Kudzu Vines

2010-04-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

April was a busy month for us. First Sean's cousin Matt came to visit.
We celebrated Easter with friends, dyed Easter eggs, and even made it to the Bunny Bounce at the zoo.

We went to the tulip festival and tried to get pictures with everyone smiling.

A friend of mine came from Germany for a week which turned into longer when air travel was halted throughout most of Western Europe because of the volcano. While she was here, we looked for sandcrabs and flew kites at Camano Island. We also went to the Tulip Festival again!

We tried to get decent pictures of the kids at the Bellevue Botanical Garden until it started raining.

We celebrated Riley's teacher's new baby with a party at school! I even made butterfly cookies.

Sean is still in school working on his MBA. I'd say we've figured out it's really a waste of time and not worth anything, but it's been a growing experience for all of us to have him working full time and in school full time.

We hosted an au pair from Brazil for two weeks which the kids always enjoy. I'm so glad it's almost May and can hardly believe it's almost the end of Riley's 1st year in full time school! We're all looking forward to longer, sunnier days ahead!

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival 2010

2010-03-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO

2010-01-22T21:53:00.000-08:00

It's a New Year!

2010-01-02T20:31:00.001-08:00

I can't say I've started out the New Year with any outrageous expectations. I had those for last year. While it wasn't everything I expected, I can say last year turned out to be, well, not so bad. Sean and I are still happily married after 6.5 years.

Riley likes to argue semantics, but otherwise is a happy go lucky cheerleader for all of us.

Reagan is a pistol who quickly mastered the English language and uses it well. She's a communicator intent on getting her point across. She loves accessories and chocolate and frequently asks to visit her best friends. If I'm not careful, I can find her calling anyone on my cell phone as quickly as she can get her hands on it.
Aside from their constant fighting, deep down I know it's how these two say they love each other. She wants everything he has and he's just watching out for her. Sigh.
We spent New Year's weekend enjoying Seattle's sunny and chilly weather at Carkeek Park and Deception Pass. We're looking forward to a year we haven't lived before and we anticipate a great year ahead! Happy 2010!

November

2009-11-21T12:01:00.000-08:00

We haven't had a busy November. Riley is enjoying school. He's been learning fine motor skills and his coloring has gone from scribbling to amazing! He brings home these works of art that look more like something Sean worked with him on than something I would do. I'm so happy with his school. It's been a wonderful experience to feel great about taking him there every day and not worrying about taking him out or moving him or what to do next. It's been the best year we've had with him since he was two.

Reagan learned to talk and exploded with words. She doesn't care about descriptions or detail, but she has very commanding language and uses it well. Don't do that! Give that back! Hey, Spit that out! I want that now! Everything about her is so determined and tenacious. You can't tell Reagan what to do and she is not so easily persuaded into something as Riley was. I have to pick my battles with her. For now, we've drawn the line at throwing things at people and hitting them. Her victim is usually Riley. With some proper channeling, she has potential to do something with that someday. Right?

Reagan understands numbers in a way Riley never seemed to care. She understand proportions and one and one. She doesn't care what a letter is as long as it's a letter or what a color is as long as it's a color and she classifies animals by horse, whale, and bird. Everything falls into those categories by whether it swims, flies, or walks on 4 legs. She is very big picture if ever a child was big picture.

Both the kids have been sick. Riley was in so much pain the other night that we finally decided we had to take him to the emergeny room. By the time we decided to go in, the doctor's office was about to open. We went straight to the office and Riley laid down on the floor in front of their door. They let us in early and saw him. I felt really glad to have dodged the emergency room having spent way too much time there myself in years past. It was a dangerous infection and we spent most of the day going back and forth until we got the right medicine.

He seems to be ok, but we'll have to take him to have his hearing tested in about two weeks to make sure he's fine.

November has been it's cold, rainy, windy self. Thanksgiving is next week and with Santa already making his rounds the holiday season is in full gear.

PUMPKIN CARVING!

2009-10-26T00:32:00.001-07:00

We promised our kids we would carve their pumpkins last week, Friday night, Saturday morning, or sometime before Halloween. With the kids sick last week, no one was up to it until this Saturday night.
Riley chose a ghost pumpkin that he thought was really cool:

Fiona went for the all American experience:

Sean, Riley, and Reagan worked together to make me this beautiful pumpkin as a surprise:

Once it was finally dark this evening, we all stood outside and had an official lighting ceremony. The kids were very excited to see/play with fire:

I've often referred to the au pair program as the program that keeps on giving. Thanks to my many experiences (read: botched experiences) in Germany, I can now successfully cook pumpkin and other awesome gourds and turn them into breads, muffins, soups, and other tasty concoctions. No more stringy, uncooked pies! Thanks to my German host family I have embraced the phrase: "Waste not, Want not!" Thanks German Host Family!

Now we give back by teaching our German Exchange student how to save as much pumpkin as possible to be used for breakfast, lunch, and dinner next week. I think she was ecstatic about pulling out the pumpkin seeds. Good job, Fiona!

2009-10-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

2009-10-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

Thirty One

2009-09-25T23:58:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow, in ten minutes, or by the time I post this I'll be 31. I have no in depth reflections at this point on what that means to me. I haven't had time to think about it.
Reagan has become quite the conversationalist lately. Last night she decided to take a bath with her favorite lovie - Lambie. She got out of the bath and into her super froggie towel. She walked into the kitchen with her eyes brimming with tears and kept saying, "Wammie is bwoken?!" It was the sweetest and saddest thing. I love that she is so expressive. I've had a hard time finding the right time and the right way to set boundaries for her. Last week she took something away from Riley and immediately told him, "I don't want you to have that right now!" She also is addicted to chocolate milk (bunny milk) and eating potato chips on the couch, in her pajamas, after Riley leaves for school. I'm not sure how she got into that! She thinks she can always drink my morning coffee and the only time she likes to hear "no" is when she is saying it to us!
I gave Reagan a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin this afternoon and found her promptly pulling out every chocolate chip.
I love her to pieces and enjoy being home with her. I like spending most of my free time with her until she's clingy or screaming at me, but otherwise we've enjoyed most of our quiet days with Riley at school.
It was a busy month with Fiona arriving, getting the kids settled into school, and Sean getting settled into his job. Maybe this weekend I'll have a chance to post pictures. Well, maybe by Monday.

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

2009-08-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

I don't know who reads this blog. I'd like to know. Writing to an audience that I know nothing about doesn't appeal to me. I wonder if lurkers are people in my neighborhood who have found me and will now read my innermost thoughts. It really just discourages me from writing. Anonymity is important to me.

We applied to host an exchange student. The area coordinator called the school to see if they could still accept someone. The school has not called back. The decision maker has been in meetings all week. At this point, we'll be lucky to hear anything by Friday. We are waiting. It seems like such a big decision. I'm glad to go through this process because making a commitment to someone for the next year is a bit nerve wracking. I'm decisive, but non-commital. Once something is settled I will stick to it unless it's absolutely unbearable. I'm not really sure what I just said.

We went to register Riley for school and there is no place for him. They will find out later this week if he will be bus'd to a different school and where that will be. Even driving him to another local elementary school would be better than putting him back in private school. School start in less than three weeks and we have no idea where he will be. We are waiting. I hate having things unsettled. Riley is frustrated too. I was excited for him to be in classes with the neighborhood kids. Alas, it's not to be.

In other news, I have until next week to sign up for the LSAT. Sean thinks I shouldn't do it. The moms I've known who gone to law school don't seem happy with their decision. I haven't spoken to one yet who has said it was brilliant, exciting, and life changing. That's a bit discouraging. My other idea is to complete an HR/MBA and become a Director over Human Resources for a fortunate 1000 company. I don't know. I'm decisive, but non-commital. Once something is settled I will stick to it. I'm not really sure what I want.

I LOVE my current job. I adore my husband. Most of the time I think my kids are cute and I enjoy keeping my garage organized.

Riley's World

2009-08-10T22:34:00.000-07:00

I think my four year old is smart. I mean maybe he's not. I don't know. Sometimes he seems very bored and gets into a lot of trouble. At the same time, I'm impressed with some of the things he's put together in his own little world.

Recently we were at Toys R Us. Riley walked by a toy display shelf and suddenly from behind me I heard him say: "WHAT THE...Buck?" We thought it was funny that he says "What the gummy worm?" or thanks to Uncle (who's really our cousin) Matt, he says, "What the Bandaid!" When I heard Riley shout that, I nearly died of embarrassment while I looked around to see if any parent with small children noticed my four year old swearing. Then Riley quickly said, "Look Mom! It's BUCK!" I was relieved to see Ice Age had a new toy out called Buck. Then I tried to explain to Riley why he couldn't say that anymore.

Then a few days later I asked Riley if he wanted to be a veterinarian when he grows up. He replied, "Mom, I want to be a daddy!" Our conversation went like this

Me: First you have to get married.
Riley: I'll marry you mom.
Me: I'm already married to daddy.
Riley: I'll marry Reagan
Me: You can't marry your sister
Riley: MOM, I told you I'm gonna marry Hannah!
Me: That's a great choice. I like Hannah. Are you going to have kids?
(In his best, you're crazy mom voice) Riley: I'm not gonna have any kids!
Me: How are you gonna be a daddy without kids?
Riley: Whoa whoa whoa. Let me tell ya somethin' mom.
Me: Ok (thinking Uhoh!)
Riley: I (pointing to himself) came outta you. And REAGAN came out of YOU! I'm NOT having any kids!

I left Riley playing with Reagan's new Leap Frog Magnets on the fridge this afternoon. A few minutes later he comes running into my office and says he has a surprise for me. He led me back to the fridge with my eyes closed and then surprised me with apparently the only sentence he could think of spelling without repeating letters:

Riley's Baby...Sister

2009-08-03T23:49:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today we picked up this little bundle from a nearby hospital...

and we named her Reagan Abigail. Riley gladly settled for her over the frog or the baby alligator he originally asked for. As a compromise, he still called her Reagan Alligator for 6 months.

For two years, we have adequately convinced Riley that if he doesn't get along with Reagan we'll take her back to the hospital. If he does get along with her, she will make him cookies when he goes to college. I also told him I would do his laundry when he came home and he quickly told me, "No mom. I'll do my own laundry." We'll see if we all live up to our agreements in this bargain.

Reagan went through a phase where her "lovie" was her snowsuit.

That phase happened to last a solid year. She had two outfits: snowsuit and snowsuit. The hood with the faux fur had to be on and if we washed both at the same time Reagan would scream for the entire wash and dry cycle.

Thankfully, we moved on to dresses, fairy wings, tutus, dinosaurs, and shoes, shoes, shoes.

Her new "lovie" is lambie. I heard Riley yelling for me from their bedroom tonight. I went to see what was going on and I found Reagan gleefully glaring down at Lambie on the floor. Riley was standing on the bed and crying over a moth that was loose in the room. Sure enough, Reagan had taken her Lambie, tossed it across the room and hit the moth.

After Riley viewed the dead moth carcass as proof, he looked up at Reagan and said, "Good job baby."

I'm glad Riley has his baby sister and that they get along so well. She's the best gift he's ever gotten...

Happy Birthday Reagan!

Reagan's Birthday...

2009-08-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

We got an early start on celebrating Reagan's 2nd birthday...

She's more than happy to let you know she's "twooo!"

We didn't get her spoon to her fast enough,

and then we had a very delicate start.

Then Reagan tried the candle.

Warming up...

...and digging in!

Reagan was nice enough not to leave behind any crumbs.

HOT!

2009-07-30T23:46:00.000-07:00

I'm from North Carolina. I spent my summers at the pool every day. I'm used to humidity and hot weather.

At least I thought so. Then I moved to the Northwest where 75 is hot. In my tenth summer here, I must have acclimated. I've been worried about the kids sleeping in a 90 degree house. I was shocked to find the butter on the counter and the chocolate for smores in the pantry were completely melted.

Seattle hit it's highest ever recorded temperature yesterday at 102. I heard Bellevue was 105! Around noon we jumped onto Expedia and booked a hotel in Ocean Shores. I'm not terribly fond of Ocean Shores, but the weather map said it was only 88 there.

Off we went within 30 minutes for an overnight stay at a hotel on the beach with an indoor pool, breakfast, and a work out room.

Imagine my surprise when we got into the car in 100 degree weather and got out of the car three hours later in a misty fog and 55 degrees!

We roamed around in the fog until we found food and then took the kids to the pool. Riley was beside himself at the prospect of swimming since he recently discovered water wings. He think he's an olympic swimmer!

Sean ran to the car and left me with both the kids in the pool which I'm not comfortable with at all. In the same instant, I flipped Reagan off her floatee ring and Riley stepped off of the step into 4 ft deep water. When Sean came back with Riley's water wings I was in the process of trying to save both children at the same time. Thankfully everyone was ok. Reagan happily went to "Daddy" who is taller and handles the kids better in swimming pools.

Sean just kept laughing at me for thinking it was hot since he comes from Palm Springs, CA where hot is 128 degrees. Sigh. At least he was kind enough to agree to support the insanity of taking two kids to a hotel overnight. I wasn't the only one with that idea either since every hotel with AC in Seattle was booked to capacity.

We arrived back this afternoon to a 92 degree house in 101 degree weather, but I'm glad to be home.

Summertime

2009-07-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

Each summer growing up, my family would load into the station wagon and head out for a visit to family somewhere across the US. Being the youngest of four, I didn’t get a choice location in the car - such as the window seat. For most of the journey I was usually cramped in the middle and stuck to the vinyl seats in the sweltering heat.

The memories that linger from those long past days are still nostalgic. Memories of summers spent at my Grandfather’s house in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina or visiting my mom’s cousin outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Our annual church picnic and watermelon sprinkled with salt or splashing in the mountain cold water at McGalliard Falls are my fondest memories of summer.

I can remember driving as far as New Mexico to see my Great Aunt Catherine for whom I’m named. On cardboard we slid down the massive dunes at White Sands and counted armadillos on the road in Texas.

One summer we went to see a Great Aunt and Uncle in Oklahoma and I discovered Sonic and their amazing milkshakes!

From Florida to Virginia and the East Coast to the West, I saw a lot from my middle seat in the Station Wagon when my siblings and I weren’t fighting.

Summer brings out the best of America. It brings America outside! Now that I live in a place that’s so beautiful in the summer, the last thing I’d want to do is leave. After all, the chance of rain in Seattle in July and August is less than 6%.

We’ve found lots of traditions to continue every summer. We spend long days on the waterfront beaches. We wander through Woodinville’s trendy waterfront downtown. We visit the weekly farmer’s market with its appealing spread of fresh produce. We bike the same trails over and over because they never dull of their alluring beauty as we gaze out over the majestic white capped Olympics.

This summer the AuPairCare au pairs are joining their host families to create life long memories as they participate with their host families in annual summertime traditions: road trips, vacations, 4th of July Picnics, neighborhood BBQs, and weekend camping trips!

As I think back to the sense of adventure I gained as I learned more about our country with each site we visited across the US, I hope the Au Pairs will make lifelong memories this summer as the experience the US through their host family traditions. The AuPairCare Au Pairs demonstrate fantastic energy and enthusiasm making each day a new adventure as they provide quality childcare to local families!

Blue Diamond and Lotus

2009-07-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

We went to the Kirkland Farmer's Market this afternoon. It was so much more than I expected. We walked into a shop we've always passed in the evenings when it was closed. The lady who ran the store was delightful. She gave Reagan a ribbon halo with pink tulle that matches her new fairy outfit. It was so thoughtful. She told us she has two grown sons and was a very lovely British lady. It's interesting because in those few moments we were there, I most certainly wanted to come back and find reasons to spend money in her shop. Most likely I'll visit there in the future to find baby gifts.

The market has moved to the Marina when it was formerly on a side street. It made it a lovely experience walking around the pavilion by Lake Washington. I admire grassroots efforts to build business and especially family businesses that are entrenched in community. We came home with Almond Shea Butter Soap. Riley helped me pick out his favorite scent and promptly went home and took a bath with it.

We also picked up raspberries, donut peaches, nectarines, peaches, blueberries, pears, cherries, and unshucked sweet corn on the cob.

I was enticed by the Lime Riesling Chimichuri rub and the Pineapple Chutney. I stopped to talk to the guy who had an Indian booth. It turns out he's from Hyderabad. He mentioned the chutney wouldn't be spicy enough for me. I said, "no, when I said all we ate there was chapatis, I really meant it!" We had some...I hope it was chicken...almost every evening and a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Actually, I ate Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches every day for three summers. It usually was on beat up brick bread that chunks of chalk textured chunks in it for some reason, but I'll save culinary review for later.

We started chatting about Hyderabad and how it's changed. I told him we stayed at the abids and went to Palace Heights and Blue Diamond. He lit up when I mentioned Blue Diamond. He turns to his friend and says, "Remember, I told you about that place! It was the best Chinese, Fijian food I've ever had." So we laughed over it being a hole in the wall restaurant in a big city in India and how awesome it was. He said he could almost cry he couldn't believe he met someone who knew that place!

Then he goes on to tell me the owner or Blue Diamond opened Lotus in Vancouver, BC. Suddenly India felt like the next neighborhood over and I was mentally checking our calendar this weekend to see if we have time to go to Canada! Vancouver?! So close and it's the same owner of the notorious Blue Diamond? My husband's favorite food is Chinese and I've told him over and over nothing has ever compared to that place. I wonder if Lotus is just as great?!

I bought the Pineapple Chutney and a buttered chicken curry sauce and wandered down to the waterfont so the kids could throw rocks in the lake before we came home. It's amazing to me how throwing rocks can entertain them for so long.

It's been a busy week for us. We went to a birthday pool party on the lake for a little friend of Riley's that we met when she was just five days old. She's a few months older than Riley and they've been in various programs together. It's hard to imagine she's five and Riley's so close to five!

While I look ahead to that, I've almost completely missed Reagan's birthday which is coming up on the 3rd of August. I haven't planned anything for her yet, but I have intentions of having a great party.

Sean had a very successful interview this week and a pending offer. We should know something by tomorrow or Monday.

Yesterday was blazing hot, but today started out cool. I love the sun breaks here and have really loved the hot days we've had. We've been out every day making the most of it!

2009-07-20T00:13:00.001-07:00

Last week I had a host family interview with an Indian Family. They gave me a glass of water in a tin cup. That moment was filled with nostalgia as visions of St Joe's Abids and many dinners of chapatti and rice flooded back to me. I wish I could go again and take my family. I would visit the market place and take my kids to Yankee Doodle Ice Cream. I'd love to stand again at the top of Golconda Fort where the wind sails around the 400 year old ruins.

It's hard for me to imagine I've been to such places when the memories fade over the years. It's not likely I'll ever visit the same villages, the same schools, or see the same people again.

Nevertheless, India was my first love. For reasons even I can't explain. I'm quite fortunate to have been there for two summers.

The last week was busy for our family. I went shopping without my children and found fairy wings and a skirt for Reagan. It came in handy that I had these with me when I met up with Sean and Riley at the local Splash Park.
Turns out, Reagan didn't like the splash park. Riley, on the other hand, adored it. He's asked every day if we can go back. The highlight was climbing to the top of a huge killer whale and sliding down its nose. Reagan was happy to frolic in the grass in her new skirt and wings.

Saturday was trailsfest at Rattlesnake Lake.

Sean and Riley took a row around the lake in a kayak. This was Riley's first time in a small boat.

Reagan will tell you that being a little sister sucks. She entertained herself with sticks and rocks while the hot sun beat down on her and her brother was rowing around the sweet lake.

When she got bored with the rocks she dug through her bag and helped herself to Riley's sippee. He wasn't in sight, he won't know! You should also take note of the very cute bow I found for her superfine hair! Thankfully, she loves it as much as I do. That outfit was a compromise since Reagan was determined to wear her new killer whale shirt.

When Riley finally returned, he was so happy that he gladly posed for me in front of the mountain behind the lake.

After definitely not going to sleep in any uncertain amount of time, we got the kids up and took them out for another busy day.

We started out at Golden Gardens Beach on the Puget Sound. Then our family biked around Shilshole Bay, under the draw bridge, past Google and over to Gasworks Park.

This is the one section of the Burke Gilman we've never biked or run on. It was an accomplishment to see the last 6 miles of the trail.

We hiked to the top of a huge mound at Gasworks where we could see the boats coming and going through Lake Union.

Riley, being the friendly guy that he is, makes friends with everyone. He didn't waste any time selling himself off to a nice lady with a kite.

She was kind enough to let Riley try to fly it!

Reagan stood by again in complete boredom, but perhaps with better scenery.

We rode back in time to see the sun setting at Golden Gardens, grabbed take out Chinese on the way home, and put our kids to bed so late that they will most certainly sleep in tomorrow morning. I guess not, but here's hoping.

Date Night

2009-07-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to head to downtown Bellevue to support the Overlake Service League and see a free movie a few days ago. We stopped by Starbucks and ran into a group of au pairs. Of course. It’s become pretty common to run into Host Families and Au Pairs every where I go. I can most assuredly find au pairs at Target, the mall, and any area Starbucks.

We dropped off our peanut butter donations, found a nice spot, put up our camping chairs, and watched the sunset. Somewhere in there, I grabbed a camera and took this guy’s picture with his wife and the President of the Overlake Service League.

Right about the time the movie was about to start, I leaned over to Sean and said, “Let’s ditch this and go see The Proposal instead.”

Off we went to the next showing movie which happened to be at Park Place. We frequent our favorite sushi bar there, but I haven’t been to the movies there in ages. Actually, I haven’t seen a non-kid friendly movie in years.

We were in line for awhile waiting for some lady to write a check. They still take those? As we were standing there, I was joking about our dating days – which were almost non-existent.

Thinking about how we hardly knew each other when we got engaged made me want to recap the story.

Sean moved to Seattle on September 10th 2002. For months I had been hearing about this guy I would get along great with. Various, non-connected friends kept telling me I had to meet him! I laughed it off – after all he was from California. He was a drummer! He went to a completely PC University and majored in politics. No way were we going to get along.

And then we met on Thanksgiving Day. There was a couple that asked us if we were dating. Sean was completely unaware that anyone was interested in setting us up and I responded by saying I’ve never met this guy before in my life! Then this ex-homeless, rough, tough guy who now works in ministries to the homeless pipes up with “Well, we’ll just have to pray for you two!” I said something about going to check on the turkey and walked away. As I walked into the kitchen I realized that it was somehow inevitable that we’d be married in 6 months. Sean thought I hated him at first until we were playing a card game that was complicated and I was the only one who could keep up.

By Christmas we were inseparable and the week after I left on a 4 week trip to Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Holland. I was home for one night before Sean left for 6 weeks on tour with his former employer. In those days, it wasn’t uncommon for Sean to be on the road 47 weeks out of the year.

In January, by day I skied, and hiked, and traveled all over Europe. By night, I talked to Sean on the phone or we instant messaged for hours. The one exception was while I was in Holland with one of my dear friends who lived there for 6 months. I didn’t have access to the internet and I wrote postcards instead.

I came home at the end of January and said goodbye to Sean who was headed to Southern California. By day we worked and at night we took advantage of our free after 9pm cell phone minutes.

I flew down in early February to meet his family and three weeks later on the 24th of February, they came back to Washington.

On March 15th he proposed. I was surprised to say the least. He had put together a scavenger hunt for me and each of the clues led to places in our neighborhood, our favorite park, and out to Snoqualmie Falls. I took the trail down to the falls gathering my notes on the way and there at the base of the falls was Sean with red roses, kneeling in front of me.

We were married on June 21st – just 7 months after we met. We’ve spent our last 6 anniversaries watching the sunset together on the longest day of the year.

We’ve been through a lot, but there’s no one else I’d rather go through life with than Sean. I’m glad he was crazy enough to propose after 3 months of knowing each other and most of it long distance.

We had a great evening out together, but I’m really thankful that we enjoy simple evenings together. We’re pretty happy to sit outside on the deck and chat over dinner while our kids play or spend the afternoon hiking or biking together. It's amazing how even after years you can love someone more and more.

Another Day in Paradise

2009-07-14T17:14:00.000-07:00

Seattle is known for its moderate climate. It's easy to fall in love with the Northwest on days like today. Our high was 75. This morning started cool and cloudy and we headed off for our weekly park date at Crestwoods Park in Kirkland. I heard someone mention a turtle park. I'm determined to find out what and where that is.

Last night I tried to capture Reagan singing all the way through Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. If I whispered, she whispered and if I held up the camera she'd stop singing and say "Cheeese!" The effort was futile. She can hardly talk and she sings entire songs.

I heard Riley refer to her today as "Baby." He still calls her that instead of Reagan. "Our baby is running away!" "Here Baby, I'll push you down the slide." He's a good big brother!

Our kids are bathed and my four year old is reading a bedtime story to my one year old.

Sean and I are headed out for a date night at the Overlake Service League's Summer Movies at the Park! They are showing Bride Wars at Bellevue City Park tonight. We just got back from a four mile run with the kids and we're looking forward to evening out!

JULY!

2009-07-13T00:19:00.000-07:00

We've had a few beach front play dates in the last few weeks. Houghton, Meydenbauer, Newcastle, and Idylwood are some of our favorite spots to visit in the summer.

The 4th of July we went to the Bothell Downtown Parade. We had friends over for a backyard BBQ and our friends' teenage boys were more than glad to shoot off fireworks in unincorporated King County. I should have let Reagan bond with the turtle bombs before we blew them up, but otherwise it was a great time for all.

A few weeks ago, we discovered a Splash Pad at the park that hosted the Bellevue Strawberry Festival. We brought home enough Strawberries to last us weeks! We stopped by Auntie Margo's to drop off a few pints of them and ended up heading for dinner at the Downtown Seattle Spaghetti Factory.

We went on Ride the Ducks this afternoon. It was my first time taking King County Transit and considering we made it there and back, I would call it successful. It's not terribly comprehensive for beginners. Alas, we made our connections and I didn't pay for parking!

Yesterday was Redmond Derby Days and AuPairCare sponsored a booth. I stood in the sun for most of the day passing out brochures to over 500 people. Reagan learned how to drive.
I went on Ride the Ducks today! It was cold and cloudy, but we were lucky the thunderstorm we so rarely have in Seattle didn't start until after 5pm!

Riley went to see Mr J in action at his week long concert program for kids. It's hard to imagine Sean used to do that 47 weeks out of the year! Riley had a fantastic time and the kids have been singing non stop ever since! Reagan is especially cute since she knows the tunes and the sounds of the words, but not the words. She does the motions to the songs too! She's a mini-me with 15 times the energy!

Summer is going by quickly. I have to admit, it hard to remember it's summer when it's 55 and raining outside!

The best news this past week was that Riley passed the Kindergarten Early Entrance Test! He was so excited when he read the letter to us saying he could go to Kindergarten this fall!

4th of July

2009-07-04T23:44:00.000-07:00

Independence Day is my favorite holiday. As a teen, I had the opportunity to spend the 4th of July in various other countries. One of my fondest memories is holding sparkers in front of the Abids in Hyderabad, India. I'd never been so close to sparklers since they were illegal in my home state.

A few years later, I recall eating military ration pound cake from a metal packet in Albania. One of our group leaders had found tiny flags to stick in the top. As we rode around from location to location, listening to Brian Adams croon "Everything I do" from every beer garten in the country, we sang all the patriotic songs we could think of with our new Albanian friends.

It's the only holiday that I can recount spending with extended family over the years. I have no aunts, uncles, or cousins, but my parents had scores of great aunts and uncles and 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cousins. We visited places like Oklahoma, Texas, Tennesee, and New Mexico each summer and our journeys would usually fall over the 4th of July Holiday.

Being in other places has given me a thankfulness for the freedom and choices I have here in America. It's with much appreciation that I want to carry on strong traditions of making the most of this holiday with our children.

After the 4th of July parade and a 3 mile run, we hosted a BBQ and fireworks at our home and invited our friends.

Thankfully, the Northwest weather was cooperative. We had a beautiful, hot, and sunny day.

I always learn something new. This year I learned that you shouldn't let your children bond with the turtle bombs before you light them on fire and blow them up. Reagan was especially wide eyed and in shock when the back end exploded off and the turtle started shooting flames from its mouth.

Overall, an exceptionally good day.

2009-06-25T01:03:00.000-07:00

I like taking pictures. Apparently we've trained our son to make the post of picture opportunities as well. This evening at one of his first ball games, he was clearly instructed to run to first base.

I whipped out my camera and once he saw me, he slid to a stop a foot before the base and gave this really funny pose like he was playing an air guitar.

I put my camera down for a second in shock. I was wondering what on earth he was doing. In that second, I missed the shot.

I was lucky enough to get the shot above. While he was practing his moves on the diamond, his sister was kicking a ball around with us. She's far more focused.

2009-06-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

This week we took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge. There is nothing like running head long for the first wave with your toddler only to realize that she is freaked out by water. Oops. Eventually she warmed up only to the big kid stuff. She wanted the Tornado Slide and the Sports pool with the basketball hoops. We forced her screaming to go down the kiddie slide a few times before she thought that was fun.

She also was sucked in like a bug to a light by the arcade. Riley's highlight was the CHEEZE-EE story time and Wiley the Wolf. He loves animals and adores the Easter bunny over Santa Clause. I saw him posing with Wiley several times even though we were no where nearby to take a picture.

We made it home in time for Riley's very first baseball practice even AFTER being pulled over for my first speeding ticket since 2002. Ugh. I pulled out to pass a slow car and sped up to 75 in a 60. I actually did think it was 70 since the speed limit had been 70 a few miles before that. The officer wrote the ticket down to 65 in a 60 for $93, but still. I am SO, SO, SO careful about the speed limit that I was mad at myself. Then we drove home at 68 (because 60 in traffic going 75 is dangerous!) while everyone else flew past me. I think the officer pulled me over for looking guilty since I really did at that moment speed up to pass and then slow down and I saw him right as I did it.

I'm the kind of person who goes 35 in a 35 because I've really gotten pulled over for going 37 in a 35. Sean laughed as we pulled away because he knows how serious I am about not speeding.

Oh well, we had a great time with the kids. Now for Sean to find a job.

2009-06-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

I don't think I caught any good pictures from yesterday's party, but it was one of those parties where I was so amused by my kids that I didn't exactly stop them from doing anything they were doing.

I should be running right now, not sitting here typing on my blog. At least I've been working this afternoon, responding to request. I actually admitted to a host family that I asked my husband for information about La JOL-la and he laughed at me and said, "you mean 'La HOY-ya?' I thought that was really funny. My host family did not, I guess. Oh well. I've been known to do that to a lot of names in Southern California and since I'm from North Carolina and Sean is from Palm Springs, he gets quite a kick out of it.

I digress. Quickly.

So I have not been blogging at all. I check everyone in awhile to see if anyone comments and I think about blogging, I just don't have time. I don't know why. I've been busy doing nothing or reading or researching or whatever. I've been contemplating law school and feeling overwhelmed and talking to a lot of people. I've also been busy throwing parties for people. I set up a friend of mine who's been single for a long time who is a fantastic guy. I threw a birthday party for one of my bestest ever friends as a cover party to introduce two people and it turned out that the birthday girl had the perfect platform to introduce the new love of her life to her entire family. It was a huge event and it turned out gloriously for everyone.

I have to admit I continue to struggle with the reality of whether or not prayer is powerful and not just a manipulation, advertisement, opportunity to gossip, or self promotion. I've struggled with this for a long time - maybe since the 90's. The internet is a new venue, but it's not a new issue for me.

This weekend as my husband and I stood in the driveway and watched our last guests pull away, I had this rare sense of purpose in those thousands of minute by minute choices you make to do the right thing, to be faithful or obedient in the little things, to be out of your mind for the sake of Christ. I could see all of those decisions colliding into a perfectly weaved tapestry of a bigger perfect story that was so beautifully put together that I could have never done it myself. At the time, those decisions seem so insignificant or small, but they are so powerful and purposeful. It was one of those moments that made all the hardships of life seem worth it to be who are, where we are - to be available to the people in our lives. It made me incredibly grateful.

Over the past few months, I've become more actively involved in obedience to what God is calling me to beyond my office space. I recently had a yard sale to intentionally draw out other moms in the area, collected phone numbers, and set up play dates. I started and Tuesday Morning Activity Group in our area with 15 other moms that starts tomorrow. I hosted this party this weekend to set up my friend that went off amazingly well. It's hard to find time to blog in the midst of all of this, but I see God at work and that has been motivating to me and moving. We've given away very good stuff we're not currently using, cleaned out our garage and our closets, made time to attend more parties we wouldn't usually have gone to, spent more time outside, and made new friends.

We've also had 26 straight days with no rain. Maybe when it starts raining I'll be back to blogging more.

Memorable Experiences...

2009-06-01T21:31:00.001-07:00

I arrived in Germany on the first few days of fall in the late 90’s to be an au pair for a family with three small children. I had flown overseas many times before, but never alone. As I left Munich, I had very clear instructions to take the S Bahn to the Munchen Ost Station and where to change platforms in Freilassing. With all of my luggage for the months ahead, I trudged through the train stations trying to make a two minute connection and anxious to meet my awaiting host family.
As I stepped out of the Bad Reichenhall Train Station and tried to figure out how to make a phone call using a Deutsch Telecom Phone Card listening to German Prompts, I knew I was already in over my head.
Let’s skip the fact that I did not know how to cut vegetables correctly. I’m from the Southern US afterall and aren’t vegetables meant to be fried? I arrived confident in my childcare and housekeeping skills only to find I was aided by the processed market of America. (God Bless the USA!)
I didn’t think twice one morning when my host dad said he wanted to me make a pumpkin pie. I’ve done that a hundred times! As I searched for the Libby’s Canned Pumpkin, I wasn’t prepared to be handed the pumpkin gourd that had been growing off a vine on the roof.
I was left behind for the day with my schedule and the pumpkin. As I finally tackled the task ahead, I was mostly proud of the results. My family had (thankfully) saved a recipe from an old Libby’s can from their last visit to the states. Whew!
As I happily produced the finish product that afternoon, never mind it looked a little light for pumpkin pie. I had accomplished something successfully. We served our freshly baked pie with the afternoon coffee on a cool crisp autumn day. Everything was picture perfect. Well mostly. Then my host dad said, “did you cook the pumpkin first?”
“Why would I cook it?!” I responded surprised. “We’ve never cooked the pumpkin first when making a pie.” I wasn’t even flustered. It sounded like a such a ridiculous suggestion. Then my host dad pointed out that canned pumkin comes cooked already. Sure enough, my too light pumpkin pie was stringy and light because it was still raw pumpkin.
I could only laugh at my rookie mistake! I can also say that while I’ve become an expert at making soups and cutting vegetables, I’ve never cooked a pumpkin for a pie since.
Being an au pair in Germany was one of the most difficult and yet rewarding experiences. It was at first lonely and I had culture shock trying to adjust to a very different way of life. Did I mention it was a very different way of life?
As my husband and I have been preparing for a move in the near future, we’ve been sorting through old keepsakes. One of the things I came across was a picture of my host family taken from my place at the breakfast table. All of their smiling faces are looking towards me. It’s the way I remember my host family. While I couldn’t have realized then, their family has become an integrated part of my life. My time in Germany changed my perspective of the world. It changed how I approach every day tasks and my family taught me to live life to the fullest.
It’s hard to look forward and anticipate the future in that situation. I never thought I’d see my host family again. As I look back I see how our lives came together during that time to provide a memorable lasting experience. An experience which I’ve continued to learn from in the years that have passed since then. I couldn’t have realized then that I would be there after one of the host children had a life threatening illness or that my host parents would be at my wedding or that I would return with my children years later o explore the alps together with my former host parents and their children who are nearly all grown up and certainly now taller than me.
The Bothell/Woodinville AuPairCare au pairs make lasting life experiences. Coming from foreign lands, they are welcomed by host families and host children to a long lasting life time of experiences. While providing excellent childcare, they have the opportunity to experience the American culture in an American home. While there might be difficult moments settling in and adjusting - I’m sure it’s an experience that continues to give back for many years to come.

2009-06-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

While I will likely never be famous for blogging, I would love to write a book or articles. I wish I could think of something specific to write on. The things I do feel passionately about, I'm not vulnerable enough to write about. Certainly not on blog!

It's June and Sean has 28 days left before he returns to work. Chances are, he will return to work. I'd be surprised if he doesn't. With that in mind, we've been looking at houses. We checked out a neighborhood in Woodinville that we really like. It's closer to the highway than I originally thought. The better proximity means the lots are smaller and we would lose a lot of backyard.

I'm more open than I thought I would be to moving to an older house. IF it's remodeled. The benefit would be living closer to work and school for the kids. It seems like we have a lot of things on our list of priorities and we're going to have to figure out what it is we want. Sean is in school, I'm planning to go to school, Riley is starting school, etc.

Speaking of Riley starting school, I'm almost certain that he will not go to kindergarten this fall. That leaves us trying to figure out what we will be doing. On the other hand, I suppose I could enjoy one more year of being "at home" with the kids. This year has been hectic with his school schedule, but next year Reagan will be old enough to spend more time playing with him. We're currently not planning to send him to preschool either.

My car went to the shop today to get it's mileage maintenance and in the absence of transportation, we are working at home today on various projects. I am throwing away old pictures, journals, and cleaning out everything I can find to sell. Quite an undertaking, but I think I'll be glad when it's done. I hope so anyway.

2009-05-28T22:13:00.000-07:00

While we were in Cannon Beach we went to Furtano's Pizza. It was a cute little Pizzeria by the Ocean. We love Pizza - maybe too much. We recentlydiscovered Zeke's Pizza in downtown Kirkland and we frequent that Pub often now.

Riley showed off his excellent building skills working on his sand castle. It's apparently not all he was showing off.

Reagan was happy to help build. She's a gal that needs to be doing something. She also graciously offered to destroy our sand city before we left.

Riley's sand hole and the city of Jerusalem!

While we were at Cannon Beach we inherited an abandon deep sand hole from a group of older kids that were leaving when we arrived. Riley was so excited about getting into a hole that was over his head. It even had stairs going down to it.

We set about building a small city of castles around it which Riley called "Jerusalem" and then proceeded to mix the story of Jesus and Joseph and something about frogs. Nevertheless, it was fun.

We had a fantastic gal from South Africa staying with us for two weeks. While she was here, I learned a bit of Afrikaans. I've learned a lot about languages this year! I had no idea Afrikaans was close to German and could translate a lot more than I expected to be able to. Leane was a wonderful addition to our family for the two weeks she was here.

Sean and I got away one evening for the Drive for Dreams Golf Classic at the Newcastle Golf Club which is a gorgeous facility. It makes me wish I could play golf, but I don't. With my southern accent, I can hardly say golf...actually. We had a wonderful evening at the dinner and auction. One of my favorite auction items is dessert. Every table bids for dessert and dessert choices begin with the highest bidding table to the least.

After the dinner, we visited with our lovely friends Bev and Bryan. Bev went with me to Germany last year and Bryan is a retired Bellevue Police Officer. We love spending time with and had a wonderful evening.

The weather in Seattle has mostly been sunny and 70s. We've had beautiful, sunny days. This morning I met a friend for coffee and yesterday we played at the park all afternoon. Riley had a great time sans his "monster" sister who usually steals the show. It's gonna be great when Sean goes back to work, but I'm gonna miss this some what of a vacation. I've enjoyed having him around even though he's still busy with school.

We've been busy lately, but life is great in the Pacific Northwest!

2009-05-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in quite awhile. When it's warm and sunny like it has been, we spend most of our days biking, hiking, and exploring the Pacific Northwest. I've been remiss at posting anything. Of things we've done lately, we biked 15 miles to a park last week for a picnic. Walked five miles to the winery and built sand castles at Cannon Beach. Riley referred to our sand castle village as Jerusalem and Reagan aptly destroyed it. We walked along the Kirkland waterfront and enjoyed one of our favorite lake front resaurants with patio seatting - the Yarrow Beach Cafe.

We've had a lovely guest from South Africa staying with us and the kids adore her! I'll be v

ery sad when she leaves tomorrow, but I'm very happy she'll be in the area.

Saturday...

2009-05-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

It is Saturday. It is sunny! Tomorrow it's supposed to be close to 70 which is fantastic for Mother's Day. If we do what we've always done, we'll take the kids to the Bellevue Botanical Gardens and take pictures like the ones above.

I scheduled my May Activity and in a moment of complete uncreativeness, I decided the au pairs would go to the Cougar Mountain Zoo. I'm actually looking forward to it now that I realize they have a bird exhibit and they specialize in habitats and endangered animals. Certainly the au pairs will find it interesting too.

My best friend from childhood became a mom this week when she delivered an adorable little boy! When I saw his picture for the first time I was almost moved to tears! My friend has always been like my little sister and I am so excited for the arrival of Logan!!

Logan's arrival brings the tally to FIVE new sets of parents among our friends in four weeks!

My kids have been running around in their matching lion suits since yesterday. Reagan likes to growl at Riley and dog pile on top of him. Now she's going to pick out a cute dress to wear this afternoon with hairbows. I love that she's so diverse in her personality. At night she has a new routine of getting together her favorite bed fodder and then walking herself to her crib. I think independence is genetic because I never intended for them to be so independent and yet they both are.

I've also started making phone calls and plans with the assumption that we will be home schooling Riley next year. Since he's reading Stuart Little and he's barely 4.5, I think it seems futile to put him a class of kids turning 4. At the same time, he is only 4 and he still struggles quite a lot with being sensitive and emotional. It's hard to know where to put him. Home schooling seems to be the right solution for him with a weekly plan for co-op teaching. That means I need to get my lazze faire self into planning gear. It's funny how you can think parenting babies and toddlers is hard, but I'm beginning to realize each year gets harder. Yay.

2009-05-06T01:50:00.001-07:00

I shouldn't be blogging, I should be sleeping. I am listening to something on TV about brain health. I'm actually too interested in the PBS fund raiser to turn it off, but it's not interesting to put my full attention into it.

So here's the thing. I'm supposed to turn in my expense report by the 10th, which is a Sunday and in order to get it there by Friday, I would have had to have finished it on the 30th which I didn't do. Knowing that I already failed, I kept putting it off until today. Determined to still turn it in on time, I dragged Reagan out to run some errands this afternoon. We stopped by Monster Mailboxes down the street to express mail my expense report for an astronomical cost - just to get it there by Friday. I figure, as long as I don't expense the cost of mailing it - no one can be mad at me for the method of delivery. All I care about is that it gets there on time. Instead of bugging my manager about it, I now have a handy tracking number where I can track it online. Thus, I found something faster than a courier pigeon.

I sat Reagan on the counter waiting for the guy to check the cost. Reagan starts cheering and clapping for herself. I couldn't figure out what her self pride was about until I noticed she had spotted a blue Easter Egg on the counter. She was so proud of herself for finding it and was determined to get to it and claim it as hers. Sometimes I wonder about her, but she sure does seem to "get it." I especially like her "yay, yay, yay" cheers!

I also learned tonight that Reagan will only kiss people on the lips and won't kiss any other way. She's actually quite offended to be brushed off. Someone needs to explain swine flu to that baby.

My KCTS.org brain show is over and it's 2am. Meh.

2009-05-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

Sean is still looking for a job and as it is right now, it seems like he will take his mandatory 100 day break and go back to Microsoft at the end of June. In some ways, this is good for us because it's more likely that whatever company hires him will keep him, hopefully, for the next few years or longer at least.

In the mean time, he's met with a number of people who have made good connections for him. That's been encouraging. What's bad is that positions are frozen, disappear, and companies are on hold while they lay off people. Seattle was hit last by some of the economic issues and so we're not quite out of the woods in terms of how far down things will go.

I'm having a difficult time with Riley lately who seems to be bored with preschool and not making friends. He's getting into trouble a lot and the teacher has been exceptionally hard on him for small things. Her solution is holding him back while mine is pushing him ahead. Riley taught himself to read and loves learning to a point that it's a) draining to me and b) makes him seem like a nerd. She told me that Kindergarten teachers really don't like it when the kids learn how to read before kindergarten because they just memorize words. She stressed that they don't like it at all. Oh, so shall I unteach him to read? Or take away his books? Or stop him from sounding our words like million, billion, thousand, captain, public, and every street sign and list of rules we pass? If I want him to obey, all I need to do now is stand him in front of the rules and he'll read them himself. At the park recently he talks to adults and sometimes kids, but kids don't seem to be on his wavelength. So, holding him back to go to school with the currently 3 yr olds seems like a great way to encourage him in his interest for learning.

The teacher's response was "pray, pray pray!" That's fantastic! I also think that it's important to associate the God given ability to think through our decisions. For example, the first step is to have him tested by the Lake Washington School District for early entrance which he has a 10% chance of passing. I"ll go with what they say. If he fails, I'm not putting him through another year of preschool when he already is advanced passed the class he is apparently a year younger than. Instead, it would seem we're headed for home schooling which I do not want to do. On the other hand, I'm learning that Christian Schools are one fund raiser after another with little interest in advanced children and public school is...well...public school. Thankfully, we DO live in a very, very good district and good neighborhood. His class would be a good opportunity to make friends in this area which we have not.

By the middle of the year, we're planning to move to Northshore School District which is the best school district in the area. I don't anticipate moving to Issaquah or Redmond Ridge, but I suppose it's possible.

I'm just frustrated with and for Riley. I'm frustrated about the job situation, but it will work itself out.

I've been studying for the LSAT. I was doing great until I found out is also considered an IQ test and there's no way of really studying for it. With the pressure on, I started missing more questions. It seems that my IQ is high and I've always thought the LSAT would be a breeze if I don't clam up. You really only have one shot at it and I have to decide today if I'm taking it in June or on my birthday in September. That's it though. May seems so quick, but it would be good to have it over with and September seems too far away. If I do mediocre on it, I'll end up at Seattle U if I get accepted and if I do well on it I might have a shot at the UW which seems a lofty goal. Sean encouraged me to try even if I fail because he'd rather I try than not try at all. I suppose he's right, but I don't want to have "failed at getting into law school" on my list of accomplishments. I feel like backing down all together.

The other option we would have is to wait another year until Sean finishes school and move to a place where getting into law school with a lower LSAT is a possibility, but I would be disappointed in my IQ if I make a lower score. Even on the practice test, it shows I'm close to a 132 and I always tested closer to a 139. That's first shot on the practice test just opening the book. Maybe that's not bad. It means I would make close to a 159-165 on the LSAT if I don't panic. I need a 159 to even consider the U.

Obama made a 171 on the LSAT which is equivalent to a 148 IQ.

While I'm worried about hypothetical scores, I have not completed my expense report or sent out my newsletter for May. I guess I should go and get something accomplished.

2009-05-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

The deadline to register for the LSAT is the 5th of May to take the test in June. If I don't take it now, I'll have one shot at it in September. Meh.

Everything in the world seems up in the air right now. We're waiting to see what happens with Sean's job, we're waiting to see what happens after he finishes his MBA, we're waiting to find out if Riley will go to Kindergarten or not. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Meh. When we get all those things settled, maybe we can plan a vacation, but by the time we do get things settled vacation season will be over. Meh.

The weekend weather was so-so. We dropped the car off in Redmond to get the oil changed and walked around downtown. As soon as we got to a place for dinner, it started pouring rain. We walked back about a mile or more in the rain, but thankfully the jogger stroller has a cover. The kids didn't melt.

You know how you can go online and buy a kids outfit at gymboree with all the accessories? Why don't they do that at Nordstrom or Macy's or Forever 21? My life would be easier if I could reproduce a look by simply clicking on an outfit and ordering everything from jewelry to shoes in one sweep. I hate shopping, but I really hate looking doudy. Meh.

I drive Riley a lot to school and back every day and I'm always inspired to write when I'm driving, but not so much when I actually blog. Meh.

Greek Honey Yogurt

2009-05-02T22:05:00.001-07:00

I don't like not knowing things. From an intellectual standpoint I have insatiable curiosity. There's a part of me that would rather learn new things than capitalize on the things I already know and refine them. Unfortunately, this leads to being a jack of all trades and master of none. The list of things I'd like to learn more about are endless - German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Latin, Classical Piano, Photography, Chemistry, Diffy Q, Biology, and O Chem. Then I will be happy.

This evening I was at the library checking out books for all of us while Sean rallied the kids to the car. There was some young teenage girl that kept commenting on how many books I had...and she wouldn't stop. I had 32 books, thank you. From parenting to cooking and chemistry to Latin American history, I'm covered for three weeks. For Riley, we picked up new chapter books because my 4 year old is just like me. It's hard to remember he's 4.

Oh, and speaking of - those parenting books were for him because he's digressed emotionally which his preschool teacher thinks is an indication of his immaturity. I, having lived with him, see at as a manipulative strike against us for putting too much pressure on him at home. The gifted books say it's like having a little lawyer. Oh, is that so? I thought it was payback for my own obnoxious childhood.

Thank God for Reagan our animated nearly two year old who prefers to scream and hit and picks out dresses and matching shoes and won't go outside without head adornment of some type whether it be hats or bows. Tonight we fed her Tamarindo Candies from Mexico and she tried it, made the strangest face and chomped down on the chili powder filled candy. Then she gave it back and asked for more by signing and also shouting, "Moh Pease!" I swear southern accents are inherited. She also has a two fists in the air cheer and then holds her hand out and motions "give me more!"

It's no wonder Riley's on strike. He feels out done by her now that she's talking and he has to share air space. And she's a cute girl.

I love Greek Yogurt. If you've ever tried it, you'd know the difference. I don't like yogurt unless the fruit is at the bottom and I can leave the fruit. I don't like plain yogurt because it's - well - plain. I hate mixed yogurts, they're too sweet. I recently discovered Trader Joe's has Greek Yogurt and it's the best. It's like Germany's yogurt. Trader Joe's makes me happy and while I was there I picked up a Cab Merlot blend to cap off the evening of listening to Reagan and Riley cheer for chili powder candy and argue philisophically with each other since Riley will argue with anyone strapped in next to him in the jogger stroller regardless of whether or not they can argue back. All this means is that he's training the little one to be just like him.

LSAT

2009-04-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

It's inevitable that I'm going back to school. It's been on my list of things to do for awhile, but not good timing. I have two small children. Granted, my two small children are barreling quickly towards elementary school faster than I can blink.

When I graduated from Bible college in 2000, I had a strong sense of ethics and right and wrong. My dream job would actually be a court judge. Not that I'm into astrology, but a few of my au pairs pointed out to me that I AM a libra which is under the sign of the scales and known for balance. Indeed, that is how I would describe myself. What I've also recently learned is that we're not known for being magnets for money and we tend to piss off a good collection of other signs. Ha!

I thought about the money thing, but being that I believe in fairness I can't seem to leave things uneven and so I tend to give more than I take. I can't believe this is because I was born under a particular star, but I do know that it is my personality. I also have an extreme sense of justice.

Any career test I've ever taken has told me I should be in marketing or journalism and the number one career for me is Law.

I've never wanted to be in law. I didn't have time for it after college. Instead I ended up in contracts and was amazing at it selling 3 times my quota by using the boundaries set forth by my company. Then I moved to gift planning and understanding estate taxes and annuities and from there my experiences led me into Risk Management and the depths of corporate law from an insurance agents perspective. Now I work with au pairs understanding US Department of State program guidelines, interviewing host families, conducting orientations, and on rare occasions mediating which it turns out I...like. That's four jobs that I've done all in Account Management that have fallen with in understanding specific laws and guidelines and that's what I'm best at.

The downside of going to law school is that people have told me I might not get a job, but that's hard to believe that making myself better at what I've already been doing would make me less employable.

Three years of full time school is daunting to me, but I'm looking at fall of 2010 when Reagan is 3 and in preschool.

As soon as I mentioned law, I ran into a few lawyers that were very supportive since I have a power packed, to the point, argumentative, intelligent personality. Some were surprised when I said I want to do divorce and family law, but not so surprised when I mentioned I would like to advocate for children and it seems a natural step having Biblical Studies and also Family Ministries which includes psychology.

As I've considered all of my options, this keeps pulling me in.

Growing up I wanted to be a wife and a mother and I spent most of my teen years preparing for that. It was all I wanted. Imagine my surprise to graduate from college and embark on a career and a successful one at that. It wasn't what I anticipated. I had dreamed of going to India or Kazakhstan instead I ended up in Redmond, WA. I think sometimes we'll move somewhere else, but there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be. It seems this is home. Instead of staying home with my kids and joining mom groups for the last 5 years, I ended up working from home and...liking it.

I struggle with not fitting into the moms groups or the girls' night out or trying to figure out where I fit socially, but the older I get and the more I understand myself the more I realize I'm not a team player and not a good girlfriend. I'm an overly productive, highly energetic, extremely introverted, but outgoing person who will always analyze and research and think.

One of my au pairs met with me this week and said she's heard when you go home you've changed so much but everyone else is the same. I told her, it's not just home - it's everywhere. You've gone to a different country, learned a different language, lived with a different family. You become flexible, adaptable, you grow and the world becomes smaller and you feel like you could go anywhere and do anything. Then people who haven't done it at all look at you like you're insane. She said, "oh, so it's not just me?"

No. It's not just when you leave the program either, it's for the rest of your life. It's probably why I navigate to internationals who have come here from somewhere else because I know the world isn't so small to them and leaving the country to visit a friend for a few months wouldn't indicate your marriage is falling apart - it's a way of life.

It seems that my life isn't going to be simple and I'm not going to get along with people who live inside a small radius intellectually, mentally, and physically. It frustrates the snot out of me and at the same time it's an incredible thing to know the world. Maybe, just maybe by living with such an open mind I might bring people together or encourage people to do things they never thought they could.

It's a level of living in a comfort zone that I left a long time ago and I'm not going back. I simply can't. I thought my life would be so easy, so unadorned, so uncomplicated. Now I realize that from the direction I've already taken I might as well head on to the next step. I write that and take a deep breath realizing how much I'm leaving behind, but also moving forward to what's ahead. It's amazing what I would define as entangling or holding me back. On the other hand, it's surprising to me who I've found to me my greatest supporters in the last few years and who will continue to be.

2009-04-29T11:32:00.001-07:00

I just found out that my friend Katherine's daughter was diagnosed with Acute Meyloid Luekemia and has been in and out of Children's in Seattle.

I've had my head stuck in the sand for weeks and she just contacted me wondering where I'd gone to... ugh.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sarahsharpe/mystory

2009-04-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, our family includes two adorable little kids and a beta fish named peanut butter. Most of the time, I find myself tangled up in some activity focused on containing…err, I mean entertaining my energetic preschooler.

Since I often focus on my preschooler, this entry is dedicated to activities for our younger and more often sleeping (hopefully!) members of the family.

Our little creeper, crawlers, and toddlers are busy exploring the world through sensory learning. They incorporate every experience they are exposed to by sight, touch, smell, sound, and taste. They keep us on our toes as they explore everything they can find and sometimes it includes things we wish they hadn’t found and quickly put it into their mouth....or ears, or up even up their nose!

Our little explorers require a high level of energy & enthusiasm as they begin to learn everything they can about the world around them.

Babies are beginning to put together the world as a big picture: family & home, day and night, sun, moon, stars, inside, outside, trees, flowers, animals, the zoo, and the farm, etc.

Everything you do is an opportunity to explore their world using their senses to define and develop their vocabulary. Babies learn through reading and singing. It’s very important to show them an item, touch the item, and feel the texture. Can baby see it? Can baby hide the item and find it? Can baby smell it?

It’s important to remember a few things about this age that will make a craft or activity more fun:

Babies and Toddlers wiggle a lot!
They try to eat their crafts! Taste is one of their way’s to explore and learn.
Their attention span is about 5 minutes. Ours is about 12. It’s why we have commercials.
What’s important are the words you use and the time you spend with them. You’re helping them learn more about their world through a new experience.
Toddlers can’t do activities on their own yet, but they can do a lot of things with your help!
A 15 month old can crumple tissue paper and glue it down where you tell him/her.

Here are a few general ideas for craft time with early toddlers:
A paper plate can be made into a lion’s mane with yellow and orange tissue or you can draw a bee and fill in lines with yellow tissue paper.

Toddlers can also help you gather leaves in the fall and glue them down to a piece of Red Construction Paper with red or orange tissue paper or curly pieces of ribbon to fill blank spaces.

In the spring, they can gather small flowers with you and glue them down on green paper.

Use black construction paper and have children help you glue down pieces of yellow tissue paper to show stars and draw in the moon for them.

In the winter, young toddlers can use cotton balls to make a snow man and help them draw in the arms and face or find small twigs for the arms.

For learning about the sky, use cotton ball clouds on a piece of light blue paper and draw in the sun. For the over ambitious, you might even use real grass for the bottom or your art work!

Toddlers will eat finger paints (or most crafts actually!) and it’s also very messy. If you’re up for it, toddlers will love finger painting with vanilla pudding.

A few keepsake ideas I’ve done in the past with small children have been tracing hand prints, cutting them out in red and green and making them into a wreath in a circle shape.

I’ve also used shoeprints for butterfly wings. I got this idea from a framed photo my parents had from a mother’s day out program I attended when I was 2.5 years old. The school used wall paper sample books for the wings. Any colored paper will work for this project.

With older toddlers I've often had them begin helping with baking projects. For chocolate chip cookies, I measure everything out before we start and put things in separate bowls. When it's time for a certain ingredient, I let the young child dump that ingredient in. It's very simple for small children. When they get to about two years old, I've let them crack eggs in a small bowl and pour the egg into a recipe. This allows me to take egg shells out before they go into cookies!

Remember your early toddler is soaking up the world around! Have fun and enjoy this wonderful time!

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2009-04-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

Every time I've taken the Myers Briggs, I've come out an INFJ. It always takes me by surprise. Oh, it takes every one by surprise. No one would have thought being as verbose as I always have been that I might be an introvert. Being the deep thinker that I am, how could I possibly test a feeler? I'm an adventurous free spirit, but an on time, over organized, scheduled J and apparently so intuitive that even though I'm extremely grounded and serious, I'm more head in the clouds. From the time I was in my early twenties, I've tested very close to straight down the middle with one question throwing me a point in one direction or the other.

Of all of the combinations Myer Briggs offers, INFJ is truly the best description of me: complex, (really?) having a great importance in having things orderly and systematic, highly intuitive with uncanny insight into people, making INFJ's protective parents with high expectations of their children (you should ask Riley what he thinks about this! He'll tell you.)

INFJ's are creative and independent with a natural infinity for art and excel in sciences. They are usually found in service oriented professions. NOT DETAILED.Only 1% of the population has an INFJ personality making it the most rare of all types. If you can imagine that being saddled with such intricate interests is both a blessing and a curse, it is.

Sometimes I see directly through people and their motives and I'm rarely wrong. I am sometimes wrong, but rarely. This to a fault leads to being extremely cynical. I don't strive for perfectionism, but have a very strong sense or foundation for understanding situational ethics.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by my lack of accomplishments with such great interests I could be excelling at and at the same time wondering what will the future bring? I've hoped that having a public blog would be successful for me in terms of feeling I could write about anything, but in truth there are some things I prefer not to so transparent about. (which has more to do with my cycle of post and delete than anything else - it's somehow a level of vulnerability I can't get past.)

To be quite straightforward, I would call myself a NON-evangelical Christian in terms of the fact that I care so deeply about other people and what they believe that I can not be directly evangelical as I find this to be UN-evangelical if not done with much care. That's a very difficult thing to explain when Christianity is somehow based on our ability to spread what we believe through word of mouth, rather than (also) quietly living out our day to day faith in a way that people might consider us different to the point of taking notice.

I've been searching for my masterpiece in hopes of becoming world renowned, I mean - don't we all want to be famous? I'm perhaps realizing, I might be a Van Gough, who never sold a painting in his life time. His art was about impressionism with an emphasis on light, not detail and it took time for people to see what he was about. In fact, it took time for everyone to understand the message conveyed by impressionism. The original introduction of impressionism was a counter to photography which was a precise mirror image of the world in that day with complete detail. Impressionist artists were inspired to find something different, to look at the world from a different perspective. "The impressionists were the first to offer a subjective alternative to photography."

True to an INFJ which is described as so intricate in interests and personalities that it can take 3-5 years to get past the surface and begin to see all of the intricate values held by these rare people. I think it would be impossible for me to ever be simple rather than complex.

I've always been inclined to love Oswald Chambers' beloved and timeless devotional My Utmost for His Highest with the entry for April 24th being The Warning Against Desiring Spiritual Success.

"Our work is not to save souls, but to disciple them. Salvation and sanctification are the work of God’s sovereign grace, and our work as His disciples is to disciple others’ lives until they are totally yielded to God. One life totally devoted to God is of more value to Him than one hundred lives which have been simply awakened by His Spirit."

Oh Oswald. You say it so well! Would you believe this has been in print since 1935? A posthumous work printed 18 years after Chambers' death?

The entry I was looking for when I reached for this book today was the one I've referred back to most repetitively in my life which is July 28th God's Purpose or Mine?

I've had this copy of My Utmost since my 16th birthday when my dearest friend Ellen, now 71, gave this to me as a gift and it's falling apart in the binding. Ellen was one of my dearest mentors as a teenager her very name meaning "light" she represented a person I considered to be radiant in every way of how she lived her life. To me and many others, she was an inspiring hero. To anyone who passed their home, but didn't know them perhaps they looked like any other couple on an average street in a small town.

The words that are on the pages of that book have long been etched on my heart giving me the strength to move forward one step at a time in even the most uncertain of times, ensuring me that Christianity is not a fad, but a faith. It's not a club, it's way of life.

Living by God's purpose may not mean marble hallways or crowd filled stadiums, in fact it may not mean moving towards a foreseeable goal at all. This is why I so deeply love Chambers' July 28th entry above any other. It's about the process. As we condition ourselves by running one race and reaching the end, we start over and the race gets longer. The valley gets wider, the mountain higher, the nights get longer. That's a bitter cup to drink, but the disciples considered it a joy to be crucified with Christ.

"What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see "Him walking on the sea" with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see "Him walking on the sea" ( Mark 6:49 ). It is the process, not the outcome that is glorifying to God."

I continue to live by this. Not knowing what I'm supposed to do with my life except be me. Perhaps that's enough since it statistically seems to be rare enough that it takes a lot of energy for me to be me and for others to even know me. I continue to live out the faith I believe in with uncertainty in this world, but believing in the certainty of God and his faithfulness. Maybe I'm accepting that I might never be a mirror image of the world, but an impression of my own perspective of what I believe living that out in how I relate to others and how I spend my time...casting light on God's greatest masterpiece which is life itself. Thus, always being in a service oriented industry which I currently am.

In the words of Chambers', embracing the process, not the goal or even the success or the outcome, is what makes living life moment by moment precious.

2009-04-21T23:14:00.000-07:00

This is a cross post from here: http://www.seanandcat.com

I was putting together a picture today. Not to be outdone, my daughter came flying at me from across the room with my son's green Crayola Art Smock screaming. Screaming is her favorite form of communicating. I used to think she was special needs, but I think she actually is just a mini me. She throws herself at life with her own sense of eagerness and determination and the words will catch up later. My current favorite is that "uh-uh-uh" can mean 15 things by how she says it.

I digress.

She flies at me as if to say, "Really, you weren't planning to do that with out me? Right?" So apparently we have a craft lover on our hands.

I also went to three parks today. That's got to be a record for me. We hit Robinswood, Kelsey Creek, and Big Fin Hill between 9am this morning and 6pm tonight.

The sun has made it's appearance and will not be out tomorrow. From what I understand, it's not forecast to come back again for awhile. After the summer of 08 when we were wearing our winter woolies in late June, I suppose I have deep seated fear of missing any opportunities. Speaking of winter woolies, we visited Kelsey Creek this morning to see the sheep that would be shorn of their abundant wool on Saturday. We saw a few friends too. My son had a field trip there with 14 other preschoolers. In every picture, my son is with other children and I haven't taken the time to crop him out and I won't post pictures of other kids. Suffice it to say, he had a great day. Anything that involves running around, other children, and learning is right up his alley.

Tomorrow I think I might maybe join the gym. We've made a decision about one we think we like. Why does that decision have to be so tough? Leaving our first child was so easy, leaving our second in childcare has been so, so hard. I'm not exactly sure I understand the evolution of our reasoning there. I thought it was supposed to get easier with the second? Alas, I also hate running with the kids. And let me tell you swimming laps with them is even harder. It's been a long winter.

Tomorrow it's back to 55, so I guess I should probably get back to work. We don't have snow days in Seattle, we have sun days. On days like this, it seems everyone vacates the office and everyone understands why.

2009-04-20T00:18:00.000-07:00

I've returned to my old blog domain. If you were following this and interested in continuing, please contact me through facebook, xanga, or a comment and let me know that you'd like the information on the other blog.

This domain doesn't fit the purpose of the blog and for the sake of simplicity, I don't need 3 email addresses, facebook, twitter, and three - no four - blogs.

Thanks!