One-One-Hundredth of a Second

Watching the Olympics last night, I was hoping to see a segment with Mary Carillo. I wasn't so lucky but instead, I was totally glad to have caught a very amusing segment of Bob Costas and Jimmy Fallon. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did:

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/blogs/2010/03/thank-you-notes-in-vancouver-with-bob-costas/

There is one kind of "off" remark - and I apologize for that - but other than that, this just tickles my funny bone. There are so many things in this clip that make me smile (and/or giggle) but in case you choose to watch the clip after reading this, I won't spoil the fun by listing them here.

Homework With A Kindergartner

One of the homework assignments that Hudson often has to do requires him to say words that start with certain letters. Instead of just having him say a few words, I also have him write the words (often with me helping him to spell them). Last week, the letters given were A, I, D, X, and Z. He had a hard time coming up with words that start with X and Z (who doesn't have a hard time with the letter X?!) but didn't hesitate in spitting out words for the first three...

A: apple, airplane, appetizer

I: insect, IKEA (he loves those meatballs!), ice cream

D: dolphin, duration, doghouse

Seriously...appetizer and duration? I couldn't help but laugh. And he didn't understand what was so funny. Maybe he should write those words when he's practicing his footwriting.

Olympics: Our Addiction & Hudson's Goals

We have a slight problem here, people. We are seriously addicted to the Olympics (aka "'Lympics" as the peeps around here called them back in '02). Each night after the kids go to bed, we watch the primetime stuff that we TiVo'd the night before. We plop down in our comfy chair and couch and spend the night watching Bob Costas' commentary, Mary Carillo go on her little adventures, and - of course - the athletes doing their thing. This is all fine and dandy until you factor in our staying up until midnight or 1:00 doing this every night. It's catching up to me. Some days I'm sluggish all day. Others I'm snippy. Today it's a headache. This has got to stop. I'm giving it another week and a half or so and then I'm quitting for a good 2 years.

We watched the women's downhill final last night. Holy cow...could I have cringed any more than I did watching a few of them crash? I think not. Max and I both remarked a number of times that we can't believe that these athletes do these things in spite of crash after crash and one injury or surgery after another.

Our observing athletes in their worst moments isn't helping Hudson's newly stated goals of becoming a winter Olympian. During the late afternoon and earlier evening hours, he's been joining us in our addiction. Loves every minute of it. While watching various competitions, he has said that he thinks he'd like to be a __________ someday (insert type of winter sportsman of choice). He's talked about being a cross-country skier, a downhill skier, a luger, a speed skater, and a figure skater. When talking about doing luge, he said, "I could be good at that. But if I did that, I think I would pee my pants." I'm not too keen on his taking up anything even semi-hazardous. Super G or downhill? No way. His best bet for getting maternal support would probably be one of the two the skating options with speed skating in first place (not too keen on the feathery/glittery unitards). And speaking of that...

Yesterday afternoon, we were catching up on some of the men's figure skating. When Johnny Weir came out on the ice in his lovely black and fuchsia number, Hudson's immediate response was, "EW!" Amen, little man. He said the same thing another time or two during the routine and didn't say anything again until it was Evan Lyascek's turn. When he took to the rink, Hudson looked at his solid black ensemble and slick hair and said, "He looks pretty cool." I commented that he looked a lot better than Weir and Hudson agreed stating, "He was wearing PINK. And he looked like a girl." Once again, my boy said what the rest of us were thinking. Maybe speed skating is more his thing.

Now we'll just have to wait a couple of years and see what summer Olympic sports he aspires to participate in. Basketball? Swimming? Volleyball? Track or Field? Just about any summer sport with sit much better with this mommy than the majority of the winter sports.

P.S. Whenever I type "Weir", my fingers automatically add a "d" on the end. Sorry, Johnny, these fingers don't lie.

Finding A Seasonally Appropriate Background...

I just spent a good long while looking for a new background for this here blog. Normally, it's a quick process for me. I pick something that goes with the current season or holiday, change my colors, and I'm all set. But not today...problem is that we're past Valentine's Day which means no hearts, it's not quite snowy enough around here to do a wintry theme, and it's too soon for me to use a St. Paddy's or Easter background. So I searched three of my favorite sites looking for something that would really hit me between the eyes...something that said "no upcoming holiday, dirty snow on the ground, not warm enough for spring (though it is coming soon), and not too plain." Yeah - doesn't exist.

Advanced Kindergarten Subject?

The Wednesday after we got back from California, Hudson and I met with his teacher for an end-of-term conference. During said meeting, she showed him his "report card". On it, she had typed up a couple of paragraphs - one praising him for the things he's doing well at and the other stating the things she wants him to work on. He read the first paragraph without missing a beat but while reading the second paragraph, we hit a little snag. Mrs. W. wrote that she wants him to keep working on his handwriting (his one weakness). He read this and then looked up and said, "What about my footwriting?" Neither his teacher nor I could stifle our laughs. We explained to him that we don't write with our feet. This, of course, prompted a, "Why?" from my boy but he took our word for it in the end.

Indiana Jones + Mary Poppins

I forgot to mention another little story from my day at Disneyland with the kids. No overflowing diapers or purchasing of extra clothing involved here. Just a tidbit about my cute boy...

As we walked down Main Street USA on the way to the car on Wednesday night, we spotted Mary Poppins and Bert doing a little show. We pointed them out to the kids and kept on going, not thinking anything of it.

Thursday morning, as the kids and I passed that spot where we'd seen Mary Poppins the night before, Hudson said, "Mom, if we see Mary Poppins again today, can we meet her?" I was kind of surprised but told him that'd be just fine. A short while later, we had just finished lunch and as we walked by the big castle, there was the lady herself. Mary Poppins had a short line of children waiting to meet her and have pictures taken with her. I told Hudson and he froze up. Waving his hand at me he said, "No, not right now. I'm okay." I was surprised but told him we'd probably have the chance again later and he indicated that he'd want to see her then.

We went on with our day. At one point, we stopped in the Indiana Jones store where we picked up a very nice hat for Hudson - just like Indy's. As we left the store, I watched him place it on his head and realized that I had dressed him in matching attire...khaki cargo pants and a brown polo shirt. It looked like I had it planned and I'm sure that if anyone in the park that day payed his outfit any notice, they probably thought that I had picked out those clothes on purpose.

Fast forward to the late afternoon. The two of us were walking through Fantasyland on our way to meet up with Max's brother, his family, and Claire. As we scooted along, there was a sudden voice from behind, calling out in a nice British accent: "Well hello, Indiana Jones!" It was Mary Poppins, her eyes looking directly down at Hudson's face. He was obviously star-struck and didn't make a peep when he realized it was her. I commented to him that it was SO cool that she talked to him and asked him if he wanted to meet her really fast. The answer was again a bashful, "No."

Later on, as I related the story to Max, Hudson fessed up. He said that he really wanted to meet her but when he saw her, he was kind of shy.

+

=

Guess my boy has a thing for British nannies...or at least for Mary Poppins.

My Day As a Solo Parent at Disneyland

I do have to tell y'all one fun story from our trip that deserves its own post. It involves my taking the kids to Disneyland, one little girl, and an un-awesome day of unexpected changes (ha ha...you'll get the pun later):

We planned on making our final trip to Disneyland on Thursday morning. As it turned out, Max was sick that morning so I packed the kids in the car and headed off. I got off at Harbor Blvd., ready to turn in the direction of the big Disney parking garage when a little light went off in my head: the tickets are in Max's wallet. Arrrrgggh!!!!! I called Max and sure enough, he confirmed that his wallet was there in our villa with our precious tickets sitting inside. I pulled a U-turn at the next light and back to Newport we went. An hour, 2 naps, several snacks, and a whole lot of frustration later, we pulled into the parking garage.

Finally there, I discovered that during our 90-minute drive, Claire had filled her pants. After changing her messiness, we hopped on the tram to the park. It was nearly lunchtime so before having any real fun, the kids and I settled in at an open dining area and ate our picnic lunch. We then went on a ride or two and then I discovered that Claire had wet through a bit (not even 2 hours since her last change). I got her cleaned up again and on we went. I wasn't too keen on having further diaper problems so I made sure to change her again a while later. Not too long after that stop, we were with Max's brother and his wife and decided to split up so we older folk could go on some big rides. They went to go on Matterhorn together and I took all four kids to go the Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. I parked the stroller and as I picked up Claire, I was horrified to see that she had apparently been keeping the Pacific Ocean in her bladder...she was SOAKED through like I had never seen before. She was wet to the top of her pants (front and back) and down to her mid-thigh and her stroller was obviously damp. Awesome! So I informed the excited, ride-ready children that we had to head to Toon Town so that we could buy her new pants and get her cleaned up. Lucky them. Thanks to browsing a store prior to purchasing a hoodie for Claire 2 nights before, I knew exactly which pants I wanted and where they were. We were out of the store, pants and plastic bag in hand, and in the women's restroom as quick as three little sets of legs could allow. Once I had her on the changing table, I was tickled to find that in the few minutes since I had discovered her little liquid problem, Claire had managed to sweeten the deal and had pooped as well. Praise the heavens above, Max's brother and his wife returned from their ride just as I started cleaning Claire up so I didn't have to manage 3 boys in a women's restroom at the same time. Getting her pants off was a chore (she cried as I tried to peel the denim away) but once she was wiped down, cleaned up, and in a fresh diaper and pants, she was much happier and we were back on our way.

The rest of the day went fine. This included me working the system a bit. Using the stroller pass system, I went on Space Mountain and Matterhorn by myself in about 20 minutes flat. The kids and went and got the great fried chicken for dinner that evening (though Claire fell asleep in her stroller as we got our food). The chicken was as tasty as ever. Unfortunately, the single piece of chocolate cake that Hudson and I shared there (if a total of 2 bites can be consituted as sharing) left something to be desired. It is quite possibly the nastiest chocolate dessert I've ever had. And I wasted $4.99 on it. The powder for instant chocolate pudding or petrified Hershey's kisses would have been better. So our day ended on that note.

Oh - and you can bet I checked Claire's diaper every few minutes and changed her as we got in the car. I still don't know what her deal was...too much apple juice? No clue.

In retrospect, here’s what I’ve learned from my single parent experience (and I had help part of the time!):

• Don’t leave the house unless you’re sure you have your a) tickets and b) sanity.
• When we go to Disneyland in June, my girl will either very well potty-trained or I'm going to be prepared with 2-3 pairs of pants in her diaper bag and check her diaper every 10 minutes.
• No matter how much you’re craving something that resembles it, do NOT get the awesome looking layered chocolate cake.
• Don't go without some form of additional adult help...had Max's brother and his wife not been there, I might have lost what was left of the sanity I took with me.

The End

January Trip To Newport Coast (& Disneyland!)

The last week of January, we took a spur-of-the-moment trip to Southern California with Max's parents and his brother Dave and his family (hence no posts during that time). We were toying with staying in heaven (aka Balboa Island) but ended up going with the next best thing and booked three places at Marriott's Newport Coast Villas. Max and I had stayed there before with my family and knew it would be totally ideal with each couple/family having their own place and plenty of room to spread out. And it was.

Our first day there was spent checking in, getting a late lunch at Ruby's in Newport Beach (got to have my Super Burger!), and then unpacking, grocery shopping, etc. That evening, all the men stayed at the villas while my MIL, SIL, and I went to Fashion Island for a late dinner. After eating, I took the ladies over to Balboa Island for a Balboa Bar. For those of you unfamiliar with this tasty treat, it's a vanilla ice cream bar dipped in fresh chocolate and coated with whatever toppings you want (rainbow or chocolate sprinkles, butter brickle, various nuts, Oreo, cinnamon crunch, etc. or a combination of EVERYTHING which is my favorite and the very best). Being a loving wife, I even took one back to the villa for Max. And I did so without taking so much as a single bite of his.

We attended church with Max's parents on Sunday morning, driving them over to the island, taking the ferry across to the Newport Peninsula, and then making the drive back for a yummy brunch prepared by Max's brother and his wife. Later that afternoon, we drove over to the island again, this time parking so that we could take a walk around the perimeter. We happened to find two great parking spaces at the end of Coral...just a couple of doors away from the house that my Great Grandfather owned and some of my mom's cousins still own. It's very near and dear to my heart as we spent 2 weeks of every other summer there growing up (before my grandma's branch of the extended family sold out of it). I simply had to get a shot of my children standing in front of the beachfront lamp post a few doors down from "our" house:

It was absolutely perfect weather out and Hudson had a blast running along the beach, looking for shells, and writing things in the sand. Claire was a little trouper, walking when she was up for it, riding on Max's shoulders, and contently sitting in her stroller the rest of the time. Towards the end of our jaunt, she coaxed smiles out of several passers-by as she sat in her wheeled lounger singing, saying silly things, and giggling.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we made excursions to Disneyland (only a 20-30 minute drive from the villas). The last time I took Hudson, he was barely over 2 years old and this was Claire's 1st time going. It was so much fun to see them take it all in and watch their excitement. When we arrived in the park on Monday, Pluto had just come out for a meet-and-greet and Hudson was thrilled for the chance to meet him. We stood in line for a few minutes and when it was his turn, Hudson rushed up to the big pup and gave him a huge hug. In addition to Pluto, over the course of the three days we spent there, the kids met Mickey Mouse, Chip and Dale, and Goofy together. Claire met Pooh, Tigger, and Jessie on her own.

Prior to going on our trip, I had told Claire that she could meet Mickey Mouse and some princesses at Disneyland. I wasn't sure that she totally grasped the concept until Sunday evening when we told her we'd be going there the next day. She immediately commented (with much enthusiasm) that she would meet Mickey and the princesses. So, when the opportunity presented itself on Monday - all the boys were headed for Autotopia - I took her to meet her princesses. My MIL was great company, joining Claire and I and waiting with us in line for a good 35-40 minutes. At one point, we were in a kind of open area with an arch in the wall...Claire made herself right at home, jumping around, playing with a couple of other kids, and telling me, "Mom! Take picture of me shaking my booty!" Which I did. I was sure that being somewhat shy, she'd be timid when it came to meeting the princesses (she hadn't met any other characters at this point). Was I ever wrong! She nearly cut in line a couple of times while waiting for a princess to finish with the previous guests and when it came time for her turn, she ran up as fast as she could and eagerly gave them hugs. To top it off, she was talkative with each of them and happy to pose for photos. Success!

In addition to walking our feet off and meeting characters, there were the rides (of course). Hudson joined Max and I on Thunder Mountain Railroad for our 1st thrill of the trip on Monday. As you can see from the pre-ride picture of the two of us, he was a little bit nervous about it. He ended up enjoying most of it, though, and rode with me again on Thursday. The pics below are from (clockwise from top left) Winnie the Pooh, the carousel, Thunder Mountain, the new Toy Story ride in California Adventure, Max and kids just inside the park (okay - not a ride but I had to include it), Storybook Land Canal Boats, and the carousel.

Just as a funny note about going on rides...we found out very fast that our kids do not care for rides that are very dark, loud, or slightly scary. When we took them on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, a petrified Hudson sat with Max and covered his face the whole time and Claire started crying for Max towards the end. I told her that I was there and she said, "No! I want Daddy!" (proceed with more wailing). We were smart enough to take them on Pinocchio's Daring Journey a while later and got a similar reaction. Oops - so sorry, kids! The kids' favorite rides of the trip were:

• Jungle Cruise (a real thrill - went on it twice!)
• Pirates of the Caribbean (another two-timer)
• Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters
• Toy Story Mania
• Finding Nemo's Submarine Voyage

Hudson also loved Gadget's Go Coaster, Splash Mountain, and a few others but I'm not going to sit here and list rides for the next hour. We were bummed out that Small World was closed while we were there (taking down the holiday decor) but other than that, everything we wanted to ride was open. And with it being off-season, lines weren't too bad and the park wasn't horribly crowded.

On the other two days that we were there, we spent some time at the villas, had lunch at The Crab Cooker one day (my swordfish was to die for!), did a little bit of shopping on Balboa Island, got Balboa Bars a couple of times, my SIL and I had a super tasty lunch at Wilma's Patio on the island on Friday (going back there for sure!), and we went swimming in the perfectly heated pool and hot tub on our last night there.

It was such a fun trip and I was so glad to have gone with some of Max's family. We don't get to vacation with them often and it was a real treat.

Next up...the most fabulous story of me taking the kids to Disneyland on my own one of those days.

LIST: Things I Was Never Going To Do As A Parent

I'm a hypocrite. A super guilty hypocrite who has eaten her own words many times. Years ago, before I had children (and even after I did), I would say things like, "I can't believe that a parent would _______!" or "I won't ever ______ when I'm a mom." Riiiiiigggght. Time for me to provide you with what a whopping three of you asked for. I'm sure I'm going to forget some things but here is a list (complete with condemning stories) of:

THINGS I SAID I'D NEVER DO AS A PARENT AND HAVE TOTALLY DONE (OR DO)

Forget to buckle my child in or fail to secure their car seat...

Once, when Hudson was only a couple of months old, we went to visit my parents. My mom and I went to the store, taking Mini Max with us. Upon finishing our errands, I put his infant carrier (into which he was strapped) in the backseat and off we went. When we got back to the house, I was horrified to find that being in the habit of just "clicking" the seat into its base, I had just set the carrier on the backseat and failed to buckle it in. Oops. I never pulled that number again (with him or Claire) but I have failed to buckle up Hudson a couple of times (one time I didn't realize it and he didn't tell me until we were doing 70 on the freeway) and I did the same with Claire once a month or two ago. Thankfully, she was kind enough to alert me before we got out of the garage.

Give my child a "dirty" pacifier off the floor...

Never had this problem with Claire (thumbs are wonderful things!) but Hudson LOVED his passies. In the beginning we were good about getting him a clean one or washing the fallen passy if he dropped it. But after about 3 times of dealing with that malarkey, we went with the 20 Minute Rule which includes such handy guidelines as:

• "If you only noticed it on the floor recently, then it couldn't have been there long."
• "When no other/clean pacifiers are within an arm's reach, the parent is obliged to use what is in front of them."
• "If there isn't any visible dog hair or dirt on it, it's clean!"
• "Licking the passy off yourself before giving it to your infant completely decontaminates it."

As far as I know, he never contracted any horrible diseases from this practice. He may have, but we're going to live in ignorant bliss on this one.

Use that whole silly "time out" system...

I think we lasted about a year - maybe 18 months? - on this one. Hudson was pretty easy going as an infant and didn't really have a lot of behavioral issues. But once he started with a bit of an attitude and the likes thereof, we immediately designated a time out spot in our kitchen. Always has been the main spot and probably always will be. We used (and still use) it with Hudson and it has become and sweet second home for Claire as well.

Let my child eat chicken nuggets and the likes thereof...

I totally stuck to my guns on this one with Hudson. He probably had a total of 3 Happy Meals in his first 3 years of life. He was happy to try anything once and liked all the good stuff - fruits, veggies, salmon, chicken & steak, etc. Then came Claire. She's the polar opposite of her brother when it comes to food. She won't try much of anything. She can love something the 1st time she eats it and then refuse to touch it ever again. Her diet consists of fruits, a handful of veggies, dairy products (yogurt, milk, cheese), and breads/grains. Sure, those things are all fantastic, but she is apparently making a go at being a vegetarian of sorts. The only dishes that she'll eat that have meat in them are: spaghetti or ravioli with meat marinara sauce, chicken and rice casserole, and chicken nuggets. No, the first two aren't all that horrible but unfortunately, she goes in phases with both of them. Chicken nuggets are the only "meat" product that she'll consistently eat. And that being the case, my 2-year-old daughter has had more Happy Meals and chicken nuggets in her life than her 5-year-old brother has had in his.

Allow my child to sleep in my bed...

To say the very least, Hudson was a rotten sleeper as an infant and toddler. At least when it came to snoozing in his crib. In the car? No problem. In our arms at church? Great! But he acted like his crib was some sort of a torture device and it seemed that no matter how many times we tried to "train" him to sleep well, the training would unravel within a few days and he was back to getting up a number of times each night. There were times when he was literally up 13-15 times. This was not exactly conducive to my getting the sleep that I needed each night. He didn't sleep in our bed all the time, but it was very much the norm for him to end up between us for a stint in the early morning hours or for the last hour or two before we had to get up in the morning. Allowing him to sleep in between us may not have been the best way to teach him a lesson (yeah...he kind of won on that one) but it allowed us some much needed rest on a regular basis.

One final note on this matter - I would like to thank Claire for not ever wanting to sleep in our bed and for being a better sleeper than her older brother. Hudson was still getting up in the night at age 3 1/2 when she started sleeping through the night around 2 months. She loved her crib and she loves her bed. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Use the television or movies/DVD's as a babysitter...

No need for much of an explanation on this one. I cannot tell you how many times sitting my child (or children) in front of the t.v. has allowed me one of the following:

• a shower
• time to make a meal
• a chance to clean
• my sanity

Enough said. And if any of you claims that you haven't ever done the same, you're totally lying.

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

I know that there are other things that I've done in a very hypocritical manner but nothing is jumping out at me at the moment. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and make sure that my daughter is enjoying her movie...

A NEWLY RE-DISCOVERED FAVORITE QUOTE

I was going through the post-tornado territory that I call my office/craft room the other day, trying to get it cleaned up (again) and found a pretty notebook that I hadn't seen in ages. For a few years, I wrote in it during church conferences, taking notes and writing down the things that impressed me most. Unfortunately, I haven't written a thing in it since September 2000. Fortunately, there's a lot of good stuff in there. I'm glad to have found it and for the chance to flip through it again. One of the best things I discovered in it was the following, written along the binding inside the front cover:

"Many things catch your eye, but few catch your heart. Pursue those."

I don't know why I like this quote so much. Perhaps it reminds me that I need to focus on the right things in life and not waste so much time on things that really don't matter.

TOOTH OUT & MAN DOWN!

I'm just a touch behind on blogging. No promises this time on how much I'm going to post and when. I'm just going to start with this one and hope I can keep up a bit better...'

Back on January 5th, Hudson came to me in the morning saying that his loosest tooth (he had 4 working on coming out at the time) was hurting. When I looked in his mouth, I saw a most lovely scene. His cute little baby tooth was being pushed up by the new incoming tooth. It was raised above the other teeth a bit and every time he closed his teeth or took a bite of something, that baby tooth was taking the brunt of everything. Max took a look as well and we both told Hudson that it was time for the little sucker to come out. He wasn't too happy about this so I gave him a choice:

a) I would hold him while Max pulled the tooth out

b) Max would hold him while I pulled the tooth out

I was surprised when he picked option a but we quickly switched to option b when Max couldn't get a hold on the tooth. Max laid Huds back on his lap, I gently wiped the tooth dry with a tissue (Puffs with lotion, actually), gave one gentle pull, and the tooth was out. He was surprised that it was over and within a few minutes, he was commenting that it didn't hurt as much as before. We got the job done just in time for me to drive him to the bus stop, tissue in his mouth and all.

That afternoon, when Hudson climbed off the bus, he wanted to walk home - as usual. I let him do so and followed along slowly in the car - as usual. Just after turning onto our street, he saw that some neighbors were out in front of their houses talking. He wanted to go and show them that he'd lost a tooth and took off running...right on the icy/snowy sidewalk. Not such a brilliant idea. Within a few strides, he slipped and fell on his face. Literally. He immediately started crying and upon picking him up, I discovered he had a bloody lip (in two places), a scratched up face, and a little raspberry on his forehead. He wasn't much in the mood for showing off the gap in his grill at that point so we went straight home where we got him cleaned up and being a devoted mom, I grabbed the camera (I told him it was for chronicling the missing tooth):

Now, this shot doesn't do it justice but at the same time, his little accident is absolutely NOTHING compared to what happened to the boys of a couple of people I know (so sorry, Anne & Emily...your boys' pictures make me cringe!). But it was quite pretty with his skin all pink/red and all scratched up like he got in a fight with a sheet of sandpaper. At one point, I was on the phone with Max telling him about Hudson's spill and I couldn't help but start giggling about the whole thing. Bad mommy, I know.