I just had the classic after-school-with-milk-and-cookies chat with Caleb. Except it was milk and carrot muffin. Micah, Bryan, and Doodle are napping, so the house was nice and quiet (for once).

I found out his grade won the school-wide reading contest and they had an ice-cream party. I was hoping they had the classic ice cream cups. You remember those? Half vanilla ice cream and half orange sherbet. Those were so completely awesome when I was in school. They even came with a little peanut-shaped wooden paddle to eat it with. Unfortunately he had no idea what I was talking about, which means that's not what they had.

He also brought home a permission slip for the Missoula Children's Theater auditions. This year they are doing Pinocchio. We had a short chat about how a lot of kids don't get picked, and how every part is important, even if there is not a lot of talking. So he'll be trying out next Monday.

I am a little surprised that he wanted to to do it. He used to love being the center of attention, but recently has shied away from it. Two summers ago I signed him up for a little three-day drama camp at the Children's Museum, and when I saw him, he had designated himself the curtain guy. So he would open and close the curtains, but he didn't want to be in the little play. That's fine. I could relate.

We always encourage him to do things that are just outside his comfort zone without being forceful or making him feel guilty if he doesn't want to. I think a lot of us would be bolder people if we had just tried and seen things weren't as bad as we feared. I think that confident people -- people who are willing to try to do what most of us wouldn't dare (within the parameters of decency and the law!) -- earn respect a little more readily and worry less.

But if you try something you're just not good at... Oh well! Nothing is lost. Actually you have saved yourself from wondering if you COULD have, so you're better off either way. Everybody is really good at SOMETHING, right? Most people are at least moderately good at multiple things. Some of us aren't good at what we wish we were. But if we think about it, and can be honest about it, we're at least pretty darn good at something.

So we try to encourage the boy. And if he just doesn't like it... There are always Legos. And that's something he's good at. :)

So here is something I learned today. At the ER. With Micah. Because he stuck a piece of raw carrot up his nose. And a nurse told me this. I am not making it up.

He said when this happens, you can plug the other side by pressing the nostril with your finger, then doing a CPR-style mouth breath. He said this can make quite a snotty mess on your cheek, but also often can dislodge whatever is in the obstructed nostril. Of course this did not work for Micah when we tried, because in the nurse's professional opinion, "Carrots are harder."

So it took a little bit of work of Micah blowing and sneezing, and the doctor suctioning. When the chunk was close to being out, he yanked it (gently) with a pair of forceps.

I was surprised at the size of the carrot. I was picturing something pea-sized yet more squarish. It was at least two or three peas worth (by volume) of carrot, in the oddest shape. I don't know how he got it to fit, but I'm not surprised it was hard to get out, regardless of how mucus coated it was.

The doc offered to put it in a little container so we could take it home for Micah to show off, but I suggested we'd had about enough with this particular bit of vegetable, so he threw it out. Which brought to mind Micah's question when I told him we'd have to go to the hospital for them to take it out: "And then I can eat it again?"

Nope, I don't think you'd want to.

It's been since July that I posted? Wow, that is a while. You can thank Gina for bringing it to mind.

Not that I have all that much to post about. Which is not to say that nothing has happened. It's more like my brain leaks memory like an old car leaks oil. Not all at once, just in steady drips.

So... What have I done since July?

Well.... In August, Bryan and I celebrated our 8th anniversary. He had to work on our actual anniveresary (of course) but we had a nice dinner out the night before. We rarely go out just the two of us, which we've been told is called a "date", but it was fun to do it. We would go out more often if we could, but we don't believe in pawning off our children all the time. They are OURS after all. And with Bryan's ever-changing schedule, some day Caleb (since he goes to school) only see him for minutes.

In September, Caleb started the first grade at a new school. He really enjoys his teacher, is making great progress with his reading, and has made new friends. His fear of missing his friends at his old school has largely subsided. He occasionally mentions his old teacher, or says he wishes he was still in kindergarten, but when I remind him how much he likes his new teacher, he admits he likes BOTH of them and he likes his school.

In October, the boys dressed up for Halloween. Caleb was a policeman, and Micah was a fireman. Michelle trick-or-treated with us and Bryan even got off work a little early and made a loop with Caleb after Micah got tired of clomping around the neighborhood in rubber boots.

In November I turned 28. I had to pause to do the math. I'm not old enough to forget how old I am, but since I forget everything, I might as well forget that too. All I know is Bryan is a year and three months older than me, and that's what counts.

I also went to very part time at the Children's Museum. Five hours a week, in charge of the gift shop. Basically I'm a stay-at-home mom again, but I didn't want to let the museum go completely since I love it. They were kind enough to create a position for me that was mutually beneficial. I will be going in tomorrow to check on the store.

Now it's December, and we already have some great stuff planned for it. I am organizing a cookie decorating party for a local homeless shelter. We don't have a lot of people or a lot of money, but we are committed to serving our community. Every little bit of goodwill toward men counts, especially when its cold outside for so many and we're feeling so festive and and cozy in our homes.

I feel like this year has been a good one overall. We have come to love all of the new friends we've met at The Reach. We have seen Claudia and Mark move away. Bryan is loving his new career. We have suffered with some people very close to us.

God is seeing us through each and every day, and we look forward with excitement at what the rest of 2009 will bring us, and what surprises lie ahead in 2010.

Maybe I'll post again in LESS than five months!

Not sure if I ever mentioned I got promoted at work a few months ago. I should stop having ideas for things, because then I end up doing them. :) I really enjoy my work 97% of the time.

My boss went on vacation at the end of June and I had to be on-call. That was interesting. Some days things apparently went smoothly, some days I'd get 5-6 calls. No rhyme or reason to it, either. But all in all things worked out well and we hadn't had the place shut down by the time she got back. And I was glad she was back!

Right after that I went on a trip to meet up with some friends/downhere fans (also known as "downhomies", a term coined by the band's singer/guitarist/pianist Jason Germain) in Nashville for a few days. A few of the people I have talked to for a long time, some were fairly new to me. But everybody was really nice, and a lot of fun was had.

One of the days we volunteered with the downhere guys at a charity called Feed The Children. They provide nonperishable food, toiletry, and "luxuries" boxes to poor children and families. Luxuries... like little Avon lotion and a candy bar. Hmm. Makes you think a little bit about that ___ you just HAVE to have.

Anyway, they didn't need any boxes filled at that moment, apparently a large event in town needed a few thousand, and the volunteer groups before us had taken care of those. So they were low on all sorts of things needed to make the boxes. Part of our group split off to box up a over 1000 pairs of Crocs for that event. Kudos to them for donating so many new pairs of shoes. After we were done, we set to folding and taping new, empty boxes into shape for the next set of volunteers. We must have done a few hundred of those. I didn't count, but there were tons.

The other part of the group set to removing the tops from cases of donated food so it could be arranged for the assembly line setup they have for putting food boxes together. A couple of guys even compacted old boxes to be recycled. There were a lot of things to do, but the Feed The Children staff seem to have everything down to a science. Nothing is wasted, everything is organized. It seems to be a well-oiled machine, down to having volunteers coming in regularly to do this sort of thing.

That evening downhere's label, Centricity Music, hosted a little "marketing meeting" with us. They picked our brains about how we get our music, what we like, what we don't, ideas, challenges, etc. It was an interesting insight into this world I know very little about. I mean, I get the idea of marketing, the question of how best to connect consumers to your product. Anyway, I learned a bit and was glad to know I'm not the only one frustrated with the local Christian radio station (KCMS - boo!).

Then we went out to dinner, which they graciously covered as well. It was delicious, too.
Pretty much felt spoiled. Afterward we celebrated two birthdays with delicious cupcakes from Ivey Cake in Franklin, and walking into the room where we were all gathering, we heard a familiar voice singing... It was the band's upcoming Christmas album playing.

We were very excited to hear it, but with all the talking it was hard to. Especially for me, since I was sitting on the complete opposite side of the room from where the music emanated. But never ones to disappoint, after another chat session and downhere playing an intimate acoustic set of songs by request, the fabulous Centricity guys handed us all advance copies of the cd! You can just imagine (maybe?) the ensuing chatter. There was much excitement that entire day, and it was the perfect way to wrap it up. Talk about a souvenir.

I only finally got to listen on the way home on the plane, but then my MP3 player's batteries died, since I hadn't recharged them after using it all the way to TN. I did get to listen one time through and love, LOVE, LOOOOVED all of it. I keep getting Good King Wenceslas stuck in my head, as well as God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

We also got copies of a new artist to their label, Matt Papa. What I've heard of it, I've liked. I need to really sit down in some peace and quiet to really let it absorb into my brain. Maybe it'll knock the Christmas tunes out of there so they can be fresh again come November. :)

We rounded out the weekend with a hilarious photo scavenger hunt and a bit of church in one of the hotel rooms. And lots of twitter. It was an amazing and one-of-a-kind experience... That I hope for more of in the future!

I am the latest victim of a hit & run. Well, not me. Not my car either. Read on.

We live on a fairly curvy country road, on which the posted speed limit is 35mph. Many people read that backwards, though.

Anyway, I'm getting the boys ready for bed when I hear a car drive by and loud noise. I think maybe the local walk-all-over-the-road dog was hit, so I peer out between the mini blinds to see what I can see (see, see).

My garbage can. Which is not actually mine, it came with the house we rent. But still. It had my trash in it. It's lying on its side about three or four feet from its original spot, bag spilling out. The lid is a good six feet (maybe more) from it.

I really hope that its not broken (I haven't been out to check yet, bedtime prep is still on). It would not be cool to either have no garbage can or to buy a new can when we're only going to be here a couple more weeks (the new house comes with garbage and recycling cans, with wheels!).

I just texted Bryan to tell him to bring his forensics kit home. Maybe we can get some paint transfer to analyze. There may be tire impressions in the soil next to the road. Who knows.

I'm a little sorry I didn't have the blinds open to see the perpetrator, but maybe carelessness is its own reward and they have a little dent in their bumper to remember me by.

You know the saying "If it's too good to be true, it probably is"?

Every once in a while I'll get into a conversation with somebody and it will lead to scams. People have been scamming people for their money basically forever. There are all sorts of schemes. My favorite one, though, I heard about when we lived in California.

A man was selling "flat screen TVs" out of the back of his van. Only when the box was opened, the steal-of-a-deal turned out to just be a steal: a black used oven door. When the cops caught up with the con artist, he also had boxes of "laptops" with floor tiles inside. And he's not the only one... (Story I heard in '07, story I found today, and another story I found today.)

That's the year I was born.

I have decided that although movie watching is not a top priority in my life (on the bottom half of the list) I should watch some of these movies. I know that I have a serious pop-culture knowledge gap because I don't watch movies. It doesn't bother me. But Bryan is a movie buff. Getting married (to me, who doesn't care a whole lot about movies) and having kids has definitely put a damper on his efforts at knowing every movie word for word. I think he's going to like this.

So here is my pledge: Between now and my birthday, I will watch five of these movies. I got the list from Film.com.

The 10 Best Movies of 1981

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark

2. Chariots of Fire

3. The Cannonball Run

4. Superman II

5. The Great Muppet Caper

6. Escape from New York

7. Body Heat

8. Arthur

9. Endless Love

10. The Fox and the Hound

Actually, I saw The Fox and the Hound when Michelle was little (in the 90's). So I've only got 9 choices. Any suggestions?

This past Saturday was the boys and I went to my brother-and-sister-in-law's for my niece's seventh birthday party. They had a pinata there, which is a favorite birthday activity for all of us. The boys came home with goody bags laden with all sorts of candy, luckily all nut-free. We got home fairly late in the evening that night, for little boys at least. Plus, they'd already been sugared up plenty, so I took the candy and put it up.

Then yesterday was Mother's Day. Bryan had to work, so we went over to my mom's where we had a tea party with my mom, stepdad, sisters, my sister's boyfriend, and Bryan's mom. A great time was had by all and in the evening the boys and I returned home.

The boys were filthy from playing outside, so they had a bath. After getting clean jammies on, Caleb asked for a snack. While I toasted them an english muffin, Micah disappeared into his room, where he apparently had stashed some of the birthday candy. He came out with a ring-shaped candy in his mouth, so as a good mom I told him to go sit in his chair. It was big enough that I could probably have slipped it over my own finger. It drives me crazy when they walk around with food in their mouths. This is something we've been working on with Micah, who is fond of stuffing his face full and walking around to do other things.

I went into the kitchen (about eight steps away) to put away the cream cheese and english muffins, but apparently the english muffin looked so good to him, he decided to swallow the candy so he could get started. The only problem is that he hadn't chewed it up yet, which I found out when I heard him crying strangely and ran back to the table.

Next I called 911. He continued to cough, gag, cry, and have thick strings of saliva pour out of his mouth. as I held him and talked to the dispacher. She asked a few questions, and during our brief conversation he stopped coughing and gagging. I asked him if he swallowed it, and he nodded and rested his head on my shoulder. I told the dispacher what happened, but of course once you call and report a problem, they come anyway.

Caleb was the lookout. One ambulace and two pickup trucks* arrived a minute later, parking in our ample driveway. We stepped outside, me with Micah in my arms and Caleb with curiosity on his face. They asked a few questions of me, then asked Micah if he could talk. He replied with a small and raspy yes. One of the paramedics gave each of the boys a teddy bear while another told me that he'd probably have a sore throat for a day or so and to take him to the doctor if he had any further problems.

I closed the door and sighed. *I felt so thankful that we live in a small community (not even a town) with its own fire station with ambulance, on top of dedicated volunteers who are ready in an instant. If he hadn't been able to cough and gag it down on his own, they would've been able to help him so quickly. This is the first time we've ever had to call an ambulance to our home, and hopefully the last.

After much hugging, I tucked the boys into bed with their new teddy bears. When I bend down to give Micah his kiss goodnight, he turned to me and said softly, "Happy Mudder's Day, Mommy."

We may have a different world view, we do. We may not agree on all things, we don't. But she's my mom. I wouldn't ever want another one. The brought me into this world and sacrificed for me. I am a mother myself because of her. I love her.

She modeled love and taught Bryan about God's love. We might not always be on the same page, but at least we're always in the same book. I love her.

Even though I have probably close to a dozen reusable grocery bags, half the time I forget to put them back in the car and I don't realize it until I'm in the checkout line. So I have a plastic grocery bag full of plastic grocery bags in my kitchen. We used to use them as trash can liners but no longer have trash cans that small, so as I prepare to clean my kitchen, I wonder what to do with them.

Enter Google.

Check out these two fun craft projects using plastic bags!

So I just blogged about Caleb's latest artwork, and I remembered that not long ago I was reminiscing about Micah and how much he's changed in a year. So I went back through the archive of the boys' blog to March of 2006, before Micah was born...

Friday, March 17, 2006

Eating Ankles?

This morning my mommy said I had to get my diaper changed. So I got a diaper out of my drawer. I picked a Blue's Clues diaper with Blue and Mailbox on it. It is my favorite one. Mommy sat on my bed and I tried to throw myself on it too. I bonked my head on her and gave her an owie! It was an accident.

Mommy said, "Ouch! You hit my ankle!"

I said, "Anko. Anko. Eat anko?"

Mommy said, "Eat ankle?"

I said, "Anko. Mango! Eat mango?"

And Mommy laughed. Why is that so funny? Mangos are good!

Later, I was on the phone with my Grandma Marisa. I saw my mom's ankle and I said, "Owie mango." My mommy laughed and told Grandma about the accident earlier, and they both laughed. I still don't get it.

Caleb drew a really great picture of his dad, the policeman. It was so good, I scanned it in and it's on his blog. Check it out here.

Bryan and I have been looking for houses with a great agent recommended to us by my mom. We've looked at probably a dozen houses by now, most of which were mild to moderate disappointments. One was a severe disappointment and a health and safety hazard. Somebody should really call the EPA about some of the smells that emanated from that (foreclosed) house. One of those "get back at the bank" jobs perpetrated by the evicted tenants.

A week or two ago we saw one that had almost everything we were looking for, and the more we thought about it after we left, the more we thought we might want to buy it. So today we looked at it again and at least I felt convinced. Bryan wanted to look at one last house, but that one was a no-go, so we decided to make an offer on it. Of course Bryan had to shoot off to work (no pun intended) so we have an appointment with our agent for Monday to get that taken care of!

Well, its been a while since I posted much of anything, so here's a wrap-up of what's been going on lately.

Bryan started at the department (on swing shift) two days after graduating from the academy. He's enjoying the job and is definitely seeing the waiting and working toward this as a good investment. He almost got to chase a suspect last week, but as the rookie had to stay with the car while his FTO (field training officer) ran down and tackled the guy. Maybe next time, hun.

Caleb and Micah are elated to have Daddy home. Micah hangs with Bryan while I take Caleb to school and go to work. Then when Caleb gets off the bus, Bryan is here to welcome him home. He goes to work while I'm at work, and I'm usually still up when he gets home. So even on swing shift, we're seeing a LOT more of him than we were while he was at the academy. He'll be rotating to the graveyard shift soon, and will take some adjustment by all parties involved, but at least day shift is after that! After he's done with his FTO period, the rotations will be farther apart.

At work I was asked to join our Education Coordinator at a workshop in Houston in April. A bit short-notice, but the Executive Director was unable to attend as originally planned. So I plan to be gone for two and a half days, only to turn around the next day and head off to a women's (mini) retreat called Bloom that our church is putting on. I'll probably miss the sleepover portion of it (bummer!!!!) but at least I'll be able to make it to the "important stuff".

So that's just about all that's new.... One more post to come!

We had some delicious french dip sandwiches for dinner, with baby carrots on the side. Caleb scarfed his just-over-half sandwich down and asked for more while finishing his carrots. I agree to make him another one (the more this stickboy eats, the better!)

So I ask him, "Caleb, do you want any more carrots?"

He this about this for two seconds before replying, "No... My carrot tanks are full."

So I've dropped the boys off at my mom's so she and my stepdad can drive them down to the graduation in the morning. I get to wake up extra early (6am) and make the trek by myself. Which means stopping for a nice smoothie on the way, and loading up on podcasts tonight so I have something to keep me company on the ride down south.

I didn't find a dress to wear (for some reason!) today so I am going with pants and a nice shirt. I'm sure, this being Washington, that there will be people dressed much more casually so I'm not worrying about it. I did buy a new pair of heels, but hopefully Bryan won't notice. ;-)

Goodnight, blogland, I'm off to try to get the last few things done that I need, and hopefully get some sleep!

Micah and I were reading Curious George and the Dump Truck last night. This is one of his favorite books so we read it several times a week. Therefore, after I finished reading it, I asked him if he would read it to me. Of course, he's two years old, so he doesn't know how to read, and he told me so. But I told he could pretend to read.

So he did, and he remembered a phrase or two from each page, enough of the story to "read" all the way to the end. On the last page, he said to me:

"The sky is blue."

"Yep, it's blue," I said.

"That means it's daytime."

"It sure does."

or... having a dishwasher would be so much easier.

I have this pile of dishes that lives with me. In the sink. I wash dishes, but apparently not fast enough. Because it's always there. Sometimes I think the pile decides to take a break, because I'll wash the last dish, and then they're all clean. But then it comes back, sooner that I would if I were taking a break. I think the dishpile needs to go on a diet, because sometimes it looks really big. But we're not supposed to tell people they need to go on a diet, not PC and all, so I don't.

So instead of looking around some favorite stores for something to wear to Bryan's graduation on Thursday, which I should have thought to do sooner, I'm washing dishes while my inlaws take the boys out to dinner.

The dillema:  What does one wear to a Police Academy Graduation?

I have no idea.