The Christmas of unexpected joys

This year for Christmas we had planned on joining my family for a trip to Hawaii. We began our Christmas celebrations with early gift exchanges with both sides of the family and an early visit from Santa (thank goodness he accepts e-mails now, since I didn't think far enough ahead to send an actual letter). Tyce and Delaney sprang out of bed Christmas morning to see what they had gotten. Tyce was ecstatic about a "screaming banshee" that he has been wanting for months and Laney claims that her favorite presents were "candy canes".

We left a few days early for Portland, hoping to get in some shopping and a visit to the zoo before our flight out. After a long drive through blowing snow we arrived at the hotel to learn that many flights in and out of PDX were being cancelled or delayed. Luckily, the kids embraced hotel living and couldn't get enough of the breakfast buffet and swimming pool. This ended up being the highlight of our holiday since, after a day in the airport, we learned that all the flights to Hawaii were cancelled, due to the biggest snow storm that Portland had seen in 30 years. Not only were we unable to make it to Hawaii, when we did manage to chip the layer of ice off our car and to venture out of our hotel to a nearby mall we found that nearly every store and restaraunt was closed "due to inclement weather".

The kids seemed to think that the hotel was the vacation and were happy to wear their swimsuits, swimming goggles, and life jackets during their numerous trips to the pool. They also ran (rode, crawled, jumped...) on the treadmill, charmed numerous cranky travelers, and had no fewer than five pillow fights. Tyce woke up one morning and we heard him say from his bed: "I love hotels. They don't have toys, but humans can play by themselves. Can I eat my breakfast in this bed?"

So, after a few stressfull/blissfull days in the hotel we returned home to celebrate Christmas with our family and friends. And we are definitely looking forward to Hawaii in June

Here are a bunch of pictures. Unfortunately, my camera is on the fritz, so these aren't the greatest quality.

Tyce and Lane messing with the trees. Aunt Tanager lets them get away with anything!

Laney loves Tyce's new nerf gun.

The "screaming banshee" and one very, very happy kid.

Tyce swims with Grandma Heather in the hotel pool.

Laney jumps to Daddy then "swim, swim, swims!"

Lane and Mommy wait patiently in the airport.

Well, at least we got a white Christmas!

A definitive case of Cousin Worship

When Todd began job-hunting a few years ago one of our requirements was that we relocate closer to home ("home" being Eastern Oregon, where we both grew up). We were lucky and ended up just two hours away from both sets of families. As expected, this distance has allowed the kids' bonds with their grandparents to really blossom. There is the requisite spoilage: candy and ice cream, farm animals and tractor rides, as well as unending cuddles and long wandering walks. But, the one relationship that I didn't anticipate was the unabashed hero-worship that both kids have developed for their older cousin JC.

JC is old enough to be totally cool in Tyce and Laney's eyes, but young enough to play with them all day long without getting worn out. They talk about JC almost every day. Every morning Delaney takes an inventory of where all of the people who are important to her are going to be during the day. "Tyce at preschool, Daddy at work, JC at school" is usually how it goes. Here is a picture of JC and Laney together this summer. As you can see, they are the "look-alikes" with their sparkling eyes and dimples.
Tyce would follow JC anywhere that he led. Luckily for us, JC is a responsible, thoughtful kid and is always very careful and kind with Tyce while somehow coming up with fun things to do that a mom and dad would never think of. They go for piggy-back rides and play elaborate chase/wrestle/hide games. We are very lucky that Tyce has chosen such a great kid to be his role-model and we often point out to Tyce the good decisions that JC makes and how nice he is to everyone. Tyce considers JC his best friend. Here are the two of them.

We were back in Eastern Oregon this weekend to celebrate an early Christmas with our families and were surprised with a foot of snow, much to the kids' delight. Tyce immediately recruited JC for a snow adventure and the two were bundled up and off making sled trails up and down the driveway. Meanwhile, Todd and I got to relax inside with warm Tom & Jerrys (a very delicious warm "adult" drink that Todd's mom is famous for making). Delaney soon joined the boys outside and all three were tramping around until they decided that it was time for a round of hot chocolate. Here is a picture of the three of them in their snowy-day finest. And for all of you naysayers who laughed quietly under your breath when I swore that my baby girl would NOT wear pink, feel free to say "I told you so!" now...

Tree Slaughter 2008

I can now proudly report that our Christmas Extravaganza officially began on November 29th, when two trees, which had the misfortune to be growing woefully close to other trees and were thus deemed in need of "thinning", were chainsawed down and carted back to our home in the desert. Tyce and Grandpa Steve selected and hauled out the first tree from the Stanhope mountain property. It is an adorable, perfect-as-can-be, little fir tree. Although I was quite pleased with Tyce's first try at Christmas tree harvesting, this little fir didn't look like it would be up to supporting some of our heavier ornaments. And, we had already rearranged the living room to accommodate a larger tree, so I talked Todd and the kids into making a Christmas Forest. We chose a second, sturdier, spruce tree and stuffed them both into the back of our SUV (obviously neither are enormous trees).

They are now set up right next to each other in an attempt at artful arrangement, which, as most of my projects do, came out looking just a bit silly. First of all, instead of a nice random looking forest, the trees are almost identical in size and shape, so look more like a "couple" than anything Martha Stewart would have envisioned. Maybe we'll call them Santa and Mrs. Clause... Secondly, I only had one tree stand and didn't want to invest in a second, so the little fir is in a rock-filled flower pot which doesn't even come close to holding it upright. So, it is tethered to the curtain rod and window latch with fishing line, but still curves outward in an attempt to tip over. The spruce decorated up nicely, with strong branches to hold all my dainty little ornaments. The poor woebegone fir though... Well, ignoring Todd's advice, I went ahead and hung the heavy ornaments on it. The branches all droop down and the lights and ornaments all appear to be slipping off the tree (and many do, each day!). It looks like it is melting, but in a cute, festive kind of way. This is Tyce, who refused to get dressed the day we put the trees up (but is so cute anyway), modeling in front of the trees. Fir is on the left, Spruce on the right. I recommend spruce for all of you who haven't yet selected your trees.

But, the trees are up, the trimmings are out, the aloe plant in the bathroom is fully decorated and we are ready to start the December partying. We've got Todd's work Christmas party, a kid craft party, three birthday parties, two family gift exchanges, and a trip to Hawaii to squeeze in this month. And any other ill-fated ideas that I come up with, like bundling the kids into a stroller and walking around in the 4-o'clock darkness looking at lights. The kids are both very excited about Christmas and already look forward to opening the advent calender every morning after breakfast (chocolate at 8 am, they got in that habit at Papa Jared's house) As you can see from this picture, the maniacal, toy-crazed look has already entered Tyce's eyes. I'm banning the Disney Channel until after Christmas, maybe permanently. I can't standing hearing "I want that!" after every commercial. We're trying to focus on crafts and baking, donating outgrown toys, and carefully choosing gifts for others, but the siren-song of stupid assemble-your-own-alien toys is too strong to resist, apparently.

Isn't she lovely?

Delaney has been two years old for a few weeks now, but I am just now getting around to wrapping up all the "milestone" activities. I try to take portaits of the kids around their birthdays to hang on my wall and pass out to all the relatives. Since I am convinced that I can capture my kids' true personalities better than any photographer, I struggle through at-home photo sessions each November and January. So, after carefully preening Laney's hair and getting her all dressed up, she proceeded to cry, whine, and scream "Nooo!" through each of the three times I tried to take her pictures. Not that she's opposed to having her picture taken, in particular, just to being told what to do. The result is that I ended up settling for the picture on the right. She's in her grubby clothes, with after-nap hair, but is happy and smiling after a brisk ride on her rocking horse. It may not be studio-quality, but it really does capture the Delaney that Todd and I get to see (almost) every day.

Delaney also had her annual weigh-in at the doctor's office along with a check-up. She is continuing right along the 90th percentile curves in both weight and height. She was just under 3ft tall (35.75") and 31.5 pounds. I'm just happy to see her back on the charts, after looking back and seeing how far above the 97th percentile she was at 9 months old! And she charmed the doctor and nurse at her appointment by saying "Hi, Doctor Jones" when he walked into the room and happily pointing to all the body parts that they quizzed her on. The doctor made a point to remind me that each child is different and to not necessarily expect the same developments and abilities from Delaney that Tyce had at her age. Yeah, like I could forget that. Delaney makes it quite clear that she is her own little person (or as Tyce would say, "I belong to myself!").

Continuing with her insistence on doing things her very own way, Delaney is refusing to eat foods that I know she would love, like lasagna and bananas, and requesting raw onions every night while I cook dinner. She seriously eats about 1/8 of an onion every day, but won't touch them cooked. I think that she is surviving on on avocado, onion, and cheese sticks at the moment. Her favorite phrase right now is "My do it!" which roughly translates as "I can do it myself!" or "Let me do it!" or "Back off!". This applies to almost everything that we need to do when we're in a hurry to get somewhere: putting on socks and shoes, zipping up her coat, buckling her carseat, etc... She's an independent one, that's for sure.

Last night the kids had a "play date" with their babysitter while Todd and I went to a movie. I couldn't wait to hear how it went because the last time we left them with the sitter Tyce tried to convince her that Delaney wanted "to go to Panda Express for Chinese food." They both kissed us goodbye and seemed happy when we finally left them alone to play. Tyce told me that they did play-dough, cleaned up, read books, and found friends to take to bed (stuffed animals). Sounds like a good night. The sitter did mention that Laney had a hard time going to sleep because she kept asking for her cow. The cow in question is a hard plastic cow that she has been inseparable from for the last few days. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to get it out of the bathtub, where she had taken it right before the babysitter arrived. Oh well, it can't be all that comfortable to wake up with four little hard hooves in your back anyway.

We are looking forward to the upcoming holidays and seeing and hearing from all our friends and family!

Random Musings from Tyce:

Statues and fish do not wear shorts. Statues have hard lips, fish have wet lips. Sharks don't have lips. Neither do TVs and screwdrivers.

The Why? Why? World

As anyone who has spent ten minutes or more with Tyce lately knows, he asks a lot of questions. Pretty much a continuous stream of questions all day long. Laney has even learned to ask "Why?" Usually in response to me telling her something like "Lane, you can't use my contact case as a spoon to drink from the cats' water bowl!" Here's a little excerpt from our drive home today:

Tyce: Why do Tiger Sharks eat garbage?
Me: Your book says that they'll try a bite of anything, but usually they just eat fish meat.
Laney: Sharks eat candy?
Me: No, Laney, sharks don't eat candy, they eat fish meat.
Laney: Fish meat, Tyce.
Tyce: Are animals afraid of being meat?

I can't wait until his Aunt Amanda is in town to explain all the humane treatment of animal stuff to him. I think she's better prepared for it than I am. While I am hoping he is a sensitive and empathetic little guy, I'm not quite ready to prepare all vegetarian meals yet. Luckily, he was quickly distracted. As we drove across the blue-bridge:

Tyce: Can I climb a bridge?
Me: No, Tyce.
Tyce: Why not? (I really should have seen that coming)
Me: Because bridges are really tall and have water underneath and you might fall a long ways down into the water.
Laney: Water in your nose, Tyce.

These conversations were followed in quick succession by more questions: What do staple guns do? Why does the moon shine? Do we smell, wear, or eat groceries? Why does the Earth turn? What do 'maderato' and 'adagio' mean? Why can't we drink germ juice? (What???) Why can't chicks swim? Why are sisters bossy? Why do dinosaurs roar sometimes? Do sharks live in the deep water because they are big, big fish? (Really into sharks right now) What does 'gallop' mean? Why don't grown-ups have snuggle blankies to sleep with? (Hey, why don't we?)

That was all from tonight, I took notes ("What do you think you're up too, Mom? Do grown-ups like writing all that stuff?").

Our family is excitedly anticipating the arrival of two new baby cousins very soon. Laney just loves babies. She loves patting them gently on the head, much to the horror of most new mothers, while squinting down at them and saying "sooo cuuute". She loves to hold babies when their mothers are brave enough to let her (or if the mother has to go to the bathroom and I sneak the baby out of its carseat and into Lane's lap). But, last week she got me into trouble with her questions... Outside of Tyce's preschool, she walked up to a slightly overweight woman who was also waiting for her preschooler, patted her belly and asked "Baby in there?" I hope that Todd enjoys picking Tyce up from preschool every day for the rest of the year because I can't go back now.

Tyce is also fascinated with the new babies joining our family. When I told him that soon he is going to have two new cousins he exclaimed, "But, what will happen to our old cousins?" He was quite delighted to discover that he gets to keep all of his cousins. But then he wondered, "Why do they want a baby that poops in its own bed?" Well, when they grow up to be kids this cute, who wouldn't want a baby? Even if it poops in its own bed.

The Day Away

Last Sunday Todd and I got to spend a day in Seattle with some of our best and most enduring friends, Tim, Mari, and Joel. For those of you who don't already know, the five of us have known each other since we all went to college in LaGrande and spent way too much time hanging out in the "Chem Club Lounge," which was nothing more than a tiny, smelly room with one couch, a fridge, and two computers. Tim went off to grad school at Montana State and quickly convinced Todd and Joel that they should go too. So, Todd and I moved in with Tim and Mari for a month while we waited for our name to come up on the student housing list. We all coexisted peacefully in a tiny, maybe 500 square-foot, house. Tim and Todd would head off to school early each day during the summer while Mari and I would roll out of bed mid-morning then spend the day exploring Bozeman, job-hunting, and watching day-time TV.

We finally got a little house of our own, right behind Tim and Mari's, just in time for Joel to come stay with us for a month while he was on the housing waiting list. First-year grad students had a series of exams to take during the first week of school. There were five chemistry subject areas and by the end of their first year they were expected to have passed three of the five tests to continue in the chemistry program. So, my memories of Joel's time with us consist of Todd and Joel studying continuously for two weeks, while switching off playing some Nintendo football game (I'm sure I'll be correcting the details of this blog later, since apparently the importance of gaming systems/games continues to elude me). If I remember correctly, Todd would play for a few hours until he won and got to "party with the cheerleaders" (a phrase we still use today to describe the happy completion of a daunting task), after which there would be a debriefing session on chemistry and new football strategies before Joel would take over the game and Todd would study. This system must have been effective because Todd and Joel both passed their three tests on the first try and were off to a successful start in grad school. Tim, Joel, and Todd are all three now PhD chemists, living in Washington state, who still enjoy stupid games.

Speaking of stupid games, Joel organizes a football "pick-em" league each year where we all try to predict the winners of each week's football games. Since this is a fairly simple premise that doesn't require me to actually watch or monitor football in any way I have been participating the last few years. This year, I am happy to report, Mari, Tim, and I are in a race for the lead! Joel and Todd are right behind us, followed by the rest of the entries. Since we all have a vested interest in football this year, Joel organized a trip to watch the Seattle Seahawks play the Philadelphia Eagles (Todd's, and by default, my, favorite team).

After recruiting my sister to watch the kids from dawn until dusk on Sunday we snuck out of the house early in the morning, hopped in with Tim and Mari in Ellensburg and arrived at Joel's house in Seattle well before he was expecting us. Another pleasant aspect of the trip was getting to meet Joel's girlfriend, Meagan, who was wonderful and fun to have along. We all piled in to one car and headed to the stadium nice and early. After scoring a FREE parking spot, we found a bar and hung out until the start of the game. I'll include a few pictures that Mari was nice enough to send to me. Although I look drunk in all of them, it's just a case of me being unphotogenic because I only drank 1/3 of a beer the whole day. Or it may have been a product of the garlic fries because they were amazing and had ramifications well into the next day. The game was exciting, with lots of scoring, and the Eagles won, which was a dissappointment to the crowd but good for all of us who had chosen them in the pick 'em league.

Now, better go check my football picks for this week...

Birthday Debachery

Although Delaney's birthday is still a week away we celebrated this weekend with a "Horsie Party," which was Tyce's (very perceptive) suggestion. We started out the day with opening the presents that she and Tyce had already opened twice the day before when I set them out. Laney did a nice job of acting surprised again, well, she probably was since she has the memory of an almost two-year-old. Todd and I had gotten her a gigantic plastic kitchen and had the video camera rolling when she came around the corner and saw it. Nothing. No response at all. She just walked up to it and started playing. We're feeling a little more gratified now that she has played with it non-stop for a few days. The gifts were followed up with a requested breakfast of french toast and pear honey while wearing her party hat and sunglasses, as pictured.

Family started arriving later in the morning and Delaney and Tyce were ecstatic to see everyone. Grandma Debbie and Papa Jared brought her a cowboy hat and a horse-riding helmet. She alternated wearing the two hats the rest of the day. The helmet came in especially handy since Grandpa Steve and Grandma Heather arrived bearing a brand new, handmade rocking horse. Tyce dragged out his wooden rocking horse and the races got a little intense. Tyce also taught Delaney to grab her hat and wave it up in the air while yelling "yeee-haaaaw". We have no idea where he learned that.

All of her little friends and their parents began arriving just in time for dinner and cake. The kids filled up on chips and guacamole and the grown-ups had some western-themed dinner. We held them off for as long as we could, but the kids eventually wore us down and the cake-related festivities begin. Delaney sang along with everyone to "Happy Birthday," as she had been practicing doing all day long, then managed to get the two candles blown out on the third try. Pretty darn good for a two year old. She downed two pieces of cake and ice cream and licked the plate clean, then went back to chips and guacamole. Her friends had all brought very nice gifts for her and she was so happy that they had all come to party like wild-things with her.

The next morning Todd and I awoke to mysterious quiet... Looking into the kitchen we spied both kids standing on step-stools licking the cake platter among the pile of unwashed dishes. When I finally got up and fed them some real food I noticed that one of the frosting-covered birthday candles was half-eaten. Now that's a great birthday!

Aww... they really do love each other.

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks. Tyce seems to be loving playing with Delaney, now that she can almost keep up with him. Their favorite activity is helping Aunt Tanager run her dogs outside of town. They all (kids and dogs) race along dirt trails, getting completely filthy and worn out. They also like singing together and playing in their new "coyote cave" (a Hello Kitty tent that Lane got for her birthday). Anyhow, here are some pictures of the "best buds".

Two cats and a rabbit

The four of us are animal lovers. Crammed into our tiny house, along with us, are our two crazy cats and one feisty rabbit. To the kids, the pets serve mainly as a source of entertainment. Nothing is funnier than a sneezing cat or a growling rabbit. I'm the sucker. I see a cute animal and I want it, especially if it is a baby that will need constant care during the night. Now that I am the primary care-taker for three animals and two kids (and one husband) I have managed to rein in that instinct a bit. I'm still the impulse shopper at the pet store who thinks that a rabbit needs multiple toys and a pink leash. I've also purchased no fewer than three cushy cat beds in spite of the fact that the cats insist on sleeping in boxes, on windowsills, and in Todd's recliner. Todd, however, is the true tender heart when it comes to the pets. This morning, in a rush to get out the door, he was brushing his teeth at the kitchen sink since one of the cats ran into the bathroom and began drinking out of the sink when he turned it on and he didn't want her to have to go elsewhere. And if the cats are sleeping in his recliner... well, nobody had better disturb them. Seriously. I get kicked out of that chair the minute he walks in the door, but for the cats, he'll make us all sit on the floor rather than waking them up from a nap prematurely.

Bella is our beautiful and smart black cat, who we adopted shortly after purchasing our first home. She was a cute little kitten but within weeks of coming to live with us she seemed on the verge of death. Her back legs stopped working and she just laid on the floor crying. I thought she was a gonner for sure, but when we took her to the vet he couldn't find a thing wrong, so we think it must have just been a pulled muscle. She survived, and we appreciated her all the more after paying a sizable vet bill for a very small kitten. Bella has personality. As our friend Tim Sorey puts it: "Why would you guys keep such a vile creature???". Well, we love her. She is moody and seems to have anxiety issues. She bites anyone who tries to pet her, in spite of the fact that she will have been begging for the attention. But she does love Todd and Delaney. Todd, because he gives her anything she wants, and Delaney, because she gives her treats and doesn't chase her with a sword. And she'll let me pet her for longer than most people before she bites me.

Luna was adopted when Bella was about two years old and is our laid-back, but not real bright cat. In fact, she's so laid back that the kids have learned that she is the perfect subject for "dental exams" and usually check her teeth once or twice a day by sticking their fingers in her mouth and telling her to "open up". She has the softest fur and never demands a bit of attention. She is Tyce's playing buddy and will always chase string or sit next to him at dinner. When we sleep at night she chooses one member of the family to curl up next to and arranges herself so that the she has a maximum amount of body surface in contact with that person. She prefers a crooked knee to sleep curled up in, but isn't opposed to stretching full length alongside someone either. And I think that she loves me most of all.

We really do love both these cats. When Tyce was a newborn and crying all night long in my arms, Bella would uncharacteristically rub against my legs, like she knew that I needed extra comforting. This innate sense of compassion seems to have continued as the kids have gotten older. Both Bella and Luna run to be near the kids if they are crying. It is the most interesting and heartwarming thing to see. You'd think that they'd head the other direction, like they usually do when loud kids are involved. But they trot over to the crier and, if they aren't immediately reassured, they put their front paws on Tyce or Delaney until he or she stops crying and gives them a pat. That's just one reason why we love them and wouldn't be a family without them.

Dora is our latest addition. She is a Netherlands dwarf rabbit that was adopted from a family that could no longer keep her. The plan was for her to live outside and play nicely on the kids' laps. Once Todd saw her, though, she was quickly moved inside into a brand-new jumbo-sized cage, complete with accessories (and the previously mentioned toys). She does hop happily around the yard or house, sometimes on her fancy pink leash, and will sit with the kids for a few minutes. But, she is getting demanding. She growls at us and thumps her back feet when we have to catch her to put her back in her cage. She is getting fat from her new cushy life-style but still manages to evade capture for a good ten minutes while I move couches around trying to catch her after free-range sessions. Now that's entertainment for the kids.

The Preschool Chronicles.

After another two days of preschool this week, I can happily report that we are adjusting well to the new activity. Tyce attends twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday morning at 8:10, which tests Todd's and my ability to get four people dressed and fed before eight in the morning, a task we have never before attempted. This morning, we actually only managed to get one person fed before we had to head out the door. Luckily, it was Tyce so Delaney and I were able to return home for breakfast after dropping Tyce off and Todd had to survive with just a cup of coffee for the day, but that's nothing new for him.

Tyce willingly hoped out of the car and practically skiped to his new classroom, pointing at other little kids walking toward the building saying "there's one of my friends!" although he has yet to remember any of their names ("I forgot to ask them today"). He loves his teachers, Mrs. Lotz and Mrs. Hansen, who he calls "Mrs. Floats and Mrs. Handsome". The side of the preschool classroom has a interrogation-style room with a one-way mirror where we parents huddled and watched the kids. All of the kids in Tyce's class seem to be embracing the experience and I can already tell that observing Circle Time is going to become addictive. The kids are hilarious! They all physically turned on their "listening ears" by twisting a pretend toggle behind their ears but the circle quickly erupted into shouting when the teacher read a page from a book about cats. Apparently preschoolers have the very strong urge to shout out factoids about their cats. I couldn't even make out any of the comments because there was such a hubbub. Finally reassured that our kids weren't going to burst into tears the minute they noticed we were gone or start whacking other children with toys, the other parents and I tore ourselves away from the tot-drama, returning to pick them up at 10.

I have been realizing what a funny and interactive little lady Delaney is now that I am able to give her my undivided attention for a couple of hours. She finally gets to do pretty much exactly as she chooses. We read books, color, sing, and wrestle. And talk and talk and talk. As long as I sit down on the floor with her she is as happy as can be, piling one activity after another into my lap. She does, however, ask for Tyce just about every five minutes while he is gone. I am really looking forward to having this time with her and am determined to make the most of it!

When went to pick Tyce up, Delaney stood outside the door watching for Tyce to come (they release the kids one-by-one to their individual parents) and periodically hollered in the door for him or asked the teacher at the door "where's Tyce?". When he emerged from what must appear to be Utopia to Delaney, she screamed "HI HANDSOME!!!" and wraped him up in a big hug. I think she really did miss him! I am feeling really good about my choice of preschool because I have yet to see any crying when kids are dropped off but today at least two girls where crying when they had to leave. Ahh... what a relief!
It is killing me, though, to not know every detail of Tyce's day. I try to get some info out of him but it doesn't always make sense. Today he told me that his favorite thing was "swimming when they went outside" but not in water, just pretending, apparently. And he didn't get to play trains today because the teacher said "only two kids at the train table" but he didn't seem too disappointed about that. Snack time has also been a highlight of each day and I have been able to get copious details in that department. Tyce also picked up a new phrase today, although he seems a bit unsure of its meaning. While playing with his trucks he shouted "I'm under attack!" but quickly followed up with "Now I'm over a tack!" so apparently he thinks of "attack" as an item. While the reports may be scattered, he seems to be happy and adjusting well to preschool, so we're all happy too.

Preschool is a HIT!

Today was Tyce's first day at Tri-Tech Preschool and he loved it! It was actually a one-hour "parent-child day" so Todd and I got to go too, which is making the seperation a little easier on us. Tyce met his teachers, Mrs. Lotz and Mrs. Hansen, when we got there and then willingly followed Mrs. Hansen as she took him by the hand to get his picture taken for his nametag. That's when the crying started... for me! He was such a little man, answering everyone's questions and behaving himself. We are so proud of him.

His preschool is a "laboratory" school that is a class for highschoolers interested in early childhood education. About fifteen well-prepared high school girls were stationed around the room at the various stations that the little guys get to choose to be at. They quickly engaged the kids and Tyce had a willing partner in his puppet show (he tells me that her name was Collette, but I'm not sure if that is true or not), which was one of his first activities. There were three different art stations, play-dough, blocks, a trough full of beans, puzzles, and wooden trucks. Tyce discovered the train table and was smitten. I have a feeling that that is where most of his preschool hours will be spent and we'll be lucky if there is ever anything for us in his "art folder".

We had to drag him away from his classroom at the end of the day with promises that he'll get to go for longer next week and all by himself. He is very excited about going back and getting to have a snack at school. His teachers each said goodbye and he gave them high-fives and headed to the car. We found a very studious looking Laney waiting for us at home!

The Rogers Family Book Club.

In order to tear myself away from bikini shopping for Hawaii, where we will be spending Christmas with my parents and sister, I decided it was time to update my blog. The main reason that it has been awhile since I've added to my page is that I have been absolutely engrossed in reading a new series that my friends and I discovered. Three of us have been passing along the four books in the "Twilight" series, by Stephanie Meyer, and in about two weeks we've all managed to read the almost 3000 pages involved. These are nice, quick-paced, vampire love stories written for teenagers. And we've all been enjoying them. Each book in the series is better than the last and I just finished up the final book and can hardly stop thinking about it. The movie of the first book comes out next month, so my mania will resume then! Anyhow, if you've got 40 hours or so to spare, pick these books up. We tried to get them from the library but they had between 20 and 50 "holds" on the various books, so they are very popular. I can't wait to read her book "The Host" which is actually written for adults.

I'm sure everyone knows what readers my kids are and even Todd, in spite of his busy work schedule, is engrossed in a Dean Koontz book that he dug out of a box. The kids both love reading dinosaur books and one of their favorites is called "Dinosaur Fact Finder," which was given to Todd by one of his co-workers who had decided it was time to get rid of all of his favorite childhood books. But, this isn't a childhood book! It is practically a field-guide to dinosaurs. Although I find it quite boring, I am very thankful for the fact that it has a pronunciation key on each page and helpful little facts about what each dinosaur eats because that is all that Tyce wants to know. Delaney also loves a book called "Dinosaur Roar!" and walks around the house asking "wha dinasa raaaa?" (where's Dinosaur Roar?)until someone goes and finds it for her.

The new "story time" in our house, though, is Tyce playing a sort of mad-lib game with anyone who will participate where he makes up long stories that usually include someone getting pooped on by a goose and finish off with many animals coming to our house ("in Kennewick") for cookies. However, the rhino has not been invited back into the house since he broke one of our chairs during snack-time in the first story Tyce told. Tyce is getting really good a weaving some complicated tales like the one today where a crab and a lobster followed bear tracks into a "long, deep cave" where they discovered the bear and "pinched it with their claws". Thank goodness this was a long story since we were stuck at Les Schwaab for an hour and a half this morning!

Last Christmas the kids' Great-Grandma Billie got them each a book that incorporates their names and the names of their friends into the stories. These are some of their favorite books since, let's face it, who doesn't love hearing stories about themselves. Tyce gets to rescue farm animals and Delaney helps a mermaid save her mer-dad. After the rescues are complete they return to their home and tell all their friends (who are named by name!) about their adventures. Very fun.

Delaney loves books that allow her to sing along, including "Baby Beluga" and "I've Been Working on the Rail Road". In fact, Baby Beluga is now her go-to song whenever she is asked to perform and, unlike her brother, she doesn't have a trace of stage fright. In fact, somewhere along the way she has learned to clasp her hands near her mouth like a microphone and swing her hips to the nearly unintelligable singing she produces. While Tyce was spinning yarns about ocean animals this morning at Les Schwaab, Lane discovered that she had a "captive audience" to sing to (seven-month old twin girls, strapped into their carseats and propped up on the floor). Much to the amusement of entire waiting room, Delaney gave a spellbinding performance of Baby Beluga with an encore of Baby Beluga.

Well, that's it for today, so to quote Delaney: Bye, Bye Alligator!

When you have a hair-stylist for a friend...

When you have a hair-stylist for a friend you run the very real risk of getting recruited as a "model" for an "ethnic updo," as I was today. Jana and her sister were putting on a class at their salon and needed models with long hair, which mine is since I haven't been to the salon in way too long (I hope they also needed someone with a badly grown-out dye-job!). After pawning off my kids on an unsuspecting Melissa, I showed up with damp, frizzy, barely-combed hair to see what they could do. The two gals working on my hair were assigned the country Nigeria, and had an arsenal of pointy combs, wax, spray, beads, and feathers at the ready. They planned and debated then began their assault. It was actually quite fun, with lots of braiding and fluffing. In fact, they were shocked that I had never tried out the technique of "backcombing" on my hair (some of you may know this as "purposely making huge rats-nests in your hair"), but I have to admit it did make my ponytails stand up to the ceiling. After an hour and a half, here is their finished product:


You'll have to excuse the picture since it was difficult to find a clean spot in the house to take it and I see that a stray refrigerator magnet still made the shot. Unfortunately, I had to wash it all out this afternoon since I couldn't bring myself to do the grocery shopping with my Nigerian prom hair.

Just a cute picture.

Here's a cute picture of the kids dressed up for a friend's birthday party today.

We've got skillz!

My family seems to be chock-full of fairly useless talents. Since we may never get to brag about them anywhere but on my blog, I figured that I’d better take this opportunity!

Let’s start off with Tyce. His useless skill, which I’m told runs in the Rogers family, along with the farting tendency that I’m not going to discuss here, is using movie quotes in everyday conversation. Tyce stunned his Papa Jared once during an advanced hay-stack-climbing lesson with his cousin JC. Tyce climbed higher and higher each trip up the stack before jumping down to his papa. At one of the highest points Papa Jared asked “Tyce are you sure you want to jump from way up there?” to which Tyce responded, “I hate my job, but I need the money!” (Alvin and the Chipmunks) before throwing himself off the stack. When I ask them what they want for breakfast (among the shouts of “apple pizza!” from Delaney) Tyce often responds “You don’t knowa what you want. Luigi knowa what you want.” (Cars). And yesterday, after questioning me about my trip to a masseuse to work the kinks out of my sore neck, Tyce asked
“Aw man, does Dad know about this?” (Ratatouille). He will also do entire movie scenes just to entertain himself in the back seat of the car.

Having just gotten off the phone with Todd after another unsuccessful hunting trip, I’d say that his useless talent seems to be flinging very expensive arrows at some very scared, but unharmed, elk. I’m sure that Todd would claim that his talent is Fantasy Football, but I’m not even going to acknowledge that. Todd’s actually got lots of very useful talents but one of his more useless ones is clothing wrinkle-elimination using everything but an iron. Here’s how his mornings go: he carefully selects his outfit each morning then heads to the “laundry room” (also known as “our hall” ). At this point he gets out a spray bottle of distilled water and mists every square inch of his clothing with the “spray” setting (freaking out if anyone has changed it to the “stream” setting). The clothing is then tossed into the dryer with a fresh dryer sheet and tumbled during his entire 20-minute shower (all this energy consumption just to avoid the iron). After he gets out of the shower he carefully dresses his beloved recliner in his clothing so that it remains wrinkle (and messy kid hand prints) free during breakfast. Right before he leaves for work he undresses the recliner and dresses himself in this impeccable clothing, then drives to work. He tells me that he actually holds the seat belt six inches away from his chest the entire drive, in order to avoid “seat-belt wrinkles”. And so he arrives at work wrinkle-free!

Now Delaney is developing all sorts of useless talents: trying to finish my sentences with me while I read books to her, asking “what’s that?” and “where’d it go?” almost continuously, and sprinting away from me at top speed when it is time to leave a park. And she seems to have a serious obsession with the thrill of being bitten by various harmless animals, but that’s not really a talent, just a weird trait. But, Lane’s most useless by far talent is her uncanny ability to mimic the expressions of the characters that she sees in books. Her favorite is Llama llama, who is usually getting trouble with his mama. She inherited Todd’s amazingly expressive eyebrows and knows how to use them! She loves to make her “llama face” as you can see illustrated in these pictures.

I have the astonishing ability to take normally wonderful food and make it agonizingly bland and chewy by substituting healthy ingredients into the recipe. Take Todd’s favorite Mac and Cheese, a beloved recipe from his childhood. Subtract the fattening Velveeta and white-flour pasta (unheard of in our house!) and insert Velveeta made with 2% milk, whole wheat elbows, and frozen mixed veggies and you have a bland representation of the original (hey, the kids still wolf it down, and that’s my goal). Or, Todd’s all-time favorite, Peanut Butter Cheesecake. My version, made with fat-free cream cheese and organic, sugar-free peanut butter, is runny and okay. I’m still working on refining that recipe a bit. And I have a dazzling assortment of veggie and pasta concoctions that even I get sick of. But, there is hope: it is nearly soup season and those I'm good at!

Oh yeah, and my family too!

I realized after my last blog, that when I say “my family” I still think of my parents and sister and being “my family” rather than the little clan that I actually reside with. And I constantly confuse Tyce by saying we’re going “home” when we’re actually going to his Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I’m starting to get it all straightened out, but I guess it’s a testament to my parents that I still consider their house my home and them my family.

So, let me catch you up on my family. We currently live in a cozy little house with just enough room for me and the kids and no space what-so-ever for Todd or his hobbies. His paperwork always has a “buffer sheet” placed on top to intercept all of Delaney’s scribbles (hey, you leave a red pen sitting on a pile of papers, what do you think is going to happen?) and he claims that somehow his recliner changes position each day (it probably does since it is used as the booster to enable the kids to reach the light switch). My food-colored (brown and beige) kitchen is always a mess, but I claim that’s because I make so many home-cooked meals (baking no-bake cookies and no-cook pudding each night counts, right?). The kids share a room, which I’m hoping will be one of the highlights of their childhoods. Judging by the amount of yelling, jumping, and general ballyhoo that ensues each night after they are tucked in, I think we’re on the right track.

Our favorite spot is the backyard, which we put in ourselves after a year and a half of digging sprinkler trenches in what must have been bedrock. It is green and organically weed-free and has a slope perfect for slip-and-sliding, other than an abrupt end at a slivery wooden fence. But, the best of all is our garden. Each winter Todd and I begin our lists of what we want to grow then each edits the other person’s list until we have a manageable number of plants to attempt growing. The first year was a great success, tons of salad veggies and strawberries. This year we were braver, but less successful. I’ll just say that there is a bumper crop of pumpkins but not a speck of edible lettuce. Anyhow, most evenings will find us in the backyard, the kids playing “water park” and Todd and I messing with the garden.

Speaking of the kids… Tyce is turning four this January. For some reason four seems awfully kid-like to me. As in a full size, independent-thinking, have-to-pay-admission-at-movies kind of child. And I love it. He really is a great kid. We are hoping to instill thoughtfulness and helpfulness in him, but it has been a fairly easy task so far since he seems to be a rather introspective kid. He loves to participate in whatever we are doing, but especially cooking and construction. He can lie on his belly and play trucks for hours. Tyce starts preschool this fall at a “laboratory” preschool, where 15 high-school students help the teachers with the preschoolers. I think that he is going to love it, although Todd and I are nervous and have already begun the endless instructions about manners and hand-washing after potty use. And he isn’t quite a big kid yet because he still curls up with his blankie and sucks his thumb at bedtime. Adorable.

And Delaney, well, I think most of you know Delaney. Todd’s mom generously calls her the “firecracker” of the family. After all their hoping for a sweet little girl to dress up, Lane came along. She does wear dresses and plays dolls, once she is worn out enough that she can sit still for a few minutes. Her passions right now are horses (yay!) and four-wheelers (um… scary!), so she loves visiting her grandparents where she gets to “ride” to her heart’s content. I think that Delaney’s true gift is her coordination and strength. You should see this girl climb a fence, or play structure, or windowsill. She can even hang on by one arm when she falls, without a trace of fear. She’s going to start gymnastics class this fall, so hopefully that will be a nice outlet for her energy and enthusiasm. Laney’s vice is the “paci-kisses” that she must have at bedtime before she can fall asleep. This involves every member of the family trooping over to her bed and kissing her on top of her pacifier after which she yells “well, goodnight!”. Then it all starts again until the bad guy (me) has to finally turn out the lights. Then the previously mentioned ballyhoo begins…

And now the family...

Growing up, I would lay in bed and wonder how I ended up with the best parents in the world. Often. I always felt like Tanager and I were the center of their universe and they'd stop whatever they were doing to help us solve our problems. It still feels like that today (well maybe not the center of their universe part).

Mom was home with us a lot when we were little. I remember endless activities on the back deck, particularly that funny photo paper that would turn white in the sun, except where plants and rocks were placed on it, and reading library books (especially the weird 70's sex/body-parts for kids book!). Home cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner and jogs around the mountain behind our house. Mom was and is always happy and upbeat. Really, she was the perfect mom without us ever realizing how difficult it may have been. To this day my relationship with Mom is perfect and easy.

Dad had the perfect job for a dad: teaching. We rode to and from school together, hung out in his classroom before and after school, and did fun stuff all summer long. I think Dad got most of the information about our days out of us before we even got home! I always felt like we were Dad's best friends and he'd rather be doing things with us than anyone else. That is a really secure feeling for a kid to grow up with, let me tell you.

We did so much fun stuff together as family, I don't know how my best friend could have been anybody other than my sister, Tanager. I can remember long days out in the woods around our house (which somehow seemed a lot bigger than 10 acres back them!), me sneaking into bed with her at night (she was always the brave one), and us always agreeing on what to watch on TV (maybe that's just because I was the big sis and got my way all the time). Through high school we did almost everything together and all of our friends seemed to be siblings of the same ages. We even lived together in college and loved it! Tanager is always there for me, to this day, and loves my husband and kids like no one else. She never seems to get tired my kids whining or my grumpiness!

Jared and Debbie are the best in-laws a person could ask for. Always happy to see us and ready to play with the kids. They have included me since the beginning and the whole Rogers family is more loving than you can possibly imagine. They are respectful of my opinions and crazy ideas about raising kids. I still remember after Tyce was born and he was crying non-stop and I learned from Debbie that it is OK to just walk around with a crying baby and not know the reason why he's upset. They just cry and you can be calm and don't have to freak out about it. I can picture her walking up and down our hall with a crying Tyce, just loving him and gently rubbing his back. I was so relieved to have her hold him and see that everything was OK. And after Delaney was born and I had to take her back to the hospital to be under the UV lights, Debbie seemed to know exactly how heartbreaking and frustrating it was for me to be leaving Tyce and dealing with a small baby crisis. Her patience and sympathy meant everything to me. Todd's brothers JR and Brian are thoughtful and fun and have brought their wonderful wives Amanda and Shelly into our lives. We can't wait to watch all the cousins grow up together!

Todd and I adore all of our aunts and uncles too! We never feel like we have enough time over the holidays because we want to spend time with everyone. Watching Todd's aunt Susie raise her family has been a true inspiration to us, along with my aunt Tempie. They have perfect, well-rounded, well-adjusted, smart kids that are all grown up and successful now. Now that's an accomplishment.

Our grandparents are or were all amazing people, that's enough for a whole other blog, so it may have to wait. I'll just say that my Grandma Charlene was exactly the kind of person and grandparent that I want to be. She was amazing and I miss her often.

Let's start with the friends...

was lying in bed this afternoon trying to nap with the kids, but instead thinking about my friend Lyssa's new blog. I love reading about her crazy, perfect life and can't wait to hear the next bit of wonderful, supportive advice she'll have for me. That got me thinking about how long we've been friends. It has seriously been almost our whole lives. I think we had dance lessons together before we were in grade school. Our "odd" teacher Rueben telling us to suck our butt-cheeks in is about all I can remember. It must have stuck for Melyssa and her sister because they went on to study ballet and become professional dancers. How that all started with Rueben still baffles me. Anyhow, I am up writing this instead of napping because I am feeling incredibly grateful for the people that have come into my life, and stayed there, over the years. So, here's to my friends!

Melyssa-- the drop-dead gorgeous dancer girl. After dance class together (our little sis's were in the class too, Tanager and Laryssa) her mom started babysitting us during the summer for some reason that I can't remember. They had an awesome house, with a guest house (used mainly as a playhouse by us kids), great bunk-beds, and tons of dress-up clothes. Not a day went by that we didn't have elaborate, Victorian-era tea parties. And Karlene (the mom) encouraged all of our crazy activities. In between tea parties we terrorized the neighborhood as a "bike gang" which, I imagine, was quite intimidating. Then, sadly, we moved to Summerville, farther away from Lyssa and Lary. Then, within a year, they moved there too! Within biking distance! Our summers were spent biking back and forth between our houses. They had a grumpy horse, Cherokee, that we rode and used as a prop in our numerous plays, and again an awesome house with tons of baking and tea parties. And we watched Robin Hood (with Kevin Costner, not the Disney version) an incredible number of times. Now, Melissa and I communicate almost entirely by e-mail. She's the one who gave me the best advice when I e-mailed her in tears trying to nurse Tyce and feeling like a failure ("curl your toes and try not to curse!"). Ever since, I've trusted every word that comes out of her mouth (or fingers, since it is usually in an e-mail). She's a perfect, laid-back mom and friend and hilarious to boot.

Molly and Steph-- Inseparable since third grade. Now if high school isn't a hard time, I don't know what is. These gals were there for me through the whole, entire thing. Well, I hope we were there for each other. Stephanie is an amazing friend who never, ever, forgets a birthday, even when she's in a foreign country. I subjected Stephanie to 7-8 page letters our senior year while she was in New Zealand as a foreign exchange student. It was the best therapy ever and I hope that she enjoyed knowing every detail of those high-school days. And she never told a soul! She visits me wherever I go and is always up for a trip. And my kids adore her and are learning that sarcasm is funny even to a three-year-old. Molly and I ran XC and track together and we definitely stuck with the "conversation pace" that our coach mentioned one time. We never did a run that didn't include discussion the entire way. Both living out of town and not having cars of our own, it was the only way we got to say everything we wanted to. She has always been the sweetest, smartest, most sensible person I know. Her kids are crazy about their animals and well behaved and have huge smiles on their faces. Even though we only live a half-an-hour apart we hardly ever get together. But, when we do, we are just like we were in high school, but with more interruptions to deal with the pack of children surrounding us. Another perfect friend.

Chem Club Girls-- In college I was a little bit wrapped up in myself and Todd, but managed to maintain great relationships with Stephanie and my sister Tanager. In fact, we were all roommates for one happy, fun year before I decided I'd rather play house with Todd. Now, don't get me wrong, that was wonderful too, I just hope I didn't ditch my friends for him. I also got to know the "chem-club" girls, who still e-mail me at least every-other week. All of us with young babies and science-y careers. It's pretty cool. I'm lucky enough to be able to get together with them for the occasional baby shower... keep those babies coming girls! We also met our wonderful friends Tim and Mari through the chem club, and they're so reliable I forgot to even mention them in my first draft of the blog (but they know that we love them since we follow them wherever they move).

Kathy-- In Bozeman I began working at SGM Biotech. Two weeks later Kathy started working there. I'm not sure which project it was that cemented our friendship, but she was so smart and capable that I couldn't help but respect her at work. We could communicate perfectly and follow each-other's logic so well that we were usually assigned to or volunteered to work on projects together. Lucky for us, bacteria grow slowly leaving lots of time for discussion during work. Kathy is a few years old than me and seemed to know everything that I didn't. She is calm and thoughtful and kind to everyone. She smoothed over all the rough-patches at work. Pretty quickly we started taking our lunch breaks outside to get some fresh-air and could somehow manage to add another hour of talking to our day. We exchanged books and discussed them (and still do) she talked me through every little relationship hiccup I had. When I tried to go to work the day after the death of a friend, she took one glance at me and knew something was wrong (I've always wished that I could "just know" when something was wrong with someone, like that, but I can't so if you are my friend ,you're going to have to spell it out for me.). She introduced me to yoga and health food. All I can really say is that she taught me the kind of person that I wanted to become and I can't wait to see her again.

The Kennewick Girls-- In the winter of 2005 we moved to Kennewick where Todd began teaching full-time. We were excited to be close to family, finally, and I was excited to get to stay home with Tyce (and Delaney, in 2006). Did I ever underestimate the loneliness of being a stay-at-home mom in a new town. Then I happened to meet my friends Melissa, Jana, and Amber. We had babies whose ages were within months of one another. The kids hit and pushed, but we persisted in our playdates because we realized that we were all new in town and lonely. Then, the kids became friends and the mommies became even better friends. We all got pregnant again and have a second round of playmates. The houses are too small for playdates now! Melissa is my jogging partner and parenting advice consultant. She cheerfully answers my calls every day and has one good idea after another. She's up for anything, even when I plan dismal "playdates" that involve a hike up a dusty hill, in the desert, in the summer. Melissa cares about my family so much and I'm grateful to have her and her family in our lives. Her daughters are beautiful and always engage my kids in silly games that they love. I can't wait to watch them grow up together. Amber is my mama-lion friend. She gives me strength to confront the things that need to be done and figure out how best to do it. She saves me when I call her crying and she takes charge and gets everything done. She loves all kids and always has a hug for mine. And I can call her anytime with a question about puke, a rash, stitches, a broken toe, anything. She takes a look at the offending area and tells me the kids will survive. Just what I want to hear! Jana is the steel-trap. I tell her anything and know that she gives me a thoughtful response and that's the end of it. I think it comes from her profession, where she gets to listen to people all day long. I can't believe she can stand to listen to me on her days off, but she does. She's got the best ideas and all the great places in town to go to and is always up for a trip to the park. And she gives the best haircuts in town!

Just want to let all of my friends know how much you mean to me and how lucky I feel that you are in my life. I know that my life is pretty cushy because of my friends and family, it really is a luxury to be surrounded by so many people that I can rely on. Thank you!