Rite of Passage...?

Saturday was Charlie's birthday.

I cannot believe that he is 5 years old, do I sound like a broken record?  I know I say that about every milestone, I just cannot believe how quickly time passes.

My Charlie Bear is one special little cookie.

Maybe it's being the third of four that helps make him so special. 

Because, really, the third of four kids are always pretty awesome (can you tell that's me?  His namesake - Grandpa Charlie- is also the third of four).

My Charlie's kind, generous, sensitive, and curious.  He's the kind of kid who gets so caught up in what he's doing that he doesn't notice the world around him.  He has that kind of focus and curiosity.  And I know that it will take him far in life.

I'll be honest, it was tricky to parent when parenting two older siblings and either pregnant or with a newborn/toddler- I don't know how many times at the park he'd run in a crow's shadow without regard for where he was running (straight into a parking lot). 

He was the one that slipped under the radar every now and then because of his birth order and my distractions...

One example: Father's Day when he was almost two we were grilling in our back yard and some man came walking down our driveway carrying him.  I was about to burst, pregnant with Elsa, and hadn't realized he'd slipped around the house and went to check out what was at the end of our driveway.  (It's a road that is a direct turn off of a highway!)  It took me a good hour to stop shaking and rattle all of the what-ifs out of my head.  I don't know what was more scary for me, that he ventured so close to such a busy road or that he was perfectly content in a stranger's arms.

But now that I don't have to keep SUCH a sharp eye on the kids, I get to enjoy my Charlie for who he is.

A sweet boy who loves everything about the world around him.

He happily slips outside in the morning and catches a swarm of grasshoppers or lady bugs.  He pounces on every worm unearthed when I weed.  He loves dinosaurs.  He loves animals.  And he loves his family with his whole generous heart.

We celebrated his birthday at the lake with the easiest birthday party I've ever hosted.  It was a perfect party for him.

Afterwards we attended an end of the summer bbq filled with kids, two water slides and a trampoline.

There was quite a crowd of boys playing on the trampoline, doing their little fighting matches that boys always seem to end up playing. 

Charlie was the youngest in there and for some reason (human nature, I know- and I don't harbor any ill will toward them) the boys decided they'd all focus their roughhousing on Charlie and it got a little out of hand.  He was pushed down one too many times and his arm was bent back a little too far and Charlie snapped.  My freshly 5 year old boy stood up and started punching a little boy (two years older and a good 10-15lbs heavier) until he gave the boy a bloody nose.

I saw him stand up and unleash his fury, and it was focused.

I was mortified that my baby did that to another kid, I really, really don't like violence.

But I was also a little proud that he was that good, that efficient, at standing up for himself.

I don't think that he'll get pushed around too much in life.  He'll be able to hold his own.  And I don't think he'll be a person who holds grudges.  He'll get it out of his system and move on.

It's a relief to know that Elsa will be well protected by her big brothers.

And it's a relief that Charlie is a person who can stand up for himself.  That attribute with his love for life and curiosity about the world around him will serve him well.  There's no holding my sweet little boxer back.

It was a big day, filled with friends and family, swimming, fish catching, cupcakes, birthday presents, sunshine and his first fist fight.

A rite of passage, quite a bit earlier than I'd like, but one he now has under his belt.

Don't mess with Charlie Bear.

Never Under the Radar

I always feel like when I'm out with the kids it's swirling chaos.

Yes, Mark's presence alone makes it WAY better.  The 1:2 ratio is so much more manageable than 1:4.

For some reason, the most memorable events (not memorable in a flattering way) happen when he's at work.

Here's an example...

Today I took the three youngest to REI hoping to find a pair of clearance crocs for each of the boys.  For some reason I recalled seeing a huge wall of crocs earlier in the summer and harbored hopes...

We manage to get the the entrance pretty smoothly, the kids were excited to see the door handles.  Whatever it takes, they were focused on crossing the parking lot and getting to the entrance.  That's a score in my book.

The second we walk in the alarm goes off.  "Unchecked Merchandise!"  Or some equally mortifying announcement over the loudspeaker.

The sweet greeter girl asked if I had a key with built in buttons to lock and unlock the car.  For some fun reason that tends to set off the alarm.

Awesome.

We take a detour through the bikes to see the bike Carl REALLY wants and unbelievably manage NOT to knock over every bike in the place.  Phew, one hazard avoided.

Unfortunately, I didn't fight Elsa when she refused to pull her arms out of her shirt.  I really didn't see any harm in her walking around with her arms tucked tightly around her torso.

Can you see where this is going?

We manage to make it to the top 4 steps on the way to the second floor (where the genius planners put the children's stuff) when Elsa stumbled and fell forward.

Of course, her arms were pinned to her sides- so she couldn't catch herself, and fell full force onto her little lip and front teeth.

Awesome.

She's screaming bloody murder. 

I'm trying to get the boys to keep up and glance up to see a grumpy older REI woman without an ounce of smile pointing to ask if Charlie's mine.  He's climbing the stairs up the stringer holding on to the handrail.  She seemed to back off when I said yes while holding the screaming 3 year old. 

Then I really look at Elsa and see her whole chin covered in blood. 

Darn lip wounds bleed A LOT. 

Mrs. Grumpy-pants was nice enough to run grab me paper towels- at my request- (because REI has hand dryers not paper towels- which I get, but wasn't the most convenient...).  Again Mrs. Grumpy-pants was without a trace of warmth.

I make it to the bathroom to try and spare the shoppers all the hooting and hollering.

Again with the, "Unchecked Merchandise!" because- of course,the key is still in my purse.

I ignore it and try to get her calmed down, which- of course, she's staring at herself in the mirror and makes her more freaked out.

So I think "f#*% it."  I came here for a reason!  And head out to see if they have any crocs left, darn it!

Elsa's still screaming. 

Charlie's pulling out shoes left and right. 

No crocs.

But they did have the hiking boots Carl's been pining for since he saw his first episode of Dino Dan.  I think the only reason he put up with Charlie's request for that dinosaur kids show was to stare at those boots and dream of owning a pair himself one day.

So, he and Charlie scored a pair of hiking boots (on clearance- yay!).

Elsa was still whimpering in my arms while we carry everything very, very carefully down the stairs to pay.

And our farewell was the clearly announced, "Unchecked Merchandise!"

It sounded more like an "Off With You!" than anything.

Fine.  Good bye cruel store.

Just a small illustration of how we are NEVER, EVER flying under the radar.  We make our entrance hooting and hollering in one way or another.

Look out, here comes that family...

Cross your fingers that Elsa isn't child #2 needing her front tooth wiggled out prematurely, due to traumatic injury...

Dance Party

It's 9am.  Do you know where your kids are?

I found mine.

And this is what the 3 little ones were doing...

We used to do dance party in the evenings when Mark was on shift.  I'd pop in a CD for the kids to dance to while I cleaned up dinner.  Sometimes I'd dance with them.

Somehow we stepped away from that tradition, I have no idea why.

But thanks to our AWESOME babysitter, the kids have a new wave of music from her music library and are re-energized.

Dance on! 

Dance party is BAAAACCCCKKKKKKKKK!!!

to the man at costco

Yes, they are all mine.

Yes, there are 4 of them.

Yes, they keep me busy.

Yes, I realize that two are without shoes and one without pants (but wearing a swimsuit bottom).

And yes, while I'm really trying not to be rude, I have to to catch the two shoeless children running through the store because for the FIRST TIME EVER (!) I had to unload them from the cart at check out.

Sweet Gifts

This morning I woke to a sweet little 3 year old voice singing, "Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun please shine down on me..."  I don't remember when I was summoned into her bed in the night, but that little serenade made up for sharing her twin bed for a portion of the night.  Warms my heart.

And the other day I was hanging out in the playroom with the kids when I heard the front door close.

I hadn't realized Mr. Stealth (Charlie) had ventured outside.

He came into the room with his hands clasped together tightly.

I'll admit, I sat up ready to spring depending on what was captive in those sweet little hands that explore everywhere.

I'm glad I didn't jump away because he opened them to reveal this...

He's a thoughtful little one that Charlie Bear.

Roots

I believe that I'm really a pretty lucky person in so many ways.

One of those ways is my childhood.

I grew up in an awesome neighborhood.

It had one entrance/exit, 4 parks (two on the lake, one bmx track, and one with baseball/football field and tennis courts), a lake to swim in, and lots of woods to explore (but were FILLED with porn.  Who were those dirty boys stashing those magazines under every log in the neighborhood?!  And why did my friends and I ALWAYS seem to find it?!).

As I recall, I'd leave home and play outside all day. 

Only coming home for meals then again at twilight.

Every kid had their own call to come home.  Mine was my dad's whistle.

Like a dog, I knew it from a pretty good distance.

And if I didn't zip home ASAP I was in BIG trouble.

I thought most of those feelings were nostalgia about the "old days."

But this summer we've started heading back to the parks a little more and more when we go visit my mom (who still lives in the same house- which I love).

Today I took the kids on a solo trip to the lake to swim, and it felt right.  Felt like home.  Felt like my childhood.

The boys had a fishing net my dad gave Mark ages ago (which I've flirted with throwing away after picking it up MANY MANY times). 

I'm glad I haven't thrown it away yet.

Instantly, there was a crowd of boys huddled together trying to catch any of the poor little fishies swimming around the dock.  It kept them entertained for 3 1/2 hours!

There's a slide the kids could zip down into the lake.

There's a floating dock with a diving board.

And my kids fearlessly (well 3 out of 4 were fearless) dove in and enjoyed all of the amenities with reckless abandon.

I sat on the grass watching them entertain themselves and looked over a lake that holds countless memories for me growing up.

It feels special to have such strong ties to the place where I grew up.

Roots are priceless.

If I Give Off Grumpy Vibes

To all who know me:

If you've crossed my path, and I happen to have a less than welcoming look on my face I can assure you that 99.9% of the time it's for one of the following reasons:

-I'm counting kids who may have scattered or are in a crowd
-I'm trying to work out kid or house logistics
-I'm tired
-I'm a terrible conversationalist and I'm trying to rack my brains for a little nugget for small talk.

It's not you.  It's me.  Promise.

Sincerely,
jen

Some People Never Learn...

I might have seen the warning signs, if I'd paid attention.

Ok, I did see the warning signs, but chose to ignore them.  Mind over matter, right?

Breakfast was ok.  I let the kids have straws in their cereal so slurp up the milk.

Silly Charlie blew a HUGE mound of milk bubbles, all over the breakfast bar.

Sarina didn't eat the pancakes she demanded I make.

She then proceeded to dirty more than the necessary dishes to make herself (and generously for her siblings) breakfast smoothies. 

Those lucky siblings then smeared that all over the breakfast bar.  At least the milk bubbles had company on there, right?

For some reason (that currently escapes me) I was a terribly mean mommy and Sarina was going to go live at the fire station.

She walked all the way to the end of the driveway and stood there for a while.

Then hauled out a large piece of cardboard from the barn, sat in the middle of the driveway, and mulled things over for a while.  Then put the cardboard back and came home. 

Must have been too far to walk.

I tried to dress the kids for church.

It was a special day- baptisms for two sweet kids whose families we love, and I said we'd be there.

Darn it we were going to be there!

Elsa would NOT put on her dress, that I pressed.

And if you know me, that NEVER happens (clarification: the pressing dresses part).

After much wrangling, and attempting, and bribing- and with my mom and aunt (?) watching- I caved and let her pick what she wanted to wear.

Fortunately, her "I heart Oly" shirt was dirty as were her "black shorts" (pajama bottoms) her latest go-to outfit.

She settled on her light pink sailor pants and a blue and white striped tunic (NO belt!).

Fine.

We load in the car, my mom and aunt (?) willing to wait in the Top Foods parking lot with the bunch so I could zip in to get baptism cards (nothing like last minute).

50 "Get in the car and buckle up!"s later we were ready to go.

No keys.

I looked all through my purse- once, twice... no dice.

I ran upstairs and looked in my shorts pockets.

Nope.

Back to the car to re-check my purse and cupholders.

Nah.

Inside- scour the countertop.

Nada.

Inform my mom and aunt (?) forget it.

Back to the car- "Mom, these keys?"  Carl's holding up my one and only car key.

And we were back on.

We ran our errand, made it to church in time.  Chit chatted the mother of a kid I went to pre-school with(!) and settled into the first pew that appeared to have enough room for us to squeeze into much closer to front and center than I would have preferred.  But once that train of kids heads one direction it takes a minor miracle to change course, plus the people sharing the pew are super nice:)  Except that our joining the pew bumped the poor dad out of a seat- so he sat up front by himself:(  I should have offered to trade places with him...

Several fun spiritual songs and a reading later it was sermon time.

The time that is so pleasant without kids but can be sheer torture with little ones fighting over the two pencil stubs within reach.  Or making armpit farts with the backs of their knees.  Or hanging out in the aisle trying to climb into the pew by way of the armrest.

Then comes a thoughtful friend trying to help out by swooping in and taking one of the kids to sit with them an aisle over.  Which was great.

Until Charlie was ready to come back to inflict a little more torture on mama...

but got lost...

RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE PULPIT!

The Pastor actually stopped his sermon for about 5 seconds while Charlie located us in the congregation and came back to us.

UGH!

But it was SO VERY WORTH IT!

I got to see two sweet, sweet kids stand up and knowingly make the choice to choose Jesus and live a Christian life.

I got to see an amazing little video of each one say why they were making their choice.

I got to see them wade into the water, get dunked, and come up sputtering.

And it brought tears to my eyes.

It was super, completely, and totally worth the slow torture of the sermon time to witness something so magical.

It was my first Baptist baptism.  And now I get the name.

It was spectacular.

I'm so proud of you Sam and Kelbe!  I know you both will do amazing things in your life, made possible by Him.

So- what's a little chaos spread around a poor unsuspecting church congregation (that isn't my home parish)?

Such a magical event when you let the chaos blur to background.

I'm so glad that I chose mind over matter.

Dreamland

Last night I dreamed I had chickens and children running willy nilly around our yard at twilight.

There were cars driving in and people roaming our property.

I cracked open a Mike's Hard Limeade and drank it.

Perhaps I have feelings I've lost control...

The Mom Trophy

Almost a year ago I took at very memorable trip to Austria with my mom, my mother-in-law, and sister-in-law.

While there, my mom told me she wanted to get me something because every mother should have one and it would be a special remembrance from our trip.

The other day, I unearthed it from its hiding place, tucked behind my bathroom mirror, {for safe keeping from busy little hands that were playing with it like an action figure.}

When I first brought it home it sat on the windowsill by my bed.

One morning I was trying to ignore the squirming little bodies beside me so I could sneak a few extra minutes of sleep when I heard the boys whispering...

Charlie: "What's that?!"  little finger pointing toward the windowsill.

Carl: in an all-knowing big-brother voice "Don't you know?!  ...  That's the mom trophy."

I opened my eyes and hugged them both.

So sweet and adorable.

Now here it is, my mom trophy...

That smart little boy was pretty right on, funny I'd never thought of her in that way before.

10 years already?!

How on earth can it be that today marks the 10th year of our marital bliss?!

I feel like just yesterday I was 17, on the roof of the Capitol building (scaring the heck out of Mark) and rounding the corner to find the dozen roses left with a note asking me to homecoming.

But yet, that event is coming on 19 years go!

Holy moly.
What a whirlwind.

I often wonder what it will be like to have an uneventful year.

Then I wonder how long it will before we have that uneventful year.

I'm not complaining, I wouldn't change a thing.

So much as happened in the past 10 years:

Mark was just a little into his career as a firefighter

I started my first real professional position (and will forever love Tacoma and all its wackiness because of it)

We restored a BEAUTIFUL 1923 house

We had our first baby

We sold our BEAUTIFUL 1923 house

I started consulting so I could be home with the kid(s)

We had another baby

We designed another house, Mark cleared the land for it himself, contracted all the subs to get the structure up, then sold it

We lost my dad

We designed and built another house- most of which was built by Mark's two hands

We had another baby

We moved into that house {at my urging} a little pre-maturely - running water came soon after and really, who needs door knobs...? [SO SORRY I RUSHED YOU HONEY]

We had yet another and final baby

Mark promoted to Lieutenant

We built (are building) a "barn"...

That's just to name a few things. 

There's all the first days of school (coming up on a fourth grader, first grader, and two pre-schoolers), sports, more special, special people lost, learning to ride bikes, first sleepovers, a family trip to Disneyland, boats, campers and travel trailers, and all the fun annual traditions we can think of to squeeze in.

I can't imagine sitting twiddling my thumbs. 

I really don't know if that day will come, with the fast pace we've set for ourselves- it's looking doubtful...

But if ever there was another soul I'd like to navigate these white waters with, it will always be my better half.
There's no one more funny, kind, or generous.  I couldn't have asked for a better husband, best friend or father for my children.  He's ambitious, with an enviable work ethic, and able to do or build anything we dream up.

Time and time again, I will always choose him.

Here's to another 10 years of whirlwinds.

Boys Are Like Puppies

Their hair smells like puppies when their hair is wet.

They run

and run

and run

chasing all kinds of things.

And sometimes, if you're really, really lucky

you can snuggle them while they twitch in their sleep.

Like sleeping puppies who sometimes look like they're running in their sleep- chasing birds or bunnies, mice or moles.

Tonight my sleeping boy was twitching in his sleep and I got to snuggle him close and feel him re-enacting his day...

sliding down a super-big blow-up water slide

bouncing on a bounce house

swinging at not one but two different pinatas

jumping on a trampoline

ordering from a very sweet lemonade stand

wrestling all manner of kids- big and small

and partaking in a super marshmallow fight.

A nice end to a fun day celebrating not one but two little girls turning the big six.

Sweet dreams my Charlie Bear.

Maybe I Was A Blue Heeler In A Past Life

Maybe I was a Blue Heeler in a past life.

Actually, I think I must have been.

I can relate to those nervous dogs when they pace around trying to gather up the strays into a closer group.

That's how I feel when my kids scatter, especially when we aren't at home or in a comfortable environment.

For instance, today.

I'm camping on Hood Canal with my own herd +1 while poor Mark works his tail off trying to wrap up a few projects on the barn to seal it up for fall and winter (and to get ready for siding and doors).

It's my first solo camping trip and so far so good.

Except for feeling like a nervous Blue Heeler.

Camping is such a great way for me to not obsess about getting chores done or crossing off things on my to do list. Of course it takes a couple of days of crazy to do lists before departure, but it's worth enjoying all that "get ahead" work while camping.

And this trip I didn't bring my computer or a tv or DVDs.

No screen time.

I was most nervous about the mornings.

But this morning was awesome.

I took my "shower" (really washing under the faucet in our mini-bathtub) last night and set up the coffee pot so all I had to do was hit on this morning. That way I could jump into pancake making and sausage browning first thing this morning.

There are great climbing trees at our site.

There's a path through the campground.

There's a playground. There's a fantastic beach that drastically changes with the tides- like a different beach each time we visit it. Perfect for skipping rocks at high tide. Great shell picking at low tide.

The problem is the kids scatter.

At the beach

and on their bikes.

Even I hate the sound of my own voice.

Sarina and Carl! Wait up!

The nervous Blue Heeler in me worries about what happens when the ones ahead on bikes face off with cars and I'm behind a curve and can't see to warn (not that they even register my voice 95% of the time).

The nervous Blue Heeler in me worries about the sink holes or current or sharp barnacles at
low tide when they're spread out 4 football fields apart (usually in pairs).

And the nervous Blue Heeler in me worries about the current and dunking underwater when I don't see it.

But it's worth the nagging voice (urrgh!)

and quick heartbeats every now and then

to see them up in trees,

zipping around on bikes like they own the place,

fencing with the flag sticks,

licking ice cream off their hands,

sipping roopy-dear,

and the firelight flickering on their tired little faces at the end of a sun filled, action packed day.

But oh sweet Jesus- a 20 something guy all tattooed up (don't get me wrong I like some tattoos but on some people they look a little menacing) drove up asking if we'd seen his blond pit bull with cropped ears. That's what makes this Blue Heeler's ears prick up...

Now about the food:)

Our camping meals with all the prep work done before departure include:

Pancakes and sausage (pre-cooked turkey sausage patties from Costco- sarina's the only one who doesn't approve)
And scrambled eggs and bacon

Pb & nutella or turkey or salami sandwiches for lunch
(I did pack cup-a-noodle too- junk food when camping is part of the experience...right?)

Trader joe's pizza dough fried in my electric skillet topped with pizza sauce, cheese and turkey pepperoni for the kids

Then Trader joe's pizza dough also fried in the skillet topped with peanut sauce, smoked Gouda, shredded chicken, cilantro, chives, roasted peppers and sauteed yellow zucchini for me. There's a lot left over..

Tonight it's my take on Top Foods old BBQ chicken salad (lettuce, shredded jicama, black beans, corn, chopped red onion, shredded cheese, chopped red and orange bell peppers, shredded chicken, dressed with sweet baby ray's BBQ sauce and mexicali dressing. Yum!

Tomorrow night green salad with Mexicali dressing and bean and cheese taquitos.

For dessert I have ice cream sandwiches (chocolate chip cookies with homemade vanilla edges rolled in sprinkles), homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream in cones, and s'mores (either traditional or with reeces peanutbutter cups).

Oh and coffee lots of coffee. Hot in the morning, iced in the afternoon. Still black since the diet, big change for this old dog:)