Saucy and Bobbo!

A couple of weeks ago we headed to Utah for my sister's wedding. They were married in the Manti temple, which is in the middle of nowhere. They chose this temple because my parents were married there, and, hey, it's beautiful. We stayed in Provo, which is a couple of hours away. I have to admit that I grumbled a bit on the drive there, but eventually we turned a corner, and there was the temple, surrounded by rolling green hills. It was like some of the castles we saw a few years ago in Germany. So worth the drive.

The happy couple, just as they're coming out of the temple.

Thing 3 with my cousin, who we lovingly refer to as "Flocky," although it's been so long that I can't remember why. He's more like a brother than a cousin. He's also the one who took all these pictures. Except this one.

Me and the sibs. We always do this pose when we're together. See the family resemblance? If you know what movie this is from, you get bonus points.

The fam. Can you tell how warm and toasty we are? This was on May 1st and it snowed that day. Seriously.

The bride and bridesmaids. I spent most of the night tugging on the bottom of my dress because it was a little too short for me.

The three Things and their Auntie.

This is the best picture we could get with all the nieces and nephews. Doesn't Thing 3's little 3 year-old cousin on the left look just like him?

The Newspaper News

For the last couple of months, Thing 2 has been bringing home issues of the newspaper that he has been publishing in his spare time (aka when he's supposed to be working at school). It's called The Newspaper News. We love The Newspaper News. I had no idea there were so many scams going on in our neighborhood! I scanned a few of my favorite issues for your viewing pleasure. I have my attempts at the translation underneath, but I warn you that my second grade is a little rusty.

Newspaper
A person is getting money for the poor, but she is actually stealing the money, and the old beggar spent it all on one pair of jeans which is mean!

Newspaper
A man is stealing rubies. He is wearing black stripes and white stripes. He has black thin rubber gloves, and he has a big, big bag.

Newspaper
A man in black is robbing old people. He has stolen 9,000 dollars. He has a big brown bag. He has a knight that is double bladed (I'm thinking he means a sword. I'm sure double bladed knights are hard to come by). He has escaped from jail. He has clothes that are black and white.

Spring Recital 2009

Saturday was our annual spring recital. I couldn't be prouder of all my students. Most of them had their songs memorized, and they all were so confident up there! Thing 2 did great, playing the much loved "From A Wigwam." He told me, "No mistakes, Mom!" when he sat down. And Thing 1 made me so proud; he played his first "real" classical piece, "Waltz in B Flat" by Schubert.

This year I did things a bit differently. First of all, I held this recital with two other piano teachers in my neighborhood, something I had never done before. It was really fun, and it was good for the kids to hear some older kids play "the real stuff." I'm hoping they gained a little inspiration, maybe enough for some practicing this summer? My fingers are crossed.

Something else that I did differently was that after much prodding by one of the other teachers, I performed a song. I hadn't played a solo at a recital since my senior year of high school. I was trying to decide what piece to play, and thought back to that senior year when I tried to quit piano because I was so unbelieveably busy, but my teacher wouldn't let me stop. I had learned all the pieces she had wanted me to learn that year except one - "Valse Chromatique" by Benjamin Godard. It's a great piece, but it's full of crazy chromatic scales (hence the name), and I just couldn't get some of the passages down in time for my senior recital. I ended up pulling it at the last minute and playing something else. It always kind of bugged me that I never finished that piece, so I blew fifteen years' worth of dust off of it and got to work. I didn't quite play it perfectly on Saturday, but I did it. Mrs. Martin, that one was for you. It was really liberating, like getting a splinter out that's been annoying you for a while.

I am a lousy mother

I am not the most supportive mom ever, and little league baseball tends to broadcast it to the world. I still believe that the best thing about little league is how cute little kids look in catcher's gear. Last year, I was bitter about the snack. Last week, we found out that Thing 2 made the baseball all-star team, and my first reaction was, "Aw crap. Now I'm going to have to go to more games!" Then I realized that normal parents don't react this way, so I gave a half-hearted "Go Thing 2, go!" to keep up appearances. I think there's something wrong with me. There's another family with a kid on this team that totally makes up for my lack of enthusiasm. They have their kid training year round, and they are really into the games. I'm pretty sure they would have been devastated if he hadn't made all-stars (he did). I think they're having a parade in his honor next week, and the paperwork is being filled out to make his all-star debut a national holiday.

Anyway, I was lying in bed this morning, thinking what a lousy mom I am, when Thing 3 came in for his usual early morning snuggle (or "snug" as he calls it). After a few minutes, he turned to me and said I was his best friend, which of course made me smile. I'm not a great mom, but at least I have my kids fooled!

The Easter Bunny Blues

***Spoiler alert: Don't read this post with little kids hanging around. It will totally ruin the holidays for them!

One of my pet peeves is when well meaning adults try to give my children a bit of fun that leads to me doing damage control. Example: Yesterday at preschool, the Easter Bunny hid eggs all over the playground while Thing 3 was in class. The kids got to go find the eggs and take them home. Fun, right? Well, I have been fielding questions ever since. Why did the Easter Bunny come when it's not Easter? Did he go to the big boys' school? Is he coming back tomorrow? Last week we walked by the Easter Bunny at the mall, and I totally had to distract Thing 2 and Thing 3 as we walked by - not because they would want to sit on his lap and get their picture taken, because of the questions that would result. That's the Easter Bunny? Why is he bigger than normal bunnies? Why is he here and not at a mall in a different city? Does he like to eat carrots?

The worst is Christmas. All the different Santas. I know they mean well, but they don't look anything alike, and kids are smart. Last year's church Christmas party was nice, and my 17 year old neighbor got to play Santa. Very fun, but it didn't work for my kids AT ALL. After sitting on his lap, the boys had things to say about it. Thing 2: Mom, I just sat on Matt's lap! Weird! He's not really Santa. Thing 3: Mom, why is Matt wearing Santa's clothes?

Every year we go to Sparky's work Christmas party for the kids of the employees. At least there they have the same Santa and Mrs. Claus every year. Things 2 and 3 are convinced that this is the real Santa (he really looks great), although they still ask me why he's here and not at the North Pole, and where is his sleigh and reindeer? Shouldn't he be getting ready for Christmas eve? Why can't my kids be like the other kids at the party and just blindly accept Santa and live in a state of pure bliss?

About a year and a half ago, Thing 1 and I were in the car together without the others, and he admitted to me that he knew that Santa wasn't real. I remember feeling really conflicted about it - I couldn't decide if I wanted to cry or pull over the car so I could dance a jig of celebration. I asked him how long he'd known, and he said since before last Christmas. When I asked him why he didn't tell us then, he said that he didn't want to ruin it for me and his Dad, so he just went along with it.

I know I'm going to miss everything when the other two stop believing. Thing 2 is already on the verge. But until then, everyone pass the word around to play it cool with the world of pretend. I heard the Tooth Fairy came by Thing 2's classroom recently, and I'm not looking forward to THAT conversation.

Little Worriers

I've decided that Sparky and I tend to breed little worriers. When our kids hit four or five, they tend to start obsessing over something that they won't have to deal with for decades. When Thing 1 was younger, he wanted to know how to get a job. I told him if he helped clean the windows, I'd give him a dollar, but he said no, he was talking about a real job, like Dad's. I asked him why he wanted to know, and he looked at me like I was an idiot. He said, "Someday I'm going to be married and have kids, and I'm going to need to have a job so we can have some money. So how do I get a job?" He was genuinely concerned about this, and he was around five years old. He wouldn't let it go until I mapped out for him the whole high school - college - grad school - job interview thing, and then he finally started breathing again. Poor stressed out baby.

With Thing 2, it was leaving home. He kept saying he was going to live with us for the rest of his life, that he was never moving out. The funny thing was, he would usually say it when he was acting up or doing something to bother me, and I'd say under my breath, "You wanna bet?" He was really worried for a solid year about growing up and moving away, and then all of a sudden, he started wanting to sing "I hope they call me on a mission" every family night and started talking about going to BYU someday (like I said before, his brainwashing is officially complete!). Sparky and I breathed a sigh of relief when Thing 2 grew out of his worry phase.

So I've been wondering lately what Thing 3 is going to worry about, and I think that I stumbled upon it this week. He's worried that when he grows up and moves away, he won't be able to find our house again. He's been begging me to promise that we'll never move to another house. He asked me if, when he grows up, I would come pick him up from his new house and drive him to our house when he wants to visit. I pointed out that he would probably have his own car by then, but he insisted that he wouldn't remember where our house is, and I should just drive him in my car. He happened to have a friend with him when he said all this to me, and his friend said to him in exasperation, "Come on! We're not grown-ups! You can't even drive yet!" Thing 3 can't help it; he's just like his brothers. I should probably be concerned about my kids getting so stressed out, but it's just so cute to see a little four year old worrying about something that's 15 years away. I guess what I'm trying to say is, my kids are weird but cute.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Oh, I love March. I'm like a kid at Christmas with my nose pressed against the store window, gazing longingly at the Red Rider BB gun. It's March Madness, baby! The brackets came out today and I'm in heaven.

We have done a pool with our friends (for bragging rights only, of course!) for about 10 years now. I've only won it once, and it's a year when my brother in law has chosen to experience some very selective memory loss. I know I'll never win again. Usually someone wins who has no clue about college basketball and just picks all the high seeds (except the two years my dad won). I end up grumbling about it for a few weeks and then placate myself with chocolate and Mariners games.

All three Things are already claiming victory with their picks. Thing 1 has declared that he will win with his superior knowledge and insider information. Our brain washing of Thing 2 is complete, he picked BYU to win it all and is appalled that anyone would pick differently. I love his dedication. It's totally me at his age. I'm just afraid he will end up like this kid:




And Thing 3. He picked Gonzaga to win it all, after all, he's heard us talking about them constantly for the last 4 months. But it's his final four that's really gutsy: Gonzaga, BYU, Portland State, and To Be Decided. Yep, he picked the winner of the "play in" game, one of the two worst teams in the tournament, to go to the final four. I love it.

We've sent out our email to everyone from last year. If you want in, let me know. It doesn't matter if you are a huge basketball fan or not; like I said, you actually have an edge over me if you aren't. And, hey! You could be the one I grumble about in April!

Shenanigans

Last weekend Sparky and I finally watched the movie Juno, and I loved it. It's been a long time since I saw a movie for the first time and liked it this much. It was both side-splitting funny and moving.

I have had the song that they sing at the end of the movie in my head ever since, and apparently I've even been singing it out loud, because yesterday I walked by Thing 2 and heard him singing to himself, "We sure are cute for two ugly people."

Here is a clip of the song. I swear, I want to give Michael Cera a big hug and bake him some cookies or something.

Surfer Boys

One of my favorite things to do in the entire world is to watch Sparky surf. I love laying out on the beach, attempting to get a tan, flipping through a magazine in between sets. He is a good surfer and, as a bonus, he looks great in his wet suit. Don't laugh, I have proof. When we were in San Diego, a young 20 something tourist asked if she could have her picture taken with him and his brother-in-law in their wet suits with their surf boards. We had a good laugh about it later, since she thought she was getting a picture with the locals and really they are from Silverdale and Cincinnati.

Here is Sparky at the end of a wave. The waves were pretty wimpy on the day we brought the camera.




Thing 3 begged to get in on the action. We stuck the smallest wet suit on hand on him (the water was 58 degrees!) and hoped for the best. For a while, Sparky ran along the side of him and held him up:




And then he got more adventurous and tried having Thing 3 ride on his back. Thing 3 had a vision of him and his dad surfing side by side on separate boards holding hands, and he cried when we told him that it wasn't going to happen. He also cried when we left the beach, even though his lips were blue and he was shivering.



Thing 2 decided he wanted to get in on the action:


But he didn't last too long - it was just too cold!

Belated Thing 2 birthday pics, AKA how in the world did I pull this thing off?

A few weeks ago we had Thing 2's birthday party. The guest list kept getting longer and longer as we got closer to the party, but I thought, no big deal. Not everyone will come. Oh, Fireball. So naive. Everyone came but one. We had 16 kids at our house. My friends all told me I was insane, and in the back of my mind I agreed with them. Here is a picture of the whole crew: a pilot, a wizard, Cleopatra, a ghost who didn't want to wear his costume, a cat, a pioneer, a police officer with his arm around a ninja, Boba Fett and Jango Fett, a robot, a 10 year old friend to torment the little kids, a skeleton who didn't want to wear his mask because it was too scratchy, two more ninjas, and Indiana Jones (or as Thing 3 says, India Jones).

We decorated ghost cookies and bat cookies.

There were so many kids that everyone had to stand around the table so all the kids could fit!

Here we are at the start of the treasure hunt. I have a funny look on my face because I'm pretending I lost the party bags. "Help me kids! Here is my only clue to where I put them." After looking in the flower beds, the play house, the basketball court, the truck, the mailbox, and Sparky's shoe, the kids discover that I had them with me in the house all along. Silly mom!






All in all, it wasn't too bad. The kids were good, and I didn't crawl into my bed and pull the covers over my head when they left.

First Day of School 2008

I have been meaning to get these up for a while - first day of school pics! Sparky's family had a tradition of taking a picture of each kid in the same spot on the first day of school every year, and we have done it every year, too, starting when Thing 1 started preschool. This is the first year that I have had all my kids in some form of school; for the last ten years I have always had some little guy with me that I tortured by dragging him on errands with me. What do I do with all this free time, you ask? I've gotten to go on some long runs during the week, which has been nice, I run lots of errands of course, and apparently today I'm wasting away my free time by blogging.

Thing 3 started his first year of preschool. He loves it and is completely frustrated that he doesn't get to go as often as his brothers. We know he likes his teacher, because the other day at church Sparky asked him what Jesus did for him, and he said He made Ms. Diane. If you ask him what his favorite thing about school is, he'll tell you it's the blackberries that grow near the playground.

Thing 1 is in 5th grade. His teacher told me at parent night that he is the top of the class in every subject, although I think she must have forgotten about spelling because he seems to have inherited his father's abilities in that area. Too much spell check! He ran for class president and lost, although the girl who won picked him as her VP. They also have a class legislature and a judicial system, and his teacher said she has had to send him as VP over to the legislative meetings to break up some arguments. I think the class politics thing ended up being more realistic than she expected! She also told me that she had a meeting with Thing 1 and the class president over who to appoint as Chief Justice, and he suggested that they choose one of the two new kids in class, since they didn't really get a chance to run for anything because no one knew them. What a sweet kid.

Thing 2 is in 1st grade this year. His teacher told me that he is Mr. Popularity. Everyone wants to sit by him, and the kids keep giving him gifts - cool looking rocks, twisted up paperclips, pencils sharpened down to little stubs. You know, what most of us refer to as trash but first graders see as treasures. I think the first day of school was a little long for him. He came home from school and plopped down his stuff and went to lie down on his bed. I don't think he has taken a nap since the day he turned two. I hated that I had to tell him to get up and get his cleats on because he had to leave for soccer practice in 10 minutes.

Monkeys

Question: What do you do when you walk into a room and you see your kids doing this:

Apparently I am raising a couple of monkeys.

Whaling Days 2008

Here are some pictures from the races the boys and I did at the end of July. Whaling Days is the big festival here in Silverdale and is always lots of fun. Here is Thing 3 in his first race ever! He is in a navy blue shirt, number 2200. Note how he keeps looking back to check on his mama!

Next is Thing 2, on the far right in a gray shirt, who had a great start and a not so great finish. At the very end, a kid cuts in front of him and trips him. Not the sparkling first place finish we saw at Viking Fest in May.

Thing 1 ran the 1 mile again and did great, finishing in 8:08. This course is pretty hilly, so he was pretty happy with his time. As you can tell, he gave it all he had!

I ran the 4 mile, and had a lousy race. I felt really tired from the start. I had been sick with a cold, and I coughed throughout the race. At the end, I felt like it was hard to breathe, which brought back memories of childhood asthma. Apparently other people were having trouble as well. Sparky said four or five people who crossed the finish line before me puked while crossing. Nice. No wonder the race worker looked panicked when I crossed looking green. I ran it in 33:26 which is a full minute and a half slower than last year. Here is a picture of me at the beginning of the race before I knew what I was getting myself into. Sparky took one of me at the finish line, but I'm not posting that one.

Feel Good Parenting Moment

Today is soccer picture day for Thing 2. I hate when it is scheduled on a Sunday, but I try not to make a big deal about it. I have a big thing about playing sports on Sunday. I only did it once in my life; it was the Gus Macker 3 on 3 basketball tournament. I was 17, my parents were out of town, no one would know. Long story short, I broke 2 fingers, my bishop had to take me to the emergency room, and I nearly screwed up my senior year season of volleyball. Yikes! Lesson learned - no sports on the sabbath.

But what about sport pictures? I figure it's okay to take pictures on Sunday, we do it all the time. I'd rather do soccer stuff on a different day, but whatever. This year it's a pain, though, because I have to take Thing 2 out of primary a few minutes early to make it. Now, let me pause here and tell you that this is the kid that really grumbles about going to church. "Is it Sunday? Aw, man!" "Why do I have to wear a tie? I hate ties!" "Why is church so long and they don't even have any food?!" So when I stopped in primary to pull him out a little early (I know, I'm evil) he surprised me. He wouldn't leave. "Mom, I want to stay. Can't I just put on my uniform for you later and you can take a picture?" I wanted to give him a big hug right there in front of everybody. Of course you can stay in church, buddy. Thanks for teaching your mom about what's important.

Viking Fest 2008

A few weeks ago, Thing 1, Thing 2, and I participated in various races at Viking Fest in Poulsbo. Thing 2 squeaked out a win in the 50 yard dash:




And Thing 1 ran his first 1 mile race in an impressive 7:38.





















Thing 3 said when do I get to run my race?





















And I ran the 5 mile race. It was a gorgeous day, and the course was breathtaking (in more ways than one, ha-ha). Most of it is right along Liberty Bay, and it ends in downtown Poulsbo. I counted 12 women and one man from our stake who ran the race. It was nice to run with friends! I ran with a friend from basketball for the first mile or two, then I caught up to another friend around mile three and ran with her for a bit. I was really pleased with my time - my goal was to be under 45 minutes, and I finished in 41:38. Thing 1 admitted to me that Sparky had told them that I would finish sometime between 45 and 50 minutes. Thanks for the confidence! I took fourth in my division. I was bummed about not placing, but third place finished two minutes ahead of me so I didn't feel too bad.




















Before this race, I had only run in 3 races since I had been diagnosed with Addison's disease in 2005, and all of my performances had been... less than stellar. This is the first race where I felt good before, during, and after the race. Sparky said I felt too good afterward - I guess it looked like I still had a lot left in me at the end. I don't know, I totally crashed on the couch when we got home and was completely worthless for the rest of the day. Anyway, it was fun, I'm looking forward to doing it next year, and I'm planning on doing more races this summer. And I'll have to remember to sign up Thing 3 for one of the kids dashes next time!

Losing Teeth and Sleep

A few nights ago, I was sleeping peacefully when I was shaken awake by Thing 2. “Mom! Great news! I lost my tooth!” Great news. Stop the presses. I looked over at my clock. 1:35. I decided at that moment that I am completely out of touch with what it's like to be six. He was practically doing a jig by my bedside, and all I wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep. I gave him a “That's great, buddy,” and sent him off to bed. As an after thought, I called out, “I'm pretty sure the Tooth Fairy has already passed our house, so don't bother putting it under your pillow. We can do it tomorrow night.”

I have to say, he does look cute without that tooth.

Adventures in T - Ball

I'm the worst mom ever and I'll tell you why: I hate T-ball. Sparky coaches the boys' soccer and basketball teams, so by the time baseball season rolls around, we are pretty burned out. Thing 1 decided not to play baseball this year, and we did a silent cheer when he wasn't looking. Thing 2, however, loves snacks and trophies, so he wanted to play again this year. We put on our happy faces and signed him up for the Orioles, since he played on their team last year. Bad move. They have a new coach, and he is super nice, but any skills Thing 2 has picked up this year have been from the few minutes here and there we've spent working with him in the yard or at the park. I'm not one of those parents that dresses up the whole family in Orioles gear for the games (we have some of those on this team), or is living through my kid's experiences, pushing him hard, dreaming of him pitching in the world series. I just, you know, want there to be a point for us to sit through two games a week besides getting to take pictures of him in catcher's gear (so cute!), and the fact that we paid for him to do this. But I could live with this if it weren't for the whole T-Ball Snack Fiasco of 2008 *cue scary music*.

A couple of weeks ago, it was our turn to bring the snack. Now I should preface this by saying that I have issues with the whole snack thing. Why can't it be like when we were kids, where every once in a while your mom showed up at half time with a bunch of cut up oranges and everyone was happy? Our kids have gotten ridiculous snacks in the past - the 3 course meal snack, the Halloween-came-early-this-year snack, and what I like to call the happy meal snack, where it comes with a toy. Now maybe I'm just being the T-ball Scrooge and I need to lighten up a little, but I refuse to spend 50 bucks or more on the snack. So anyway, we had the snack, and it wasn't horrible - craisins, a granola bar, a fruit roll, and a little bottle of gatorade. A little on the healthy side, but I don't think the kids would have tossed it in the trash on the way home. After the game I went on the field to give it to the kids, and the team mom comes over and stands right in front of me with this big cooler. I asked her what she was doing, we had snack, and she told me not to worry, she just wanted to give something out because she had forgotten to bring snack the week before. So then the kids come over, and she starts handing out her bags-o'-candy and drinks, and Thing 2 ends up being the only kid that takes one of my snacks. The team mom was completely unapologetic, and I was fuming. Thing 2 looked at me with big worried eyes and said, "Mom, I thought we had snack." Sparky kept giving me sideways glances, waiting to see when I was going to explode, but luckily I held it in until we got to the car.