Woodland Park Zoo 2010

I took the kids to Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle this weekend. It was fun though there aren't many pictures to show for it; taking pictures of animals just isn't as fun for me as taking pics of flowers. Each child got to bring his animal that he got at the zoo last year. (D wasn't left out-- we sent pics to him while we were there and he chose that he would rather go to the coast for the day when he comes back next weekend.)

Last pic of the day--- tired kids back at the zoo entrance. What I loved about this trip to the zoo was that for the first time the kids slowed down and actually read the displays and exhibits near the animals. Usually they would go over and push buttons or open and close parts (which is still what M did), but E and G actually read and tried to think of answers before interacting with the display. It gives me great hope for visiting the Smithsonians when we return to the east coast. Or visiting historic places around Charleston.

love and hugs, B

School Supplies

School supplies are ready...for 2 schools. I went ahead and bought supplies for school in VA since we will move during the year and I am such a miser that I refuse to buy supplies at full price half-way through the year. Also it will make one part of my life easier when the move finally happens....if the move ever happens. It just feels very slow right now and I know that will get worse when school begins and people get busy with fall activities. Keeping fingers crossed and going with a price drop for now trying to stir up interest.

Anyway, back to school supplies. Buying them is simple with boys because they are not so focused on what pretty picture is on them, they just want to get it over with. I understand the large amounts teachers ask for (then they don't have to try to get parents to send in more later), but it is still hard to swallow buying and sharpening 48 pencils to start the year. Or sending in 24 large glue sticks. Here is a dirty little secret that may be happening in your child's kindergarten room: some teachers don't ever teach how to use a glue stick; the children color whole pages with them when it is time to glue one tiny piece on the page. Last year I did not make a friend when I was helping with an art project and stopped each child to teach them the a glue stick is not a crayon and taught them to use a dot of glue, not color the page. The teacher gave a stiff little laugh when she overheard what I was doing. Wonder if she has stock in Elmer's?

I also understand, but have a hard time with community supplies. Yes, it helps students who cannot afford to bring in the supplies and is intended to keep desks neater. My problem with the community property brings us back to the little guy over there coating his entire paper and desk with glue and then I get the request for more. I already taught my children how to use glue and if it was in his personal box he wouldn't have run out yet. Or the off brand scissors available for the table will break so that table only has 2 pairs for 6 kids to share. The school we are moving to is not a believer in the community property system. I am (obviously) not a believer in the community property system either. I believe personal supplies make each child learn responsibility for their own, putting it away, using the appropriate amount, and how to take a message home to relay when more is needed.

Earthquake emergency kits. Last year they were not sent home at the end of the year. I am the insane mother who went back to school on the last day after the kids came home to get their emergency packs. This food and water is negligable. The small kit I put in with kleenex, bandaids, silverware to eat their meal, and trash bag for rain protection are nice to be able to just reuse year after year. The silver emergency blanket I bought for this purpose alone is $6---sorry, I was not able to part with that. The part that troubles me each year is the note we should write to include in the kit. What exactly do parents write on this? How do I know what they will have been through or how to comfort them? Maybe just seeing my writing and a smiley face will be enough to comfort them till I can get there. I hope so. I also hope they never have to use them. Can't get out of this earthquake zone quick enough.

OK, I guess that is enough chatter about school supplies. I should just be happy they are going back next week.
love and hugs, B

Flowers to Relax With

The past 2 days have been awful. Filled with traffic ticket surprises, red tape, one house showing (the only bright spot), whiny children, ill M (again-as usual), end of summer frustration with the kids, missing D, and heading back to school anxiety for all of us. Before the problems set in there was a lovely morning when we headed for Pt. Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, but ended up in the gardens instead. Children's choice. A great delight for me that they chose gardens over zoo. First off, kid pics in 2 separate areas of the gardens.
Here is what we saw in the rose garden. Not sure why I don't love roses, but they are not high on my list of favorites. Thought the lavender one looked like it was made of icing--the petals were so thick!

Next came the dahlias. They were huge. So fun to see all the colors and see the boys so interested in the different shapes and sizes.

We also found hedges of hydrangea in every shade. The flowers were bigger than M's head. Boys were bored here while I snapped as many pics as I could. Now this is my favorite flower!

Cutest quote of the day came from G. Once in a while he makes a connection that is so wonderful and different. He was looking as a fuchsia plant and said "They look like ballerinas or little fairies." And he is right, see for yourself....

Hopefully these pictures will give me something beautiful to meditate on and relax when the frantic end of summer gets to me.

love and hugs, B

Doctor's Offices

Maybe this should be titled Waiting Rooms. We had our last orthopedic appointment for M's broken leg Thursday. Everything is fine, all healed and Dr. said he could forward records after we move, but another doctor could take an X-ray now and not even tell it was broken. (Of course he is a perfectionist and said he could still tell because it had a little bump that is not a problem but wasn't perfect like he wanted it.) Now before we got to this point in the appt where good news was bestowed upon us and we were wished well in our future endeavors there was an hour and 15 minutes...of waiting.... with 3 children..... in a place that should be kept calm and quiet. Fun! The boys were above normal with good behavior but every child has his limits and every mom has her limits. At first they were required (and complied) to sit still in chairs and watch TV. That lasted 15 minutes. Then they moved to changing chairs like a quiet game of musical chairs. I put up with that while they were quiet and not in other people's space, but after 5 minutes that was over. Then came watching TV from sitting on the floor in the children's area--5 minutes. Playing with blocks and other boring toys meant for 2 year olds--10 minutes before the play became too loud for a dr.'s office. Then magazines and games on my phone for 20 minutes, with all 3 fighting over the gadget. E kept saying "What time was our appt? Why isn't it our turn?" Nearly an hour in it was our turn. We were taken to an exam room by our favorite nurse who was so happy to see M; she was so wonderful during the whole cast thing and M was tickled to see her too. Just a couple of minutes in the exam room and M and I were taken to the X-ray. He was great about laying still. He knows a good bribe when it is offered. Back in the exam room we waited another 10-15 minutes.....with 3 boys.... who are tired of waiting....and tired of my games to keep them pacified. So I read them a story from an app I downloaded on my phone. Then the dr. appears and 2 minutes later we are free of the orthopedist (hopefully) forever. Not knocking the orthopedist (love him and have recommended him over and over), but knocking many doctor's office.
Two best things I have seen at doctor's offices are:
1) an office complex here has a small YMCA in it and contracts with them to provide low cost child care to people with appts in the building. They give you a beeper in case there is a problem and you go to your appt with no children and no worries about keeping them occupied.
2) I went through having the last 2 boys with the same OB/GYN in VA. they had 2 great systems. One let you schedule all 9 months of appt at your first OB appt--- first choice at appts for 9 months! Also, they had a white board where they would write when a doctor was behind schedule or got called out for a delivery. Terrific! Honesty! It really is a fresh approach; much better than "She will be right back."
While medical advancements grow every day, customer service still puts patients off and makes some people avoid medical care altogether. We did survivie our morning in the waiting room.
love and hugs, B

G's Big Day!!!

As we came back from the mailboxes today I noticed G was not really using his training wheels. A few weeks ago I raised them so he could practice by trying not to use them; worked great since he could tell by the sound--so noisy! So we got home and I took them off. When he tried to ride the chain came off-- I broke his bike. Determined to make this lesson work today I grabbed M's bike and after making sure G could squeeze himself on it, I took those training wheels off. G did exactly what E did the first time. I held on for a minute and then he just took off. By the time we came in tonight he was riding up and down the street!

When we came in G was wiggling his loose tooth and for some reason decided to give it a good push--out it came. He was so pleased with himself and it was nice to see E share his joy and bond with him over both having lost teeth.

A big day for G!

love and hugs, B

Ramblings

Hey, not putting full thoughts together right now so all I have is random ramblings.

SKYPE!! is fabulous! D is now in VA to begin the new job and for 2 nights we have signed on to Skype and talked to him and "tucked him in for his bedtime(for us it was nearly dinner time). I think this is going to make the separation easier. Hopefully it won't be long--anybody want a house?

Heat. We have been having 'very hot' days here: around 95. No, it's not considered hot by people elsewhere. I am very sensitive about it right now with no AC. Not even living with no AC; I just worry someone will want to see the house and be turned off by the heat upstairs. By the way, heat with no humidity has a smell to it. Like a hot oven. I keep smelling it outside or in rooms with windows open and think why does that smell funny but familiar. Oven. All of the outdoors smells like an oven.

Broom grows wild here. In the heat the seed pods make a crispy popping sound. To me it sounds like the crackle of a fire starting. It freaks me out.... not an exaggeration. If you throw water on the hot seed pods they absolutely sizzle.

Summer has been bad for my weight loss and lifestyle change. I have nearly quite working out with all the chaos of the move and having the kids home complaining any time I want to go to the gym. I also have enjoyed spending time with D just ahnging out before he left, hanging out meaning sitting around a lot. Maybe now I can buckle down and get back at it and surprise him when he returns for a visit in a few weeks. Or better yet, sell the house and go there and surprise him.

Can you remove the finish of wood floors by mopping too much? How about the finish of a sink?

I took the boys to the beach Saturday to distract them and tire them out good before bedtime. The kids and I have very different ideas about what to do on the beach: they just want to trap little crabs and dig while I think the beach is for walking. I ended up standin there taking pics and taking little walks on wither side of where they were playing.

love and hugs, B

Adventures with D

D finished work here (WA) last week and has this week to spend with us before he heads to VA to begin the new job next week. We are enjoying our time together and , of course, that means a few adventures. Last Saturday was rainy and miserable so we took a drive which ended up on the Olympic Penninsula. Pretty area even in the rain and something we never got to do right while we were here. Monday we went to a movie (Despciable Me); loved it. D and I laughed through the whole thing!!! Tuesday was the regular around the house, grass mowing, E tutoring, MMO for M, and a cookout. Wednesday was Rainier Day. We do love Mt. Rainier. And it is wildflower season. We stopped at the smowmelt stream that runs all the way down (Nisqually), then went up to Paradise and walked a couple of trails with a picnic, and on the drive down stopped at Narada Waterfall. This time we took the stroller for our main hikes but it is almost not necessary. All the kids were wonderful about being good hikers, staying on the path, and keeping up with the group. I think they enjoyed the fact that we branched out again this year and tried some new things. The last little hike we did to the waterfall I loved for 2 reasons. One: it was a real waterfall. Two:the kids were all tired and complained about having to get out of the car but when they saw the waterfall they were completely speechless; as in they did not speak at all but just looked and walked with mouths hanging open. The pictures are overwhelmingly beautiful--you don't even have to have a great camera or photographer, the pictures just happen. First sets of pics are the family and the second are just flowers and scenery. I put the scenery pics in smaller so you will have to double click to enlarge them and see details.

Will keep you updated on everything. Though we haven't had a real showing in a week I am feeling hopeful for the weekend. love and hugs, B

TGIF Laugh

This week was stressful with lots of moving info to take in as well as the kids activities to shuttle them to and working out schedules with D during his last week of work here. Today as we (E, M and me) left the zoo we passed by an "active seniors" community. E noticed that in their park there was a bouncey house set up and he said "I'm not sure that is such a good idea. They are going to get in that and break something. Yeah, I don't think old people should be bouncing."
That is what I needed to end a stressful weekend and start a fun weekend, a good laugh. E can be so clever.
love and hugs, B

Moving Brain Dump

We are in the process of a boomerang move. We moved to Washington State 2 and a half years ago from Virginia and now we are reversing the process. Only with the real estate market in more questionable shape, but moving into an area that we are familiar with. D has accepted a wonderful position with a new company and that part is exciting. And it is closer to my parents and both of our families which is comforting (though when people suggest that this is the main reason for the move it irks me to no end).
Leaving Washington will be difficult since we came in and made ourselves at home and got involved in the neighborhood, school, church and at the YMCA; so there are lots of friends to say goodbye to. The kids have gotten very close with their gang of friends on our street. And I forgot to mention that it is so beautiful here that I can't even describe it.
But for now we are faced with the fact that D begins work on the other side of the continent on August 15 and the rational answer for the kids (with school starting) and home sale is for me and the boys to stay here while D goes east. Rational but still hard to swallow sometimes. Hoping the home sale happens fast.
I love that my realtor is getting feedback from other agents that show the house. Though the feedback in 2 cases is not helpful: one wanted a different style house (so why did you look at mine in the first place) and the other said too close to the street (shall I pick up the house or the street to move it?). Nothing we can do about those comments so we move to the next task at hand.
Estimates from moving companies. Yesterday I got the most wonderful call: would you like 3 free estimates from 3 different van lines and we will schedule them for you? Absolutely!!! Sounds terrific. Be here Tuesday at 9. I drop off M early to Moms Morning Out and head back home knowing I have 2 hours to do the appointment before the next drop off at 11. At this point I think the only complicated thing I have to do is explain once our possibly strange move since we don't know if we will go into a home on the other side or into storage for a time before getting into a house. Mover man 1 shows up. Sits and gives me his talk about his company and why they are the best. And at 10am as we begin the survey of the house contents the doorbell rings. It is mover lady 2 who wants to come in and do her own talk about why her company is the best and do the survey of contents. That's when it clicks--this is 3 one hour appointments back-to-back and I realize my morning is a disaster in the making. She waits for man 1 to finish and then quickly goes through her talk and begins the survey. I don't think I even explained the whole could be a direct to home move or could be into storage for a time. All the while I am looking at my watch and knowing there is no way that I can stay past 10:55 and blow the money I already paid for E's tutoring session. Luckily mover lady 2 lives nearby and at 10:52 she offers to come back later in the day to talk further and complete the survey. Luckily again, mover man 3 (scheduled for 11) calls to say he will be late. I explain the miscommunication that this would be a 3 hour process for 3 bids and not a one hour process and he kindly allows me to reschedule for Thursday. Rush to tutoring, grocery, pick up M from MMO, and then pick up E from tutoring. Lunch and trying to calm myself down and get out of frantic rush mode. Why can't all 3 movers show up at once, skip the talk about how the are the best quality with fewest items damaged, everybody surveys together (that way I remember which items I said would stay and which go) and they all send in their estimates. I hate this part. What I hate more is the thought of storage. What goes in an apartment and what goes in storage and what sits in storage 5 miles down the road (think seasonal clothing/holiday items) that I simply can't unpile boxes to get to it. Getting rid of food alone looks like a huge task. I hope this is a house to house move. I hope it all goes by quickly so I don't just sit and fret it to death. And this is all perfectly do-able, but right now it is hurry up and wait for somebody to fall in love with my house. And that could be a while. Or it could be tomorrow and then I would be complaining about hurrying up my hurry up.
I didn't think I would write much during the move process, but I think this actually helps me. One of my blog friends (Hi RDM!) says she began her blog as cheap therapy, oddly enough after a move. I think I am going to need this therapy. This silly blog has helped me keep my thoughts straight. So if you see another post titled Moving Brain Dump #2, you may want to avoid it.
love and hugs and thanks for letting me dump all this, B