Breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus

The welcome was warm but the pancakes were cold. Our local parks department put on its annual Santa breakfast a couple of weeks ago. CSR and RTR got to sit and visit with the couple of the hour and get their picture taken too. Better than some of our Santa experiences in past years.

Immature Behavior

It seems RTR might be learning some immature behavior at an early age. After a little roughousing with dad and big brother in our bed, it was time for RTR to get into the bathtub. So, after taking off his clothes but before getting in the tub, he runs back into the bedroom, climbs up and puts his hiney next to dad's face and passes gas-- on purpose. Would this be considered immature behavior for a two year old? Is this what we can expect over the coming years as the boys get older? Yikes.

Pitiful

Pitiful. That's how my commitment to updating this blog has been. It's not that I don't have things to add. Of course, most of the time, I come up with my ideas when I'm nowhere near the computer or have the time to sit down and log on. But I guess with the passing of another year, the milestone brings on feelings of trying to do better in the new year and that's what I am going to do. So for the few loyal readers here on this blog, here's to more frequent updates in 2010!

Merry Tape-mas

There is just something about tape. For our boys, it's a must have item for all kinds of things. They're always asking for a piece of tape. Tonight it was the magic for CSR in his stringing up Christmas lights in the living room.



He used blue electrical tape (I kinda wish we had green). I hope the electrical tape is better for the lights than what would have been the other choice-- packaging tape. But we ran out of that this morning. We now have an official tape shortage-- there is no more packaging, masking, double-sided or Scotch tape left in the house.

Potty All The Time

The adventures in RTR's potty training continue. On Sunday, he made it to the bathroom but not exactly on target with the toilet-- mostly going on the floor and step stool. On Monday, he did really well at preschool-- actually peeing in the potty chair two times. Although one of those times ended with a change of clothes due to some unfortunate aim-- which was my fault. The M&Ms are a pretty good incentive as long as I have some onhand. I need to get a bag of them since the supply from the Halloween candy has been used up. I ended up buying a handful from a candy machine at the Senior Center this morning. Now it's on to Whoppers-- from the Halloween stash-- just don't tell the boys.

Potty Training

It's on to a new phase with RTR. He is doing away with the diaper. At least part of the time. After promising for weeks to find the big boy underwear (in the hand-me-down bins in the garage), I finally found them and pulled them out. So RTR had his first run in them today. As incentive I told him that every time he went pee in the toilet he could have an M&M. But I think I didn't make myself very clear. He ran into the bathroom, stepped up to the toilet-- on a stool-- pulled down his underwear, made a "sssss" sound with his mouth and then demanded his "M". I explained that he had to really go in the potty in order to get the candy. He wasn't so impressed with that idea. I never got him to pee in the toilet, but did hand out three M&Ms. I figure it's a first step. Of course, I also had to change his pants two times.

Aloha!

Here are a few pictures from our recent trip to Maui. Nothing like sun, sand and surf. Mai Tais and banana pancakes don't hurt either (not together of course).

The Dog Ate My Home Work

Okay, after more than a month of not posting anything, I'm trying to get back in the saddle. The absence isn't because of a lack of anything noteworthy to blog about. But here's a recent incident. CSR got the idea to build a candy house using some of his Halloween loot. So while I was off at a meeting TSR and CSR got out the graham crackers, frosting and candy. CSR might follow in his dad's and grandpa's engineering footsteps. He put together a pretty good house... a lollipop tree, a Kit Kat bench, gum drop berry bushes. But then disaster struck. While home alone, the dog, Abby, munched down the whole thing. The only things we found were the lollipop and the paper plate the house on which the house was built. CSR was crushed. I was quite shocked-- the house had made it through one night and much of the day with little attention from the dog. Apparently when you let your guard down, that's when this dog strikes.

Scouting A New Location

Another sign our boy is growing up... he's joined a Tiger Cub Scout den. We're still learning the scouting lingo and such... including taking a trip to the Scout Trading Post (supply store) for a uniform shirt and lots of patches! CSR and Tyler went on their first Go See It on Sunday, going to a park for a little hike and checking out the local wildlife.

Fall Prevention

Today's the first day of fall according to the calendar. But you wouldn't know it by the thermometer. Today it was up to 90 degrees-- unofficial temperature recorded by the car themometer-- warm enough to take a backyard dip. While CSR was lobbying for me to get out the kiddie pool, I didn't think that the wisest use of our water. So they got a little sprinkling instead. And of course after getting just wet enough to cool off, both boys promptly abandoned the sprinker and decided it was more fun playing in the dirt. Some muddy buddies.

I've Been Working on the Railroad

This is how RTR and I spent our morning... working on the railroad. He found a train bridge in the garage and insisted (in his 2 year old way) that I needed to bring more train-related items outside. So out came the trains and tracks for some sidewalk engineering. He was quite caught up in making the pieces fit together and making the various engines and cars move along the tracks. He even took an interest in figuring out where to put power poles and signs. Definitely more fun than pulling weeds.

First Day of First Grade

After days (weeks?) of anticipation (mine), the first day of school arrived for CSR. His expression in the first picture pretty much sums up how he felt about the whole thing. I can't believe I got such a lousy picture. Anyway, CSR wasn't too thrilled about returning to school. He started complaining yesterday of a headache and stomach ache and fell asleep before dinner. I figured it was just nerves. He still wasn't very perky this morning, again us assuming it was just the usual reluctance for new situations. There were some teary moments as we got him settled in his new classroom and said goodbye. Since it was a full day, we couldn't do our new tradition of having ice cream for lunch. But since CSR asked me to, I came back and had lunch with him. He has a great teacher! She seemed to really understand what was going on. At lunch, she reported that he had a great morning and is a hard worker. Not sure if she already knew this would be a good idea, but she put CSR next to one of his friends from his class last year, so that was a comfort. I should have known something was up though when we went to Molly Moon's for ice cream.


He wasn't all that excited and then didn't want the rest of his ice cream (lucky for me he ordered a flavor I like). So after a full day of school, we figure it out-- he's got a fever. A dose of Tylenol seemed to help. Not sure what this will mean for the second day of school though. Stay tuned...
P.S. RTR was quite happy about CSR's first day of school. As the picture shows.

Look Ma, I'm on Top of the World!

We have a "little" construction project going on in our backyard. Tyler decided after months (years?) of debate to go ahead and build the boys a club house-- isn't that the right name for a boys' version of a playhouse. It now has a roof, with shingles waiting to be installed. CSR got to climb up to check out the view, and of course RTR had to do the same thing. They waved to a couple of neighbors driving down the lane too. The only risky business came when the boys got a little too close to the edge. Do 2 year olds have very good depth perception?

CSR got the idea last week to hold an open house when the club house is done. I hope he knows that it's not like a birthday party, where gifts are customary. Although we will probably make a cake. Also, CSR was telling Tyler the house number. Talk about down to the details. There are also some paint chips CSR picked up at Home Depot.

Cheap Ways to Entertain the Troops

Here's a cheap way to entertain the troops... take Metro downtown and then catch the new Sound Transit light rail train. We rode it to the end of the line and back for just $3.25 price of our Metro fare. Not a bad deal. Of course the doughnuts we had before the journey were another story.

All (Green) Thumbs

We've expanded our agricultural horizons by planting a bigger garden this year and thanks to the recent heat wave, it's going gang-busters. We harvested our first mess of beans and peas last night. Also started pulling up some carrots-- including some fascinating Rainbow ones. Our lettuce grew faster than we could eat it... and the last of it sadly went to seed. For lunch today we ate some of the peas and carrots. Sauteed green beans on the menu for tomorrow. Our pumpkin vines are crawling all over the yard, crowding out our sunflowers. Also, our three tomato plants look like tomato trees. Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy some good home-grown tomatoes very soon-- if I can keep the kids from eating them right out of the garden. Also, tried growing corn for the first time. Several ears will soon be ready for picking too.

At Your Service

RTR and his visiting cousin have discovered the monetary benefits of setting up a lemonade stand. For the second time in a week they set one up in the front yard. Maybe it's because I made them spend their earnings from the first stand at the zoo. Yes, I made them pay for their own carousel rides and treats from the snack stand. Does that make me a mean mommy/aunt?

Beat the Heat

Seattle set a record for the hottest day of all time on Wednesday-- 103 degrees. One way we beat the heat was by having dinner (Taco Bell tacos) at the beach. It was about ten degrees cooler at the Edmonds waterfront than at our non-waterfront home. CSR and his cousin hit it off with a couple of other girls also keeping cool at the beach. For some reason they found great fun in jumping from the sea wall onto the sand below.


RTR just liked playing in the sand. He kept handing me his buckets to refill at water's edge. While he was a big fan of having water to pour out, he wasn't too keen on getting IN the water for refills.


The black edges on this picture are because my camera lens cover doesn't always open all the way. Darn photographer!

The Queen of Nope

Hello. I am the Queen of Nope. I ascended to this position thanks mostly to two six year olds who spend most of their day asking me questions that I am forced to answer, "Nope."

9:00 Them: Can we have a popsicle? Me: Nope.
9:30 Them: Can we go to the Space Needle today? Me: Nope.
10:45 Them: Can we have a popsicle? Me: Nope.
11:30 Them: Can we have a cookie? Me: Nope.

How I wish they would ask me questions I could say yes to:
Can we have more carrot sticks?
Can we play in the backyard and let you read a magazine/newspaper/Facebook in peace?
Can we use our own money to buy you a latte?

I guess all this give and take builds character-- for all of us.

A Little Bit of Dirt Never Hurt

I had to keep reminding myself that a little bit of dirt never hurt as we were camping the last couple of days. While the site was in a beautiful spot next to the Cooper River, it was very dusty and rocky. Not the best terrain for a two year old and a six year old who's been known to stumble now and again. Down they would go, only to be picked up and needing dusting off.

It was also an adventure in camping with a dog. We've become foster parents to my sister's dog, Abby. She's already built a reputation of being a runner and inadvertently catching one of us off guard, giving me, CSR and RTR rope burns by getting tangled in her tether. But I digress.



RTR was the latest to get caught up in the rope. It was so scary. While TSR and I were setting up camp, the kids were playing. Abby's rope became looped around RTR and when she ran one way, he got pulled to the ground and dragged, with the rope around his neck. You never saw a mama move so fast. I picked RTR up and untangled him. He was crying and then his eyes rolled back into his head and he went limp-- just for a moment. Of course, running through my mind is that we're God knows how far from paramedics or being able to even call for help. After holding him and comforting him, he perked up and seemed like himself. After dinner, we put him to bed in the tent. Of course in my worst-case-scenario thoughts, I'm thinking about Natasha Richardson, the actress who died from bleeding in her brain several hours after a fall while skiing. It was nearly a sleepless night, always checking whether I could hear RTR breathing. He did wake up bright and early the next morning. And he's been fine ever since, although he doesn't really like to go near Abby when she's on her rope.

Calling The Tooth Fairy

The tooth started to wiggle more than a week ago. Maybe even before school got out. Oh man, I should write these things down. At first, I thought maybe it was one of CSR's imaginary dental situations. But it turned out to be a real wiggler. So this afternoon, CSR's first tooth fell out. It turned out a little creepier than I expected (I am a person who has her wisdom teeth tucked away in a box). His new tooth has already broken the surface too. So tonight we hunted up something to put the tooth in so the Tooth Fairy can find it. A little organza drawstring bag complete with a sparkly old earring attached. CSR even included a note. What fairy wouldn't like that?

Ice Cream Anxiety

Just trying to have a simple ice cream turns into high anxiety. This was the first time RTR was really possessive about his ice cream cone. It was a huge cone-- the girl who served it packed ice cream deep into the cone, so it was a lot of ice cream for one little boy.

Author's Night

CSR surprised us by wanting to participate in his school's Author's Night, where the students get up on stage at a local bookstore and read something they've written-- in front of an audience of about 100. He was the only one from his kindergarten class to participate. And while what he chose to read was brief, we were so proud of him.

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In case you can't understand him, he says, "My name is ___. I like my new dog. Thank you."

Father's Day Camping Trip

We just got back from a family adventure, camping for Father's Day. Despite a little rain and some vomit, things turned out pretty well. Friday night found us setting up camp in the rain. What kind of Western Washington residents would we be if we let a little rain stop us? We were able to get a fire going and roast some hot dogs and marshmallows (not at the same time). A few hours later, the barf hit the fan-- well, not the fan, but blankets and pajamas. RTR woke up around one AM blowing chunks. We had to use our glow sticks to clean up the mess as best we could. But we forgot about the second round rule when it comes to throwing up. Just when we're all ready to settle back in, here comes the second round. So now we're out of clean pajamas and warm bedding for RTR. I have to admit I didn't anticipate needing more than one set of pajamas for any of us. Thank goodness we know someone with laundry facilities nearby. Other than that, it was fun. South Whidbey State Park is a great place for families. Recommend campsites 15, 37 and 40. There's a fun beach for building dams in the sand (imagine CSR yelling "Dam it, dam it"), exploring the low tide and a patch of natural clay for getting all gooey messy.