I guess it could have been worse?

We were planning to go to Tucson for spring break, but then my sister and her daughter got pink-eye, and we reevaluated. Going to San Diego to see my dad seemed like a good option. I certainly didn't want to hang around Las Vegas by myself with the children out of school for a week. Then Kate got a fever last Wednesday. She recovered for the most part by Thursday, so I decided we were going to push to California. On the drive out, things got challenging. I had rearranged the car so that the girls were sitting next to each other in the back row, in order for them to entertain each other. Who knew that by "entertaining" they meant fighting? I guess I should have seen that coming. Just south of Vegas, I pulled over on a dirt road and tossed bags and car seats out of the car gently suggested a new seating arrangement. I put Kate next to Luke in the second row, which also turned out to be a mistake. She refused to leave him alone. At one point AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell' came on the radio and I mused about its timeliness.

Almost 6 hours after we left, we arrived at my dad's. Luke had started coughing a couple of hours into the drive, and by Friday night, he sounded awful. I must have been up every hour that night, helping him get back to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, his cough turned into barking, followed by a slight wheezing. This completely freaked me out, and I don't know if I slept much after that. He wasn't better by the morning, so I told my dad we needed to take him to the doctor.

My dad got online and found a clinic to go to. It was on the way to the beach - perfect! He called, and told them we were on Tri-Care, and the woman mentioned that there was a Tri-Care outpatient facility nearby. Great! We headed there instead. Turns out it was like a Tri-Care office off base, and they would only see you if you were a patient there. The woman gave me directions to a different place for us to go. I asked her if it was an ER (I absolutely detest going to the ER; in fact, it is probably the number one thing I hate to do), and she said no. I asked if it was on an installation. She said no, and also that she wasn't from San Diego. Um? I should have taken this to mean that she didn't know what she was talking about. We wound our way closer to downtown....and ended up at a military gate. We should have turned around right there. But, not knowing where else to go, we parked and walked into the hospital. It turns out we were at the US Naval Medical Center, San Diego, a large concrete structure full of sickies. We checked in, and I asked how long they thought the wait would be. No idea. Awesome. I think it took about 20 minutes to get into triage. And another 4 hours to be seen. So there we were, all in our beach garb, Simone with a migraine, three sick and crabby kids, on vacation. Luke has croup, and ear infections in both ears. They gave him some liquid steroids and amoxicillin, and he is finally sounding a lot better. Now Claire sounds bad.

Ready for his chest x-ray.

On Sunday we finally made it to the beach. For an hour. Luke and Claire were still not feeling great, and Luke cried for most of the time we were there. He was interested in the sand for a bit, though, until he rubbed some of it in his eyes. Claire went down to the water once, but the wind combined with the cold water made her head right back to the warmth of the beach towel.

Mama, this bath is cold. Also, my ears hurt.

I'm supposed to do what with the sand?

Kate loved the beach. LOVED. She giggled with delight as the water rushed up to her feet, sucking the sand out from under her toes. "Mom! The beach is moving!" She ran back and forth, into the water and out again. She splashed, made friends, gathered shells, and giggled some more. I felt bad tearing her away from the water, but Luke was a crying wreck.

On Sunday afternoon, I made the command decision to head home on Monday, earlier than we had planned. We got home at 6pm and Claire went straight to bed, in her clothes and without dinner. This from my little night owl who likes to stay up until 9 or 10pm. Kate and Luke were also asleep by 8pm. Today we have an appointment for Claire to see what sort of illness she is harboring.

In all, I am glad we went. It was a good diversion for all of us, even though it was painful. Here we would have been sick and bored. And it somehow gave me a confidence I haven't had in awhile: I can do pretty much anything alone, if necessary. I would prefer to have Tim here, but we do okay when he's gone.

So busy I keep losing track of the day

This week leading up to spring break has been extremely full. I can't even remember all of the events right now, except the ones listed below. First, the girls participated in the St. Jude's trike-a-thon at school on Wednesday. Claire didn't enjoy it as much as Kate, I think, but she did well. Luke cheered them on from the sidelines.

Luke has a new seating arrangement, which he loves.

Today was an Easter party with friends, and then a birthday party after nap.

Tomorrow we leave for San Diego. Have I packed yet? No. Am I in bed yet? No. Do I even have a checklist written anywhere? No. I am so toast. Woohoo, first solo road trip with the littles! Please pray for me.

Hey, look, cars!

Eating chocolate cake off the ground at the Easter party.

He refused to stop eating to look at the camera, probably worried that if he saw me that meant I saw him, and then I would take his cake away.

So very, very happy at Chuck E Cheese's for Nathan's birthday party.

For Sale

For sale: one grumpy, unreasonable, full of mischief sweet, loving, cuddly and cute three-year-old. Loves lotion, water, permanent markers, chalk, and reprogramming computers.

Our waitress must have been mortified

Even as I'm planning these events, I do not know what possesses me to consider doing them. We walked to sushi tonight. Kate rode her bike, Claire walked almost to the main street from our house, and Luke, of course, rode the whole way. I did not even bring the camera, knowing that it would take all my concentration just to keep the children out of traffic, within the crosswalk lines, and seated at or near our table once there.

The key to my survival, mentally, I think, was knowing what I would order beforehand, so that I could just tell our server immediately what we wanted. She got the order wrong (note to self: the children do not eat California rolls; which ones did they try last time? I think it must have been the unagi), but the chef, noting the anxious woman alone at the corner table greatly outnumbered by her small and unruly children, was quick. We had our udon and tempura at record speed, and the waitress even brought those little chopstick helpers, which enabled the girls to use their chopsticks!

Of course, all the food came at once, and the table was overwhelmed by steaming platters and bowls, and the children were making unreasonable demands (Mommy, I want noodles! Mama, can I have soup? Fix my chopsticks! Bambambam! Can I have the round tempura (onion)? I want shrimp!) all at the same time. Claire had to spread her napkin out like a place mat, allowing Luke much greater access to the table. Both girls squeezed their juice boxes. At one point, Luke got hold of the sticky tempura dipping sauce and overturned it. Several minutes later, after I thought I had cleaned it all up, I felt something dripping on my foot, and noticed the sauce had gotten under his kidpottamus tray and everything was a gooey mess. There were noodles on the floor, napkins soaked with tentsuyu, and stacked dishes on the half of the table that Luke couldn't reach. Even though I tipped her generously, I am pretty sure she is going to cringe the next time she sees us in the restaurant.

Aaaaand, the honeymoon is over

I just found lotion on the cat. And on my rugs, and the bathroom counter and floor. What is it with Claire and lotion? The "I've got tons of energy, we're going to keep really busy, and the time will just fly by!" attitude I started the week out with is now fading. The girls had dance class this morning (after which the instructor told me I couldn't take pictures of my children during class anymore because one of the other dads didn't want me taking photos of his daughter? Seriously?), and then we went directly to a birthday party at a bouncy place. So, a 10 minute morning nap for Luke in the car. And then Claire and Luke fell asleep for 15 minutes on the way home from the party, and then refused to nap when we got home. Sooooo, everyone is crabby (including me, clearly), and it's hours until bedtime. And I know it's only been a week, and some others I know complained a lot less over a lot longer period of time! Tomorrow I'll suck it up. As long as I get a good night's sleep.

Lucky for Claire, she's cute. We are sitting next to each other in the loft right now, each of us "working" on our laptops. Kate is giving Claire encouragement, "Thumbs up, Buttercup!", and Luke is alternating practicing his walking skills and trying to discern the purpose of the Barbie pool (it seems that "item holder" is winning).

Letting the children mind themselves while I blog

In the time it took to choose and upload these photos, it sounds like the situation upstairs has deteriorated greatly. So this post might be kind of short.

Playing a confusing game involving hiding and seeking and bubbles and waiting with eyes closed but hands not over the eyes (all rules made up and enforced by Kate). I know there were more regulations, but I cannot remember them.

Bubbles today. I love her new haircut.

Smooch. Her favorite thing to do for the camera, these days.

Chalk lips, before swimming.

P.S. Tim, we are on day three of success with McLaren vs. The Potty.

This is the time to live in Las Vegas

I have a love-hate relationship with spring. It started when we moved to Tucson. I LOVE spring. It's beautiful, sunny, and well, spring-y outside. It doesn't get much better than this. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s, windows open, flowers blooming. But it transitions into summer all too soon in the southwest. It won't be long before it's 110 and I'm miserable. This year, I'm trying to enjoy spring to its absolute fullest. We have been outside everyday this week, and have walked and ridden bikes to the train park twice since Tim left. We'll go again today if I can get us out the door soon enough after nap. Sure, dinners have consisted of quesadillas more times than the children would care to choose, but it's glorious out there!

On the way to the train park yesterday.

Chalk appetizers chalk drawing before lunch. Notice everyone in short sleeves and/or shorts, except Claire. She demanded to have pants and a sweater. "I'm cold, Mommy." Aaah, she is my daughter.

Oooh, more snacks.

Chalk booty.

Making a break for it.

Oh, also, before I forget. Luke is getting bigger, as some of you have noticed. At 11mo, 2 weeks ago, he measured 30" and 24.6lbs. And he's this close to walking on his own as a preferred choice.

AND, under the category of TMI, Claire did the big deuce on the potty twice yesterday. Here's to hoping she is finally over that fear.

Visiting family

I had sort of been dreading our postponed trip to Michigan. I mean, who wants to fly, outnumbered, for 4 hours cross-country? Not me, that's who. We started out okay, with Tim leading a coloring marathon with the girls, across the aisle from me and full-of-energy Luke. I fed him some Chips Ahoy cookies, and talked amiably with the girl next to me. Then, about 30 minutes into the flight, Luke started gagging. Turns out he had eaten part of the cookie wrapper while I had been distracted, and he proceeded to vomit it and the cookies. Thankfully, he's not much of a vomiter, I caught all the barf in my hand (wait, am I really thankful for that?), and my neighbor was very understanding. Me, genius mom that I am, I forgot to pack a change of clothing in my purse for anyone. Awesome.

Then, towards the end of the first flight, Claire fell asleep on Tim. Cute. Except that she peed on him, soaking her clothing and his jeans. See above note about not packing any changes of clothing for anyone in the carry-on bags. Tim was pretty pleased about that.

Once in Michigan, however, things went well. We spent 3 days with my mother and grandmother, and the kids loved seeing their grandmas. We even got to see our friend Tabitha and her daughter Natalie, whom we hadn't seen in 2 years. There was snow on the ground when we arrived, and the kids made a snow kid. Claire seemed to overcome her fear of snow, and Luke got to crawl around outside, tasting rocks.

Pre-barf.

Showing off her creation.

Claire and Great-Grandma Lorraine. Almost 90 years apart.

Dinner out with everyone, including family friend Carol.

Luke and Grandma Lorraine.

Sad exchange

This morning, when we were dropping Tim off at the airport, Kate looked at him and asked, "Daddy, does it snow in Afghanistan?" He told her it did. She looked at him sternly, and asked, "Do you have your mittens?" If he were going to be gone longer, we might have cried.

On a sillier note, she and Claire were talking the other day at lunchtime. It was a little chilly inside the house and Kate was wearing short sleeves. She turned to Claire and said, "See these dots? Those are my freakles."

Tapping ballet class

Kate just informed me that some of the disciples ("you know, the ones in the Bible, mom") got all dried out and they didn't have any lotion. Did you know that? Me, either.

Yesterday morning, we started a new class. It's actually a tap and ballet class, but Kate calls it the tapping ballet class. "Mom, I love balleting." Claire skipped the ballet part of class, either due to a lack of extra large footwear (can you see how her tap shoes are about a size too big?), or initial shyness. Once Kate came out and put her tap shoes on, however, Claire was suddenly excited to join the class. Also, once they were together, I noticed the annoyance level of the teacher spike dramatically. Sadly, I do not have photographic evidence to show you, but let's just say there wasn't a lot of dancing going on, and that I think Claire was asked to leave the class when the kids started the creative ribbon dance instructional section.

A blur of tap shoes. Notice the extra blurriness of Kate's and Claire's excited feet.

Pink, pink, pink.

Later in the day, Luke had his first ride in the cozy coupe, during which he fell out and hit his head on the concrete approximately 2 times.

Mealtime staredown

I just finished downloading approximately 208 photos from my camera. It's been a long couple of weeks, and I clearly have not been keeping up with my technical obligations, to include (but not limited to): blogging, downloading photos, and email. I have also not finished writing thank you notes to all the wonderful people who sent gifts to Claire for her birthday. I am quite sorry about this last part; I do intend to write to all of you, hopefully soon.

Okay, so an update. I got antibiotics a couple of weeks ago, and took them faithfully. And then I started to get another infection. The doctor called me back before I had to go to the hospital again, thankfully, and prescribed me something stronger. It finally took care of the infection, but also wore me out dreadfully. I am just now starting to feel more like myself, and am trying to catch up on all the things I let slide in recent weeks.

We went back up to the mountain on Friday afternoon, the promise of nearly a foot of new snow incenting us to gather up our 400 items necessary for a hour spent in the white stuff. Claire cried this time again, but less so, likely because we let her wear her beloved princess pants instead of her snowsuit. On Kate and Tim's first trip down the hill on a REAL sledding device, they apparently tipped over, and Kate was disinclined to attempt further tobogganing.

Luke has found a new form of entertainment at meal time: dropping food off the side of his highchair. At some point during his meal, he will stare threateningly at you, and jut his hand out off the side of his tray, his eyes suggesting that he will indeed drop the bit of food in his hand, unless you...well, that's the part we're still trying to figure out. Everyone at the table says, "NO, Luke!" when he does it, and he stares tauntingly back at everyone. Then it's usually "bomb's away" as the food falls to the floor. Sometimes he'll put the food in his mouth and then everyone will clap. And then he'll take the food back OUT of his mouth, and the whole cycle starts again. It's very cute, but I'm starting to tire of the clean-up afterward.

Why he is willing to drop food off his tray is beyond me; the kid eats like he's a teenager, gobbling up nearly everything you put in front of him. Take, for instance, Valentine's day dinner. We took the kids to our local sushi restaurant, Luke in the stroller, Kate on her bike, and Claire walking and/or being carried by Tim. Luke ate what seemed to be 4 pounds of udon noodles, some coated in nori, a tempura shrimp and a tempura carrot, some abura age, half a bag of yogurt melts, and a cup of puffs. Although he wasn't playing his new game, a lot of food did end up on the floor, much to the dismay of the staff. At one point, our waitress asked me if I wanted a plate for him. Trust me, a plate would have been far worse. As a side note, Kate ate a bite of octopus sushi and LIKED it.

Oh yeah. I'll drop it. Watch me. What are you going to do to stop me? Hmmm?

We went bike riding over the weekend. Claire LOVES her new bike.


We also went swimming on Sunday and Monday. It was sunny and in the high 60s, so we took advantage. Luke thinks swimming is the BEST.

Finally, able to upload video

From today:

A day on the mountain

I did not expect to have that much fun. It took what might have been the better part of an hour getting our stuff together, to include gear, snacks and 100% cotton clothing for the children. We weren't entirely sure where we were going, or how long it would take us to get there. But we found Lee Canyon about 45 minutes after we finally left our driveway. Claire sounded so excited: "Snow! Daddy, there's snow!!" We parked and started dressing the kids in their non-snow-appropriate clothing. I did have one snow suit, purchased randomly at Ross for $4.99, which I tugged on over Claire's stretch pants and sweater. Before we left home, I had used approximately half a can of waterproofing spray on it, in hopes of keeping her dry. About 20 seconds after it was on her, though, she started whining about it being too tight, and cried during the entire walk to the sledding hill. We tried to explain to her that the suit was there to keep her warm, but she would have none of it. Kate, meanwhile, was having a blast "sledding" down the mountain. Luke wasn't sure what to make of the experience.

She says it's "too tight". Am not surprised by this declaration. It's not too tight, but it's foreign. She refuses to stop crying until we take it off. Spends rest of time in car eating Chicken in a Biskit crackers and watching Wall-E.

Big sister: extremely happy. Baby brother: indifferent, with a cold tush.

Luke, THIS IS SNOW.


Tasting some.


Father pulls daughter on cardboard sled, with predictable results. Feel free to comment on how this fits in with previous post's topic of Spam.

Are there supposed to be two people in this picture?

There's Luke!

Tim took Claire and Luke back to the car, while I took Kate down the hill, using my ski pants as a sled. We had so much fun. We would stomp up the hill together, Kate telling me, "THIS looks good, Mommy," every 2 feet, while I prodded her on, telling her that sometimes you have to work hard to have fun. After a bit, Tim and I traded out, so he could have some fun with her too. After about an hour and a half on the mountain, we left, sadly, but with knowledge that we would be at In-N-Out Burger for cheeseburgers and shakes soon. Now, at 4:30, the children are vegetables on the sofa, tired out beyond their imaginations.

The first time I had Spam

Kimbap. I'm pretty sure the first time I had Spam, it was hidden in a Kimbap roll in Korea. Sadly, my children will not be able to claim the same defense. For breakfast this morning: waffles and fried Spam, courtesty of Daddy.

It's been a long weekend. I started feeling ill on Friday morning, and finally called Tim and told him I couldn't pick up the girls from school. I had a fever and chills, and felt awful. It seemed like something I'd had before, but I'd always been able to kick it on my own. This time I wasn't so lucky. I got a second fever/chills spell in the middle of the night on Friday, and I realized I wasn't going to recover on my own. We went to the ER on Saturday morning, and they confirmed my suspicions: mastitis (an infection). Overall, it was probably the best trip to the ER I've ever had; I was checked in and sitting in triage within 5 minutes of being there, and was tucked into my own room shortly thereafter. Tim took the kids to lunch and then brought them home, while I stayed for fluids, antibiotics and an ultrasound. All is well now, for the most part.

Now it's time to recover from being out of it for 2 days. Every room in the house is an absolute disaster, I don't remember the last time the children were bathed, and we have no food. I don't think there is a spare inch of space on any countertop, and clothes are piled everywhere. It doesn't take long for things to spiral out of control. I'm not trying to make Tim look bad - he has been a hero through all of this, and the kids probably had more fun with him than they've had in ages, playing all sorts of games, and ... trying new food. Today he took the girls to their first movie: The Princess and the Frog. I was sort sad that I didn't get to be a part of this adventure, but it sounds like they had fun. And it's funny how much earlier the younger children get to do things: I could not have imagined taking Kate to see a movie at age three.

Waiting in the ER. Tim packed up a huge bag full of toys and art supplies to keep the girls occupied, and everyone ate tons of snacks.

Kate Blagojevich.

We just told her she looked like she slept well.

MJ

Dear Claire,

You are three today. Although time has probably not flown by for you, it seems like just last month that it was snowing in Tucson days before you were born. You are your own little snowflake; beautiful and unique, and everyone loves you. Your smile makes your little brother break out into a grin, and your big sister would rather play with you than with anyone else.

Sometimes you make us crazy. You are still sneaky, and we have learned to keep a close eye on you, as you are likely to get into lotion and rub it on the walls, or color on my nightstand with pens I have mistakenly left within your reach. Even when something is out of reach for you, you have no qualms about finding something to climb on to get to what you want. I have little doubt that you will use this skill in less devious ways in the future. At least I hope so.

You say the funniest things. Last week I told you we were going to fly in an airplane soon to go see Grandma, and your eyes got big. You said, "Really? Are we gonna fly upside down?" You are your father's daughter. And, like him, you are a night owl. You would be happy to stay up until 10pm, if you could sleep in until 10am.

You also remind me of myself when I was little. You are shy when you first meet someone, and you did not at all enjoy being the center of attention at your birthday party. You looked a little scared when everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' to you. And yet you have little fear when it comes to physical pursuits. You climb exceptionally well, and you love to run and jump. Your sister talks big, but you actually do big things, often without making a big production of it. You are also extraordinarily stubborn. You like what you like, and you are not inclined to change your mind, once it is set. I am still trying to figure you out.

You have an interesting taste for food. You like to dip your chicken nuggets in caramel sauce, your apples in ketchup, and you will eat almost anything if you can dip it in something. In fact, you have a bit of an obsession with dip. A few weeks ago, you decided you like lettuce, if dunked in ranch dressing. Your dad and I were very impressed, as we were sure none of our children were ever going to like salads. Your favorite food is probably cheese. A year ago, you ate aged bleu cheese and loved it. We often call you our little French girl, as you could live off grapes, cheese and bread. Once you decide you like something, you usually stick with it.

Often, it takes a lot of effort on our parts to 'help' you decide you like something, though. You are very particular about what you wear, for instance. You hate jeans, or anything that is "too tight", as you put it. You have a large closet full of clothes, but will only wear a handful of outfits. Your favorites include stretch pants, your gymnastics t-shirt, and a skirt with an elastic band that you got for your 2nd birthday.

You have recently decided you do not like green, and you have your own slang. You say, "suh like", and I think you mean "it's like" or "so, like...". It's very endearing. You also have some cute phrases we dub "McLarenisms". These include:

"Mommy, can I please have more fruit cottontail?"

"I want to watch Starburst for movie night."

We love you, Claire bear. Happy Birthday!

Wait, where am I?

I think it's been raining since Sunday? Monday? I know it's only Wednesday (stop looking at me like that, PNW pioneers), but that's a lot of rain for Las Vegas; more than I can remember getting since we moved here. They say we are supposed to get 1-3" over the course of the week, as we are getting hit by the storms that are hammering California. When you consider we get an average of 4.5" per year, that's a lot of rain in one week. The weather report said we got almost 1/2" yesterday, setting a record.

This morning I looked outside my bedroom window and saw this:

What a view. I sort of forgot where I was for a minute. Mountains with snow, a giddy feeling at the sight of unexpected sun after a long period of rain...it was almost like being back in Seattle! Well, okay. Not really. Although I know it's going to rain again today enough to fill the greenbelt with a river of water, I have confidence we will see the sun before April.

I set my alarm this morning in a valiant effort to get us dressed and out the door before school actually started. It worked! I even showered before breakfast. Hey, that's something to be proud of around here. The girls were to school earlier than ever before. Of course, I was up until way too late last night getting prepped for this morning (coffee, breakfast dishes out and ready), but it's such a good feeling to have been on time to something.

The Sheep Mountains have snow. Baaa. Brrr.

What is it about weekdays?

Specifically, how do my children know when it is a Monday, Wednesday, or a Friday? Every other day of the week, they wake up by 7am. Sometimes they are crying, sometimes they are wet, sometimes they just want to play Really Loudly together. Usually they wake their sibling(s) up, if everyone is not already stirring.

But on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, they like to sleep in. Because somehow they KNOW that it's a school day and that I am going to be frantic trying to get them out the door and into the car in a vain attempt to be on time. Today was no exception: I woke up at 7am, listening for jabbering or crying or general fussiness, and heard silence. I rolled over and went back to sleep. At 7:30, I heard Luke talking, so I got up to check on him. He was happily playing with his elephant. He smiled when he saw me. At 7:40, I heard Kate (who was sleeping in the downstairs den due to disobedience last night) wake up. We three ate breakfast together. At nearly 9:00am(!!), Claire came downstairs.

I fooled them today. It's a holiday. Sleep in all you want, my darlings!

What we're doing this weekend

Helping each other out.

Climbing things.

Being proud of our accomplishments.

Crying for unknown reasons.

Considering applying for federal disaster relief funds.

As for me, I am headed out with friends this afternoon for a little "me" time. Yay me!