Cool Mom

We've run out of summer things to do, mostly because the summer weather's run out on us, and Kara nap schedule is hard to negotiate around. So playing at the house has been the name of the game this week. I've pretty much gone along with whatever the kids suggested. Jillian had a friend over for a tea party, we made cookies and fresh bread, several dance parties occurred, and we've played in the playroom. One day we played dress up shop. Jillian was the store's proprietor. I came into the store and told Jillian the occasion I needed to be dressed for, and she got me all ready. First I went to a ball, but then I came in as a hillbilly going to a silly party. With my very authentic West Virginian accent and my silliness in full swing, I had Jillian rolling on the floor laughing. She had to visit the bathroom two times. The picture doesn't do it justice. Trust me, very silly. And there's something satisfying about entertaining your children so much that they almost pee their pants. As long as I don't have to clean up any messes!

Stunning, I know. If the look is too much for you, notice my sweet calves.

They also asked for cornstarch goo to play with. Easy to make, and cool to touch, I got the recipe at this site. It caught my eye because it's called "Fresno Family" and I have two great friends who currently live in the 'No. So here's a shout out to E and T. Love you!


Today Kara was unexpectedly grumpy. I think she's teething again. We played in her room for quite a long time, entertaining her with all her toys. It's been good to sit down and play with the kids. I'll miss them next week when they're back at school. I have awesome kids. Love those little veggies!

Amy

PS -- Here's a shot of the blackberries we picked for FHE on Monday night. They grow wild around here. We enjoyed them as a fruit crisp tonight with vanilla ice cream. Delish! They are hard to pick because the vines have thorns, but worth a little work. The taste is unique. So far we've picked raspberries, marionberries, boysenberries, blueberries, huckleberries, and blackberries. Conspicuously absent from this list is the common strawberry. We were moving during their season. Next year, next year.

Meatless Me

So since I still have no friends (Shauna not included) and it's making me depressed, I've decided to do what I usually do, something weird involving a diet. This time it's going vegetarian, but not vegan. I haven't had meat in two weeks, although I did have some salmon once. I don't think I'd give up fish. It's pretty healthy and I like the way it tastes. Lately I haven't been liking the way meat tastes, and I'd like to cook without it most of the time anyway, so I'm giving it a try. My Dad went vegetarian a couple of years ago. He is in really good shape and says he feels better than ever. I think he looks incredibly young for being 56. I don't feel really good yet, but I think that has to do with the bad sleeping schedule I've been on. The really weird thing is cooking meat for other people, and then not eating it myself. I was salivating over a dino nugget the other day, but I'm going to give it another week or two and see how I feel and if I crave meat at all. The tofu dish I had at the Thai restaurant was okay, not stellar. I don't care much for tofu. I did cook bacon and not eat it, which was slightly difficult. But giving up meat is nothing like giving up sugar, which I wasn't too successful at. Silly me!

Amy

Thank goodness they're over!

Olympic highlights:

Michael Phelps and swimmers throughout the world crushing the world record line. I love that green line. So exciting! Hats off to Jason Lezak. The water cube looked even cooler at night.

The women's 4x400 relay. Go Sanya Richards! I'm sure it was hard for her to settle for bronze, but I'm glad she came through during the relay.

Men's indoor volleyball and their gold medal finish. Awesome!

The men's and women's marathons. Those people fly.

I actually enjoyed watching just one synchronized swimming routing. It was Russia, though, and they are the best. Their makeup is awfully scary, but their talent is amazing. Somewhat robotic, but amazing.

Although I enjoyed the Olympics more than I ever, and watched more than ever, I'm glad they are finished. I can no longer stay up until 12:30am on a nightly basis. I can't sit for 3-4 hours and just watch tv, and I can't stay in bed until 8:00am. Yikes! School starts next week, and it starts early. At just a few minutes past eight o'clock. (I could tell you the exact time, but you may be a stalker who wants to figure out where I live based on what elementary school my kids are going to. I'm on to you!) So if I want to go running, which I do, I will have to be home by 7:00am to help Jill Beans get ready. That means early mornings for me. Kara's been sleeping in until 8:00 or 8:30am, but I'm sure all that will change once we all start getting up earlier. I'm so excited for the kids to make friends and have something to do, but I'm not so excited about a set schedule and somewhere to be every morning.

Unlike in Michigan, where all school supplies are provided, we have a big long list of things to get for school. The list includes 2 reams of paper per child. Interesting. I think it's very very sad that public schools in America don't have enough money for paper. When we visited this elementary school in May, I was shocked to see a flyer advertising an event to raise $19,000 for a new teacher. Like a teacher is a piece of equipment or something. We'll see how the year goes. They start early, get out early, get out even earlier every Wednesday, and Hayden's kindergarten day is only 2 and a half hour long. I'll blink and he'll be back home. Can you tell my general attitude about back to school? I'm hoping to see past the really old building with a bad paint job. I'm hoping the kids will have wonderful teachers, good friends, and great opportunities for learning. I'm hoping the few hours they're in school each day will be enough to keep up with China. Who am I kidding?

Amy

Am I the only one wondering . . .

if the Olympic medals have a small sticker on the back that says "Made In China"?

Hee hee

And now, a word from our guest Olympic commentator

Well, hello. I'm not broadcasting from the Bird's Nest, the Water Cube, or even the National Stadium -- all in Beijing, China. No, I'm just here at my computer in Oregon, but I have a few Olympic Observations I'd like to share with my blogging public.

First, why is it that the female gymnasts can do a double twisting layout flippy thing (I might have even seen a triple lutz thrown in there) on the balance beam, which is four inches wide, but they have such trouble with a simple full turn. Every time during the team finals when someone got to the full turn part of the program, the announcer would get a little bit hushed and then comment on the difficulty of the full turn. Really? Because when I did gymnastics in the 7th grade, my beam routine had a full turn in it. And I thought it was just about the easiest part. The floor is even worse. The Chinese girls clasp their hands to their chests like ice skaters, spin for all they're worth, and then open their eyes, gaping and wondering how far their four rotations took them, and which direction they are supposed to be facing now. A few simple instructions on the proper preparation and execution of a turn, ballet-style, would help immensely. Or maybe they should just stick to the flippy things.

One more comment about gymnastics before I move on. There is a gymnast who used to compete for the Soviet Union who now competes for Germany. Her name is Oksana Chusovitina. She is 33 years old and won the silver medal on the vault. I think it's amazing that she is still competing. She has a totally toned body and it looks much younger than she is. Then you get to her head. I saw her and thought "that is a hobbit haircut." Now that she has the silver medal, she needs one of those makeover shows. Do they have those in Germany? Let's hope so, because Oksana is a great example of strength and ability. She deserves to look the part!

What's with the oh-so-small bikini bottoms the women's beach volleyball players are wearing? I mean, I get that the sport started in the sand, on the beach, near the ocean. And people tend to wear bikinis at the beach. But I think there could be some sort of uniform standard for official Olympic play. I'm not really too concerned, but I did hear two straightforward older gentlemen on NPR commenting about how much they just LOVED watching women's beach volleyball, and I don't think they were focusing much on the sport.

I've been interested in the human interest pieces about the Chinese athletes. Their system of training seems so intense. Many leave their homes at a young age and spend years living with other athletes and being trained to represent China. Kyle has some theories about what China's been doing the past several years, since they got the bid to host, to ensure more medals. When Cheng Fei fell on the vault and then stumbled during her floor routine, I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought "I hope they don't take away the house they gave her family." I doubt that tiny girl, Kexin He, who is 4 ft. 6 inches is 15 or 16. Jillian, who is 7 and a half, is 4 ft. 5 in. I hope Kexin He wasn't forced to be dishonest by the Chinese government. Apparently there was an article published a few months ago that talked about an amazing 13 year-old gymnast (Kexin He). She suddenly became 15 for the games. Hey, I can't find it or prove it, but I don't doubt it. It's too bad, really, because instead of focusing on the phenomenal abilities of these athletes, we're focused on the scandal of an athlete too young, a tie breaker that didn't go our way, a score that might not have been fair. On a more positive note, I thought the most entertaining and well-choreographed routine on the floor was by another Chinese gymnast. She looked like she was having lots of fun. Oops, I gravitated back to gymnastics.

Moving on to the women's marathon. Um, yeah. I ran a marathon. And it took me almost twice as long as it did these women. It's amazing as you watch them. They don't look like they're running that fast. And yet they run consistent miles under a 5:30 pace. Awesome. I don't think I could even dead out sprint that fast. Well, maybe, but not for long. I was sorry to see Deena Kastor leave the race. I was thrilled to see Paula Radcliffe finish, even though she wasn't having a great day. Thanks for inspiring me, ladies!

I'm sure I could think of more rants and raves, but I've got to get back to the competition. The staying up late is about killing me, but I love the Olympics and they look great in HD on our new TV.

Go Team USA!

Amy

PS -- What do you love or hate about the games? Leave a comment!

Asparagus Had a Birthday!

Kara Jane's debut into the world -- one year ago.

Kara turned one this weekend. I can't believe my baby is venturing into toddlerhood. She started standing and taking steps in the last two weeks, she's learning new words, and she slept almost 13 hours straight last night. That must have been her birthday present to me. I know we've had a lot of family-based posts lately on this here blog, and here is yet another. Don't worry, I'm thinking of something profound or hilarious. Check back soon!

Kara gets the hang of ripping off wrapping paper. Bean and Pea were more than happy
to be of assistance.

The inspiration for the cake and party theme.

Kara's sunflower cake. One of my best designs, I must say. Much better than the
Battle of Hoth cake.

The cute "It's My First Birthday Hat" that she didn't want to wear.
Going in for the candle blow. She did make the cutest little blowing sound.
I think this is a look of approval. Yummy cupcake!

Aunt Shauna handles clean-up duty. Kara's got her in the palm of her hand,
since she calls her "NaNa."

PS -- Looking at the pictures of Kara's first minutes of life brought back a flood of happy emotions and a great sense of gratitude for the miracle of life. I remember the minute she was born. I first noticed that she was a girl. That was an exciting and thrilling moment -- to be surprised and meet your child for the first time. Then I noticed that she was big -- definitely not the six-pounders I was used to. I wanted to hold her immediately. While she laid on my chest I saw her blond hair and fair skin. Even though she'll never look much like me, she is my daughter and I love her fiercely. There was a time about two weeks before she was born, and after over two months of modified bedrest, thrice-weekly doctor visits, and generally feeling crummy, that I almost wished I wasn't pregnant. How grateful I am for the blessing that Kara is. She has been such a good baby. A good eater, sleeper, and so so happy. I get comments on her smile and personality all the time. Happy birthday, Baby Boo! We all love you so much. Here's to more years with you in our family.

Vacation pics

Tried to upload these a few days ago, but blogger was being ornery and wouldn't post them. I must have offended it somehow. Maybe with my lame-o posts of late. Anywhoo, enjoy!


View from the boat of Holland Lake in Montana. Can you see the waterfall in the distance? So pretty close up; wish we had time to hike up to it.

Jillian and Hayden paddle around in this little raft that is circa 1985. I used to paddle around in it when I was young. They had a great time!

Kara enjoys a raft ride too.

Four kissin' cousins. We have a similar picture of them from three years ago. Not much changes!

Jillian and Lauren scout for frogs down by the lake.

Me and kids with my Grandma Catie. She and Kara share a birthday. She'll be 86 this year.

Hayden negotiates the rocks on our stream hike. Shortly after this picture was taken he fell in.

My Dad, Jim, with Lauren and Jillian. Doesn't he look great? He's 56!

The kids enjoy the sprinkler slide at the kids' carnival my sister Lisa arranged for Family Night. She also hosted us all at her new house. She gets the Super Aunt, Sister, and Hostess award.

Kyle and Hayden get ready to ride the 4-wheeler. Another fun thing to do in Montana.


Hope everyone is having a great weekend! I think I'll take another vacation.

Amy

Welcome Home, and one really gross thing

Would you like the gross thing first? I know you're just DYING to know what it is. Well, Kara was outside crawling around on the grass this evening as Kyle and I were doing some work in the yard. She was well-supervised, but I wasn't watching her every move. I picked her up a few minutes later and noticed she had something in her mouth. I thought it was a piece of bark, since she tends to chew on those, but nope, it was a shriveled up dead worm. Ew! Hayden asked me if she sucked all the blood out of it. Double ew! Needless to say, I didn't give her many kisses after that.

It was so nice coming home to our very own house yesterday after the drive from Washington. I was kind of worried about how I'd feel, since it was so nice to be with my family and I'm not too familiar with my new city yet, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it felt like home. I had a good day of laundry, zucchini bread making, huckleberry jam making, and unpacking. I'll try to get some pictures uploaded tomorrow. Jillian and I also spent a good part of the day watching the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance, which we missed while we were gone. It was tons of fun and pretty fast, thanks to the DVR. And I think I'm finally ready to start hanging stuff on the walls. We also picked up some stuff for the kids' bedrooms at Ikea in Portland on the way home. The Pea's room is going to have an adventure theme, complete with treasure chest, world map, animal skin rug, jungle plant, and I don't know what else! The Bean's room is going to be kind of a modern chic, with bed canopy, funky chandelier and mirror, faux fur, and bold colors. Should be fun!

Amy

In case you're missing me . . .

I've been enjoying the wilds of Montana. We've been hiking to a waterfall, camping by a lake, tubing and wakeboarding behind the boat, and tonight we captured some elusive mountain blueberries, known in the West as huckleberries. Mmmmm. We have enough to enjoy in a warm compote on vanilla ice cream tonight, in pancakes tomorrow, and some to take back home to make into jam or sauce to savor throughout the year. I have great memories of picking and enjoying huckleberries with my family growing up, so I was thrilled to get some again. You have to get to a high enough elevation to find them, and they grow wild, so they are a little bit harder to pick than berries at a farm. But SOOOO worth it. The taste is hard to describe. Blueberry-like, but wilder. The week has flown by and has been so much fun. A dream come true for me, since I've seen my family rarely in the last 7 years. Pictures to come when I get home! Hope your week has been good too. I'll be back to commenting next week.