Random thoughts from a sickbed

Last week was rough. It started off just fine, with plenty of ups and down like a normal week, but then the downs got the better of me. I became cranky, impatient, ungrateful. It started building up inside of me, like a cup overflowing with negativity. Wednesday morning I was taking a shower and Elliot decided that would be a good time to dump the marble and bead jar (I'm still not sure how he got it in the first place) out on the living room carpet. I heard the rolling balls reaching the farthest corners of the room... On any normal day, I might be frustrated by this, but I would probably overcome it shortly. However, this week I could feel the stress building. And building.

Friday morning it rained and of course, I had left the windows open in the car. I was trying to get Elliot ready for preschool (and me, too, since it was my turn to teach) and get Owen in the car, but first I had to mop up the seats and as I was doing that Elliot fell hard on his butt into a large wet puddle. AAAGH!!!!! He started crying, I had to hurry back inside to change him and everyone was cranky again.... I felt saturated with stress and unhappy that I couldn't shake it -- and that just contributed to my ill humor. I'm not proud of it.

Anyway, I literally worried myself sick. By Friday afternoon I was coughing and head-achy and by Saturday morning I had a fever. Then I spent the weekend in bed alternately shivering from a fever and sweating it out. And thinking. It's been awhile since I was that sick: too sick to read, too sick to knit, even too sick to sleep. I just laid in bed wishing I felt even 10% better.

Yesterday my fever finally broke and this morning Paul headed back to work, but I of course am weak from lying in bed fighting a fever all weekend. Owen is home from school today. There is clean laundry strewn across my bedroom floor, Candyland and its pieces strewn across the kid's bedroom floor and puzzle pieces and games all over the living room. But, and here's the interesting thing: I'm not cranky anymore! It's like the fever sweated out the crankiness.

Here's hoping that as I start to feel better, I remember this feeling here: kids are messy, deal with it and move on with your life. Seems pretty obvious after 48 hours of lying in bed.

Elliot at the Zoo

A trip to the Zoo with Elliot (while Owen is in school) means:

1. we spend a verrrry long time watching the buses load and unload the children who are coming to the zoo for a field trip

2. we stop at every single water fountain.

3. we practice our loud voices. As in "HI, BROWN BEAR!!!!!!" or "BYE, DUCKS!!!!!!!" (which were really flamingos) or in the Panda enclosure where the sign says Panda's need quiet: "Shhhh! SHHHH! SHHHHHHHHH!" with his fingers to his lips.

4. We identify the Daddy, Mommy, Owen and Elliot animals in all the animal enclosures, like this one in the giraffe pen:

5. we try to climb into the zebra enclosure to share our zebra animal crackers ( no I didn't get a picture of that, but this is the moment before):

6. We get very excited about piles of poop, thanks to Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Elmer who gave Elliot this book for Christmas.

Let it Snow

It's not all fun in the sun in California. It's also fun in the snow!

A few weekends ago we went up to the mountains at Big Bear (about 3 hours driving time) at the invitation of some lovely friends whose sister had a cabin on the lake that slept 8-12 and wouldn't we love to join them? Uh, YEAH!!!!!!!! Sebastian and Jennifer --- thank you, thank you , thank you! It was beautiful and cold and snowy and so much fun. Elliot continues to tell stories of his toboggan rides with Daddy at BIIIIIIG BEAR (as he calls it). For some reason, I didn't take out my camera the entire time. I guess I was enjoying myself too much? Well, there was a roaring fire, popcorn, plenty of hot chocolate, and a Sunday NY Times crossword puzzle book that was begging me to work on it, and I did go to bed at 9pm, so my camera never made it into the surroundings. Luckily, Sebastian's oldest daughter took many wonderful shots and has generously forwarded them to me. Thanks Kristen C. for the exquisite shots and the chance to share them with my family! Kristen got so many great photos, including Elliot's attempt to make out with our hosts' youngest daughter Sofia ( what is it about toddler love that is SO adorable?).

My Student of the Month

There are some things you think you'll never do as a parent. Some are small, like "I'll never let him eat hot dogs" or big like "I'll never spank my child" -- both of which at some point or another you find yourself second guessing. Then there are things in between: not life or death, but meaningful and powerful nonetheless.

For instance, I never thought I would be so excited to get one of those "My Child is Student of the Month at ____ School" bumper stickers. Before I had kids, I smirked at people who displayed such bragging rights on their cars. I'm sure I made fun of them in some small, mean way. But now, I get it. It's parental pride and it's a badge of honor and accomplishment. Owen got recognized at school for "Excellence in Academics and Citizenship" and is justifiably proud of his accomplishment. He was so excited about the bumper sticker and couldn't wait to get home to display it on our car. I admit, I was quite swayed by the power of his innocent pride.

Here is a picture of Owen shaking the Principal's hand at the Recognition Assembly:

And, that's not the only thing: Owen participated in his first ever Science Fair! Owen decided on what his project would be and then we worked on it together. He planned and set up the display board (I helped him with his spelling and writing a little). He stood by his table the night of the Science Fair and answered questions and talked about his work. I couldn't help but hover near him, trying not to beam too brightly with pride at my oldest boy's accomplishments. I was seriously grinning to see him so excited about this. I am impressed and contradictorily humbled by the amazing fact that he is growing into such a fine young man.

HOW TO RECYCLE PAPER:

on the left: Questions, Materials. In the middle: a step by step description and on the right: his observations.

The Children's Museum

I got a membership here a while back and didn't actually spend much time there, until this past month when it seemed like the perfect "Go To" spot for all of us. Paul was home from work for a few days, Dzia Dzia (my Dad) was visiting from Kansas City, and then last weekend we kidnapped our niece Clara (Evan and Bethany's daughter) and took her with us back to the museum. It turns out to be the perfect place to drop in for a few hours, roll around and get dirty and then head home for lunches and naps.

This, is Owen's favorite room: the Pillow Room. Yes, an entire room filled with pillows and mattresses. Pretty much a child's dream come true (it's hard to wipe the grin off Paul's face too)

And, with Clara, we spent quite a bit of time enjoying the beanbag lounge and watching the shadow puppet wall.







Click here for more pictures.

San Diego in January

Not to rub it in or anything, but we are having a heat spell and spending a lot of time in our backyard enjoying the beautiful weather.

.......and climbing on one of our recent Christmas presents: our brand new GEODESIC DOME. Owen helped us put it together yesterday and so far it has been a fort, a climbing dome for all our neighbors, a swing and a great fishing spot. I remember Kirsten and I grew up with a dome in our backyard and I recall many happy hours spent on and around that thing. Thanks Mom for bringing back some happy childhood memories and providing Owen and Elliot with such a cool gift!

the things I'll remember

Well, this holiday has been filled to the brim with family visits, wonderful celebrations, truly thoughtful gifts and good times.

These moments I'm particularly fond of:
*Owen's electronic set from Dzia Dzia and Grandma Fran with which Owen is obsessed and can't seem to put away. He opened the box and immediately devoured the instruction booklet and started putting circuits together. Future engineer in training!

* A special visit from Aunt Kirsten and Uncle Joe which included many bongo drum and recorder sessions ( thanks for the musical instruments, K & J) and a visit to the good old San Diego Zoo. Here's a link to their blog and some pictures of our adventures.

*Paul taking some extra days off so we could enjoy the beautiful weather and take time to drink deeply of the sunshine and the company.

*Elliot's new Hammer which belongs to his new tool set which somehow manages to fix every item in the house whether or not it's broken.

Most of all, we are grateful for the health and safety of our family especially to our sister-in-law Bethany who is recovering from an unpleasant and scary hospital stay, and to Paul's dad Elmer who had his own health concerns these past few days.

More than anything , we love the company and continued happiness of our family. Although this sounds very much like a greeting card sentiment, it means more now than ever: Here's to a 2009 filled with health and happiness and peace and love.

Oh, Hi there.

Let me recap: Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! It's been almost a month since my last post. Wheeeeee!

We are all alive and well and having a great time. I didn't want anyone to think we'd moved to Timbuktu or anything.

I have so much to share, I just wanted to test the blog waters a little with a small hello across the worldwide web.

... hello....

Whew. Ok, now I can come back to the blog for real. See you soon with pictures and stories of our spectacular winter so far.