Babe Watch

Snow Day

2012-01-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

Mac is off trying to run a PR at the Cascade Half marathon, but Mother Nature did not cooperate! The kids aren't complaining, though!

Snow angel!

Snow Castle!

Dance Open House

2012-01-02T20:41:00.000-08:00

In December, Megan's dance class has an open house. Megan was better than I expected, but she had to concentrate super hard. She had her tongue out the whole time!

Very Serious!

Nice tongue!

And curtsey.

Christmas

2011-12-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

We had a very merry Christmas once again this year.

We made our pilgrimage to the Oregon zoo lights.

Three turkeys!

We had Christmas in the family room this year and enjoyed some football on our new TV.

But the best part was having family here to spend it with. Grammy and Grandpa came for a long weekend and the Bogardus cousins were here for ten fun filled days!

Luke, 2 3/4, Liam, 4 3/4, Brooke, 5, Megan, 6 3/4

And lots of Christmas morning excitement!

"You've Been Banged!"

2011-11-21T20:41:00.001-08:00

So said the hair stylist to my daughter today. Umm, hello? She's six!! Though she does look WAY older with bangs.

Halloween: A Haiku

2011-11-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

A few years back, I posted a "three act play" for Halloween. I don't have that kind of time anymore, so this year I offer you a haiku instead. It's literary and multicultural, but best of all it can be completed in less than 3 minutes!! And so without further ado...

Goodwill transforms kids
Kind strangers dispense candy
Way too much sugar

Megan wanted to be a cow. "Mom, are you going to sew my costume?" she asked in early September. My first thought was "F*ck, NO!" But instead , I said, "Hmmm, maybe we can look at Goodwill first."

No cow costumes to be found but I did get this cute pink poodle outfit. "Megan, I can take this back if you want me to keep looking for a cow outfit." But she was happy with the pink fluffy suit. As the saying goes, a pink poodle outfit in hand is worth two cows in the bush...or something like that. The collar says Mufti for my grandmother who had a poodle (actually two) with the same name.

Liam wanted to be an astronaut, but he wouldn't wear the helmet. he went around telling people he was a "space dude." Not sure where he came up with that one, but it sure didn't hurt his candy haul. That little charmer talked an extra candy bar out of just about every house! Unfortunately, this space dude was still under the effect of gravity when he stumbled against the kitchen chair earlier and bloodied his nose.

Oh, and those 70 pound pumpkins the kids are sitting on? Yeah, I grew those!! (three big ones in all plus all the little gourds, too). And if you look carefully, you can see our Halloween decor even includes a ghost in the window! BOO!

Fall Fun!

2011-10-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

October 16th was our annual trip to Bauman Farms. Lots of fun for the kids...and maybe the parents, too. Although, Liam didn't think the monster golf was so fun as we dragged him through the muddy corn course.

All the traditional fun, and some new stuff, too.

Getting lost in the blow-up bouncer

Enjoying some cider and goats!

The kids aren't the only ones having fun.

Hey - no spare tires on this family!

They had one more spot in the pie eating contest. Liam stepped right up (so much for wash your face before you eat)

What a sweet face! Some huge boy ate his whole pie in the time it took Liam to eat about three bites, but he had a great time and we all enjoyed the rest of the pie in the garden when it was over.

We also ran all over doing the scavenger hunt this year...I think Megan was pretty disappointed to learn we didn't get a prize at the end (Megan is a little over-obsessed with prizes these days), but it was still fun finding all the answers.

We are already looking forward to next year!

Big Milestones!

2011-10-24T18:27:00.000-07:00

Last week we celebrated the use of parentheses and it looks like we will soon be adding paragraphs to the list!

This was a "top secret" letter to Megan's teacher. I wouldn't have even noticed except Megan said,"Mom! Do Not read this. It is NOT for you!" Which, of course, meant I was sneaking around to see it and then nearly died after I had!

Victoria Marathon Weekend

2011-10-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Pam and I took the kids up to Victoria, BC. It was my third trip to this very beautiful little city on the coast of Vancouver Island. Other than the really long drive and ferry ride on Thursday and then again on Sunday, it was really a splendid weekend. Along the way, we:

Imitated art

Held some really cool bugs

Climbed some humungous trees!

And ran a couple of races.

Pam did awesome (as usual). She completed the half marathon in 1:25 and secured her spot in the "elite" field at the upcoming California International Marathon in December. I didn't have a stellar day but it was a lot of fun. I finished my fourth marathon in 3:50. Not my fastest or my slowest, but considering my injuries and a trip to Europe during this training cycle I'm not upset. Next up for both of us is the Autumn Leaves 50K on October 29th where Pam will be doing her impersonation of Medusa while running and I will be doing my best not to get lapped by her on the 10K loop style course!

Final 2011 Beach Trip

2011-10-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

Way back in January, we purchased a weekend at the coast (Seaside, OR) at the Salem Multicultural Ball's silent auction. This past weekend, we finally got around to using it. We spent Thursday evening and Friday hanging out on the beach as a family:

Then on Saturday morning, Debbie and Ming brought their kids out for the day as well. The kids played awesome together. In between rain showers, the kids:

Had fun on the beach

Watched a movie (or two)

And played a video game (or ten)

Sunday afternoon, we all packed up headed home and got back to reality. It was a nice, but short, little getaway from Salem.

Mom and Dad's Awesome Day

2011-09-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

On Thursday August 29th, Mac and I decided to cash in our Father's Day Groupon for a helicopter flight from Newberg over the Willamette Valley.

Our craft

Ready for take-off!

"We're flying!"

Hovering low

Soaring high

Getting a sneak peak at Heizer Farm's corn maze

After checking helicopter ride off of our bucket list, we decided to check out the candy making monks in Amity. We arrived at a quaint little chapel in the middle of nowhere.

The church had four beautiful stained glass panels depicting monks, but there was a lady in there who was praying and I wasn't sure if snapping photos was in line. So instead, I posed with Our Lady of Consolation.

In Amity, consolation can be found in delectable confections made by the monks. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, we rang the mysterious doorbell, not knowing what to expect. A very solemn guy in plain clothes (and a bit of a mullet) led us into a plain room with shelves lined with goodie boxes. We fairly quickly picked out a pound of fudge, a pound of praline fudge, and a box of truffles.

"Are there ever tours of the chocolate making facilities?" I ask as Mac forks over the cash.

"No," our very chatty attendant responds, and with that, our chocolate purchasing is complete, leaving Mac and I to contemplate whether or not or companion was a monk or not.

Afterwards, we headed off to Blue Goat for a delicious local grown meal.

"All of the main ingredients come from a 20 mile radius" or server tells us as we are munching on a calamari appetizer.

"Really? Where does the squid come from?"

"Umm, not the calamari." Then he sees our hummus. "The garbanzo beans aren't from around here either. But all the meats and vegetables." Though we had a few things that weren't exactly "farm to table" dinner was superb and they have a huge wood fired oven to make yummy fresh bread. I recommend the place highly (even the frozen calamari from California was delicious), but save room for dessert - both offering were to die for! We didn't even have to open our fudge!

Too Cute!

2011-09-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

Need I say more? :)

Second Tooth

2011-08-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

Megan's first adult tooth is growing in nicely, but we don't have to say good bye to that gapped grin just yet. On August 26th out popped tooth #2.

"What do you think the Tooth Fairy will leave me? " Megan asked.

"I don't know but I am so excited to find out."

"Me, too, Mom, but you are being sarcastic and I'm not!"

But everyone was super excited the next morning to find a one dollar bill and a small box of multi-colored sequins from the Tooth Fairy. Gosh, I can hardly wait to find out what Megan will get for tooth #3!

Liamisms

2011-08-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

August 18th was Liam's half birthday and he tried to use it for leverage.

"Mom, how many presents do I get?"

"Mom, can we go to Chuck E. Cheese?"

"Mom, can we make a cake and have ice cream?"

I finally had to put my foot down: "Liam, you don't get anything on your half birthday. Your Mom and Dad give you a hug and say 'Happy Half Birthday!' and that is it."

"Uuurg!!" Liam's frustration mounted. "But it isn't happy if we don't do anything!"

So Unhappy half birthday to Liam, who is now four and a half, but still young enough that life's not fair, especially when Megan gets to do everything and Liam never gets anything. ;)

****

Earlier this month, I was trying to mediate a "discussion" between Mac's parents.

"I don't know why you are getting involved," Mac informed me, "You are playing with fire."

Liam was suddenly interested. "Why are you playing with fire."

And so I explained to Liam that playing is just an expression that means you are doing something dangerous.

After which Liam demonstrates his comprehension: "So when you are playing with knives, you are playing with fire."

Ummm, yeah. :)

There's always lots of silliness when Liam is around.

Emergency Summer Update...By Request

2011-08-09T20:08:00.001-07:00

So what have we been up to in the last 8 weeks since losing a tooth?

We ran through Zion and Bryce,
We earned another buckle (and another Top 10 finish at Western States),
We made a fashion statement,
We learned to play Go Fish
We celebrated the 4th of July with old friends

We got personal with the sharks at the Newport Aquarium

We got clean after a good day at the beach
We celebrated transformation with Team Optimus Prime
We played with cousins We went to the zoo
We were eaten by dinosaurs!

We made magic potions at Timothy Lake.
Went to a wedding
Developed a love for light sabers
and very reluctantly danced with Daddy.

Hope you've been having a good summer, too!

(btw - blogger is possessed; it turns your font blue and underlines things for no reason)

Missing Tooth!

2011-06-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

Megan has been working diligently for the last month to get her first tooth to fall out. Her effort finally paid off - the tooth is out! The tooth was floppy when Megan went to bed and Mac said he knew Megan wouldn't sleep until she got that thing out...he was right!

So tonight the tooth is in the pillow waiting for the Tooth Fairy to come. And I am once again hit by the reality of my little girl growing up. I am also hit by shock as it seems that the going rate for a first tooth is FIVE BUCKS! Are you kidding me?!? Just for minuscule piece of worthless dentin? Man, I wish I had saved my teeth, their value is going up faster than gold!

Aaah, yes, but...

Paying for the first tooth - five dollars

Seeing your child with a gapped tooth grin of pride - priceless

So if you'll excuse me, I think I hear the Tooth Fairy coming.

What Day Exactly??

2011-06-07T20:07:00.001-07:00

Mac has decided that we will be having a 4th of July party at our house this year. (Come on over, you are invited!). Only we are having it on July 3rd because I want to take the kids to a big fireworks show this year. Liam overheard a snippet of the conversation and wanted the scoop.

Liam: Are we having a 4th of July party?

Mac (thinking he is funny): Yes, only it is on the 3rd of July.

Liam: There is no third of July!

Mac: Liam! What day is the third of July?

Liam pauses, gives thought and finally answers: July third.

Mac: Right, Liam! And what day is the 4th of July?

Liam: June 14th.

Memorial Day Memories to be Forgotten

2011-05-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

Memorial day - the unofficial kick-off to summer. Thank God it is unofficial because there is nothing remotely close to summer around here! In my 12 years of Oregon residence, I have grown a pretty good pair of webbed feet and tolerate the wet weather fairly well, but not when it lasts till Memorial Day!! After lasts year's garden fiasco, I vowed to invest the time and energy necessary for Total Garden Awesomeness this year, but unless we get some official summer soon, it ain't gonna happen!

But the weather was just the start of our misery. I got caught in a "be careful what you wish for" moment, early Friday afternoon after spending most of the morning telling people I was hoping we'd get to leave early. Mac called to report that when Liam said he had a tummy ache that morning, he wasn't being his usual overly dramatic self; he really meant it and could back up his claim with profuse vomiting.

Mac could certainly handle a sick kid, but Megan had dress rehearsal for her ballet. So I skeedaddled on home to spend the evening with Mr. Barfy.

Mr. Barfy, the sad heap of protoplasm

On to Megan. Actually, Megan was great all weekend, but I have an issue with a ballet performance being on Saturday night of Memorial Day weekend. Yes, little girls waving their arms and twirling in uncoordinated zeal is undeniably cute (the junior high schoolers doing the same thing, not so much), but come on, couldn't we get this over with on Thursday night and let us have our holiday weekend to ourselves?? I really don't see why we need such a big production, in Salem's biggest theater, for six year olds doing ballet! Wouldn't they be just as cute in the high school auditorium??

Sure she's cute, but this ain't the Russian Ballet!

So Saturday, our afternoon was dedicated to ballet. And puking, because we wouldn't want to leave Liam out. This time I was off to ballet (and post-ballet frozen yogurt), while Mac was rubbing Liam's back every time he dry heaved (because Liam would yell,"You have to rub my back!").

Sunday, Mac completed his second 50k. He had a good time with his friend, but that little pain in his foot wasn't so little when he was done. And while he was gone, Liam was...well, you know. And Megan was moving about the house in panic trying to stay as far away from Liam as possible because it turns out she is a complete vomit-a-phobe and she's break into hysterics every time Liam got within arm's length.

Monday morning, Liam stopped vomiting! Instead there were some, er, other GI issues that had us in the bathroom at least a dozen times, But the saddest part was the little guy's spirit, which was completely broken at that point and he laid lifeless, moaning "It's not fair that I am sick and nobody else is;" "Nothing will ever make me feel better;" and "I am just sick of being sick." LiLi Bear and I stayed home and cuddled while Dad and Megan got to party and ride motorbikes at a friend's BBQ.

Tuesday, Liam seemingly turned the corner. His first words out of bed were,"I am SO hungry." and then he ate four day's worth of food. But Mac's foot woes had escalated and he was off to the doctor's to get checked for a stress fracture after dropping the kids off at work.

We raided the doctor's lounge for food and the kids ate up. As I buckled Liam into his car seat when Mac came back to pick them up, he complained of a tummy ache. "Liam, you are all better now, you are fine," I told him. But he was not so agreeable and neither was his stomach. In a quick move, I got him out of the car just in time to have him empty his stomach right in front of the hospital entrance, with a little splatter on my pants, just for good measure.

Mac's X-ray was negative but he still needs an MRI. "Don't do it while I am working!" - my sympathetic response.

Memorial Day weekend may be the unofficial start of summer, but let's just say, we have higher hopes for the official start of the summer.

Happy As A Lark

2011-05-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

When reading, a frame of reference is always nice.

Mom (reading): ... and the Pokey Little Puppy went to bed as happy as a lark.

Liam: What's a lark?

Mom: A bird.

Liam: Well, How happy are they?

A Sprinkle In Time

2011-03-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

This morning Liam thought I was playing a trick on him when I moved his clock forward an hour. So I explained Daylight Savings as best as I could.

"Is Daylight Savings a special day?" Liam asked me.

"Yeah, well it is kind of special because now it'll stay lighter at night time" I answered.

"But do we get presents?" Liam got right to the point.

"No! You don't get presents for Daylight Savings!!"

"But can we have waffles with sprinkles?" Liam persisted.

"Yeah, we can," I allowed, because Daylight Savings might not be presents special, but I think it is sprinkles special.

Daylight Savings special breakfast: Waffles with Halloween sprinkles (which won out over Valentine's Day sprinkles and Christmas sugar sprinkles)

Snow Day!

2011-02-26T19:47:00.000-08:00

All week we listened to weather reports predicting "snow-mageddon" and "snow-pocalypse" for the Pacific Northwest. Rather than get me worked into a state of panic, the reports made me very glad that I wasn't a meteorologist. I mean, seriously, how f*cking boring does your life have to be if you are sitting around thinking up retarded words to describe a snow-storm?? And then what a let down when snow-mageddon never hits.

But Thursday we did wake up to a light white dust on the ground - not enough to keep me from my 5am run date. But by the end of our 12 miler, we were being pelted by big white flakes. There was enough accumulation that I skidded by our driveway and had to park on the side of the street on my return home. Shortly after, we got the call: Delayed start for schools, but by breakfast our "high elevation" school (about 500') had closed for the day, the only school in Salem that failed to open. That means there was plenty of time for us to go get a "snow-ducation."

Look at those two inches of white doom.

Let the angels save us from the Snow-pocalypse!

Liam, riding his Snow-cat away from the horror of it all.

By 10 am, more precipitation was falling. It looked like snow, but it melted most everything that was on the ground. Kind of like the disappointing ending in Micheal Crichton's Andromeda Strain, our pernicious crisis had mutated itself into a benign situation. Ho hum.

That afternoon we celebrated the clear roads with a trip to the movies. (We highly recommend Megamind for those with kids) . Hurray, we survived Snowmageddon!

Silence

2011-02-17T13:50:00.000-08:00

Lately, we don't hear from Megan as much. She is a reading fiend and has made it through almost all of the Magic Tree House series and Junie B. Jones. Megan is very much like me in that she doesn't like to quit things until she is done, so once she starts she'll usually plow through 70 or so pages before we hear from her again. We aren't the only ones to notice: At school Megan will be joining the first graders once a week for their reading group. Now if only we could find a way to get Liam to sit quietly (besides TV!).

The Gifted And The Retarded

2011-02-16T20:35:00.000-08:00

Every parent thinks they have the smartest kid in the world. "Oooh, little Johnny is so smart, he says,'meow' when he points at the cat!" Yeah, well if Johnny's so smart, why doesn't he point to the feline and say, "Cat" instead of making nonsensical animal noises?? But these are the delusions we grasp firmly as parents, because we have high hopes for our children, the world is their oyster, their life is a blank canvas...yada,yada,yada. No parent ever announces,"Wow, our kid is dumb as dirt. Hey, but we're fine with it, because now we can take the money we have in little Johnny's college fund and buy us a new motor boat!"

Nope, all the little kids in this world are geniuses. Kind of makes you wonder what happens to them between age 2 and 18, huh?

Actually, we all know there are dumb kids out there. If you don't believe me just go hang out at the play park for an hour or so. Uh, Johnny, trying to jump from the picnic table on to the Big Wheel is not such a bright idea. It's just that we are convinced that somebody else's kid is the dumb one, not ours.

But last week we got outside confirmation that we were not living in fantasy land when Megan's teacher sent her home with a TAG application. As parents, all we had to do to prove that Megan was talented and gifted was fill out a three page application.

And so Mac and I joined forces to legitimize Megan's brilliance.

Question 1: Show examples of your child's awareness of time and space.

WTF???

"Ummm. Well. Megan knows how to tell time. " Mac offered.

That didn't seem to fit the examples (yes, at least we had examples).

"Why don't we talk about Megan's interest in maps?" I proposed. And so we filled in that Megan likes maps and understands that they are a representation of larger land masses. And we added that she can tell time just for good measure. You know that feeling when you are taking a test, and you don't know the answers but you start writing a bunch of shit down anyway? Yeah, we were in that mode.

Question 2: How does your child show empathy for others?

"Yeah, this doesn't sound like Megan at all," I started.

"Come on, she has to show some kind of empathy."

"Yeah, I don't think she really does. Liam is the one who is always worried about other people."

"Okay, skip that one. We'll come back to it."

Question 3: Does your child conceptualize spatially when solving problems or doing math?

Okay, now I was starting to get pissed off! "What does that even mean? Is this application supposed to make Megan look smart or is it supposed to make us look retarded??"

Question 4: Does your child make up songs or stories?

Mac chimed in, "Oh, Megan is always writing books!" Maybe we could do this after all!

"Yeah," I countered "but Megan only writes autobiographical stuff. She never makes anything up."

"That should still count," Mac insisted.

"They are asking about imagination. Just writing stuff down is not imaginative."

"Well, don't you want Megan to get into the TAG program?"

"Not if she doesn't belong there! I don't want her to be the dumbest fish in the pond." OMG - this 'test' was sucking IQ points out of my brain!

Finally we got to question 8, the last question, which focused entirely on academic achievement and here it seemed we didn't have enough room on the page to write in our answers. Aaah, our belief in Megan's intelligence was restored! As to us, well, we were still pretty sure that we were retarded.

All I Want For Christmas...

2010-12-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

...is "200 dollars" and a bunch of other stuff, too.

Polar Express

2010-12-10T09:11:00.000-08:00

On December 9th, our family took a ride on the Polar Express. The Mt. Hood Railway transforms itself into the storied train for the holiday season. It is a bit of a haul out to Hood River from Salem, and the drive was made worse by torrential downpours. We were thinking we might need a ride on the Polar Ark instead, it was coming down so hard!

"All Aboard!" - Megan made sure her ticket was good and punched.

The train took us to Santa's Village, where we saw elves working on toys (actually, the factory workers in Hood River wearing elf hats - so awesome!). Then Santa came on board, gave us a bell, we read the story and had some hot chocolate.

It all left Liam a little tired, but we dragged him to the pizza place across the street afterward anyway. You get hungry when traveling to the North Pole!

O Tannenbaum!

2010-11-28T13:33:00.000-08:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving I was on my way home from a 15 mile run with the Gov Cup group. It was a blustery day and as I approached my turn off of Skyline, I spotted a large pine branch blocking the north bound traffic. As I got closer, I realized that it wasn't just a downed branch, but rather a Christmas tree.

I stopped the truck and dragged the tree to the side of the road. Of course, I didn't want to be stealing the tree from some unfortunate family, so I waited by the side of the road for the next ten minutes, but the street was dead; nobody came by.

Woohoo - finders keepers! Free Tree for the Smith family! It needed a good hose down and the trunk was a little wonky, but otherwise, not a bad find. I think it must have fallen off one of the trucks from all the Christmas tree farms down here. Either that, or it really was some poor family's tree and they didn't come back in time to get it. I would feel a little bad about the latter, but what can I say now, except maybe, "Tie your tree down better next year, suckers!"

The kids were so excited we decorated it that afternoon - it was still dripping from its hose-down.
Megan and Liam had very different attitudes toward decorating the tree. I said the ugly ones should go in the back. Every ornament Liam pulled out he thought belonged in the back. Megan wanted all of hers in the front. Even when I would tell her it was an ugly one (I have a lot of ugly ones), Megan would say, "how about we hang it on the side?" So we didn't have much trouble decorating ALL sides of the tree.

Not too bad for free!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T20:57:00.000-08:00

This year I was on call and it was just the four of us at home for Thanksgiving. A very low key day with a few art projects and dinner in our sweats and PJ's!

I am thankful for a great day with the family.

Snow!

2010-11-22T20:49:00.000-08:00

Monday we woke up to a dusting of snow. Poor, snow deprived Liam was so excited,"Oh my gosh! There's a ton of snow!"

Megan wasn't much better: "Can we go build a snowman?"

We settled for making footprints and eating snow off the deck.

Just Beachy

2010-11-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

The first weekend in November, we were very generously offered the use of a friend's beach house in Walport.

The house had an almost eery location, situated right on the dunes, with huge mounds of sand piling up around the walls and doors. But it made for a lovely view.
It also made for great sledding!

Annie and Liam getting good speed

We were joined by our friends Annie, Garrick and Lilian. They thought they were getting a free beach weekend, but really we were getting free babysitting! They kindly watched our kids while Mac and I got in a long run. They seemed to find plenty of things to keep the kids busy out by the beach.

A log fort!

Very cold water!

Megan (5 3/4), Lilian (10 mo), and Liam (3 3/4)

Feel The Love

2010-11-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

Poor Liam!

Halloween

2010-11-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

Halloween was filled with lots of fun...and plenty of sugar!

We made a Halloween gingerbread house. Guess who has been eating the frosting.
We carved pumpkins.

And we went trick or treating!
Megan was a flower fairy. Liam was a fireman. And Mom and Dad got dressed up, too! Mac especially likes how he is promoting peace and I am packing heat!

Proud Megan

2010-10-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

"Mom, I built a big tower. Can you come take a picture of it?"

A Scary Halloween Story by Liam

2010-10-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

"Once upon a time there was a slimy dragon, a witch, a superhero, a fox, a coyote, and a bird and they were all very mean. They ate all the people on Earth and everyone was dead. The End."

The Difference Between Sons and Daughters.

2010-10-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has kids of both sexes can tell you there is a big difference between sons and daughters, but apparently this is lost on Liam.

This week when I got Liam out of bed, I told him,"Liam you are very special to me because you are my only son."

He looked back at me, and without a hint of sadness asked,"Is Megan dead?"

Happiness All Around

2010-10-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

Saying The Unexpected

2010-10-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

There are some things I just NEVER would have guessed I'd be saying:

"Liam, don't lick the windows!"

"Liam, No! You can't vacuum my hair!"

"Liam, don't drink the water off of the shower floor!"

And that was just this week!

Exploring Salem

2010-10-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning of September, I am working four days a week with Thursdays off. This has been a fun way to get in a weekday field trip with the kids.

My first Thursday off, we, um, explored auto-mechanics together as Mac had to jump start the car after Megan's assessment and then take it to the shop for a new battery.

But my second week off, we made our annual pilgrimage to Bauman Farms. I thought this was a genius way to avoid the weekend crowds and indeed the place was empty. What I didn't quite know was that several of the attractions are only open on weekends. Oops - so no bouncy house or zip lines for us! But there were still plenty of doughnuts and fresh apple cider, which are the real reasons we(I) go to Bauman Farms anyway!

A-maze-ing fun!

Gettin' nutty

"Hi, Kris!"

And then this past Thursday, we spent a couple of hours at Wings of Wonder, a butterfly (and reptile) exhibit in Independence.

As an added bonus, we got out for another outing today (Saturday): our first movie in a theater as a family to pass the wet and rainy day. Northern Lights Cinema offers Double "plays" once a month with a short kids play, a movie, and food (pizza, drink and popcorn). The movie was Toy Story 3 and somebody should have warned me that this was going to be such a tear-jerker. Andy goes off to college and I was practically sobbing - "oh my God, my babies are going to leave me!" But other than that (and Liam needing to pee three times) it was all good times.

It has been fun to have an extra day to get out with the kid, and I am loving the stage they are at. It finally feels like we don't have to pack a car's worth of equipment to get out of the house and we can do things as a family that we ALL enjoy!

Getting Multi-Cultural in Salem (Yes, Salem!)

2010-10-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, one of my colleagues invited us to Salem's Multi-Cultural Institute's Ball and silent auction for a free dinner since he and his wife had sponsored an entire table. Seven hundred and fifty seven dollars later (not including babysitting!), it didn't seem so free, but still we had a fun evening.

For some reason celebrating multi-culturalism inspired me to make ethnic jokes all night. First, I teased that I was going to wear my Sari to be ethnic, but instead I wore a regular black dress. And then we got there and there were a few Sari clad women and several of them were white chicks! Ok, now that was a missed opportunity to reuse an old bride's maid outfit!

Total honky couple

Dinner consisted of three buffet stations: Middle Eastern with (awesome) cous cous, lamb, salad, hummus and pitas; Asian with Korean BBQ, cucumber salad and fried rice; and European with spaghetti and rolls. Really?? That's the best they could do to represent European culture?!? I guess they just wanted to make white people look lame so we would focus on all the other cultures, but I was already feeling lame for being in my generic dress.

During the evening there were three performances: an Okinowan dance, some belly dancing, and a performance from the Indian school of dance. I didn't really think of Salem as having much of an Indian population. Anyway, I guess there is enough of an Indian population to support a school of dance and the performance was pretty cool. Not to mention the half naked guy was pretty hot, so that made it easier to appreciate his culture.

Mac and I went a little crazy at the silent auction (on one glass of wine so I don't even have an excuse!) which is how we ended up $757 in the hole. However, we will be enjoying a beach house, a family fun pack, 12 loaves of artisan bread, an air duct cleaning (are you jealous?) and a dinner date -to a Thai restaurant no less, because we wanted to stick to the multi-cultural theme (and because Thai food is good). I also won an Asian shirt in the raffle, which was pretty funny because out of the 50 prizes they raffled away, that would have been #49 on my list. And when I got the shirt, it was a size Medium, which is bigger than I would normally wear. What the heck? I mean, nobody in China is a size medium, right?

All the jokes aside, it was a great night for a great cause. And it made Salem seem so diverse (Go Salem!) As a Euro-mutt, my life has been pretty void of ethnic traditions and celebrations, so I especially appreciated the chance to borrow a little culture (but sadly, not class!) from people in my own community.

New Earrings

2010-09-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

Mamaw came up to visit the week of September 20th, to check on her new house and to watch the kids while Mac was on his Mid-west sports tour with some college friends. At the end of the week, Mamaw bought Megan some "good" earrings, hopefully to alleviate some of the ear pain Megan was having. I think Megan just needed to be told to stop playing with her earrings, but I was out voted by the uber-consumer team of Mac and his mom, so Megan got new 14k gold and garnet earrings.

"Mom," Megan explained to me,"The earrings were 36 dollars. I have 22 dollars so that is almost 36."

"Megan, $22 is not almost $36," I reply, ever the pessimist.

"Yeah. I just need a fourteen dollar bill!"

I love how that is so smart and so naive all at the same time!

School For Liam

2010-09-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

Like Megan, Liam started at Rosedale this year in the preschool class three days a week (Mac was really pushing for five!).

Liam also likes school, but, um, he's not exactly the student that Megan is. Don't get me wrong, he's doing just fine academically. It's just that he'd rather spill paint than learn letters, jump up and down instead of reading quietly, lick toys instead of cleaning up. Basically, he is all boy. What really gets to me and Mac, though, is his "hands on" learning style. All day long he walks through the house: open the oven, close the oven, touch the dishwasher buttons, turn on the lights, turn off the lights, grab the keys, wear my shoes, reset my clock, put on my chapstick, open the cupboards, get out the salad spinner, open the fire gate, play with my pen...He just touches everything and it drives me and Mac INSANE! Other than that, he is a really cute, lovable kid.

Kindergarten!! (Take 2)

2010-09-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

Because of her January birthday, Megan is not old enough for first grade so she is getting another year of Kindergarten, this time at our local public school instead of at Little Red School House.

The year started with an Open House and an Ice Cream Social. We sat in the corner of the gym with our ice cream and managed to be completely asocial! The next day was assessment day.

At the assessment Megan was asked about shapes (nailed them, duh), and asked to count to 30 (she stopped at 200). She had a bit of trouble counting the number of words in a sentence (she only got to listen to the sentence) but because I know my daughter is brilliant, I deduced this was a dumb activity and not really a weakness in my child. ;) Then the teacher wanted to see if the kids could recognize their own names, so she placed a name placard in front of Megan.

"Do you know what this says?" the Teacher asked.

"Stella Pucket*" Megan responded.

"Good," complimented the Teacher. "Now can you point to your first name?"

Megan just sat there with a bizarre look on her face. Mac panicked - he couldn't figure out what the Teacher was getting at and this was supposed to be a Kindergarten test!!

When Megan didn't comply, the Teacher tried again. "Can you point to the first letter of your first name?"

Megan just sat there with the same quizzical look on her face. And Mac was equally perplexed. Finally, Mr. Garcia, the student teacher came to the rescue. "Umm, that's not Stella Pucket. That is Megan Smith."

"But she knew the name!" the Teacher replied.

"Yeah, Megan can read." Mac filled the Teacher in, which earned Megan a second assessment, this time for reading with the principal.

And just to make sure the school was really impressed with the Smith family, our ailing car battery went completely dead so we weren't able to leave the assessment until we got the principal to loan us her car and her jumper cables so that we could leave the premises.

School finally started and it has been great for Megan. They don't seem to be doing much for her academically, but she is enjoying all the new activities like music and group games. And she ate up the "guidance" lesson they got on responsibility.

After the first two days, I asked Megan if she had made any new friends (the entire group is new to her this year).

"Only one," she told me. "Stella Pucket."

*normally, I'd change a kid's name to protect their identity, but Stella Pucket sounds like it is straight out of kiddie lit; it just didn't seem right to change it, you know, for the integrity of the story and all.

Happy Labor Day!

2010-09-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

Everyone was working hard around here on the long weekend.

(To be fair, this was Sunday, and on Monday I got all of the blackberries tied up for next year, something I always feel really good about...once it is DONE!)

One More Summer Trip

2010-09-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

We finished our summer with a nine day trip to Southern California. The main purpose of the trip was to do the Angeles Crest 100 mile Endurance Run, my third 100 miler in a year. But that didn't go very well. Seems I bit off more than I could chew this time around and had a real blow-up, resulting in a DNF at mile 49. You win some and you lose some. I thought most of the course was great (at least the first half!) and plan to get back there sometime to finish what I started, though it won't be next year.

Enjoy the photo of me at the start, because there isn't one of me at the finish!

Though my left knee gave me some issues during the race, it was pretty much back to normal three days later, confirming that the main issue was in my head! But we still made the most of the vacation.

We spent lots of time with Cousin Holden, who isn't so little any more. He may out weigh Liam before he turns one! (that might not be saying much, Liam is a pretty meatless kid who just cracked the 20th weight percentile this year!). And there was lots of swimming. But best of all was a trip to Disneyland! I was kind of regretting our decision to go the Friday before Labor Day, but it didn't get crowded until after dinner. I couldn't believe how empty it was.

I am not sure why, but I think I like Disneyland more as an adult than I did as a kid. And it was great to see my kids so excited, too. Good thing we had so much fun, because that $79 admission price sure stings!

Now why isn't it okay if I put my kids in a cage at home??

Blast off!

We had to separate the kids on nearly every ride so that they could each drive.

Such concentration!

Mr. Hand-sy just had to touch Mickey.

Rocket lady really wanted to pose with us, so we cut Liam out of the photo to include this stranger.

The kids totally rallied until about 8:15, when Liam had a major meltdown and then fell asleep in his stroller before the fireworks show. By that time it was packed and we were pretty much ready to leave. Like Megan, Liam was fine with all the speedy rides, but couldn't handle the scary stuff like the Abominable snowman on the Matterhorn or the witch in Snow White. Liam didn't seem to have a problem with the monsters as long as he had a gun in his hand, which is why we ended up on Buzz Lightyear three times! Megan still covered her eyes at some of these same scary things (Liam, one the other hand, always covered his ears - See No Evil, Hear No Evil...??), but three orbits through Space Mountain now that she is above the height limit.

Saturday it was back to Oregon and time to get ready for Back to School.

Swimming!

2010-09-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

Megan is swimming! Liam still has a ways to go before he'll be independent in the water, but he still enjoys it (as long as the water isn't cold, that is!)

Fun Family Times In Okoboji, IA

2010-08-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

Last week, we went to a family reunion in Okoboji, IA. The main purpose of the trip was to reunite my Grandma (who passed away in November) with my Grandpa (who passed away when I was a freshman in college). Family from all over the midwest would be attending the ceremony, so the family made a week of it. In addition to attending the service, we:

Caught our First Fish

We spent about an hour fishing "3-year-old-style." Dropping a line off the dock and watching the fish swarm around the worm. Both kids caught several of these tiny fish; sometimes they didn't even need the bait! It was great fun to see the kids so excited about catching these tiny fish. Needless to say, we threw them all back.

Hung out with cousins, new and old

Megan and Liam had a great time hanging out with their cousins, Jared, Holden, Jacob, and Lucy.

Exercised and took a few naps

While I didn't watch what I ate (AT ALL) I did manage to get in two medium length runs and do P90X twice also.

Spent some quality time with the family

Even though there were a lot of people to visit with and catch up with, we did manage to eek out a few moments for just the four of us. Treasure Village was a great place to take the kids to see a short musical version of Cinderella and a backdrop of corn is actually a really good place for a family photo.

Had a great time being a kid

I love these pictures of the two older cousins on the trampoline at Arnold's Park on the lake in Okoboji, IA. They really do capture the essence of what being a kid is all about. I had a great time in Iowa. Who would have thought that we'd spend a week there for two consecutive summers.

Oh yeah, and I remembered a few things about fitness and vacations too!

I See Dead People

2010-08-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

The main reason for our trip to Iowa was to reunite Grandma Smith with Grandpa Smith in the family plot. On Friday the 13th, we congregated at the cemetery for a short graveside service. Liam was obsessed with the graves, dying, and what happened to Grandma Smith's bones?

While at the cemetery, we walked around and found the grave of Mac's great grandparents, William and Mabel Ketchen. I covered up the first three letters of William's name and asked Liam if he could say the rest of the letters.

He dutifully read them off,"L-I-A-M."

"Yeah! And what does that spell?" I encouraged.

Liam was quick with his answer: "Dead people."

Liam and Mamaw

2010-08-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

Keeping Busy

2010-07-25T13:54:00.001-07:00

So far, we have had a busy summer.

Mac took the kids to LA in early June.

Then we had 10 days at my parents centered around Western States. My sister's family and my brother were able to join us there for a family reunion 4th of July weekend.

Then my sister was here for a week for lots of cousin fun and chaos with Brooke and Luke.

Mac's sister, 3 week old baby Holden, and mom were up for four days as well.

Not to mention swim lessons, birthday parties, garden time and play dates! - Whew!

A busy life with lots to do means no spare time to blog about it, but I am hoping to catch up soon!

A New Cousin!

2010-07-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

In mid July Auntie Kendall came up to visit with Mamaw and we got to meet three week old Cousin Holden!
Holdin' Holden

Auntie Ken was turning 31 two days after she left, so we had an early birthday celebration with a berry cobbler (putting all of our homegrown berries to good use!).

More Bogardi Fun

2010-07-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

My sister and her kid's came up to Salem for a week in mid July. Lots of cousin fun, and LOTs of messes! Kids will be kids!

Mmmm...s'mores! But aren't you supposed to put them in your mouth and not on your face?

Megan, 5 1/2(almost!)

"I might not get a s'more, but I can still get dirty!" Luke-15 mo.

Easily entertained. Cousins and friend Kyle.

The kids all get along great, but that doesn't mean you can leave them unsupervised for very long, or this is what you may find:

These three all started in the kiddie pool, with bathing suits ON! This is what I came back to after only being gone for a few minutes. Let's call that Vitamin D therapy!

Sarah is now settled in Kentucky, which Megan points out is closer than Washington, D.C., but still not too good for frequent cousin visits. Too bad, as my yard is much more entertaining with naked pixies running around in it!

Braids!

2010-07-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

7/15 - This one is for Great Grandpa Paul. He always loves braids on little girls.

4th of July

2010-07-04T14:04:00.001-07:00

We were at my parents for 4th of July with my whole family. We had a low key day with a BBQ including juicy burgers for Mac.

The kids had been asking for fireworks, so we looked on-line and saw that the Indian Casino five minutes from my parents house was having fireworks at 9:00. So we loaded all the kids in the car and drove over. We got an amazing front row parking spot right in front of the stage. We couldn't believe our luck...maybe it was too good to be true. Didn't it seem odd that the parking lot was pretty empty?? A quick inquiry with security revealed the problem: the casino couldn't get permits due to the high fire risk.

"The fairgrounds have fireworks at 9:30," he offered. It was 9:18 and the fairgrounds were 15 minutes away, but we had three pre-schoolers expecting fireworks!

Mac sped through the backroads. We were looking for parking as the first BOOM! sounded over-head. So we turned on the hazards, double parked the car, and watched from the sidewalk right there.

Crisis averted...except we now had two 3 year olds that needed to pee "very badly." Liam was happy peeing on a tree, but Brooke is a bit more refined. Three stops later we finally found a place with a toilet she could use!
***
Three years of Smith July 4ths:

Grammy's House

2010-07-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

We drove down to my parents' house Wednesday before Western States. We left the kids there for the weekend while I went off to run. After WS, were spent a week recovering at Grammy's. There was lots of swimming and golf cart time. My sister's family arrived on Saturday for 4th of July along with my brother and then things really got crazy!

Luke 15mo, Liam 3, Brooke 3 1/2, Megan 5

Eat Your Carrots

2010-06-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

Two nights ago Liam was eating all of the little carrot pieces out of the rice from Muchas Gracias. So tonight Mac decided to add cooked carrots to our menu - steamed with a little bit of brown sugar.

I pretty much only eat carrots cooked to a mush and pureed either into a soup or a sauce, but if it meant my kids would eat more veggies, I would play along and eat a few bites of orange dirt-root, too (well, after slipping half of my serving onto Mac's plate).

Both kids immediately declared the side dish "disgusting." Mac told them he wouldn't make carrots again (hurray!) but they each had to have three bites tonight.

Megan ate hers with a grimace, but few complaints, but Liam wouldn't touch his. So Mac gathered all three small bites on a fork and shoved then into Liam's mouth. His initial response was to spit them out but we told him he couldn't.

So he sat there with his mouth open, carrots exposed for the next five minutes. We told him to chew; he made one mash and started to scream. We gave Liam some milk and told him to wash them down. He drank all the milk but held the carrots in his cheek. We implored him to swallow. He closed his mouth for a second and then made a little gag - the carrots were still in his mouth.

"Liam, just swallow the carrots!" Mac ordered. Liam closed his mouth and made a little swallow, followed by a burp and big up-chuck of carrots and partially digested milk all over his shirt and table, thus ending the battle of the carrots and our dinner.

Liam 1, carrots (and parents) 0.

We have all agreed that carrots no longer have a place on our dinner menu.

11 Years

2010-06-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

A night out at Andaluz for our anniversary.

LA Trip

2010-06-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

Mac took the kids to his parents for the week to visit. The kids especially like getting to play with cousin Jared. Mac is trying to turn them into baseball fans at a young age, so last night the kids went to their first Major League game. Go Dodgers!

Li'l Swimmers

2010-06-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

Swim lessons were a high priority for this spring. In three sessions, Megan went from being a little timid about getting her face wet to being able to jump off the diving board and swimming to the side completely by herself as she climbed the ranks from Pike to Eel to Ray.

Liam...well, Liam is very cute. He likes to splash and play but he hasn't been able to graduate from the Pike class because he won't willingly put his face in the water. In fact, when the teacher told him he had to go under enough to get his forehead wet, he grabbed the side of the pool and leaned backwards till his forehead was under but his face was still high an dry. Hey, he did do what he was told and you've got to give him points for cleverness!

Hopefully, a summer of splashing is all he needs to get over his fear.

Memorial Day Ballet

2010-06-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

Who in the world would schedule a kids' event on Saturday night of Memorial Day weekend, essentially removing all hope of getting out of town for the holiday?? Discovery School of Dance, that's who!

But it was hard to be too upset when I saw my gorgeous princess all dressed up for her first ballet recital.
The whole thing seemed a little over the top for a bunch of five year olds, but Megan loved it. I felt like a wanna-be beauty pageant mom, caking make-up and hairspray all over my young innocent little girl. But we were given specific instructions: "Put enough make-up on them so they look like a hooker." Awesome, just what every mom wants - her daughter to look like a prostitute before she can even ride a bike.

We celebrated her five minutes on stage with flowers and ice-cream, which should guarantee that we will be doing the same thing next Memorial Day weekend.

Isn't my little hooker-ballerina beautiful!

Our Graduate

2010-05-28T21:32:00.000-07:00

Megan has attended the Little Red School House for the last three years, first as a pre-schooler and this year in their kindergarden class (their last year). Memorial Day weekend marked the end of school and "graduation" from kindergarden.

Teacher Bethany, Megan and her ill-placed diploma.

The irony is that Megan will be repeating kindergarden in the public school next year because she is not old enough for first grade. Sadly all of her friends will be moving on. But in the end we think it will be good for Megan's social confidence when she is no longer six months younger than all of her peers. So we are looking forward to another great year of kindergarden next year.

Enchanted Forest

2010-05-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the end of the School Year, Little Red School House took a trip to Enchanted Forest. Just like pretty much every day this May, it was wet and dreary, but that didn't stop the kids from having fun.

Megan, second from left.

Don't they look excited??

Mac teaches the kids how to ride the Frog Hopper. Oooh, Honey, you are SO brave!

Stay At Home Mom

2010-05-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

On May 14th, Mac left for a 10 day fishing trip in Alaska with JD. That left me in the role of single parent and stay at home mom. This is not my typical role, something that must've worried Mac a bit so he left me an itinerary of the kids activities so I wouldn't screw up too badly.

Anxious to prove my super mom status and to support a local event, our Dad-less family headed to Riverfront park for the official re-opening of the Union Street Bridge. The free event was a great one for the kids. They got a passport and we travelled around the park to nine different areas collecting stamps (and treats).

It was a gorgeous day to be out walking in the park. And the kids were getting along so well.

Yeah, it is all hugs and smiles, all day every day...NOT!

The bridge, now with a new lead free finish!

Collecting stamps. Megan refused to ask the lady at the first stop by herself, but Liam was all over it. Then Megan complained that it wasn't fair that Liam got to go first.

Stop #4: The Tom McCall statue. Kind of looks more like Tom Sawyer.

The Acid Ball. The kids got Tootsie Rolls at this stop. Then the old lady says,"I have something for you, too, Mom." and then she hands me a free pen! Now that isn't fair. I thought about punching her in the nose and stealing the bag of Tootsie Rolls, but I figured that wouldn't be a very good example of the "No Hitting" rule in our household. So instead I told the kids they had to share. So many great lessons in just one little stop.

The Pavilion stop had cookies and lemonade, which even the adults could have so we hit this stop twice.

The whole loop was over a mile and a half, so the kids got a little tired of walking. We stopped at the park so they could run, jump and climb, in order to give them a rest.

The last stop on the passport was the Carousel and the completed passport earned us a free ride. For the first time ever, I rode a horse instead of standing next to Liam to make sure he didn't fall off.

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful. I was pretty sure most stay at home moms must be closet alcoholics, but I wasn't even tempted by the liquor cabinet once. In fact, the week was great fun and I really enjoyed having so much time to spend with the kids. I even got them to school on time! Of course, they were super excited to have their Daddy back and I was excited to get to use the bathroom by myself for the first time in ten days!

Easter

2010-05-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

Sure Easter was four weeks ago, but Easter is a weird holiday with the timing so dependent on the lunar cycle. So this is really the moon's fault, because if the moon had been more co-operative this post would have been right on time!

Anyway, Saturday morning we headed to the local church for the Easter egg hunt. The day was off and on stormy, but with me stepping into a church it was amazing lightning didn't strike! This particular hunt has many great qualities, namely it is close, it is free, it has donuts, and it has the highest egg density I have ever seen! The church was a little chintzy with the chocolate this year, but times are lean, so I will forgive them.

I tried to find a donation box to slip some money into to assuage my guilt for crashing this Christian shin-dig, but there was none to be found. I even asked someone about it, but he waved me off and suggested I come to the Easter service instead. Fortunately, God knows it is the thought that counts.

The hunt started a little late, so we had been standing out in the bone chilling cold for about 25 minutes before they got moving and Liam was really complaining about the cold. Maybe if the kid had an ounce of body fat instead of hanging out in the 10th percentile for weight, this wouldn't be such an issue.
Anyway, the hunt set off and Megan ambled around, picking up an egg, walking 20 feet, picking up another, and then walking off to another corner for one more egg, when 20 eggs could have been had just by standing in one place and throwing all the eggs within reach into the bag. Liam picked up about six eggs, and then said they were "too chilly to pick up" but I told him to pick up two more and then threw a couple into the bag for him because I didn't want my kid to be the only loser who couldn't get to a double digit accumulation. We warmed up by eating another complimentary donut.

When we got home, we took off all of our wet, soggy clothes and the kids got into their Easter finest for some egg dying.

All decked out for Easter eggs

While in the appropriate garb, we proceeded to make cookies, because the kids would not have gotten enough sugar if we didn't make baked goods. I don't really get the whole cookie cutter thing. I mean, why go to all that trouble for something you know you are going to burn your tongue on because you are going to eat them before you even give them a chance to cool? Fortunately, I have mad MacGyver skills that can one up Martha any day. I smashed the Pilsbury loaf (what you don't think we made cookies from scratch do you?) into an oval shape, and sliced egg cookies for the kids to decorate. Ta-dah!

The oven had the last laugh, because the cookies kind of came out round instead of oval. The kids didn't seem to notice.

Sunday, the bunny left lots of eggs for the kids to find and Easter baskets. The eggs had candy, but the Easter baskets had non-candy treats, including juice boxes, fruit snacks (those are practically candy!), yogurt covered pretzels and dried fruit. My poor kids with their health crazed parents are barely getting an adequate portion of refined sugar and red-dye #5.
And then the last hurrah: The Treasure Hunt! This is what Easter is all about. And now that Megan can read, the Easter Bunny was able to send the kids running all over the house chasing clues, making them "look in the dryer" in "look on the refrigerator" while Mac and I sat in the living room drinking coffee.
But never fear (for my soul), because I did learn Earth shaking religious info this Easter. Did you know that the Immaculate Conception had NOTHING to do with Jesus! Nothing! I was so shocked by this I actually spent some of Easter reading about it and not just the Wikipedia article (although that was the majority of it). Now anytime somebody makes an immaculate conception joke, I will laugh - not at the joke but instead at the joke teller's heathen ignorance!

It was a very good Easter, indeed.

Great Wolf Weekend

2010-05-02T23:08:00.000-07:00

Oops. Just realized I never posted this. We went up to Great Wolf Lodge for the weekend of April 24-25. It is a humongous hotel in BFE, well BFW (Washington) anyway.

We played for hours on Saturday and then had bedtime songs from a singing tree in the lobby. Sunday Mac did it all again while I turned into a race gremlin. Then just to make sure we were fully pickled with chlorine, we spent the rest of Sunday evening in the water park.

The kids had a fantastic time and were getting pretty brave at the end. I think this will be Megan's year to learn to swim!

Awesome Weekend!

2010-05-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

Like many other weekends, this one mostly revolved around running, but this time, not mine!

The kids did the Awesome 3000 on Saturday and Mac rocked his first marathon, clocking a 3:46 in Eugene! More details here.

Ready to run!

Liam cheers Megan on and keeps hoping for a high five.

Mac and his finisher's medal

I am pretty sure the marathon robbed Mac's brain of necessary glucose, because he was WAY to excited about the space blanket: "These things are amazingly warm!"

Accidents Happen

2010-04-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Liam came home from school in a foreign outfit.

"Liam, how come you are wearing new clothes?" we asked him.

"I had a little accident," he told us.

"What happened?"

Liam explained, "I was splashing in the toilet and I fell in."

Megan Writes a Post (Because She Has BIG News)

2010-04-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

this is megan typing. I can tie my shoes now.
.

My Kind Of Competition

2010-04-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

I as a graduate of Temple University Medical School, I get all of the alumni e-mails. Temple University (originally Temple Baptist) was the first college in the country to offer night courses as a way to educate the working class and so the mascot is very appropriately an owl. I just learned that the Owl's name is Hooter.

Many of you parents are probably familiar with Flat Stanley, a boy who was smooshed flat and gets mailed around the world.

Well, apparently Temple is doing a little take-off on this called the "Flat Hooter Competition." I kid you not! And my e-mail was dated April 9th, NOT April 1. Trust me I checked.

If anybody could win a "flat hooter" contest, it would definitely be me!

More Fishes

2010-04-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

The kids are learning to swim (about time!).

I love this one - just wish the teacher wasn't in the background.

Chlorine sanitizes wounds, right? (Check out Liam's lip).

The attentive students. The first girl on the left looks like she might be more of a teacher's pet than Megan.

Happy swimmer!

Mac is happy, too. Why? Because this is the first swim class where he doesn't have to get in the water, too.

El Mustachio

2010-04-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

No, it wasn't costume day at school. Liam split open the top of his lip falling from the couch to the coffee table. Mac immediately started to panic saying we needed to take him to see a doctor. Ummm, HELLO! There's a frickin' doctor IN THE HOUSE! Oh, sure, I haven't always been the best resource, but any idiot can treat a cut!

After convincing Mac that my boy would only be getting stitches for this micro-cut with a court order, I taped up Liam's lip nicely. This made Liam start howling all over again because he "hates tape" and he "really needed a Scooby-Do band aid." Fine, but what does it take to get a little respect around here, huh? So against medical advice, our little runt went to school like this on Monday:
All of the pre-K chicks swoon for a toddler with a mustache!

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

2010-03-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Megan announced she wanted a fish. I am not sure where she got this idea, but it didn't seem to fade with time. Since this seemed WAY better than any fur bearing pet she could have suggested, I agreed she could have it if she paid for it. That was no deterrent at all, because Megan is RICH. You see, Mac has an intense aversion toward using change. In fact, the only reason our floor isn't two inches deep with coins, is because Mac pays for almost everything with credit card (don't worry finance friends, we pay it off every month). Instead Mac gives his pocket change to Megan, who's piggy bank has eaten over $60 in the last three years!

So last weekend I took the kids out on a little fishing expedition. First we hit up Goodwill for a bowl ($2.99 as opposed to $12.99 at the pet store) and then it was off to Petco. On the way, I said we could get two goldfish for Megan's bowl so Liam could have one, too.

We checked out all the pets and then moseyed over to the fish tanks. When I inquired which goldfish would do okay in a bowl, he told me none of them; even goldfish need aquariums. Really only Bettas would work for a bowl.

Bettas are also known as Asian fighting fish. They live in the rice paddies in Thailand. We did (safe and non-harmful) experiments with them in my college Animal Behavior class, where we put the bowls of two fish next to each other or up to a mirror and recorded what the fish did. We then had to draw conclusions about the aggressiveness of the fish (red vs. blue; male vs female; self vs. other). It was SO boring. I can't remember anything about it except my paper had the same title as this post. So I wasn't really thrilled to buy Bettas. But Megan and Liam, thought they'd be great. And since I already promised Liam a fish we had to get two. At least the price was right: $2.99, and Megan paid for Liam's, too. With the fish food, we ended up with a bill around $13, which we paid for in change, much to the delight of the cashier.
No way was I buying another bowl, even if it was Megan's money. So Liam's fish gets to hang out in a nice vase. The pebbles and glass are from my green house and art supplies, respectively. I come from a family of master recyclers (aka cheapskates)!
So now we are a family with two kids, two cats, six chickens and two Bettas (and about 50 pond goldfish). Quite a zoo!

(Forgot to mention that our fish are named Magnolia and Otis!)

Nearly As Old As The Dinosaurs

2010-03-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

Last week Megan helped explain dinosaurs to Liam:

"Liam, all the dinosaurs are dead. They died before any people were born, even Mom and Dad."

Medium Liam Turns Big

2010-03-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

Megan convinced Liam he had to be three before he could be called a BIG boy, but he didn't like it when Megan called him little. So for the past month Liam has dubbed himself "Medium Liam."

But on Feb. 18 Liam made it to the BIG time: his third birthday! (how do I get so far behind on this thing??). Unlike Megan's b-day, we had a very quiet celebration: dinner at home with Mamaw. But why would he even notice who was missing when he had this awesome Lightning McQueen cake?The green gel icing didn't work at all for the eyes; it kept dripping, but over all I was pretty pleased with my handy work. Besides there were the not too subtle plate and napkin hints to clue you in to what the cake was supposed to be.The kids got all excited for presents and THEN we gave them more sugar!
Liam enjoyed a special phone call from Auntie Al before trying out all the new stuff, like a remote control car and a scooter!
So now Liam has graduated to Big Boy. However, he still throws a fit when I try to call him "hombre." Maybe when he turns four.

Megan's Idea For Peace In Oregon

2010-03-02T19:04:00.000-08:00

Megan and Liam are starting to understand Oregon football. "Why do some people like the Ducks and some people like the Beavers?" Megan asked me. I tried to explain about schools and cheering for your alma matter, but Megan still seemed perplexed as to why we had to choose sides. No worries, she knew just the solution:

"If you were a platypus you could root for the Ducks or the Beavers!"

Instead of segregating into Ducks and Beavers, why don't we Oregonians come together as platypuses? or should that be platypi?? I can hear the cheers now:

Listen to the thunder
of the mammals from down under.
We'll smack you with our web-foot legs,
And bomb you with our quizzical eggs.
With our beaver tail
We can not fail!
So hear the cry from our duck bill:
The platypi are here to kill!

Yeah...it's not working for me either. I guess we are better off sticking with the Ducks and the Beavers.

Deep Thoughts For Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T19:31:00.001-08:00

Megan is done with napping, but to preserve adult sanity and to allow for my weekend nap, Megan is still required to spend some "Quiet Time" in her room each afternoon. Mostly she reads. Last week she busted out the blocks and went crazy building a castle. But for Valentine's Day today, Megan contemplated love on the dry erase board on her door:

Avoiding The Mid-Life Crisis??

2010-02-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

Monday was Mac's birthday. I celebrated by getting a crown. No, not a party crown (or a tiara for the bedroom with nothing else on, like the kinky moms in Megan's dance class suggested!). Nope, I was getting a shiny new crown for my cracked back molar. The dentist office said they would e-mail me the photo of the tooth, so I could show off my misfortune to the blog world, but they didn't come through.

Anyway, with a new tooth, we figured the best thing to do would be to go out to eat! So we went to a local bakery/eatery where Mac indulged in a SALAD, while the kids had blueberry pancakes (for dinner) with mounds of whip cream. That counts as a nutritious meal, right?

Mac had told me NO CAKE, but I came up with the perfect compromise: a mini cup cake from Bakery D'Amour, which Mac agreed was the perfect size. But even with five of those little suckers, it was a challenge getting 36 candles on there! (they are normally $1 each, but they had a special 5 for $3.95. I was willing to sacrifice and eat another one to save a nickel).

If the food choices didn't clue you in, let me just say Mac is a changed man! He has truly embraced the Get Fit Slowly Lifestyle. He's starting his 36th year lighter than our wedding day and he's taken to running. Not just a little - a lot. He's got his first marathon scheduled for early May! He's got less than 5 pounds to go to get to his goal weight. This is really exciting for me, because it will be skinnier than I have ever seen him. But more importantly, he grew the beard so that he could shave it off, a la Biggest Loser style transformation and I am ready to see the end of that ridiculous thing!

Happy Birthday, Mac! You're looking good, old man!

Awwww

2010-02-02T21:16:00.000-08:00

Hey, Turkey!

2010-02-01T21:18:00.000-08:00

There's a wild turkey that's been wandering around down by the Creekside golf course the last few weeks. But this is no ordinary birdbrain; he had the smarts to show up right after Thanksgiving and Christmas were over!

Birthday Bash

2010-01-31T20:16:00.000-08:00

Megan's party was a mass of screaming girls in fancy dresses...just what Megan wanted.

Megan wanted to wear her fancy dress from Auntie Al, but we convinced her she didn't have to have a princess party to do this - so we had a My Little Pony Party, with a request in the invitation to "Wear a Party Dress!" My general rule has been one invite per year of age, but I learned that social politics start early and not wanting to ostracize anyone, we sent out seven invites and all RSVP'd yes.

The party started calmly with some coloring. Then we moved on to pin the tail on the donkey (which is kind of like a pony, right?), where I awarded the prize to a girl who cheated because I didn't know the right way to deal with the incident involving somebody else's kid in a roomful of their peers - more of that 5 year old politics stuff!The calm before the storm

Then the girls all got to decorate their own mini-cupcakes. This activity is a big hit, plus I didn't have to spend any time decorating a cake with horseshoes and pink unicorns and other Pony things.Then, to make sure the girls were good and sugared up we had the Pony Pinata! This was a special safety pinata where everyone pulls a string and the pinata breaks open, thus removing the danger of some kid getting bashed in the head from another blindfolded youngster who is wildly swinging a big stick (ask my sister about the chick she took out at her party with a metal baseball bat one year!). Well, guess what? Some kid got bashed in the head! Ok, maybe not quite that serious, but one girl made a dive for the first piece of candy when all the rest of the candy fell on her head - very traumatic to a five year old!

Beware of the Pony in the rafters!
Blissfully unaware of impending tragedy.

Then on to the gifts, where all the girls fought over having Megan open their gift first. What is the deal with that, anyway?
So it was a full agenda of activities...except...Uh, oh! Crap - all of the planned activities were done and we still had 35 minutes to kill before pick-up time when we could be done with Pink Pony's for the day. So it was back downstairs for some "free play" and another round of pin the tail on the donkey. Yeay!

At one point, I went up to the bathroom. I didn't really need to go, but it seemed like the best way to get away for a couple of minutes. The clock in my room said 4:15 as I left. I walked slowly back down the hall and the thermostat clock said 4:13. Oh, my God - time was literally moving backwards! But I made it through the last 15 minutes just fine and all the Moms were on time, which is good because if they had been late their kid would have been off the list for next year - politics be damned! ;)

Ok, yes, it was a lot of chaos, but it was fun, too especially because I don't get to be involved in a lot of these multi-kid events with my job. And Megan got some great gifts. In fact, I was inspired to get a haircut the next day, because I was a little embarrassed that Polly Pocket had a much cuter 'do than me.You better watch it, Polly. You may have stylish clothes, perky boobs, and cute hair, but this is still my house, and I can ship you off to Goodwill anytime I've had enough of your fashionista ways!

Happy Birthday, Megita.
Love,
Your Un-stylish Mom

Meg-o Turns Five!

2010-01-22T21:01:00.000-08:00

Today was a big day: Megan turned five! She was super excited all day long but that may have been because she was totally hopped up on sugar, as we started the day with M&M pancakes (with whipped cream, of course), then there was birthday cupcakes and a pinata and after dinner there was an encore of cake and more candy.

At bed time, I gave my special BIG girl an extra hug and she was still brimming with excitement.

"Hey, Mom, you wanna know something cool?" she asked me. And of course, I did.

"Only 52 more weeks until I turn six!"

The New Year

2010-01-17T21:02:00.000-08:00

We were fortunate to have babysitters (Mac's parent's) staying with us on New Year's Eve, sowe got to go out and be adults. We had dinner with some friend's for a 9 o'clock reservation and I don't think any of us had intentions of making it to midnight, but after several courses we were winding up our meal just after 11:30 and we figured we were too close to call it quits. Plus the restaurant started handed out free champagne, so why would we leave?? We've celebrated at our house or other people's houses and stayed up till midnight on New Year's, but I can't remember the last time I was actually out on the town for the big night. Yeah, I guess we are pretty lame, but look at us turning over a new leaf for 2010!

That Sunday after New Year's (Jan. 3), I decided to find out if we could go to Zoo Lights over MLK weekend. Good thing I checked, because that was the last day! So we bundled up the kids and headed to the zoo after nap. We got there around three and pretty much saw everything in the zoo before the lights came on at 5.
Liam made friends with a penguin (you can kind of see it in Liam's reflection). Liam wanted to talk to him and the penguin was very attentive, but mostly because he wanted to eat Liam's fingers!

We also checked out the new lion exhibit. Not sure if you can tell, but Mac is growing a bit of a mane himself. Just call him Captain Red Beard, Arrgh!

And of course, we didn't leave without riding the train.
Happy 2010!

Christmas At Last!

2010-01-17T20:26:00.000-08:00

We spent the week of Christmas down in Southern California. The week started with a beautiful memorial tribute to the life of Grandma Smith, who finally succumbed to her melanoma. She was an amazing lady who touched the lives of many.

Later in the week we took the kids to Kidspace, to hang out and play. Lots of great exhibits and all my kids wanted to do was ride the tricycles! Ok ,we did get a bit of climbing in, too.At the top! You can't really tell, but this is us at the top of the three story high glass platform climb. Each step was like a large, transparent drum surface.

Christmas Eve was a raucous gathering as usual. Lots of rowdy cousins and after 2 bottles of Jagger, lots of Rowdy adults, too. I was so wired from all the Red Bull (House specialty=Jaggerbombs) I was up till 3 am! Or maybe I was just excited to see Santa!
The ornament tradition is still holding strong, only lots of people bring hideous ornaments now, including this gaudy peacock feather insect. But when it was my turn to choose, I asked megan if she thought we should steal the cute snowman, but she had other ideas: "Oh, Mom, can we please get the butterfly?" Yeah... we can get the butterfly...Merry Christmas! Add that to Megan's new princess dress and we had true couture fashion on our hands!

Christmas morning brought a whole new round of excitement:

Fireman jackets and boots,
Dora band-aids,
and the coveted Snuggie!
And then just some post-holiday, snuggling.

Ready Or Not!

2010-01-13T15:01:00.000-08:00

Christmas Is Coming!

2010-01-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

Eventually, I plan to put up some Christmas photos from our trip to So. Cal at Christmas, it just hasn't been a high priority.

Kids Say The Darndest Things

2010-01-04T19:18:00.000-08:00

Mac's parent's were up visiting and signing papers to build their new house last week. Mamaw (Mac's mom) came up with lots of new intriguing beauty products.

Megan: Can I have some of your lotion?
Mamaw: No, its only for adults.
Megan: What does it do?
Mamaw: It gets rid of wrinkles.
Megan: But it's not working.

The Birds And The Bats

2009-12-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, Megan and Liam came running upstairs after watching a TV show: "Guess what?!? A bird got in our house and is flying around?"

Mr. Incredulous asks back, "A real bird?"

"Yeah, there's a real bird in our family room!!" they yell excitedly.

So we go down stairs to check. Mac sticks his head into the room to look. Just as I get a quick glimpse of a flitting animal, Mac screams like a little girl and pulls the door shut quickly. "It's a BAT!"

Ok, now just imagine a huge blood sucking rabid bat doing circles in our family room... This was nothing like that. We had a teeny-weeny flying rodent trapped downstairs and our adrenaline was flowing.

"Just open the outside door and let the bat fly out," I say. Mac agrees that this is genius, that is until he realizes the door is locked and can't be opened from the outside. Finally realizing that he needs to grow a pair, he agrees to dart across the room and open the door, which he does with amazing expertise for such a complicated task.

We close the bat in, with the only otion for leaving the room to go outside, which it eventually does and order is restored to our little house in the country.

***
Thursday Megan says to me with longing, "I wish someone would bring us a baby birdie."

I don't what she is talking about, so I ask if one of her friends got a baby birdie.

"No!," She tells me,"like the song!"

"Megan, What are you talking about?!?"

"You know the Christmas song: Oh bring us a baby birdie, Oh bring us a baby birdie, Oh bring us a baby birdie and bring it right now."

I explained it was 'figgy pudding' but I think I'd rather have a baby birdie, too.

Soccer Studs

2009-12-11T05:49:00.000-08:00

Megan and Liam had a soccer trial. Megan loved it and will be honing her soccer skills for the next 7 Wednesday afternoons. Liam may need to develop and grow just a bit more before joining the class, but he did have a bit of fun kicking the ball around in a highly uncoordinated fashion.

Heeee's Back!

2009-12-10T02:41:00.000-08:00

Ok, so do you remember our "Poltergeist" ?

Well, our new pendant lights had been up for less than two weeks, when we came home to this scene:

A plastic hook inside the light just mysteriously broke. Fortunately, the lamp didn't hit anything on the way down so the glass didn't shatter. Lowe's replaced the light for free (we did not disclose our paranormal situation but instead claimed that the light was faulty). Kendall says ghosts don't like new things...she may be on to something! (BTW - can you see the "ghost" in the window reflection??)

Real Thanksgiving

2009-12-09T05:30:00.000-08:00

Megan's school had a big Thanksgiving celebration on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Not only was there a big feast, but everyone got to dress up as Indians!

Now instead of having a nice white pillowcase that I can use for guests, Megan has a tattered rag dress with petroglyphs all over it!

Since we had already done the family thing, we had another Salem family over for Thanksgiving day. It was their son's 5th birthday, so for dessert we had the proper melding of the two events: a pumpkin spice birthday cake!

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

A Week Of Family Celebration

2009-12-08T04:50:00.000-08:00

Early in November (8th-14th), my sister's family and my parents were here for a week long celebration.

We started things off the first night with a belated 3rd birthday bash for Brooke (mid-October).

The next night the adults hit the town, while Grammy and Grandpa spent quality time with the kids. We all went wild and had one mixed drink, which we all agreed was our current limit. Parenting has crippled our livers!!

The following day we were on to Thanksgiving! Because of an incoming storm we decided to go out and enjoy our new fire pit before dinner. What says "Holiday" better than s'more appetizers?!

I got to simultaneously enjoy some of the good things in life: beer, a s'more, and a cute baby that I don't have to take care of when he cries!

Then it was on to the feast. We had full Thanksgiving fixings: maple glazed turkey, salad, stuffing, squash, potatoes (homegrown!), and pumpkin ice cream (which won the vote over pumpkin pie by a large margin). It was just like the real thing, but without football (it was Tuesday).

"What's a guy gotta do to get some turkey around here?"

Liam was thankful for more men in the house to share his love of trucks and tractors.

Veteran's Day is my sister and bro-in-law's actual anniversary, so we sent them out for another night on the town.

And then, Thursday we were ready for Christmas! We even had a tree and everything. ;)

And we posed for the obligatory family photos. Yet again, Megan ended up in a sundress for Christmas.

We had another great dinner, this time with prime-rib from our own pasture! You can see it was very different from the Thanksgiving celebration, because we wore red and got out Christmas napkins and plates.

About five minutes in to dinner the kids were clamoring to open gifts.

"presents! presents! presents!"

Finally we let them have at it.

The night concluded with a little downtime on the couch.

It was a great visit with lots of cousin fun. We wish we could do it more often.

So Much To Be Thankful For

2009-11-25T11:32:00.000-08:00

On the eve of Thanksgiving, I asked Megan,"What are you thankful for?"

Megan replied,"Well, do you want to know what I wrote on my paper for school?"

Once we established that her school paper addressed my original question, I affirmed that I did.
'
"Well," she said,"I wrote I am thankful for Mommy and Daddy and my cats.'"

"Aren't you thankful for your brother, too?" I asked.

"Yeah, I am," Megan responded, "but I didn't think of that at school."

Happy Thanksgiving. May you be thankful for too many things to think of.

Qeen Pam

2009-11-20T14:06:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day. I turned the projector TV on and off using the universal remote control. Megan taught me how to do it. And I got a package in the mail from someone who read my running blog and decided to send me some free gear. Also, I got to star in one of Megan's "stories." She writes a couple of these a day now. She only asked for help with the word "beautiful."

Here it is in case you are having trouble reading her "riding" (as she wrote in another composition):

Once upon a time
there
was
a beautiful
qeen
named
Pam
and
she
loved
to run and one
day
she
went
into the forist
and she got
lost in the forist
the end.

At bedtime I asked her to tell me a story. She said she didn't know any stories. I said but you write lots of stories everyday. She told me,"But I can write stories better than I can say them." The funny thing is, I know exactly what she means.

Halloween, A Three Act Play

2009-11-08T06:13:00.000-08:00

Act 1 - Bauman Farms

(Mom and the kiddos spend the day (Oct. 4) at Bauman Farms. There is much merriment, perhaps with the exception of getting lost in the dark maze)

Megan (diving in): Liam let's pretend we are swimming in the nuts!
Liam: Mom, We're swimming.

Liam: This is a huge-hugie.

Random Stranger: How old is your son? (after his third time going down the zip line by himself).
Mom: Two and a half.
Random Stranger: Wow! And you aren't worried he is going to fall off?
Mom (thinking to herself): And you aren't worried about minding your own business??

(later in the day)
Megan: Mom, can we ride those cars?
Mom: (not wanting to pay an extra $3): No, but you can have donut holes!
(Cheering all around)

Apple lady (to Megan): Honey, you can't touch them all! Now I have to throw these ones away!

(More sliding, running, and jumping before we all go home completely worn out)

Act 2 - EZ Orchards
(The Smiths make the annual family trip to EZ orchards (Oct. 16) with Little Red Schoolhouse. The downpour subsides right as the haywagon is loading up)

Michelle, the school director: Oh, I have to get a picture of your family every year!

Megan: I'm going to get this one! Isn't it a good one?

(Liam walks around confused by all the choices)

Megan: Did you see me do it?

Liam: Megan's not sharing!
(The Smith family is the last to leave, but not before buying a dozen donuts and a gallon of apple cider)

Act 3 - Halloween Day

Mac: Were any of the other runners dressed up?
Mom: Well, a few people had on orange shirts.

Megan: Can we do the jack-o-lanterns now?

Mom: Most people think it is gross, but I kind of like the slimy stuff.
Liam: But it's yuck!

Mac: You should not be allowed to draw circles on a pumpkin. I am going to get my drill.

Mac: That was great. I am going to get another power tool.

Chickens: bok-bok-bok-BOK!
Cows (after the chickens have had their fill and they finally mosey over): Moo!

Megan: Is the pumpkin going to catch on fire?

Kids: TRICK OR TREAT!
Liam: This candy makes me stay awake.
Mom: You have to share your candy with Mom and Dad.
Mac: Arrg. It sucks that tonight is the end of daylight savings.
Mom: Ok, that's enough candy! Time for bed.

(The lights fade as the kids snuggle into their beds and Mom sneaks back to the kitchen to eat more of the kids' candy.)

The End

Ride'em Cowboy!

2009-10-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

Big Changes

2009-10-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

Lest you think I have turned into an alcoholic, I figured I better start talking about the kiddos again.

Little Meggy is growing up fast. First it was insistence on a haircut, despite Daddy's not so subtle objections ("Megan, why do you want ruin your hair by getting it cut?").

Even I have to admit, her long hair was beautiful, but look how happy she is to have it gone!

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Megan had an 8 inch ponytail cut off and sent to Locks of Love, so at least the haircut was for a good cause.

In other big news, Megan got her ears pierced last Monday (the 19th). A total bait and switch as the $13 cheap studs turned into $37 jeweled flowers all just to punch a couple of silly holes in her ears! My only regret is that I didn't make her pay the difference from her piggy bank to turn it into a learning experience (don't worry, Megan's piggy bank is overflowing so she could afford it!). I guess the lesson will have to wait until she wants her belly-button pierced. ;)

As Megan points out, she is "four and three quarters" now...growing up fast!

Nothing Says Fall...

2009-10-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

...like a bouquet of dried corn and a magnum of wine!

Watermelon

2009-10-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

Every year I grow watermelon, or at least try. The last two years I have actually been successful in getting fruit. But watermelon is like cabbage: there is really only one good way to consume either. For cabbage, it is a good fish taco. In the case of watermelon, I grow then for the sole intention of throwing back a few watermelon margaritas. Oh boy, do they go down easy!

Cheers!

Miss Matching

2009-10-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

Megan may have impressive academic skills, but her fashion skills are certainly lacking!

Hidden Genius

2009-09-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

Liam surprised me this week with a bit more knowledge than I gave him credit for. He can successfully identify the letters A, B, D, O and Y. Still I can't help but recall that at this age Megan knew all her letters, upper and lower case, and all the sounds that went with them, too. Also, she was already playing Memory and Sorry with us. Liam still seems to prefer putting his head in a plastic bag over academic pursuits.

Happy Thirty Something

2009-09-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

Megan and Liam's first day of school was also my 35th birthday.

I had to work, but I had this huge bouquet waiting for me when I got there (from a great colleague) which made the day more bearable.

When my mom turned 62, she climbed Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the continental U.S. I think it was her way of proving she was still alive and kicking. In a similar vein, I signed up to do a 100 mile race (102 miles actually!) the week of my birthday. That could be a sign of early senility! But I did it and I surpassed all expectations.

Celebrating 35 with 102 miles.

The first few days after the race I looked more like an 80 year old, hobbling around, but mentally it felt good! In fact, I don't feel anywhere near my age. Now if only I didn't have these new wrinkles so I wouldn't have to look my age either!

First Day of School

2009-09-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

The day after we got back, Megan and Liam had their first day of school. (They were a week behind because we were some of those horrible parents that hold their kids out to go to Disneyland!). Megan is in kindergarten (but will likely repeat in public school next year due to her age) and Liam is going two mornings a week...which means two kid free mornings a week for Mac (cue the angel choir to emphasize the heavenly nature of this milestone!)

Ready for school! I think my words were something like,"Can you please make sure Megan doesn't look trashy for her first day of school next year?" This seems to be coming tradition. This may be one area where the stay at home Dad routine may not quite measure up to the stay at home aspiring Martha Stewarts. Fortunately, her friends didn't seem to mind.

Grandpa S

2009-09-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

On the way home from San Diego we stopped to lunch with Grandpa Siechert. He had fruit snacks and a bowl of candy, which instantly made him a popular guy with the kids. But Liam wondered,"How come Grandpa doesn't have any toys?"

The rest of our So Cal trip was hanging out with family including two trips to see Great Grandma Smith and the relatives from Iowa, lots of swimming, and visiting some of the local parks. But after ten days we were ready to head home.