Life Updates

Chris

• Has gotten the knack of how to use a spoon but not how to scrape edges. So if the food isn't in plentiful quantity he can't get it and then he grunts/whines
• He's learned several new words and we're at the point where if i pay close enough attention i understand what he wants. Nicole and I are forever telling him "Chris, say ___". Common ones he says that sound darn good (and are SOOO cute to hear) are purple, yellow, apple, Grandpa (insert HUGE smile before "papa"), daddy ("dada")
• For some reason he really likes wearing pajamas and lately throws a fit when i want to get him dressed in "real" clothes
• Still clingy as ever...

Nicole

• Is into a husband phase. She "has" a husband that doesn't have a name, "it's just husband" she tells me, and changes age and profession daily. Yesterday her husband was 9 and in kindergarten (apparently not the over-achiever i hope she actually marries some day....). His job was to go to the north pole and look at penguins. My favorite was when her reply to my trivia question "Nicole, how do kites stay in the sky?" was "sticky tape. That's my husband's job," gaining enthusiasm, "he uses sticky tape to keep kites in the sky. But sometimes he does a bad job and they fall. It's just an accident though and i still love him."
• She wants a tinkerbell house, something we passed as i bustled her through Sears one day, for Christmas.
• We're into reading series of stories, specifically Amelia Bedelia and Frog and Toad are Friends.
• She has an amazing memory - in one Amelia Bedelia book two brothers, Mike and Harry, help Amelia pitch a tent. Several days later when Amelia was helping with a play at school Nicole asked what Mike and Harry were going to do in the show. These characters had all of four sentences about them and yet she recalls them!

Jim

• Started a new assignment on Wednesday of last week and is overwhelmed by the amount of new things to learn
• Is studying nightly for his big CFA exam that he'll take in June 2011

Karen

• Is headed to NYC Sun-Mon to support Sarah F. at the TODAY show (airing Monday 12/13/10 10-11am EST)!
• Is not done Christmas shopping. I'm particularly stuck on Chris
• Finished Section 1 of the novel yesterday. Looking forward to good progress in air this weekend

Announcing

I'm writing a book.

I've told a few people sporadically but hadn't made any kind of formal announcement. I'm about 55% of the way done and I suspect it'll be about 60,000 words when I'm finished. I'm hoping by letting people know it'll keep me honest about finishing it.

My ambition started when I first decided to write a Grammy award-winning song. Sounded good on paper - all I needed was 3 verses and a catchy refrain. I figured I could live off the royalties and a few companies would pick it up for their commercials (ala Hey Soul Sister which is EVERYWHERE). Good plan, eh? :)

I'm not musical enough to do it though.

Several people over the years said that they liked my writing style and I should give authoring a novel a whirl. I've had a fortune, as in one out of a cookie, taped to my moniter at work for five years. It's faded and barely legible. It reads: You are a lover of words. Someday you will write a book. Lucky Numbers 8, 11, 24, 25, 31, 36. (I also have one that says You are going to have a very comfortable old age. Lucky Numbers 7, 18, 94, 25, 36, 11 taped to the monitor too- maybe they coincide!?) After lunch with a friend, who encouraged the same thing so sincerely, I decided to actually go through with it.

It's a romance that's pretty Harlequin-esque. I've been doing lots of research online about the best way to publish and it sounds like going to a literary agent is the way to approach it.

I have one reader now, Sarah F., who's reading as I go. When I'm done with the first draft (goal is by 12/31/10) I'm going to take Jim's suggestion and send it to several friends (any volunteers?) who'll help me edit and revise before i send it to someone professional for review.

I think it's good, not great, but it's also my first try and by far the longest thing I've ever written. Jim says that even if it's not picked up by any publishers we'll still have it bound because finishing a task like this is accomplishment enough.

I love him and his support. :)

Nicole's Writing

We made turkeys tonight for the teachers at Nicole and Chris's school

but I was most impressed by the letters Nicole wanted to put on the back of her Language Art teacher's card ("because she teaches me letters")

(for reference the second letter from the right bottom corner is a "b". Right below her backwards J is a "g". For some reason she didn't know how to do an "x" so i had to draw it. The "w" is totally unrecognizable (it's situated between all of the "u"'s. Her "F" made me smile because it took six penstrokes to create.)

Life around here

• Jim's family's Thanksgiving was this weekend. I drove the "to" leg and got a speeding ticket on the way. It was really lousy because he pulled me and the guy behind me over (80 in a 65) so the cop got a 2 for 1 deal. Per Jim's suggestion I'm taking it easy on my speeding as a result. On the way to work I only did 4-7 mph over the limit. I drove in the center lane and sneered at the cars who continually passed me on BOTH sides.
• Chris frustrates me with his behavior. At school he's rough with the other kids. At home he's whiny and wants me to hold him constantly. At other people's houses he's adorable, playful, and self-entertaining. Maybe if I redecorate our house he'll be confused and act the way he does when he's visiting?
• We took advantage of the 66 degree weather yesterday and put up the wreaths on the outside of our house. I have not yet done any internal decorations- those I'll save until this weekend.
• After some irritating experiences at 4am on Black Friday a few years ago I vowed to never again wake before dawn to go shopping. While I still get the online BF ads and have scoped out some deals, my full intention is to online shop as much as possible.
• There have been several break-ins in our neighborhood lately. I've gotten two suggestions for a dog. We are dog people but we would be very bad dog owners because we aren't home enough. One of our neighbors has a dog and their window got shot with a bb gun (a pattern for the robbers) so my new response will now be- "dogs don't work".

Building Vocabulary

This morning Chris said two new things that he's never said before:

"Nope" and "Down Low"

"Nope" was an answer to "Chris, do you want some milk?"

"Down low" came out "ow low" but he did it in the right context of me giving him five.

He's coming along!!!

***** UPDATE******
At LaRosa's he was eating apple slices and bit part of one so that the peel had a tag (was hanging off). He tried to pull it but it wouldn't tear. He handed the piece to Jim and said "off".

Now, 3 measly letters might not seem big, but it's 1) a new word he's never said before and 2) a pretty abstract concept for a 16 month old to say.

*hoping i have a baby genius* - ha!

He tried!

Last night, while getting Chris ready for bed, Chris was standing on his changing pad. I took off his shirt and blew a "raspberry" on his belly. Laughing like crazy he bent over as far as he could and went "pflleeeebbbb" in the air.

As flexible as he is, he couldn't get his lips to his own stomach.

Blah!

Our household has been SICK lately and it's getting old.

• Chris got a cough and then a rash that led to $105 in prescriptions
• I picked up a cold that had me taking off work last Wednesday. I'm still not fully over it.
• Nicole's nose got stuffy last week but she insisted she was fine and never needed to blow
• Jim and Nicole got a pukey virus that had them out of commission on Sunday night. I was up all night with one or both of them and had to take a half day yesterday just to catch up on sleep
• Chris now has a new, blotchy red rash on his arms and legs. He'll need to go back to the doctor today
• I just got an annoying cold sore on the inside of my top lip. It's all irritated because it rubs against my gum line when I talk.

Enough already!!!

Happy Halloween 2010!

The only pumpkin we carved this year. It's no Sturgis creation, but not too bad....

On our way to Grandma and Grandpa's for the first Trick-or-Treating stop of the night.

Surprise! Cousin Ryann was there too (as Alice in Wonderland).

At our house eating the fruits of their labor. Actually, it was most definitely MY labor as I pulled them (60lbs. of kids + the weight of the wagon and blankets) up and down the hills of our neighborhood. Fortunately they got too cold to do more than about a dozen houses.

Hanging with Dad!

Ballet Class

Tonight was the night Jim and I could sit in the classroom and watch Nicole during dance class. She's the shortest in the class (shades of her mother...) so her number (1) was on the far end.





See the dance instructor? She's THE SAME teacher I had from ages 4-12!

A little blurry but she was in motion!

I tried for literally hours to let a video load but it wouldn't! (been trying for days on other videos too with the same result). I'll research and attempt to repost.

Nicole is not the most coordinated kid in the class for sure. She eagerly does the following though:

1) volunteers to answer questions

2) play around with her skirt

3) watch the instructor/helpers and attempt to copy

They showed us her costume for the recital - it looks like a nightgown because the song has something to do with falling asleep while listening to the rain. They'll get teddy bears as props too apparently.

We can't ALL be the best

When I was in grade school we had a Field Day at the end of every school year. Like many other schools, this day was dedicated to being outside and competing. We had events like:

• 50 yard dash
• bean bag throw (distance)
• twirling a marshmallow on a string the fastest
• High Jump
• Dropping clothespins held at your nose in a jelly jar

The school gave blue, red and white ribbons for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each event. Kids pinned the ribbons to their shirts as we progressed around the different stations. As you can imagine, the athletic kids had 2, 3, 4+ hanging on their chests.

Not once in 8 years of grade school did I win a blue ribbon. I did get a red once in the marshmallow race. I had a handful whites in a variety of things over my tenure.

Maybe because I won something it never really bothered me that I didn't win lots of ribbons. Maybe because I won something I didn't appreciate how frustrating it is for the kids who never won anything.

Maybe it didn't bother me that I didn't have a full collection because I understood then what kids now don't have to understand- we can't all win.

Around my 7th grade year they did away with individual competitions and moved to a team environment. Here the entire school was randomly divided into three teams. Winning scores in the events gave points to your team, not ribbons to the winner. Everyone got a treat for participating.

***

I was on the swim team from when I was 8 until I was 17. The collection of ribbons down in my basement are mostly orange, yellow and green because I swam exhibition (fun) races and not the real ones that counted towards my team's point-count. I still pushed it as hard and fast as I could. I still counted on the full-out cheers from my friends and family at the end of the lane and eating at the after-meet pizza party. Sure, I loved competing in the "real" races and even won a few. But, if my girl friend Lori could be our spot in the breast stroke relay or me, I'd pick Lori because she'd earn Orchard Hill points. She was faster. That didn't make her a better person than me. It made her a better swimmer.

***

I don't think it's all bad for people (not just kids) to realize that they're not good at some things, whether that's running 50 yards or programming a computer. It *should* lead you to try to find the thing that you *are* really good at- arranging flowers, talking people off ledges, or whatever.

I support swim meets with competitive races and appreciate that they make time for exhibition events too. I support try-out based sports teams and value the community leagues that take everyone else. I support auditions for the lead roles in plays and the opportunities to help build the set for those that still want to be involved. I support teacher-approved Honors classes for the bright kids and lower-intensity classes for the less-gifted students.

I think it's most important for me as a parent to teach my kids that while they might not win everything they try they can not be sore losers. If they really like an activity being involved and having fun where you can is the most important thing. Just because it's not the select team doesn't mean it doesn't have merit and can't be a good time. Further, being in a lower league/class/role is not an excuse for not trying your best.

Parenting Moments

Conversation at the breakfast table this morning:

"Because I have such a good little girl, who stayed in her own bed all night, we can go to the pumpkin patch tonight."

Glee ensues...

"And Chris can come too because he stayed in his bed?"

"Yes, Chris can come. I'm so lucky to have two good kids."

"No, mom, me and Chris are lucky."

Halloween and Bustin' Some Moves

For Halloween Nicole is going to be Dorothy and Chris is going to be the Lion. Not one to spend a fortune on costumes, both are being borrowed (Ryann was Dorothy last year and the Lion costume, which sparked the Dorothy one, is a hand-me down from cousin Noah).

I was bad about not putting hats on Chris so as a result he's always pulling off whatever I put on his head now. We're practicing keeping the mane on daily and he's gotten to like it... for a while. Whenever I put it on him he "roars" loudly and I shiver with fear which makes him giggle.

Nicole is really getting into the Dorothy role. I'm surprised and impressed because she's only seen the movie twice - once on the way and once on the way home from vacation in JULY. When I ask if she wants to watch it now she adamantly does NOT because the witch is "so scary". But, she remembers a lot about it and is excited about her ruby slippers from Target and frequently asks if Lindsay got the chocolate off the costume so she can practice. We've been singing it for over a year, but in preparation for her upcoming role, Nicole sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" to me each night before bed. I'll work on getting a video.

-------------

A little clip from our night last night. As it has for the last three years, the Michael Jackson craze continues....

Politics

Well, if the streets you drive are anything like mine they're LITTERED in political signs. On the West Side of Cincinnati it's Chabot for Congress that's got the most up. Even my brother and sister-in-law have a sign in their yard and I didn't realize they were that heavy of supporters!

Though I have very strong political views on a myriad of topics I have yet to take a hard look at any candidates' positions. I'm not even sure when election day is. Have no fear, I will be organized and informed by the time it rolls around.

------

As a side political note, I have some inner jousting about this whole mosque at Ground Zero thing. I assimilate it to the non-smoking ban in Cincinnati. While I don't like the smoke and certainly don't want my kids around it, I feel like it's not my place to tell others they can't make their own choices.

Same gig - I'm not wild about the idea to put a Mosque at Ground Zero but I recognize that it's a small faction of the faith that caused those crimes, not the people who'd be worshipping there. Why should we restrict them from having a nice place of worship (especially when so much money is going to other community things in the same area)?

I think it would be more appropriate to put a completely non-denominational worship hall there that any faith could use on a scheduled basis for their purposes.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, I'm officially 31 years old. That doesn't feel old. In fact, like always, I wonder how I'm 31 and still have so far to go....

What I did on my birthday:

• Took the kids to daycare
• Went to work
• Smiled all day as I was wished Happy Birthday via text, in person, on facebook, and over the phone.
• Decided that if I ever own a company I will give everyone their birthday off as a paid holiday
• Enjoyed chicken cordon bleu at my parents house - yummy!
• Got level 2 cake decorating lessons, a cake decorating box (place to put all my supplies), some jewelry, and a 1/2 day at the spa (1 hr. massage, 1 hour pedicure, manicure, hair cut & style, make-up consultation).
• Got excited about my party on Saturday with the rest of my family

What I've enjoyed most about being 30

• My roller skating birthday party
• Realizing again and again how blessed I am that our family is healthy and happy- taking this realization and gained a deep appreciation
• Gotten excited about weddings - 2 co-workers engaged, 1 brother engaged, 1 friend engaged
• Enjoyed being married more than ever

What I'm going to do in my 31st year

• Introspect more and make changes that are necessary versus taking the easy road
• Be a better friend - I think I'm a pretty good friend in general but I let my own life/problems/busyness get in the way of being as good of a friend that I really want to be.
• Enjoy the little moments more - I'm very process and productivity-driven and I could be less so at home
• Do one really wild thing. Recently I was intregued by trapese lessons; this could be a possibility.... Someone please call me on this a year from now.

Eating Habits

I've been a bit blah lately when it comes to eating. Normally I'm all about variety - Indian, Chinese, Mexican, good ole' American- whatever! The last week though nothing sounds particularly good.

These blahs are jacking up my creativity for dinner too - I can't think beyond the common (BBQ Chicken again, anyone?). Having such boring meals doesn't really inspire me to eat as much either which is good news for Chris who is happy to eat all of his food and any of my leftovers. In fact, he's eaten as much or more than me for the last several days.

Any suggestions to jump-start my culinary skills?

TV Time

I wasn't so much into TV before we got DVR. Now, with the ability to watch on my schedule there's no reason to not be entertained. I am kinda goofy about starting new shows in the middle of a season especially, and, to nearly the same extent, if I can't watch them in order from the beginning. As such, though I've gotten lots of "you NEED to watch Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother/Two and a Half Men/etc." I can't do it and give it my "all". I only watch TV when the kids are in bed - either for the night or naps- and it's turned into a bit of a guilty pleasure over the last 9 months.

The shows I'm DVRing right now include:
Parenthood
Glee
The Event
Taboo (fun to watch when nothing else is on)
What Would You Do
(and obviously Dora, Kai Lan, & Go Diego Go for Nicole)

The shows I wish I was DVRing but they're apparently not on actively/anymore:
Cake Boss
Shark Tank
So You Think You Can Dance
Whale Wars
Selling New York
Design Star

The shows I was DVRing but won't in the future:
Color Splash
Bang For Your Buck

I'm baaaaaa-ck

This is the longest hiatus from blog posting I think I've ever had. Things here have been tumultuous lately. It's made me more than ever thankful for the things and people that keep me sane and supported, most notably Jim, Lisa, and my mom. Fortunately my whole family is in good health and our home life is an sanctuary from the stress for both Jim and I.

Some small things have made me really happy lately:

• Having wine and dessert with my high school girls
• Making pretty (and tasty) layered jello
• Getting great deals at a mother's sale. Best find was a $3 dress that Nicole LOVES and has deemed her princess dress.
• Watching Whale Wars with Jim in the evening
• Looking forward to the Apple Daze Festival

Chris
Chris is very influenced by Nicole. This might come back to bite both of us in the ass, but he was having fun and it was a funny 10 minutes of dress-up for him (video is only 15 sec clip):

I bet I put those shoes back on him two dozen times after he'd walk out of them.

He cut an incisor since I posted last and his bottom right one is swollen and ready to burst with another (tooth #16).

Chris really enjoys our evening family walks. He sits very upright in the wagon clutching a football as we pull him up and down the neighborhood hills.

He knows so many words and says so few (up, ma, da - did say "daddy" once, mih (milk), uh oh, wow, roar)!! My favorites - he knows what hugs and kisses are and is very eager to give me as many as I ask for.

Nicole

She's gone through a bit of an ornery stage lately. We got two bad reports from school on her this week (hitting friends, talking back, stomping around, etc.) which is VERY weird for her. Hopefully she's in a 1-week funk and things will go back to normal.

Nic started ballet class this Monday. It's weekly at 5 which makes it rather inconvenient to get her to and from on time. She said she liked her first class so we'll see if it continues. She's one of the shortest in her class but I'm unsure if everyone in her group is 3 or if maybe there are some 4-year olds too.

She pronounces "successful" like "success-tible" which cracks me up.

I had a strap break on my sandal at work. I threw the shoes away and proceeded to make dinner (turkey & mashed potatoes) upon arriving home. When Nicole went to throw her fruit snack wrapper away she saw the shoes. When I emerged from the bathroom she handed the pair to me saying "Mommy, these were covered in potatoes but I cleaned them for you". Awwww... Have to sneak them into the trash to avoid my very helpful girl apparently!

She's gotten very aware of gender lately- "no, he can't wear that necklace, only girls wear necklaces" or "Mom, get me out of the car and Daddy get Chris. Girl to girl. Boy to boy".

I'm going to try to be on here more and keep a consistant positive attitude.

Life in Pictures

Nicole likes to draw and color but I don't need a gazillion pieces of art. I started taking pictures of the notable ones.

Here she's drawing a snail. Not that it really looks like a snail but without being prompted she drew the whole spiral on her own, which I thought was pretty good for a 36 month old.

This is the picture of Ryann that she drew for Ryann. I see the person pretty clearly and though she said that it's a picture of "Ryann in bed" I miss the "bed" portion (red squiggles). I complimented her on the hat (started as just aqua and green part) so she continued to embellish until it got huge.

We are Farm Bureau members and got invited to their night at Stricker's Grove last Thursday. It was actually better than I remembered....

Nicole went to the dentist for the first time Wednesday morning. She did FANTASTIC (no squirming, whining, etc.) as they worked on her teeth. For a reward they gave her TWO prizes out of the toy box. However, the hygienist didn't like what she picked (a rubber frog and a purple ring) so she gave her a bracelet, stickers/pencil set, and extra princess flossers too.

Also on Wednesday we went to the fire station to get Chris's car seat turned around to face forward. While we were there I entertained the kids while Jim chatted with the fireman. Another fireman came out with their search and rescue dog, Aiden, who liked to play frisbee with the kids.


We did a test of Aiden's skills. We hid Nicole under a blanket on the firemen's beds and told her to stay quiet and still. Then we set Aiden off to "search". He sniffed all of us and all around the room. When he got to the lump on the bed he sniffed it and then barked to indicate that he found something. It was very neat!

Spelling Bee

We've been working with Nicole on spelling a lot lately. Trying to emphasize that we read words, not pictures, and that words are comprised of the letters she already knows.

She can spell her name and knows the sound of each letter so it's not a far jump to quiz her on things like: "Nicole, what planet starts with Ssssssss?"

The other night I told her we were having something great for dinner.
"Hot dogs?" she beamed.
"No, even better," I prompted.
"Chicken Nuggets?"
"Even better. It starts with P."

*thinking*

"Psaghetti!?"

.

Dad's brand of entertainment

Like all little kids, my brothers and I liked to be entertained. Especially on long car trips. My dad was often in charge of this effort and there were three go-to's that were always big hits.

1) Brandy stories- "Brandy" is the name of my cousin's cousin (no relation to our side of the family) who was older than me and therefor automatically cool. Brandy's best and worst characteristic? Her wooden leg. Teenaged Brandy goes on lots of adventures and finds herself in terrible predicaments all solved by said leg. Once she got stranded on the top of a mountain after a helicopter crash and she had to burn her leg and send smoke signals to get rescued. Another time she was rafting the Amazon when she got stranded and needed to use her leg to fight off hungry crocodiles. Her perseverance never failed and neither did her creativity. Classic.

2) Big Bad John- yes, this is the song that you might hear on Oldies 103.5 from time to time. Dad would sing it in his deepest voice possible and we'd all chime in on the chorus.

3) Twilight Zone- when Brandy was doing normal things like going to school or eating dinner we'd tune in to Dad's renditions of old Twilight Zone episodes. Of course we never saw these in real life (and I'll tell you, after I did I liked Dad's versions better). The amazement after discovering that Mr. Jones's whole life had been lived inside a snow globe for little Suzy's entertainment.... The terror of being abducted by aliens for bodily tests and experiments.... It was all so creative and wonderful, how could any kid not like it?

Still working on what my gift to Nicole and Chris may be...