meet us in order for us to eat lunch at McDonalds since he was going to meet a buyer of one of his E-Bay sales there. We came home and started on school work again. Our science lessons today conveniently focused on the Earth and conservation and pollution. I reminded the kids why we have Earth Day and how we can make every day Earth Day. We went outside and planted a tree in the yard. I forget what kind of tree it is, but my friend informed me that it will help suck up some of the water that accumulates in our yard sometimes.

Late in the afternoon the kids and I went on a field trip with some other homeschoolers. We went to Ferdinand's for ice cream. We made it there right before it closed, so we didn't get to watch them make cheese or anything, but the ice cream was pretty good. We grabbed our cones and headed over to the Entomology Lab at the university. We got a quick lesson on some different bugs. Our instructor brought out the tarantula, and Isaiah was brave enough to touch it(he is usually TERRIFIED of spiders). I held a hissing cockroach(though it didn't do much hissing). It tickled my hand as it scurried across. I tried to get a good picture, but the one in the slide show is the best I got. The thing moved fast!

We did plug in the t.v. again when we got back. Mark had borrowed some movies from the library, and the kids wanted to watch one. We watched Aliens in the Attic. I guess that could count as an Earth Day activity, right? The Aliens wanted to take over our green earth. ;)

So Earth Day is officially over, but we will continue to incorporate the things that we've been practicing and continue to make everyday Earth Day.

In honor of Earth Day check out The Earth From Above:A selection of photos from the world's premier aerial photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand There are some amazing photos!

Blessed

2010-04-20T23:57:00.001-07:00

Today I received a phone call from a lady that attends our church. She told me that God had put it on her heart today to come over and watch my kids so that I could get some quiet devotion time in. Now, I usually get plenty of time to myself. My wonderful husband makes sure that I can spend time out of the house about 3 times a week. Being a stay-at-home mom, I usually use that time to fulfill my social needs with other grownups. When I'm home and the kids are in bed, I usually use the time to clean and veg. Needless to say, I haven't been spending much time reading the Bible or doing much in the way of devotions. Something I'm going to be working on.

Anyway, this fabulous friend showed up and took wonderful care of my 3 young uns while I took off for some needed freedom. At first, I wasn't sure where I was going to go, but I thought about Lawson Gardens. I've never actually been there on my own- but I found the gazebo to be empty, so I sat on the bench and pulled out my Bible. I read four chapters in the book of Acts since our pastor has been focusing on it in his messages lately. I watched the birds hop around and thought about the verses in the Beatitudes: Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

That's such a hard lesson for me to learn sometimes. I have a hard time not worrying about things. Right now I worry about how my almost 3 year old doesn't talk as well as his peers. It's probably silly to worry about that because he can spell and read his name, and a few other words like "pizza" and "shop."

Anyway, I walked around the garden for a bit and hummed a few worship songs. I left feeling very refreshed. On my way to the garden, I turned on the radio, and the first song I heard was "Kyrie Eleison." I took that as a sign to pray for my daughter specifically, so that was cool, too!

I'm so grateful for this wonderful lady who took time out of her day to open up her heart and search for a need to fill. I'm motivated now to pay it forward.

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! Yesterday we dyed Easter eggs. Even Jayden got into the coloring of the eggs this year! I filled some buckets for the kids. They are hyped up on sugar currently as I type this. No egg hunts this year. Since Jayden was the only child young enough to do the one we usually do at the mini mall every year, I didn't want to bother. It's usually a madhouse at the mall anyway.

The weather was too cold for me to want to do any outdoor hunts. Our yard was all muddy from the rain and snow we had the other day. Yes, you heard that right. Snow. Funny that we have been having a lot of beautiful spring-like weather during the winter months. The seasons seemed to have reversed themselves. Of course, we get weird weather here- like when the snow came down in June I should come to expect these things.

Anyway, we went to church this morning and enjoyed the Easter production. Our church puts on really nice productions most years with original music and script. The kids sat and watched with us for the first time. After it was over, they served yummy doughnuts and the kids ran around outside. Kyrie and her friends had matching dresses, so I took pictures of them and any other photo opportunity I could find. I didn't get a good one of Jayden today- hence, the usual absence from these pictures. Maybe someday, right?

After church we went to Shari's and had Easter brunch with a big group of friends. I ordered the hot turkey sandwich- a little Thanksgiving on Easter. ;)

Now, I'm trying to veg while the kids are still hopped up on the sugar high. I hope they sleep well tonight. I remember fun times at Easter as a kid and all the sugar that went along with it. In fact, I remember eating so much candy with my cousins that we all ended up sick and throwing up Sunday night. ;)

Happy Easter everyone! If you want to see some of the pictures that I took this weekend, you can see the slideshow I made here-

Easter 2010

Spelling Practice

2010-03-25T23:04:00.001-07:00

Haven't done a Homeschooling post for a while. The kids are still cruising right along. Kyrie(1st grade) is halfway through 4th grade math and 2nd grade Language Arts. She is also doing History, Art, Science and P.E.
Isaiah is halfway through Math 2(he is officially a Kindergarten student). He is doing 1st grade Language Arts, and is excited to almost be finished with 1st grade Phonics(about 2 1/2 more weeks to go). He also has Science.

A couple of weeks ago, I found Scrabble Cheez-Its. So I picked them up for an extra fun and tasty spelling practice. The kids loved them! I was bummed tonight when we couldn't find any more in the store.

My Loyal Friend

2010-03-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

I borrowed the movie "Marley and Me" from the library the other day. I saw it in the theater before and read the book, and I laughed, I cried, it moved me. Watching it again, I laughed, I cried- you get the picture. If you haven't seen it, you should. Have tissues on hand.

Recently someone on the message board I frequent lost their dog. They did a great montage with pictures and music. I will have to admit that I don't get as many shots of Padme now that the kids are around. Before we had kids, she was pretty well photographed. I felt bad after I took the Valentine's Day shots of the kids because Padme had been in the background, and I shooed her away because she didn't quite fit in the shot very gracefully. Looking back, I should have tried some posing with the kids.

So I made up for it by getting some shots of her on St. Patrick's Day.

I really love this dog. She is really good with the kids. Very loyal. She probably doesn't have many more years with us. She turned 11 in January, and she is showing her age. She still has a lot of energy, but she's slowing down. I don't like to think of life without her. We missed her a lot when we lived in Seattle.

St. Patty's Day 2010

2010-03-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my paternal grandfather, I have a bit o'the Irish in me. Ever since Kyrie was a wee babe, I dressed her up in green and had a photo shoot for St. Patrick's Day every year, and added Isaiah into it, too(I can't remember if I ever took pictures of Jayden in green. He was born in April, and once he started getting mobile, it was nearly impossible to take a good picture of him posed.). Anyway...

Kyrie wanted to have a St. Patrick's Day party with her friends, but we were kind of crunched on time this week. What I DID do for the kids was to make green french toast and milk. It was a big hit- especially for Isaiah- "I didn't know you could make green milk!!!"

The eggs with cinnamon and green coloring

Special French toast bread with maple syrup flavoring(very yummy)

plus whipped cream with green sprinkles and green milk equals happy kid!

I was fortunate to capture the elusive little leprechaun on camera this time around. Yes, I'm aware that he could use a haircut. I plan on taking him to a special kids' place in Spokane next week in hopes of him actually sitting still and letting someone touch his precious mane.

His look would not be complete without the obligatory tubes of toothpaste that he carries around wherever he goes. It's either that, or some bottles of hand sanitizer. I have a hygienic little one!

My Famous Family

2010-03-04T21:01:00.000-08:00

This is my cousin's 3 year old daughter. They became Youtube celebrities with their video of the 3 year old crying about a teen pop star. I think it was pretty cool of Justin to go meet them. He even sent them to Disneyland!

Valentine's Weeks 2010

2010-02-25T20:15:00.000-08:00

Since my grandmother died on February 4th(more on that in the next post), I had to make an emergency trip down to the Bay Area for her funeral. Kyrie was bummed because she had wanted to do a Valentine's Day party, and I wouldn't be here for Valentine's Day. I promised her that we would have a party when I got back.

I got back on the 17th, and had to work at the basketball game on the 18th, so on the 19th, we decorated sugar cookies, the kids made cards, we had more sugar, and I made red Kool-Aid with heart shaped ice cubes.

I have been remiss on getting photo shoots done on holidays(the only pictures I got at Christmas were candids), so I decided I should do some Valentine's Day shots. No pictures of Jayden since I haven't been able to get a picture of him sitting still since he was about six months old. :P

Now I am Six

2010-02-06T21:04:00.000-08:00

But now I am Six,
I'm as clever as clever,
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Isaiah Boy!

He had a fun party today with a couple of friends. Playing Legos and watching Cars. What more could a bunch of a little boys want?

More Pics from Humanitarian Bowl Celebration

2010-01-25T23:32:00.000-08:00

I look huge in this picture! In my defense, I was wearing layers. It was very cold that day!! I do have some extra weight that is hopefully coming off this year as I use my gym membership and my new Wii Fit Plus I got for Christmas. ;)

Idaho Vandal Humanitarian Bowl Celebration

2010-01-24T00:49:00.001-08:00

Today I got to dust off my trombone, and play with the Idaho Vandal Marching Band in the parade to celebrate the Humanitarian Bowl win. It was very foggy and it had snowed the night before, but that didn't stop the celebration! We marched from downtown Moscow to the Kibbie Dome while playing Go Vandals.

*Sidenote- I took a strength training class at Snap Fitness, where I'm now a member- thanks to the wonderful Christmas gift a friend gave me(She had an ulterior motive- she wanted a workout partner). Anyway, in the class they talked about all the reasons you would want to strength train. One of the reasons was to improve your ability to play an instrument. They weren't kidding! I had forgotten how hard it is to march and play at the same time- especially when going uphill. That, and the cold weather, and my lungs were burning!

When we made it to the Kibbie Dome, we played some more, and they had autograph signing, a speech by the football coach-Robb Akey, and a chance to take pictures of the trophy. The mascot, Joe Vandal was standing by the trophy, and people were taking pictures. I was going to take a picture of him by the trophy, but he stopped me. He held his hands out, and motioned for me to give me the camera. He handed it to someone else, and I got my picture taken with the trophy and Joe Vandal. I would post pictures from today, but the camera is in the van at the moment, and I'm too tired to go out and get it. So pictures will have to wait.

Aside from feeling like an old phogey today(I believe all the band members were current ones- with the exception of a few Jr. High/High school kids that joined us for the day), it was a pretty fun time, and I enjoyed the opportunity to show pride in my Alma Mater.

Oh, and I was on the news! I'm the 2nd trombone from the right wearing my new Vandal beanie. I don't know why they didn't put footage of us playing. Certainly more interesting than watching us saunter down the road. ;) You'll have to click on the video that says,"Moscow Celebrates Vandal Football Day." Yes, the Idaho governor declared the 23rd of January to be Vandal Football Day. Mark it on your calendars, folks!

Scrapbooking? What's That?

2010-01-15T00:38:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been my favorite hobby since 1998 when I got married. Unfortunately, it has been a neglected hobby as of late. I haven't pulled my scrapbooking stuff out of the boxes in the last month after we moved back. Did I say boxes? Yep, I have a big stack of boxes waiting for a home. Our plan was to buy another bookcase to put stuff on, but we are expecting some big bills from 2 different hospitals and 2 different oral surgeons- thanks to a bad infection Mark acquired recently and took to Vegas. I have a feeling the bookcase will be put on the back burner for a while.

So, I have had lofty plans to do some scrapbooking, but I just haven't been in the mood for a while. Still, I love to collect scrap crap- don't sign me up for the A & E show "Hoarders" yet. It hasn't completely taken over our house. Just a stack in the corner of our bedroom. ;)

Okay, our local scrapbook store's design team has decided to give me a bigger chance to amass more stuff if I help with publicity(but don't let the word get out too much. I don't want to minimize my chance of winning! Bwahahaha!). Start here and follow the instructions to enter to win. On second thought, don't enter. I want to win. ;)

A Different Kind of Giveaway

2010-01-14T13:54:00.000-08:00

If you are the only one on earth who hasn't been to Pioneer Woman's blog, I encourage you to go check it out. She's doing a great giveaway that has to do with donations to Haiti charities. Help the cause and enter!

Oh, and I suppose I might get around to blogging more frequently again, but just haven't been in a blogging mood, and I haven't uploaded pictures, and, and, and...

Jaydenisms

2009-12-30T23:26:00.000-08:00

At two years and 8 months, Jayden has grown a bit more in his vocabulary. He still isn't as vocal as his brother and sister were at that age, and that can be frustrating at times because he screams a lot and throws some tantrums, but when he does talk, it's very sweet.

A Jayden dictionary with some of his words and phrases:

ah-puh-toos(octopus)- Whenever he sees the letter "o", he says,"O. ah. ahpuhtoos."

nigh-nigh- His blanket that he currently drags with him all over the house

baby- What he calls his favorite stuffed animal(giraffe), and also when he sees any picture of a baby

watuh(water) His favorite drink(unless he sees me drinking a soda at a fast food place). Usually followed by "peas"(please). He does use his manners.

"No seegig. I doen lie it!" A phrase he picked up when I was singing to him, and he all of a sudden started to scream. I told him that he needed to use his words and he learned,"No singing. I don't like it." He actually loves to sing songs together. Just wasn't in the mood that particular night, I guess. Every once in a while, he will say the phrase just because he knows that it makes us laugh.

"Ah done!" All done.

"Yay! Dih it!" Yay! I did it!

Some songs he likes to sing:

"Jesus Loves Me"

"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"- sounds more like Kee-Ko, Kee-Ko Little Stah"

"Jump Up"(sung by the Imagination Movers on the Disney Channel- complete with motions)

He actually likes singing a lot, and will sing with pretty much whatever he listens to- even if he doesn't know the words.

He also knows his colors, numbers, letters(complete with sounds), and body parts. My favorite parts that he says are "no-ese(nose), to-es(toes), and beh-yee buht(belly button)."

Well, I could go on, but I can't think of everything, and you are probably already bored by now. ;) He's really a smart little guy, and I love him a lot!

Happy Birthday, Mark!

2009-12-30T23:18:00.001-08:00

Mark turned 38 today! I made a brownie cheesecake swirl cake, and we sang to him really quick before he and I left to watch Avatar in 3D. The movie was awesome, and definitely worth seeing in the theater!

I love this man very much, and am grateful that he was born on this day 38 years ago!

An Old English Project

2009-11-27T21:56:00.000-08:00

When I was in Jr. High, we had a group project(let me tell you how much I hate group projects another time) in which we had to make a revision of a children's book and update it with big words and current issues. My partner and I picked Green Eggs and Ham. We didn't have much time in class, so I told her I would take it home and finish it. It was supposed to be typed, but my typewriter ribbon broke that night, so I turned it in with my own handwriting. My teacher told me that she shouldn't accept it since it wasn't typed, but she took it anyway. The next day, she pulled me aside and said that she was sorry that she had chewed me out because I was the only one in the class who had done the assignment correctly. Everyone else had to redo theirs.

I stumbled across this little gem of mine while I was sorting through things today(You would have thought I wouldn't have had to sort through so much since I did so 6 months ago, but that wasn't the case).

Anyway, here it is, for your reading pleasure:

Green Eggs and Ham(Revised)

Sam, the pretentious door-to-door salesman, meandered up to the door and knocked ceaselessly until it was opened. And old phogey answered the door and was about to slam it in Sam's face when Sam stuck his foot in the door and elucidated,"I am Sam!" The old man was wholly astonished and perturbed at Sam's impudent intrusion. Sam opened his box and thrusted a plate of green eggs and ham in his face. "Do you like green eggs and ham?" he queried.

"I do not like them, Sam I Am. I do not like green eggs and ham. They're full of fat and cholesterol. I'd rather eat green vegetables."

Indefatigably, Sam started running around the room with the plate. "Would you like them here or there?"

The old man responded," I would not like them here or there. I would not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham. They're not good for you Sam I Am."

Sam pulled some pamphlets out of his briefcase,"Would you like them in a condo in Beverly Hills? It even comes with your own pet mouse."

"I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham, they're not salubrious for you Sam-I-Am."

"Would you eat them in an alley in a cardboard box? Would you eat them if there was a gorgeous fox?"

"Not in a box, not with a fox, not in a house, not with a mouse. I would not eat them here or there. I would not eat them anywhere. I would not eat green eggs and ham. They are full of lipid products, Sam-I-Am."

"Would you, could you in a Porsche?"

"I would not, could not in a Porsche."

"Would you eat them in the dark, on a train, or in acid rain? Could you, would you if I gave you a bruise? Could you, would you if I took you on a cruise?"

"I would not, could not with a bruise. I will not, will not on a cruise. I will not eat them in acid rain. I will not eat them on a train. Not in the dark or in a car. I do not like them in a box. I do not like them with a fox. I will not eat them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. You cannot bribe me anywhere. I do not like them anyday, so please Sam, please just go away."

"You do not like them, but don't you see? Look! They are 95% fat free!"

In final despondency, the antiquated man replied, "Sam if you will quit dyssin' me, I will try them you will see. The old man grabbed the fork and took a bite, throroughly masticating, then yelled with delight,"Say! I like green eggs and ham! I do! I like them, Sam-I-Am!"

Sam beamed and grinned from ear to ear. Maybe his family wouldn't go hungry this year. But what Sam didn't know was that the crochety old man was tired of the door-to-door salesman disturbing him, and he had been planning revenge on the next one that came to his door. The old man reached for his. 22 calibur pistol and blew poor Sam away. The moral of this story is: if you are a door-to-door salesman, don't bother irate old men.

I am Thankful

2009-11-26T22:17:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for my family and that they are always with me no matter where we end up. I'm thankful for the roof over our head- the one currently(even though it's not ours) and the one we are heading back to(even though it's not a big, fancy place). I'm thankful that we could spend the last six months meeting new people and giving the kids some fun opportunities. I'm thankful that we will be able to go back to see our old friends and enjoy the traditions we had living in Pullman.

I don't like moving. I hate packing up all our things, but I'm thankful for things to pack.

This Thanksgiving, we were blessed to spend it with family. I didn't have to make a turkey or anything at all. Everything was taken care of. We went to Mark's aunt's house and got to see his cousins- one of whom we haven't seen for several years- and we got to meet his new wife. The dinner was lovely- the traditional turkey, of course, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, rolls, cranberry sauce, baked artichoke hearts, string beans, pumpkin pie, etc.

Mark's cousin, Bree did most of the cooking and prep!

Kyrie drank 3 Capri Suns!

Jayden didn't want to sit and eat, but he had fun running around and screeching. I think I burned the calories consumed tonight by getting up and down to try to keep him out of trouble and to quiet him down when he got too loud.

Look! A quiet second! It won't last long!

Getting started...

The olives on the fingers routine. I think this is the first time I've ever seen the boy eat olives. He said he enjoyed them!

After dinner, the kids played card games with Grandma and Daddy. Mommy chased Jayden some more. He did fairly well considering he didn't have a nap today. The tryptophan kicked in quickly tonight and the kids fell asleep quite hastily! Maybe I need to make turkey for dinner every night!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

My Little Angel, Kyrie

2009-11-10T23:38:00.000-08:00

Kyrie didn't get to go Trick-or-Treating because she was sick, but she did get invited to a carnival the week before by our neighbor friend. Her mom took some great pictures of the girls. You can't really tell in these pictures, but Kyrie has glitter all over her face and arms(she had her sweater off when she was inside). Kyrie had a blast that night, and I'm glad that she got a chance to dress up and have a good time since she was so sick the following week! Kyrie and her friend have a great time together, and we'll miss her a lot when we go back to Pullman next month.

Free Time

2009-11-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

Kyrie is finally well enough to be playing at her friend's house today. After recovering from the flu, she ended up with an ear infection. Poor thing couldn't catch a break!

Mark told me that he would watch the boys- not too hard of a job for him this afternoon since Jayden is probably napping, and he's playing Lego Batman on the Wii with Isaiah. But still, it's nice to be able to get out of the house for a while by myself.

It's pretty wet and yucky outside(hello, Seattle Fall!) so I packed up my laptop and headed to the library. Among the few usual websites I like to play on, Facebook is a big escape for me. Particularly, Bejeweled Blitz. This game is a big time sucker for me! It deceives me into thinking that a game only lasts a minute long, so that's not too bad, right? But it's kind of like Pringles- "Once you pop, you can't stop!"

A few of my friends are able to get as high of scores that I do, and once they beat my high score, I feel compelled to keep playing until I get back on top. It is very satisfying to get the 5 in a row gems that blast all the ones that are the same color, or the star gem- created by making an L or a T match of gems and clear out a whole row. When you really get going, the game makes a sizzling sound, and then you get a speed bonus time and the lights start flashing and gems start exploding left and right!

After a week of play, the game resets, and everyone goes back to the same points. Then it's back to playing again so that my score will soar high above the rest!

I've even incorporated the game into Homeschooling! Kyrie has Math Minutes where she has a bunch of problems and she has to see how many she can get done in a minute. Well, a minute of me playing Bejeweled has turned into a very effective and entertaining stop watch. ;)

Isaiah, the Slow-Eater, Tiny Bite Taker

2009-11-04T23:56:00.000-08:00

We've been reading this book for Isaiah's Language Arts the last couple of weeks. I just found out tonight that my husband's grandma was friends with the author of this book, by the way. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading this book, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle is an eccentric lady who has all sorts of cures for childhood ailments like selfishness, kids who won't pick up toys, kids who talk back, and the category that Isaiah falls into- slow eater, tiny bite taker. I swear, the boy would graze all day if we let him. It's good to eat relatively slow and take small bites, but in our fast-paced American society, we usually like to get it done!

So after reading this chapter today, I decided to play a little joke on Isaiah. Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's cure for the slow-eater, tiny bite taker was to gradually make the plates smaller. The first day the meal serving was on a plate the size of a saucer, a cup like a small after-dinner coffee cup, and they were given a small fork and a little spoon. The next meal was served on a plate like a doll plate, had a doll cup, and a very small fork and spoon. Each meal gradually got smaller until the plate was the size of a small penny, the cup would hold a small drop, and a fork like a needle, a spoon like a pin. Even with the small servings, the boy still would only eat a portion of it until he got so weak that he couldn't even sit up, and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle told him it was his turn to take the pony out for a walk, but he couldn't stay on and so he finally ate to get his strength back and was able to get back on the pony.

I actually skipped the saucer size plate and headed straight for the doll size plate- just to get a laugh out of Isaiah. He enjoyed bringing the story to life. I gave him a bigger size portion later. I think he might always be a slow eater, but he's a pretty good boy.

Sleep Talking

2009-11-01T00:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know if Kyrie is always like this in her sleep, or maybe when she is just sick with a high fever, but she has been talking in her sleep.

Tonight she sat up and asked me to help her stand up. So I did. I asked her if she wanted help getting to the bathroom. "No."
"What do you want,then?"
"What's 10 +10?"(by the way, she's in 3rd grade Math, and certainly knows the answer to this. ;))
"20"
She points to my finger. "I need 20 of those."
"20 fingers?"
"I need 20 fingers."

Then she lay down again and she looked at me and smiled. "Never mind," she says."I love you." Then she closes her eyes and starts mumbling incoherently.

Fever is down to 99 degrees now. I hope we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

"Ti-ah-tee"

2009-10-31T23:18:00.000-07:00

That's what Jayden managed to get out tonight after he started getting the hang of Trick-or-Treating. Even though I carried him pretty much all over the place(I'm going to have Amazon Woman Arms thanks to this kid), he liked climbing up the stairs and going to the doors and knocking on them. He scored several full size candy bars! He was even polite and said,"Thank you!" and "buh-bye"(though he still has a very soft voice with people he doesn't know). We also went out this afternoon to downtown where the businesses were handing out candy, too. They had a parade of costumed dogs, and I thought this one was the best. Of course, I might be biased toward Chocolate Labs. They had a weiner dog race after the parade, too, but we missed it because Jayden was getting fussy.

You might notice two kids missing from these pictures. Kyrie is still sick and has a fever. Isaiah had a fever of 101 today, too. Bummer for them, but we rented the new Tinkerbell movie(RedBox is awesome!) and we got plenty of candy from Jayden's efforts alone to last this household a LONG time. Must have self control...Must have self control...Must have self control...

Sick

2009-10-31T01:24:00.001-07:00

This is what Kyrie has been doing all day today. She's been running a fever of 101.5. She needed help getting to the bathroom tonight because she was too weak to walk. Didn't eat anything except for a couple of bites of sandwich- odd for the child who usually tells me that they are hungry half an hour after she ate her last meal. I've been making sure she stays hydrated, though.

So no trick-or-treating for her tomorrow. I promised that she would get some candy still and that I would rent the new Tinkerbell movie for her.

My 7 year old

2009-10-26T22:12:00.001-07:00

Best friends: The old ones in Pullman, and her new ones- Sarah, Amelia, Frances, Ellie and Lily

favorite food: candy(Almond Joy and White chocolate Kit Kat), Hamburger Helper for dinner, ham and cheese sandwiches and favorite cereal is Fruit Rings(dry with no milk).

favorite toys: Littlest Pet Shop, Hello Kitty, Polly Pocket(any tiny little girl toys that are easy to suck up in a vacuum!), the Leapfrog Didj

favorite subject:Science

favorite activities: playing with friends, sleepovers, playing in the PlayPlace at McDonalds, going to the store

dislikes: when Mommy has to get dirt out of my fingernails

Free Giveaway on my Husband's Blog!!!

2009-10-25T22:27:00.001-07:00

The Geek Church is giving away a Bushnell Backtrack. It's an electronic compass/GPS. Retail price is $69. It would make a great Christmas present! Go check it out!

Nostalgia

2009-10-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

7 years ago today, I was in the hospital. They induced my labor with Cervadil. I spent most of the night cramping and in the bathroom(felt like I had to go constantly, but later learned that the sensation was normal for women in labor).

This next layout actually described what I had to go through a few days earlier when my dr. wanted to induce me initially, but the hospital ended up sending me home because they were full and the non-stress tests turned out okay. If you can't see it in the picture, my ankles are swollen like balloons. Those sandals were the only thing I could wear for the last few weeks of my pregnancy. My fingers looked like little sausages, too!

In about 13 hours from now, I'll be throwing a party for my oldest baby. Can't believe she will be 7! Where does the time go?

Endearing

2009-10-23T00:43:00.000-07:00

Moments like this make my heart melt. Jayden has started losing his afternoon naps(NOOOOOOOOOO!), but every now and then I will find him snoozing(Mark calls it "taking a snuzzle"-important to note that "snuzzle" is not a verb) on the floor when he is just too tired to stay awake. I found Kyrie patting his head today, and I had to go run and get the camera and try not to disrupt the sweetness.

Today the kids and I took a walk with Grandma to the salon so she could get her hair cut. The kids always enjoy going along and playing with the little toys they keep in the corner. A song came on the radio, and Kyrie asks,"Do you know what song this is?"
"Nope."
"It's 21 Guns. I've heard it a few times lately."
"On the I-Pod?"
"No, on VH1."
My almost seven year old is already into the music video scene. Maybe I should be worried? Actually, she will sometimes wake up early in the morning and watch the Beatles on VH1. My friend Kimberly(ultimate Beatles fan) would be proud!

Bed Hogs

2009-10-19T00:09:00.001-07:00

This is why my husband ended up sleeping in Isaiah's bed, and I woke up at the foot of the bed this morning.

Like Mother, Like Son

2009-10-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

At age 2, this child is already becoming adept at using a computer. I thought we were safe for a while when he only moved the mouse around, but then he started scrolling and clicking, and now he can get around on different websites.

Our Weekend Vacation

2009-09-26T15:19:00.001-07:00

Last week I made a mention of the trip we took to Westport to visit Mark's aunt and uncle at their condo on the beach. Here are a 1/4 of the 60 pictures I took. It's really hard to narrow down the ones that I like the most. I think that's why I procrastinated so much in posting them this week!

I really love this picture! I wish it turned out a little better. If any Photoshop experts reading my blog think they can tackle this one, I'd be really grateful!

Jayden loved the beach. He was a little timid around the ocean waves, though.

If you squint really hard, you might be able to see the mermaid tail that we made for Kyrie!

The kids love playing in the sand!

This telescope was free! Usually these kinds of telescopes require quarters to enjoy, so we were pleasantly surprised that it didn't cost a dime!

Pretty sunset!

The tallest lighthouse in Washington. Too bad the ocean has gone so far out from it. It used to be right on the coast. Now it is about a mile inland. It still shines at night, though. I loved going out on the deck at night and watching it shine through the mist.

We got treated to breakfast both mornings that we were there in a little cafe near the water. The first day we saw a little sea lion swimming around in the water, and the next morning we went back to see if he was still there. Instead, we heard a bunch of them barking. We were able to walk out on the docks and actually see these guys up close! We kept our distance, of course, but it was amazing how close we could have been. We've been to see the sea lions at Pier 39 in San Francisco, but we were a lot closer to these creatures!

Another fun part of our stay was the swimming pool. Grandma A and Grandpa B bought these little squirting fish, but the kids enjoyed having Grandpa come join them in the pool to play! He kept the kids laughing all weekend!

Even Jayden enjoyed the pool!

So those are the pictures I've decided to upload. Like I said earlier, it's only a 1/4 of the pictures that I took. We really had a great time!

Homeschool Friends

2009-09-23T22:52:00.000-07:00

At the lantern festival, Kyrie made instant friends with another girl there. They ran around together all evening, and I got talking to the girl's mom and found out that she homeschools(unschools). Even though we're not certain of our future here, I've been wanting to get to know some other homeschoolers, and the mom told me of a group that meets in Seattle parks once a week.

Yesterday we met up with them for the first time. Kyrie and Isaiah had one big recess while I got to have my own social time with other moms. It's something that Kyrie and I both crave. Isaiah isn't really very social(although he plays well with others), but he enjoyed playing on the slides and swings and merry-go-round.

I enjoy the fact that they get to play with kids of all ages, and are not necessarily limited to just the kids in their age group. One of the homeschoolers(14) was like a big buddy to all the little kids and they enjoyed having him push the whole group on the merry-go-round.

How many homeschoolers can you fit on a merry-go-round?

Kyrie and her friends went round and round a lot that day!

No matter how many friends Kyrie makes, she'll always have this friend around

When we're not enjoying the outdoors, we are learning to discover the world around us- even when we're inside:

We also got a chance to meet up with another group of homeschoolers who meet once a month to do an activity. We got to build trebuchets. The kids had fun launching balls of paper at each other using a trebuchet built out of two milk cartons, a yard stick attached to a skinny wooden dowel with a couple of rubber bands, and a counter-weight at the end. They provided some metal washers, but I found that adding more weight(my keys) helped it launch better.

Arts Aglow

2009-09-21T00:05:00.000-07:00

On continuation from the prior Saturday, I took Kyrie and Isaiah to the Arts Aglow lantern festival in the evening. It was a pretty fun and interesting experience.

First, we made some new lanterns. The kids had made some out of paper bags earlier at Kids' Day, but they wanted to make the other kind, too. They turned out a lot neater than the paper bag ones anyway.

The event took place in the Interim Art Space at Towne Square.

The new lanterns and decor fit nicely in with the rest of the sculptures around the plaza.

(these were actually lit later on, but my photography didn't do it justice)

They had face painting, so of course, the kids had to get in line for that!
The guy painting Isaiah's face was pretty stoked because Isaiah was his first and only customer to request this design that was included in the samples. They didn't think anyone would choose it. Only my son...

Kyrie chose a more contemporary design. It had pretty sparkles that you can't see very well in this picture:

After that we got our lanterns lit...

And enjoyed the entertainment of the stilt walkers and the Yellow Hat Band

Soon some illuminated people on stilts came in and started the procession. The kids and I ended up toward the front of the procession, and as we looked behind us, we saw a very pretty sight of lanterns following us.

At the end of the procession, they had us make a wish and blow out our lanterns. Then they attempted to present a three dimensional shadow puppet show, but they kept blowing a fuse, so we only got to see a few minutes of it.

Kyrie met some new friends, and her new friend happens to be homeschooled(or actually "unschooled"). We got to meet up with them at a homeschoolers outing at the park today(but that's another post).

The kids had a blast, and they were so excited to have a day of fun and to be able to stay out past their bedtime!

Here are a couple of the other lantern design pictures I took. To see some better pictures from the event, you can check out this Flickr stream.

Kids' Day

2009-09-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

I've been a bad blogger lately. I have some time while I'm waiting for Jayden to fall asleep though(yes, it's 11:30 at night, and he is still playing and talking to himself in his bed), so I'll take the time to do an update.

First off, I'll say that we've really been enjoying ourselves here in Seattle. Unfortunately, I think we're starting to realize that it's probably not going to work out for us to live here, though, and we'll probably be heading back to Pullman in December. It's a bit frustrating for me because we moved here in hopes that Mark would be able to find a good job and that we'd be closer to some family and would have some great opportunities for the kids. But Pullman is a good place, too, and we have a home there and friends- some who are like family- waiting there for us.

In the meantime, I think we've been making some pretty cool memories for the kids. Last Saturday I took them to Kids' Day at the Fire Station. They had a pretty cool setup there. The kids got to see all the different ways our community helpers keep us safe.

The SWAT vehicle was pretty cool:

The kids got to go in and explore..

They went in the ambulance:

Isaiah dressed up like a fireman and got his picture taken with one of the firemen. They printed out pictures better than the one I took, but I haven't scanned it in yet. It's pretty cute. Kyrie didn't want to dress up and take pictures for some reason. I was surprised because she usually lives for the opportunity!

Kyrie and Isaiah both got to put out a pretend fire with a real fire hose!

They enjoyed a cool demonstration of the firefighters using the Jaws of Life to open a car door, and then they broke all the windows and used a special tool to take off the roof.

The kids had fun trying to find candy in the straw!

There was also a lot of bouncing to be done in the bouncy castle(which happened to have a big Dalmation dog at the top(I guess to go with the fire house theme).

Halfway through the event, I ended up having to take Jayden home because he was getting fussy and needed a nap, but I put Daddy in charge of him and brought the older two kids back so we could finish going through all the stations so they could get their passports filled out and complete the scavenger hunt for the big bike drawing. Jayden and Isaiah both ended up winning door prizes that day. Isaiah got 3 whole sets of toys from the movie Cars(which he is a big fan of- he picked that gift out right away), and the prize I picked out for Jayden was a LeapFrog toy that helps teach writing letters and shapes. Jayden enjoys it right now because he can push buttons and it makes fun sounds and stuff, but I'm sure he'll figure it out before too long. He likes to push the letters and hear it say the letter. He's getting really good at identifying letters.

Anyway, I was going to blog about the 2nd part of the day, but it's getting really late, and Jayden is actually asleep. We are currently spending the weekend at a condo on the beach at WestPort with Mark's uncle and aunt. We're having a wonderful time. The kids play at the beach and swim in the pool. Uncle B and Aunt P have the kids call them Grandma and Grandpa because they are grandparents(and they spoil the kids like grandparents are supposed to do! ;)) Tomorrow we head back, and I know we'll all miss it here. The kids have a lot of fun playing with Grandpa B. I love being able to hear the ocean from my bedroom window. Mark even left his laptop at home so he would actually take a real vacation.

I do have some very cool pictures to share from that, so I should be a busy blogger this week!

Jayden Cuteness

2009-09-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

Last week I had to film Jayden in the tub because he was being cute and singing songs and stuff. This is a snippet of how he made me smile.

Back to School Bash

2009-09-11T00:10:00.000-07:00

Today we headed over to Tukwila for our Back-to-School Bash for the WAVA students. This was Kyrie's and Isaiah's first time bowling(except for on the Wii), and they had a blast. Excuse the blurry pictures. The ones I take with the flash usually end up whiting everybody out, so I do the best with what I have.

sharing a lemonade

The lovely bowling shoes

Kyrie's new friend

The kids did better than I did the second round. If only I had used bumpers!
Kyrie bowled a 70 and a 79.
Isaiah got 44 and 66. I won't tell you my scores, lol.

Another new friend(don't tell me that homeschoolers are not socialized! ;))

Isaiah had his own technique- mostly dropping the ball, and sometime falling on his rear!

Today we headed over to Tukwila for our Back-to-School Bash for the WAVA students. This was Kyrie's and Isaiah's first time bowling(except for on the Wii), and they had a blast.

9 photos on 9-9-09

2009-09-09T23:16:00.000-07:00

I was going to post nine pictures I took today, but the battery to my camera went dead, so it's charging, and I'm not going to wait around all night to upload. So for your enjoying pleasure- nine never-before-seen pictures(at least here on my blog):

Last Fall we went to a cool corn maze/pumpkin patch in Spokane. I hope we find one around here this year!

The two oldest last year in the corn maze

Something Jayden should be doing right now, but is failing at. Last night he
was up until 1 a.m. I wonder if I'll see a repeat performance?

Jayden with his balloon hat at a outdoor concert we went to this summer.

The kids feeding the kids at the zoo. Get it? ;)

We took the family on the Light Rail about a month ago.

Budgie Buddies at the Point Defiance Zoo

A cute pic I got of Isaiah our last day of church in Pullman.

Mark's funny idea when we had the stack of cash at our garage sale. If
you've seen the Geico ad, you'll know what I'm talking about. "It always feels like somebody's watching me!"

School officially started for the kids yesterday. I found out we have the same teacher we had last year. In WAVA, I'm called a Learning Coach, and we have a teacher who helps keep track of our progress and stuff. I haven't been able to talk to our teacher yet, but I hope he will send me an e-mail soon and that we can begin testing for Isaiah. I've kind of been making do with what we have in the meantime.

Tomorrow we get to go bowling with the other area WAVA students. That should be a lot of fun for the kids!

Thanks to whistlererin for her tutorial on how to resize my pics in Blogger. ;)

Life's ramblings

2009-09-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

We've been housesitting/dogsitting for Mark's aunt since Thursday. It's been sort of like a mini vacation- even though we are about a 10 minute drive from his mom's place. The kids have been enjoying playing in the nice big backyard and getting to sleep in the loft room with a tv to watch videos before bedtime.

Mark went to the Penny Arcade Expo this weekend. If you are interested in that, you could check out his new website at TheGeekChurch.com I guess I wouldn't be a very good wife if I didn't help him promote his site. It's a site dedicated to technology, gadgets, and Christianity(although, even if you aren't a Christian, you'd probably enjoy it). He's hoping that it will take off and help supplement his writing career, so if you care at all about our financial well-being, go visit and tell your friends! ;) Views expressed on his blog are not necessarily the views of his wife, so if he offends you in any way, be sure to tell him(and don't blame me ;))

Anyway, I'm glad to have him back with our family again. Even though he came home at night(late), I miss having him around and having someone to tag team the kids with me!

I enjoyed Labor Day today with the kids while Mark labored. I took the older two to see the movie "Up." It was playing in the cheap theater(although the popcorn made up for that!) Later today we had fun with Auntie Kim. The kids really love having her around!

Tonight I got a bit of a laugh. Jayden was playing around in his playpen for quite a while. Every once in a while, he would protest his captivity, and I wasn't sure if I was going to have to bring him out or let him calm himself to sleep. At about 10:45 he was singing(na,na,na na na na na naaaaaa!) to himself, and when I went back a few minutes later, he was out cold. Isaiah had fallen asleep before Kyrie came down to ask one of us to snuggle with her, but when she went back upstairs, he woke up crying, so Mark brought him down to our bed. Kyrie was still begging someone to snuggle with her, so I finished up what I was doing and headed up stairs to oblige. She was out of it, too! Kids are so funny sometimes!

Well, that's a bit of a rambling of what has been happening the past week. Tomorrow the kids start school officially. I'm supposed to be getting a phone call from their new teacher to introduce themselves. Hopefully I'll be able to find out how to get Isaiah into the right level of curriculum. Until then, I'll work with him from Kyrie's old stuff that we didn't use at the beginning since it was sent late last year.

I am hoping that by tomorrow I'll get photos and some video posted. I always think blogs are more interesting with pictures. The software we have for our video camera isn't compatible with my new computer, so I'm at the mercy of my loving husband to upload the stuff on his.

Back to School Prep

2009-08-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

Washington Virtual Academy doesn't officially start until the 9th, but I've been trying to ease the kids back into school mode since they are used to being able to do whatever they want all day long. I've been having them do Math and Reading each day. So far it's going okay. I'm starting to realize how much harder it will be to have Isaiah officially doing school this year. When I'm helping one, the other one needs help.

I got all the curriculum for both kids now. Isaiah's came the other day. I have a feeling that we're just going to have to send it back because they didn't do the testing during the enrollment process like they did with Kyrie where she was able to test into 1st grade Math and Language Arts. Isaiah is at the same place Kyrie was when she started last year, but they sent me the Kindergarten curriculum, and supposedly the teacher will give us the test to determine where he is when school starts. Which means it will be a week or so before the new curriculum comes. I still have Kyrie's workbooks from 1st grade Math(we got her curriculum late last year and mostly did on-line stuff at first), so Isaiah has been working in that for the last week.

The other day I took them to the library while Jayden was napping(one of the perks of Mark working from home) and we did school work there. Kyrie and Isaiah also received their final prize for completing 1000 hours of reading this summer. At the half-way point they got a free coupon for Pizza Hut, and this time they got an art kit with paint, markers, colored pencils, pastels, etc. They were thrilled!

Mommy got her own reading time in while Isaiah played on the computers and Kyrie cracked open her new art kit.

Isaiah worked on subtraction.

Kyrie did multi-step word problems.

Official Swimmer

2009-08-27T22:24:00.000-07:00

Kyrie got really brave this week and told me that she wanted to jump off the diving board without me there to catch her. I told her that she would need to demonstrate to the lifeguards that she could be by herself in the deep end by swimming across the pool and back. And she did! She was very proud of the wristband she got as proof.

And it's not very easy to see in these pictures, but she has a really great tan this summer!

playing with pictures

2009-08-16T00:56:00.000-07:00

I used to want to learn Photoshop Elements for the simple fact that I could selectively color images.
A person on the scrapbooking message board did this picture for me:

Well, today I found a program on Photobucket.com which doesn't require as much of a learning curve as PSE, and it's free!
So here are some photos that I've played around with today(that came from our recent trip to the zoo that I should blog about soon).

Cute Giveaway

2009-08-16T00:23:00.000-07:00

If you're in the market for a birthday banner for your young daughter, you might take a look at this giveaway- Little Bit Funky's site .

Look-alikes

2009-08-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

Look at the similarities between Mark and Jayden at the same age! No wonder everyone calls Jayden "mini-Mark!"

My Favorite People

2009-08-12T00:35:00.000-07:00

Enjoying lunch at McDonald's. This is what I bribed Isaiah with if he would do swim lessons with out a big fuss- even though it was kind of cold outside.

I love this picture. Jayden liked wearing goggles. The other people in the restaurant got a kick out of him, too.

The End of Swim Lessons

2009-08-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

A little over 2 weeks ago, Isaiah wouldn't jump into the pool without holding on to someone's hands. He was afraid to put his face in the water. The same was pretty much true for Kyrie. They both grew a lot in swim lessons over the previous two weeks. They both learned to do the freestyle. Isaiah discovered the joys of jumping off the diving board. Kyrie was passed on to level 2 swim lessons because once she got the hang of it, she could float by herself, swim underwater and get her toy, etc. Isaiah's report card suggested that he repeat level 1. Even though he can freestyle swim on his own, he refused to show the teachers that he could float on his tummy or his back. He also had a hard time dealing with getting his toy off the bottom of the pool. I think he only needs a little more time to realize that he really CAN do it. I don't want to pay another $50 for him to repeat a level. I'm thinking that we got a good start to swimming skills, and that they both can swim well enough not to take any more lessons. I thought that they would do better to have someone else teach them how to swim, and I think initially it was good, but Isaiah does better without the pressure. I don't know. I'll keep practicing with him to see if he improves.

There's your toy down there! Are you going to get it this time?

Isaiah puts his whole face in the water! A big accomplishment for him!

He's so proud of himself!

Kyrie is pretty much a pro at this

Their favorite part of swim lessons

Thursday Night at Seattle Center

2009-08-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, we met up with Auntie Kim at Seattle Center. It was Free First Thursday at the Experience Music Project,

and we wanted to take the kids to see

We got in okay, but there was a big line of others waiting to see the Jim Henson exhibit, too. They told us that we wouldn't be able to get in, but they would give us a free pass to see it the next day. Mark didn't want to go back, so we passed on that, and looked around at the other exhibits. I didn't bring my camera in because I had read on their website that photography inside wasn't allowed, but everyone was taking pictures anyway.
You can see some cool pictures here, though.

We enjoyed seeing and hearing the musical instrument sculpture. Even with the large numbers of people there that day, we were able to get access to the headphones to hear them. Jayden didn't want to take the headphones off. We also went to the sound lab, and the kids got to play on the interactive percussion table, but the lines and wait times were too long for them to be able to do any of the other activities. Jayden's limited two year old patience didn't last very long, and I had problems carrying him around since they made me check his backpack carrier because it was too big.

We headed back outside to the International Fountain. This fountain was constructed for the 1962 World's Fair. It has a changing pattern of shooting water, and is accompanied by world music that is changed once a month and is choreographed with the fountain.

Kyrie LOVED the fountain and got soaked- even though the weather was pretty mild and we didn't bring a change of clothes. To my surprise, Jayden loved it, too! He didn't get as wet as Kyrie, but he and I both got a bit wet with a surprise shot from the fountain.

(By the way, I did take my little guy in to get his hair cut on Saturday. He really needed it!)

We stopped briefly to watch a street performer with hula hoops and card-throwing at a pretty amazing distance.

Walked around the Center House for a bit and headed back outside where the kids found a clown making balloon animals. On our way back to the van, we ran into some old friends who used to go to our church in Pullman. They were going to see Harry Potter at the I-MAX. I thought it was a pretty cool coincidence that we would run into them in Seattle. In the sea of so many unknown faces, it's nice to come across an old recognizable one.

And that ended our little family jaunt for that day. We've been having a lot of adventures this summer. The kids have been loving it!

After wedding brunch

2009-08-06T23:38:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we got to go to a brunch held at the house of the mother and father of the bride(Mark's aunt and uncle). It was a lot of fun! Lots of wonderful food! They have a beautiful house, and it's right on the lake, so everyone brought their swim suits and had fun in the water. Kyrie had a blast, literally, squirting her cousin(once removed- had to look that up. The whole genealogical lines confuse me sometimes) with water guns. He got her back, too.

Kyrie got to meet up with her 2nd cousin after several years since the last time we saw her. They are 4 months apart, so they had a lot of fun playing together.

They took us out on boat rides- wish I had my camera with me then-Kyrie and Isaiah got to drive the boat. Jayden had fun on the boat, too. He almost fell asleep, but he loved watching the water off the side of the boat.

Jayden slept well on the way home! What a great time we all had!

I Think I Can!

2009-08-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

Another cold morning in the Seattle area. Two more days of swim lessons. I hope it doesn't get any colder! Kyrie remembered to take her jacket off before she got in the pool today. I had to pretty much toss Isaiah in the pool, once again. He had a pretty rough go today. Didn't want to do anything because he was f-f-f-f-f-reezing. He refused to give up, though. He whined at the teacher pretty much the whole time. I was embarrassed. She kept telling him that if he wasn't going to participate in swim lessons that he could get out. I knelt down at the side of the pool and got ready to pull him out. "NO, NO, NO! I'll do it!" The task was to swim freestyle to the teacher standing 3 feet away. Isaiah doesn't like putting his face in the water, but he doesn't understand that his body sinks when he keeps his head up. As soon as he saw the other kids get out of the pool and head for the diving board, though, he was motivated! He wanted to go off the diving board, too! This kid who was afraid to jump in the pool last week without holding on to someone's hands!

So anyway, he stuck his face in the water and actually did it! Nice big arm strokes and everything! My tears broke the dam out of both frustration and pride. With lots of praise from me and his swim teacher, he climbed happily out of the pool and walked over to the diving board. Looks like he will actually pass Level 1 this summer!

The weather report calls for a high of only 75 tomorrow, but hopefully the promise of McDonalds for lunch will get him to focus on completing his goal.

I'm proud of my Little Train Who Could.

Cooling Down

2009-08-05T00:05:00.000-07:00

The temperatures we've had the last couple of days are starting to please the Seattlites a bit more. I was kind of nervous taking my two kids to swim lessons today. Isaiah had complained about being cold yesterday, and it was even colder today. They wore their jackets to the outdoor pool today. Kyrie forgot to take hers off when she got in the water. Oooops!

Isaiah was very reluctant to get in, but I managed to lower his body in the pool. Sorry, little guy! He eventually realized that it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. By the way, he is having more success in swim lessons- including reaching down at the bottom of the pool for his toy! At the end of lessons today, the teachers told the kids to get out of the pool and follow them. I could sense what was coming. They were going to jump off the diving board! Another mom was sitting next to me, and we discussed how our reserved offspring would balk at such a task. We both watched in amazement when they actually did it! I was so proud of Isaiah! He was proud of himself, too!

On a funny note, Jayden has been learning to sing. He sings a long when we play Rock Band 2. Well, the only part he sings is "Na, na, na, na,na, na, na..." on the song "E-Pro." The funny thing is that he's singing "Ring Around the Rosies," but cannot quite pronounce the word "ashes." Can you figure out what word is coming out instead? If he grows up cursing like a sailor, I'm going to blame my husband. Today he said that while we were at swimming lessons, they watched part of "Live Free or Die Hard" today. He thinks he heard Jayden repeat Bruce Willis after he said the "S" word. In the meantime, I'm still trying to teach the kid how to use words to communicate instead of grunting and crying and pointing. He is coming along, though, and I suppose one of these days he'll start talking so much that I'll be complaining about that!

11 years!

2009-08-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

11 years of my life well-spent with my husband.
I love you more than words can say!

I got to spend this lovely day at his cousin's wedding. It was really inspiring to listen to their celebrant give the ceremony and talk about things that we were living. Especially the part about people being more important than possessions. It has been a frustrating couple of months wondering about where we're going to go next, but the most important thing we have is love for each other and for our family. I renewed my vows today in my heart as the bride and groom made their vows for each other.

We're in this together, and I'm glad we are!

It's late(and technically not our anniversary anymore since it's after midnight), so I'll try to find some time to upload a picture or two of our wedding tomorrow.

Melting

2009-07-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

It's 102 degrees in Seattle, and while that was pretty much expected in Pullman, everyone here is melting. Nobody has air conditioning in their homes. I'll have to say that it's a lot cooler in our basement apartment than in our old place with only a swamp cooler.

To beat the heat, I'm sitting at the pool with Kyrie and Isaiah and their neighbor friend who always likes to tag along with us. Swim lessons are paying off. Kyrie has a lot less fear and trepidation than Isaiah still, but he's coming along. Still doesn't want to dive for the toy, but he jumps in without a death grip and counts my fingers underwater and will actually float by himself for a few seconds.

Kyrie had Vacation Bible School again yesterday, and she had a blast! They got to go to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium(lucky duck)! Their bus got a flat tire, so they didn't get back until 6. We were planning on taking the kids to Pizza Hut because they got a personal pan pizza for their summer reading prize. We thought the restaurant was a sit down style, so we were a little surprised to get inside and find no tables. We took our pizza to the church parking lot and found a shady spot to eat while we waited for Kyrie. After she got back, we took all the kids(neighbor kid included) to a nice shady park. One would have thought that after all the activities of the day, they would have fallen asleep quickly, but such was not the case.

I guess that's summer for ya!

1st Day of Swim Lessons

2009-07-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

It's 81 degrees now at 1:00. We're supposed to reach a high of 91 today. Pretty warm for the Seattle area! I've been amazed by the warm weather and lack of rain we've been having.

It's a good thing that it's been nice and warm as Isaiah started his first swim lesson today and Kyrie went off to have fun at Vacation Bible School this morning. They get to go to Seahurst Park later this afternoon and play in the water. I sent her off with a Bento lunch. I haven't made one in a while. She really likes the shaped boiled eggs.

I knew that Isaiah was going to be really timid at the lesson. I tried bribing him by taking him to the Dollar Tree to pick a prize for doing a good job in his lesson. We got to the pool, and they wanted him to jump in to them, and he half-jumped, while maintaining a death grip on my fingers. The other kids in his class were 3 and 4 years old, and they were a lot less fearful than him. I'm thinking we waited too long before starting lessons. Of course, Isaiah has always been a pretty shy and reserved kid.

They got him to do a few bobs(though he didn't completely put the top of his head under). After that, they helped them float on their backs and stomachs. At least he put his face under water when they asked him to. They helped the kids go down and pick up the little toy discs on the bottom of the pool, but Isaiah would have NONE of that! I think he clawed the poor teacher's neck because she came back wincing and grabbing her neck in pain. They did some kicking across the pool with kickboards and the teachers were having the kids jump into them. Again, Isaiah didn't want to- unless the teacher held his hand. They came back across to the shallow end and worked on kicking while holding on to the wall. Isaiah is fairly good at kicking, but he kicks with his knees bent- although, all the kids were doing this, so he wasn't alone there.
They played a game of who could hold their breath the longest, but Isaiah didn't even want to try.

End of lessons. I think we'll be going to the pool a lot this week to work on some of these skills with him. Fortunately, it's supposed to be warm and sunny all week!

Reluctant Little Fish

2009-07-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

Another trip to the pool yesterday. Things went a little differently than our past trips. Normally, Kyrie has been very timid and afraid of doing anything besides hanging on to the pool noodle and the wall in the shallow end of the pool. I told Kyrie that since we were starting swimming lessons next week, she should practice jumping in to me. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Reluctantly, she jumped into me, but only if I was holding her hands. I started to think that the $50 investment for her to take lessons might not be such a great idea. After a while, I decided to play a game with her of counting our fingers underwater because we had goggles on. At first, she didn't want to stick her face in the water because she didn't want water up her nose or in her ears, but after a while, she became more daring. So I took it a little further by having her come underwater with me to make funny faces. She was enjoying that.

Soon she became really comfortable in the water, so I told her that if she could put her face in the water, it would help her swim. Goodbye, pool noodle! Soon she was doing the doggie paddle on her own! A little 5 year old girl came up and started showing off for Kyrie, and peer pressure worked! She was jumping off the side of the pool all by herself! Next thing I know, her friend is teaching her cannonballs!

I wish I had my video camera with me. My heart was beaming as she grew in this new milestone! I'm thinking of investing in a disposable underwater camera. Kyrie was so cute with her underwater antics.

Isaiah, who has been the bold one in the water in past trips, suddenly regressed and spent most of his time on the lounge chairs complaining how cold he was. I hope he does okay at swim lessons! Maybe it will be better to have someone besides mom as the teacher.

Goodbye First Tooth

2009-07-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

Kyrie was eating her snack of apples and peanut butter this afternoon and bit down on something hard, so she spit it out. She felt a space in her mouth with her tongue where a previously wiggly central incisor had once resided.

She was very enthusiastic! So was Mommy! I was very glad that it fell out instead of me having to convince her to let me pull it. This morning she was complaining about it hurting, so I told her that we could pull it quick and make it stop hurting. She clasped her hands over her mouth and shook her head vigorously. No go.

BTW, these pictures were taken with my camcorder, and I am pleased at the way these ones turned out- especially the first one.

Welcome to the Pool!

2009-07-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

Notice there's some Poo in it. Let's not keep it that way!

Yeah, so we took the kids to the pool today and we were there for about 20 minutes before we had to clear out because they found poop(in the deep end, nonetheless). Ah well.

On another note, the kids are going to start swim lessons next week. We'll see how well that goes over. Kyrie has a two day Vacation Bible School that will be going all day on Monday and Tuesday, so she'll miss the first couple of classes, but they said it wouldn't be a problem.

Jayden's Favorite Commercial

2009-07-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what a two year old finds so fascinating about this commercial, but everytime it comes on, he starts squealing happily and stops whatever he's doing to watch it. Mark says it's a little disturbing because the little cereal square is basically practicing cannibalism, lol.
It's the Cinnamon Toast Crunch commercial for those who don't want to watch the clip.

My Day Off

2009-07-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

Back in Pullman, I went to my friend's house every Saturday and we hung out and did scrapbooking and other things together. It was nice taking the day off and not having to worry about the kids for a while. Mark has made it a point to make sure that I continue the tradition of fueling my social life on Saturdays. Today I got to hang out with my wonderful sister(technically, in-law, but she's more like a real sister, so for future references, the in-law tag will be left off).

Today was the opening of Seattle's light rail. Kim and I thought it would be fun to meet down-town and ride it on opening day. Kim suggested that I take the bus from Burien to meet her to avoid traffic and parking complications. It's about time that I take the next step to surviving big city life. The bus ride was an experience. You see all sorts of different people on the bus. It was fine until it started getting crowded, people standing in the aisles, the smell of cigarettes and body odor gave me a small headache. I got off the bus in the International District and Kim and I enjoyed a Dim Sum lunch at the Jade Garden. Afterwards, she showed me the Uwajimaya- a shopping center that sells mostly Asian food with an emphasis on Japanese. I think I might like to go back there sometime when I'm really in the mood to make some Japanese cuisine. It was interesting to see all the different fruits and vegetables that I haven't seen before. After that, we embarked for the nearest light rail station.
photo credit
Seattle has been waiting a long time for this. There are supposed to be more stations opening at later dates- including one at the SeaTac airport. That's a lot closer to me than the other stations. I look forward to riding again in the future. By the way, this makes three big city rail systems I have been on. I've also ridden BART in San Francisco and the NYC Subway.

We got off in Westlake, looking forward to the promise of entertainment, but there wasn't much. A few street corner musicians and some other interesting people to watch. We had a fun time walking through this little waterfall/fountain thing:

Yep, that's me. The water fell on both sides of this little bridge. I did manage to get a bit wet, but it was fun. We continued into the Westlake Mall and browsed the Daiso store(a Japanese dollar store- though most things were $1.50 and on other things, the prices went up to 2,3,4,5, or 6 dollars.

After a bit more wandering around, I realized that we were on Pike Street, so I asked if we were close to Pike St. Market. We were, indeed, so we headed on over. Even though I'm living in the Seattle area, I still feel a lot like a tourist, and today was no exception. I had to take pictures:

Excuse the poor quality. My camcorder can produce disappointing shots sometimes.

I was hoping to see them toss fish, but they weren't doing it at the time we were there. Browsing all the different wares was fulfilling, though. I got to taste some dark chocolate linguine at one stand that sold pasta. It was interesting- chocolate flavored pasta.

There was a pretty nice view of Mt. Rainer from the park outside of the Marketplace:

I hadn't really planned my return trip on the bus line, so Kim and I took the bus to her apartment and she decided to show me what Zipcar.com was about since we passed by some people handing out brochures and she told them she was already a member. I learned that zipcar is a car-sharing program. The member gets to pick the car they want to drive. The closest available car to us was a Honda Element. The cars are parked all over the city, you reserve your car on-line. It unlocks as you swipe your membership card over a little thing on the windshield. The cost of the car includes gas and insurance coverage. It was a fun little experience. I had to take pictures to document it, of course:

Kim was jumping up in the air, but my digital camera has to much of a drag time, so I didn't capture it right. This picture is pretty funny, though.

Notice the license plate. Oh yeah, each car also has a name. I forget the name of this car, though. I guess when you are getting close to the time to return the car, you can get a text message to your phone that says "so and so needs to come back home soon," or something like that.

Thanks for the ride, sis! It was a lot of fun!

I got back a bit early, so I made a trip to the library and headed over to Seahurst Park. This was my first time at the park by myself. I parked my car in a shady spot and took a little nap. Then I made the short walk down to the beach. I took my shoes and socks off so I could cool off my feet. That didn't last long. The rocks hurt my feet. Next time, bring the water shoes!

I watched some guys catching crabs. They were about waist deep, and walking through the water. At first I thought they were feeling around for the crabs with their feet, but they could actually see in the water. They caught about 6. I finished up my time by going on a little walk and enjoying the scenery. I really do love the Sound! Such a beautiful area!

All-in-all, a pretty great day!

Summer Fun!

2009-07-18T00:02:00.000-07:00

Today as we were driving to the pool, my husband made the observation that we hadn't taken the kids swimming a single time last summer, and that we seemed to be making up for lost time this summer. One of the perks I can say that I enjoy about living here is the opportunity we have to use the Rainer Golf and Country Club pool because my mother-in-law has a membership and can get us in for free. It helps that we've pretty much had beautiful weather this summer. Not too hot, and hardly any rain(now that I've said that, the showers are going to start and never end ;)). I think it's funny that people in Seattle melt in 85 degree temperatures.

The pictures I am about to share are from a prior trip to the pool because I didn't have Jayden with me then, so I was free to take pictures of the kids without worrying about chasing a two year old around the pool. He enjoys the pool for a little while, but he would much rather run around the perimeter- picking up items and throwing them in. He also likes to point out the different numbers they have to measure the depths of the pool, and to identify all the letters that are on the "No Diving" tiles. Since he didn't have a nap today, he lasted for about half an hour before I picked him up, dropped his pool toys and goggles(he LOVES to wear goggles) in the bin and carried him out the gate(where he immediately stopped crying). I figured I would spare the rest of the pool patrons from having to listen to his screeches. Mark's aunt assured me that he would soon be three and things would be better, lol. Fortunately, we took two cars so the older kids got to stay and play while Jayden got his much needed nap.

Kyrie likes looking underwater with her goggles on!

Isaiah tries to keep warm under the towel!

I'll peek out long enough for a picture if you really want me to.

The pool noodles really help give the kids the confidence they need to "swim."

Grandma likes to sit and read her finance magazines(although, she did get in the pool today).

Happy Birthday, America!

2009-07-05T00:11:00.000-07:00

I wish I could add some pictures from my day, but unfortunately, I didn't have my digital camera charged, so all pictures were taken on my film camera. In fact, most of my pictures I have taken lately are on the film camera, so I'm going to have to wait a while to share some, but we've been having a blast! Love living close to lakes and nice parks on the beach!

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, this blog post might be a bit wordy as I have no pictures. ;)

Jayden decided that he wanted to have an early start to the celebrations of the day, so he awoke at about 4:30 this morning. I brought him out in the living room, turned on the t.v. and gave him some dry Cheerios to munch on. He snuggled up next to me on the floor and fell back asleep for a very brief amount of time. He woke me up again at 6:30. Not a great start to the day.

Jayden started getting fussy again, so I put him down for a morning nap, and tried to get some more sleep in myself. I woke up around 10:00 to Mark and the kids playing around, so I thought I should take the opportunity to do some grocery shopping.

At 2:30, we walked down to the parade route and I hiked around with Jayden on my back while we waited for the parade to start. Jayden doesn't like being in one spot for very long. I guess that's good for me- an excuse to get some exercise. The kids enjoyed catching candy and seeing the different parade entries. Watching the parade made me miss our tradition of driving to the little town of Johnson where people from all over the Palouse come and cram into the teeny town in the Palouse where the Americana spirit shines through. Then everyone drives over to another neighboring town for another parade and a community luncheon/picnic. And then it's back to Pullman for the big fireworks display at Sunnyside Park.

We walked home after the parade and got dinner ready. I managed to get Jayden to sleep for about half an hour before we had to leave to a dessert party a little further down the lake from us. Mark and the kids got to go out on the little barge that they had, but Jayden didn't want to go out at first. He was having a rather rough time settling into the new surroundings, and I was worried that I might have to leave with him. Eventually, he started warming up a bit. Mark and I took him for a little ride on the paddle boat before they closed the lake up to other watercraft so they could get ready for the fireworks. At first, he seemed to have a good time, but he started losing it when we were going to go back, so I got off with him and the other kids got on with Mark, and Jayden really started wailing! He wanted to go back out! He was trying to get me to put his lifejacket back on, but it was almost time for the lake to close. Mark and the kids ended up getting stuck on the lake, so someone went to help them back. In the meantime, I was going to go take Jayden for a walk, and the hostess suggested I take him inside and see if he would do better without all the extra stimulation from the fireworks going off and many people. He DID do better for a while. Actually, he liked opening and closing the sliding glass door. This is his favorite game when we go to houses that have these doors.

Eventually, the fireworks show started from the barge on the lake. It was a really nice one! I would venture to say that it was better than the ones I've seen in Pullman. I like the ones that form into shapes like hearts and flowers the best. To my surprise, Jayden really liked the fireworks! He kept saying,"Ooooh!" in his cute little 2 year old voice.

When the show ended, we headed back home. One of the neighbors had their own little fireworks show, and we caught the tail end as we pulled into the driveway. Even as I type this at 12:30, I can still hear them going off. The 4th of July is always a hard night to go to sleep, but the kids didn't have too hard of a time. They had quite the eventful day!

SEI giveaway

2009-07-02T01:31:00.000-07:00

If you are a scrapbooker, you might love SEI as much as I do. They are celebrating their 100th post on their blog with this giveaway

And yes, I'm posting at 1:30 a.m. That's what I get for watching(or starting to watch) a show called "Eaten Alive" which is about parasites and other icky stuff. I sure hope I don't have nightmares tonight!

A little wiggle room

2009-06-28T23:37:00.000-07:00

Kyrie is so excited! She has her first loose tooth! I was kind of hoping that it would be the one that is chipped that the dentist didn't worry about a couple of years since he assured me it would be falling out soon enough. Oh well. She's been singing and dancing around the house and the neighborhood all day showing off her new little discovery!

The Happiest Toddler on the Block

2009-06-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

...Or my drive with Jayden through Washington and Oregon.

We left this morning for the first part of the drive to my sister Kat's wedding in the San Francisco Bay area. We did pretty good this morning-leaving the house by nine. As we started our drive down I-5, I realized that I'd be driving past my Grandma's place, so I decided to drop by and see if she wanted me to bring anything down to my family. She did, and we chatted for a while as Jayden fell asleep in my lap(what a rare occurance!).

I got back on the road again-leaving at around 11:30. We made a stop for lunch at a rest area, and Jayden ran around for a while. We made a few other pit stops along the way, so the ETA of 7 hours 51 min turned more into 10 hours. So as per Jayden's tradition, the last hour of the trip he turned into meltdown mode. I ejected the soundtrack for Bride and Predjudice(I was disappointed that my favorite song from the movie "No Life Without Wife" had a skip in it, by the way). I decided to put in the book on CD "The Happiest Toddler on the Block." Interestingly enough, Jayden stopped his tantrum and was quiet the rest of the way as we listened. Maybe he was trying to analyze his behavior, too.

We finally arrived in Klamath Falls at 7. It would have been later if I went the speed limit(shhh...). It was a pretty drive and the resort we are staying at(Thanks, Aunt Patty!) is very lovely. Jayden and I enjoyed some time in the pool before I put him to bed.

I miss my other two kids and my husband. There are a lot of things I take for granted when he is around. Unloading all of our stuff from the car and trying to herd a two year old at the same time is kind of tough. Having to drive the whole way and not being able to fully enjoy the scenery... Being able to go to the bathroom by myself while not having to worry about Jayden trying to crawl on the dirty floor under the stall door at a rest stop...

Well, tomorrow we'll try to make it in time for the rehearsal dinner tomorrow evening. Fortunately, there's not as long of a trip left, and the dinner is informal.

For now, I think I will go enjoy my bathtub. Hopefully I won't fall asleep in it. Goodnight!

Bubble Fun

2009-06-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

The kids made a new friend down the street the other night. She is only 2 1/2, but she loves Kyrie and Kyrie loves her. She has a fun backyard with a swingset, water tables, and a bubble machine!

Kyrie quickly learned how to catch bubbles on her hands...

She got huge bubble collections! We were all in awe! She sure had fun!

Seattle Life

2009-06-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

I'm adjusting a little more to life on the West Side. I'm starting to get more confident in finding my way around. My GPS won't take a charge anymore, so it's pretty useless to me. I found my way out of downtown Seattle last week when my GPS gave up its last life.

Of course, life has been pretty hectic as Mark came up late Saturday night with the UHaul. We unpacked it on Sunday. Boxes are still everywhere waiting to be unpacked.

Kyrie's best friend from Pullman came to play on Monday. She was up having a joint birthday celebration with her grandma. Kyrie was so excited to have her around. We went to Seahurst Park and played for a while and then had dinner at Burger King.

My MIL has been working on making a dress for me because I'm going down to San Francisco for my sister's wedding next week.

I'm glad to have Mark and Isaiah with us again, but I forgot how loud Kyrie and Isaiah can be when they're together.

I have pictures to post, but won't be able to upload them until Friday. That's when we're getting our wireless hook-up. I can't wait!

I need to get some playdates made soon. Mark and Kyrie were walking around the neighborhood last night looking to see if there were any kids around. Kyrie told him that she wanted to put up signs that said,"Friends Wanted." She really is my social butterfly!

Life in my New Home(cont.)

2009-06-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days have blurred together, so this will probably end up being a random rambling.

Kyrie has been enjoying her stay here so far. We haven't met any of the neighbor kids- though Mark's mom says there are a few. It seems like they must stay inside most of the time- very different from our old neighborhood where the kids played and rode their bikes up and down the street. Right now she just plays in the yard and driveway on the scooter or trike, but can ride down the smooth-paved hill next to us under Mom's or Grandma's watchful eye. She got to meet some new friends today when we went swimming at MIL's club swimming pool. It was a nice day for a swim with very warm weather! We've also been finishing up her school work. She still has until the 17th to go, but we've finished most of her lessons. We still have her Math to work on since she finished 1st and 2nd grade math this school year and they sent us 3rd grade math to start on.

Jayden has been fairing well with the changes. He did seem to sleep a lot the last couple of days, though. Today was a fairly normal day as far as sleeping routines go. When we went to the pool, he was pretty fussy in the wading pool. I decided to take him into the big pool, and he LOVED that! He was actually trying to paddle and kick, and he would jump in from the side of the pool over and over and over again.

I got a call from Mark last night. Isaiah really missed me and wanted to talk to me. He was crying- which nearly broke my heart in two. He sounds so tiny on the phone, so that makes it even worse. By the end of our call, he was doing better. I assured him that he would be coming to see us in a few more days. He was sleeping on our old futon in the boys' old room, and Mark was on the floor sleeping on Jayden's crib mattress the first night until Mark realized how much better it would be if they switched around. Padme decided that there was room to share with Isaiah on the mattress, so she snuggled herself right into Isaiah on that mattress. I wish Mark had taken a picture!

Yesterday Kyrie and I snuck out to Fred Meyers while Jayden was taking a nap and MIL was here to keep an ear out for him. We needed to get swimsuits because I had packed them in boxes, but forgot to take those boxes with me. Story of my life. Anyway, on our way home from the store, I had passed the street to turn on, so we went down a bit further. I figured I could make my way around the lake since we had walked around it a few times before. Instead, I ended up on a scenic route by the Sound. It was a very pretty detour. There's something that made me glad I moved over here. I really love the green trees and the ocean. We DID eventually make it back home(though Kyrie caught on to the fact that we were going around in circles). Made it home in time to get Jayden up from his nap and make dinner.

I'm not sure when we'll be getting our wireless connection. Tried to talk to MIL about it today, and she says she'll call tomorrow, but I think she's hoping for Mark to be here before they come. I tried to tell her that I can help deal with things, but secretly, I would rather Mark be here to help, too. I sure miss that man.

Well, that's my novel for tonight. Hope I didn't bore you to death. Goodnight!

Life in my New Home

2009-06-02T23:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a brief run down of the events over the last couple of days:
I ended up staying awake until 4:30 in the morning on Sunday packing and cleaning. When I went to bed and woke up 3 hours later, I didn't really feel accomplished- still so much left to do. We went to church, said our goodbyes, and I cried the whole time.

After we got back, and my friend took me out for lunch, it was back to work- with even more packing and cleaning and loading. By 5:30 I had made it out on the road. I was very tired, but had help from my friend, Dr. Pepper. Kyrie and Jayden were pretty good along the way. We made a few stops- including a Burger King for a snack and time to run around and play on the structures.

I ran into a glitch with my GPS, and it stopped tracking about 3/4ths of the way there. I know how to get around town to get to my MIL's house, but I didn't trust myself to remember what junctions to take. Plus, my night vision isn't the best. But I called Mark and got affirmation of where I was supposed to go, and made it in at 12:30.

Kyrie was konked out(despite earlier protests that she couldn't sleep in the car). She went straight away to sleep again when we arrived, but Jayden still thought it was party time. I tried to get him to sleep with me, but as I started drifting off,he got out of bed and went into the living room where we found the fun and noisy ball popper toy I mentioned in a previous post. I brought him back to the room and put him into the playpen(thanks to my mother in law for setting it up before we got there). He eventually fell asleep, and proceeded to sleep in until noon. I was grateful for the extra sleep. We managed getting the van unloaded, and Kyrie and MIL washed the van while I started unpacking.

To be continued tomorrow since I'm typing this on my phone and my fingers are starting to cramp up. Can't wait for the wireless internet to be hooked up! We sold our desktop and got a laptop for me so I'll be portable!

Two Steps Forward, Two Back

2009-05-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

Packing is a never-ending chore. Words cannot describe how much I am loathing it right now. A yard sale, 3 dump runs, 4 Goodwill trips, numerous recycling runs, and I'm still finding stuff that I don't want to go with us!

It also doesn't help to pack when you have little ones who like to "help" by pulling things out of boxes that you just packed. I had a box of socks that I was throwing all the mismatched socks into, and Jayden liked to climb in and throw them out, which made the older two want to join in with him! I try to pack during nap time as much as possible.

So tomorrow, we wake up bright and early and try to make it to church on time so we can say goodbye *sniff* and have everyone pray for us. I'm bringing a box of tissues with me. Already crying just thinking about it.

Then we'll come home for lunch, help our friend move the rest of his stuff over here and load up the van with as much as we can get in. It will be only Kyrie and Jayden and I, so we'll be able to have the backseat down and hopefully fit a lot of stuff. Seeing all the boxes we have, I'm not too confident that the moving van that Mark is renting will be big enough. If all else fails, we will leave some stuff behind. Good thing we're renting to a friend.

And Padme WILL be staying here. As much as we'll miss her, I think it's for the best if she stays with our friend and enjoys her space outside to rest and bask in the sun and sleep in the shade.

Then it's to Seattle-hoping to leave around 5-where we will unpack stuff and wait for Mark and Isaiah to come up with the rest in a week.

Cattle Farm Fieldtrip

2009-05-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

About a month or so ago, we were studying Farming in Science. I was really pleased when I found out that a local group of homeschoolers were going out on a field trip to a cattle ranch. It ended up being really crazy with A LOT of kids. There was talk of letting the kids ride horses, but there were over 40 kids, and I didn't want to hang out and wait forever for the kids to ride for 2 minutes. They've been on horses before. It was nice to get some real-life experience of what we had been reading about. I was hoping that we could go to a wheat or lentil farm and experience harvesting, but looks like that won't happen now. I'm sure we'll find some great places to go in Seattle for field trips, though! Kyrie was excited to wear her cowgirl boots and she got to ride up front on the hayride by the horses. A little girl's dream!

Kyrie's New Trick

2009-05-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

I thought I had this post all typed out and posted, but I don't see it, so I guess I'll have to do it again...

Kyrie has taught herself how to ride a two-wheeler! I feel kind of let down in a way because she didn't need any help from us. She just hopped on the bike that her friend had and took off like a fish in water! We missed out on capturing the moment where her daddy holds on to the back of the bike while Mom records them as he lets go and she wobbles down the road and perhaps falls into the nearest bush.

She did come show off her new talent to me, but by the time I went in and found the camera(downside of packing and moving- can't find a thing!), her friend had reclaimed their bike and had gone home.

Have you seen the commercial where the mom lost the pictures on the computer of her son's milestones, so she sticks the tween in a crib, feeds him from the high chair, puts him on a little bike with a tiny helmet, and gets footage of him playing in the bathtub? I'm thinking that I'm going to have to resort to the same measures- just for the mere fact that my camera isn't around when I need it!

So this brings me back to my first memories of learning to ride a bike. I got my first two wheeler with a banana seat for Christmas when we lived in the big, rolling hills of the Bay Area. My aunt tried to help me balance by sitting behind me(thank goodness for banana seats), while I pedalled. That didn't last long, as I was terrified of losing control on the steep hill, and I wasn't really strong enough to move the two of us. The next time I got on a bike was at my cousins' house. One of my cousins had broken her arm, so she held on to the back of my seat with her good arm, and ran behind me- trying to keep me upright. At one point, she had let go, and I was doing okay for about 10 feet, but then crashed into the fence and scraped myself up pretty bad.

That kind of ended the bike-riding deal for me until the following summer when I was visiting my cousins and they all took off on their bikes. I wanted to go with them, so I went ahead and jumped on a bike and started to pedal. To my surprise, I was able to stay upright and then I was a bike-riding fool all that summer!

Happy Memorial Day to all!

Puppy Love

2009-05-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

The next door neighbors got a new puppy. It's really cute. Kyrie enjoyed getting some cuddles from this little furry creature.

Car Show

2009-05-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of Saturdays ago, we took the kids to the Classic Car Show(Mark likes the free hot dogs and soda). The kids enjoyed seeing all the different cars. They were pretty neat!

Wolfie

2009-05-14T15:26:00.001-07:00

Wolfie is a dear friend to Kyrie, and protector against all things bad in the night. When I suggested to her that it might be the best for Wolfie to stay here when we move to Seattle, Kyrie burst into tears. So I decided that Wolfie needed some reconstructive surgery so that I could justify packing her up.

Don't look too close, or you might be able to see the weird stitching job I did. Future plastic surgeon, I am not.

Happy to be reunited with her friend!

Math takes a lot out of a person...

2009-05-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

I thought she was taking a little long to do her math today...

Random Photo

2009-05-13T23:44:00.000-07:00

These are my mom's dogs. She has another Great Dane, and another chihuahua- not pictured. It's so funny to see the symbiotic relationship of the Chis with the Danes. The little dogs will sleep on the big dogs as they lay in the sun. The big dogs patiently sit as the little dogs lick their jowls and jump all over them.

My mom's dogs are always a big highlight of our trip to visit my mom. Even Mark, who isn't particularly fond of little dogs, gets a soft spot opened in his heart for the little guys. He does want to own a Great Dane someday, though.

Cool Jayden

2009-05-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

It almost scares me how much he looks like a young Tom Cruise. Hopefully he won't turn out to be as crazy as Tom. ;)