Life Rocks

From the Mouths of Babes

2012-01-12T16:13:00.003-06:00

Wyatt & Natalie are adjusting amazingly well to our new life here and our unsettled life but two things have cropped up.

1. Natalie keeps wanting to plan things for "when we get to Souf Taroyina."

2. Wyatt announced on our way to school that "this place is funny." When I asked why, he said, "because I keep seeing houses that are on wheels!"

Annnd, there you have it.

Hey Y'all

2012-01-08T20:19:00.001-06:00

I left off by sharing with you my delight at the prospect of a Sumter winter, and now I'm back to tell you we've made it to our new home. We've covered a lot of ground - literally and figuratively - in the last month, but first you need to know that the weather doesn't seem as though it will disappoint me in the least (I know you were concerned). We've stopped by the house and, indeed, there are quirks we failed to notice when we looked at it so long ago. I'm not sure I ever recounted the full house hunting story on the blog, but it could be summarized by saying it was a difficult trip without many options and, after being accused of being "too analytical" by our realtor, we followed up on a rental we'd briefly seen. We've spent the interim months laughing about how little we could really remember about the house. It was the details of things like the master bathroom, the size of the bedrooms and storage areas that really escaped us. So it was with great amusement that we went through the empty house tonight. It's going to be fine; that doesn't negate the fact that there's no coat closet, the master bedroom and guest rooms are a little smaller than we remembered and the garage is going to be really full once we get two cars and all our bikes, strollers, mower, etc. in there. Oh well.

On the upside, the kitchen is as good as I remembered, the family room is a nice size and the playset in the backyard will atone for many other shortfalls. The kids are really excited about their rooms and it's going to be home just as soon as we can get our stuff delivered. Wyatt starts school in the morning - we're all excited for that for multiple reasons. And thus the new chapter begins: we are residents of South Carolina, officially another place that I never thought I'd live.

Singing a New Tune

2011-12-04T14:21:00.001-06:00

I'm dreading our move. For a jillion and seven reasons, really, but in an uncharacteristic way I'm really negative about this one. I'm a spin it positive, find the bright side, pick out the good stuff, focus on what will work kind of person but for some reason this move has continued to vex me in that arena. Maybe it's that we're moving at Christmas, again. Maybe it's that we're leaving behind family and old friends. Maybe it's that there's no instant network waiting on the other end. I don't know, but I'm not even a good liar on this one. So to all of you who've encountered me regarding this topic, sorry. I'm trying, really I am. It just keeps getting the better of me.

Or at least it was, until today. You see, it's cold today like it was yesterday, except that yesterday was also rainy; Tuesday is supposed to be really cold. I've been internally chilled since sometime around Thanksgiving. I've been wearing at least three layers every day and still, I find myself with blue-tinged fingernails and shivers at the dinner table. I was outside fifteen minutes ago and I'm still wearing my down-filled puffer coat while I type this because, well, it's cozy and I like cozy. So I got a wild hair and checked the forecast for Sumter, my new home come January. You guys (or should I say y'all), it's supposed to be 72 there today. 74 tomorrow; ranging from the upper 50's to the lower 70's for the next ten days.

Ahhh, yes. All of a sudden I'm feeling more prepared to move. Now who wants to come visit?

Life in Our Crib

2011-11-27T20:26:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow my little girl will officially grow up just a little more. Her big girl bed is scheduled to arrive before lunch so this is the last night a little Rock will sleep in the crib upstairs. It's been a good one. How many times have we tucked our babies into that bed? How many times have we stood by its side, watching a sweet small person sleep peacefully, thinking how lucky we are? How many times have I wrestled the bumper while changing the sheets? How many times have I stumbled toward it, eyes half-open, in the middle of the night, willing the shrieking child within to please just go back to sleeeeeeeep? So very, very many on all counts.

That crib has served us well, especially when we consider its humble origins ($99 at the Camp Foster PX, thankyouverymuch, the most bargain crib Okinawa offered) and has resided in four homes, if you count our four-month stay in the TLFs at Tyndall, which I do. It has provided safe haven for two wonderful small people from their very first nights home and has seen them grow from tiny small people that seemed swallowed by its size to vibrant kids that, along with all their assorted blankets, books, toys and animals, seem to barely fit inside its confines.

I'm thrilled we're passing along the trusty crib to some friends who will get good use out of it but mostly I'm hoping that Natalie will look a little small to me tomorrow night in her big girl bed.

Wyatt, all six pounds of him,
on his first night home.

Wyatt, all nine months of him, using the crib for his
photo session.

Natalie, blissed out, just shy of one year.

Natalie, sassy and big, two-and-a-half.

So Very Thankful

2011-11-23T13:13:00.001-06:00

I know you're thankful that I've quit coming up with drivel every day. While it was a good exercise to write every day, the whole quality vs. quantity matter needed to be addressed, so I decided to scale back a bit. I don't consider that to be a problem and, judging from the lack of comments on the more lackluster posts (really, pretty much all of them), I'm guessing you don't either.

I've also taken more time in the last week or so to just be more present with my family. I mean, I'm always here because that's my job. Be here to get the kids up, get them dressed, shuttle them to and fro, shop for them, feed them, tuck them in, play with them, etc. but in all honesty, I'm often not really that fully present when I'm completing those tasks. I get caught up in the drudgery of it all, the sense of groundhog day, the frustration of 'why can't the floor stay clean for more than an hour? why can't the refrigerator stay stocked for more than two days? why can't a bathroom stay clean for a day? how does a family of four generate such vast quantities of laundry?' and I let those annoyances cloud my thinking. So then, while I should just be enjoying the fact that Wyatt is regaling me with some game he's invented involving a football which he both throws and catches, yet requires goals like soccer, and he's a Jayhawk battling a fictional foe, I'm caught up thinking about the eight other things I 'should' be doing. Or maybe it's that I also really suck at time management and while I can think of twenty creative things I'd like to do to make our house more of our home, I never quite get to all of them but they're still in my brain, weighing on my to-do list. It's a list, of course, that matters only to me and only serves to distract me from the things that are right in front of me.

So what's the point of this diatribe, you ask? Well, I've received a wake-up call of the hardest kind. A friend of ours passed away this week from lung cancer. She was 36 with no risk factors, incidentally. We weren't close, but knew each other from college; we have a lot of mutual friends and her husband is one of Jeff's pledge brothers. We've tracked her battle since she was diagnosed a little more than a year ago and were able to see them a few times since we were in Kansas this year. Her kids are just a few months younger than mine. We were just at their house for a get-together a month ago today. We all knew Heidi was waging a battle that was as uphill as they come, but she'd just found a promising study in Nashville and she still seemed so strong that night as we sat around their table, talking about college stories, old friends, traveling, kids. You know, just the stuff you talk about when you're with friends that you don't get to see enough. There was talk of a lake trip next summer; Jeff and I suggested South Carolina. She was so determined.

So after we learned last week that all of a sudden things weren't looking very good, that the Nashville study sent her back home for being too sick, I started thinking about how I need to appreciate the small moments more instead of waiting for more interesting things to come my way; that I need to start doing instead of just thinking about doing. Because you know what? I bet Heidi would've given a lot to have a few more mornings to get her kids ready for school, to go through the mundane routines of an every day life. I'm a little ashamed that it's taken something so drastic to wake me from my stupor. There have been events like this before, where I'm made painfully aware how quickly things can be taken, and each time I vow to myself that I'll remember and change yet I always slip back into the old habits. So there's no guarantee I won't this time, too, I suppose. But at the very least, I will try each day to remember that there are so many small graces in my life for which I need to be thankful. I hope this is the start of a new habit, the one where I wake up every day remembering that this is the only day I know is guaranteed and that I need to make the most of it.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Shades of Things to Come

2011-11-19T21:22:00.001-06:00

We managed to have a Saturday with nothing scheduled and it was great, but I can't remember the last time this happened; maybe sometime in February? Wyatt was so confused this morning that at 8:45 he asked if Jeff was taking him to school or if I was. We laughed and pointed out that it was Saturday and that's why we were all still in our pajamas. You should have seen that child cheer. I think we all needed this "down" weekend. I spent my day in the garage attempting to finish Natalie's dresser; Jeff spent his day in the basement sorting stuff for the move. He's really excited to be getting rid of a bunch of old paperwork and books and random stuff we've been moving across the northern hemisphere for the past thirteen years; I'm glad he's finally listening to the suggestions I gave him eighteen months ago when I suggested we get rid of all of it. Sometimes it just takes a while for us to be on the same page. That's okay, we're there now and the extra stuff is looking mighty organized.

Sadly, I think we should probably get used to these weekends just hanging out with each other because in a few short weeks (insert sad face here) we're going to be living in South Carolina and won't have any friends to hang out with even if we wanted to. Unless we keep ourselves busy with monster projects, we might actually get tired of each other. In an effort to prevent that, I think we've managed to book something for every remaining weekend through the new year. So, I think we'll enjoy the rest of this relaxing weekend and use it to gear up for the final push of activities with family and friends because we're certainly going to miss the chance to spend time with them whenever we feel like it.

A Break that Isn't

2011-11-18T23:54:00.001-06:00

I'm glad to say that it seems I've finally caught a break and it isn't in my foot. In other fabulous-to-me news, it's also not a torn tendon in there. My orthopedist called tonight (yes, at 5:30pm on a Friday night, I think that makes him kind of awesome) to tell me my MRI shows nothing irreparable. He sees fluid around the small bone (that we all have) and acknowledges that something has made that small bone very irritated, but suggested I start weaning myself out of the boot. Yahoo! Time to go kick up my heels though very gently at first.

I've Got Nothin

2011-11-17T21:04:00.001-06:00

There's the bandwagon of blogging every day... here's me nearly falling off. Jeff is my cheerleader and just handed me his computer because I already have my boot off and I didn't want to hop across the house to retrieve my own. What a guy. My husband is pretty great, isn't he? Think carefully before you answer: he helped you waste your brain bytes on this.

Recently:
1. I took a bread class last night at the culinary center; it was good but I'm not sure it repaired the damaged relationship I've developed with bread. I'll have to keep working on that. In the meantime, I need this baking book.

2. All of a sudden, Natalie is asking about the arrival of her big girl bed every day. I hope she likes it as much after it arrives!

3. I'm refinishing an antique dresser for Natalie's room and I can't wait for it to be finished. So far I've sanded, repaired and primed. Still need to clean a few brass hardware items on it, put on a couple coats of paint, a layer of sealer and then put on the pretty new knobs. She better love it. Also? How did people figure out the best way to do stuff like that before the internet?

4. Wyatt had a friend over for a little while this afternoon. I think it made his week.

5. We need to take the trampoline down before it freezes too many times, yet the kids keep going out there in the afternoons and bouncing themselves silly. I really don't know how they'll expend that same energy indoors.

6. Millie is currently sleeping like a baby on Jeff. Literally, she's on her side, head on his shoulder and completely sacked out. Rough life.

7. I learned today that Millie likes raw green beans. Who knew? Sometimes it pays to be a messy cook.

8. I got to hold a friend's new baby today, who weighed a few ounces more than Wyatt did at birth. It is unbelievable how tiny these little people are when they enter the world and how quickly I can forget exactly how little that feels in my arms. It was delightful.

9. Natalie decided today that I needed some big hugs. No joke, I think they were the best squeezy hugs my girl's ever given me.

10. Wyatt still holds the title around here for best hugger. That kid can really make you feel loved.

11. Wyatt is so sweet to Natalie much of the time. I did her hair a new way today (two braids, a la Pippi Longstocking) and when she came downstairs, Wyatt told her she looked beautiful and gave her a hug.

12. Natalie loves her brother so much that she gets mad if she's not accompanying the parent who retrieves him from school (Jeff's schedule is finally kind of awesome; he can actually pick up Wyatt sometimes).

13. After a ton of people recommending it, my book club picked The Hunger Games for December so I've finally decided to start reading it. Oh my goodness, I get it. I could totally neglect my family just to sit down and finish it. But I won't, don't worry. The blog though? It could become a casualty.

Slimed!

2011-11-16T22:48:00.001-06:00

We made this little science lesson on suspensions last night and I'm not sure who enjoyed it most. I had to clean off my hands to take pictures, but made sure to play a little more before I rinsed out the dishes. Two parts cornstarch to one part water - easy to make, easy to clean up and fascinating in between.

Miss Daisy, Driving

2011-11-15T17:47:00.001-06:00

Upon pulling into the garage last week, Natalie asked if she could drive. I asked if she meant right then and she (in true Natalie fashion) quickly backpedaled to assure me that no, she meant when she's old enough. So I explained that when she's old enough, follows directions, is responsible and Daddy and I trust her then yes, she can drive.

Her reply? A breathy, "Oooh! I 'cited!"

Her favorite request now is to practice driving. She'd like to do this every day, please, but doesn't always get to. Today was a 'yes' day, so here she is, biding her time until she's sixteen. Lord help us all.

Safety first! She wanted to know how to buckle the seatbelt, and then did it.

She also attempted to convince me that I could ride in the back seat. When I said no, she offered the passenger seat. So generous.

Another happy driver!

Irony

2011-11-14T21:16:00.001-06:00

I had the MRI on my foot today. Having never had an MRI before, I didn't realize how very loud it would be. They gave me earplugs, told me the process would take about forty-five minutes, and suggested that I close my eyes because there's not much else to do. So I did. And I entered that blissful state of not-sleeping-but-mind-not-engaged and I realized that I never do that anymore and I miss it. You know when I used to fill my tank with that kind of let-the-mind-wander-where-it-needs-to time? During my runs. Sure hoping the results are helpful.

Rock Chalk

2011-11-13T19:45:00.001-06:00

We spent yesterday at the last home football game of the season and once again, we were blessed with a beautiful day for football in Memorial Stadium. We were also once again blessed with horrible football. Actually, that's not true. For the first time in weeks, the Jayhawks looked like they were going to pull off a win against, of all things, a ranked team but we blew it in overtime. Oh well. Wyatt amazed us with how much he was actually paying attention to the game, cheering because he knew what was happening and not just because he heard us cheering. He's learned a lot over the last few months.

We were joined this week by a couple of our military friends with whom we had the great pleasure of sharing our KU traditions. We taught them how and when to wave the wheat, all about the fight song and pointed out the landmarks of campus which are so beautifully framed by the stadium. And by we, of course I mean the kids because our work here is done. My brilliant children are pretty much fully brainwashed to bleed crimson and blue. How do I know? Well, I give you this shining example: Natalie has professed her love of all things purple since she started talking (which was about two and a quarter years ago if memory serves, but sometimes I'm a little foggy on these things). While Wyatt has often said he plans to attend KU, Natalie has always said she wants to go to a purple college (and before the K-Staters among you get all excited, just know that she's already aware of Northwestern and Washington). Natalie also still harbors a fear of mascots. Disney, Red Robin, the Geico Gecko, Jayhawks, it doesn't matter; if it's life-sized and in her face, it'll freak her out. She likes them from afar, but just doesn't need to be near them.

But yesterday, that little girl uttered the sweetest words. "Mama, when I a cheeryeader, I gonna hug and tiss the Jayhawk."

To which I replied, "Does that mean you want to go to college at KU?"

"Dat your college, Mama?" She asked, pointing toward the Union, Frasier Hall and beyond.

"Yes, sweetie, that's my college."

"Den yes, I go to KU, too, Mama."

So I gave her a big hug, assured her I'd be very happy if she chooses it someday but that really I'll be happy no matter where she chooses. Then I reminded her that she just needs to choose to go to college. But here's the thing, if she does, by some fluke of the universe end up at KU someday, I might actually encourage her to go hug and kiss that Jayhawk so I can remember how passionate my little kids were in Memorial Stadium one magical fall.

Rock Chalk.

My daddy loves me

2011-11-12T20:36:00.000-06:00

He said that if I had an American Girl doll he'd buy me this:

Isn't that nice?

Happy Veterans Day

2011-11-11T17:11:00.000-06:00

We had the great honor of participating in the country's largest Veteran's Day parade west of the Mississippi today. Wyatt rode with other kids from his school through downtown Leavenworth and parents were required to accompany them, so I rode along. It was fun until I realized that by being in the parade I was essentially missing the country's largest Veteran's Day parade west of the Mississippi. Great planning, Steph! It was so big, in fact, that another mom and I were sitting waiting for the parade to start, kind of getting concerned that it was running so far behind schedule. At 45 minutes past the set start, nothing was moving. The two-ship of F-16's had completed their flyover (Wyatt was thrilled) right on time so we couldn't figure out what the hold-up was.

As we were both texting and calling our husbands and she mentioned the ridiculously late start, hers said, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I've been watching the parade for thirty minutes." Oh, right. That's what happens when you're on float number 135 in a ginormous parade. Anyway, it was all very patriotic and fun and of course the crowds in a highly Army town really turn out for such a festive affair. Even better was the fact that Grandpa, Grandma, Andrew and Thomas were among the spectators and Wyatt was extra-excited to wave from his float-perch to them.

After the parade, we all headed to Lawrence so ~~Grandma could~~ ~~open up her daycare~~ Jeff and I could go to dinner with friends and then to the mens' basketball game while the kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. Needless to say, we all loved that arrangement. We have enjoyed all the football games this fall but Allen Fieldhouse is truly electric and it's a treat to be there. We're so glad that our Air Force friends (Clemson grads) have embraced the Jayhawks, too, and cheered as loud as we did. Add to that a yummy dinner and post-game drinks downtown and you have a nearly perfect day in this girl's book.

Of course I spent the day being a little extra-proud of my Veteran husband, father-in-law and grandfather, then read a bunch of friends' facebook posts about how our kids are born into this life of service without choice because certainly they make sacrifices for it, too. So to all of them, and to all of our friends who are serving near and far, thanks for what you do to protect our freedoms.

Not Participating, Really

2011-11-10T21:01:00.001-06:00

A lot of people out there are doing the "thirty days of thankful" leading up to Thanksgiving. I applaud them and I try to count my blessings over my trials every day, but I'm not formally keeping you all posted of that running tally. Besides, you might not really care that Tuesday I was really thankful that both of my kids napped allowing me to rest for a whole hour without my boot on. It's a little mundane.

But today I'm thankful for my friends, especially the ones I don't get to see nearly enough. I've learned, through all my moves, goodbyes, hello-agains and see-you-soons, that true friends are the ones with whom I could never have enough time to just hang out and with whom I never have to spend time getting reacquainted. Yes, I fail - often miserably - at keeping up with the details of everyone's lives (if you'd all just write blogs…) but I'm honest in saying I think about my good friends often, even when I feel out of touch. So I'm feeling blessed to have finally had face time (the good old fashioned kind, not the Steve Jobs kind) with a friend I hadn't seen in nearly a decade and at the same time I guess I owe a small thanks to Mr. Zuckerberg for creating Facebook, for it seems to be perfect for someone like me to get to tell my friends near and far that I was thinking of you today and I'm thankful for you.

I'm also thankful for my husband, who gladly had a daddy day with the kids so I could have my afternoon. They love it, he loves it and I love that he has no qualms about making my life happier when he can. I especially enjoy that he sends me photos to narrate their day, and this one made me crack up because it was accompanied by a text message that read:

"I asked her (Natalie) to set the table with 4 forks"

"There are 24"

For some reason, that text and that picture with Wyatt looking totally bewildered at the pile of forks on each napkin cracked me up and made me thankful for those little people, too.

So I'm not participating, but if I were you might know what I'd write.

Like Moldy Jack-o-Lanterns

2011-11-09T15:57:00.001-06:00

This Halloween post is a little old, kind of like the carved pumpkins still residing on our front porch. But like those pumpkins, it's not quite so old that it should just be thrown out entirely so I'm going to go ahead and document Halloween 2011. We kicked off Halloween eve with pumpkin carving.

This turned out to be a little too much hurry-up-and-wait for our kids. I hope that next year I remember to prep the pumpkins before inviting them to join me because by the time we got to scooping out the innards of the melon, both kids were losing focus. The faces were carved largely by Jeff and me because the kids were just done. Maybe the fact that we'd spent the afternoon at the Kansas City Zoo had something to do with that, too, but I'm not sure. I was really advocating that maybe we just paint the pumpkins. I was outvoted. Anyway...

I love that Wyatt felt the need to strip his shirt

Eventually we got all four pumpkins cleaned out and carved. Sadly I have no pictures of the finished products. Wyatt and I carved faces, Natalie chose a kitty face and Jeff carved a Raptor. They all looked lovely on our porch the next night for the hoards of kids soliciting candy.

After first claiming that he'd like to be a basketball player, then a football player, Wyatt changed his mind last minute and decided that he'd wear one of my costumes from childhood. Let's just be upfront about this: I was a complete and total nerd, which does a lot to explain that this vintage costume is none other than a roly poly. Yep, my mom held onto it for thirtyish years just using it as a polyfil vault over the years. With one wash, a restuffing and a few reattached legs, that roly poly was good to go.

Natalie, on the other hand, couldn't possibly commit to a costume concept and really couldn't even grasp what we were talking about. Some of you are undoubtedly thinking that I should've just told her what she was going to be, but that just means you don't really know Natalie. She needs to feel like she's part of the decision or it's just not going to happen. Luckily we were able to sell her on the idea of being the cute, comfy, inexpensive bumblebee from Target. I have issues spending a lot of money on one night's costume, so I'm thrilled the kids were easy-going in the end. Considering we had somewhere between one and two hundred trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood, it's also safe to say they had a great time in our kid-friendly neighborhood collecting a haul of candy.

So there you go, Halloween 2011 is in the books. Now maybe I should think about getting those pumpkins into tomorrow's trash.

Pilots Can Be Real Turkeys

2011-11-08T19:56:00.000-06:00

A blank turkey picture arrived home with Wyatt last week accompanied by instructions to decorate it any way he chose. Specifically, the paperwork asked parents to help but not complete the work for the child, so of course we finished ours this afternoon since it's due tomorrow. With a little steering, Wyatt created a pilot turkey using scraps of an old flight suit. I'm not going to lie: it's very, very difficult for me not to micromanage this type of craft project but Jeff as my witness, I didn't. I think Wyatt ended up with something he's proud of and I'm proud he did it (mostly) himself.

Kickin' Booty

2011-11-07T21:19:00.000-06:00

I told you back in March that I had an extra bone in my foot and that it was broken. Because I'm an idiot or maybe because I'm stubborn or possibly both, I've been living with constant pain since that diagnosis. I followed the doctor's orders to wear good shoes and put orthotics in the bad ones; I've given up running and pretty much every other form of exercise, yet I've seen no improvement. I kept saying I'd go back to the doctor, but then we started making lots of appointments for Wyatt so I wanted to get those straightened out and finally, I made it back to the podiatrist for round two. I left with a referral to an orthopedist for a second opinion and a ticked off podiatrist who was sure he could fix me with a shot of cortisone into my foot. I declined.

I received that second opinion today and it turns out I'm not unique and do not possess any bones the rest of the world doesn't have. I'm a little sad about losing my unique status. The podiatrist apparently just didn't know exactly what he was looking at (that's awesome); the bone he thought was extra is one that you have, too, but it is quite small in all of us and the orthopedist agrees that mine looks like it might have suffered a stress fracture. However, the potential of a torn tendon was also thrown into the mix today since the doctor was able to just about send me out of the chair by gently pressing on a particular tendon. Double awesome. After all these months of me just dealing with all of this, I'm now the proud owner of one fancy new boot. It's almost as cute as the ones they sell at Zappos.

I'm glad I waited until we were home from the beach. Now let's just hope for no snow in at least the next three weeks, okay? Thanks.

I Believe

2011-11-06T21:16:00.001-06:00

I have a cool chant stuck in my head after attending the Sporting KC game tonight with the whole family, Aunt Martha & Uncle Leon included. Despite the fact that I made sure to charge my camera battery before we left, I have no pictures to show you from the event. So you have to trust me, it was fun. And the catchy rhythm of the "I believe that we will win" chant will reverberate in my head for days, if not years. It's that good.

Sadly, like all other Kansas teams this weekend, Sporting KC fell to their opponents tonight. I'm pretty sure that if I were a true fan, I'd care. But I'm not. I was there for the ambiance, the spirit of it all and the surroundings of Kansas City's very cool LiveStrong stadium. Wyatt was there for all of that and the opportunity to hang out with his cousins while sitting on Aunt Susan's lap. Natalie was there for….well, we're not sure, but she had fun looking at all the nice people around us.

For those of you who have no earthly idea who or what I'm talking about, I give you this.

Keep an Eye on That One

2011-11-05T21:53:00.000-05:00

So we've had the delight of spending a day in Lawrence with family - we're trying to soak it up as much as we can before we move again - and this evening culminated with me and the kids at my sister's house with her, my nephews and one 8-year old friend while our husbands went to a KU volleyball game. We kept the little kids and the big kids segregated for a while, but by the end of the night they were all in the basement having great fun together (or so it seemed, from the shouts, whoops and hollers we heard floating up the steps). We'd just remarked how amazing it was that no one had started arguing when who should appear but Natalie, looking for me.

"Mama, where are you?"

"I'm in Aunt Susan's room, honey. What's wrong?"

Natalie entered, brushing her very disheveled hair out of her face. "I think I hurt myseff," she said, smiling and looking wryly out of the corner of her eye from behind her hair.

Susan and I looked at each other, wondering what exactly that meant. "What do you mean, you think you hurt yourself?"

She regrouped and then restated, "I think I hurt myseff."

"Well how did that happen?" I asked, thinking that the look on her face wasn't quite fleshing out the story she was trying to sell.

"Well, we were jumping on the couch and I fell off..." her little voice trailed off, then her face brightened, she pushed her hair out of her eyes and announced in a big voice, "Mama! I seem to be feeying much bettah!"

And with that, Susan and I started chuckling, Natalie hightailed it out of the room shouting, "see ya!" over her shoulder and disappeared back down the steps. That, I think, is a little girl who's learning how to hang with the big boys. I have a feeling we'd better keep pretty close tabs on her.

It's a Little Dry

2011-11-04T16:13:00.000-05:00

I really enjoy fall and the crisp air, but we're all suffering from the lack of humidity. It manifests most visibly in Natalie, she's most prone to wind-chapped cheeks and generally dry skin. She's also most likely to entertain us with her charged up attitude and hair to go with it. Exhibit A, good times in the trampoline:

One With Pictures

2011-11-03T16:38:00.000-05:00

Wyatt played soccer again this fall, and unlike his spring season that was virtually wiped out by a broken collarbone, this time he actually played most of the season. It's a city team that's set up for the 4-6 year old crowd and his spring team seemed to be full of older kids but not so this fall! It was a team full of younger, newer players and it was entertaining in every possible way. Jeff actually ended up being one of the assistant coaches and our head coach was awesome.

Each practice and game began with warm-ups and this was easily my favorite part - kids aren't born knowing how to do jumping jacks and if you're looking for cheap entertainment, ask a group of preschoolers to do some. After that, they ran a few laps around the field and were always supposed to stay in line. Wyatt had a little issue with that directive, not that he wasn't happy to stay in line but he just wasn't really motivated to keep up. He'd hang for about the first quarter lap and then he was just too busy having fun to worry about keeping up. Inevitably he'd be lapped by the three-quarter mark and would come loping in last with a giant grin on his face. Something like this:

As a general rule, no one keeps score of these games. The kids might have a general idea of how they're doing, but there's no official winner or loser. The teams divvy up and split between two fields so everyone plays almost the whole time. There's always someone waiting to sub in on each field, but only one or two kids instead of five or six. That also means that there's a coach from each team on each field. I had as much fun watching Jeff figure out how to ~~herd cats~~ coach the kids as I did watching my own son play. My favorite moments from the season were when Jeff finally, in a slight bit of frustration, picked up a child and placed him in the correct place on the field. In his defense, he'd told the kid three or four times where he needed to stand and had been patiently pointing. It just wasn't working. There was also a game in which we had an extra player on the field for a few minutes. The coach's wife and I were both hollering, trying to get Jeff's attention, but he didn't hear us. Eventually he noticed and one of the kids returned to the sidelines. Finally, in the last game of the season, Wyatt was waiting his turn on the sideline but just couldn't help himself - twice - and assisted his team from the sides by kicking the ball back in. The opposing coach didn't notice but ours did and whistled for play to stop. Wyatt just smiled.

Natalie, of course, was a bit of a loose cannon during these games. She's pretty willing to cheer for the team for a little while but loses interest fairly quickly. It doesn't help that there's a park on site. We had a rule that we could go the park during practice but during games we were there to watch the games. I felt kind of mean but honestly, I would've spent the entire season spotting Natalie on the giant old-school slide instead of seeing Wyatt play soccer. It's character-building for her, right? And I love that when it's Nat's turn to play she'll be all over it. How do I know? Well, by about the third game of the season she took a turn lecturing Wyatt on our way to the game. Jeff and I were reminding him to listen to Coach Tony, be a team player, go to the ball, etc. and Natalie piped up with, "and kick it in the goal, Wyatt." Right, girl, kick it in the goal. It helped that Grandpa and Grandma made the trip over for a few games and provided ample entertainment for our girl.

The end of every game brought Wyatt's favorite part: the high five's. He loved lining up and saying, "good game" fifteen times before huddling up with his own team to hear Coach's end of game pep talk.

I like that whatever Jeff's saying is fully captivating Wyatt.

After the final game, Coach gathered all the kids and said nice things about them all before giving them each a big medal. He called each player up one by one to put it around their neck and all the kids just walked up, got their medal and sat down. But then came Wyatt, who acted as though he'd done this before or had, at the very least, been coached to perform. I assure you neither is the case. I'm not sure how he came to the decision to do it but when his turn arrived, he marched forward, turned to face the crowd and grinned from ear to ear while Coach said his nice things and placed the medal around his neck. Such a ham.

We've already been told that baseball is the big thing in Sumter but they have a beautiful new city soccer complex, so we'll just have to see what the spring holds for us and for Wyatt. He definitely enjoys soccer and wants to keep playing but he has also asked to start practicing his catching, "because my catching isn't that good and I need to get ready for baseball in South Carolina." Got to love a kid who's flexible to what's available. We're so glad this worked out here - it was a great way to get involved a little in the community!

Back to Basics

2011-11-02T23:05:00.001-05:00

I have spent the better part of the last two hours thinking about which skipped topic from the last few months I'm going to write about for today's post. Granted, that time was interrupted by some laundry and a little internet surfing to see if I could, in fact, figure out some more advanced photo editing (um, no, indeed that is going to take some more focused effort) to make the pictures from said events really sing but who am I kidding? If I write about old stuff, then when will I ever get around to today? I've got to get out of this hole and start documenting the normal stuff that keeps me on my toes. So I'll start with a normal morning:

We all get up and scramble around to get dressed, groomed, socked, shoed and out the door to take Wyatt to school. Every day, the kids ask for Tic Tacs as soon as we get in the car; it is amazing what they will do for a Tic Tac. If they have been cooperative and buckled themselves in their carseats, then they are munching on their little treasures by the time we pull out of the neighborhood. Almost without fail, Natalie announces that Tic Tacs are not medicine. That habit started when Wyatt started having to take Nexium every morning and she wanted to play along, but then got a little talking-to about how we never take medicine for fun. So now she feels the need to say, emphatically, that Tic Tacs are not medicine.

So then we have to start looking for cows; if they aren't out in the first field we have to speculate about where they are. Natalie assumes they are still sleeping, Wyatt tries to come up with some story that will make Natalie mad. Then we turn the corner and must note whether the wind turbine is spinning or not. As we cruise down the hill (the biggest in Kansas, per Wyatt's speculation when we first moved here), we must look for cows on the left and the policeman on the right. If he's present, Wyatt must remind me that we shouldn't get a ticket. Next we must look for yet another herd of cattle on the left - lately there is a longhorn among them, very exciting - then keep our eyes open to see the two horses at the top of the next field. If I don't react to Natalie saying she saw them, she tells me, "say I'm a yucky girl, Mama. I saw dee horseys" so I tell her she's a lucky girl. Then Natalie has to comment on the green water in the pond, the large rock in someone's yard and, whew, we're halfway there.

As we turn the corner, we pass our local grocery store and Natalie tells me, "Der's Dih-won's! Mama, we need to go get insert needed grocery item here while Wyatt's at school" The thing is that she's normally correct with the grocery list. Then we pass the bounce house and have to discuss whether it's open or not and then I get the command to turn at Wal-Mart. Except it's Natalie telling me, so it sounds like, "Mama, you turn at Wah-Wahp! Yeah, yeah, turn here." As we head down that final stretch, she has to comment on the greenhouse that's closed for the season, the soccer fields in front of the middle school and then count the apartment buildings on the right before she assures me she'll tell me when she sees Wyatt's school. Thank goodness, because I might not see it for myself.

Notice anything? Very little of this commentary actually involves anyone besides Natalie. Wyatt and I are just pawns in her morning dialogue. Seriously, every morning, our ten minute drive is narrated this exact same way. You'd think she might grow weary of pointing out the same details but not yet. At this rate, I'm guessing she'll keep doing it until we move in a couple of months. Wyatt and I generally just smile, nod, and fulfill our roles in her little scene.

Once we actually arrive at school, everyone unloads, Wyatt has to be reminded not to bolt without us, Natalie likes to go into the cubby room with him to hang up his jacket and backpack and then we go our separate ways for a few hours. Wyatt never looks back, Natalie never has a day she doesn't miss him. Three hours later, Natalie and I repeat the drive to fetch her brother (with nearly as much narration, though her conversations get more original as the day progresses), she always retrieves his backpack for him and insists on carrying it for him clear out to the parking lot. So that's how we roll, five days a week.

******

We marvel at how quickly our little girl thinks on her feet. She doesn't really take no for an answer, she takes it as a suggestion to reframe her idea. In that vein, here are some random Natalie quick thoughts for the day:

1. Grandma watched the kids so I could get a haircut today and asked Natalie how many books she gets to read before nap. Natalie replied, "two" but before anyone could even blink corrected her answer to "five! Five, Dama, I get five."

2. Nat and I spent a solid hour sculpting Play-doh tonight and she asked me to make her a bird. I lovingly created one with a cute little body, a little round head, cute beak and two eyes. As she picked it up, the beak fell off and without missing a beat, Natalie said, "oh! she can't talk now."

Good Grief

2011-11-01T22:38:00.002-05:00

I get really annoyed when bloggers (my friends) stop writing for long periods of time for no good reason. I mean, if your computer dies or you can't pay your internet bill, those are probably good reasons to just disappear from blogdom. Otherwise? You're probably just too ~~lazy~~ caught up in other stuff to write about what's going on.

Yet here I am, on the first of November, having not written for nearly a month. But don't worry! I received an "invitation" from BlogHer (you know, because I'm such a valuable member of their team or one of seventy bajillion bloggers who are linked into their system, you choose) to participate in their annual November challenge of blogging - wait for it - EVERY DAY in the month of November. The good news is that I've been saving up all kinds of fodder for this little platform. The bad news is that I'm off to a bumpy start, what with this post being thrown up haphazardly a little late on kick-off day. It'll only get better from here, right? Right.

Ooh, look, distraction!

This Will Mortify Him Later

2011-10-05T12:58:00.000-05:00

And that's probably why I feel compelled to record the story now.

Wyatt just spent his lunch correcting Natalie's pronunciation of her lady parts. I kid you not, ten minutes of me keeping a straight face just to see how that little scene was going to play itself out. Persistence pays; eventually he got her to say it correctly.

She says "pachina" for the record and I don't think he permanently changed that but he did, one time, get her to repeat after him.

"Can you say, 'va'?"
"Va!"
"Can you say, 'gina'?"
"Gina!"
"Good job, Natalie! You did it!"

Ah, yes. I think you both did, kiddo.

Today, I am Successful

2011-09-16T14:33:00.002-05:00

Some days, I wonder if I'm good at what I do. Typically, when employed, you evaluate your abilities by the quality of the goods you produce. When you work inside the home, you have to judge your abilities by the same standards but the only goods I produce are two small people who are decidedly works in progress (unless you'd like to count three square meals daily, two non-imaginative snacks, laundry which is inevitably stuck somewhere in the pipeline, and a house that stays clean for less than twelve hours and that's only if we're asleep for at least nine of those). But you get where I'm going with that. Many days it is daunting, depressing, invalidating, etc. and doesn't often leave me feeling like saying, wow! I am really awesome at this today!

Except on the rare days when I do. For there are moments when I see the kids do something that is good and right and I know that they learned it from me. Not from Noggin - it's like preschool, on tv! - or friends or even from their dad, but from me. And in that brief instant, I get that invisible pat on the back, the priceless paycheck that lets me know maybe I'm actually doing okay and they will turn out okay in spite of all the many ways I screw up each and every day. Today, my sweet Natalie granted me one of those moments.

Let me set the scene: we were pulling out of our local Wal-Mart's parking lot and I stopped at the cross walk to let a woman walk into the store. It was raining, she was carrying a baby, it was the right thing to do. As we sat there, wipers swishing back and forth, I watched her saunter across and realized she was wearing pajamas. I didn't say anything, but I was thinking it. And honestly, I was thinking about the blog post that could stem from that observation, which is why don't you ever see anyone at Target in their pajamas? Is there an unwritten rule that says it's okay at Wal-Mart but not at Target? But I didn't verbalize any of this, I just sat there silently, waiting for here to amble by. And then from the back seat, little miss I-don't-miss-a-darn-thing says,

"Mommy, she wearin' her 'jamas! Dass sih-wee!"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, Nat, she's wearing her pajamas. You think that's silly?"

"Yeah, Mama. We no wear our 'jamas to Wah-wahp! We take our 'jamas off and we yeave dem at home! We wear cyose to Wah-wahp! Dat girl is sooo sih-wee."

And with that, we headed out. I was bursting with pride. You see, the Air Force might keep sending us to towns where there is no Target and I might be forced to raise my kids in places where we encounter even crazier things than people wearing their night clothes to public places but darn it, I'm doing something right if my two-year old knows that it's just plain silly to go shopping in your pajamas.

Just Write

2011-09-14T21:16:00.000-05:00

There's been so much going on here and every time I think that I should sit down to document it, either something else pulls me away or I'm overwhelmed by the thought of where to start. So it occurred to me that it's time for a list in no particular order and I'll even toss in some pictures for added interest. I'm pretty awesome.

1. Wyatt loves school and loves going every day.

2. I love Wyatt going to school every day. We were all desperate for some structure to our days.

3. Natalie is firmly undecided about Wyatt going to school every day; in fact, yesterday in the car, she specifically told me she misses him, she wished he were there to play the foot game with her (it involves them kicking each other and always ends with someone screaming or crying, yet they continue to do it) and that she needed a big hug from Wyatt when we picked him up. She proceeded to demand that hug from him at the library after school and it turned out a hug wasn't sufficient. She, instead, required that he pick her up and wasn't satisfied until he did it. I think they love each other.

4. Without Wyatt around for three hours every morning, Natalie is allowed to speak with no disturbances. My ears are so tired and I'm not sure how there's anything left to talk about, yet somehow there is. And she's funny.

5. We went house hunting over Labor Day weekend with the goal of choosing which city to live in: Sumter versus Columbia.

6. In a surprise victory (even to us), Sumter won and we will be calling it home come January.

7. In an even greater surprise, we think we've even found a home to rent. Oh sweet relief to have that settled. We think. And we will have a guest room so please plan to visit (unless you're a lurker that I don't know and then that would just be weird.)

8. We took Wyatt to the doctor right before we left for some ongoing gagging issues. He was diagnosed as most likely having reflux, just like his dad, his grandpa, his aunt, his great-aunt, and a smattering of cousins. You could say it runs in the family. It was also noted his tonsils are the size of my fist and that perhaps he's, um, not as regular as he should be. You might recall a certain young man didn't enjoy that part of potty training and it seems maybe it created some lasting effects. Or maybe there was always something at play that made that part of potty training more challenging. Who knows.

9. From that one appointment, we received two new daily medications and referrals ~~all over creation~~ to a pediatric GI, an ENT and to X-Ray for a picture of his innards. Last week was chock full o' doctor's appointments and ended with a colon cleanse. Whoo boy, that was a good time.

10. Next week will bring us a barium swallow and an endoscopy at our local children's hospital, where we have the utmost confidence that they'll help us figure out what the heck is going on. When the GI asked me when the symptoms started, I was flummoxed. I mean, they never started. This is just who Wyatt is. He's always had a hair-trigger gag-reflex; he's always needed water on hand, just in case he gets that gaggy face; we've always known a cold means that he'll toss his cookies because he can't handle the drainage that comes with it. It's just him; it's how he's made.

11. Today we met with the ENT, who was awesome. In all honesty, military healthcare often (and in many cases rightfully so) gets a bad rap. You never know who your provider will be, you never get a choice in that, so you just have to hope for the best. We just can't say enough good things about our experiences here. The PA we saw today was fabulous, just like the PA we saw two weeks ago who sent us on these referral rabbit trails to start with. Anyway, the exam today lasted for about five minutes before he provided the kids with two otoscopes, tongue depressors and rubber gloves so they could perform an exam on Natalie's baby doll while he delivered his findings to me. His verdict: Wyatt's tonsils are actually the size of my fist. In doctor-speak they call it a 4+, they touch each other, they touch his uvula and leave very little space for anything to pass. He said anyone would gag with that at the back of their throat. He said a lot of other things that were very, very insightful also but in summation, Wyatt is now scheduled for a tonsillectomy in mid-October.

12. Perspective tells me that we are so very, very fortunate. I have a very healthy little boy for whom we are able to seek medical care for outpatient procedures and we have insurance that is covering them. We are geographically fortunate that right now we can (and are) leaning heavily on my parents for help with Natalie during these appointments and have already booked them for the tonsillectomy morning. But seriously, I'm capped with the medical drama right now and I need this to be the end of it for a little bit, okay? And yes, I'm furiously knocking on wood as I type that.

13. We took the kids to the KU football game last Saturday night and I'm telling you, that was a top five reason we chose Leavenworth for this school year. The weather was perfect, we sat three rows off the track, the kids were totally into the spirit of it, Grandpa and Grandma were there with us, we were all decked out in our Jayhawk gear, the 'hawks pulled out the win, we waved the wheat over and over, it was simply perfection. I sincerely hope the memories seared into my brain from that night never, never, never leave me. Funny moment? Wyatt's initial concern that he couldn't see the dancer girls when we first arrived.

14. We woke up bright and early Sunday morning to meet Jeff's cousin and his wife at a local vineyard (yes, in Kansas) for their annual grape-picking. Liz signed us up for it months ago and we're so glad we went. The kids had a great time. Wyatt even got his own little pair of clippers with special help from Liz and Natalie was granted permission to eat as many grapes as she wanted, so she too was a happy camper.

15. There's a building in town being demolished and it is proving to be quite entertaining for the kids (and who am I kidding, I find it fascinating, too). So far we're at about three hours of time sitting, just watching the digger claw its way through the walls. Good small-town fun.

16. We had a little lesson in economics a few weeks back when I took the kids to our local paint your own pottery place to paint plates and discovered they wanted $28 for each plate. I just couldn't do it. For $56, I could go buy a few place settings of white dishes that are on my perpetual wish list! So I made us leave. It was awkward since the owner had already started getting the kids all set up at the table while I picked out the pieces for them to paint. Fortunately, the cousins were available and willing to paint pottery in Lawrence just a few days later (where plates are $12 - I knew I wasn't crazy) and we had a grand time. Fast forward to this week, when Wyatt is invited to a birthday party at the local studio. Wyatt wanted to know if I was sure he could go since it's expensive. I assured him he could and then please asked him not to mention that I made us leave. We'll see how that goes; I have a sneaking suspicion it will come up again.

17. We got a new puppy. Natalie's in love with it, though her fascination is already waning now that it's been here for a month. The puppy is pretty perfect since it doesn't really require anything from us other than a small space to stand. It's the cutest cast iron Boston Terrier door stop a girl could hope for, but that hasn't stopped Natalie from talking to it or from introducing our guests to it. Turns out this has been a good lesson for me - we're definitely not in the market for any small living things around here as I don't think they'd be safe in Natalie's overly loving arms!

18. The weather has been nearly perfect so we're trying to take advantage with lots of park and trampoline time. Hopefully it will hold for a while so we can continue to enjoy it because I love a happy, exhausted set of kids at naptime.

19. Soccer season has begun again and we're off to a slow start. For some reason, the city is struggling to get the schedule set (heaven forbid we should be able to plan our Saturdays) and it's the same 4-6 year age range as our spring team but apparently many of the older kids moved up. That means there are a lot of four-year olds so Wyatt is now one of the more experienced players on the team. My friends, he is an enthusiastic young man but he is not what you would call focused on the sport of soccer. There are a couple of little guys who are, perhaps, more aware of what needs to happen to actually score a goal, but we'll just have to see how this season pans out. He likes it and that's all that matters for now. But there's an awful lot of this jumble-of-kids type of stuff at practice:

Natalie is, however, a huge fan of soccer. HUGE. Because there's a playground. So you'll find us doing this:

That girl can ride the not-so-springy duck all day long.

Passing the Baton

2011-08-31T10:01:00.000-05:00

The last few weeks before Wyatt returned to school were umm, dicey, let's say. But the final days were remarkably pleasant, I think due to the fact that we all saw our future on the horizon. Indeed, Wyatt loves his new school. He loves it so much that he cried on his way home Monday and, when I finally figured out why, it was because he just wanted more time with his new friends. He has also asked me if Kindergarteners get to stay at school for more hours than kids in Pre-K and then, yesterday, flat called me out for not sending him to Kindergarten this year. Geez. Nothing like defending thoroughly thought-out choices to a five-year old.

Then there's the other one. The Natalie. She's two, you guys (or "you dies" as she says) and I should not have to answer to her the way I do. But yet, I do. And she's not even two and a half for another two weeks. But anyway, she's been telling us for weeks that she, also, would like to go to school. Then we take Wyatt to school and she wants to stay. She wants to go to his playground, she's picked out a classroom for herself, etc. The child is ready, the world probably is not. I'm not. Well, most days anyway. Today she's a little cantankerous and she was really reading me the riot act on the way home from Wyatt's drop-off in Nataliese, telling me in an unpleasant voice about how she wants to go to school and doesn't want to go home but would settle for the bouncy house and she doesn't like me, maybe even doesn't love me, ever, ever, everrrrrrr with that last bit delivered in her ugliest, loudest, whiniest, shriekiest voice she could muster. So I just calmly replied that I don't believe that she doesn't love me, I love her very much and really appreciate her not using that voice with me.

So she took a deep breath.

And then she repeated every. last. word of her soliloquy in her nicest, calmest, regular voice but with the same ugly words from the first go 'round.

Help me. There's been a secret hand-off and I'm just catching on. The little one is as smart as the big one and they're pretty darn good at this "wear down the mom" game. It's good I find them so loveable. It's also good I can still require afternoon naps of Miss Sassypants.

Look Alive

2011-08-17T08:01:00.000-05:00

You've got to wake up on your toes around here. A glimpse into my morning:

Wyatt: Mom, for my birthday, I'm going to ask for an F-86.

Me: Okay, but the next big event is Christmas.

W: Oh great, well then for Christmas, I'm going to ask for an F-86 and an A-4. And you remember how Santa brought me an F-22 and an F-15 last year? He'll bring me these this year!

Me: Well, he might but remember that Santa is looking for good kids, so….

W: I'm gonna be really good.

****fast forward ten minutes*****

Jeff: Bye, guys! Have a good day!

W: I will, Dad! I'm gonna be really good today so Santa will bring me an F-86 today.

Me & Jeff: No, not today. You have to be good all year.

W: looking a little deflated Oh.

Natalie: he have cheese sticks?

Me: Who?

N: Me get cheese sticks?

Me: You want a cheese stick?

N: Yah! My want cheese sticks! Santa have cheese sticks?

Me: You want to know if Santa has cheese sticks?

N: Yah! batting her eyelashes, gesturing with her hands and shrugging her shoulders I be good, he bring me cheese sticks!

There you have it folks, Christmas list 2011 has begun and both kids are asking for things right up their respective alleys. I'm so glad that's settled.

Who Needs Order?

2011-08-15T21:18:00.000-05:00

So I've been dragging my heels on writing because I have events about which to write, so I feel like those are causing a clog in the schedule. You know, like I can't mention anything after those events because then I'm not in chronological order.

Phooey. Tonight I'm freeing myself from the shackles of time and vowing to write when I feel like it, about the things on my mind. Someday I'll finish getting pictures off my camera and will then update the rest of my life, but for now you get presence of mind. Ooh, lucky you!

My biggest energy-suck right now is the fact that we have our new assignment. For my Facebook friends, this is old news, but for me it's ever-present. We submitted our wish list back in May and that has always worked well for us in the past. We always do our research before submitting a list and look at pros & cons, homes, schools, cost of living, etc. so that we feel prepared for whatever comes our way. But when what comes our way is out of left field, it feels a lot like we're behind the eight ball. Enter South Carolina, our future home. Hello, left field! Nice to meet you.

But now we're getting caught up, have booked tickets to do an initial househunting trip, have solicited advice from anyone who knows anyone who's ever lived there and feel like we're finally getting armed enough to make a good choice. Thank goodness for my parents who have not only offered to take the kids for a long weekend so we can hunt efficiently, but who have also helped us research schools - their education backgrounds have proven really helpful. I'm armed with stacks of data (literally - my dad printed bundles for me and had them all nicely collated, waiting after church yesterday) and a list of questions to fire at each school regarding their methods and madness. We (and by we, I mean me of course) are scouring rental sites and are also courting the idea of owning another home. Though the economy bites, it's a fantastic time to buy. Coupled with a ridiculously reasonable housing market, it actually looks feasible. Who knows. But each step feels like progress and progress makes me happy.

We've managed to stay sane until these last couple weeks of summer. Unlike everyone else in a fifty-mile radius (or more), Wyatt doesn't start school for another two weeks. We're not starting him in kindergarten this fall for myriad reasons, but he will be going to school every morning for three hours. I'm probably a little excited about that, though I'm reconciling that with the fact that now I can't just take the kids and galavant around for an entire day wherever we want. Growing pains, I guess.

Ahhhh, that feels better. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Rocky Mountain High

2011-08-01T15:58:00.000-05:00

I was on a Rocky Mountain high, but I've come off it now since our vacation was weeks ago. Once again, I'm a little behind but the trip was a winner, so I'm going to tell you all about it! And by you, I mean the future me since I'm probably the only one interested.

I had the bright idea that my kids needed a week in the mountains this summer, seeing as how we're "so close" and all. I also know my limits, so I asked my parents if they might be interested in joining us (Jeff can't take leave during school, so it was single parenting if no one else bought into my grand plan). Lucky for me, my parents are always willing to travel. In fact, one should not even mention a trip to my dad if not serious; within an hour of me tossing out the idea, he'd located several condos from which to choose. Mom agreed to ride in the backseat between carseats so it was settled: the five of us were heading off on a road trip!

In case you're like the lovely people I met in Boston last week who are unsure of the middle states' geography, I'll help you out. Hold up your hands, back of hands facing you. We currently live near your right hand's pinky; Breckenridge is your left hand's middle finger's knuckle. Not super close, but definitely driveable if you're willing to spend about ten hours in a car. Now that we have that covered, I'll tell you that my kids are pretty great travelers but having Grandma sandwiched between was awfully helpful. She's very adept at holding the laptop for movies, dishing out snacks and generally keeping the peace. Dad is an excellent passenger, very capable of getting movies loaded into said laptop and doling out travel treats as needed. I, well, I'm a pretty stellar driver if I do say so myself.

Within the first two hours, Mom had both kids doing crossword puzzles with her.

After a lunch stop at the McDonald's in Hays, KS (if anyone is crossing Kansas anytime soon, I recommend that stop - great indoor play area and it was remarkably clean), we pressed onward to Limon, CO. I'd like to tell you the kids took great naps, but that would be a lie. Natalie dozed for thirty minutes and Wyatt eked out an hour. I even turned on the farm report in attempts to bore them to sleep but it didn't work. We stopped for gas and travel treats in Limon, where Wyatt discovered his first wild animal.

Oh, that's right, it was stuffed. Nevertheless, Natalie wouldn't go near it.

Fast forward a few more hours and we made it to Breckenridge where we spent the rest of the week doing whatever made us happy. Things like hiking,

feeding chipmunks from our hands,

fearing chipmunks,

climbing rocks,

feeding fish,

and feeding baby geese,

finding snow,

relaxing on the deck,

riding chairlifts,

alpine sliding,

enjoying scenic vistas,

being one with nature,

hunting rocks,

gathering rocks,

throwing rocks in the river,

and posing for lots and lots of pictures

Ahh, yes, it was a great week. Colorado, you didn't disappoint - we'll be back!

Sorry, Kid

2011-07-06T14:25:00.000-05:00

So Wyatt turned five…last week…and I haven't recorded a darn thing about it or him. In my defense, we've been remarkably busy having a very good time, so I hope I'm forgiven. You might remember that Wyatt arrived on our sixth wedding anniversary and only four days after my own birthday, so every year is a juggling act of what will be celebrated when and how many sitters are appropriate in one week. This year was no different and, in the end, we spent our anniversary sharing in Wyatt's idea of a perfect day.

I volunteered to watch a friend's kid for the morning, which I knew Wyatt would enjoy, so the day before his birthday, I quizzed my boy about what else his perfect day would include. His reply: pancakes with chocolate chips and M&M's for breakfast, McDonald's for a picnic lunch at a park, naps, chocolate with cheese casserole for dinner. He was a little sad to find out I don't have a recipe for that casserole he dreamt up, so instead told me he'd like basil-jack meatloaf and strawberry milk for dinner. I was thrilled with that choice since it's also one of Jeff's favorite meals and then I = amazing for ~~killing two birds~~ celebrating two events with one meal. Sadly, on the day of his birthday he changed his dinner request to hotdogs in crescent rolls. Happy 11th anniversary, honey; have a pig in a blanket. But I digress. Wyatt got to open his presents from us and his cards from both sets of grandparents that night. He was thrilled to find airplanes inside all the wrapping paper.

Wyatt also requested chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting for his birthday dinner dessert, but vanilla cake with chocolate frosting for his birthday party. Note to self: this is the fourth birthday that has involved cake and the fourth time he really just wanted the frosting. Next year, I think I'll save myself the work and scoop out a big dollop of frosting and stick a candle in it.

note he chose one with a giant mound of frosting...

…then proceeded to lick it almost clean

This is also the first year we've had an actual party for Wyatt; he invited his cousins, our best friends' kids, and three kids from his class. Two of the school kids couldn't come, so it was a small crowd.

We had a great time at the local movie theater watching Cars 2 and hanging out in the party room. It was Wyatt's first movie in a theater and I'm pretty sure he loved it. The movie itself was a little more adult than the first Cars and had me rolling at the Tokyo bathroom scene (I will buy the movie just to watch that scene) but had Thomas a little spooked with all the gratuitous violence. Grandma was happy to have him climb into her lap and snuggle tight for the duration. Wyatt ended up holding her hand, too, after a scene made him yell out loud (really loudly, and when no one else in the theater reacted). After much debate, we decided Natalie could stay for the movie, too, and she loved it. Actually, she just loved the popcorn. Each party guest got a kiddie combo with popcorn, drink and an Airheads taffy. Sitting next to her Papa, Natalie mowed down her entire serving of popcorn pretty rapidly. My dad kept leaning forward and whispering, "Steph, should I take it away?" I told him she could handle it, which she did until she announced in a not-so-quiet voice, "Papa! My skirt too tight!" Ummmm, yeah, that's bloating sweetie. She recovered nicely and paid attention until the last thirty minutes of the movie, at which point she made four trips to the bathroom.

with Jack & Charlie

blowing out candles with Thomas' supervision

But this is about Wyatt. And the fact that he's five. And the fact that he had one of the greatest weekends of his young life because not only did he get to hang out with his chosen boys, but the whole family (Great Grandma included) came to the house for pizza and more dessert, then his cousins spent the night and stayed well into the next day, playing outside on his new trampoline (I wanted one my whole life…it's nice that my parents bought one for him!) and with water guns, baseballs and sprinklers.

Wyatt at five is seeming to be wired very much like me, his emotions are hanging out all over the place. If he's happy, you know and if he's angry, you know; he also really enjoys having the last word. It's something we're both working on! He loves wholeheartedly and is a great brother to Natalie, even though sometimes he forgets he should make requests with words instead of his hands. His interest in airplanes shows no signs of waning and he tells us that he intends to be a pilot when he grows up. I constantly suggest alternate career fields, but he just laughs at me. He loves to add and subtract, count by tens and "all the way to one hundred" for fun. He still doesn't enjoy coloring. Dinosaurs are starting to intrigue him, as are fossils, rocks and bugs. He is much like his daddy in that he wants you to be happy, wants to hug all the time and can often be heard offering compliments. His laugh still makes us laugh. He's ornery, challenging and constantly surprising in what he will and won't do. He keeps me on my toes but I think life would be really boring without him, so I'm gonna keep him as long as he'll let me.

Bookworm

2011-06-29T16:40:00.000-05:00

Okay friends, two more book reviews are live over at BlogHer. I'm woefully behind in posting the link to the first one, A Discovery of Witches but please don't think that means I didn't enjoy it! You can check out the review over here. Hint: if you liked Harry Potter, Dan Brown's books or even The Time Traveler's Wife, you should check it out.

The next one I read came from the young fiction genre and while I wouldn't normally head for that category, it was exactly what I needed after all the more serious books I've been reading for BlogHer book club and my real life book club (which, by the way, if you have suggestions for great books for my book club, will you please share them in the comments? Thanks.) Anyway, you should check out Sarah Dessen's books if you're in the market for something that's fun to read but doesn't make you lay awake at night. I reviewed this one but saw at least five of her other titles on the shelf at Target last week.

Happy reading!

Superstar

2011-06-18T14:34:00.000-05:00

I'm going to use this moment to brag about my husband, since I figure that's the beauty of having a blog. As soon as we got our assignment to come to Kansas (more than 18 months ago) he announced he wanted to do the Kansas Half Ironman. I'm kind of used to him setting and achieving these lofty physical goals and I had no doubt he'd do it. However, after watching him balance training, work, family and fun for the last six months, I was still impressed when I watched him complete his goal last weekend.

The race started with a 1.2 mile swim in Clinton Lake, which he says was more than a little choppy. Then he hopped on his bike for a 56 mile ride, which is where we caught up with him. Sadly, I failed to check my camera settings and completely screwed up my exposure for all the biking pictures so you'll have to take my word for it when I tell you that (A) he looked like he felt really good; (B) the kids were adorable, holding up signs that said "you rock" and "go Daddy, go!"; and (C) the kids got lots of props from other riders who liked it when they stood by the road, cheering and holding the Go, GO! signs. My family also deserves a shout-out for trekking through all the spectating with me. My parents rode with me and the kids, helping navigate the backroads of Douglas county, passing out snacks and providing supervision so I could concentrate on the ill-fated pictures and my sister and her family chose to spend their Sunday morning doing the same. Jeff had resigned himself to not seeing any of us, so he says that seeing all of us instead was a great surprise.

I managed to get the camera adjusted before the run, and he still looked happy while running his half-marathon to finish it out. See?

start of the run

6.5 miles to go

rounding the corner at the finish

Jeff on the left, headed for the finish line. Clock time is what you see on the board,
his chip time ended up being 5:43:56.

before we could regroup to find him, here he came, all smiles

Wyatt, running for his Daddy

my three favorite people

Filling the Tank

2011-06-16T09:31:00.000-05:00

I'm guessing Wyatt's love language is physical touch, in case no one else has figured that out yet. He is a child who needs lots of hugs and cuddles as affirmation so it was no surprise that he asked if we could, "please have a cuddlefest after breakfast" this morning. This was a new request, in that he's never asked for hugs quite like that, so I obliged quite happily. Imagine my delight as he curled up as tight as he could and just filled his little love tank, repeatedly telling me I am his "best mom ever." He tells me that a lot, and internally I think, "that's because I'm your only mom ever; I am also your worst, meanest, silliest, tallest, shortest and nicest mom ever."

Natalie, who is not quite as cuddly as her big brother, hovered nearby drawing to her heart's content. Wyatt told me he "doesn't really love drawing, but Natalie really does," to which I replied, "yes, and it took me a few years to figure that out." He laughed and asked if we could do a craft today. I never hear that request out of him! When I asked what he wanted to make, he informed me it would be a Eurofighter, made out of paper, glue and bleach. I have no idea where he gets this stuff and it made me laugh out loud. That, in turn, made Natalie want to join the cuddle pile and grace us with her wrinkle-faced grin.

And then I realized, maybe I'm the one who needed those cuddles this morning because it seems that sometimes I forget a couple of the greatest things in life are these two little people who choose to see me as their best mom ever. I do think I'll keep them.

Great Timing

2011-06-15T15:12:00.000-05:00

So I just got around to posting a link to my Jane Austen review last night and today I got an email saying that someone in blogland is going to win a copy of A Jane Austen Education and The Complete Works of Jane Austen. If you want that someone to be you, click over here and leave a comment. Looks like the winner will be chosen on June 24; that's a pretty auspicious day in these parts so maybe you'll win. It certainly wasn't my favorite book of the last few months, but maybe you'll really like it!

Still Reading

2011-06-14T20:34:00.000-05:00

Hey all, remember those books I told you I was reviewing? Well, I'm churning through them and loving almost every minute of it. It's so cool to get books on my front porch that I never would've sought out on my own. Want to know what I thought of A Jane Austen Education? Click over here to find out.

The Rest of the Story

2011-06-13T15:02:00.000-05:00

So I mentioned that we were in California but now we're back and that might have made you think the trip was uneventful. I assure you, it was not!

I updated our first day in San Clemente, but failed to tell you about everything after that. Things like playing at the beach that I thought was just a hair to cool to be perfect, but my kids thought was fantastic.

Wyatt would've stayed there for days, right at the edge of the water.

This is Natalie, being girly and afraid of the seaweed Jeff wants her to touch.

The next day was SeaWorld with the whole crew. We got there a little while after they opened and stayed until close. It was really fun, especially when Aimee and I got the bright idea to ride the shipwreck reef ride with the boys. It's a rafting ride and we were soaked through. Thank goodness we had all our clothes in the car - one quick trip to the parking lot, some clever covering up while changing clothes in broad daylight and poof! We were as good as new. Well, except for my hair, anyway. It was a half-curly wreck but oh well - we had fun!

Joel, Wyatt & Kyle hanging out watching the seals.

Kyle, really proud of his purchased fish. Note Wyatt's hand - he
wanted in on the feeding action.

Waiting with Aunt Aimee and Daddy to see
the sea lion show (which was extra entertaining due to a
rogue sea lion who was behaving like a two-year old human).

One tired girl on our way to see Shamu's evening show.

And because that wasn't enough stimulation for our kids, we took only one day at Joel & Aimee's to regroup before heading to Disneyland. Our plan was to get there at a decent time and stay only as long as everyone was having fun. We didn't get in line for the first ride until 10:30 and were a little slow getting into a groove, but the kids were amazingly patient (most of the time). We rode almost everything we could (no Space Mountain, Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Railroad due to Natalie's height and we just overlooked the Jungle Cruise) and had a great time.

If you ask Natalie about it, she'll tell you, "I scream Goofy!" because she let loose a blood-curdling scream when he approached her stroller. Like the good-natured Goofy he is, he just jumped back, gave me and Wyatt high fives and went on about his merry day. She might also tell you about her new hot pink Mickey Crocs, which we acquired after she threw a shoe somewhere in Tomorrowland. A one-shoed child at Disney isn't ideal! We backtracked (twice) to look for it then went to the front of the park to check with lost and found and it wasn't anywhere to be seen. Thankfully Disney is prepared for anything and the Crocs were available in a store on Main Street. She loves them but please imagine our delight when we returned to Tomorrowland thirty minutes later to ride Autopia and found her "lost" shoe laying on a wall by all the stroller parking. Oh well!

waiting for Dumbo, the first ride of the day

proof we were all there together - getting on the Small World ride.

Me and my passenger on Autopia.

TEACUPS! Jeff (the pilot) wasn't thrilled about all the spinning
but the kids and I loved it :)

See? They really did love it.

the carousel with our post-dinner energy

my superstars after riding the Matterhorn together!

Astroblaster, the last ride of the day. It was
a perfect ending to a beautiful day as we were high enough to
see all the lights of the park from above.

this was taken approximately three minutes after the car started moving.

And in case that weren't enough, we capped off our last day at Joel and Aimee's with pool time and a spin around the lake on their boat. Wyatt and Natalie had never been on a ski boat before and I'm positive that Jeff is determined it won't be their last excursion. Jeff had a great water-skiing run to show them what that's all about and they were pretty impressed with their cool dad. They also just liked the fact that Aunt Aimee gave them some Cheetos for the ride.

Wyatt holding on during the high speed portion of our ride.

Natalie hanging out with her favorite man in the whole world.

Off Kilter

2011-06-06T22:41:00.000-05:00

We're back from our trip but have maintained the pattern of keeping our kids up too late and not quite rested. As we drove back from Lawrence tonight at 9:30, the following conversation took place:

Natalie: Mama, whereya Wyatt's cd?

Me: It's in the house.

N: Mamaaa! Whereya Wyatt's cd?

Me: It's in the house.

N: Mamaaaaaa! Whereya Wyatt's cd? (increasingly whiny and loud)

Me: It's in the house. Natalie, should we make you a cd?

N: Yes. (uttered in her patented half-cry, half-whine, fully pitiful voice)

Me: What would you like on your cd?

Wyatt: Mom, I bet she'd like Katy Perry & Lady Gaga.

N: No Wyatt talk me!

Me: You don't want Wyatt to talk for you?

N: No! No Wyatt talk me! (now crying, for she is fragile and it is late)

Me: Okay, Wyatt, please don't talk for Natalie this time. So Natalie, what would you like on your cd?

N: Katy Peh-yee, Yady Dada.

Kid Quotes

2011-06-02T09:32:00.000-05:00

We're still here, having fun, and yesterday that included an all day expedition to SeaWorld. Aimee had the brilliant suggestion that we put Wyatt & Natalie in their pajamas for the two hour drive home so that they could just crash after dinner. Wyatt complied quite nicely, falling asleep within ten minutes. Natalie, however, had snoozed between SeaWorld and the restaurant (for all of ten minutes) so didn't feel the need to go back to sleep after dinner. She was FULL of excellent reasons that she couldn't sleep, all delivered in her loudest voice:

1. "Mommy, my hungwy wiwwy wiwwy bad!" (This was five minutes after leaving the restaurant, where she'd mowed down her dinner, as always)

2. "Mama, darrrrrk! It darrrrk!" (Ummm, no, that's the sun in the western sky.)

3. "Mommy, Wyatt seeping! No seeping, Wy-yatt" (right. he's sleeping and you should be, too.)

4. "Mommy, my tooting!"

5. "My band-aid hurt wiwwy, wiwwy bad!"

****

Today, the nephews had school so Jeff was chatting up Kyle before he left, asking him all about his school. Kyle was explaining that he'll go to a different school next year, per his choice, because "it's better" than the school he's at now. When pressed for reasons as to why it's better it went like this:

Jeff: What makes it better?

Kyle: Well, my school now makes you wear uniforms. Which, obviously, I don't care (as he motions to his jeans and white t-shirt) and my new school won't.

Jeff: What else?

Kyle: And, okay, the new school has, like, a pajama day and my school has career day.

Kickin' in California

2011-05-30T10:53:00.000-05:00

I'm learning the lingo from my nephews :) We're having a grand time with Jeff's sister and her family; the boys are so sweet with our kids and my kids are so enamored with their older cousins. Aunt Aimee and Uncle Joel are pretty darn cool, too.

We're at the beach for one more day and then heading off to SeaWorld. Yesterday was a little cool for the coast so we spent our morning browsing in boutiques (me & Aimee), skating (Matt & Kyle) and wandering the farmers market (Joel, Jeff, Wyatt & Nat). It's all good and we have pictures to prove it:

Wyatt learning all about the iPod touch from Matt

turns out she's more than willing to pose for Aunt Aimee

please study this action shot: Natalie soaring and Kyle with
perfect aim from the water gun. She saw this picture this morning and
said, "More!" along with signing. This girl loves an adrenaline rush.

water + gun = happy Wyatt. Aunt Aimee knows what makes
little boys happy!

strolling on the pier

Wyatt and the big boys - he just wants to be with them all the time

Today's looking like a perfect beach day and I'm really hoping that it will elicit a few more one-liners from Matt. Last night's favorites:

1. Regarding Jeff's otterbox on his iPhone: "Uncle Jeff's phone is ready for World War III"!

2. And after Natalie had a complete meltdown about something at the table, "Geez! Natalie has high standards!"

He's a funny one and we're having a great time. Can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds!

Deep Thoughts

2011-05-27T15:38:00.000-05:00

Recent gems from Wyatt:

"Hey Mom, wouldn't it be cool if we had Millie and a koala bear?"

****

In the car, after he asked in an outside voice whether our cashier was a girl or a boy:

Me: Girls can have short hair. It doesn't mean they aren't girls.

W: Oh. Well, why?

Me: Because sometimes they like it that way. Should I cut my hair short?

W: Yeah! And then you could be a girl painted like a boy!

No, Thank You, Natalie

2011-05-22T17:18:00.000-05:00

We spent the night last night at our friends' house and Natalie went to bed in her pack and play long before the adults retired for the night. While Wyatt was sleeping upstairs with the boys, Jeff and I were sharing the guest room with Natalie. So this morning, her eyes popped open at 6:45 and in a voice of panic, she said, "Mommy! Mimmee seeping my woom! Mommy, Mimmy my woom!" Translated, that means, "mommy, Millie's sleeping in my room." I lay there wondering how to break it to her and then just decided to lean over the side of the bed to make eye contact with her and said, "Natalie, we all slept in your room last night."

Then I gave her a moment to let it all sink in.

She said, "Mommy, you seep my woom? YAY! Shay-shyou Mommy seeping my woom! Shay-shyou seep my woom, Mommy!" I told her she was welcome and then she gave me her two favorite nanas. Something tells me that she could get used to a family wake-up.

Tangible

2011-05-19T21:53:00.000-05:00

I love blogging. I love that I'm recording the minutiae of my life; that I'm recording the big events of my kids' lives; that the voices in my head have a place to make themselves heard. But I have to tell you, I'm feeling a whole lot like I ought to put it all back on paper.

I ran across a box of old cards and letters (mostly from Jeff, but a few from my grandparents and parents) and it is kind of awesome to reopen each one and read about what was important to us back then. I guess I wonder if my kids will ever be as interested in reading about everything online as they would be if it were written down. If they could actually hold the words, the notes, the letters, the love we sent back and forth, would it carry more weight? Would it seem more important? I also realized that maybe Jeff and I should start writing to each other more often. We were prolific pre-kids and it has slowly dwindled to text messages. Sad.

I also found some old party pics in there from college. Do kids today realize they're missing out on the fun? I bet they take their phones with them and have all the photos they want right away, deleting the bad or incriminating before they have a chance to see the light of day. Where's the joy in that? They will never know the fun of the proof sheets showing up in the living room, then hearing everyone laugh at the funny ones, poring over them with friends and reliving the evening.

Lastly, I've been thinking that my friends and I have held up pretty well, considering we walked the hill fourteen years ago. And then I found pictures from senior year spring break. We look like babies! Oh, to have the skin, the energy, the ability to bounce back from a night of drinking like I did back then. I don't want to be a lush or anything, but honestly it would be so awesome to be able to have more than one drink without it triggering a migraine. But I guess I should hold onto that which is good now, because I bet when I'm 80, my mid-thirties will look pretty awesome. And hey, I'll have this lovely blog to relive my glory days.

Hey, Guess What?

2011-05-17T18:51:00.000-05:00

Remember the book review program I told you about a few weeks ago? You can read more about it over here and you can check out my review here. I'm pretty out of practice actually analyzing anything I read; I mean, my book club in Virginia was once accused of gossiping (in our defense, that barista was totally wrong; we did discuss the book…right before we started discussing everything else) and the club here is much more on task but we got distracted last week talking about headaches with TMO. So, you know, I'm not usually all business when it comes to sharing my opinion on books. Keep that in mind if you decide to read it. If you'd like the abbreviated version, it's this: you should totally read Girl in Translation and then we should talk about it…or whatever else is on our minds.

The Land of Ah's

2011-05-06T16:15:00.000-05:00

Or the land of hahahahaha's. I mean, I would never expect to see this in Virginia!

Yeah, that's a buffalo's head leaning out of the back of that truck. Let me assure you, if this passes right by your driver's side window while you're cruising down the interstate, it's fairly alarming. The fur was blowing in the breeze.

Once I gathered my wits enough to get my camera, I realized there was more to the story.

Right. Buffalo head in the back, fiberglass buffalo riding behind. Makes perfect sense. I was in line behind the guy at the toll booth and remarked about it to the toll collector. She told me it looked as though the pelt was riding shotgun. I guess you just never know what you're going to see on any given day, do you?

Rump roast, anyone?

I Think This is the Best Day of My Life

2011-05-03T20:58:00.000-05:00

That title is a quote, from Wyatt, today. I think it's probably a very astute comment, for today was the day he was cleared to stop wearing his sling. YAHOO!!!! We all survived the first broken bone. His x-ray shows a distinct ball of calcification around the break site and that the bone managed to go from about a 60-degree angle to more of a 20-degree angle. We call that success.

I asked the ortho all about logistics - follow ups? soccer? limitations? - and Wyatt asked only one thing: "can I swing?" Of course the answer was yes, and obviously we stopped at a park today.

That, my friends, was some seriously joyful swinging! Natalie was not left out of the fun and I'm sure it was a great day for her, too, since our park outings have been on hold until Wyatt could participate. She had a fine time on the slides, the teeter totter and the swings. I love seeing them have such fun together and, in case you can't tell, it was pretty much the perfect park-going day around here.

Misdirected Energy

2011-05-02T17:04:00.000-05:00

Can you tell I want to redo my house? No? Well, I do. I still want slipcovers for my couches; I really dislike the color of tan on many of the walls in this rental; I dislike the periwinkle dining room; I wish I could add some curtains to the living room, but that's silly for only 7 more months; I'd like a new rug for the kitchen, but that's silly with two kids who routinely spill things. I just crave change all the time. That's kind of the only thing consistent with me.

So, I took it out on my blog. Maybe that's for the best anyway. Redecorating for zero dollars…it's too bad I can't click, click, click my physical surroundings the same way I do my pixels!

They Can Read!

2011-05-02T15:03:00.000-05:00

Animals: smarter than we think? Our drive to Wyatt's school takes us past two fields of cows, one horse pen and two lakes that might or might not have ducks on them. I know this because I'm reminded of it every day by a certain overly verbal two-year old. I'm used to these farm animals; they're not exactly uncommon around here.

But today, on our trip home from taking Wyatt to school, I was floored that I had to stop to let three deer pass in front of me. They were meandering from one person's yard, across a fairly busy street, into another yard. You know, just some deer chillin' in the big city. On my return trip to get Wyatt, I passed by the deer spotting area again and it all made sense. The deer were not there randomly. No, they must have been using their phonics skills to figure out where they should go. How do I know? They were on Deerfield Road, crossing toward Fawn Circle. Smart deer.

Love Letters

2011-04-28T22:41:00.000-05:00

Dear Croup,
I hate you. Now, I know that's a strong word and my mom might encourage me to say that I "strongly dislike" you, but I've made my word choice and I'm sticking with it. You see, my sweet boy has far too many visits from you. I've read and been told that once you attack a kid, you'll keep attacking that kid but I really need you to lay off. We need a full night's sleep. I need no more puke-due-to-gagging coughs. You and me, Croup, we're not friends and quite honestly, I'm pretty sure Wyatt's sick of hosting you. I've brought in the big guns so you'd best back off.

Sincerely,
Stephanie

***

Dear Tricare & Munson Health Center,
I've been singing your praises since we arrived in Kansas and I'd like to stand by you. You've been there when we've needed you with great appointment availability, conscientious doctors and friendly folks on the phone, but you failed me today. Can someone please tell me why you can't make an acute care appointment for first thing tomorrow when I call an hour before closing today? I know, I know, there are reasons but I know what I need! Just one little prescription for prednisone and my barking seal could rest easy for the night. Is it really too much to ask? Yes? Then I'll have to figure out another plan.

Thanks,
Stephanie

***

Dear Susan,
Thanks for answering your phone today and not laughing at how the conversation went.
You: "Hello?"
Me: "Do you have any extra prednisone floating around your house?"
Like the well-practiced mother of breathing challenged kids that you've had to become, you did. And you even offered to meet me halfway, which was above and beyond. I rather enjoyed my hour and a half away from ~~the screaming masses~~ my sweet kids and thought the silence of your house was lovely. So thanks for that and for the drugs that might, in fact, let me get through a night without a trip to the steamy-bathroom-cold-front-porch circuit where I've become a regular.

Love you,
Steph

***

Dear Mom & Dad,
Yes, it's true. I drove to Lawrence today and didn't even call you. Sorry. Clearly I'm abusing the fact that we're just right down the road because, let's face it, when's the last time I came to town without (1) showing up at your house with kids demanding snacks/bathroom breaks/attention; (2) leaving "my" bedroom look like a bag or three exploded in it; and (3) leaving behind at least one item. Yes, I realize Natalie's calculator is still there from last weekend and I could've retrieved it for her, but she hasn't been asking for it too much so we'll just let it stay. Just think how excited she'll be to see it again - you'll be heroes worthy of a full Natalie jump-due-to-happiness-overload!

Thanks for understanding,
Stephanie

***

Dear Croup,
It's me again. Hate is too strong, I guess. I might slightly miss that midnight cuddle with the sweetest four-year old I know. You bring out a mellow side of him rarely seen in waking hours. And the things there are to discuss at night! Last night he saw five airplanes and three satellites. He knew they were satellites because he could see their arms sticking out. That made me smile. He also knows now that the street lights outside our house cycle on and off and that the world is much more still in the night. Between you and me, Croup, I kind of liked it when Wyatt told his daddy that I'm much more comforting than he is. Who saw that coming? Not me! That said, I'd really appreciate it if you could ease up. We need the summer off, okay?

Thanks,
Stephanie

Good Day, Sunshine

2011-04-28T10:55:00.001-05:00

my Easter bunnies

I love our life that takes us places I never dreamt of going, but wow, it was so great to be home for Easter this year. I think I've mentioned my Easter issues before here but have kept many disappointments over the years to myself (well, not completely; Jeff is fully aware of my church-related issues). Anyway, it brought joy to my heart to be sharing one long pew with my parents, sister and her family, and my own sweet family in the middle of the church where I grew up singing, "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today", hearing the bell choir, the pipe organ, the brass accompanied Hallelujah chorus. It was extra helpful that for the first time in days, the sunlight was streaming in through the beautiful windows. Yeah, so Easter at my home church was good. I hope I can keep a permanent visual of it tucked away in my brain because I guarantee that next year, I'll be back to my "it doesn't measure up" self.

Isn't it cool how we merge holidays?
Nothing says "happy Easter" like Halloween pj's.

And the rest of the day? Pretty fantastic, thanks for asking. The kids loved their baskets, stocked with all the usual candy suspects plus a Lego airplane for Wyatt and a movie for Natalie (upon seeing it, she said, "watch movie? Pop-porn?") We started with an indoor egg hunt (chocolate eggs, thoughtful bunny!) before church and that laid the groundwork for how the post-church outdoor egg hunt would go down.

Andrew and Thomas joined us for the outdoor hunt and it didn't disappoint, but we learned Andrew is crazy fast and saw those eggs from very far away. Within a few minutes, he had a new rule that for every two eggs he retrieved, he had to hide one. It was great. He took the hiding job seriously and I'm not sure the little kids ever realized what he was up to. Thomas was his normal understated, sweet self and would, every once in a while, loop by Natalie and drop one of his eggs in her bucket. Wyatt was just Wyatt, sprinting from one place to another, soaking in the fun with his cousins. To him, anything is better with cousins. And Natalie? Well, she just stayed focused and managed to find quite a haul.

silly much?

Sad but True

2011-04-20T16:28:00.000-05:00

The UPS man just delivered my new orthotics. I slipped them into a pair of flats and did a little happy dance, because they actually fit.

This, I think, is my introduction to middle age.

I'm So Excited!!!

2011-04-14T15:03:00.000-05:00

BlogHer has started a book review program for new releases, asking bloggers to read (obviously) the book and then write a review and I get to do one! YAY! I'm pretty sure it was luck of the draw as far as who was chosen to do it (I submitted my info and then just hoped) but as someone who was recently "accused" of reading a lot, this is fun. And hello, it gives me a little purpose and enough cash for a new t-shirt. What's not to love? I can't wait!

Embracing Reality

2011-04-12T21:46:00.000-05:00

1. Two posts in one day - impressed much?

2. I'm adjusting to small-town living: after book club tonight (which ended before I could be sure my littles were in bed), I decided to spend some quiet time at the Leavenworth library. I went to read magazines and was glad to find a nice assortment. I arrived at eight, and at a quarter after they made the first in a series of PA's detailing the timeline of their evening shutdown procedures: no new cards after 8:30, no new searches in the Kansas Room past 8:45, no check-outs past 8:50. Then they proceeded to make the same announcement every 15 minutes. No problem, I wasn't planning to take anything with me. So at 8:50 when they made their last PA about check-outs being complete, I finished the article I was reading and returned the magazines to the shelves. It was 8:55 as I strolled past the front desk and 8:55:05 as I rounded the corner and had the front doors in sight. And then they turned out all the lights! Yep, I'm a party girl - I shut down the library here tonight. Small town fun!

Yep, They're Mine

2011-04-12T14:13:00.000-05:00

The kids and I just had a very exciting morning out - Target, Chick-fil-a and Costco! I know, we are pretty wild and crazy. In all honesty, we used to see the insides of those stores with alarming regularity since they were all within eight minutes of our house but now it takes a little more planning and a lot more empty shelves/refrigerator to require the 30 minute trip. Anyway, we had a grand time.

I was really proud of my cherubs for proclaiming their love for Target while we were there and that Natalie kept asking if we were still going to Costco. I liked that they both ate great lunches (in their carseats, that's how we roll) and that Natalie ate her fruit and nuggets, then asked for more nuggets. You know, because a four piece kids' order isn't enough for my dainty flower. I was thrilled that Wyatt actually ate all of his, too, because he's really interested in anything other than eating lately. And then they both had a ham chaser with a side of cheese-filled breadstick and naked smoothie samples at Costco. After four hours out and about, you'd think they'd be pretty ready to come home, but you'd be wrong.

Natalie threw an all out fit that we weren't going back to Target. At first I couldn't understand what she was asking for, but Wyatt translated and she confirmed it. She wanted to go back and screamed bloody murder when I told her we couldn't. "Whyyyyyyyyyyy?", she said in a high-pitched wail. So I told her they have a rule you can only go once a day. She was not dissuaded. So finally I asked her if she really likes Target that much. Of course she said yes, and Wyatt piped up that he likes it, too. In an effort to amuse myself, I asked if she likes TJ Maxx that much, too. She said yes (of course) and Wyatt said, "great idea, Mom! We haven't been there for ages!"

Hahahahaha. This is what happens when Jeff leaves me home to supervise the raising of our kids!

Why We Moved

2011-04-10T22:11:00.002-05:00

Jeff could've listed a variety of garden spots as his number one choice for where to go to school this year, but obviously the call to come home was strong. And we're so glad we did (even if I am still reeling from all the snow. God help us if we move to Alaska) - weeks like this one remind us why. I went into Lawrence on Thursday for a haircut, which is really handy since I drop the kids with Mom & Dad first. It was my mom's birthday so, after my appointment, Susan and my kids and I took Mom to lunch. Then my kids went down for naps at my parents' while I went out to get the needed supplies for the airplane sling, visit Grandma at her rehab facility and pick up Thomas from his school so he could come over and play with Wyatt. Not long after, Susan arrived with Andrew and all four kids ran around, enjoying each other's company while I got to hang out with my parents and Susan. We were having so much fun that I hardly wanted to come home, and then I realized we didn't have any plans for the weekend and that we should just go hang out.

So we did.

Sadly, we missed Thomas' debut on the Hobbit soccer team (but I hear he was awesome) and we missed Andrew's season opener, too. What can I say? Jeff rode for a couple of hours Saturday morning and I was lazy so we were slow to leave. No matter, we all caught up in the afternoon and spent our evening at Susan's, eating pizza, drinking beer, watching the kids have a grand time in the backyard on a nearly perfect Kansas evening. We eased up on Wyatt enough to allow him some solo trampoline time, as long as he promised not to jump too high; we all laughed to see how fast Andrew scrambled around Natalie to help her out of the trampoline since she was on the move with no one around to help her; we loved seeing Jeff push the boys in the power Jeep whose battery is dead; we were impressed to see Andrew push Natalie in the same car, all around the backyard, since it's not an easy task; and we especially enjoyed watching four glowsticks ping around the yard after dark, since we knew each was being toted by a dirty, sweaty, happy little kid.

This morning we wanted to find something equally entertaining, so we went to campus to feed the ducks at Potter Lake. It was really, really fun even though there were no ducks. It turns out three boys and a girl who will do anything she sees the big kids doing can have a grand time feeding turtles, looking for frogs, scaring their moms by how close they get to the water and fishing for algae.

Good times, good memories. Have to love being home!

Chock Full O' Life

2011-04-08T22:09:00.000-05:00

This is going to be a catch-all post to rival all others, but I can't think of a better way to chronicle recent events. It's my life and it kind of bores me to write all of this, yet I don't want to just act like none of it happened. And honestly, I'm not sure I can even remember the order of everything. My best stab at it:

The weather got really nice so we decided to plant some seeds in the egg cartons I'd been hoarding for months. And our seeds actually sprouted! Because we used popsicle sticks to make holes for the seeds, Natalie now feels the need to have popsicle sticks in hand every time we go to the backyard. There are a LOT of popsicle sticks out there since she inevitably finds other things to entertain her once she gets out there.

Then it got cold again, so I moved the seedlings to the laundry room where they still reside. I'm hoping a little lint will be good for them and I figure the warmth of the drier is a little like living in the south, right?

Then I baked a bunch of cakes. To be precise, I baked nine cakes in three days and only four of them were edible. Lesson learned: I will not buy store brand sugar again! After narrowing down the list of possible reasons my cakes were repeatedly overflowing their pans, despite the fact that I'd made all the recipes before, I narrowed it down to the sugar. Who knew? My theory is that because it wasn't quite as fine as name brand sugar, it through the balance off. And trust me, I'm no kitchen scientist so google was my best friend. My other best friend (Jeff) was insanely patient with me as I got frustrated and tired and made our house smell like burnt sugar and went through pounds of butter.

But it all turned out okay because the cakes were for my grandma's 90th birthday party. I asked her what kind of cake she liked and she was so stinkin' vague with me. Some sort of answer like, "I like them all!" so we settled on lemon, chocolate and almond. And then, because we actually had no idea how many people would show up to an open house on a Sunday during March Madness, there was a lot of "will there be enough cake?" debate. So I made another one, too. Yellow cake with fresh strawberry buttercream.

And you know what? All that baking and frosting-making and testing and decorating might have just pushed me past the point of "I love cakes!" and into the land of "it'd better be good if I'm going to exert my effort to make it or spend my calories to eat it." It was therapeutic, I guess. But I still think that all roses cake is pretty, pretty, pretty (I found it over at i am baker, who's pretty ambitious when it comes to cakes)!

More importantly the party was good. She had a lot of friends turn out and those who couldn't make it (because let's face it, if you're 90, your peer group isn't exactly into road-tripping) sent really great cards and memories for her to savor. I have it on good authority she's enjoying every last word written on each note. The other great part of the party (for me; I'm not sure it was so great for anyone else) was that I got to go through all of her old pictures and make a slideshow. Who knew there was a baby picture of her? None of us did! In those boxes of photos I also found pictures of my dad as a kid, long-lost photos of my grandpa who passed away nearly six years ago, pictures of me and my sister as kids - all events I'd forgotten about or not really seen evidence of.

Like this gem - that's me in the awesome plaid pants, my sister in an outfit she remembers as being uncomfortable and two of my cousins. I guess we went fishing!

Wyatt liked playing the "who's this?" guessing game with all the pictures, too. My favorite? He wanted to know why I looked like a boy when I was in grade school. You know what? I wonder the same thing. Maybe that's why I'm dragging my heels on cutting Natalie's hair.

The not-so-great part about the party is that it was snowing. Again. Ahem, dear Kansas, you are CRAZY with your wacky weather. And the Jayhawks lost that day, which made me really thankful I wasn't sitting at home staring at a television screen. But otherwise it was a great day.

And then, let's see, I did all the laundry I neglected during cakefest and we trekked to Lawrence mid-week to have a family dinner on Grandma's actual birthday. Then some normal days passed before I got a phonecall that Grandma fell and broke her hip. That's a crummy birthday present! I offered to cancel our evening plans so we could come in and see her, but since she was having surgery that afternoon, it seemed best if we'd just wait until the weekend. So we had our friends over and it was really fun…until Wyatt broke his collarbone.

We weren't really sure he was seriously injured, so we stayed home for a couple of hours debating the severity of his injury and encouraging him to play with his friends. It's kind of difficult to separate preschooler drama from needs-immediate-medical-attention when there's no blood, swelling or visible trauma involved. And it's also difficult to realize the kid needs medical attention when he's begging to NOT go to the doctor. When he was still in pain an hour after bedtime and it became apparent he couldn't lift up his arm, we made the call. I can't say enough nice things about our local ER - which was thankfully very quiet - and the doctors, nurses and techs who took care of Wyatt. After a series of x-rays we had an answer, a sling and a prescription for good ol' painkillers. After a few rough days, he seems to be getting back to his normal ways pretty quickly. He'll be wearing a sling for four weeks and then will, hopefully, be good as new.

this was taken in the ER to send to Daddy, who was home worrying about his boy.
His face pretty much says it all.

Since he refuses to take off his sling (the doctor told us he can sleep without it, but he doesn't want to), I decided we might need more than one. I mean, he's using his left hand for everything remarkably well, but that sling's not going to stay clean for a whole month. And if I'm going to go through the hassle of making a sling, shouldn't be something that makes him happy? Yes, yes it should. So I he now has a custom sling, complete with airplanes all over it. I managed to not get a picture of it yet, but you're bound to see it soon.

That's it. A rough catch-up and a bound-to-be-broken promise to myself to stay on top of things a little more around here!

Story Time

2011-03-22T10:01:00.000-05:00

Wyatt woke up with a case of the "I know better than you's" and was irritating the heck out of Natalie this morning. After both had been encouraged to make better choices a few times (he to use nicer words, she to stop hitting her brother), I was delighted to hear the following:

W: Nat, you want to sit in that chair over there and I'll read you a story?

N: Ya! climbs into appointed chair

W: Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Natalie.

N: My?

W: And there was a big, bad fox. And the fox ate the little girl.

at this point, I sense a change in direction

W: and the little girl's mother hit the wolf (I thought it was a fox?) and the little girl came out…

N: Wow! starts laughing

W: and that's the end.

N: More?

W: No. I'm out of stories right now.

And that was the end of the fighting. Honestly! She climbed out of the chair, they started playing together and that was it. I think we'll have stories more often!

Here's One, Alanis

2011-03-16T14:33:00.001-05:00

You know that old song, "Isn't it Ironic?" and the great debate surrounding the lyrics - is it irony or does it just suck? Well, I don't know the answer. Unfortunately, I do know that I think my life could currently qualify for that debate. So you tell me: is it ironic or does it just suck that

1. We purchased a treadmill on Saturday.

2. On Monday, a podiatrist told me what's going on in my foot seems to be caused by an extra bone...

3. and upon further inspection, that extra bone appears to be splintered.

Awesome. Do I get bonus points for this or something? I mean, not only do I have a bone that most people don't have, I was clever enough to break it!

The treatment plan involves zero impact activities (outside of my normal life) for at least three weeks and wearing orthotics in my shoes.

Salt in the wound? The orthotics only fit in my running shoes.

Two

2011-03-15T21:24:00.000-05:00

Oh, sweet Natalie. Where do I begin? Or why, as you would ask. You've been asking "why?" nonstop for months now. You ask in context, because you want to know and I think that worries me more than if it were just a senseless habit. You want to know and you want to know now. Your vocabulary is large, truly far too much to document and you speak in full sentences most of the time. Daddy and I have talked about the fact that Wyatt was not this verbal at your age and it is really alarming. You pretty much never stop talking, including during the night. As I lay awake at 1:30 this morning, I was kind of amused to hear you shouting, "no Wyatt! It's mine, Wyatt! No!" Go ahead, girl, work out those issues in your sub-conscience.

Your facial expressions have ramped up in recent weeks and there are times I have to squint to make sure I'm looking at you, not your brother. I promise, you two give me the very same ornery glances. You think that boy hung the moon, too, until you're irritated with him for something and then you just haul off and hit him. No kidding. I've seen you whack him more times than I care to admit. We send you to timeout (and you go willingly, though you say, "no wanwy woom!" the whole way to the laundry room) and you sit in there for only a few seconds before saying, "'m'out, Mommy? m'out!" No, sweetie, you may not come out. But you serve your time, greet me with a sheepish smile and always know exactly why you're there when I ask. You don't miss much.

You still don't miss much at the table, either. You love food, my girl! We haven't found a lot that you won't eat, though macaroni (ro-roi) and blueberries are still the highest on your food hierarchy. You love trail mix, too, and that's just proof that you're the second child because there's now way I would've given that stuff to your brother at your age. You identify every McDonalds by saying, "cheeburber!" and have been known to ask for "teat ah nap?" which translates to "treats after nap?" You also end every dinner asking for "pipe-ow" (that's Wipeout, to the rest of us) on "veevee" after dinner - we often have family watching parties and you always insist Millie be invited up into someone's lap.

Your nighttime routine includes two books, usually Elmo and another rotating favorite, and as we're approaching the last page of each, you say, "one?" while holding up a finger. It's your way of asking for one more and half the time you get what you want. You also request "rock baby?" every night and at every nap, often wanting me to get Wyatt on one leg while you're on the other. It's really sweet, and I get to rock you as much now as I did when you were a baby. You usually sing along with me and that's my favorite part! But as with pretty much everything else, this has to be on your terms. If you're not in the mood, no amount of convincing will sway you.

What else? You take off your shoes and socks every time we're in the car and lately you've been throwing your socks on me while I'm driving. That cracks up your brother every single time. You only have one volume these days and that's LOUD! We're trying to remind you all the time that we use inside voices, and you'll often repeat whatever you said in a more appropriate tone, but then the next thing comes out amplified again. Maybe you'll always be a loud talker or, hopefully, it'll be one of those things that just disappears without us realizing it. You love your babies, your nanas, your brother, your dog, picking out your own clothes, sitting in mommy or daddy's chair, finishing a meal in the "wap" of an adult, drinking from open cups and anything with Mickey (that's mick-mick to you).

You're not a baby anymore, which is sad and fantastic all at the same time. As if to prove that fact, you have managed to fully potty train yourself (hey, I'm all about giving credit where it's due); think jumping is the coolest - with both feet leaving the ground or by standing on something and jumping off; think the best way to get from point A to point B is to run (often telling me before you go that you intend to "wun"); insist on walking in stores instead of riding in a cart; buckle yourself into your carseat; love riding your trike; rearrange our kitchen chairs and stepstools with alarming regularity often announcing they're heavy as you're carrying them across the room; are getting your last set of little girl molars right on time.

Nat, Daddy asked me last night what we were doing two years ago at that exact moment. I laughed and told him we were wondering when on earth our baby was going to make its grand appearance and were trying to find a boy name we could both agree on! You, of course, didn't need the name we couldn't pick and I can't imagine life any other way. You are a delight to my soul, sweet baby girl, and I can't wait to see what adventures you have in store for us this year. Happy birthday, Natalie!

Random Realities

2011-03-09T20:59:00.000-06:00

1. I might be so very over this cruddy weather that I might have "upholstered" the walls of our unfinished basement. I can't do gray cement downstairs when it looks like gray cement in the sky. So, you might want sunglasses if I invite you into my green basement. For those of you who knew my Okinawa living room, it's baaaaack. Oh, and the kids find it amusing. Jeff's just along for the ride.

2. I have declared a moratorium on small, junky, never-used toys. There's going to be a mother of a garage sale at some point, or maybe just a really cathartic run to the Salvation Army drop-off.

3. Is it any wonder I'm pulling my hair out with the arguments? The children are in their respective rooms - asleep - and Natalie is yelling, "My wawa! No MY wawa!" GO TO SLEEP, CHILD.

4. After two months of denying the truth, I finally admitted that the plants who froze in our moving truck are not going to miraculously reincarnate. They've met their fate with the trash and have been replaced by living beings from my local WalMart.

5. I still don't like WalMart, but with the closest Target being a highway drive away (only 15 minutes, but still…) I find myself there far too often. I will admit, they have more goods worthy of my attention than I might have previously believed but they still have slow, poke-my-eyes-out-because-I'm-still-waiting-in-line customer service. What gives?

6. I put a fair amount of effort into fixing a wide variety of (mostly) healthy dinners for my family. I subscribe to a recipe service which I really enjoy and it has caused us to try innumerable new things. Yet most nights I find at least one small person at the table either literally or figuratively throwing said dinner back at me. Tonight, I had no fight in me. We had waffles and omelets for dinner. I sliced strawberries and made homemade whipped cream to top the waffles and guess what? They ate every last bite. Well, Wyatt didn't want any eggs, so he just stuck with the carbs. And the fat. That's right, America, I served strawberry shortcake for dinner and it was a success! Go figure.

7. We have a lightbulb out in a fixture in the basement. There is one true ceiling fixture with four halogen-ish bulbs in it and then there are two other single, basic bulbs in sockets. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to get that little halogen dude out. I even let Jeff try to no avail. So I emailed my landlord and asked if there was a trick. His reply? He wanted to know if it was one of the single bulbs I was talking about. I guess I know what he really thinks of me now, don't I? Or maybe I have a little insight as to his wife's handy-woman skills?

8. Jeff and some of his workmates (schoolmates? Army pals?) were comparing notes on the APFRI assessments - you know, the one that told me I'm not a fit fitty yet - and he told them about me being called a fit fatty. So now this guy who Jeff finds so entertaining is apparently referring to me as Fit Fat. Like it's my name. I'm just really looking forward to meeting him on Saturday…don't you wonder what he envisions me to be?

9. There's a house on our route to Wyatt's school that is decked out in all kinds of Jayhawk flair - flags, statues, painted signs, yard art, whirlygigs, etc. - and my kids wait every day to drive past it. No kidding, Natalie starts talking about it almost before we leave the neighborhood (she has to talk about the cows we pass first, but then as soon as we establish that yes, the cows will be there, she starts talking about the Yay-You house). I feel like I should write the owners a thank you note since they are a bright spot in our day, three times a week and are also greatly contributing to my kids' ~~brainwashing~~ school spirit. Would that be weird?

10. Every time we pass Dillons (which is a lot), Nataile starts shouting (because it's her only volume) "row up! row up!" Now, I think she's talking about buying fruit roll-ups but it's a distinct possibility she's reminding me that's where she had her throw up incident. My life? It's awesome.

Let's Not

2011-03-07T08:11:00.000-06:00

While eating breakfast this morning, Wyatt said, "Mom? Will you cut these out? I'd like to go there." So I turned around in my pre-coffee haze to see him holding yesterday's coupons.

"Go where?" I asked, hoping that I didn't see what I thought I did.

"To Chuck E. Cheese, Mom. Can we go?"

Thinking quickly, because I kid you not this exact scenario had crossed my mind when I looked through the coupons yesterday, I said, "Oh, sweetie, there isn't a Chuck E. Cheese here." And at that point I was secretly praising small-town living. It has its upsides!

"But Mom, there has to be one around here somewhere. Maybe in Kansas City? Could we go to that one?"

"Well, probably not before those coupons expire," I replied, thinking that was another point to me.

"Aww, Mom…" he said, in that voice that makes me feel just a teeny bit mean for being so down on the germ pit.

So I conceded, "but I'll remember it's something you'd like to do someday."

"Great! Let's put it on our life list!"

From the Mouths of Babes

2011-03-03T21:01:00.000-06:00

Natalie loves to sit on the bathroom counter while I get ready (she's been doing this for months - wonder when she'll be less interested?) and now opens the top drawer to get out the jar of "ip suff!" a.k.a. lip stuff. Last week she took the lid off of that, and the lid off my eye cream and jammed the eye cream lid inside the other container. After a lot of, "uh oh!" and "fix it!" comments, I took it from her and tried to extricate the smaller lid from inside the pot of sticky stuff, to no avail. Frustrated, I said, "Oh, Natalie!" to which she responded - without missing a beat - "Oh, Mommy!"

****

Wyatt was watching a new YouTube airplane video and he said, "Mommy, it's a Mig!" I replied in my normal, interested way, "oh good!" and then all of a sudden he jumped up and said, "Mommy! It's a whole flock of Migs!" That, of course, made me laugh.

****

Wyatt has just started swimming lessons again. Today was his second day and, just like Tuesday, he was freezing the moment he entered the pool. So as Natalie and I watched from the observation room, I said, "poor baby, he's so cold!" So for the rest of the day today, anytime we mentioned swimming (as I wrapped him up post-lesson, in the car on the way home, at dinner with Daddy), Natalie would say, "poh beebee, code!" Yes, the poor baby was cold.

Also a result of swimming? It cannot be discussed without Natalie mentioning "abby, wawa" because Wyatt's teacher, in the water? Her name is Abby.

****

And for those of you wishing for a dainty girl (you know who you are): Natalie thinks burping is hilarious and always, always, always follows a burp with a, "scyu meee…..ribbit!" That's right, she thinks she's a frog.

Lately

2011-02-24T22:35:00.000-06:00

We've been attempting to keep kids well and we're failing miserably. Natalie was sick last week (it's amazing how many plans one sick 23-month old can cancel) and is still trying to get back to normal and then in the last couple days, Wyatt's taken his turn at feeling crummy.

Natalie was really down for the count for a few days, which made me realize how different life would be if I had much less spirited children. It would be so dull! But we did enjoy all the cuddles and it makes me feel like I know what I'm doing when I can console a sick child. I'm so thankful that this is really the first time we've battled a drawn-out stomach bug and that (all things being relative) my kids are so healthy. Natalie was quick to figure out how to aim for a trash can or bowl if she felt sick, although I failed her by taking her to the grocery store before she was well. My mistake - and the puke in the produce aisle proved it. I was pretty mortified as I called to a guy in uniform saying, "I'm so sorry! She's sick!" as I hustled her out the door. Thank goodness she missed the canteloupes; it was a close call and then I would've felt really bad! (Would I have needed to pay for all those unsellable canteloupes?) I stripped her clothes off of her in the parking lot, wiped us off and got us home yet all along I was thinking about how glad I was my hair was curly and in a ponytail; I'm desperately hoping no one will recognize us as that family. All of this has translated to a lot of time right here in our four walls with all of us attempting to remain sane. The kids might be faring better than I am and all of us are spending a lot of time in our pajamas.

We've painted:

It's an F-15, but I bet you already knew that.

Natalie's first attempt at watercolors; she was pretty focused but maybe that's because she was also pretty sick.

Admiring another presentation by Wyatt.

It's a "circle rainbow" but maybe you knew that, too. I'm not so quick and had to be told.

and there's also been a lot of silly playing:

It's all airplanes...

…all the time.

Lastly, I'd like to show you domestic bliss:

Not a pretty sight, except for the part where three pillows fit across our new king size bed. On the advice of just about all of our friends, we've finally taken the plunge and purchased and additional sixteen inches of nocturnal real estate. The pillow count is critical since Jeff, in recent years, has decided he likes to sleep between pillows and I, in recent years, have decided I might go completely crazy if someone breathes on my face. It was a problem. The salesman told Jeff it's the first step to having separate beds; I say it's the first step to me feeling rested for the first time in years.

Resolutions

2011-02-23T21:40:00.000-06:00

Just like the change of address cards that I never got around to sending (they were joined with my Merry Christmas cards in my mind, so that explains why you got neither, right?), my new year's resolutions are about to become spring solstice resolutions. But, because I want to become someone who is ahead of the curve, I'll go ahead and post them now.

1. Instead of thinking writing a blog post in my head, I will write it on the computer and actually publish it. This is not because I think any of you are withering away without my inane stories, but rather because I see life flying by and realize I'm doing a really poor job of documenting it.

2. I will actually use one of my three pretty great cameras to take real pictures of people and things in my life.

3. I will stop thinking about what I'm going to be when I grow up and just be who I am right now. This one, my friends, is an uphill battle of epic proportions for me.

4. I will continue to exercise every day, or at least most days, so that when I go back for my follow-up health assessment at the fancy Army clinic, I will no longer be disgruntled with one particular component of overall health. (Spoiler: I'm doing just fine according to most standard measurements, but have the flexibility of a 70-year old and just enough body fat that I was termed a "fit fatty." Humbling. I will become a fit fitty, I will become a fit fitty, I will become a fit fitty….)

5. I will be patient with Natalie, even though the only volume she has right now is LOUD, which is often accompanied by a side of SHRIEKING with a dash of gonna throw a fit.

6. I will be patient with Wyatt, even though he asks me every day what our surprise is for the day. More importantly, I will resist the urge to say, "SURPRISE! There's no surprise again today."

7. I will be patient when my kids' sicknesses ruin my weekend plans because, hello, it could be so much worse.

8. I will be brave enough to leave my kids with a new sitter, even if she isn't as fantastic as our sitters we left behind.

9. I will suppress the urge to fix this house just the way I want it, since we're nearly 20% through our time here.

10. I will continue to book my weekends to their max because we are nearly 20% through our time here.

11. I will finish converting this blog's Japan years to a book (a project I started over a year ago, I think) so that I can then convert the Virginia years, so that I can then convert the Kansas year. Upside? My blogging has diminished (in quality and quantity) greatly, so each book should get progressively easier. Perhaps I should rethink number 1.

I'll Give Them This

2011-02-10T08:25:00.000-06:00

My kids are energetic, at times exasperating, always loud and very passionate, but I'd be remiss to not mention that they're pretty darn funny, too. Recent proof:

Wyatt and Jeff were spinning in the basement last night (Jeff's bike on his trainer, Wyatt training wheels lifted just enough to get the wheel off the floor) and Jeff looked over to see something glistening on Wyatt's arm. So he keeps watching only to see Wyatt licking his biceps. Jeff looked away, waiting to see what would come next; a few moments later, Wyatt said, "look Daddy! I'm getting so sweaty!"

And Natalie, well, she's figured out the M&M process (kind of). She is still doing really well with her potty training and I'm still really lax about the reward system. Sometimes I offer, sometimes I don't. But her brother never forgets and, as he hears one of us telling her she's done a good job on the potty, he starts yelling, "you get M&M's!" She hears that and the "emmy? Peeze, emmy?" starts. Then as soon as she sees me open the jar, it immediately switches to, "emmy? Peeze doo emmy?" accompanied by a slight head tilt and huge smile. It works every time and she walks away with two M&M's. Not to be left out, Wyatt often slips in a request for one M&M, too, and walks away a winner.

Thick as thieves, these two.

iObsessed

2011-02-08T22:04:00.001-06:00

We are finally in this decade. We traded in (rather, we passed to our children) our barebones, basic, falling apart (literally) cell phones and jumped on the iPhone bandwagon. When the first bill comes, you'd be a real friend to remind me that I love my fancy new phone. In the meantime, you should assume that if you don't hear from me it's because I'm figuring out all this new-fangled fun. And you should brace yourself, because if you do hear from me it's highly likely it will come in the form of some random picture I've managed to capture with my phone.

Now, off to figure out if there's a blogger app.

Karma

2011-02-06T21:46:00.000-06:00

You know, sometimes I think the universe has it all figured out. Those of you who "knew me when" might remember that potty training Wyatt was a highly concerted effort borne of the kind of desperation only a 34-weeks pregnant mommy can have when realizing two kids in diapers would be really un-fun. I bought a "do it in one day" kind of book, tons of treats, lots of fun drinks, special underwear (who wants to poop on Lightning McQueen, right?), a fancy potty seat and cleared a date on my calendar. It went…not that well, really. Some of you might remember this fine moment in history that occurred nearly three months after we commenced Operation Potty Train Wyatt. I mean, that's how unwell it went.

So, please rejoice with me when I tell you that Natalie is, for all intents and purposes, potty training herself. You know, like if she asked to use the potty, then we'd take her but otherwise we were good with a diaper. After she pitched such a fit a few weeks ago about wanting underwear, I could no longer ignore her pleas and finally got around to purchasing little girl training pants. Even then, I was kind of, "well, whatever" about the whole thing but when we found ourselves home for days on end (thanks, Mother Nature) I thought maybe we should give it a go.

Sadly, I was ill-prepared for Natalie's readiness. I had no treats, no batteries so the potty could sing for her success, nothing. Funny thing: she thinks a square of toilet paper and a little cheering from anyone within earshot is a pretty great reward. Funnier thing: no one is prouder of her than Wyatt, aka "He Who Would Not Be Trained Quickly." So we've been at it (as in, we're all on board now and actually remembering to ask her if she has to go) for a few days now and she's getting pretty good. She stayed dry all morning but had an accident this evening. In her defense, we were at a friend's house, she was busy playing AND we hadn't offered to take her. Even when she accidentally wets her pants, she tells us that it's happened and always finishes on the potty. I'd always heard girls were easier, but quite frankly this is ridiculous!

I broke down on Friday and bought a bag of M&Ms for her, only because I felt like I was cheating her out of some rite of passage. So now she just wants "emmies" and underwear, so much so that she wakes up during the night wanting to "pee pee! Peez, pee pee!" So while I'm a little grumpy and fairly tired from all the waking, I think it's pretty awesome confirmation from the cosmos that perhaps I earned my pass from the Wyatt days. Fingers crossed she keeps it up…and that I figure out how to negotiate public toilets with a little girl. Now that's where boys are easier.

Let's Pretend...

2011-02-02T22:27:00.000-06:00

…That I didn't post one, single, measly time in January. You with me? Great. Now let's move on.

There has been so much and yet so little going on. We've taken a while to settle into a daily routine here in Kansas (this hasn't been helped by multiple snow days - more on that later) but hit the ground running in regards to catching up with family and friends. We've had at least one 'something' every weekend, including having both sides of the family here for dinner. It's so great to be able to have them all over, finally. We need to find a time to lure all of our friends here, too, so it doesn't look to slow down anytime soon.

Wyatt is getting adjusted to his new school and I'm getting adjusted to the much earlier start time. There are a lot of days I have to wake up Natalie so we have time to get dressed, eat and get him there, but we're making it work. I really, really miss the carpool drop-off system! Natalie likes taking Wyatt in and has to tell him goodbye before we go. Since school's so early, we usually just come home and hang out. I'm not sure Wyatt's new school gives me (or him, for that matter) the same warm fuzzies that the one in Virginia did, but I felt good about it on the first day when he came home and told me "another name for an oval is an ellipse!" He's also recently exited the building with a homemade, Wyatt-sized sunflower and stick pony, so I think he's having fun. And I'm not going to lie, I like that he was all jazzed for Kansas Day this year.

I've had a few chances to meet the other AF Element wives who are, of course, pretty cool. It's interesting to start an assignment where everyone is new; that never happens. A few other families live in our neighborhood and a lot of us have kids similar ages, so once all this crazy weather stops, our playdates will start in earnest. Jeff is equally settling into his routine, and I think he likes it. He just met some of the foreign students last week and in his group alone there is a Georgian ("not from Atlanta"), a Hungarian, a Singaporean, a Zambian, and a Mongolian. The Army (Big Green, as he keeps calling it) started this week but then they've been snow cancelled for two days, so I think the jury's still out on how it will be in the coming weeks. We're told we'll see more of the Army folks and less of the AF group once his final group gets set.

So, when we're not doing all of that stuff, we're just being us and enjoying life. Some of which includes:

Natalie's daily playtime with the kokeshi dolls. She helped me put them away, so I should
have known she'd go back to get them out. While it's not how I envisioned them being used
in our house, I happen to think it's really great.

Sledding down our neighborhood hill. It's ridiculously steep and Wyatt's a wild man on it.
This picture was taken before I ruined it for Natalie by sledding through a pile of snow and
making it go all over our faces. She's pretty much refused to sled since then which makes me an
award-winning mom, right?

Natalie has been waking up with some amazing hairstyles lately. This one was particularly stellar.
There's not an ounce of product in there, just good old fashioned sleeping on her face and essentially
backcombing her hair all night long.

Yesterday's snow day activity was chocolate chip cookies. This was the first time I had both
kids helping and it was, wow, really helpful!

Natalie added all the dry ingredients, one scoop at a time and wanted no help.
She managed to get about 80% of it in the bowl, so that was pretty good.

And, since Natalie had to wear one of my aprons that was WAY too big for her...

I spent my afternoon making her a perfectly girly apron that's very similar to one of mine.
I'm not sure whether to be proud or ashamed that I had this much fabric on hand!

Snow day #2, the one during which we actually ventured outside.
This is Wyatt telling me it's too bright to look at the camera.

Gotta love my pink popsicle of a girl. She likes it until she loses her footing and can't get up.
That actually happens a lot, so her tolerance is a touch lower than Wyatt's.

This is the reaction I got when I told her we couldn't ride bikes in the snow.
I am so unreasonable.

And then I looked up to see Wyatt rolling down the driveway. I thought he was just being silly,
which is how this started, but then after a minute we realized he was stuck. Don't worry,
Jeff rescued him and he's now cozy in his flannel sheets.

In Brief

2011-01-12T21:54:00.000-06:00

1. We have arrived and are slowly getting settled in our new home.

2. This was, perhaps, our worst move yet as far as the professional movers were concerned. It took the three guys we hired only 3 hours to load 10,500 pounds of our stuff into our truck, yet two packers and two movers needed nine hours to finish the remaining 5500 pounds. By the grace of God, it all seems to have made it and only a few small items were broken. As a sidenote, I might start packing for pay - everything I packed arrived safe and sound without one thing broken. Good to know I have something to fall back on.

3. The cross-country caravan was fairly entertaining, to phrase it positively. Despite our plans to the contrary, we didn't leave Virginia until 3:00 in the afternoon and had made reservations in Charleston, WV for the night. That was one long, dark drive. Sadly, it was even longer for Jeff who had (in his words) a really steep learning curve with the 26-foot truck plus tow dolly and the ways of truck stop diesel pumps. After enduring a nearly 30 minute screamfest in the car, the kids, my mom and I arrived around 10:30. My sweet husband and dog arrived about three hours later. Luckily the next couple of days were better and Jeff was so excited to be back in Kansas that he even wielded that truck through southern Johnson County for a quick lunch with one of his best friends.

4. Despite having moved two-thirds of our household goods, we had no mattresses in our truck. That, my friends, is a critical error. We reasoned that we wanted them in new mattress boxes and that our shipment would have a head-start to Kansas, but in the end we stayed in Lawrence for almost a week. That was a week of 45-minute drives (each way) to get our truck unloaded, clean the new house, two really early mornings to get Wyatt to his new school and - bless my parents - a week of us exploding into their house. We finally stayed here (in our house) last Friday night with Natalie in her bed (we'd been smart enough to bring that ourselves), Wyatt in a sleeping bag and me and Jeff on an airmattress….that deflated during the night. I don't know when you last slept on the floor, but I really don't recommend it.

5. We are now almost finished unpacking and are enjoying the new layout. We have an unfinished basement (holla for a basement - it's so amazingly awesome) that we've ghetto-finished with a large piece of carpet and some nice 8 lb. carpet pad. It's now known as the playroom. Oh, and since Jeff's studying this year, we stuck his office down there, too. There's talk of creating a little home gym, but the space we had carved out for that is slowly being encroached upon by small trampolines and indoor basketball hoops, so we'll just see how that goes.

6. We've arrived here just in time for a seriously arctic blast; I'm really okay with the cold, but the wind takes my breath away. I think my nerve endings have lost their tolerance for so much wind, though I'm sure they'll get it back in short order. Thankfully our landlord left a snow shovel in the garage with which I'm becoming fondly acquainted. On the flip side, we were so warmly welcomed by family and friends alike that we can't help but feel warm on the inside.

7. Jeff's schedule is predictable and normal. Let me repeat that: Jeff's schedule is predictable and normal. It makes it hard to remember all the years when it was neither of those things. And get this - we already know when his vacation is for the entire year. Fascinating.

Dear Virginia,

2010-12-29T21:18:00.000-06:00

Well, tomorrow we're leaving you for greener pastures. Literally. I owe you an apology, Miss Virginia, for how long I took to see your vast charms. I had an Okinawa hangover for the first year we were here and that was entirely unfair to you. I can see that we'll miss your style of the four seasons - winter here is just long enough to appreciate spring that much more (I will give you credit, though, for this last doozy of a snowstorm. A whole foot of snow here? Impressive!) And let's talk about your springs, with beautiful blooming cherry and pear trees. I love the memory of driving on a breezy day that looked like it was snowing with all those blossoms scattering on the wind. Then you lead us gently into summer, with beachy days, crepe myrtles on every corner, huge trees to give us shade that inevitably turn into amazing shades of red, gold and orange come fall. Ah, fall here. Crisp, not too cold; well done, Virginia, well done.

And then there are all your preserved spaces; you are ripe with hidden forests that make a new person think, "whoa! did I make a wrong turn?" but no, that's just how you do it here. Big expanses of trees intermixed with the growing cities for a brief respite from all the concrete and (glorious) retail. I would, of course, be remiss to not point out your stellar public parks of all types: trails, lakes, playgrounds galore, beaches, petting zoos, all just waiting to be explored and enjoyed.

Of course you claim to be "made for lovers" and I don't know about that exactly, but I do seem to be leaving here with an extra child in my family. We really like her, Virginia, and I think it's so great that she was born here in the transition from winter to spring and that those beautiful trees will always make me think of her early, tiny days. She's leaving here the same age her brother was when we arrived and that makes my head spin. You see, he's gone from being a toddler to a boy; a boy who loves your tall trees, your beaches, your parks, your people. He's had such a wonderful experience here and so many of his firsts happened here, too: riding a trike, then a bike, his swimming lessons, learning to swing on his own, soccer, gymnastics, learning to be away from Mommy at Kidville and then using that confidence to breeze right on into his first preschool. And Virginia, I have to tell you we are all going to miss your jet-filled skies.

So Virginia, it is with all sincerity that I hope we get to call you home again someday. We're going to miss you.

Life in These Parts

2010-12-21T22:07:00.000-06:00

Despite the fact that I'm doing such a poor job documenting it, there's actually a lot going on here.

cuddling…in the dining room. We had to put the Christmas tree somewhere!

Watching Jayhawk basketball. Please note that Wyatt HAD to wear his jersey and shorts despite frigid temps outdoors.

Christmas #1 with the Grandparents Rock

look out world, someone gets it and loves to tear into presents!

cuddle time with Grandma

ahh, the cookie-making extravaganza

Natalie with her random shapes and green sprinkles

careful...

careful application of sprinkles

annnnnd more green sprinkles for Natalie

two thumbs up for cookies

Incidentally, it would be a lie if I told you that cookie session was totally enjoyable for me. It was really, really challenging to keep Natalie's hands where they belonged (i.e. not on Wyatt's already-cut cookies), to keep Wyatt from hoarding all the cutters so Natalie couldn't use them and to watch all that mess go everywhere. I finally ~~succumbed to~~ embraced it (after much frustration) and it turned out to be fun for all of us even though Natalie's feet were stained green from standing in spilled green sugar. Ahhhh, the days are long but the years are short, right?

It snowed!

Millie isn't fond of snow. Too bad we're moving to Kansas.

Me and my snowbabies. I love our snowman's pine mohawk!

It snowed enough that school was cancelled for two days, which doesn't mean much around here. I was very impressed that the forecast was for snow to start at 10 a.m. and it began snowing at precisely 10:20. I'm sure I'll be griping as I'm braving a foot of snow to take Wyatt to school at some point in 2011, but I was disappointed they cancelled since it was Wyatt's last day of preschool here. He was sad he didn't get to do show and share (because he wanted to take his two new Transformer airplanes) and I'm sad for him that he didn't get to say goodbye to all his friends. However, one good playdate later and he's totally over it.

In between all this fun, we've attended a couple of Christmas parties both of which also served as a farewell for us. It's always hard to move, no matter how many times we do it. Lucky for me, my friends planned a little girls' night out last night, so I got to say one more goodbye in a less formal setting. After we'd been here for a while, I remember telling Jeff that this might be an assignment where I didn't make any lifelong friends. Silly me! I just had to be a little more patient. I'm leaving behind such a fabulous group of women. Even luckier for me, I know we'll cross paths with so many of them again, so I'm just going to focus on that.

Slowly but surely, we're checking off items from the to-do list just slightly faster than we're adding new tasks. We hit a slight glitch last Friday when a washer hose became unattached during the spin cycle - it's unfortunate our washer's on the second floor - and, despite a flawlessly installed washer pan, gallons of water came rushing through our kitchen light. Yeah, that was awesome. Wyatt had a friend here and they both thought it was very exciting. Wyatt just kept saying, "this is not good, this is just not good." Uh, yeah, no kidding it was not good. But, as there's always a silver lining, Jeff managed not to kill me for being foul about it and I managed not to kill him for being so freaked out at all the water that he didn't think to turn off the washer. More importantly, we were here and minimized the damage. One new light fixture later and we're good to go. And have I ever told you how handy we've found our box of Shamwows to be? Really, really handy.

The kitchen, living room, dining room, family room, office and Natalie's room are mostly packed. A friend came over yesterday and informed me it didn't look like we were moving, which I suppose is true. We have our Christmas tree up and the mantel decorated, but if you were to open cabinets in the kitchen or look in our furniture where we usually stash stuff, you'd find it bare. The boxes are starting to pile up in the garage and throughout the house, so I think we're making process. So far, I don't find the packing-ourselves portion of this DITY move to be overwhelming. Wyatt has helped pack books and toys; Natalie has learned to cover her ears when she sees the tape gun and announce that it's loud. Jeff, of course, finds this to be the best time to paint the garage (no, seriously) and wants to paint the interior of our closet as soon as we pack all the clothes. Needless to say, we have really different opinions of the hierarchy of needs here. Between the two of us, the house should be in good shape when we turn it over to our renters next week.

We've promised ourselves no work on Christmas day so that we can fully enjoy it. I sure hope Santa comes through and that, in the midst of all this chaos, we take a little time to remember the true reason for the season. In case I don't make it back here in the next few days, Merry Christmas!

The Beginning of the End

2010-12-08T21:30:00.001-06:00

It's upon us: the last month in Virginia. We're busy cramming in last-minute fun and packing boxes amidst the normal chaos of the season and a few random illnesses. Right after Thanksgiving, we packed up the truck and headed to Washington, D.C. to see friends. It's totally one of those trips we've been intending to make for months, but couldn't quite squeeze it in any other time. It worked out pretty well, letting us see three families in two days, and gave us a dry run for the big move west at the end of the month. Let's just hope the kids are this happy the whole time:

Untitled from Stephanie Rock on Vimeo.

We learned from our beach trip back in October that it's worth the extra money to get a suite when we are spending the night in a hotel, though this is not what you want to see just after you put your kids to bed.

But kudos to the firefighters of Alexandria - they were quick getting there! And I have to say that we were all pretty quick to get out, considering we had to get coats and shoes on everyone, quickly toss stuff into a bag and walk down seven flights of stairs while covering kids' ears and ignoring the strobe lights going off in our room. I think the fire unit at preschool really helped Wyatt stay calm, too, which was good to see. I just can't express how thankful I am that we weren't at the hotel pool when the alarm went off! It was cold that night and there were a few poor souls out there in their swimsuits. Brrrrr.

Wyatt's not pictured because he wouldn't leave my arms. I really wanted to take his picture next to the trucks but he said no (and said it in a way that meant there was no negotiating; I respect that.) But I do like how cute Natalie looked with her daddy and how Tiger made the cut of the most important things we needed to take out of the room in a hurry.

Thankfully it was a false alarm, so we were tucked in again within 30 minutes. Here are our happier kids the next morning, when we let them stare at the fountain in the lobby. Unfortunately, Natalie was really battling a cold which kept most of us up all night. She just couldn't get settled and screamed (literally) for much of the night. On a more positive note, Wyatt was so exhausted that he slept right through her screaming and didn't even notice that I was in bed with him for a little bit, while Jeff tried to soothe Natalie to sleep in our bed. It totally didn't work, but I did learn that for such a small guy, Wyatt's quite a bed-hog.

Right after we got home, Jeff had his fini flight in the Raptor. It was especially exciting for me, since I missed his fini back in Enid (but, thanks to Spyder, have an awesome dvd of the day) and he didn't get one in the Eagle due to the entire fleet being grounded. So, despite having had Natalie at urgent care earlier in the day (diagnosis: bronchitis), we trekked out to see him land. Wyatt cracked me up at breakfast that morning when he said, "Daddy will be really brave when he lands, even though he'll get so wet and cold!" I guess he remembers Shudda's fini flight from this summer. He was pretty excited to spray his daddy!

Untitled from Stephanie Rock on Vimeo.

What you can't see on the video is that Natalie wouldn't give Jeff a kiss until he was a little drier. I like that she's choosy.

I fully admit that I got a little choked up as he came up initial; it seems like we just got here! Plus we just never know what's next, and while I'm sure that we'll make the most of wherever this life takes us, it's been really, really fun being in fighter squadrons over the last few years.

Last weekend was also our first glimpse of the man in the red suit. Wyatt really enjoyed the squadron kids' Christmas party this year, crafting and cookie-decorating with his friends. He was, again, a little starstruck when it was his turn to sit on Santa's lap, though managed to choke out his request for a big Raptor and a big Eagle. I swear we don't push him to airplanes, but he sure does love them. Natalie started crying when Santa called her name from across the room. She got close enough to get her present from him but there was no way she was going to sit on his lap. He settled for a high-five.

cheeeeeeeez, she says.

Last weekend I also had my "farewell run" with a few friends from the squadron. Though we don't have any pictures, I'm proud to say we all finished the Christmas Town Dash 8k at Busch Gardens in 37 degree weather, with wind at 14mph from the NNE (with gusts to 29 mph) and snow on the ground. It was half-crazy, but really fun in the end. Or maybe I just think that since we ate at IHOP on our way home.

Now we're getting into the swing of moving. We're attempting a large partial-DITY this time, which means that Jeff will be driving a 26-foot Penske truck and towing the Camry from here to Kansas as the new year rolls in. So far the packing is going pretty well. The company that's moving the rest of our stuff (read: the expensive stuff we want fully insured at the government's expense) brought us some used moving boxes, which was very generous. Unfortunately, many of them obviously came from the home of a smoker. Thanks to the ever-helpful Google, we discovered that a good dousing of white vinegar and a little fresh air will take care of that problem in a few days. So now we're slowly but surely filling the garage with boxes of stuff.

Next up: the Grandparents Rock are arriving for a visit, followed by the squadron Christmas party, my last coffee with the lovely ladies of the 27th, CHRISTMAS, moving trucks and my mom's arrival just in time to help us with last minute details and the cross-country trek (isn't she ~~crazy~~ nice to do that for us?) Stay tuned…I have a feeling it's going to get interesting.

Thankful

2010-11-25T16:48:00.000-06:00

Really, I'm thankful for so much, but I'm especially thankful for my own little turkeys, whose pictures have been taken a lot lately in our glorious fall foliage. The first batch was with our besties at a local park and the others were in our own backyard during a raking session gone awry.

Hope you enjoy and that you're having as great a Thanksgiving as we are!

had to include this - she's crying because we stopped taking pictures!
Maybe she's more ham than turkey.

She just wants to be like her Wyatt - Natalie's attempt to throw leaves on herself.

study the leaf...

ponder the leaf...

tickle with the leaf!

Notice Natalie's now tickling herself with the leaf.

true colors.

Observations by Wyatt

2010-11-11T11:31:00.000-06:00

Recent gems from the older, wiser brother:

Me: Natalie is full of vim and vigor today!
Wyatt: Yes, she is. And ice cream and water, too!

***

Me: Your sister is a little silly.
Wyatt: No, Mom, she is hiLARious!

Just Because

2010-11-04T15:47:00.000-05:00

We've had some really great days around here. So for the me who might forget these little things someday, I want to remember that:

1. Natalie starts calling Wyatt's name as we turn onto the street where his school is and the volume crescendos to a peak as he gets into the car. It's like her little body can't possibly contain the excitement brought by seeing him get in and she greets him with a squeal. It usually startles the parent helper who's helping him with the door.

2. Wyatt often talks to Natalie as we talk to him: "Natalie, would you like to go to the park? Then you have to get buckled; Natalie, if you want to have a treat after dinner, you're going to have to eat your broccoli." She takes him very seriously, nodding an open-mouthed yes because she thinks her brother is pretty great.

3. Wyatt, at almost every nap and bedtime, asks if we can please cuddle for "two minutes." 99% of the time we do and I'm never, ever sorry for that sweet time with him.

4. When Natalie wakes up from nap before her brother, I tell her he's still asleep and she smiles, then puts her finger to her lips and says, "sssshhh, ssssshhhh!"

5. Yesterday, when I told Wyatt that yes, he could take a rocket and my vacuum attachment to his room for quiet time he looked at me and said, "Wow! I totally wasn't expecting that! You're the best and when I say I don't love you, I never mean it."

6. Last night, when Wyatt tasted his first bite of pork tenderloin, he said, "Mom, you rock! This dinner is yummy!"

7. Natalie begs to sit on my bathroom counter while I get ready in the morning. She brushes her teeth while I brush mine and she takes the eyelash curler out and holds it for me saying, "eye! eye! eye!" until I'm ready to use it.

8. If I'm sitting on the floor, Natalie takes it as an open invitation to push me over, climb up and start jumping on me. And I totally let her, every time.

9. Wyatt shared all his green skittles with me because "green is your favorite color, Mom."

10. Natalie sits on the couch, then pats the spot next to her saying, "Mama! Mama! Mama!" until I come sit next to her.

11. There's something totally heartwarming about the way Natalie backs up and plops into my lap for books or to put on socks.

12. Wyatt and Natalie spend many hours chasing each other around and around and around through the house, shrieking with laughter while they do it.

13. Natalie has stolen Wyatt's job of feeding Millie. She makes as many trips as we'll let her from the food bin in the hall closet to Millie's bowl, lovingly delivering a few pieces of kibble at a time. Then she stands back and watches Millie enjoy it.

14. When Natalie does something we ask her to do (put something in the trash, take something to the steps) she comes back shouting, "I diiih! I diih!" until we say, "Yes, you did it!" She beams from ear to ear and I hope she'll always have that much satisfaction in doing something well.

15. Almost every morning, Wyatt gets up while Jeff's getting ready just so he can have those extra few moments with his daddy.

16. Wyatt remembers a lot, like the fact that a certain bouncy ball was purchased for him by Grandma Schmidt. And if my memory serves, it was the January before Natalie was born, which would have made him all of two-and-a-half.

17. Almost every evening, when we ask what his favorite part of the day was, Wyatt tells us "family dinner."

18. Natalie has created her own obstacle course in the family room - onto the table, into the chair, onto the ottoman, roll onto the floor - and for some reason, we let her do it over and over and over and over.

19. I'm a lucky mama, to be staying home with my babies despite sometimes wanting to pull out my hair and missing a paycheck. These are precious days.

Where Have You Been?

2010-11-01T20:38:00.000-05:00

Oh, that's right. It's me that went missing. We've been busy around here, in a mostly not-unique-to-us way. You know, pumpkin-patching:

Pajama-matching:

School fall-festival-ing:

Incidentally, that "Dorothy" is Wyatt's best girl, Avery. I think she's his first girlfriend :)

And Halloween-ing:

My basketball player and my butterfly, all set to go.

Fly away, sweet girl, fly away.

In the midst of all that, we also advertised our house for rent, got a few calls, scheduled some showings, finally completed a couple projects we've really wanted to do for years (hello master closet and new ceiling fan) and are hoping, hoping, hoping we've got ourselves a ~~winner~~ renter.

So that's me. Now where have you been?

Pixels to Prove It

2010-10-22T20:59:00.001-05:00

We really did take a great vacation. Though we were only gone for two nights, we - according to Wyatt - did, "like six days, I mean this much (holding hands far apart) stuff!"

I'm going to assume that many of these pictures speak for themselves. Up first: the beach, twice.

Then there was a meal outside at sunset:

Next up, a trip to the Wright Brothers Memorial. There was a great ranger's talk (it was an hour long and the kids lost interest quickly, though Jeff was riveted and did a great job of relaying the facts to me. The Wright Brothers? They were pretty amazing.) but since I ended up outside with our small people, I used the great setting for a photo shoot. I do love taking pictures of my kids. And I swear I tried to take more pictures of Wyatt but he was just a wee bit squirrelly and didn't exactly cooperate, so it was really Natalie's show.

We spent our last morning at Jockey's Ridge State Park in Nag's Head. It's the tallest natural sand dune system in the Eastern U.S. and it was really, really fun. There's no way you could pay me to go there in the summer - I can't even imagine how hot and sticky it would be - but this glorious fall day made it the perfect activity for running off excess energy before our ride home. And here again, I love taking pictures of my kids and the combination of sand, blue sky and generally cooperative subjects resulted in an ungodly number of photos....to which I'm now going to subject you.

That's a tiny little Wyatt who ran to the other dune - there were only two other families there so we let him have pretty free reign. He loved it!

Is it any wonder they think he's a superhero? He carried them both through the sand, back to the boardwalk. I got tired carrying the diaper bag!

And that's all she wrote. Fun vacation and great memories!

On the Road

2010-10-17T20:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Jeff and I had the great pleasure of going to a real live book launch in Richmond. Remember when I told you that our friend had written a book about her family? Well, it officially debuted yesterday to a crowd of hundreds at the Virginia Historical Society. You can read more about it here, here and maybe even here. We enjoyed the experience, partially because (let's face it) I'm never in a position to attend book launches but mostly because we know a little about how much life Elizabeth has poured into the book. And let me tell you, it was hard to put it down last night to go to bed and I'm so glad it's with me right now.

Why right now? Well that would be because I'm blogging to you from the hallway of a hotel in North Carolina. Sounds nice, doesn't it? We decided, kind of abruptly, to get out of town and see the Outer Banks. You know, we have to start checking things off the list since we're moving and all. Why not wait until the last three months to squeeze it all in? Kind of keeps things interesting. In our minds, we were going to rent a house for a few nights but when push came to shove (or rather keyboard came to search engine) we found that not many people want to rent their houses for only a couple of nights and on such short notice. And then I decided that maybe I didn't want to deal with grocery shopping to stock another fridge for only a couple of nights, because I'm lazy like that.

So here we are, in the hallway of our hotel because it's really hard for two overtired little people to fall asleep with their parents right in the room. After a lot of screaming from young Natalie ("mama! ma daddy! ma mama! daddyyyyy!" then Wyatt's voice, then quiet, then more "mama! mama! daddyyyyy! MAMA!" it was awesome), they're finally out. It's no wonder, considering the amount of playing they managed on the beach today. We arrived just in time to eat lunch but practically had to tie Wyatt to his chair so he'd finish; he was just so excited to get to the beach! Natalie was just excited because her brother was and we all know - let's say it together - if it's good enough for Wyatt, then it's good enough for Natalie.

We have no grand plans for our time here, but are hoping to see the Wright Brothers Museum. We've mentioned to Wyatt that the first flight ever took place right here and he's pretty excited about it. However, after seeing a photo at lunch of the Wright Brothers with pieces of one of their failed attempts, he later informed me that "the first ever airplane crash happened right here!" Pessimist. Either that or he's going to work for the NTSB because he's far too interested in plane crashes. Hopefully all of the (more positive) history of it will hit home a little more with him after we make it to the museum. I also predict a Wright Flyer will be landing on the base in Wyatt's room when we return.

Of course I'm taking pictures, but of course I didn't bring the card readers so I could actually access them on the road (brilliant, right?) so you'll just have to imagine the shenanigans of the youngest Rocks keeping their parents on their toes. Because trust me, they are. But we're having fun and ~~we're glad to be together as a family~~ everyone's glad to be with Jeff. I can't tell if he's thrilled or annoyed that his departure from the room brings on a round of cries (not from me, of course, though I do really like him and enjoy his company) and his arrival means two small bodies are attempting to climb him. I think a couple more days of family adventure will be the perfect way to finish out his leave.

I think they're really asleep, so I guess that means I can go back in and read a little more Finding Thalhimers before bed. I have a sneaking suspicion they'll be up nice and early, ready for round two of Operation: Coat the Parents in Sand and Operation: Sprint Headlong into the Atlantic, so I'd better get rested. Tomorrow could be a really great day!

Like a Cheesy Song

2010-10-11T20:04:00.000-05:00

We are reunited and it feels so good!

Jeff returned home last night from 71 days (who's counting?) in the Pacific. We're pretty darn happy around here today; Wyatt is so glad Daddy's here to play with him, Natalie seems fascinated that he's three-dimensional again and I am just enjoying every bit of all of it. Jeff was fortunate to fly a jet back (I say fortunate because every flight that lands is a good flight, yet I wouldn't want to be in the cockpit of that airplane for 9.5 hours; maybe that's why I'm not the pilot in the family) and that meant we had the opportunity to meet him at the jet last night when he and his seven buddies landed. It is such a fun thing to be out there with all the other families, all waiting for their best guy to come home. Many of our friends were gone for the entire four month deployment, so you can imagine how excited they were to be back together again!

The kids and I loaded up a little after seven to head down to the base and it's getting dark here at that time of night. Apparently Wyatt doesn't remember being out and about in the dark because he was flat-out fascinated by the glowing signs - he said, "hey Mom! All those signs have lights in them and they glow!" He also wanted to know why "all those people" were out driving at night. Sometimes I forget how innocent little minds are; of course it would seem to him that the whole world goes to bed by 8:30 every night. I mean, he does, so why wouldn't everyone else?

commence waiting...

We only had to wait for about a half-hour inside the squadron before it was time to head out. It was thirty minutes of energy-release for the kids, running up and down the hallways, stopping only long enough to point out all the pictures of airplanes (hint: there are a lot and hint #2: Natalie's as into them as Wyatt is). Then, before we knew it, we loaded into the truck and made our way to the flight line. Wyatt wanted his sound-muffling headset before we exited the building and Natalie didn't want hers at all. By the time Jeff pulled in, she realized why she needed to wear them but still didn't get that Daddy was inside that jet. Wyatt, however, was keenly aware of what he was waiting for and spent approximately ten minutes jumping up and down, saying, "Daddy! Daddy!" His eyes were glued to Jeff's jet from the moment we saw them enter the pattern until the second Jeff got out.

still waiting...

there's Daddy's jet, engines are finally shut down

a little closer, ladder's up and we can see him

more jumping because hey! There's my Daddy!

and finally, with one leap

...it was just what Wyatt needed.

Wyatt has been this close to Jeff for the last 24 hours

who looks happiest?

Me. I think I look the happiest of all.

It Worked!

2010-10-06T20:19:00.000-05:00

I took pictures and, in Natalie's newest word, "wow!" here they are. We've been enjoying the sun for the last few days because after forty days and nights of precipitation (okay, not really, but a foot in two days is fairly inundating), we're very grateful for that big ol' ball of fire in the sky. Sadly, it's been a little cool, but I should stop griping now and get on with it. So anyway, we keep finding ourselves at the park after naps*.

This first one kind of sums it up. Natalie's pretty much saying, "what is that thing and why haven't I seen it for so long?"

Next up: Natalie is showing how big she's gotten by tackling every park obstacle available. No pictures of her scaling the rock wall because well, I should still have hands free to spot her just in case she stumbles even though she never does. That's how it goes when you're part mountain goat.

And here's the one picture I have of Wyatt. Yes, one. That's what happens when his friends are at the park and they're so busy running around that they couldn't possibly take time out for photos.

And this one is just to document Natalie's fascination with pigs. Turns out there are a lot of pigs in her books: pigs that make noise, pigs with whom she rubs noses, pigs to pet, pigs whose tails she pulls, lots of pigs. She also has an awesome polka dotted pink piggy bank that she often requests to kiss before bed. So when she spied this beauty on the playground, she not only started oinking but sprinted toward it to get a better look. Please imagine her delight when I actually put her on it.

So there you have it.

*In other news, Wyatt's naps are largely a thing of the past. We've now survived our first week of napless afternoons (well, he napped once) and it turns out we're all going to be okay. He's learning to have a little quiet playtime in his room and I'm learning more about how fun it is to play with him doing whatever game he's created. RIP, quiet afternoons. We had a good four-year run!

Perhaps...

2010-10-05T21:58:00.000-05:00

1. If I'd take more pictures, I'd actually post some to the blog.

2. If I'd stop buying chocolate covered almonds, I'd be able to go a whole day without eating them.

3. If I'd put on exercise clothes upon waking, I'd actually exercise.

4. If I'd go to bed before 11, I'd be less grumpy in the morning.

5. If I'd bake fewer cupcakes, I'd be able to get over my buttercream addiction.

6. If I'd spend less time looking at random things online (vegan buttercream? healthy frosting?), I'd have a cleaner house.

7. If I'd really believe the husband will be returning soon, I'd finish up all those unfinished to-do-while-he's-gone projects.

...but really? Probably not.

Biblical Proportions

2010-09-30T16:32:00.002-05:00

I just asked Wyatt how much rain he thinks we've gotten. His answer? "Hmmm, we've prob'ly gotten about 40 days of it."

Yeah, it feels that way. Hoping the forecast for a beautiful weekend holds true; we could use it!

It's the Small Things

2010-09-18T11:35:00.000-05:00

1. A crisp, fall morning.

2. A farmer's market still overflowing with yummy goodness.

3. A four-year old who begs for sungold tomatoes as his morning snack.

4. A playdate in the neighborhood.

5. An estimated return date.

6. A quiet house.

7. A busy weekend.

8. A feeling of calm.

9. Looking forward to fun with friends.

Ahhhhh.

Hope your weekend's good, too.

Finally!

2010-09-17T15:45:00.000-05:00

Natalie just called me Mama without any prompting. It was, of course, because she wanted something of mine, but still. Mama. Sweet music to my ears.

So then Wyatt started saying "Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!" just to see how long it took to completely annoy me. Not long, really.

Funny how something I want so desperately can turn into something that makes me so desperately crazy.

Party Girl

2010-09-16T06:59:00.000-05:00

How could I forget? Natalie also likes to start every dinner (usually just dinner) with a hearty "deers!" (= cheers) and raises her cup until everyone says it back.

Hilarious now, not so funny if she's still doing it at eighteen.

18 Months...

2010-09-15T21:26:00.000-05:00

...going on 18, I think. Natalie continues to amaze me with her, um, vibrant personality that comes out a little more each day. I think we're hitting the almost-two's in full stride. The top ten things you should know if you stop by:

1. You should not expect to pick up my daughter. You should, however, expect to either get her patented head-down, eyes-up glare or a full-blown fit at the insinuation you might want to hold her.

2. Unless you're a guy. If you're a guy, you should expect to be flirted with shamelessly, prepared to give a few high-fives and fist-bumps and hear, "up peeze" on repeat.

3. If Natalie needs to be strapped into something (say, a carseat or highchair), don't think for one second she needs your help. If you deem it necessary to help her, you'd better figure out a way to plug your ears at the same time because that scream is coming.

4. If there's music, Natalie will be dancing. You might not recognize it as dancing, but that side-to-side swaying is definitely dancing. And if you're lucky, she'll be singing, too. She's a remarkably good mimic of sounds.

5. If it's good enough for her brother, it's good enough for her.

6. If you're looking for one of my children to do something daredevilish with you, it's her, not him.

7. Don't even mention the words "outside", "shoes", "go" or anything similar within earshot of Natalie. She will bolt from whatever she's doing, shouting, "oos! oos!" and head straight for the shoe cabinet, from which she will find her own shoes (usually crocs unless she's feeling fancy) and deliver them to you. If you don't respond, she will put them on herself and head for the nearest door whereupon she will stretch her little body as tall as it can go in attempts to turn the knob.

8. If she's hungry, she'll let you know by saying, "eee, eee" and heading to the pantry to seek out what she wants. Gone are the days that she'll eat whatever you give her, too, so you'd best get her approval on what you plan to feed her or it will go uneaten.

9. If you need assistance, just ask Natalie. She's a helper like this house has never seen! Emptying the dishwasher? Get ready, because she's going to be right there, handing you (breakable!) plates and glasses, perhaps faster than you can take them from her. Laundry? She'll be ready to close that dryer door, so be ready. If you're not? Well, ask for a picture of my black fingernail and let me tell you how it feels to have a dryer door spring shut on your hand. Wiping the table? Better get her a rag or she'll get one for herself.

10. If you leave something out that she thinks needs to be handled, don't be surprised to find it missing. She's really into independent thinking on these matters.

Natalie's vocabulary is growing daily (as is typical for this age - I remember this from Wyatt where every day we're just amazed by what's happening in that brain...not that he isn't still providing those moments for us) and I love, love, love the excitement on her face - and on Wyatt's - when she comes out with a new word. Some of my favorites:

tash = trash, (always whispered)
aye-yah = Wyatt
bah-bah = brother
dah-eeeee = Daddy
nana = her little blanket
ny-ny = night night
eee? = Millie
tish = fish
buh-buh = buckle
pow-ow = powder, (requested at some, but not all, diaper changes)
by-buh = diaper
poo = yep, poop
ah-ee = Natalie
ah-ah-ah (singsongy) = there he/she/it is (always used when looking for something)
buh! buh! = bird
ah-bah! = airplane

Other things I don't want to forget:
she's capable of saying Mama but never actually says it; she cries when we drop Wyatt off at school; she LOVES being outside and will happily putter around out there with or without company; she loves 'riding' the trike; she gives a shout-out to John as soon as we open the front door; she gets mad when strapped into shopping carts (not fun for me); she is obsessed with her daddy; she cries if Wyatt's still napping when she wakes up; she likes to ease into her waking state and needs about thirty minutes of transition time to hang out in her crib before being retrieved; her smile is a winner; her hugs and kisses are harder to earn than Wyatt's were (or are) but they are so very worth it; she loves books and chooses where we read them, sometimes in her rocker and sometimes on her couch; she has just noticed all the fish on her sheets and it's like they're new to her each day, she has to point them out with glee each morning; she loves throwing herself around in her crib before she gets up; she steals my hairbrushes when I'm not looking; she loves brushing her teeth but wants to do it herself; she still won't leave a clip in her hair for more than a couple of hours; she is 24 pounds of joy, delight and fun.

Unprompted

2010-09-13T21:40:00.000-05:00

Wyatt had some winning comments today. My favorites:

"Mom, you're such a .... Mommy."

"Mrs. Bittner said it's an Eagle, but I know it isn't because it's tail was wide and it only had one engine."

(after observing my really bruised knee) "Mommy, I will try to not let this happen to you again, I will always, for your whole life, try to catch you so you don't fall again."

"I think Natalie is my best friend."

Awww, that's my sweet boy. Four, if this is you trying to get on my good side, it might be working. Keep it up.

Notes.

2010-09-06T19:05:00.000-05:00

I hate it when I take somewhat unintentional breaks from blogging. You know, my ~~adoring public~~ six readers must really be missing me and then I have lots of ground to cover but nothing really earth-shattering to share. What I can tell you:

1. We went to Kansas for a couple of weeks.
   A. no visit is long enough to see everyone/do everything I hope to fit into a single trip.
   B. after more trips than I'd hoped to make, I found us a rental house in Leavenworth.
   C. we're going to miss a lot of things about Virginia.
   D. just because I'm from Kansas doesn't mean my kids know a thing about it.
   1. Wyatt was impressed by all the hills.
   2. Wyatt wanted to know what those big things were in that field (round hay bales).
   3. Cows = common along KS interstates, not so much in other places we've lived.
   4. Wyatt was perplexed as to how there could be a backup on the interstate if no bridges or tunnels are involved.
   E. the Atlanta airport needs to invest in a kids' play area. Seriously? Not one in the ENTIRE airport?
   1. It's amazing how much a four-year old can be amused by riding trains and moving sidewalks from terminal to terminal.
   F. Wyatt is a really great traveller; he can do the security gauntlet in his sleep.

2. I ran a half-marathon yesterday.
   A. the original goal was to start running more (again) and finish the race.
   B. trained as though finishing was my only goal, averaging two runs a week since the first week of July.
   C. was pretty excited to finish in 2:25, but still disappointed to have not finished in 2:20.
   D. had to remind myself of the original goal and that if I want to get faster, I'll have to train harder.
   E. thank goodness for good running partners who get really happy in the last few miles while I'm getting grumpy and tired.
   F. am sore today.
   G. it's seeming entirely possible that I have a stress fracture in my foot.
   1. have been thinking this for weeks (months?) now, but kept thinking it would go away.
   2. running 13.1 miles on a pretty sore foot was maybe not a good move.
   3. am wondering how one goes about "resting" a foot while taking care of two small children.

3. We have a lot to accomplish in the next couple of months re: home projects.
   A. have to find a property manager.
   B. have to find renters.
   C. have to keep each room picked up long enough to take pictures for a listing
   1. of all the tasks, this one seems the most insurmountable.
   D. have a lot of extra junk to cull out of our lives prior to the neighborhood garage sale.
   E. are contemplating a large dity move; need to commit and start packing.
   1. must acquire boxes if this is to be.

That's it. That's all we've been doing (well, in addition to all the normal antics of a 4-year-old and not-quite-18-month-old which, wow, are kind of a lot by themselves).

Hopefully I'll be back on my game soon with pictures and funny stories and whatever other drivel you seek on this site. But for now, I think I'll hobble off to bed.

Life Rocks

From the Mouths of Babes

Hey Y'all

Singing a New Tune

Life in Our Crib

So Very Thankful

Shades of Things to Come

A Break that Isn't

I've Got Nothin

Slimed!

Miss Daisy, Driving

Irony

Rock Chalk

My daddy loves me

Happy Veterans Day

Not Participating, Really

Like Moldy Jack-o-Lanterns

Pilots Can Be Real Turkeys

Kickin' Booty

I Believe

Keep an Eye on That One

It's a Little Dry

One With Pictures

Back to Basics

Good Grief

This Will Mortify Him Later

Today, I am Successful

Just Write

Passing the Baton

Look Alive

Who Needs Order?

Rocky Mountain High

Sponsored by a Hose

Sorry, Kid

Bookworm

Superstar

Filling the Tank

Great Timing

Still Reading

The Rest of the Story

Off Kilter

Kid Quotes

Kickin' in California

Deep Thoughts

No, Thank You, Natalie

Tangible

Hey, Guess What?

The Land of Ah's

I Think This is the Best Day of My Life

Misdirected Energy

They Can Read!

Love Letters

Good Day, Sunshine

Sad but True

I'm So Excited!!!

Embracing Reality

Yep, They're Mine

Why We Moved

Chock Full O' Life

Story Time

Here's One, Alanis

Two

Random Realities

Let's Not

From the Mouths of Babes

Lately

Resolutions

I'll Give Them This

iObsessed

Karma

Let's Pretend...

In Brief

Dear Virginia,

Life in These Parts

The Beginning of the End

Thankful

Observations by Wyatt

Just Because

Where Have You Been?

Pixels to Prove It