Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Trace has a question

and I do NOT want an answer!

He actually asked me this about ten minutes ago. Straight faced and completely serious! All I can say is he's an eleven year old boy. Need I say more?

"If you put bubbles in my horn(trumpet) and I blew in it. Would bubbles come out the end?"

All I told him was that he's better not try to find out!

Just another day 'round this crazy place!

I have a little helper when I empty the dishwasher now. She often comes running and asking to help. The reason it's so exciting? I let her touch the (butter) knives! Today she was singing that I'm the best mommy ever because I let her touch the knives. Aren't' I a great mom!?

Caden has taken up unicycling now too. The beginner class is always in the fall and they have to be in second grade to participate. He has waited anxiously for a whole year! So far he's not doing too bad. He likes it so I guess that's a good thing. Trace is staying after school to help out since he's now an "advanced" rider. Speaking of advance riders! The unicycle club is going to be performing during a Blazers game! Their teacher/coach has been trying for a long time to make it happen so everyone is really excited!
This is Caden and his friend from last year. She's a really sweet girl whose sister is also a unicycler. According to Caden she "likes" him and we think it's a little reciprocal so we love to tease him occasionally. He's pretty sensitive though so we have to tread very softly!
************************************************************************************
Caden was is a very picky eater. I clearly remember one particular dinner though, when he was probably about 2. I'm not sure if we were having pork chops or chicken (my kids think it's all the same anyway) and rice. That night he sat at the table for at least an hour and just kept asking for more. Rick and I were laughing and wondering how long he could keep it up and just where exactly was he putting it all!? His stomach was definitely a bit bloated looking! I can't remember him doing that since, but we did clearly establish that chicken/pork is a favorite.
So when he requested chicken nuggets for tonight's dinner I agreed. I made them myself using Ritz for the breading and threw a ton of tator tots in the oven to go along with my rather unhealthy gourmet meal. Well it is rather typical for Paige to be at the table looooong after everyone else is done and gone. Heck, I've been know to have the entire kitchen cleaned up while she still sits there! Tonight was very different though because while she was still there after we'd all finished she was also still asking for MORE! And more. And more. "Just one more piece, Mommy?" I'm not too sure where exactly she was putting it all but I think we've established that our third child is also a chicken/pork lover! The really funny part though, we finished about an hour ago and she is now eating a yogurt! Maybe the fact that she took an hour to eat her lunch so I finally took it away has something to do with it. Maybe a growth spurt is coming!
Needless to say, dinner was a hit tonight all around. It's been a long time since I've had all three kids raving about dinner and asking for more!

Monday, September 28, 2009

********NEWS FLASH!*****NEWS FLASH!*********

Paige is wearing a size 3T pants! This after spending the summer in some 12 month but mostly 18 & 24 month clothes. Apparently her height is in her legs! I was prepared to get out all the 2T for this Fall but it looks like she is going to skip right past that into 3T. When I measured her yesterday she has grown about 2 1/2 inches since last April. She has also reached a whoppin' 27 pounds! Guess we're feeding her well!

Trace on the other hand hasn't even budged in height in almost a year! Poor kid. Hopefully he'll hit a growth spurt soon.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

More football

You'd think we were huge football fans around here with all the pictures! Really, one of the team parents takes about 150 pictures at every game and puts them online for us. And, I also think he looks awfully cute in that uniform! Caden is number 40 in the two pictures below. He had a great game with the highlight being when he tackled the guy with the ball all by himself! He did have immediate backup, but he was the one who took him down. We were pretty excited. They won again - 3 games, 3 slaughters (27/0, 26/0, 32/7). I think we need to mark the playoffs on our calendar. Something tells me we're going to be there! This weekend was another crazy one with the games being back to back in different locations but thankfully they weren't too far from each other and ALL the grandparents were in town!

Trace did really awsome in his game too and had several good blocks - he is definately made to be a defender! I call him the brick wall. The other team could go past one, two, three of our players then Trace is the last one before the goal and he just steps up and boots it away! Unfortunately he isn't on a winning team but they are getting better each week!


Friday, September 25, 2009

Lots of happenings and catching up!

Paige has officially started preschool! She has been so excited for the last year, I'm not sure she thought it would ever actually get here! Although I would have bought her her first backpack she had picked one of hers out and decided it was to be "the" preschool backpack. So we added a change of clothes (just so it wouldn't be empty) and she put it on. Once we were there it was a little more intimidating than she expected so I had to hang out for about 10 minutes (as opposed to leaving immediately like she had been telling me!). Everything went great though and I picked her up with the hugest smile on her face. She grinned and jabbered all the way home. Her favorite part of the day was playing with the big girls (high school students). She couldn't believe her luck when I told her those same big girls will come every day! Sorry Coleen you may have just lost out to big girls she sees every day. :) The preschool she goes to is very unique. It is operated within the high school and high school students can use one elective credit to work one period a day in there. Each preschooler has their own two tutors for one on one attention. This preschool is also half typically developed kids (like Paige) and half handicapped kids of varying degrees. It is an awesome experience for the kids to experience so many differences and hands down the best program in town - probably anywhere! High schools across the country have used it as a model to start their own!
Look at that smile!

Leaving to pick Trace up from soccer practice the other night I noticed the most beautiful sunset and had to take a couple of pictures. I love how the trees look like they are on fire. Trace is on the field in the red/black. He has been voted unofficially the best defender the team has! In other words as soon as he's subbed out the other team scores!

I also finally got around to doing Caden's friend birthday party. He wanted to take two buddies and go play video games at Chuck E He_ _ Cheese. I wanted a week night to avoid some of the noise crowds but that proved difficult to schedule with soccer and football. We finally made it and he had a blast. Rick found some great coupons online and it didn't end up costing us all that much. At first Paige only wanted to sit in the booth. I thought it was because she had just woken up until she looked around and then asked me, "when is he coming out?" It took me a split second to realize who he was - Chucky himself. Trying not to laugh I gently told her that I would hold her if he came out and she didn't have to go near him! Pretty funny!




Such a classic Caden look.

Just a very short clip of our dancin' girl!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Too smart for her britches


We are watching Disney's Earth. The movie that came out last Spring. At one point a lion is chasing a gazelle and he eventually catches it, which they slow down drastically. So it looks like the lion is "patting" the gazelle at first then "hugging" it and finally "kissing" it. I was giving Paige a running commentary along those lines and hushing the boys skepticism. Then she turned around and quite matter-of-factly said, "I think he's going to eat it."


We all started laughing! We keep saying she's smart so I don't know why I think I can fool her.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

In case you're wondering where I've been...

Let me start by telling you it has involved a lot of

THIS.
Quite a bit of
THIS. An awful lot of
THIS. Some of

THIS. And an insane amount of

THIS!

I'm pretty sure an entire forest must have died to bring us all the paper the school sent home the first week!

Monday, September 14, 2009






Oh my gosh! Rick and I both laughed so hard we were crying! It's hysterical only because it wasnt' me!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Where were you?

Today isn't a normal day for me. I don't think it should be for anyone. Eight years ago it was changed forever. It was my first morning home from the hospital with Caden. Rick was on his way home from work. My mom called and told me to turn on the news. I remember sitting there holding him and crying in fear of the world I'd brought him into. We were living in our first little house and I could still tell you how the furniture was arranged. The feelings that ran through me are hard to explain, but I doubt that I really have to - we were all feeling pretty much the same.
Eight years later the feelings are less intense and the fears for my children have faded but many of the emotions are still the same. Each year on this day I wake in the morning and seem to be immediately taken back in time. Today was no different except that I had three children on my bed with me. I wanted the boys to listen to a poem being read on the radio and wanted to talk to them a little about that morning. I don't want them to ever think this is ancient history. Two of them lived it in their own sheltered ways. It will impact the rest of their lives in one way or another. Flying on airplanes or visiting the white house someday it will forever be a shadow. I hope to instill in them a deep understanding and respect for all of the people who risked their lives and those who had no choice. A couple of years ago we made a special trip into Manhattan just to walk around the site before it is changed forever. We all needed to see the deep scar left. The size of it was simply amazing. Being there, standing in that same place was a very solemn experience. I hope that the world never forgets this day but even more than that I hope that America never reaches a point where it becomes a trivialized part of our history.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Since I had so much fun the first time...

Well, the ankle that I sprained a little over a week ago has been healing up amazingly well. So well that yesterday I even told Rick it was hardly noticeable anymore. Last night I was even picking up the kitchen and putting dishes away. All you short people out there will understand when I say that I hopped up on the counter to put some of the dishes away. That's just how we do it - right? Well that was all fine and dandy until I hopped back down. I felt my ankle folding beneath me and just screamed (I am NOT a screamer). Blinding pain is the best description I can think of. The only thing in my mind was pain. Once the screaming stopped the hysterical crying started. I mean sobbing incoherently and the only words you could understand were, "it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" By that point I had collapsed on the ground. I heard the phone being dialed and knew Trace was calling someone (he and I and Paige were the only ones home) the only thing I thought was "I hope he isn't calling 911." Once I could talk I asked him who he'd called and he told me "Nana, because she'd know what to do." I was still on the floor crying and berating myself for my stupidity when my mom arrived a few minutes later. I honestly hadn't moved a muscle and didn't know if I'd actually broken it or not. It doesn't appear to be though. So, Nana stayed and baked cinnamon rolls with Trace (he and I had planned to have a special bonding moment) while I iced my ankle again. Today it is pretty much right back where it was a week ago. Maybe a little more swollen and a little more painful but what can I expect with an injury on top of an injury? I'm pretty irritated with myself at this point - this is not what I needed the first week of school! But, hey, I guess I get another week off - yeah right

******P.S.********
Please don't read this as "poor me" if anything it's more of a "stupid (in a funny way) me". I am just surprised at the severity of the pain and my own reaction! That's what this post is meant to convey!

Monday, September 07, 2009

Happy Birthday Caden!

We were supposed to be at the beach this weekend. I knew Caden's birthday was coming up. Did I plan? Of course not! So at the last minute we invited over the grandparents and a couple of Aunts and Uncles (since the rain cancelled our beach plans). I managed to get the house fairly picked up, two cakes baked (don't ask), took the kids to a special play place, and even wrapped the gifts. Hopefully no one will remember that his gifts were wrapped in plain white tissue paper because I thought for sure we had wrapping paper. Unfortunately everyone will remember (we have photographic evidence) that he had one large tapered candle (the kind use use on the dining room table on holidays) on his cake because I didn't even think about birthday candles. But if you had asked me I would have told you we had candles because we always have candles.








He didn't care though. It was a great day as far as any eight year old would be concerned! Somehow they just don't notice all that stuff that we worry so much about. Somehow they are just happy with the small stuff.



So Caden is another year older. Another year wiser. A little bit taller and quite a bit heavier. His hair is longer - he likes it that way. But for the most part he is the same kid. Just my Caden. Growing up before my eyes. He's a handsome kid that already has the girls attention and he can be so sweet! As much as I love watching him grow, I still miss my baby sometimes. Happy Birthday Bug!

Labor Day

I've recently become aware of something that has been going on for a long time (and in my personal opinion should stop!) As I was decorating Caden's birthday cake I was thinking about what was left to do: laundry away, sink cleaned out (again), counters wiped off, floors vacuumed (again - but we won't go there), general picking up, change my clothes (because I decided to make the frosting in a bowl that was waaaay too small but refused to concede defeat even after it was clear that I should have because bits of frosting and tons of powdered sugar are now covering the front of my shirt) but I digress. Then my husband calls and wants to know if we are doing pizza for dinner (it's 4:00) and he knows I spent my afternoon at an indoor kids jungle gym that is most parent's idea of he_ _! That was after baking two cakes and doing all that other stuff this morning (which was a dumb idea because now I have to re-do most of it!) But again, I digress. So the thought occurred to me. We carry our children for 9 months then labor through delivery for hours on end (we don't want to talk to those of you who labored and delivered in ten minutes!). Then we are handed this bundle of joy. One year later as we are remembering that day and the events that took place, we are amazed to have made it this far. But there is little time to think on that because there is laundry to be done, dishes to wash, vacuuming to do, a cake to bake and frost, gifts to wrap (which I should be doing instead of doing this), and any number of other things to be done before the guests arrive. So what's wrong with this picture? Why do they get the party? We worked to get them here and we're still working for them! I know Mother's Day is supposed to be the day we get to celebrate our accomplishments as mothers, but you know, I'm kinda thinking we should get the day off on our kids birthdays too!

Well, that's not gonna happen. So I guess I should go empty the garbage, pick up the gift wrap, put away the cans of pop, take the recycling out, fold the last load of laundry and put the kids to bed. I'm not kidding, I think I will start calling my friends on their kids birthdays and telling them Happy Labor Day!

*The fact that this post coincides with Labor Day is purely coincidence! This is the first year his birthday actually fell on Labor Day itself.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Ice, ice baby...

Still icing but walking much better now. The ankle is healing. Bruising more but healing and feeling much better. I can't believe how much swelling there still is! What a mess I made of myself!

We've had a couple of busy days around here and now practices are starting again! Always something going on. And usually a lot of nothing too.

Don't you like this post that says pretty much nothing? Sorry about that, I thought I had something to say until I started writing. Guess I'll go now...