Ninja- GO!!!

Breckin is really into Legos.  Of the various lego sets, his favorite are the Ninjago.  And, of the Ninjago- the best are the spinjitzu.  Got that?

So, the super genius-now very wealthy creators at Lego came up with a story line of ninjas and skeletons and snakes that battle each other and can turn regular cars and trucks into insane machines that have chopping blades and shoot ice bullets and teach my child words like scythe and katana.  And they have special lego sets that come with a skeleton or ninja minifigure, a little disc that it stands on, and three or four little weapons that range from wooden staff (lame!) to The Sword of Fire (supercool).  You give your guy a weapon, lock his feet on the disc, and spin it with your thumb and finger.  Like I said.  Genius.  There is an infinite number of combinations of dudes and weapons and discs AND they have cards you can play to give your guy extra powers like standing on one leg or adding a lego to the bottom of the disc to make him taller or using two weapons.  Yes, we are creating little D&D kids one at a time.  Different ninjas have different powers- fire, ice, lightning, and earth- and they can only use certain cards.  So no two kids have the same dude and weapon and card and spinner.

Now, because they aren't genius enough, the Lego store in our local mall hosted a tournament for kids to battle each other- beating mom is too easy by now- and have the chance to win the giant Ninjago lego set of "Destiny's Bounty".  The flying ninja ship that they live on.  Ooooohhhh.  Aaaahhhh.  Of course Drew (refer to the post about Breckin and his grown up friends) entered Breckin in this tournament and basically just let us know which day to show up last time we were there.  Of course he did.

We practiced his spinning skills pretty much every day leading up to the tournament.  And so did every other 5-10 year old boy (and one girl!!) so by the time we arrived for our 5:00 show down, the place was manic with kids who were certain they were going to win this ship.  Breckin threw in the added touch of wearing his actual Sword Of Fire.  (He chose, however, not to go with the ninjago tshirt in favor of his Boba Fett shirt as it was opening day of Star Wars back in the theater.  Naturally.)

Drew was hosting the event.  Breckin was up first, as he was one of the youngest, and battled well.  He won his first round by knocking off the other guy twice.  Go Buddy!  Then we had to wait around (oh, look.  a Lego store to wait around in) until his next round.  There were something like 24 kids so it took a while.  He won his second round.  More waiting around.  He got to the last round before the final face off and lost.  Not by getting knocked off the spinner but because the other guy's spinner spun longer.  Weak sauce.  He handled it extremely well, shook hands, showed Drew that he wore his ninja sword, and - because, really? can you leave the Lego store after being there for an hour without picking something?- chose Jay's Storm Fighter plane.  Sweet.

I was so proud of his patience during rounds and, most importantly, how he lost.  Drew came by after the tournament was over and said he was so sad when Breckin lost on a technicality.  He was really hoping Breckin would win the day's event.  We thanked him for hosting such a cool thing for the kids.  Those damn genius Lego people.    

Pictures of Lego time and other February stuff are over there ---->

My Husband Loves Movies

He loves them so much that once in a while he cooks up a plan to watch all of a series of movies in one day.  Like all six of the Star Wars (done it) or all three of the Lord of the Rings extended versions (not yet).  It seems like a marvelous idea but when it's over, the idiots dummies fellas who participate with him are cross-eyed and swear to never watch movies again.  They are sore and cranky and sick from too much movie snacks because we all know you can't watch a movie without enough red vines and chips and Goobers to last a Himalayan expedition.  Today- actually last night and today- they schemed to survive the ultimate Harry Potter viewing.  They watched all seven movies over the span of Friday evening and from 9:30 am until 11:15 pm today.  They work themselves illegally doing this only allowing a ten minute break between movies, one half hour for lunch and one half hour for dinner and Dustin is a relentless coordinator of film times keeping to a strict schedule and posting it well in advance just in case one more person wants to sneak in between shows.  They will know to show up at exactly 3:52 pm to catch whatever movie starts next in case they've seen the prior episodes.  It's insanity at its finest.  I don't attempt to stick around and partake.  I don't love movies THAT much and I love my lower extremities more than their determination of finishing what they said they would.  I don't think I can sit that long.  Most of the time they are bleary eyed and sick of it half way in but damn it if they aren't going to complete the task. 

So where does that leave me?  Well, we haven't done one of these feats in a while so when I said yes to this chore, I forgot that small children are a) not quiet in a house 2) not able to watch these movies and f) not likely to leave Aaron alone especially if he brings Brutus.  I started planning a day long excursion with both kiddos but didn't decide on our destination until midnight on Friday.  Where could we go with questionable weather and stay out for twelve hours?  It had to be a combo of things so we did the errands business in the morning- hair cut, Starbucks run, gas up the car and hit up Northwest Trek AND IKEA for the rest of the day.

Usually any two items from that list is enough to run Breckin and Ella ragged but the whole list?  It was the antithesis of movie day.  I didn't sit down for twelve hours.  Ella sort of did but she was more interested in getting out at each animal habitat and playing in the kids furniture at Ikea so not only did I not sit down, I was lifting her in or out of the stroller five hundred times.  Breckin walked the whole way at Trek and played in the ball pit at Ikea.  Hello exhuasted feet.  Both kids were phenomenally good.  Beyond my expectations.  I think it helped that it was a yes day.  Wanna go back to the wolves?  Sure.  Wanna eat hot dogs for lunch?  Sure.  Wanna visit the scientist research cabin fourteen times?  Ok.  Slow down?  Fine.  Run?  You bet.  Whatever caught their fancy, we did.  Cause we didn't have to be home at any certain time.  We spent six hours at the Trek going back to visit Ella's favorite river otters no less than ten times.  We checked on Breckin's wolves at every opportunity.  We played scientist and lost camper and forest adventurers in the research cabin.  We had ice cream.  Twice.  We had the luckiest tram ride of the day seeing newborn bison, black tailed deer, their babies, trumpeter swans, mountain goats, elk, caribou, moose and their babies, a hummingbird flew through our window, a raccoon, blue heron, and bullfrogs.  Breckin saw a wolverine go poo in it's den.  He listened to the park ranger talk about a Spotted owl and asked intelligent questions like "how old is that owl when is his birthday mine is May 11th?"  and "did you know I've been very good at not touching the stinging nettles?"  and "I think I'm kinda done with this owl which way is it to the wolves?"  He's scientific like that.  I took some pictures but it wasn't worth my arm skills to try to juggle the camera and chase Ella and pull Breckin back from habitat fences.  So the pictures lost the battle.  There are some over there.  They ended about lunch time as did my arm tolerance. 

The kids went to bed at 10:30- parent award of the year, I know- but we don't do days like this very often and I'll consider it a vacation day.  Would they have gone to bed much earlier if we were in a hotel or cabin?  Nope.  And I'm really hopin they sleep past 8:00 and don't mind playing some board games or coloring or watching a movie tomorrow.  My feet could use the break.  Sorry, hon.  Looks like it's more movies.

My Not-so-little Helper

My brother-in-law, best known as Uncle Jim, is a home inspector.  He came over today to practice some new tricks on our house and do home inspection stuff- I don't pretend to know what he does.  It's not that we needed a home inspection but our place is available for trying his new stuff on....  it's cool.  So, the very insta-second he walks in the door, he gets greeted in his usualy fashion.

"Uncle Jim, did you bring any tools?"  Not hi, or hey there, or what's new?  Just a small six year old wondering if the Uncle who knows how to make rockets out of tin pie plates and fruit cans and jumping jacks happens to have any tools or tool boxes on him.  Everyone needs an uncle like that.  And, today, he did have some tools.  Done.  Breckin was hot glued to Uncle Jim's side pocket for the rest of the day. 

Breckin was "helping" me get the front closet cleaned out and moved around so Uncle Jim could have access to the crawl space and "helped" me move Daddy's lumber out of the way so Uncle Jim would be able to get to the electrical panel in the garage.  He knew the fun that was coming.  After a quick badgering of trying in vain to get Uncle Jim to come see his new dragon castle or play legos or watch this neat trick or check out that ninja move- none of which worked- Breckin was content to follow Uncle Jim asking no less than 5,472 times if it was time to go under the house.  Uncle Jim is solid.  He did not waiver once and always answered "no, it wasn't time to go under the house" until Breckin gave up and stopped asking.  Only then would it be time. 

I went to put Ella down for a nap about fifteen minutes into the home inspection when Breckin comes tearing upstairs like a man on a mission.  He informs me that he is getting dressed for the day- a Batman Lego tshirt and backwards black tear-away pants- and runs back downstairs in time for me to see him put on his shoes and jacket and head outside to follow Uncle Jim around looking for working outlets, stuff under the roof, and whatever else a home inspector does.  I never did hear Breckin stop talking to Jim but uncles are very good at nodding, responding with an occasional uh-huh, and going about their business as usual.  He followed Uncle Jim all the way around the house in the pouring rain- who knows what went on out there- and they both came in to finish the job. 

Daddy came home then, and it was just in time.  It was time to go under the house.  Uncle Jim let Breckin use his extra special, small, super bright flashlight since our lantern needed eight D batteries and we were fresh out.  We lifted the hatch- a small square of carpeted floor that all but disappears in the front closet.  It's only small enough to barely fit one person at a time and Uncle Jim went first.  Daddy lowered Breckin down with strict orders to stay with Jim.  I don't know how it went.  I had to run some errands.  But Breckin has been waiting for the day to go under the house since we moved in.  I hope Uncle Jim found everything he needed and got some good inspection practice.  One thing I do know is he is fully prepared for any home inspection where children are home.  No one can compare to this guy when it comes to concentrating under pressure.....

I got robbed. A1-5 might have won this time.

First of all, HOLY COW.  I was thinking I hadn't blogged anything in a while and I haven't kept up on reading the blogs that inspire me and interest me and let me read something other than Hop on Pop.  And to see that I haven't told you anything since February 4th!  Really?  What the heck?  It's not like we haven't done anything.  In fact, we've done quite a bit.  Breckin has had plenty of antics and Ella says a new word every day.  Today, it was "small".  Yesterday it was "down".  She adds something new every day, I swear.

Well, let's get caught up.  I'd love to walk down memory lane of February but there is one glaring event that blurs out the rest.  It threw me for quite a loop, made me drowsy and spacey for an entire day, and kinda smooshed every other thing that happened before it together behind this veil of holy-crap-ness.  Let's just say- the frickin Groundhog lied.  And, he lied big.  Spring did not come early, rather, winter had one last HA HA HA YOU'RE AND IDIOT FOR CROSSING THE PASS IN FEBRUARY moment before March starts. 

We did some stuff in February, blah, blah, blah.  And then, on February 19th I hosted a beautiful baby shower for a dear neighbor and was so excited to have some long overdue girls time that I left for Spokane- a 300 mile trip- at 5 pm on Saturday night.  Pass was clear and dry and it was actually a perfect time to leave cause the kids ate dinner in Ellensburg and crashed in the car for the rest of the trip.  I got to zone out to some Twilight soundtracks and mentally vacate the child-focused portion of my life to reminisce in my head about all of the fun we had in college and beyond.  I love driving alone- or mentally alone- for the pure sake of thinking about whatever without conversation interruption.  It was a nice and much needed mental break. 

Anyway, we got to Spokane about 10:30 at night, waited for the girls to get back from the hot dog store, and settled in.  The kids fell asleep relatively well and on we go.  I don't remember if it was late at night on Saturday or it waited until Sunday morning but A1-5 made an appearance.  A1-5 is Breckin's imaginary nemesis and he shows up now and then- mostly in the comfort of our own home.  This time, he drove across the state and invaded Joslyn's house.  Fortunately, Joslyn was ready with a secret hideout (the back covered porch), a bad guy gun (a caulking gun), and a team of spies on the good side (Mo, Maggie, Jos, and me).  Breckin made us look out for him constantly. 

What's the best place for a bored little boy with no Saturday morning cartoons, not many toys, no computer games, and an imaginary bad guy to chase?  A mostly empty pizza shop.  He jumped right up on the bar stool and chatted with the hostess.  He was fascinated by the pizza maker throwing the dough and asked if he could watch.  He checked the fire now and then for OUR pizzas.  He turned everything in the store into something related to A1-5 hunting.  He did anything he could to not sit in his chair. 

We spent most of Sunday just hanging out at Jos's house, walking around Riverfront Square Park Mall- or whatever it's called- and letting Breckin get some wiggles out at the children's museum.  Miss Hands Tenneson joined us and we headed back to her place cause most of us had never seen it.  The kids were losing their very last ounce of patience when we went to dinner at Red Robin and back home to crash. 

Monday was spent in Coeur d'Alene or as Breckin says "I didn't know we were going on a vacation while on our vacation!"  He loves that town from the last insane road trip and we did our now-ritual stops at the ice cream shop, Figpickles Toy Store, CdA Olive Oil Company, the giant metal moose, and the big rocks in the park.  Of course, A1-5 was there and Breckin had to hide in Jos's little storage closet in the oil shop.  Just after the fire truck made an appearance, I was notified that A1-5 had to go potty and we hightailed it out of there to hit the road back home.  Except the road hit us.

We left Coeur d'Alene around 2 pm thinking even if we got to the pass around 6 pm, it'd just be getting dark and we'd make it over the pass with no problems.  Three potty stops, a dinner stop, and some slow traffic later got us to the pass later than expected.  We knew there'd be a bit of snow but hot damn.  I was more nervous than I'd ever been.  I turned Looney Tunes on for the now awake kids in the back seat and white knuckled it.  We swerved.  We spun in a circle and somehow straightened out.  I was absolutely sure we'd lose all traction trying to get on Highway 18 and called Dustin to get ready to come and get us.  I can't convey in words what a scary drive it was.  We locked up and spun our tires and- by the grace of God- made it over the pass, through Issaquah, and home by 10 pm.  Eight hours after we started.  I think A1-5 was responsible for the snow. 

All the next day I was drowsy, couldn't stop yawning, could not focus on anything, and felt a little nauseated.  It was a horrible feeling but the kids slept in and just wanted to play quietly.  I think they were worn out, too.  It was worth every moment to see my girls and spend some much needed time just being together.  It's a good thing we planned that trip at the beginning of a week off of school cause we have needed every day to recover. 

You LIED Mr. Pool.

I was so excited about our day out at the park that I paid close attention to Steve Pool the weather man on the 11 o'clock news to see when I could ruin us again soon.  What's that?  Thursday will be sunny and close to 60?  Lovely!  It's a perfect time to grab a quick lunch at mickey d's and drive North to Bellevue and hit a place we haven't been in ages.  I don't think Ella's ever been and Breckin couldn't remember it at all.  And that kid remembers everything.  I wasn't sure if the animals would be out cause, after all, it was January but we brought our heavy jackets (lesson learned from yesterday) and arrived at Kelsey Creek Farm shortly after 1 pm.  It was overcast and 45.  Degrees.  Not sunny OR 60.  In fact it was downright cold.  I had two jackets on and thank goodness I have random snow hats in my car cause I drive around prepared like that. 

Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment or my memory is so bad that I forget how wrecked we were the day before.  Cause we really just did the same thing to ourselves all over again.  But, man, it was fun.  Breckin chased the ducks.  We swang and climbed through mazes and played in a little house and see sawed at the park.  Ella mooed at the cows.  Breckin pointed out the rabbit poop.  The pig oinked at all of us.  We walked up and down and up and down the hills between animal fields and Breckin asked if he could run down and back up the hill one more time before we left the cow pasture.  Sure, why not?  No, buddy, you can't get good exercise and run up a hill..... I don't think so.  Run away, kiddo, run away.  Ella said moo to the cows, neigh to the horses, baa to the sheep, and sniffed at the rabbits.  She was a farm expert.  The highlight of the day according to Breckin?  A small amphitheater with a basic stage and some metal benches in the side of a hill.  He put on a show for us then we put on a show together for the horses then Ella got frustrated with the woodchips on the stage and tried to take them all off carefully.  She may or may not have tried to eat some.

It was 3:00.  Hmm.  Do we see if we can pick up Daddy from work early?  Fat chance since he was hoping to work late and have us come get him so he could skip the vanpool.  I needed to go to PinkBella cupcakes anyway and scope them out for an upcoming baby shower...  Do the kids have it in them to eat a cupcake and hang out at the boats?  Could we make it last until it was time for Daddy to really leave work and he could just ride with us?  Oh why the hell not.  I love exhausted demon children at dinner time.  I mean, I must.  Why else would I run them ragged and feed them straight sugar. 

Cupcakes.  Check.  (and AWEsome, by the way!  Mmmmm coconut.)  Play at the boats.  Check.  Peek at the See Kai Run shoes at Bump cause I still have a $35 gift card that I can never seem to spend.  Check.  Quick $8 detour through Lego store to give Daddy ten more minutes at work.  Check.  Drive home with maniac screaming Ella who doesn't want her binkie but wants her binkie and jabberjaws Breckin who wants to talk about his amazing day.  Check.  Have all intentions in the world to make a quick dinner- even if it's cereal but give in to the idea of Taco Bell/KFC when it starts to take an hour to get home.  Check. 

Crazy ass day #2 done and Friday will consist of tucking ourselves in at home, playing board games, finishing the laundry I started on Tuesday, and chilling out.  And not complaining about the rainy day. 

Oh, fresh air. We missed you.

Seriously?  We went to the park for a little over two hours today and it WRECKED us.  It was sunny after 1 pm for the first time since last fall.  And it was over 45 degrees.  And Ella woke up early which means she napped early which means she was awake by 1:30 pm which means we'd have enough time to spend at the park before it gets dark at 4 pm.  See, there are a lot of factors that have to happen just so in order for us to hit the park on a weekday.  If Ella sleeps in past 8:00, she doesn't go down for a nap until after lunch.  And that lands us at home base until she wakes up.  If she gets the early nap and goes down for the count at 11 am or earlier, we have all afternoon.  But, it's Seattle.  And if the sun comes out in the AM, you can be sure it'll be gone and overcast with scattered showers in the PM.  We can never get all factors to line up- PM sun, Ella's early nap, no other prior engagements, temps above frozen fingers- in the winter.  Until today.  And HoLy CoW did it wreck us. 

We drove to the Pirate Park (not it's actual name but the name given by Breckin therefore it shall always be called that) around 1:45.  Lightweight coats cause we almost got sunburnt walking home from the bus.  Yeah, we're pasty like that.  Breckin pushed his cheetah button on his jacket and ran full speed to the swings.  You'd have to know him to know that 1) I'm not kidding about that and b) The buttons change daily. 

We did some of this

And a little of this

And Breckin taught Ella how to slide like this

And Ella wore her sassy pants like this

And said very grown up things like No No and Rawr and Bye Bye.  And the most important thing?  She left her shoes and socks on!!!  For the first time in her life, she didn't rip her shoes and/or socks off the minute she could reach her feet.  Yay Ella! 

You'll just have to check the photos tab to see the rest otherwise this blog could go on forever.  We played pooh sticks.  Google it.  We danced on a tree stump.  We made a very small tree fort and all fit inside.  We chased birds.  We swang and swung and swinged.  For an hour and fifteen minutes we swinged.  We went down slides and up slides and fell in the wet woodchips and ate them.  We froze our fingers and necks cause it turns out the park which is in the woody area is shaded and therefore not sunburn status like our front porch and our lightweight jackets and no gloves was a bad idea but we didn't care for two hours cause we were breathing fresh air DAMMIT.

And now?  Now we are wrecked.  Ella was out like a trout by 7:30 and I fell asleep with her in the rocker while she was chowing on her milk.  Breckin is a disaster.  He was SOOO good at the park and left nicely and used great words and was nice to all the kids and now his daddy is getting the brunt of that.  He fell apart when his sister took his green plastic sunglasses out of his drawer.  He crumpled on the floor when he found out it was hair wash night.  He had a slight meltdown when his bandaid fell off and he discovered wrinkly bandaid skin on his finger and it felt different and he doesn't like different.  He is wrecked with a capital WRECK.  But DAMMIT we got fresh air.  And it felt SO NICE.

Happy MLK Day!

Leave it to a day off of school to bring me out of my blogging funk.  Good ol' Breckin and Ella have me in stitches from the time they wake up til they are fighting going to sleep.  It's one of those holidays that polarzies employees.  Not everyone gets the day off- though they should cause Dr King was a pretty important guy- so those that do have an extra weekend night and those that don't are a little extra scowly on Monday.  School is definitely out cause the Murphy's Law of public school is If There Is Any Reason To Stay Home, We Will Take It.  But, Dustin had to get to work.  What's a better way to break up a cold, rainy day stuck in the house than going to visit Daddy for lunch?!?!?! 

It used to be kind of easy.  Sometimes we'd pack a pail and eat in his common area.  Sometimes we'd pick him up and have a nice lunch out at Red Robin at the mall.  Sometimes we'd be his lunch meeting between two other meetings and make it a quick fill up at Jimmy Johns.  This time, it was a nice combo.  Breckin, Ella, and I grabbed said Jimmy Johns and took it up to the common area.  After all, a trip to Daddy's office is not complete without stalking Drew.  That sandwich shop is ALWAYS busy and they move fast.  You have to be on your game to order there.  There's no browsing over the veggies like at Subway.  Those guys are moving and you just might get kicked out if you aren't ready when it's your turn.  Breckin won't eat lunch meat and Ella can't chew raw veggies yet so their orders are easy- The Veggie and a Ham and Cheese Slim.  I'm preset with D's order- Lulu, extra tomatoes.  I didn't really think about mine so I ordered the only sandwich I've ever ordered there cause I was too afraid to look around the menu and panicked when it was my turn and blurted out Beach Club for fear of not getting a sandwich at all.  It turns out it doesn't matter if my son is dancing and swinging around like a hooligan at a place like that cause he really just blends right in.  So, I let him get some wiggles out while we waited the 5.2 nanoseconds it takes them to get the food ready and we hightailed it over to the big, black skyscraper of Breckin's dreams.  He LOVES that place.  He loves the lobby with the orange chairs and the revolving door and the giant yellow airplane that greets you and watching Daddy use his top secret agent badge to make the elevator work and the nerf gun proudly on display in the elevator lobby on floor 12. 

We are greeted instantly by a table of D's coworkers who know everything about us and us nothing about them.  I know my familiar faces and everyone in the building knows the moment that Drew is spotted.  He's the big celebrity there.  After all, he does have a velcro dart board and nerf guns at his desk.  And, he and Breckin go way back.  Breckin tries to act all cool and slap him high five and say big kid things like "what's up, Drew?" but internally he's acting like he's in front of Robert Pattinson.  He just wants to hang out with Drew so bad and go to his desk to play darts and see all of his toys and shoot the nerf gun.  He talks about Drew for days before we go to the office and days after we've come home.  In fact, on the ride home he wondered if Drew would come over for a playdate and make his own kinectimal.  Kids can sense other kids disguised as grown ups.

Breckin knows his way around so he got us some drinks from the fridge, checked up on the things he can see from the window, and patted the glass buddha statue's belly as part of his I'm Here ritual.  Ella is being ok until she sees the sandwich bags and lets us know she is ready to eat.  She has a bad habit of shrieking like Ellen Degeneres does to her audience and points sideways at her food until someone has torn Ella-approved pieces up for her to frantically stuff in her mouth like she hasn't eaten in days.  And, Breckin eats half standing up for fear that he might be able to sit down for longer than 12 seconds and it would ruin his entire crazy man game.  He talks loudly in general and chats with anyone in earshot so between Mr. Wigglypants, loud kid voice, shrieking baby, and fully distracting more people than we should have, I don't think we'll be back for lunch with Daddy anytime soon.  We made D late to a meeting and Breckin got stuck in the revolving door on the way to the car.  It was a good way to get the kids out of the house on a dreary day but we'll probably just stick with a mall playland or the McDonald's slide from now on.  Sorry, hon.  Tell your coworkers we apologize for disrupting their work space and making you late for your meeting.  And, of course, tell Drew that Breckin says HI.

Julember

What are you supposed to do when it's 70 degrees in November?  Go to the park in your tshirt, of course!  I am defintely not complaining about our weather lately- it's nice enough after the big kids get out of school to play outside yet the leaves are all over the ground and crunch deliciously as I walk to the bus.  It just smells like fall outside.  People are still cutting their grass but pumpkins still linger in the air and the wind is crisp enough to make you clutch your arms even for just a moment.  LOVE it.  I have a great recipe for some spice cookies that will end this week beautifully.  And, Toy Story 3 is out on DVD.  Sounds like a perfect movie night tomorrow!

Breckin's 1st Paying Job

Last weekend, Breckin hit a milestone.  He had his first gig.  He had to wear a special uniform, show up on time, do some pre-job training, and some last minute on-the-job re-training.  The interview process took about 5 years and we don't know who the other candidates were but he was the right choice.  We greatly respect his first employers and were proud to hire him out for the day. 

Here he is.

He was the ring bearer in Clark and Andrea's wedding.  Let me tell you what.  He, as well as all of the guests at the wedding, were spoiled rotten.  They thought of everything.  He was mailed a book about how to be a ring bearer ahead of time.  He was thanked and oohed and aahed over and high fived and sincerely loved by both groom and bride.  Every little detail of the wedding was impecable.  Seeing these two start out so thoughtful brought tears to my eyes and I CAN NOT WAIT until they are parents because their children will be so lucky to have them. 

Not only that, but after getting home at 8 pm on Sunday night- the wedding was that morning!- Breckin dashed through his usual night time routine, threw on his jammies, ran down the hall into his room yelling "You only have to ask me once this time, Daddy!", jumped into bed, shut his own door, and was not conscious until 8 am the next morning.  Andi- YOU are an ANGEL!  He was thoroughly exhausted but elated and on a cupcake high. 

There were other details to the weekend, of course, but the best part was the wedding.  I have not so thoroughly enjoyed a wedding, apart from my own, ever.  I got to reconnect with some dear friends who, as most people can relate to, we don't see near enough.  The bloody marys were phenomenal.  The toasts were funny but not embarrassing.  The food was to die for.  Her gown was dreamy and yet she actually looked comfortable.  And, the groom got choked up on his vows.  I LOVE to see grooms get emotional about their wives.  Love it. 

I also love to see my groom get lovey with his baby girl.

Great weekend!  Saturday was kinda free time for me and the kids.  Dustin was busy hangin with Clark and the boys so Breckin, Ella, and I went exploring Portland.  We hit the Children's Museum- it ended in minor meltdown- but what a cool place.  We attempted to go to Voodoo donuts but with a 2 hour line around the block, it was 6 pm at night, and two homeless shelters/rescue missions right next door, and I was alone with the kids looking very suburban.....  we skipped it and settled for Fred Meyer donuts instead.  Remind me to spew my one black cloud moment of the weekend another time.  I have never been so judged by another mommy and I have to say....  I'm still replaying it in my head and thinking of what I should have said....  Later.

Twas the Night Before Kindergarten

Last Thursday was the highly anxious Day Before Kindergarten.  I figured we all needed to wear ourselves out thoroughly so we went to Bounce It Up in Black Diamond one more time.  This time, we brought Daddy and the entire Davenport crew.  Thanks to Kirsten for snapping the pics of the Daddys battling.

And, what do you know.  After we were done bouncing and battling, there were firefighters pulling up behind the bouncy place to train some new recruits.  They let the kids sit in the driver's seat, wear the headphones, and turn on the lights.  We stayed to watch them practice with the hydrant and the fire hoses.  Breckin was in heaven.  He slept soooo good that night.  Mission accomplished.

 

Hot Summer Days

If you know me, you know I am a "true Northwestern."  That's code for does not do well in heat, burns easily, is as pale as a Cullen, and knows that noon is a better time of day than 4 pm.  And by heat, I mean anything about 80 degrees.  When is a keyboard company going to just put a frickin degrees button somewhere?  Anyway.

But, despite my lack of skills in the summer, I am determined not to force my kids to succumb to mommy's heat intolerance.  Although, I know for a fact that this is one trait that Breckin got from me.  He is not a huge fan of getting hot, being in the sun longer than 30 minutes, exerting any energy when it's above 75 degrees (again, keyboard companies, really?) or doing things at 4 pm.  Ella- however- is already tan.  She wears more sunscreen than the Coppertone baby cause I'll be damned if my kids get burned and it's ridiculous.  She was born tan.  And, her best time of day is between 2 and 5 pm.  All of these facts combined mean one thing- I will go anywhere and everywhere if it means my kiddos get to experience a great, sunny, summer day.  Festivals, beaches, parks- we do it all. 

Lately, we've been to Coulon Beach in Renton to watch the Blue Angels practice their airshow.  We took secret trails around the beach to cool little "islands", played in the FREEZING water, built mud castles (you know our sand sucks, right?), and let Ella practice eating fruits and crackers without worrying about destroying the high chair.  Also- we went to Mud Mountain Dam in Enumclaw.  After a few wrong turns, some brief WTF phone calls to Dustin to get better directions, a confrontation with another parent at the playground, some more snack practice, and splashing in the wading pool.... I've decided I'd go back.  Monumental?  No.  Not either beach or pool day.  But, the pics are pretty stinking cute.  Go look over there on the right.

Why I Have No Time to Blog

We've been busy around here.  I posted on Facebook, a few weeks ago, a huge list of craft supplies we would need for all of the fun, summer projects I had lined up for Breckin to do so he wouldn't get bored being home with mom.  We've gathered what we need and started.  Our first project is the Hot Wheels town.

Plywood, gray paint, green paint, sandpaper, pencils, high-tech 4" measuring device to create a two lane road for the widest Hot Wheel we own to travel down comfortably, paint brushes, and imagination.  Breckin sanded for 4.5 seconds before declaring the utmost boredom and retreating to the playroom for train time.  So, I sanded the 3' x 3' plywood on my own.  Done.

Next, Breckin measured the width of two Hot Wheels side by side to figure out how big their two-lane road needed to be.  Then, we found something around the house that was exactly that width (4") and taped two pencils to the ends to make an evenly spaced road marker.  Breckin drew a few loopy doodles before declaring the utmost boredom and feigning incompetence, thus, I took over the measuring device and became the Supervisor In Charge of Road Way Direction.  I turned when he said turn and created crossings when he said to.  Done.

Then, Breckin squirshed immense amounts of gray paint in the paint bowl, took my favorite paint brush, and- in the best pre-Kindergarten fashion possible- slopped road paint somewhat in the right areas.  I was the Supervisor In Charge of Straightening out the Pavement and did some clean-up work but somehow he did not show the least bit of boredom or incompetence when it came to painting.  Hmm.  Done.

We are waiting for the paint to dry.  We have spaces marked off for the fire station, his house, Kellan's house, the dirt pit AKA construction site, and garbage station.  I don't want to just paint those on there.  I'd love to find some small lightweight paintable houses and make him a set of little town houses (similar to those that come with the board game Life).  To be continued....

We love festibuls.

What's better than a kid's festival on a gorgeous day?  A FREE kid's festival SPONSORED BY FIRE FIGHTERS on a gorgeous day when you RUN INTO YOUR BEST BUDDY FROM YOUR OLD DAY CARE.  Breckin and I (and now, Ella) love festivals.  We try to go to as many as we can during the summer.  Dustin, however, does not.  His least favorite things on the planet are crowds, inaccessible parking lots, lines, and generic disorganization.  Therefore, he does not accompany us to our festivals because no one in attendance would enjoy it. 

Last summer, this one snuck past us.  I think it happened to fall on one of those 114 degree days where it cooled down to 99 degrees at night.  At midnight.  This one might be the best one yet.  It was entirely free.  The bouncy house, huge fire truck slide, model airplane building, bubble table, fishing game, beach ball center, and weird coat hanger craft table (we skipped that one) were all free.  I spent $1 on the hugest Otter Pop you've ever seen and that was it.  We brought our own pb&j picnic lunch complete with circus animal cookies and capri-suns but that was to give us a break from the supposed madness and let Ella roll around for a bit. 

There were hardly any lines at the slide and bouncy house.  We ran into a fantastic family from back in the day when Breckin went to day care at Emerald Downs.  Breckin and his little buddy immediately remembered each other and pretty much hung out all day.  This great little festival took place right along side a small beach area so they played in the sand in between bouncy house trips and random running around the big grassy area.  Did I mention the candy cannon?  Oh, that was free, too.  That thing can seriously blow out candy and the kids loved it.  I've never seen Breckin so excited over a dinner mint.  Free fun is great fun. 

 

Meh.

Ok, so it's a week later and I'm just now posting about the 4th of July.  So be it.  For those of you keeping score at home, today is better than yesterday.  I got my errands done in record time, only spent $14.35 on groceries for the week cause I rock at couponing, and got $24 back from the consignment store for one bucket of clothes.  See, that's better, right? 

Anyway, 4th of July.  The explosion factor was at a x2 around here cause now we have quite possibly the coolest neighbor on the planet.  He rigged up some pvc pipe, yellow cord, 2x4s, something that plugs into his truck, and 2-liter soda bottles to blow up.  With no fire or harmful chemicals.  It's kid friendly and mom approved.  And, the grown-up boys got a kick out of it, too.  So what if Dustin had to drink an entire 2L of Sprite for breakfast.  Don't challenge him or he'll do it.  He has a minor in chugging- he went to WSU, remember? 

So, Breckin got his fulfillment of exploding stuff- pop bottles, smoke bombs, something that crackled and popped, parachutes, water balloons, and covering his ears when it was Daddy's turn. 

Oh, sorry about your face, Derek.  Let's try that again.

Ok, everyone look out.

Blast off.

The trouble is, you never knew which way they were going to fly.

So, we had pop bottles everywhere.  At one point, Derek had to climb on our roof with a broom to get one down.  All in the name of exlpoding stuff.  Cool.  Then, the bigger boys had their fun.  They didn't just take out soda bottles.  They took out 4 cantaloupe, 2 black buckets, 2 orange buckets (or was it more?), a stuffed doggie, and my poor old sauce pan from Ikea.  They only blew one minor hole in a piece of plywood and Bobby almost caught the pan on it's way down.  Good times.  Happy 4th.

There's a bunch more pics- including some from The Plan Time at our home in the evenings and fun in a kiddie pool last Thursday when it hit 95 degrees and humid- over there on the right.  Click on The Photos.  It's worth it.

 

Breckin, meet your match

On Tuesday nights, Dustin has bowling league.  So, it's up to me to provide dinner for one carefree adult, one exhausted child, and one relentlessly happy baby.  It's up to me to entertain said group and it's usually up to me to put those three to bed.  Unless, one some occassions, Dustin gets home earlier than bedtime and stirs the sleepy pot with Daddy excitement. 

Last night, this carefree adult, partially exhausted child, and happy baby chose hot dogs and mac N cheese for dinner.  Don't knock it- everyone was fed and pleased.  Then, because the sun appeared, we wanted to play outside.  At the tube slide park.  Up the hill.  Cool.

I didn't want to have an aching back (silly, me) so I thought, hey!  Why don't I stick Ella in the front seat of the double stroller w/o her car seat so she can see where we are going and not get so hot in that thing?  Great!  Bust out the stroller, get Ella set up, Breckin jumps on the back running board and away we go. 

Two houses down.

We invite Kellen and Mikah along with us- the more the merrier at the park, I say.  They play so well together... I'd take them anywhere.  Except, my master plan of alleviating my back gets trashed.  All three of the age 5+ children hopped on the running board together.  Superfun!  Folks, that's 150 lbs + of children.  Plus the 20 lb one up front.  Plus the 20 lb stroller.  Dammit- why didn't I just strap the Ergo on and make Breckin walk?

I don't know but up the hill we go.  Up and up and up the hill.  Breckin says "Yay!  We are finally there!"  Kellen says "I thought we weren't going to make it in time for my bedtime."  Oh, Kellen.  Go play, sweetie.  Mommy's arms are no longer attached and I can't feel my calves.

Play play play.  Everyone had a great time.  We leave at 7:55.  Everyone hopped back on for the ride back- downhill is just fine for an overloaded stroller.  In fact, it's more fun cause it feels like it's out of control.  Whee!

Breckin:  We should have a playdate.  I like playing with Kellen and Mikah.
Kellen:  We don't want to have too much excitement.  When I get exhausted like that, I just fall asleep.

Seriously?  That's pretty wise thinking for a 5 year old.  I don't think Breckin meant right that minute- maybe a later date.  But, it's words like those for why I love Kellen and think he's such a good match for Buddy.  They bust out with some of the funniest things I've heard and they are both comfortable with punching each other in the middle of the back like it's the greatest form of love.  Kellen, I'd take you to the park anyday.

There are two things I'm good at making.

People and food.  I make pretty dang good people (with the help of my lovely husband, Dustin).  And, sometimes, I make pretty rockin good food.  I like making food- baking, trying new recipes for dinner, finding new things Breckin will eat, etc.  And now I can add pureed vegetables to my repertoire. 

Here's the chain of events:  My mom bought us some cool Beaba spoons for Ella.  She thought about buying us the Beaba babyfood maker.  We found one on craigslist- new in package- for 1/2 price.  I bought carrots, sweet potatoes, mangoes, and peas.


And, for about $8 and made enough baby food to last a month. 
$8 in baby food from the grocery store will last about a week.  This Beaba thing is so frickin easy to use.  The lady I bought it from got it at a baby shower and didn't want to keep it cause- get this- she couldn't get the blending bucket off the stand.  She said the lid was too tough.  Her laziness is my good fortune!  All I have to is dice the food.  This thing steams it, reserves enough liquid (that retains the vitamins), blends it, and is easy washed in the dishwasher.  (Do I sound like an infomercial yet?) 

Heck, Dustin even used it the other night to make some Salsa Yogurt Dip.  Here's my stash so far. 

And, Ella is starting to LOVE eating.  We started pureed goodness almost a month ago and every day she would eat about four bites and look at us like we were trying to kill her.  But, if I walked around with food, she would grab it and try to eat it.  Technically, her first food was chocolate cause she snagged a cookie from me and teethed on the chocolate chip.  Now, she gobbles down an entire 4 oz serving and squeals about it.  I actually like making this stuff.   We'll see what happens when it's time for pureed chicken....  that stuff is so nasty in the Gerber jars- I hope I can make something delish in the Beaba.

Cool Mom part 3

Sunday morning. Everyone wakes up happy. Ella didn't sleep well which means we both didn't sleep well but at least Breckin slept from 8:25 to 7:45 so being up every 2 hours is tolerable when it lasts for 11 hours. A quick breakfast of Captain Crunch, grapes, and apple slices while watching Handy Manny in the motel room was shared by Buddy and me in anticipation of meeting Joslyn, Michael, and Courtney for brunch later that morning.

We have nothing on our plate for Sunday other than spending time with our favorite Eastsiders and driving home. Talk about going from a crammed day to an empty day. We gather ourselves back in the car and head West to Spokane. After a minor switcheroo, we end up at Madeline's in downtown Spokane. If the Brewery was ridiculous yesterday, this place was reeedonkulous. Breakfast is to Madeline's as burgers are to Miners. It's that good. The berry french toast and I are getting married next week. It's always great to hang out with Jos and Court but to have a scrumptous meal like that with them.... heavenly. Have I mentioned that the food is good? And, to top it off, Breckin was still well-behaved.

I knew he was just starting to get punchy towards the end so we scurried over to Riverfront Square to use the potty. I spy a children's museum in the bottom of the mall and figured- hey, an hour to get all remaining wiggles out would be good for all of us. We hugged Jos and Court goodbye and went to explore. He was beside himself. It was like they made that place for him. They had a marble maze, road track for plasma cars, pretend fishing village, train table, tree house with hiding hole, and giant lego building space. I warned him that as soon as Ella woke up and needed to eat, we'd need to leave. He agreed. And, when it was time, he left with no complaint. I knew he was tired and ready to go and to sit with me while she ate was going to be a chore. I told him- bribery, I know, it's not great but sometimes it works- that if he was good and patient while she ate, he could pick out a new good night friend from Nordy's.

We hunkered down in the mother's lounge and Ella got to work. He was good at the start. Only jumping around on the floor. Then the furniture tricks started. He knocked over a giant cushioned foot stool. I stayed calm. He sat upside down on the couch. I stayed calm. He jumped up and down on a fancy, supermod decorative couch. I stayed very calm and told him- jump again and you don't get a new toy. He was good and patient for 1.5 minutes. He jumped on the couch, looked at me like "I know what I just did was bad", and I said "that's it- no new toy." Welcome to major breakdown. Breckin proceeded to sit on the floor and fake cry and promised he would never jump on the couch again. "Mommy, let's start over, I'll make a better choice. Mommy, you are not cool. You are not fun." He repeated this over and over to which I replied, I know Buddy but that's what happens when you make bad choices.

Several nice patrons of Nordys walked in and out of our little man learning the lesson that mommy means what she says. They all left with smiles on their faces at the poor boy who jumped on the couch and lost a privilege. Two gave me thumbs up. I knew he didn't think I was cool or fun right then but I knew I was. Ella finished up and we headed to the car with no new good night friend. He was upset but I could tell what he really wanted was to get in the car, turn on a movie, and zone out for a while. He didn't fall asleep until we passed the Snoqualmie Ski area but the whole drive home he was calm, cool, and patient. I'm so proud of him.

Cool Mom part 2

So, we've landed in CdA- that's what the locals refer to it as so I'm joining in. Our dinky motel is clean and roomy. Coulda fooled me from the looks of it. We meet up with the Biss's and grab lunch. For those of you that work at the CdA Brewery, I apologize. We left more food on the floor than in our bellies. Breckin made Tim say "Bowling with Bumpers" louder and more times that anyone should have to hear. No one could sit still. It was a disaster but the food was.... in the words of Tim.... ridiculous. Seriously. So good.

I told Breckin that I spied a candy store and a toy store and we would definitely be making stops there after we dropped in on Jos. And drop in on Jos, we did. Her face, when this group of ragamuffins rolled by her store window, was priceless. Ever see someone from work outside of the workplace and you think "they shouldn't be here. they don't exist away from their desk." That's it. Why in the hell would two families with small children drive 5+ hours to get some olive oil? Pure love, that's why.

So, after a quick visit to the CdA olive oil company, we went to Figpickles or Pigfickles or Mister Magoriums Wonder Emporium- whatever that toy store is called. Breckin struck gold with a plastic tube full of trucks. Candy store? Not as cool but the ice cream coulda fooled them. Good enough. Here's where I fall back on my white trashy roots. Ella needed to eat. And, I needed olive oil products. So- sorry Jos- I used her coat closet to feed my baby. Scrunched down on the floor of a broom closet, nursing Ella, with Breckin in my lap, too and whisper-yelling at him to keep the door closed- is not my proudest moment. You do what works but that was a low point for me. Not enough yet? Let's go swimming.

Our motel didn't have a pool but the Biss's did. We ran back to the room, changed into suits (including Ella!), and scrambled over to their pool. Here's my cool moment. We are sitting on the bed in our cheesy motel getting Ella into her suit when Breckin says: "Mommy, you're cool. And you're fun." My heart swells. I say "thanks buddy" and he says "you don't have to say thank you. I got a tube of trucks." Ahhhh.

Swam for an hour, changed 7 people in under 30 minutes, and met Michael and Jos for dinner. Again, Breckin is being a champ. He's just going with the flow. We get out of dinner at 8:03. Call Daddy at 8:22. Two sleeping kids by 8:25.

Let's recap. 5:30 am- kids up
6:00 am- in the car, on the road
8:00, 12:20- feed Ella
12:30- get to motel
1:30- eat lunch, walk around, get toys, visit Jos
4:30- swim
5:45- change, head back out
6:30- dinner
8:00- bed time
That's a long day for anyone- adults included. These kids handled it with smiles and grace. I couldn't ask for more.
Stay tuned.

Cool Mom goes on a Road Trip part 1

If you know Jos, and you see her, pat her on the back. She has acheived what most of us dream of. She traded in a cushy, big business, suit-wearing job for a nerve-wracking, small business, be-your-own-boss job. I caught wind of her olive oil shop grand opening and made a spur-of-the-moment decision to drive from Seattle to Coeur d'Alene at the crack of dawn on Saturday. With both kids in tow. Without the physical assistance of my husband. I love flying by the seat of my pants. Dustin fully supported us taking off without him- after all, he already had a golf date (there's a back story there that we'll get to later).

So, decision was made on Friday morning. Friday night was spent charging the portable DVD player, charging the camera battery, washing Ella's clothes, filling up with gas, getting cash (it was a well-budgeted trip!), and packing the car with toys and luggage so all we had to do in the morning was feed Ella and leave. As luck would have it, baby girl woke up 30 min before my alarm. And so did Breckin. My master plan of scooping them up out of bed and letting them sleep in the car was destroyed. Ella ate and fell right back asleep. No such luck with Buddy. I left him in his jammies and played soft music but it was all in vain. That kid was up. And excited. Sooooo a trip through Starbucks for me, a McD's sausage sandwich for him, and we were on the road.

Let me just say this. I have the BEST road trip kids on the planet. He never got bored. He never whined. He picked a baggie of veggies over a package of chocolate chip cookies. When the battery on his DVD player ran out, he didn't get upset. When we had to nurse Ella in front of the gas station in Ellensburg with me in the front passenger seat and him still stuck in the car, he didn't complain. When there was no town to speak of between Ritzville and Spangle, he didn't complain. (That kid always has to know what town he's in. It was hard for him to understand that sometimes there just wasn't a town.) When we drove down the hill into Spokane, he got more and more excited. When our destination was 40 minutes past Spokane, he didn't complain. I would drive across the country with those kids.... finally I've found a trait that they get from me. More later.....