Timesaver

Next time I decide to give my dog a bath at home to save time, please remind me what a stupid idea that is.  

We had a snow day yesterday (a frightening 2 inches on the ground!  This city is snow-retarded.), and it seemed like too much work to get the kids and the dog out of the house to go to the dog wash, which was the one thing on my to do list that I had to do.

So I thought, "Hey, we have a walk-in shower.  We'll wash her here."  I really should have thought it through a little better.

Things I did consider:

• getting into bathing suits (the girls helped) since we'd have to actually be in the shower with Gabby.
• drying her

Yeah, that's pretty much it.  I didn't think it through much beyond that.

Things I realized once we were all soaking wet in the shower with the dog:

• wet dogs stink really really really bad.
• we were going to be stuck in wet swimsuits in a humid stinky bathroom with a stinky wet dog for a really long time while we dried her with our one hair dryer 
• there was a good chance all that Golden Retriever fur was going to clog up the drain
• the girls "help" resulted in every towel in the house being used to dry the dog, which means many more loads of laundry
• the entire bathroom would need to be cleaned because of the dog hair and the shaking
• we would all need showers when this process was over

All in all, my laziness ended up giving me about 2 hours more work than simply loading my kids and the dog into the car would have.  

Hakuna Matata

A few years ago I saw The Lion King musical on Broadway when I went to NYC with Kolby.  I was blown away by it.  Within the first 60 seconds I was crying my eyes out and had goosebumps all over from the sheer beauty of it.  Madeline was four at the time, and loved to pretend to be an animal and move her body just like that animal.  Through the entire play, I wished she was with me because she would have been amazed by it.  I vowed to take her to see The Lion King if it ever came to our city.

Last night we took the kids to to the Paramount Theater in Seattle to see it.  They loved it.  The costumes in this play are so incredible, and the way the actors move to make the costumes work--I can't accurately describe it.  The actors who were giraffes walked with stilts on both their hands and their feet, and then still had to move the way a giraffe moves.  Just amazing.  And it wasn't lost on the kids. 

One of the things I couldn't stop thinking about was that all those people on stage were doing their jobs.   The guy who designed all of the animals lives in Scappoose, a little town just outside of Portland.  That's his job.  I think it's the current state of the economy and rising unemployment, but I just couldn't stop thinking how amazing it must be to get paid to do something you love so much.  

And we learned something new.   Lions do not get new cubs the same way cats get new kittens.  They still smile at each other.  That part is the same.   But instead of hearts between them, a singing baboon produces the new cub.  Hmm.  

(All photos of the play swiped from the web since there was no photography allowed during the play).

Learning 'bout the birds and the bees, virtually

Madeline has figured it out.   She now knows how kittens are made.  I'm sure you thought she had that figured out long ago, with all the imaginary kittens she's helped deliver, but no.  She figured it out just yesterday.  

Kolby and I were sitting in the living room enjoying a lazy Saturday morning when Madeline shrieked and came running in screaming that Sagwa and Smokey had a kitten.  From the level of excitement, you would have thought it was a real kitten.   Not knowing who Sagwa or Smokey were, we were a bit confused.  Kolby thought this was a continuation of the birthing cats scenario, and he was ready for a psych consult.  But then we realized she'd been playing Catz on her Nintendo DS, and two of her catz had mated and had a kitten.

So then she spent the next little while trying to figure out exactly how that happened so she could make it happen again to get more kittenz.  And it turns out, all you have to do is put a male cat next to a female cat, and then they smile at each other, and there are hearts in the air between them, and then lo and behold a new kitten appears.

Glad we figured that out.

Feelin' groovy

This afternoon Amelia packed her bag and got herself all gussied up for a sleepover at her friend Andrea's house.  As I was walking her around the corner to Andrea's, Amelia said, "Mom,  I know I look really cute.  I can just feel it." 

Short days

Wednesdays are early out school days for the girls, and I LOVE love love love love this. It is so nice to have one day during the school week that they can have a nice long playdate, or relax for a few hours before launching into the nightly homework, dinner, reading, bedtime routine.

Today I had the car loaded up and when the kids got out of school, we headed up to ski. Amelia's friend Ellie came along.

I didn't realize that there isn't a 4-person beginner ski lift on the side of the resort that is open mid-week, so two of the girls would have to ride the lift without me. That was almost a deal breaker. But Maddie and Mia got brave and went on the lift for the first time without a parent, while I rode behind with Ellie. After the first scary time (for me and them! Who was going to hold onto my babies with a deathgrip so they didn't fall off???), it was old news, and we got in a bunch of great runs in the 2.5 hours we skied.

Seriously, where did she get this pose?  She even had her lips all puckered up like my teenage niece Macady does in all her photos.  Kolby thinks it's too much Disney channel.

Spiderweb Park

The girls had school off today for President's Day, so after lounging around in p.j.'s all morning, I made them get dressed so we could get out and enjoy the sunshine.

This is one of our favorite parks.  My photos stink--it was very sunny, and I was taking pics with my phone.  

Happy Valentine's Day

Things you learn

Amelia has pneumonia, which stinks, but she's been feeling pretty good so she's been great company the last two days that she's been home from school. (She gets to go back to school tomorrow).

This afternoon it was sunny, so we headed out for a "run-bike" (Amelia's term--Momma runs, girl bikes). I took her on my favorite trail along the Sammamish River. It's a paved trail that goes for miles, and it's just a 5 minute drive from our house. 

This was our first time on an intentional "run-bike" and Amelia did great.  (We had many unintentional run-bikes last summer as she was learning to ride, but hadn't quite figured out the braking yet).  I loved running while talking with her (yet another reason why I love having big kids).  And we learned a few things.  

• Stay in your own lane and try not to drive like a drunk.
  
• Don't focus on the duck-muck or you just might end up in it.
• It's not a good idea to run over your mom.
• You don't need two legs to ride a bike.
• The playground isn't as much fun without your sister.

New additions

One of my resolutions for this year is to acknowledge what I'm grateful for more often.  So I'm adding a little gratitude journal to my sidebar.  I'm going beyond the obvious (family, home, health, etc.) and looking for the little things I take for granted.

The other thing I'm working on is seeking out a daily happiness.  Yesterday I woke up and had a list of many things I "should" do, while the only thing I wanted to do was cuddle up on the couch and read a book.  So many times I will talk myself out of doing something I want to do, because there are so many things I "should do."  So yesterday I gave myself a pass.  I let the laundry and dishes sit and I read my book.  It felt decadent.  And guess what?  Nothing fell apart.  I had a little more to do today than I would have, but I was far happier doing it because yesterday was so nice.  So I'm going to try to consciously seek out that little indulgence every day and I'm adding that to my sidebar too.

Personal expression

I usually try to offer gentle guidance when my children get dressed in the morning.  When I don't, this is the fallout.

Now this absolutely adorable outfit was chosen on a Saturday, and I'm all about boosting my girls' self-esteem and creativity on the weekends.   However, much to Kolby's horror, Madeline wore a very similar outfit to school on Thursday because the girls were so excited to go play in the garage (yes, you read that correctly) before school that they dressed themselves without consulting me first.  And I, being raised by a mother who believed choosing your own outfit is key to good self-esteem, bit my tongue and let her wear it to school.  I kind of think she rocked it.  But I'm not sure what her fellow 3rd graders thought.

So I don't know.  What are you judging me the most for?  

1. Letting my girls out in public looking like this.
2. Not letting them freely choose their own outfits every day.
3. The fact that the most exciting thing they have to do is play in our horribly disorganzed and freezing cold garage on top of a mattress leaning on its side against the wall.

More retro-blogging

I thought I'd share another old post.  (FYI--I started that blog on my Mac account, and then realized it was $100 a year to maintain it, so I think it only had four or five posts before I ditched it.)  The pic above is from our weekend trip to Seattle in January, 2007.  Right before this picture was taken, Amelia threw a doozy of a tantrum because I forgot the top to her swimsuit.  And since the only real reason to go on vacation is to swim in the hotel pool, this was a problem.  I thought wearing her cover-up skirt would solve it.   But Amelia did not want to wear the damn skirt as a top.  Nor did she want to go topless.  And there was just no making the world right.  And yet somehow, we all survived.  Amelia is a far more reasonable child now.   (She might argue that I'm just a much better packer than I was then.) 

February 13, 2007

"What happened at school today?" I asked Madeline, as I do every day when she gets off the bus.  And as always, she responded, "Nothing."

"Nothing?  Nothing fun?  Nothing exciting?"

"Um.  I can't remember."  Which is also part of the daily script.

Madeline's best friend Sean gives his mom the full report.  He always has plenty of concerns about who chased Maddie at recess, who was bad in class, etc.  Sometimes Erin calls me to make sure Madeline is okay, because from Sean's recap of the day, Maddie was in great peril at recess.  But always the same shrug from Madeline.  And on days when I really press her for details, she will say, "Call Sean's mom.  I'm sure he told her what happened at school."  This. From my first grader.

But yesterday I didn't think to probe any further after getting the usual answer.  And then this morning I woke up with an email from the principal explaining that the heating system isn't working in the school due to the FIRE they had yesterday, and the kids would need to dress warmly.    It went on to say that the kids did a great job evacuating the building quickly, and waiting calmly outside while the FIREMEN put the FIRE out.  All of this happened at 2:00 p.m., just an hour before my child came home from school with nothing exciting to report.  

I woke Madeline up this morning and said, "Hey? Remember when you told me nothing happened at school yesterday?  What about the fire?"

"Oh.  Hmm. Yeah.  I guess they said that was serious."

These days, without the amnesia-inducing bus ride home from school, I get a much more thorough update on Madeline's day.  Birthing cats and all.  

Spelling it out

Amelia is suddenly very excited about writing.  In kindergarten they write phonetically, and since Amelia still says her r's like w's, it makes for some pretty adorable writing.  Last night I came home to this note:

And speaking of r's like w's, I'm going to be very sad to see her grow out of that.  It makes me belly laugh every time I hear her say "cwotch."  Yes, I know.   I'm sure your kid never says it (they probably don't laugh when they fart either),  but it's better than "nuts" which my girls claimed to have for a while. 

I just came across my old abandoned blog, and thought I'd add some of those entries to this blog to save for posterity.

12/24/2006 (written by Kolby)

"Ouch! I hurt my nuts."

Not a phrase that we hear often in a house with three girls.  Nevertheless, references to nuts are becoming commonplace with Madeline (6) and Amelia (3).  While the exact origin of this word isn't confirmed, I'd bet my own right nut that it came from the house full of boys across the street (who shall go unnamed here.)

Madeline has been set right, as I've explained to her what "nuts" are, as well as the fact that she doesn't have any.  So she modified her saying, to "Ouch!  I hurt my girl nuts!"  Which I guess is an improvement.

Amelia has not yet made the appropriate adjustments to her use of the word, as she has explained three times in the last two days that something was so funny  that "I laughed my nuts out."  

Which is why, two years later, I still prefer her use of the word cwotch. 

Stimulating the economy, one purchase at a time.

I got new running shoes yesterday, and I can't help but believe that they will solve all the world's problems.  They will most certainly solve all of mine.

Ski Bowl

My daughters are going to be much better skiers than I am, and I could not be more pleased.

In 4 weeks, Madeline has gone from barely being able to make it down the bunny hill, to making beautiful parallel turns, something I didn't learn until I was 14.   Her teacher pulled us aside after class to #1 recommend we get her into racing, and #2 thank us for getting her a helmet.   He said she has a lot of natural talent, and a love for speed.  

Now if you know Madeline, the speed part is just so shocking.  It's really incredible how slowly that girl can move.  But put her in skis, and Bizarro Maddie emerges.  Thus the helmet.  After seeing her ski so fearlessly last week I realized a helmet was no longer optional.

And Amelia made huge progress today too, gaining some confidence and declaring herself "awesome!" more than once.  

I tell ya, I absolutely adore having big kids.