Coast to Coast

Eddie's Ear Infection

2012-01-26T06:56:00.001-08:00

Eddie hasn't been sick much but when he is it is the perfect combination of sad and endearing.

Eddie's Ear from Michelle Larson on Vimeo.

More Christmas

2012-01-26T05:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas Projects from Michelle Larson on Vimeo.

Maddie & Sydnie Snappin from Michelle Larson on Vimeo.

Just Dance from Michelle Larson on Vimeo.

More Christmas

2012-01-25T18:12:00.000-08:00

Stickman Jammies this year.

Maddie had her's modified within a few minutes.

Anyone recognize who Anders is?
Brig sent his mom a picture of Link from The Legend of Zelda and she recreated it perfectly.

On the way home from a visit to Santa.

Thug man Ed.

Trauma

2012-01-23T18:08:00.000-08:00

Maybe I'm busy or maybe I'm traumatized by all of that getting-of-cards-in-the-mail.

I went to do the blog post and realized I have a lot to catch up on. I'll do it in a few posts the next couple of days.

We had fun this year making our owl decorations.

Speaking of owls, owls are the coolest. Have you ever seen an owl in real life, up close? My parents were out here for Christmas and they took us to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science. One of the things they do there is rehabilitate raptors and they had such incredible birds you could see up close. There were these owls with their backs to us and they would turn their heads around towards us and give this look like "Oh you silly, silly humans with your limited neck movement, you are quite amusing."

Big Deal ALERT

2011-11-27T12:18:00.000-08:00

I will be sending out Christmas Cards.

For anyone that knows me this is an especially big deal because it is almost impossible for me to get something out in the mail. But it's happening, and it's going to be cool.

Soooo ....

Please send me your address in the comments or to my email at larsonchelle@yahoo.com

Thanks!

Now and Then

2011-11-24T20:33:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to form my words to express this feeling I've been having today about holidays and traditions. Nothing profound, just a few scrambled thoughts.

Holidays and traditions in general are like a time when the past, present, and future all come together. That's not something you can force or try to create.

Today we had Thanksgiving dinner on the china my grandma gave me. The last me and that china shared a Thanksgiving I was at the little kids table.

Today Chris made rolls and they were just like Chaz rolls. We don't always get these things just right, but we always try.

Today I thought about all the Thanksgiving meals we had around the kitchen island in the old farm house. That island was such a part of our lives and we never even gave it a name. I think it was a Frank. Frank the Island.

Today I thought about how years from now my kids might try to recreate the dishes and desserts we made today. Little Tip - if you do recreate that flour-less chocolate cake with crazy rich pumpkin frosting, don't have one more piece just before you go to bed - it will give you a headache.

2011-11-15T13:35:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back Eddie and I enjoyed an afternoon taking Sally to the airport with a stop in Concord. This kid is just cool to hang out with. I have to say, as a mom I imagined all moments would be like this. I'll settle for the fact that 75% of the time it's chaos and the other 25% are really nice moments like this.

Him and Lars like to hang out too.

Anders in half his Halloween outfit - Dr. Watson.

Just a random day Anders decided he needed fingerless gloves. After school I asked the kids to stay still for a minute for a picture. This is still and this is a few pictures.

Anders was mad the other day and threw this note all crumpled up into the room. I'm just diggin the great use of punctuation.

This is a set of playing cards Anders created. There is a very elaborate game that goes with them.
The white board has been a hit. Here are a few pictures of the last few weeks with the whiteboard.

This first video is Anders explaining a game he had created on the white board. He had been asking me for a few days to play his game with him. I asked him to explain how to play the game. It reminded me that when I see these elaborate drawings there is so much detail that actually has a lot of thought behind it.

The second is a little clip of the kids in costume. Dr. Watson, a Princess and Iron Man.

The third is of Anders. He's been asking for our phones every once in a while so he can do his "entertainment videos" Here's the most recent.

And a few more "Quotes from my notes."

This one I overheard between Maddie and our buddy Asher about Eddie:
Asher - Why did he do that?
Maddie - That's because he's little.
Asher - How old is he.
Maddie - Three.
Asher - That's not little. When I was three I was big.

Eddie - I can read. (Opens a book about something totally unrelated.) Once a time there was a big bad wolf.

(On the way home from trunk or treating.)
Anders - I'm exhausted. I even took a little rest from trick or treating and I still got a ton of candy.

Eddie - Oh darn-it. My costune is all wet. (It had been raining.)

Maddie - Dad. I'm going to tell you a story. It's not in a book, it's just in my mouth.

Eddie - Whered my nother pillow go?
Me - What pillow
Eddie - The nothered pillow I habed in my bed. For my sleepin.

Eddie went to the bathroom and his nether parts were a little wilted and he says - Hey, my penis died.

Anders - Where's the hot chocolate?
Me - I'm going to make it from scratch
Maddie - Do you have to take the blood out of our skin? (From scratch, not from scratching.)

We pull up to the grocery store, the very grocery store where Brig and Eddie always end their shopping getting donuts.
Eddie - Does this place have treats?
Me - Yep
Eddie (With a mischievous smile, nodding his head.) - What are you thinking and what am I thinking. (Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Close buddy.)

I left my shoes and coat on the floor of Eddie's room. He brings them into my room the next morning and says - It is not OK for these to live in my room.

Eddie pulling the beanbag towards the toy room.
Eddie - Does this go in the toy room?
Me - No it has a hole in it.
Eddie - Um. Never mind. I don't need to talk to you guys. (Too late. But nice try.)

Eddie throws a chair.
Me - Are you Iron Man for real?
Eddie - No I'm not a Superhero. I'm a backyard-again.

Me - I'm sick.
Maddie - I'm sicker than you.
Me - I'm sicker than a dog.
Maddie - I'm sicker than everyone in the whole city. Even cats and even dogs.

I walk into a messy room that had been clean minutes before.
Me - Man you guys really...
Anders - Pack a punch?
Me (Now smiling instead of frowning.) - I was going to say, make a mess.

happy-nens

2011-10-21T23:08:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the happenings around these busy parts lately.

When Maddie falls asleep it's like a light switch.

This salad is amazing!! Go make it, then thank me later.
5 apples shredded
5 carrots shredded
a little bit of orange juice
A picture Maddie drew. She said it was a party at her house. I for one really like the very ambitious party guests that were busy climbing the tree.
A couple recent before and after projects we have had going on.
lamps before:
lamps after:toy and entry room before:
and after:
That is a giant whiteboard wall.

I wish I had a before picture. Brig found this on craigslist for $75 bucks and gave it a complete overhaul.Someone had a fridge out in front of their house with a free sign. We're always looking for those for the apartments. We stopped to get it and the guy threw in this chair and said to Brig, "This chair is great for sitting in the garage and having a beer." Or in our case ... your three year old sitting in it having some yogurt.

And just for hoots and nannies - here's a few more "quotes from my notes" - that's a thing, I just made that a thing.

Anders - “You know how I help myself get to sleep?”
Me - “How?”
Anders - “By getting drunk. Not the real getting drunk like with wine and beer. Like the kind where I fill up my belly really full with water then I can go to sleep.”
Me - “That's just plain being full. Not drunk.”
(Just want to clarify that before he goes telling his teacher how he gets himself to sleep.)

Anders - “When was English made?” (Thinks about it. About 5 seconds later) “When were skater dudes made?”

Anders totally disappointed. - “I can only burp my A.”

Anders - “Oh you know how to do chris-cross.”
Maddie - “It's chris-cross applesauce. “
Anders - “It can also just be chris-cross.”
Maddie (obviously very impressed by her big brothers street smarts.) - “Ohhhhh”

Anders - “I didn't eat my sandwich today at lunch. I thought I'd save it for a special occasion of some sort.”
Minutes later while eating his sandwich and talking - “That was some mouthful. Literally. My mouth was full.”

Eddie - “What's this?”
Brig - “It's a mole.”
Eddie - “Why did it come out of your body?”

Me - “Are you wiggling your wiggly tooth?”
Anders- “Why do you ask me that? You know I'm just not a fan of doing that.”

Anders - “Did we used to be hillbillies? Because we used to live on a farm and we used to live on a hill.” (We actually lived in a double wide on that hill so technically we're trailer trash hillbillies.)

Anders - “A lot of things I do are stupid and awesome at the same time.”

Eddie looking through the binoculars. - “Hey guys. I see something guys. Angry birds.”

Anders got a new fish. That night he comes running up to the tank. - “Let's see how our little passenger is going?”
The next morning Eddie in a very excited voice asks Anders - “How’s your goldfish?”
Anders in that condescending voice reserved only for big brothers, says - “It’s not a goldfish.”
Eddie just as upbeat and not at all phased by being snapped at. - “How’s your fish?”
Maddie must have heard Anders the day before and from the other room yells - “Ya Anders, how’s that little customer going?”

Anders peeks out from his fort. - “It smells like the pet shop down here.”
We laugh. And he responds. - “No seriously.”

Anders - “I think we should really prepare for winter. Like get some hot chocolate.”

Anders - “Hey do we have any potatoes?”
Brig - “Why, whats in your pocket?” (Legitimate question when we’ve randomly found piles of potato peelings around the house recently.)
Anders whips out a potato peeler. - “I want to make a zebra out of a potato. Not the old fashioned way like last time with a knife, but with this.”
(Oh ya, of course he wants to make a zebra)

Eddie holding himself runs up to Brig. - “My potty's going to blow."

Maddie - “If you don't know what something's called you can call it a thing-a-ma-jigger.

Brig walks in the bathroom. Eddies wiping.
Brig - “Whatchdoing?”
Eddie - “I'm changing my butt.”

Maddie - “I want a drink of water really really really really cold.”
Anders - “Doesn't exist. You'd have to go to the north pool and break the ice and get a drink to get water that cold.”
Maddie - “And how far is that?”

Anders and Eddie each opened a kinder egg (A chocolate covered plastic egg with a toy inside.) Anders likes Eddies better and was playing with it. Eddie was crying wanting it back.
Eddie - “That's mine.”
Anders - “You know what we did, we accidentally opened each others on accident. Isn’t that silly of us.”
Eddie “That's mine!” (Still crying.)
Anders - (A little deflated.) “Hmm.” (Then excited.) “I know, how about a thumb war.”

Maddie - “Are we lovers or fighters?”
Anders - “I'm a love fighter. That means I'm into violence.”

Anders says some elaborate story, at the end Eddie says - “Ya. I like playgrounds. I can fly.”
Anders - “Ya. That is crazy.”
Maddie - “Is that for real?”
Eddie - “Is that for scared?”

Maddie says - “Oh My God!” (I remind her again to say something else.)
Anders - “I'm worried about you and your friends at school.”
Maddie - “Why?”
Anders - “She doesn't go to Sunday School.”
Maddie - “That's ok.”
Anders - “Ya but you're saying cuss words.”

Me to Anders as we drive past a skate park. - “Check out the skate boarders.”
Anders - “Oh ya. They are really shredding it.”

Anders - “Mom. Once I popped a zit. “

Maddie - “What happens if everyone in all the cities dies?”
Anders - “Then we'll become a ghost planet.”

Eddie - “I need a sneeze towel.”
Me - “A napkin?”
Eddie - “Ya, a napkin.” (Hands it back to me.) “Here's my burger king.”

Maddie - “You have to be really old to be a girlfriend like 17. Old like grandma GG. (Who’s 80) And you can stop being a girlfriend whenever you want. Like when you're sick of kissing.”

When I was writing that quick blog post the other day I was doing it was Anders and Maddie were doing some journaling at the same table. Anders see’s I’m doing a blog post and says - “Mom, you should write this in your blog ... Tonight Anders thought of a funny detail in his book. There was a creature that disappeared into thin air in a cloud of a fart.”

Maddie - “There was a girl at school that said I couldn't come to her birthday. And here's the thing that was magical. I said well then you can't come to my birthday. And she said OK Fine. You can come.” (Ahh, the art of negotiation starting so young.)

Anders had been playing in the living room and asked quite a few times that we come watch their performance. Brig was redoing the wood stove and had gone to take a shower and I was busy working on something and kept putting him off. He finally comes up to me very serious and says. “There are three troubles here. Number one. Dad won't even show up. Number two. Eddie won't do the performance. And, number three, you were late. Very, very late.”

Eddie as we drive past the fire station. - “I just saw the fire police.”

At the apple orchard Anders is loving he can read the signs to describe the different rows of apples. At the sign that says Mac he picks up an apple and says. - “I would call these Mac-a-lac-a-dicious.”
Later in the car I hand him an apple - “Here's an apple.”
Anders - “What kind is it?”
Me - “I think it's a Macintosh.”
Anders - “You mean a Mac-a-lac-a-dicious?”

Eddie randomly one morning. - “I like your mother.”
Me - “Thanks.”
Eddie - “Where is your mother?”
Me - “In Oregon.”
Eddie - “I saw your mother get off the train.” (That was over a year ago, crazy memory kid!)

Anders - “Dad. I don't feel right today.”
Brig - “What do you mean.”
Anders - “Just something doesn't feel right.”
Brig - “How do you feel?”
Anders, not all thoughtful but kind of more matter of fact says. - “Well it feels like a piece of the earth fell out of the sky. And I'm just left there staring at it.” (I am telling you, I couldn’t make this crap up if I tried, this kids brain is all over the place.)

Anders at 6:45 comes in to me doing dishes. - “We're going to have a contest to see who can jump the coolest and the farthest. Be there at 7:00.”

Maddie is at that age where she is curious about death. She was asking me about it and getting kind of sad just as Anders walks through the room so I said. - “Anders how did you start to feel OK about death?”
Anders - “It’s OK Maddie, I used to be worried about it too but here’s the thing, your body gets so old you just kind of have to give up? But your spirit stays alive and keeps living. So it’s not really just dying.”
Maddie - “So do you still have birthdays?”
Then about 10 minutes later she asks with a little bit quivery voice. - “Why do people have to give up stuff.”

Eddie - “I hear a train. I don't need to plug my ears. I'm not scared of trains.”

Eddie rolls down the window of the van. Smiles and laughs. - “Now I don't smell daddy's toots.” (I don’t think Brig was even in the car, that’s just what he associates rolling down the window with.)

I was teasing the kids the other day and flicked the lights on and off. Anders goes running over to the piano. - “We need some really creepy music to go with that.” (Then starts playing a bunch of low notes really slowly.”

reading to toddlers

2011-10-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

I've always had a love/hate relationship reading books to toddlers until a recent epiphany.

I love reading books to toddlers because they are so curious about everything on the page. I love that they may have 20 questions about the sheep in the background when the story is about the dog in the foreground. But I also hate that they have 20 questions about the sheep when the story is about the dog. I try to be OK with it but even if we've discussed a page in depth I still feel like I have to read those words.

Yes, yes the sheep, but let me just get this in about the dog before we turn the page.
child ... turning ... the ... page ... haven't ... finished ... that ... sentence ...

Is anyone with me here? Am I all alone is this small reading-to-toddlers frustration?

So the other day something accidentally happened that has made this all go away.

We picked up a picture book with a few hundred words on each page. A great book but I didn't have time to read the whole thing. I was disregarding the words and just making it up as I went along by the pictures. I realized I didn't mind when I was interrupted by the questions. I realized, this is what a page is to them.

So simple. I'm noticing so much more about the page when I don't let myself get tied to the words.

And now I am off to read to this crazy kid. Some pages we finish, some pages we don't.

the chillins

2011-09-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

Just as I was going to sleep tonight I got this text from my brother.

Chelle please put more funny Anders quotes on your blog. Thank you and goodnight.

Every time the kids say something funny I immediately write it down on the notes in my phone so I get the wording just right and don't forget it. Then I forget about it. When I got that text I went back through to copy and paste them here and had a good chuckle myself.
So here you go ...

Anders - I think lettuce evolved into broccoli then broccoli evolved into cauliflower.

Me - Maddie be still while we’re reading.
Anders - She was born to be wild.

(Maddie is repeatedly yelling at me to get her more crackers.)
Anders - Do you know who you are in Cinderella? The wicked stepsister.
Maddie - How about let's stop talking about that for today.

Me - Have I ever told you how much I seriously hate our can opener?
Brig - No, but I am with you 110%.
Anders - Ya, and I'm with you even more percents than dad. And besides I've never even used a can opener!

Anders - Mom can you put water in this camel back, I don't want to get thirsty while I'm coloring.

Brig to Anders - Drink your milk. It will make your bones strong. (Then he drinks his milk and acts like the hulk. Then burps.)
Anders - Ya, I get it, that's bone talk for awesome.

Anders - I'm thinking that video game might be for stages. You might not know what stages are ... they're really wise people.

Anders - Why does everyone hate science when science is so cool.

Anders - Mom, do you believe in monsters?
Me - I believe that people can make so many bad choices they're like a monster.
Anders - Well that's the real kind of monster but I’m talking about devils and angels. And I imagine that the angels have laser guns and the devils are taking a bath in hot lava. But I know in Heaven there is really just peace. I just made that up about the guns.

(At a rest stop there is a thick smell of burning truck breaks.)
Maddie - What is that smell?
Anders - Hamburgers .

(At a rest stop in Nebraska Anders came across a sign that said to watch out for snakes.)
Anders - I have good news and bad news.
Me - OK, give me the good news first.
Anders - I guess there's only bad news. There are rattle snakes over there.

(Anders holds up Brigs iPod touch with the birding app with a bird on it.)
Anders - Ohh yaaa! We might see these babies in Oregon!

(At the first rest area after-crossing the Oregon border.)
Anders - Boy, it sure is good to be back in Oregon again.

Maddie - (While dozing off to sleep.) Dad, tomorrow I'm going to try to learn how to eat the crust.

(Anders built a fort with the couch cushions and peeked his head out really excited.)
Look mom I'm using my flashlight under the couch. It’s kind of like I'm a fox using my senses.

Anders - Dad, can midgets get married?

Maddie - Mom, can I pack a cold lunch tomorrow?
Me - I’m not sure what we have, what do you want in it?
Maddie - Actually, don’t worry about it, I’ll ask daddy.
Me - You're pretty lucky you've got a good daddy.
Maddie - Ya, but sometimes he yells at me.
Me - And sometimes you yell at me.
Maddie - So we're a half good family
Me - Ya, but we try
Maddie - Ya, but we yell.
Me - Ya, but we try.

Anders - Mom, In Loony Tunes who do you like better Daffy Duck or Bugs Bunny?
Me - (Half listening, not realizing how philosophical this conversation is about to get.) Daffy Duck.
Anders - Ya. Me too. Everyone likes Bugs Bunny but he can actually be really mean sometimes. Like one time he tricked someone to run to the edge of a cliff and then fall off.

(Driving to school the first day of school.)
Maddie - This morning I woke up so fast my butt was on fire.
Eddie - Eww, that's gross.

(Brig comes into the bathroom while Eddie’s going to the bathroom.)
Eddie - Hey daddy, it's ji-ja-ria.

(Eddie still wears a diaper at night and naps.)
Eddie - (Just waking up from his nap) Mom, I’m not a baby but I did poop in my diaper.

(I go in the bathroom in the middle of the day to Eddie brushing his teeth.)
Eddie - (All grown up sounding.) I'm just brushing my toothpaste.

Me to Eddie after he ate a full meal. - Do you have a baby in your belly.
Anders laughs and says - Boys can't have babies, they just take care of them. Just like penguins.

Anders - Is reverse psychology part of math or part of science.

Anders on our way out the door for a birthday party - I don't really feel like going. I mean what if there is cake there?
Me - (Remembering he threw up after he ate cake last.) Well you don't have to eat it.
Anders - Mom, how about you never let me eat cake ever again in my whole life, because I think I might be allergic. How about I just stick to cupcakes.

Summertime

2011-07-27T06:41:00.000-07:00

Potty Training - Stay at home dad style.

2011-07-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

I came home yesterday and Eddie told me he's training. And he's hardcore while he does it.

The other day Brig decided it was time, then came home from the store all stoked about a package of mini wife-beaters and Diego undies; his potty training uniform. (Eddie's uniform, not Brig's. But now that I think about it ... hmm that could be a good laugh ... father/son potty training uniforms. I wonder if they make Diego undies in biggie size?)
Every once in a while he puts a dad spin on the stay at home gig. Like when he turned our car into the Man Van with his skull license plate holders.

I dig it.

Coast to Coast

2011-06-25T05:53:00.000-07:00

Today is actually July 8th - the date on this post says June 25th, that's when I started it.

Most of you that read this blog already know we are half way across the US on our way to Oregon. Us and a bunch of mirrors and luggage racks needed in Oregon where my parents have turned our old family home into a Lodge for others to use.

About a week and a half ago we made the decision to drive across the country and here we are in Nebraska.

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

I started this post on our way to Oregon here we are in Nebraska again but this time on our way home. Hmm, Nebraska, the middle ground, the place I find myself reflecting.

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

We've just come from a week at "The Farm House" the home I grew up in that has been transformed into the most incredible gathering place I have yet to experience. A house set on a hill with valleys and mountains and views in every direction.

Yesterday I was telling a friend about how fulfilling it was to see our family home transformed into something so many people will enjoy over the years. She commented on how she didn't realize things weren't always as they are now.

Today I've felt the need to write about what the house was. I don't know why I'm writing this because most of you that read this are family and this is not new. Maybe it's to process the past week being together with so much family, maybe it's so 50 years from now my grand kids can read this, maybe I'm just cheesy and sentimental!!

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

Growing up when we'd forget to close the front door it was always the big joke, "What do you think, you live in a barn?" Because, yes, I grew up in a barn. When we moved in it was a three story barn with the animals in the bottom floor, a kitchen and bathroom without walls on the main floor and some walls framed in above that. We moved in and little by little it became a home. Mom would have another child and we'd finish a wall. Another adoption, another bathroom go done. By the time I finished elementary school I'm pretty sure all the framed walls had sheet rock. I remember being a little disappointed we couldn't "walk through walls" anymore. Dad would come home from work totally excited because he had found some scraps of carpet somewhere, "Look guys, this stuff is great, some office was just throwing this in their dumpster!" And we were thrilled and it was laid on the concrete until a new upgrade came from a new dumpster. And the family grew and besides the growing family there were always extras that needed a temporary home and hey, we have an unfinished room and a second hand couch, it's all yours! Welcome to the chaos!

And then we got cows. And then our lives were consumed with building barns and moving fences and feeding cows and WHAT the cows got out AGAIN, we just chased them off the road this morning. It's part of the initiation into the family to learn the snaps and calls and staring a cow down to get it to go where you need it to go so you can get to work or school or a wedding. Cows don't care how you're dressed, they're going to get out anyway.

And maybe in spite of the chaos and maybe because of it, it was a safe haven for a lot of people. It was a place were people laughed, where people cried, a place that changed people's lives. And will continue to.

Thank you Mom and Dad for a great week and for reminding me of the power of place.

You Turkey

2011-06-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on the way home these turkeys were in the middle of the road. We pulled over to take a look and snap a picture. They had a lot to say ...

It's a very shaky shot. And they didn't like talking to me much they would only respond to Mom and Anders.

We were laughing about this the rest of the night.

A case of the Tuesdays

2011-05-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

Actually nothing really crazy happened today good or bad. In fact disregard the title entirely. I actually just have a case of the Couldn't Think of a Title.

So the morning started with the discovery of Maddie's most recent book. She's into making books. Always has been. Yesterday Brig was busy so he stapled the paper together but when she asked how to spell each word he told her to go look around the house to find words. We were cracking up this morning when he found her book with nice pretty pictures and words like this:

The morning only got better when I got a package in the mail. Here's the thing, I don't see well. Here's the other thing I don't treat my eyes very well and do stupid things like wear my contacts day and night for way longer than I'd like to share with the world. So long story short my eyes are pretty much rejecting contacts. I've had the same pair of glasses for over 4 years and they're in pretty sad shape. I recently got my eyes exam and was floored at the cost of glasses. Even getting the cheapest pair after lenses it was looking like $300! So a friend shared this website that sell glasses for anywhere from $6 to $35 bucks. I may or may not have bought 7 new pairs of glasses.

P.S. - I. Love. Spring. I also love that when Maddie came down in her Halloween Costume this morning she had a decided look on her face and before we could say anything said, "This isn't a costume anymore, It's just regular clothes." Like, shut up, don't say a word about my outfit, I can do what I want.

Three Fingers

2011-05-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

How do you hold your pen?

I've always had the cramped three finger hold. I remember in Elementary School trying really hard to break myself of this habit.
Didn't work.

I specifically worked with Maddie to hold her pen with two fingers and cracked up when I looked down the other day and saw this ...

The Edster

2011-05-01T16:05:00.000-07:00

Eddie's all grown up in his own bed in his own room. Here's a look.

There is so much I love about this little video - and now those chubby little hands are fully documented.

A Visit From Oregon

2011-04-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

My parents were here the past few weeks ... we had a blast.

As most of you that read this already know we are a family of birders. It comes down from my Dad, he is borderline obsessed, meaning he can look at pictures of birds way longer than is humanly possible for most. If he's sick, a magical things happens when he birds, it goes away (only while he's birding). As you can see I do love to tease him but it has created some really great memories for our little family and we are now a family of birders.

My dad got into birdwatching about the same time Brig met my Dad for the first time. They immediately bonded over birds. We were both at school in Hawaii and were on the verge of engagement when my parents came out to visit for a week. After a bit, Brig was still unsure if my Dad was quite sure of him. During the visit Dad and Brig came back from the store and Brig pulled me aside and said, "He bought me some binoculars, I'm taking that as a good sign." And they have been birding together ever since.

And the kids. My 6 year-old can identify by sight and sound more birds than most adults. If I see a bird I don't know I ask Anders. We were out on a hike and I heard something in the distance and said I thought I heard a Robin. Anders gave me this look like "Mom, you cannot be serious." Then said what it really was. Sure enough a couple seconds it flew out of the tree and he was right.

This last trip as usual at the end of the day you can usually find Dad sitting on the couch with his laptop with a slide show of birds going. I was amazed at how long Maddie could sit next to him (I'm talking hours not minutes) and ask one after the next: Which one is that? What's that one called? That one's funny! What's that's name? Watch out Dad, you may have met your match with this one!

Then you have Eddie. We're at the aquatic center and Brig and Dad have gone out birding and at one point Eddie says, "Mom, are Daddy and Grandpa still out birding?" The woman next to me gave me this look like, "Did that tiny human just make an adult sentence? And birding? Did he just say birding?" That's my boy. Starting them young.

Sometimes birding is exhausting!

Anders had his first experience with a bug flying directly into his ear. He didn't like it much. But he is resourceful. This was his first attempt to remedy the situation.

This was his second. He liked it a little better.

This was about two seconds after we dropped off Mom and Dad. The other two were just as exhausted but they expressed it with tears.

Bugs

2011-03-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

This is what the stomach bug does to our family...

Maddie heading out the door gets terrible stomach pains, turns white as a ghost and looks like she's about to faint.
Me - How ya doing?
Maddie - (In that super sweet, no energy voice you get when you think you're about to die.) Not so very good.

(Maddie likes getting into my makeup.)

Eddie throws up. Brig walks in the room.
Eddie - (Totally confused and annoyed.) Daddy, I tooted in my mouth.

Anders gets thrown up on at a school assembly. They rush him off to the nurses office to clean him up. Luckily we were there so I meet him in the office. All of us adults are worried he's totally traumatized by it and the first thing out of his mouth is. (All scientific like.)- I think he had pasta for lunch because I'm pretty sure I saw a noodle.

I threw this one in just for kicks - literally.

Worth a Look

2011-03-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is a very cool project put together by some very cool people. You're going to want to take a look.

Here's the link to the Kickstarter page. Check it out.

Movin On.

2011-02-25T12:28:00.000-08:00

Ya, we take ourselves pretty serious when it comes to jammin.

And sometimes the zombie in us starts to come out ...
Eddie saw me put this picture up and just said, "I want to do contar, dance, drums, mobie."

Happy Balance Times Day

2011-02-18T19:18:00.001-08:00

Balance Times - that's Valentines according to Maddie.

A little glimpse into the Larson love 2011.
This year we got all crafty and what not. And took quite a few hot chocolate breaks.

To: Anders
Love: Maddie
To: Anders
Love: Dad

To: Dad
Love: Anders
(PS - the picture is of Anders and Brig and between them there is a cracked egg with a heart coming out - now that is love!)
All our Valentines on the mantle in our bedroom - right next to our Korean wedding ducks, how's that for romantic?

Sneaky Girl

2011-02-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

So this morning Maddie was totally excited to get herself ready for school and she came down wearing this.
Pretty standard.

Then as soon as she comes home she says, "Everyone loved what I was wearing when I took off my pink shirt today."
I turn around and she is wearing this ...

I was expecting this to happen but not until Junior High at least!

Also Anders had a friend from school that told him about a cartoon called "Shaun the Sheep" it is a blast! Check it out.

All the sheep line up in a row at the end and do a River Dance.
These three do this every time.

And for Anders quote-able quote of the day:

He was at the office with me this afternoon, Uncle Mike takes him across the street and they come back with a pizza, after about three slices he leans back in his chair and says ...

I think I'm going to poop out smiles.

Snow Day

2011-02-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

This picture says so much about Maddie. This was taken around 11pm Saturday night while Brig and I were mid project getting the storage closet cleaned out and organized. So here's Maddie; still up, in an imaginary world, feeling very important while she writes in her diary, with a desk organizer filled with treasures she snagged from our piles. I get it, I get her brain. I have great memories of wanting to be right in the middle of a reorganization project of my mom's and be there to claim the treasures that always hide at the bottom of untouched drawers.

Today we had an adventure.
Took a little walk that normally takes 5 minutes and instead took a couple hours. But we had a blast.
This is Maddie, standing up in the snow.

They were climbing, falling, and flopping all over the place. It was just that kind of snow. Taking a little break.

Um, duh, this is what every one who's anyone has on under their snow clothes.Walking through the snow seriously wears you out.

On another note, I guess I had a conversation with Anders about "figure of speech" that I forgot about but this conversation reminded me.

Anders - Mom when are we leaving?
Me - In a minute.
Anders - Is that a figure of speech or is it a real minute with 60 seconds?
Me - How do you know about figure of speech?
Anders - You told me.

Another one today (Brig has been pretty sick the last couple days.)
Me - Let's go see if Dad is alive.
Anders - Is that a figure of speech?
Me - Ya.
Anders - I knew it. You just mean check to make sure he's OK.

I honestly never realized how much I use figure of speech. Good thing I have a very observant 6 year old to point that out like 8000 times a day.

Not just me though it's everywhere. We were at the doctors office yesterday and he caught the doctor using it twice ... and made sure to let her know.

I want to Rarr...

2011-01-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

Although my posts here don't always reflect it, the majority of our time is not spent having beautiful little moments as a family. Lately our time has been consumed with fixing bursting pipes, pinching already pinched pennies and dealing with shuffling around already impossible schedules. I'm with Eddie, every once in a while, I want to rarr.

PS. How do you like Maddie's accidental rendering of a red Squidward hanging in the background?

When it's cold outside...

2011-01-26T19:27:00.000-08:00

This piano found a home in our house but needed some work.
Thanks to a few tips from Chaz and we brought it back to life.
Mom got us some books to get us started on lessons. We've actually talked about having her do Skype lessons, we'll see how it goes.

I woke up to Eddie next to me in bed with buttered bread.
(Notice the large amount of butter in one clump.)
That means he woke up, went downstairs, got out the bread, moved the stool over to get out a butter knife, and buttered his own bread.
All by his little 2 year old self.

And the same thing a couple days later ... I think this is becoming a thing.
This same morning I woke up to Anders dressed like this ... and I saw my life flash forward 10 years when he's like,
"Whatever Mom."But then I see him in pictures like this next one and he's still my little buddy, making cookies with his Grammy ... with his cute band-aid on his face from getting carried away with doing air bicycle and knocking his knee into his cheek and splitting it open.
Talk about a bummer. I came home from my meeting last night and Maddie was busy helping Brig clean the fish tank. You never know when your princess outfit will come in handy.
And yes that is our big kitchen pot he's using.
Anyone want to come over for soup at our house?

We weren't expecting but ...

2011-01-21T18:31:00.000-08:00

Our fish had babies.
(I know it's hard to see but those little orange streaks are the baby fish.)

We bought three fish back in December and they died within a few days but we just kept the water and filter going (because we are lazy) and a few days later we noticed 14 baby fish! Something is very intriguing about our little orphan fish.

And a little tribute to the ones (we're not quite sure which ones) that made the magic happen.

So far, pretty good.

2011-01-21T18:23:00.000-08:00

This caught my eye at Anders school the other morning.

The year of the beanbags.

2010-12-26T20:46:00.001-08:00

Christmas with our little family.

Christmas Eve Jammies
08'
09'
10'
Is it just me or does Maddie totally look like the Grinch that Stole Christmas in that first 10' picture?

This year Lars also got in on the Jammie action.

Anders gift to mom and dad. That's a lot of numbers to write! I love the picture at the top of the 4 seasons. What a treasure. Waiting at the top of the stairs for the action to begin.

So, I'm not much of a morning person, boy do I sound hilarious behind that camera. A for effort right?

Anders, being Anders.
It's been great having Anders around all day because I love how his brain works. Here's just a few from this weekend.

(As Eddie "plays"with everyone's gifts.)
What does Eddie think that Christmas is, a destroying holiday?

and

Hey mom. In my mind, I can have any kind of voice I want.

and

Can you just cut green paper into a rectangle, and put complicated stuff on it, and stamp the president on it, then you have money?

and

Mom, can I have lettuce for dinner, I have to balance out all this candy I've been eating.

And my personal favorite ...

If something looks really, really, really sharp can you cut yourself just by looking at it?

Maddie, being Maddie.

Eddie, being Eddie.

Thanks to everyone that made Christmas such a blast this year Grandma and Grandpa Vial thanks for sending the gifts, and we missed you all like crazy. Grammy and Grampy Larson for the perfect gifts and visits during the day. Aunt Joy for the gifts that made me smile and laugh out loud. And we got such a great surprise from the Montana Vials, thank you. And all the other friends and family that we've celebrated with. We feel very blessed to have all of you in our lives.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Don't want to miss this!

2010-12-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

Most of you that read this probably already know we are doing a GIVEAWAY at the Snapdragon for FREE room nights. Check this out and get those fingers ready to comment on the Snapdragon Blog, share on facebook, or re-tweet to get in the giveaway.

Today is the kickoff for the 12 Nights of Christmas and we decided to have a little fun with this one and make TOTAL AND COMPLETE FOOLS of ourselves and have a BLAST while doing it. But that is my middle name Michelle MAKE-A-TOTAL-AND-COMPLETE-FOOL-OF -YOURSELF-DAILY-OR-YOUR-LIFE-IS-NOT-COMPLETE Larson. So this was right up my alley.

Enjoy.

2010-12-05T22:24:00.000-08:00

Our first Annual Thanksgiving Day Family Hike. We have a lot of First Annual Events in our family. I usually forget to do a Second Annual anything but calling it a First Annual something makes it feel like a much more official adventure. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a Second Annual one of these. We had a great time.

I did some deep cleaning the other day and found the food coloring I hadn't come across in a while. The kids were convinced this is what we had to do with it that minute.
Blue waffles.

Yum.

Maybe?

Anders discovered the third shelf up in our linen closet is a cool place to hang out. The linen closet is in our bedroom and so is a TV. The other morning it was early and totally dark and Eddie came in chirpy and ready for the day.

As Eddie was bouncing around on our bed I was desperate for a little extra sleep and said, "Eddie, you want to watch some cartoons?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Says a voice from the dark.

Of course Anders is hanging out in our room.

In the closet.

In the dark.

Three shelves up.

Why my 6-yr-old ROCKS!

2010-11-23T20:40:00.000-08:00

On my birthday I woke up to him whispering to Brig about how he was going to make me breakfast in bed.

And he did.

Two beautiful plain dry pieces of toasted bread on a fancy plate.

He brought it up. I was half asleep and trying to sound totally into it. We both took a bite, shared a moment, and he was like, "Hey Mom, you can have my piece if you want." And went back downstairs to his cartoons. Brig and I smiled, chuckled, and went back to sleep.

Even if it was a seven course breakfast in bed, this one would be hard to top. He had the sweetest sincerity oozing out his pores.

And to top it off he literally spent the entire day building a very technical Lego Castle game from scratch for us to play together. He even built the dice out of Legos. Every time I came and went I had to walk through the toy room and he would see me coming and run up and remind me not to look yet.

And he recently discovered "air quotes" and uses them at all the perfectly wrong times.
This kid ROCKS my SOCKS!

2010-11-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

There are a couple great deals going on over at the Snapdragon Inn. If you are looking for a great get away, this is it!

And I have it on good authority (my stomach) that the innkeepers make the best brownies/cookies/cinnamon rolls in the entire galaxy.

That's even better than the best on the entire planet.

That's even better than the best in the entire solar system.

That's really, really good.

dnfewltu9

2010-11-11T21:58:00.000-08:00

I couldn't think of a title and thought it was silly I was spending more than a couple seconds thinking about it. There you go.

This picture represents a 15 minute phone call. Totally worth it.

Maddie learned how to snap. Really snap. She amazed herself. She's amazing.

Eddie and Grampy have been enjoying their afternoon exchanges.

Eddie just discovered he could see himself while it was being recorded and likes what he saw.

Great song Maddie learned at school, she was so excited she got pretty scrambled, ended up with a lot more pumpkins than 5. I like how Eddie had to get in on the action.

Brady, if you're out there this one's for you.

We had Maddie's Parent Teacher Conference yesterday and the teacher said something that prompted this purchase. They said Maddie can be handed the same materials as the other kids and always ends up creating something that stands out. This box represents some major Daddy Daughter bonding.

I love my kids. I love that Eddie cried tonight because his blankets were in the dryer when it was time for bed. I loved the look on his face when they came out. I love that Maddie likes to whisper to me and that she whisper talks when she breathes out and in. One continuous sentence. I love that Anders is so open with his compliments and feelings ... "I like your hair like that mom, braids look good on you. Those are nice earrings mom, you should wear them more often. Thanks for kissing my forehead mom, that felt nice."

Life. Life is good.

Nuh, nuh, nuh ... Nuh, nuh, nuh, nuh.

2010-11-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and way to0 much sugar!

ketchup

2010-10-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

This first one is just a little teaser for the Halloween awesomeness coming your way.

This happens to be just minutes before we walked out the door for a wedding. Minutes, non-washable, wedding, you get the picture.

On the way back from a birthday party I caught a moment.

Another example of Maddie's impeccable fashion sense. The tights-tied-around-your-wrists-as-bracelets look. Don't knock it till you try it!

Two videos with a little explanation.
First of all, Eddie and my dad share a love of Cold-eeze.The other day Brig and I were working on something in the office and by the time we realized what was going on Eddie had found Cold-eeze and a nice place to sit and went to town.

The second is titled butterface. This one is dedicated to my brothers. I grew up with 9 brothers and a love/hate relationship with their humor. For example:
Brother says to another brother: Did you see that butterface?
Me: Butterface?
Brother: Ya know, like when she's so hot ... but her face!
I would have totally been lost in the world of official slang if it hadn't been for all of you boys. What can I say, you're the best ... and now I must pass on the knowledge.

Love

2010-09-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

I put the kids to bed last night ... about 18 times. By the fifth time it was funny, by the 10th I was angry and by the 15th, well you've probably all been there so you can fill in the blanks.

At the end of the night when they were finally settled only Maddie was still awake, I snuggled in with her and said, "I'm sorry I was so grouchy tonight." She just looked up at me with her giant loving eyes and said, " It's OK mom, you didn't scare me too bad." Then she took my hand turned over and went to sleep.

The Front Porch

2010-09-08T13:49:00.001-07:00

Just when I think Maddie can't get any more eccentric she goes and tops herself. Because the tutu and sunglasses weren't enough she was insistent on carrying her backpack in a plastic bin. Her backpack filled to the brim with My Little Pony's. Thank you mom for getting that tutu, Maddie's first day of school was perfect. I think her teachers even missed her outrageous outfits.

She's really not posing here, she's just enjoying the effects of her sunglasses.

Anders is so chill about school it makes me smile. Being in first grade now, he's got it down.

Sorry Anders, you have a few more years of this pose on this porch. Thanks for putting up with me.

Meanwhile, Eddie is up by 6:30 everyday the past week with a backpack on, "I go a-skoo?" He is pretty sure he can do it all.

Butterflys and Trucks

2010-08-21T23:34:00.000-07:00

Finally got him saying how old he is.

tchew

2010-08-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

Eddie is officially "tchew".

Every time anyone walks in the door he runs to them and greets them with a giant hello and smile as if you are the coolest, funnest, most important person on the planet and he could hardly spend another minute without you. And that's what makes Eddie Spaghetti one of the coolest, funnest, most important people on the planet.

Parades and Protests

2010-07-02T23:33:00.000-07:00

On the cusp of this 4th of July I’ve had an interesting patriotic experience. Tonight Brig and I came across the documentary, “William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe” a story about a father, told by his daughters. A story told about a lawyer and activist.

Watching this film was an emotional experience for me. Emotions that came from a place of peace and gratitude for this man that put voice and action to my own feelings. His words and actions cried out in a world of prejudice and ignorance of which I know I am not exempt. As objective as we would all love to think we are, we are not, I am not. In the film his daughter is reflecting and making sense of something her father had said to her. He is talking specifically about race but the same thing applies to any difference we have to make sense of.

“I remember my father telling us that all white people are raciest, including me and Sarah. But I didn’t understand what he meant at the time. He meant that we are blind to the depth of our own prejudice. And as long as there is prejudice there is no such thing as a fair trial.”

In a February 1970 speech he says,

“And that is the terrible myth of organized society, that everything that's done through the established system is legal — and that word has a powerful psychological impact. It makes people believe that there is an order to life, and an order to a system, and that a person that goes through this order and is convicted, has gotten all that is due him. And therefore society can turn its conscience off, and look to other things and other times.
And that's the terrible thing about these past trials, is that they have this aura of legitimacy, this aura of legality. I suspect that better men than the world has known and more of them, have gone to their deaths through a legal system than through all the illegalities in the history of man.

Six million people in Europe during the Third Reich? Legal.

Sacco Vanzetti? Quite legal.

The Haymarket defendants? Legal.

The hundreds of rape trials throughout the South where black men were condemned to death? All legal.

Jesus? Legal.

Socrates? Legal.

And that is the kaleidoscopic nature of what we live through here and in other places. Because all tyrants learn that it is far better to do this thing through some semblance of legality than to do it without that pretense.”

Are we all not tyrants for our own causes and beliefs? How deep and often do we need to look at our own actions and evaluate their purity?

And somewhere among all these feelings and frustrations I feel towards organized society and demonstrations of hate in the name of nationalism, I understand that it is through being a part of it that we learn to make sense of it.

So here I am on the 3rd of July ... proud to be an American.

Summer Rocks ...

2010-06-28T21:06:00.001-07:00

... this kid knows what I'm talking about.

First and Last

2010-06-17T20:09:00.001-07:00

He is just that cute.

Last day of school. When I picked him up I I noticed he was wearing the same pullover he had on the first day of school ... except backwards ... because that is halarious.

Birthday bikes. We have our own little bike gang.

Blue?

2010-05-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of people I love in this world.

These are the people I love the most.

I also love sublime eye.
If you want to see more check it out.
Thanks Chris!

A little bit crazy and a whole lot of Tennessee.

2010-05-12T21:58:00.001-07:00

Brig has this part of him that has to do a cross country road trip every few years or he gets itchy. This time the scratch is Vermont to New Mexico with a three and one year old and a whole bunch of My Little Ponies ... and probably a few Cheetos and Diet Coke. Tomorrow, day four, they'll be arriving at his parents house for a nice long visit.

In the meantime Anders and I are having a nice time together. What a treat, just the two of us. I had a great time watching his entire T-ball game without the distractions of the other two. Tonight's highlights were when he was positioned on the pitchers mound and kept us entertained. When the first person went to hit he realized the dangerous nature of his position and went from standing in ready position to completely hit the deck flat in a nanosecond. He got used to it and then any spare moment he had he practiced jumping and doing a complete 180 on the pitchers mound. He did manage a few great plays where the ball was hit, he picked it right up and threw it to the appropriate base to get someone out. If I sound proud it's because I totally am!

Tonight was the first time there was a point where I couldn't get a hold of Brig. He was on schedule to arrive at his hotel at 8ish and as it got close to 10pm I went into the very early stages of worry mode and was thinking of ways to track him down. He mentioned he stayed at a Best Western in Memphis last night and they got him a great deal at his next location which he said was near Dallas. I figured his phone battery probably died and he was busy settling into the hotel and would call before the night was over. But since I was fighting distant but existing thoughts of the worst case scenario I figured I had a few minutes, why not call the Memphis Best Western to find out where he made a reservation for tonight and call the hotel phone. Guess how many Best Westerns there are in Memphis ... about 1 million. I started making a bunch of calls and to make things simple just said, "Hi, I think my husband stayed there last night, just wondering if you would have that in your records." I figured when I got the right one I could find out where they booked him next. (Don't worry I asked, they don't have one universal reservation system.) I'm sure after those calls half of Tennessee now thinks a crazy woman is tracking down her cheating husband. I'm a little bit crazy and a whole lot of Tennessee.

Brig called they're all settled in by the way. Thought I better mention that before you go and do something all ridiculous like call the 2 million Best Westerns in Dallas.

Dear Mom

2010-05-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

I can't braid Maddie's hair without thinking about you.

Thanks for all you ever did and always do.

I love you! Happy Mothers Day.

2am

2010-04-28T23:09:00.000-07:00

Me. 2AM. Thinking about life. Everything in the world is quiet except my mind. Slightly stressed and mostly at peace.

A slice of life.

2010-04-18T16:05:00.000-07:00

Here I go again. Not posting for a month, then filling your screens with random pictures and posts.

A few shots of Maddie and her slight obsession with clothes and shoes.

These two we found after she had gone to bed.

She has such an imagination and keeps herself totally entertained. The blocks are a game she created with blocks and little people and played it by herself for a couple hours.

We had our first annual St. Patrick's day green eggs and ham dinner. We also added green waffles. And celery. And green beans. Anders learned how to ride his bike with out training wheels. About an hour later he was riding with out feet. Then with out hands.

Maddie and Eddie have quite a few hours of the day it's just the two of them and they are best buddies. There are quite a few mornings they are at work with us, they keep themselves busy.
I've been working with Brig home most of the day with the kids. I love this picture because when I came home at the end of the day this picture told me the story of thier day. Mud, water, chalk ...

This next one of them at the grocery store with me looks really cute but was a really bad idea. It took massive amounts of supervision to make sure they didn't put everything in their carts and bang into peoples heels.
Eddie is just as crazy and lovable as ever.

Eddie

Me
(I know not exact but it made me smile, thanks Hailey for sending these.)

Since we've had my cousins living here with us we had Eddie sleeping in the porta-crib. I noticed when he'd wake up the last flap of the fold up mattress was always folded up. I thought it was coincidence but I didn't leave the room right away one time and after I laid him down I saw him lift up the flap and cozy down into his little hammock.
Last night when I laid him down he melted my heart.
Ed - Mom?
Me -Ya, Eddie?
Ed - Nuv-u.
Me - I love you too Eddie.
Ed - Bye. See Ya.
Me - Smiling, staring, amazed such a little body and tiny words could make me feel so much.

Love,
And

I'd hurry.

2010-03-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Time is running out all over the place. Two great places to visit when you're spending time on the google tube.

We are getting so close to opening the Inn. If you'd like to join us, not only can you keep updated on the progress, but you can get free stuff! FREE STUFF! My incredible sister-in-laws have done a great job at keeping the blog going and the free stuff flowing. A couple days left ... check it out ... you won't be disappointed.

Then after you've left a comment over at the Snapdragon, you can head over and tip the bucket but there is only hours left! Please, please check it out.

This great organization is featuring Sowers of Hope a school I have mentioned here in the past.

That's it, but I'll be back with a special treat that includes Anders and songwriting. I know, the suspense ...

Sports-R-Us

2010-02-18T19:04:00.000-08:00

BASKETBALL
(or)
Look how fast I can run down the court and slide at the end. Oh there's a ball?

I think he touched the ball a couple times the whole season but he had a great time and always looked forward to the games. He really could care less about the ball but cared very much about how much Powerade he was drinking and how fast that made him run. It was a good season, we all had a blast.

BOXING

I have two cousins that have been staying with us for the past few months and they are great to have around. They have become such a part of our family we are going to miss them when they move back west. One of my cousins has been doing MMA for the past couple years. We don't have a gym nearby that has MMA so when he moved here he opted for the Boxing club here in our town. Clark is a serious athlete and it showed in his fights. After only training for a few months he was ready for the Regional championships and made it to the third round of elimination. We all got pretty into it. I loved this sign.

Not sports related but it's also nice to have my cousins around to help me tease my children.

SNOWBOARDING
For a couple weeks Anders has been asking about going snowboarding. Because he's 5 and because he's Anders I knew it could go really well or really bad. He totally got into it and didn't want to leave. We'd asked Brady if he'd be up for teaching Anders and I think he was one of the reasons it went so well. Brady was such a patient, fun, and encouraging coach. It was such a blast to see Anders having so much fun. If you want to hear more about Anders and his day of snowboarding check him out on his blog here. The first run is Anders second run. The first Brady held his hands going down. They got to the bottom and Anders asked if they could go down again and he'd go by himself. And he did. The second is his second or third time down from the top. What a champ.

And this shot, just because they are the cutest buddies alive!

For Dad and Alicia

2010-01-21T07:16:00.000-08:00

Many of you know my dad is quite into birding and happens to have a few family members that enjoy the hobby as well. One of those is Anders and he really is starting to know his birds as this conversations shows.

Maddie: I wanna watch a boobie. (movie)
Anders: Maddie, i'ts not called a boobie!
Me: (with a side glance and a smile at Brig) So what is a boobie, Anders.
Anders: You know one of those birds that swim and catch fish.
(Of course a Booby ... that's totally what I was thinking.)

My sister Alicia and I almost always shared a room growing up. Ever since I was young I've been a night person and usually when the lights went out my mouth started running. A section from a blog post Alicia did a while back explains this well,

"when she learned something cool at school she couldn't wait to share it with me, even if it meant keeping me up all night till I really understood what ever concept it was she was trying to help me understand. You know, really important things like how to round numbers, how to read novels and how to wear floral print. (sorry that the floral print never stuck Chelle, you did your best!)"

So, Alicia, I thought you would appreciate this conversation I had last night with the Anders and Maddie (they share a room).

Anders: I like to share a room with Maddie because at night I can teach her all the stuff I learn at school.
Me: Like what?
Anders: Like about the ABC's and braille and sign language.
Maddie: (about 2000 decimals louder then necessary) ya, i yike a-no a sign main-guage

Hi ya'll. I'm still here.

2010-01-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

Hello, Everyone. My Name is Eddie, I just got back from a crazy wedding in Oregon. Boy does my family like to dance. It was a blast and if you were standing next to me you'd be hearing me tell you all about it in EDlish. What can I say, I like to talk. Not that any of you would know anything about me because my mom stopped doing updates on me months ago, but I keep growing even if the internet doesn't hear about it. She thought she'd make up for lost time here today.

Oh, Eddie there you are at that typing again. You little rascal!

Life has been busy and here is a VERY random look at what we've been up to.
We've been trying to stay warm here in the chilly weather. I have to give a shout out to our wood stove that saves us (literally) thousands of dollars in the winter. This is basically all we use for heat and I love it.

Another shout out to my sister-in-law Hailey and thanks to her Mad Skills these incredibly cool hats help keep us warm as well. She MADE THEM. I know, she rocks.
We do bathe every once in a while. This was after a bath one night we were trying to get a picture of Eddie's gigantic after dinner belly but he wouldn't stay still. You get the gist.

Eddie is at that age where he rules the kitchen. The time and effort it takes to get this one individual fed and cleaned is equivalent to the rest of us combined. Exhibit A - Eddie eating pudding.

When he's not in the highchair, he's busy doing this ...
And this...
These two pictures were the result of a battle of the will between Brig and Maddie. I think it's negotiable who won. This is Maddie at the top of the stairs after about 45 minutes of crying because Brig wouldn't carry her down the stairs. She's at that stage where she's so independent about most things but then every once in a while she throws in a "I can't do it, it's too hard." I think it's just part of being three.She's been into writing and letters lately and her favorite is the E with about 12 arms. The other day her and another three year old were coloring after class chatting about birthdays, and ponies, and gumdrops (you get the picture). So I hear her say, "I'll write your name." She then draws an O, looks at her friend and says in a very adult voice, "tuh, tuh, E, that's how you spell your name." She's on the right track.
She does love ponies, her obsession started when Brig's mom came back with a bin full of my little ponies from back in the day. We've added a few new ones which are no where near as cool as the old ones. This is now her entourage. My mom got her a nearly Maddie sized pony for Christmas and that is now added to the posse, but it doesn't fit in her backpack like the rest. Believe me, she's tried.

Anders is her other best friend. I mean look at them, they just make me smile.
I forgot about that clothing extravaganza until I saw this picture. Maddie got herself dressed that morning then wouldn't change for bed. The next day she wore the same thing. When I finally made her change for bed the next night she had on 8 shirts.

Wow, I'm sleepy and not nearly through. I'll post more soon. Next time I'll try not to do it at 1 in the morning. The silence and lack of distraction obviously makes me more loopy than normal.

Sleepy Time Icecream Cone

2009-12-15T21:50:00.000-08:00

Maddie loves herself some icecream, even half asleep.

PS - this video contains the added bonus of The Office playing in the background.

Not Lacking Creativity

2009-11-09T18:22:00.000-08:00

Let's just say, because of this routine of Maddie's we ALWAYS buy washable.

Got a little carried away! The other day before church she actually colored in and around her belly button. My other favorite was recently when she colored all over her face in black and she was all proud and excited to show Anders and Eddie and they got scared of her, then she got scared they got scared. Meanwhile, Brig and I are watching it all unfold trying not to laugh.

It's also been fun recently to have my brother Kevin staying with us. The kids love having him and my two cousins Brady and Clark around.

Here's a couple more recent creative gems.

The other day Anders made a book at school. Maddie kept asking if she could make a book. So I got a stack of paper stapled it together and gave it to her expecting her to scribble on each page. A few minutes later she came and found me and asked me to write what she asked on each page. I was shocked and amused.

Here is Maddie's first book.

My great grandparents had a pump organ and that's one of my favorite memories about going to their house. That and learning to play checkers. My parents recently bought this pump organ and it was so cool to see Anders get into it right away.

Watch out it's catchy, it'll probably get stuck in your head.

Meet Olivia and Archie

2009-09-17T16:42:00.001-07:00

Maddie is a very lucky girl. My very talented friend did this post a while back about these dolls she fell in love with.

This is the result.Thank you Adrianne, you rock!

And by the way, Anders aka legoboy started a blog ... all I do is type, the rest is all him.

Baby Bird

2009-09-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today outside the kitchen window was a hummingbird. It stayed by the bush for about 5 minutes, which is good because it took the whole 5 minutes to convince Maddie it was not a "baby bird", but an "adult bird" that was small. I think we could have used another couple minutes because a few times tonight she's inquired about that "baby bird."

Hummingbirds are crazy, they're not quite an insect but they're also not quite a bird.

Another conversation that I have with Maddie about 8 trillion times a day goes like this.

Maddie: Mom I need ______.
Me: OK I'll get it.
(1/2 second later, as if she's been waiting hours.)
Maddie: So, do it mom.

(This is a picture taken by Anders yesterday. There's another whole post about Anders latest photo shoot. He's quite the budding photographer.)

Letting go ... a little.

2009-09-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

Anders is my friend. And today my friend went to kindergarten.

There was a lot of backpack showing off to do.

70's

2009-08-27T20:43:00.001-07:00

When Maddie takes a bath right before she goes to bed the next morning her hair always looks like this.

Everytime.

And I always think of this.Everytime.

On a Roll

2009-08-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

I think this is the first time I have ever posted three days in a row, but I had to get rid of that last picture being the first thing I saw. I did that last post about midnight, what was I thinking?

So here's an update that I don't have to put the word WARNING in the title.

One of the many things we love about this town is the pond. This summer has been the first time We've really been able to enjoy it. The first summer we moved here in July and after getting settled in the summer was turning into fall. Last summer I had Eddie in August so we went sometimes but it was difficult to get there everyday. This summer ... the pond has not disappointed!

Here's some pictures from a few weeks ago.

Warning: Human Feces

2009-08-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

Human feces just after eating carrots no less.

Introducing ... SMALL INTESTINE MAN. He spends most of his time dodging his arch nemesis Eddie the Giant.

He saw it. We saw him spot it. We went leaping. He gulped. He smiled. Then we waited. Then we took a picture. Then we posted it here ... because we are that DISGUSTING.

This is for Grandma

2009-08-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

My mom has taught swimming lessons since she was a teenager and had Anders swimming when he was days old. When we moved here away from her he regressed a little bit but with a lot of trips to the pond and pool this year he has really progressed. This was something we were not expecting today but made me smile! So, this one's for you mom.

2009-08-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

If you are up for feeling some very conflicted feelings, I have a movie for you. It will make you smile and cry. The women in this movie live a life so different from mine it's difficult to know where to begin reflecting on the inequality. This is an incredible documentary filled with incredible people.

You can see a trailer on their website here.

I also found it on youtube here.

If you get a chance to watch it, tell me what you think.

Lego Land

2009-07-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

I realized as I came to bed tonight tripping over Legos that I have not once done a Lego post. This is a big deal when you consider Anders often spends at least 8 of his waking hours creating with them. His favorite reward is to be allowed time on Lego.com and as a result has developed a whole new language that involves phrases like "Mom I would love to get Space Police number 64 - Alien Invaders." Luckily he has a cousin that speaks the same language and their highlight of the month is when the Lego magazine comes in the mail.

As his mom I can't help but see the genius in his 5 year old creative engineering feats and when I stop long enough to actually take a look it always makes me smile. Here are just a few he created tonight found next to his bed.

I like these, he always has a general command center nearby.

2009-07-20T22:28:00.001-07:00

The kids were put to bed in their own beds but when we came to bed tonight we found these little sneakers in our bed.

Goodnight.

My Dad the Treasure Hunter

2009-06-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

Flies to Peru ... canoes upriver ... camps in the jungle ... climbs up a look out tower ... all in search of the Chestnut Eared Aracari. That's my dad! He's been birding for years and recently took a great trip to Peru in search of some new birds for his life list.

Although we have to tease him endlessly about his birding it is really enjoyable. Anders has been with his grandpa often on birding outings and after looking at dad's blog the other night the next morning I woke up to Anders outside dressed like this ...

Me: Anders, what are you doing?
Anders: Hey Mom, we're at Bird Camp you want to come?
Me: What's with the hat?
Anders: This is a magic hat because sometimes it's my hat for snow plowing with Windsor Worx but it's also a Bird Camp hat.
(Good to know.)

Apparently Maddie has a different take on the Bird Camp dress code. It, of course, involves high heels and butterfly wings.

Meet our new Friends.

2009-06-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: Please do not be fooled, bedtime at our house is not always an episode strait out of "Leave it to Beaver"

The other night when we were putting Anders and Maddie to bed we played the add-on game. One of us starts the story and we go back and forth adding to the story. I was just as entertained as the kids, Brig had me cracking up every time it was his turn. Here's a couple sections pulled from the whole story. (Brig in italics.)

The little boy decided he was going to go explore the forest and discovered the trees could talk to him. They started calling out to him by his name ... Bucktooth Chippy, where are you? ... Bucktooth Chippy decided he was going to head home so he hopped on his skateboard ... but when he turned around he realized his squirrel friend Jehoshaphat was holding on to his skateboard. It was a good thing he was wearing his roller skates so he could keep up.

A couple days later we were headed to a cousins birthday party and Anders wanted Brig to draw a picture of Bucktooth Chippy and Jehoshaphat to tape to the birthday gift :

It was funny to overhear Anders try to explain to people at the party what these random pictures taped to the gift bag were. I could see on their faces it sounded like Daddy blah, blah, blah, Bucktooth, blah, blah, blah, Jehoshaphat, blah, blah, blah squirrel. =)

A First For Everything

2009-05-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

This is mostly for my own records, it's quite long so feel free to just scroll through for some lovely pictures.

Monday
*We get back from our trip to Oregon where unfortunately Anders had and ear infection and fever and Maddie had a fever and crazy rash.

Wednesday May 20th
*Anders falls and hits his head.
*We're heading to the doctors where they decide it does need stitches but with the amount of drama from Anders they said glue is another good option. A lot of crying, writhing, fear, and a tetanus shot later we're heading back home. (Anders is not good with anything medical, he doesn't even like having a band-aid put on, even if is has transformers on it.)

Thursday
*Kids have their first ever dentist appointment, this goes OK considering he's just been through worse.
*Eddie has a fever of 100-101 and starts his three day hibernation. Each 24 hour period he was awake for about 4 hours for three days.

Sunday
*Anders wakes up with a fever about 101 and Brig has already gone to a meeting and I am getting the kids ready for church.
*I call the doctor just to see if they think the fever might be related to his eye which is looking OK but a little swollen. They ask me to bring him in at 12:30.
*I have to get to church for a few things so Brig comes home and we trade and I take Maddie with me to church and come home to take him in.
*When I get home Brig points out that he has a severe full body rash. Big puffy feet and hands big raised red welts as well as the dots everywhere. He's itching like crazy.
*The doctor decides it's probably what the others had and is just manifesting itself differently and sends us home to monitor it. Says the eye looks good but he does have a slightly irritated ear but not really an ear infection. Has us give him benadryl.

Monday
*Anders fever is gone he's up and playing, the rash is almost gone.
*The doctor calls the house to see house he's doing, I tell her every thing looks good.

This is a picture I found on the camera with a bunch of others he took around the house on Monday. You can see in comparison to the first picture how whitish yellow that center section is.

Tuesday
*Anders wakes up with puss oozing out of his glue. White, greenish, reddish nasty stuff. The glue is all soft where it was normally hard.
*We go back into the doctors office. More whaling and gnashing of teeth as she tries to get a good look at what's going on under the glue.

I have to take a moment here and explain the extent of his fear of anything medical.
This is the kid that when they check his heartbeat he acts like you are stabbing daggers into his heart. Having him step on the scale you would think we have just asked him to step into a pit of rattle snakes. He becomes irrational and terrified.

*She takes a swabe to see if there is staph, puts him on an antibiotic and tries to get some of the glue to pull away. It's not going well so she shows us the process and tells us to try it at home two to three times a day, and to come back the next day.
*Confirms staph and thinks the virus he had over the weekend has latched onto the sore and has infected it internally.
*Also has a pretty bad ear infection.

Wednesday
*There is now more redness and a red streak going down towards his temple. She is getting worried one of the staph results has not come back, the one that lets us know if it is reacting to the antibiotic or not.
*More unhappiness as we try to get more glue off. (unhappiness = HELL)
*That night the doctor is getting worried it could be a more dangerous form of staph and would like to put him on a different antibiotic. We don't get the message until too late.
*She calls again to make sure we got the message and since we didn't tells us what to watch for and that she'll call in the morning to let us know the results.
*I'm thinking maybe I should know what all this staph concern is all about and do what no mother should ever do: a random google search on staph infection.
*Go to sleep wondering if my child is being eaten from the inside out.

Thursday
*The doctor calls to let us know the first good news of the whole ordeal. It is normal staph and the antibiotic should be working.
*She also tells me she stayed up all night worrying about him and asks if she can do a house call. (Only in Vermont!)
*Comes to see him at the house where he will let her look at it a little more and she schedules an appointment for the next day.

Friday
*The glue is really loose and almost coming off with a lot of puss still coming out. At about 9:00 with a doctors appointment for him at 10:00 I tackle the glue.
*A process that should have taken 5 minutes on a normal kid takes about 45 minutes. At the end of the 45 minutes all three kids are crying hysterically, I am a crazy maniac ... but the glue is off.
*She showed me how to dress it three times a day and took about 10 minutes convincing Anders it was OK to put a band-aid on it. We ended up holding him down to put it on and immediately after that decided they were OK. Like, hey what was I so worried about, this is kind of nice.

It's now a process of two to three times a day washing it with sterile water, putting a topical antibiotic on it and covering it up.

Here's a picture taken tonight while I was cleaning it again. It's hard to see but it looks 1000 times better today then it did even yesterday. Check out his poor chopped eyebrow.

I know that this is so minor compared to what other kids and moms go though sometimes on a daily basis. My heart goes out to you in a new way with a slightly better understanding of the worry and pain you feel for your child.

2009-05-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

Having a bit of a crazy week here, in and out of the Dr. Office with the never ending saga of CRACKED HIS HEAD OPEN GONE BAD. I'll post more about that when it's over.

Since returning home from my sisters wedding in Oregon it's been a constant string of illness. The wedding, by the way, was A-MAZ-ING. It was great to see so many friends and dang can my family throw a party!

The day after we got home I heard this between Anders and the babysitter.
Babysitter: How was the wedding?
Anders (in a very no nonsense voice) : It was fun, but a little crazy. Weddings are always crazy.
Either he has an extensive wedding attending history that I'm unaware of or I need to remember that my son hears everything I say.

I cut Brig and Anders hair the day before we left and in response to Anders question of why we were cutting his hair I must have said, "So that you look sharp for the wedding." because I overheard a few of his conversations (mostly with strangers at the airport) that included SHARPNESS and WEDDINGS.

We got to Oregon pretty late at night and he was already asleep, when he woke up we were at my parents new house. If you haven't seen pictures it is INCREDIBLE and also happens to have a lot of wood. Even the ceiling he woke up too was all wood. So in his sleepy, dreamy haze there he is asking, "Mom, are wood houses pretty strong?" I know this kid and how he thinks and so OF COURSE immediately reassured him that this house would never be blown over by a big bad wolf. He responded, "Oh good, can I have some breakfast now?"(We live in a brick house.)

This kid is my friend.

I also have to document the Stubborn Missie Moosie. She has had a LOVE-HATE thing going with the toilet. Up until this week she has LOVED to sit on the toilet but HATED to actually use it for what it was made for. She has LOVED having underwear but HATED having to wear them on her body. Just about every morning for the past couple months I've tried to get her to wear underwear. At first it was a battle and she would end up taking them off and screaming until the diaper was securely covering her precious heiney. Instead of the fight I just started asking in new and interesting ways each morning if she wanted to wear them. So a few days ago I routinely asked her if we could put on her underwear and she said YES!! I acted real casual so as not to disrupt the magic and we're going on day three of a toilet using girl. Not one accident! Did I mention the frogs and fish ate her binkies? Boy has she had a life changing week.

Her only mishap with the toilet so far was today after another successful go I did a big cheer with two hands in the air and a jump for good measure and she tried to copy me while she was still on the pot. She ended up with cheeks-on-water and a terrified look on her face like how'd that happen?

Just Because

2009-05-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

I am a patient person but can only take so much of the question ... Is this the day we're going to grandma's house in Oregon? What else could we do but make a paper chain. (This IS pushing the boundaries of my crafting & drawing abilities.)

This year I was again reminded of the crazy weather here in Vermont where your kids can play on a snow pile in 80 degree weather!

In other news, I have recently discovered the author Barbara Park and her character Junie B. Very cool, and Anders and I totally enjoy reading them together. How can you not when describing a new problem of monsters under her bed she says things like:

It was my worstest night ever. I didn't sleep any winks. That's because I had to keep my eyes open. Or else the monster wouldn't stay invisible.

And Anders particular favorite when she discovers that by putting her ugly school picture under her bed it scares away the monsters. (Anders had me read this part about 8 times because when you're 4 it's HILARIOUS.)

This picture is just as scary as you! And so maybe I might put it right under my bed! And it will scare your whole entire pants off!

How can that not be hilarious to this budding photographer that snuck my camera to bed with him last night to get a couple winning self-portraits before falling off to sleep.

Warning: Rated R

2009-04-21T11:28:00.001-07:00

When you don't have any real bad words to use you do what you can to describe emotion. This is what Anders feels.

*I don't like to wear long sleeves they make me feel junkie and boring. (I can relate about my entire wardrobe in general.)

*Get Maddie away from me, she's an X. (I'm assuming it's like when you don't like something you draw an X through it.)

*Mom if you don't come help me you're despicable. (Too much Loony Tunes?)

Meanwhile, Maddie is busy watching a boobie (movie) eating a pee-nis sandwich (peanut butter sandwich).

2009-04-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

Needs both hands to get across the room but can't leave his treasures behind. Smart kid.

How about that baby cleavage and the wrist rolls?

More Bedtime Adventures ...

Anders loves making forts and a couple times the past week after tucking him to bed in his bed I've found him like this ... in his bed cave in our room. By the way he is not wearing pajamas, he goes in phases with pajama wearing and his most recent argument is that he can't have blankets and pajamas, that's two things. The other night I asked him to go get his pajamas on and he just looked at me and said, "Mom you don't listen to me, that's two things, it doesn't work." So here he is in his cave and his undies.

When Brig put Maddie to bed the other night she was wearing the purple pajama top, when he checked on her an hour later this is what he found. She had all the proper sleeping elements:

The hat two sizes too small that her mom keeps forgetting to take out of her dresser.

Her dress shoes. (She's already got the heels and jeans thing down.)

Jeans and a dress inside out.

Judging from the pile of clothes next to her it was quite the selection process.

2009-03-20T09:40:00.001-07:00

Eddie - 6 Months

Eddie what can I say, you've become a little man full of personality and love.
* You love people. Most of the time you are hanging off of my arm facing out and you catch everyone's eye to give them a smile and whatever else it is you do to win everyone over.
* You still love to put your hands on peoples faces and bring your face right up next to theirs. It's not the way most babies do, it's a very gentle, affectionate cuddle and I can't get enough of it.
* When I come in the room after not seeing you for a while or when Brig comes in the room you immediately try to get our attention by smiling and cooing and kicking your hands and legs until we make our way over to you.
* At about three months I laid you down on your back one day and you rolled yourself over. Literally the next day you were making your way scooting across the room. You've generally stayed in the living room but the other day I was in the kitchen and all of a sudden there you were at my feet. You can really move.
* You usually get on your hands and knees and rock back and forth but then usually end up scooting with your elbows and legs when you really want to get somewhere fast. Lately when you're really serious about getting somewhere fast you actually get on your feet and hands in a kind of downward facing dog pose before you drop to your belly and scoot.
* The nighttime thing is going really well. You go to bed about 7, lay right down in your bed and usually wake up about 4ish eat and go back to bed until 7 or 8. You now share a room with Anders and he loves having you in there.
* You're a so charming!

This is what he really wanted to do the whole time. Like, "Come on mom, enough with the pictures already, I'm not a baby anymore."
Anders and Maddie are such great older siblings. Anders is so gentle with Eddie, often in the middle of playing he'll come over and give him a kiss on the hand and check in with him. Every morning the first thing Maddie does is find Eddie and go strait up close to his face and say in a very husky voice, "Hi Baby Boowwee." I love having my siblings as some of my closest friends and I hope they always stay close.

This is what they were doing while we were snapping pictures. This is a common picture in our house. Anders has enjoyed going around and taking pictures lately and usually they are shots like these first two.

I thought this one was really good. He mostly takes pictures of Eddie ... and the TV.

Missie Moosie doesn't mind mud season in Vermont.Last night we got Maddie all in her pajamas and tucked in and about a half our later we hear her screaming and crying up in her room. We thought she was asleep but she was quite busy ... this is what I found. Maddie and her world of make believe.

After a lot of convincing that she actually did have to put a leotard on feet first, we got it all sorted out, she crawled right into bed and went right to sleep.

Can you stop a leak with bubble gum?

2009-03-13T05:26:00.000-07:00

Anders: Mom, I wish I could have met MacGyver when he was a little boy.

Me: Who?

Anders: MAC-GY-VER!

Of course, MacGyver. At least I know what Anders and Daddy are doing when I'm not around. Next he'll want to meet Paul Jr. from Orange County Choppers. It could be worse I might start to worry when he asks to meet "Dog" the Bounty Hunter.

My thoughts at 2am

2009-01-28T13:14:00.000-08:00

Last night we had an unexpected visitor come into our bed at 2am. Maddie showed up tossed around for a little bit and disappeared. This only woke me up slightly and in my foggy sleep I figured she went to crawl back into her own bed, only to get another visit minutes later. This time she had changed from her pajamas in to a dress and shoes to snuggle back down into our bed. By this time I was a little more awake. As she drifted back to sleep I was awake enough to listen to the radio. It was BBC news talking about the conflict in Palestine and Israel and I thought back to some people I met eleven years ago…

Weeks after my 18th birthday, after a year of saving and planning, two friends and I took off on a trip for 6 months to 19 countries, with a backpack to our name. One of the places we visited was Jerusalem and from there took a trip just outside of Ramallah to Berzeit University. My dad had a friend that was teaching there for a semester and he invited us out to visit one of his classes. The day before our planned visit to the University there was a bombing in the country something so foreign to us but for them was part of life. We decided to go anyway and our heads were already spinning by the time we got there after seeing people trying to get to work and school being turned away at the checkpoints while we, with our American passports, went right through. We saw the car in front and behind us being stoned while ours with the correct color license plate was left alone. I was so naive to the conflict to make very much sense of any of this but our experience in the classroom that day was something anyone could understand. I don’t remember what the lesson was supposed to be on but after a few minutes of teaching the professor could sense the grief from the students and decided to open it up for a discussion. We asked about what we had heard on the news the night before, phrases like “Putting a halt to the peace talks because the Palestinians proved once again they are not ready for peace.” By the end of the discussion I understood these students had so much they could have been angry about but instead they cried, we all cried as we talked about the dream of peace.

… and last night, in bed with Maddie next to me in her dress and her shoes I cried for those on both sides of the conflict where fear and violence is their reality.

Need a good laugh?

2009-01-23T19:01:00.000-08:00

Let's hear it for the boy.

2009-01-09T19:53:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many of my brothers read this blog, but this one's for you all.

I just wanted to inform you that Anders has taught himself how to belch. Not burp, but belch. In fact I'm pretty sure that if he tried he could belch his ABC's, I don't think he's tried yet. He just isn't in school so he's not yet aware that's how to make friends on the playground.

So there it is guys are you proud or what? Brig could have had a private lesson on the art (I wouldn't put it past him) but to my knowledge this is one Anders totally figured out on his own. He just randomly does it throughout the day not for any reason in particular, just because he thinks it's cool. But he strangely still says excuse me if he does it at the dinner table.

I have to say I'm a bit jealous ... it takes me like a ton of water and a lot of effort to produce half the sound he so effortlessly expels.

2009-01-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

Moving Day
The coolest In-Law's in the nation making the move north.

About half way through the day we took a break from unpacking to catch up and enjoy the thrill of having them here.

From their first day here Steve had a goal to get Eddie to sleep in his arms. It didn't take long.

It's so great having them here.

Christmas - Bring it on!

Our family gift this year was Rock Band.
This was taken right after Lucy taught the young boys all the necessary rock'n phrases like "You ready to rock?" and "We love the Ladies!" Which they would say before each song.

Anders gift to Wyatt. This is they year writing has become a huge part of the boys life, so I thought this would be a great way to memorialize that milestone.
Sometime during the summer the boys were convinced they are brothers. Their dads are brothers but live in different houses so it makes perfect sense to them that they are also brothers that live in different houses. We've explained the difference between cousins and brothers so they compromised and settled on the phrase cousin brothers.
(Is that R in brothers not one of the coolest things you've seen in your life?)

I have a thing for matching pajamas on Christmas Eve and this year with the help of Chaz and Brig we made these turtle jammies, very soft and snugable. Trying to get a good picture of the three of them was not easy, as you can see Maddie was being a bit goofy. I have a feeling the two of them will be looking at her like that a lot through their lives. That look like "I swear I don't know this crazy chick!"

We have a tradition of a Christmas morning on the stairs picture, Kelso's heiney kind of got center stage in this photo. We had a blast this year having Chris and Kenni spend Christmas with us. We actually had a very busy couple of weeks and these two helped us out so much. They were so great to have around and we had a blast from the first night when we played rock band until 3AM to the last day when we watched "The Mission" till 2AM with some snow shoveling in between. I can't wait to get together again.

Winding down after a long couple of weeks of celebrating the holidays.

Bringing in 2009 with a compressed tail bone.

We had a blast sledding down Jordan and Keighty's hill! Anders totally got into it, Maddie tolerated it and Brig forgot he's thirty something and not 17 anymore. (I think on one run he caught at least 5 feet of air!)

Christmas according to Anders.

2008-12-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

Just in case you were wondering where Santa Claus fits into the cosmos, Maddie and Anders can fill you in.

The discussion went on to include that Santa gathers the lists and takes them back to the North Pool to his Elders that have pointy ears and wear suits and make toys.

Almost a month? Really?

2008-12-09T19:39:00.001-08:00

My camera was dead the whole time I was in Oregon so I don't have pictures but it was a blast. I'll have to snag some picture from my dad's computer next time he's around because he is the master of taking pictures of the grandkids. I actually have a picture I took with his camera of him and Maddie dancing to the Wiggles. In fact I think one of them was wearing a tutu, but you'll have to see the picture to find out which =)

The whole trip was a blast, to sum it all up MY FAMILY ROCKS! all 2847 of them.

So we're back and preparing for Christmas with a vengeance (If we were playing Cranium and got one of those dreadful yellow cards about spelling I would have got vengeance, that's pretty cool.) Anyway, yes Christmas. There is a friend in town that I was talking to about my lack of decorations and she ended up coming over and giving me a huge bag of homemade decorations. I was so thrilled. She's made these over the years and I can't wait to get them out every year.

Other big news Leilani our friend from our Hawaii lifetime is here living/visiting and she has been so incredible to have around. I forget that there are some friend that no matter how long you've been apart when you get together you just pick back up where you left off.

Here's Lani and Anders putting all the homemade decorations on our little table trees. Can you tell Anders thinks Lani is pretty cool. Anders was hesitant at first about taking a picture before all the decorations were all on there but then he figured it was OK to take one while they were in the process.

Lani and my friend that gave me the decorations and our little butterball, Eddie.

The Eddie Update

*You've always been quite vocal but it's like all of a sudden you decided to really talk. It was like one day grunts and coos and the next day you were really expressing. At first it started like a song. We were in the car and there you were in your car seat just singing away with the music. It's become a little less musical and more like little sentences but you really do have a lot to say. I can't tell you how much I would give to know what you're thinking.
*You do not like to be laying down flat, you like to sit up and are actually happiest standing up . When the kids are all playing you like to be right in the middle of them in your exersaucer.
*You're starting to realize when you mess your shorts because you start to concentrate and your face goes red. (This one is your dad's observation when I just asked him if he had any to add.)
*You've really filled out the past few weeks, your new nickname chunky monkey is well deserved.
*You're very ticklish, especially on your neck.
*With three I don't have as many moments to sit and hold you as I would like but I'm glad that every once in a while you demand it. Whenever you really need it you let me know and when I finally pick you up you nuzzle right into my neck.
*I can tell you get quite a kick of the chaos around you.
*You have these long fuzzy hairs that usually blend right in to the rest but every once in a while stick up strait.

Onto Anders News

This was an e-mail I got from Brig while I was out of town ...they know how to live it up when I'm gone!

So we've been reading a little of the Mighty Thor comic book the last few nights. After Anders went to sleep last night, I went in to check on him. This is what he was working on his little dry erase board before bed. I didn't help him at all with any of this, he just figured it all out on his own. HAIL THOR!

Hot Cereal

2008-11-18T21:23:00.000-08:00

Anders and I love to make chocolate cookies but he was very disappointed the other day when I made oatmeal cookies. So today when I started getting out the ingredients Anders wanted to confirm I wasn't going to make the "hot cereal" cookies this time.

So my birthday's coming up in a couple days and it's a doosie, I'm turning 30. And I have to say I'm looking forward to it. There was a time in my life when 30 sounded old but now it just sounds cool. I've heard a lot of people say when they turn 30 it's like all of a sudden they can't eat anything they want anymore. I never could, so I don't even have that to worry about. I really am liking this next decade thing. I have a lot of good memories and a lot of things to look forward to.

So speaking about getting older, one last story ... about death.

The other day Anders was barraging me with a million questions. I was quite distracted with Maddie climbing on me and feeding Eddie, etc. Usually when he's doing this it just goes from one question to another as he's playing with toys semi-distracted as well. Somehow our conversation turned to how people die, and what happens when you die. Just as we're getting into the fact that you don't come back when you die, I realize he's standing right in front of me with a big lip and red eyes with tears about to pop out. At the same time he's really trying to keep it all together and not give in to his emotions. (Those of you that know him know this very sensitive, tender expression I'm talking about.) We've had conversations about this before but it was the first time it all really sunk in I guess. That's when he collapsed into my arms and said the heartbreaking, "But I don't want you to die." After we talked it through a little more he still wasn't OK with the whole thing but he could move on with his day.

So I guess the moral of the story is life is hard, he's growing up, and he's absolutely going to look both ways before he crosses the street.

The Pack

2008-11-17T06:40:00.000-08:00

I come from a large family and am surrounded by a lot of family, so I am very used to having a crew of kids around. It's not uncommon for us to trade off with the 9 kids that generally make up the pack.

The other day at the library I was reminded that not everyone feels this way. It was story time at the library and there were a bunch of kids and parents there. I was there with my three and two extra. The kids had a great time and at the end everyone had left but my crew and one very well behaved girl and her mom. Her mom had sat quietly reading the whole time (I gave up doing crazy things like that a long time ago, but can you tell I'm still a bit envious?)

As we were leaving with everyone else gone that mother noticed the adult to child ratio that was left and asked, "Are you in charge of all of these kids?"

I knew we were in very different places in life when my very first thought was, "But I only have these five."

2008-11-03T08:24:00.000-08:00

This Halloween has made my top ten list, right next to the year I went as a Bunch of Grapes. (Being covered in purple balloons, the rose bushes were a problem.)

This year was especially good because the kids were old enough to look forward to it. I won't say there weren't some tense moments ... half the time people asked him what he was going to be he'd say a Mighty Knight and half the time he'd say Spiderman. It all worked out and he looked great! (Thanks again Chris for snapping all the shots.)

Maddie was a Care Bear but I had to wake her up from a nap to go to the Halloween party . So instead she ended up being a Very Grumpy Care Bear.

Our little Pea Pod slept most of the time. (I loved the hat.) This is at Keighty's house. Her and a friend put together a great party for the kids that went from 3:00 to 5:00 then we all went out trick-or-treating. My favorite part of the party was the pumpkin carving where we let the kids mostly go for it on their own. By the end there were some pretty cute pumpkins including Wyatt's pumpkin he just cut right in half. I think he just enjoyed the cutting part, not especially making it into anything.

By the time we went out trick-or-treating, Maddie was still pretty grumpy and would not put on her Bear costume. I tried everything to get her to wear something and she wouldn't go for it. Keighty came through for us and slipped these wings on her without her knowing it and they looked great. So here is our trick-or-treating butterfly. Another great thing about his year was the party without kids down at the Windsor Station Restaurant. It was such a blast with live music, dancing and great food. Almost everyone came dressed up and we had a blast. Did I mention I didn't have a baby strapped to me all night?

Can I get a little PEACE and QUIET?

All the Larson siblings ... it's crazy how I didn't really even know this crew just over a year ago. I think this is one of my all time favorite Halloween pictures ... Brig the Working Mime. When we got dressed up we went downstairs to leave and Anders came running upstairs to tell me "he was a little bit scared of Daddy's costume." I guess a couple times throughout the night he asked the babysitter if Brig was going to wash off his costume in the car. He wasn't going to chance seeing that again.

We had the ward trunk-or-treat the day after Halloween. It started at 5:30 and after a pretty busy day we didn't leave the house to go until 5:30. Finally all dressed up and out the door, I had to stop on my way to get Halloween candy and something to bring to the potluck. I went to the grocery store, then down the road about 15 minutes to the church. By the time we showed up it was 6:00 and when I went to go inside I realized there were not any grocery bags. I turned around, went back to the grocery store and there were my groceries still just sitting there. (At least I loaded the kids in the car, right?) At that point we decided to call it a night and just went home. Has anyone else ever had those times when you feel like you're in a bad dream running really fast but not going anywhere?

Two months later ...

2008-10-21T08:34:00.001-07:00

My favorite change this month is that you are sleeping through the night. You normally go to sleep around 10:00pm and sleep until 8:30am with a seven hour stretch. Seven Hours!!
Anders has been singing to you every morning, you love those first moments of your day.
You had your two months checkup yesterday and got your first shot. You did great and at the top of the charts for everything. The doctor was surprised with how social and alert you are for a two month old.
You've already tried to roll over.
You hate being in your car seat if the car is not moving. As soon as we drive you settle right down.
We can lay you down in your bassinet at night and as long as your wrapped up you talk and growl yourself to sleep. I like listening to those end of the day sounds.
You've started giggling. Sometimes if one of us is holding you and starts laughing at something you usually give a little chuckle.
Yesterday at the end of the day Brig came home and sat on the couch ans started talking to me about his day. You immediately searched for his face and smiled any time he would say something. With a dad like Brig you have a lot of years ahead of you of smiling when he's around.

Eddie has gotten to the age where he is starting to open his hands up a little more often. And just recently I've been reminded me of one of my favorite things ... feeling an infant place thier hand on yours. I notice it the most when I'm feeding him because it's one of those times when he's totally relaxed and I'm still enough to pay attention. It's one of those things I'm not good enough with words to express well but it's a beautiful feeling. The temperature of his hand is always perfect. It's usually when I'm not paying attention and it always takes my breath away.

I got this little outfit at a thrift store when Maddie was about 4 months old, I think even then it was too small for her but I had her squeeze into it once or twice before I retired it to the bin. When I pulled it out I was excited to be able to use it again with Eddie.

Here's Maddie getting ready for Halloween. I can imagine seeing this a lot in the next few days.

A cozy couple minutes at the end of the day. We've had the fire stoked the last couple days and it keeps the whole house warm. This was last night when Maddie and I came home from a quick trip to the grocery store. She saw Eddie and Brig lying there on the floor and without saying a thing just got a big smile and took off her boots and her coat and snuggled right in making room for herself.

Here's a shot of Anders new haircut, not to mention his perfect little face. Anders would say, "Mom, what does haircut start with?" He's into letters and spelling since he started preschool.I was able to snag a bit of Snapdragon fabric that Chris had made in India to make these burp cloths. Taking spit-up to a whole new level of cool.

It's a doosie...

2008-10-15T22:14:00.000-07:00

WARNING - Long post with lots of pictures!

Can you tell the kids think their Aunt Alicia is pretty cool?

The Apple Farm

The place we went to pick apples a bit ago is incredible and has the worlds best petting zoo. So after church on Sunday we made another trip. The first time we went Maddie actually wouldn't even come in and cried at the thought of us being in there with those crazy animals. This time she was great as long as she was that safe distance on Brig's shoulders.

Watching the baby deer on the other side of the fence. The deer were actually leaping and playing out in that field, it was great.

Anders thought this was one of the coolest things he had ever seen, a chicken getting a drink of water. He's mentioned it a couple times this week. I didn't want to ruin the moment for Anders so I didn't say anything to him but I have to say while I was watching him there with his face so close to that chicken I was on guard to drop the camera and attack if that chicken went for Anders.

General updates...

Here's Eddie two months, going on two years. The other day my friend was holding him while we were watching the kids ride bikes in the driveway and she said she thinks Eddies will be riding a bike at 6 months the way he gets into things. If he's awake he hates lying down, even though he doesn't realize he doesn't have the neck muscles for it he likes to be sitting up where he can see everything going on.
This picture is also evidence that Brig is a Van Halen fan (I feel like I should use something stronger then the word fan.) My sister-in-law has a friend that makes t-shirts into infant sleeping gowns. This was the perfect gift for Brig's child. When we were in the hospital the day after we had him he still didn't have a middle name and another sister-in-law called with the suggestion of Van. I have to say it was tempting.

Maddie put herself down for a nap on our bed the other day. I was in the middle of something and she got sick of waiting. My kids take after their parents, they love their sleep. My favorite part is that she only managed to get one shoe off.

Maddie is obsessed with writing, not even just coloring but it's like she's writing a novel or something. I've kept a spare notepad and pencil on my desk because when I get a phone call and have to write something down if I don't give her a set of pen and pad for herself there is no chance I'll hear anything during the call because she'll be screaming for mine. This was the other day while I was getting a few things gathered she was perfectly happy to wait and write.

In the background there were people doing an interpretive dance with ribbons at a street festival here in town. I took this picture while Brig was trying to convince Chris they should take Anders toy blaster and join them.

FALL IN VERMONT
I can't take any credit for these next pictures my incredible sister-in-law Chris took them all and these are just a few. (Capturing beautiful things is just one of her many talents.) If you want to see more pictures of the fall in Vermont look here and here.

The lake behind our house. I almost cried the other day when I had a moment with the lake and the colors and the mountains. This is just a fraction of the beauty.

Gondola Ride

2008-10-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

Alicia is in town visiting and today we set out looking for a hike. We had all the kids so we were somewhat limited, we didn't have anywhere in particular planned but in Vermont you can't go far without coming across something amazing. We ended up at Mt. Killington and had a great adventure there today.

Just to preface I am officially afraid of heights, not little heights but big heights. I get completely irrational and panic to the point of nearly fainting. I have learned how to calm myself down and keep myself rational but it's still sucks. Today when we got to Killington they had the most incredible gondola that takes you to the top of the mountain and it looked great but I immediately felt that pit in my stomach. I knew it was perfect for Alicia and I wanted my kids to experience it as well so I showed no sign of fear and went for it. Both Anders and Maddie were terrified at first but we coaxed/forced them into it. By the time we were halfway up Anders wouldn't let go of my hand but he was actually enjoying it, I don't think Maddie ever got past the point of tolerating it. Anyway, we got to the top and there was a short hike to the very peak of the mountain then we headed back down.

On the way down Anders and I had this conversation:

Anders: I love the gondola. Mom, did you go on a gondola when you were a little girl.

Me: No I never did.

Anders: Why didn't you go when you were a little girl.

Me: I was too scared. It's not good to be afraid, you miss beautiful things if you're scared.

Anders: (Still holding my hand from his own fear.) Mom if you see something and you're scared just tell me and I will teach you to not be scared anymore.

So there you have it, my confession. Other irrational fears: lightning while I'm in a car and forest fires. I've actually conquered my fear of elevators.

It was beyond incredible and beautiful, probably one of the most beautiful places I've experienced.

I have to give a shout out to Alicia that is the complete opposite of me and not really afraid of anything, she always inspires me and again today gave me courage to face my fear.

The mountain peaks and the incredible colors.

At the base of the mountain.

Just a fraction of the view, I swear you could see all of Vermont from the top in every direction.

Anders is into flexing his muscles in pictures lately. (Even though in this picture it looks like he got distracted and looks more like he's singing "I'm a little teapot."

Us in a moving box, on a small wire, gillions of miles in the air. So worth it!

Life is good.

2008-10-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

They make me happy.