It's all in the wrist

Bethany broke hers last night at a community soccer camp.

This is not Bethany's hand, but this is what it looked like:

The large muffins seem to have a penchant for breaking wrists -- Carter broke his two years ago, also at soccer practice.

Poor kid....we made her wait until morning to go to "Convenient" Care and get it x-rayed.

Yup. Broken. In two places and maybe a third. If there is a third break, it will likely require surgery. We'll know in a few weeks after a follow-up x-ray.

In a weird twist of fate, this injury happened when Bethany was playing goalie and blocked a goal attempt made by her ex-boyfriend, Michael.

When he apologized profusely, she said "consider us even."

Grateful

Those of you that live in the area know what a nasty few days we've had weather-wise. The meteorologists called it a "wintry mix" but it sure seemed more like the 9th circle of Dante's hell.

We had hear the ice storm was coming so I planned to get the bulk of the Christmas shopping done on Saturday. It was nasty but not too bad. But then on Sunday I realized that I hadn't paid enough attention to how low the juice supply was so knew I'd have to go out AGAIN and fork out another chunk of moolah to support the mini-muffins' juice habit. AND I decided I should take them because ONO was focused on getting the basement finished and I sure didn't want to interrupt that!

So, grumbling under my breath, I got the boys dressed in coats, hats mittens, shoes, socks, (and for Brennan pants and a shirt) which they protested vehemently, then got myself ready and out we went into the yuck. Very yuck.
(It wasn't this bad at our house.....I just thought the pic was kinda cool.)


We did the shopping, managed to avoid a number of major meltdowns and headed back out to the van. While the boys cried because they were cold and hungry, I put all the stuff into the van, getting cold and wet. Finally, into the car seats they went with more than minimal angry outbursts from yours truly. It was all just SO annoying! (I usually say something much more colorful but it's not appropriate here.)

This outing was really getting the best of me and I could sense the tough, icy tendrils of my SAD creeping up and planning a hijacking. It's a really desperate feeling.....sensing that the THING is almost upon you and feeling nearly defenseless against it. Fortunately (for me) while driving home I noticed two older women standing at a bus stop, with no warm jacket and no head covering. They were soaking wet and looked miserable. The tendrils slunk back just a little when I said to myself "at least you have a warm, dry van and don't have to stand waiting for a bus."

I got home and before dragging in the $100-plus of groceries in the house, I felt another wave of frustration and annoyance wash over me when I saw the inch of ice on our deck. In a huff I started chopping the ice off the deck and stairs so no one would fall and break their necks (namely me!) I'm chopping away and getting pretty ticked off by it, cursing the weather and winter in general and then, I'm not sure why, the truth of what I was actually doing occurred to me -- I'm chopping ice off of our deck, that we OWN, ourselves, and have friends over to enjoy our firepit on, and our kids have little picnics on when the weather is nice. That's attached to your warm, dry, pretty house, filled with your healthy, normal children and your loving, devoted, hard-working husband, filled to the brim with food, that you were able to buy with the money that you earned from your job that brings you personal satisfaction and fulfillment.

Yeah, Lis, you have a hard life. Poor you, having to go out to buy groceries and chop ice off of your deck.

You know, when you're warm, safe, dry and fed, an ice storm is actually kinda interesting and pretty.

I used to love "falling back"

Ahhhhh......the good old days......the days when you look forward to the end of daylight savings time for the extra hour of sleep. Staying up a little later on Saturday night and watching ALL of SNL.

That all changes with very young children in the picture. Children who don't have any concept of "sleeping in." Children who believe that "when the sunshine is ready" (Brennan's way of understanding when you sleep and when you're awake) you're supposed to be up and going. Monday it was 6:00 am. Today it was 5:40 am. Seriously!! Go back to bed!!

Halloween

As you can see, some of us had more fun than others.......maybe next year.

Model Citizen

The holiday catalog deluge has begun. In the mail yesterday we got one for toys, one that I like better than others because of it's offering of toys that require more child imagination and less noise and blinking lights. Brennan grabbed it up right away and began going through the pages with LOTS of excitement......"I want that. I want THAT! Can I have that? I want that." I listened and mumbled indulgent responses for a while and then became more and more uncomfortable. When he said "We can go to the store and get that right now" I'd had enough. I said, "Sweetheart, these are toys that you could get for Christmas. We don't go to the store every day to get toys." He said, without blinking an eye and in all seriousness, "Yes we do."

Yikes.

NOT a morning person

While Brennan was climbing into the van this morning to take Carter to school, Logan said "Hi!" to him in his cheery, toddler way. Brennan grimaced at him and barked "No saying 'hi!' You're in trouble!"

The love affair continues.....

Budding Environmentalist

Brennan is terrified of public restrooms. He actually refuses to use any toilet other than the ones in his own home. It's probably because he had a few traumatic experiences with public toilets as he was going through potty training. They were mostly my fault and they have been duly added to the already heaping mound of things I feel guilty for as a mother. You can imagine with 4 kids just how big that pile is....it's a miracle I get out of bed every day!

Technically he's been potty trained for a couple of months but he still wears a diaper when he goes to the babysitter's house three days a week.....just in case. He has amazing bladder control and can usually hold it the whole time he's there (4-6 hours) but in the event he couldn't any more, I'm pretty sure we'd be looking for a new child care arrangement.

He does great when we go to the store, stop by my office or watch one of Carter's soccer games. If he does have to go, we just find a tree or a bush, hopefully in a secluded place, and he takes care of business.

This morning, an absolutely gorgeous morning, I ran with the mini muffins to one of our favorite parks. Everyone was happily playing, sharing toys and such when all of a sudden Brennan yells at the top of his lungs "I HAVE TO PEE!!" and starts to pull down his pants. There were lots of parents and kids there so fortunately I was able intervene and usher him to the edge of the park where there were lots of trees. He had quite a bit of business to take care of and I may have said something like "Wow! That's a lot of pee." He said "The tree is very thirsty."

3 X a week

I try hard to get out and run 3-4 times a week. How do I do this with 4 kids, you ask? Why, I drag the mini-muffins along! I'm mostly successful if I don't care too much about some whining about turning off the TV and tantrum throwing -- Logan doesn't liked to be strapped down. It also helps to take drinks, snacks, toys and break up the run with a stop at a park.

This is what we take with us on a typical run.....yes, pepper spray and juice ARE an odd combination. I take pepper spray because you never know how many dogs or hooligans you're going to run into. There's a lot of them.....dogs, not hooligans. Anyway,what you don't see here is the cinch sack full of Brennan's stuff that goes with him everywhere during his waking hours. It's the same stuff that gets lined up on his bed every night. Yes, it's a lot of stuff....but worth it (see this post).



I got the double jog stroller for $85 at a yard sale in early June. If you know anything about how much those things cost you know what a STEAL that is! Besides my running shoes, it's the best chunk of money I've spent on this endeavor.

The Media Machine strikes again!

Evey night before Brennan gets in bed, George and I have to make sure that he has all of his "stuff." The "stuff" getting the honor of going to bed with Brennan changes from day-to-day, but there is always a core group of items that are essential. Below is the line-up from last night:

Any guesses on which movie is currently influencing this child? Maybe the shot below will give a few more hints.....


While Brennan was brushing his teeth he moved his inner circle of favorites right next to him. There's big Lightming Aqueen, little Lightming Aqueen, and Chic Hicks, who Brennan calls "Cachigga." This doesn't surprise me that much because most little kids have their favorite things that they drag everywhere with them -- Brennan just has a large sack full.

What really gets me is that this kid, who LOVES to be naked, if allowed would go anywhere and everywhere naked, and has refused pjs since he could throw a tantrum when we tried to put them on him, now wants to wear pjs to bed AND clothes during the day.....as long as it's a Lightming Aqueen shirt. We finally broke down and bought two sets of Cars pjs so that we could wash his Cars shirt at night.

Way to go, Pixar!

What's Cookin' Wednesday

Every year we've been together, George and I take the muffins to the local orchard, usually around my birthday in early October. Bethany wanted to go before she left for Venezuela so we went early this year. Going early was good for two reasons: 1) we'll go twice this year so we can get pumpkins, and 2) we picked apples which are usually done for the season by the time we go.

The recipe for this week is one George's favorites. You already know he's a big fan of chocolate cake
but this is nearly an equally matched rival. Kind of like, if you put chocolate cake and apple cake in the ring together, apple cake could almost take chocolate cake. I know this because last night I made him a proposition. I said "I'll trade you giving the kids a bath and putting them to bed (it was my turn) for apple cake." He actually seriously considered it.....for about 2 minutes. I'm not sure what he would have done if I'd offered chocolate cake. Maybe I should try it and find out.

Apple Cake

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups chopped apple

Topping
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup chopped nuts
½ cup coconut

In a large bowl, cream butter. Add sugar, brown sugar, eggs, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda, flour, and cinnamon; mix well.

Stir in apples. Pour batter into a greased 13X9 baking pan and sprinkle with topping.

Bake 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Scenes from the airport

Much hugging was done by me of Bethany. The jacket she's wearing is attire required by Rotary International anytime she's traveling.

She's attached all the pins she's collected from other trips and other Rotary exchange students to it. She'll come back with many, many more. She heard that one guy come back with his jacket weighing 14 pounds because of all the pins!



This is what we got after trying many times to get a shot of me, Bethany and the two little guys. That's Bethany's dad in the plaid shirt. Carter was with us too, but artfully dodged the camera every time.

'By, Befy!

She's Gone

WAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!


That's all I have to say about that.

Happy Birthday, George!

Today we are celebrating 42 years of my husband's life. He asked for chocolate cake, as he always does, and I had lots of help with the baking.


George also asked for a new apple keyboard to go with his new apple computer, both of which he's wanted for a long, long time. He had lots of help blowing out his candles and opening his present. I think someone else was WAY more excited about this birthday than George was.



Love you, babe. And many more.

One week from today

My oldest child, Bethany, leaves home for a 10 month Rotary exchange to Venezuela next Friday, September 7. She's my only daughter and it goes without saying that I'm going to miss her. But I HAVE to say it......I AM GOING TO MISS HER!!

She graduated from high school in June and turns 18 on September 10. Both events signal that it's time for her to go. Leaving home is what she's supposed to do and what all her parents have worked hard for -- getting her ready for when she "grows up." I really do want her to launch (and believe me, that's the right word for what she's going to do), but DAMN I didn't think it would be this hard.

Some would think that all the practice I've already had with her being away would soften the blow of her departure. I mean, it's already been 10 years of the back-and-forth between my house and her dad's house since our divorce. It was terrible, those times that she called needing her mom, and I couldn't hold her hand, look into her eyes and share her pain or joy or blahhhs in the same physical space. We figured out our own ways to manage it -- none of them particularly good but they helped us deal with the situation.

And then there are the two times that she left for an extended visit to Japan. She went with a group from her Japanese class and their teacher, "Sensei," in the summer of '05 for about 3 1/2 weeks. She returned to Japan last summer for about 10 weeks where she lived with a host family. She came back from both experiences entranced with Japan and with traveling. She's always been that way. I remember when she was about 6 years old she asked for a book about China for Christmas. (She also asked for a My Little Pony, but hey! she was a 6 year old girl!)

I guess I can see how her previous absences have helped prepare me for what's coming. It's hard to look at it that way because I just don't want to let her go. And as hard as I try to be philosophical about it (see above) and altruistically encouraging of her hopes and dreams, my selfish part keeps nudging and reminding me of how much I'm going to lose when she leaves. Bethany gives so much to me and our family, in ways that she's very aware of and in other ways that have probably never occurred to her.

She gracefully opened herself to two, very-much-younger-than-her, half-brothers, proceeded to graciously share her already limited access to my time, energy, and physical affection with aforementioned brothers. She also generously and frequently tends to them to that I can have an hour to myself or a date with my husband. She knows all of this, and I hope, how much I appreciate her offerings.

What I don't think she's aware of is how her very presence provides me with an unspoken ally in this home. She's the only other person in the household with a brain wired like mine! This I will truly, truly miss. I'm not looking forward to being a small island of estrogen awash in a mighty sea of testosterone.

But more than anything else, I'm going to miss her complex and deeply thoughtful mind and her exuberant spirit. She definitely lights up a room with her smile and her energy and of course, her amazing dancing skills! (See representative photo above)

She's not without her foibles, but in times like these, they are easy to overlook.

Sweetheart, as you go, I hope you remember that you'll always have a soft place to lay your head whenever you want it or need it. And remember, no matter how grown up you get, or how far you travel away from me, you'll always be my
"Sweet little Bethanini."

What's in a name?

This is Logan James Haake.

We call him "Logan," of course, but like most kids, he's picked up a few nick-names in his 21 months. They include:

"Logie"

"Loganberry"
"Monkey"
"Sir Chunk-a-lot"

But my favorite for him is "Chub-a-licious."

School starts today

Carter, age 15

A boy and his dog

My 3 year old son Brennan got his beloved "Puppy" from his Great Aunt Pat when he was born. It became so important to him that we got a duplicate just in case Puppy was ever lost or needed a bath, which, of course, is often.

"New Puppy" is rarely accepted in those times of crisis. "New Puppy" just doesn't feel the same.....or smell the same.

There's just nothing like that dirty, old dog smell.