Happy Birthday!

It was a good day! Not alot happened, but Dad spent some time with us. We had some fun. Then we sent Dad off fishing (it was his buddy's last day in town) and I started in on cooking dinner for myself and some friends (I DO like to cook so it was fun making all of MY favorites).

Austin helped by cutting the orange peppers- he really did a great job!

Dad and the boys picked this out while we were in town- Dad says Shane did all the deciding but I still love it!
Friends sent balloons, I still gotta get a picture of the beautiful hanging beaded figurine...
And a bunch of them got together and got me a massage!
I still have to get thank-you cards out, it was a super fun birthday!


THEN... just today, Brett was off getting gas and prepping for an afternoon of fishing.
I got a funny call, and thought maybe he'd stopped by to get some snacks at one of the all-purpose grocery stores. When he got home, it was a WHOLE different story! He'd gone to the super awesome kitchen-supply store- The Silver Basin and got me a food processor. It's really cool and perfect for my needs! He says it's for Mother's Day and my birhday combined.
Then he brought out an even bigger bag, with a big old box that he'd actually had them gift wrap!! I was in shock and the box was HEAVY! He'd gone and replaced my dead blender- with a Cuisinart!!! It was utterly INSANE!!!

This he says is for Mother's Day, my birthday, and our anniversary- so he doesn't have to remember to plan ahead now, he's got it covered.

It was a wonderful surprise... now I gotta think of some things to make with them!

Austin's Speech Class

Austin has a "speech class" every couple weeks. This week, there was a surprise waiting for us when we got there! THOMAS!

He made me climb in there a few times, which wasn't easy, but he had so much fun!
Then we switched gears, and Austin came up with some of his own fun...

It was truely hilarious to see what he thought up and instigated.

Summer Fun

Summer fun comes with summer consequences... for such a little leg, it was SO sad to see so many bruises and scrapes.

Climbing on the car is a rare treat- for when Daddy's not around.
But then, we have to help Daddy WASH the car. Oh Darn!

Putting Austin in charge of the water isn't the very best of ideas..

Shane's turn with the scrub brush.

*Kersmzick!* Still Sneezing

So, a couple months after this pregnancy started, I got the sniffles. Nothing big, and after a while, started carrying a hanky around with me. Then I needed a couple hankies- one upstairs, one down, maybe one in my bag, or each bag.
I thought it was just regular old pregnancy related congestion- I've heard that can be a irritating "symptom", so I didn't really stress it.
In the last month or so, things have escalated. I could easily fill up a hanky every morning and again before bed, still having more scattered around the house. Can you imagine how many tissues I would be going through if I were so inclined?
This week, if you can imagine, it's gotten worse! I litterally filled up 3 hankies trying to clear my nose enough to sleep the other night. I'd lay down and not even 5 minutes later, felt the congestion build up again. And not the nice congestion but real thick stuff that you yell at your brother for spitting out kind of yuck. Finally I connected that to my all-around muzziness and tired eyes and ta-da! It only took me 4 months, but I figured out it must be some sort of allergies.
As a kid, we eventually suspected that I had a mold allergy. Every time we moved or did major cleaning in some of the houses we had, I'd get the sneezes. Mom figured it out and I was no longer allowed to help in such instances. Since then, I've been careful to avoid moldy situations.
So once I figured out that it was allergies and not random pregnancy causing my discomfort, I started searching the house for molds, especially in our room where things seem to be the worst.

No Dice!

So I went to the doc and got the nasal meds. And he confirmed that allergies can pop up any time to most anything, even something that's been around for half of forever.

Afterwards, we stopped by a friends' home (after Shane's tough day, he wanted to see his Dakota buddy/sitter who had hurt himself so couldn't come to us). They have a couple allergics in thier home, so after over an hour with NO SNEEZING and NO CONGESTION, my brain finally caught up. So, in the coming weeks I get to do some major cleaning and finagling (in addition to meds) to figure out which one is killing me slowly. Or at least driving me insane.

So- could it be Paco? Yeah for pet dander and hair!
Or maybe dust and it's mites? In EVERYTHING- mattresses, pillows, carpet, couches, stuffed animals, etc

My plan of attack includes boxing up all nick-nacks, a vaccuming schedule, trying to find some dust covers for bedding and I don't know WHAT I'm going to do about our old, nasty couches. Looks like I'll be on meds for a while. Any advice or suggestions would be very welcome!

End of School Party!

This year's End of School Party started with circle time. We met Shane on the playground and got to walk in with him- Austin in line just like all the big kids. Shane was thrilled to show Austin the ropes and intricacies of preschool life.

Singing There's a Spider on the Floor.

Learning a new song... my hands aren't doing what everyone else's are doing.

A little help from Shane and he's almost got the butterfly.

Then it was time to get ready for the PARADE!!

Hats on!

Ms Gretchen provided the marching beat with her drum.

Marching and shaking our bells!

And singing, "School's Out For Summer!"

Then it was time for ice cream and cupcakes!

After almost 2 full years with these teachers, Shane is sure going to miss them!

Ms Gretchen, Shane, Ms Margaret, and Mr Sheldon.

These guys are the GREATEST!

One Step At A Time

On Garage Sale Day, Daddy was sent out to find something for his little girl. Surprisingly enough, it didn't take him long... he came back with a dress outfit no less!

It came with a little diaper cover that actually had a bit of lace on it, and a little hat.

It was the best thing we found all day- COMPLETELY cute! Can't wait 'til she's big enough to wear it!

Couldn't Have Happened to a Nicer Guy

Today was the last day of school. A day to expect fun and excitement. It was also beautifully sunny and HOT. The Preschool had planned a parade, followed by a sundae party for the last hour of school. So I sent Shane off on the bus knowing that I'd see him then, if not sooner (depending on if I could get daddy to wake up sooner)
I couldn't get Daddy or Austin to cooperate, so when the appointed party time came around, I threw AT in the car kicking and crying and left daddy asleep in bed so I wouldn't be late.
I was met at the front doors of the school by Ms Margaret (Shane's Head Teacher) and the principal. They led me back outside to meet the owner of the bus company and another gentleman.

Shane had been forgotten on the bus.

I'll say it again....
Shane had been FORGOTTEN ON the bus.

As they pieced the story together, I was suprised at how calm I was.

So, the little bus gets to the school and unloads it's half-dozen passengers. Mr. Sheldon asked, as he does everyday if that was everyone. Yup, and off they go thier seperate ways. Somehow the school figured that maybe I was bringing Shane later just for the party- forgetting that I ALWAYS call.

At the bus lot- 45 minutes later, an anonymous gentleman with a pretty cool hat is walking by and notices some movement in the back seat of one of the little buses. Closer examination finds a little boy patiently chillin' out with his big ol' ear buddies (old earprotection headphones from the hangar). He gets the owner of the bus company and they ask Shane what he's doing. "Waiting to go to school."
They take him to school and wait 10 minutes or so for me to come and hear the news.
EVERYONE was impressed with how calm Shane was the entire time. And no one really understood when I said I understood the mistake (Shane's a quiet and patient guy and totally zones out when he has those headphones on). I'm sure the driver and the helper were both horrified to find out what they'd done (or not done).

Later on Shane told me he cried a little while he was waiting on the bus, but he sure didn't let it affect the rest of his day. What a crazy thing to happen to such a trooper.

Sensitive Little Boy

Shane wanted to pick flowers today- but not "candy lions" (dandelions). I told him he needed a reason- like to give them to somebody, so he picked out 2 of his favorite moms that weren't his own and the hunt started. Our rules were pretty simple
- no dandelions
- to picking from someone's private garden
- only pick where there was "enough", as in a large patch
- no more than 6 from each spot, depending on how big the flower bed was.
Shane had a rule of his own...
- BY HIMSELF; no mommy help allowed

The first couple spots went great. Shane stuck with the number limit I gave him, no arguing or whining. Austin was asleep so that didn't complicate things. A few daffodils here, some tulips there.
At our 3rd stop, there was trouble. The only parking spot at the Pioneer Home was across the street, so I walked him over, let him go, and went back to watch and wait by the car. He had a 4 flower limit- and they had a huge garden. 2 years ago, when we first moved here, we'd asked once if we could pick a flower and the folks inside said they didn't care- so long as we didn't leave bare patches; so we didn't ask this time.
Shane was on his 3rd flower- I had just noticed that I was going to have to discuss perfection picking with him (picking a flower, deciding it's not good enough, and discarding it to die) when he threw down his flower and collapsed on the grass howling. I wasn't sure if he'd gotten frustrated at the flower or had been stung by a bee!
I ran and got him and his flower quota (amid the tears he was concerned he didn't get all 4- so we picked up the ones he'd dropped or discarded) and got him back to the car. It took a while to get the story out of him... Some guy walking by had told him he couldn't pick the flowers. Not an employee, or anyone that had a say, just some guy- maybe a parent from the preschool that is right there. That one comment dissolved Shane into tears. It took a half hour of driving and talking before he had calmed down, and was ready to pick any more flowers- elsewhere.
Seriously Mister- the intracacies of flower picking ettiquite is NOT your business when it comes to my kid!

Smarty-Pants

So, Austin and I went to the store, just to grab a few things I'm kinda craving. Little boy is excellent behavior the whole time. Everyone thought he was the cutest little helper- like usual. Check out went great... grab a little monkey and head out the door. Like a switch had been flipped, Austin started fussing and squirming to get back into the store. I ignored it and tried to talk him calm- until I went to put him in his car seat. Then I realized I'd forgotten our groceries. >sigh< Back in the store, get the single sack of groceries, back out the door with NO fuss from Austin. He'd realized that we forgot the bag (probably because there was a treat for him in there) and had been trying to get that point across to me, with no luck.
It's very sad when the 2 1/2 year old is smarter than mom.

Wrinkled Ladies

This is dedicated to my future, and all the women who have changed the world by so rarely putting themselves first. YOU ARE beautiful!

(A More Real) Love Story

Dayna sent me this link- and I think it's wonderful.
Brett says I'll have to wait a long while yet before the last part happens though.

Too Much Like Dad?

A number of years ago, I remember going into a bathroom in an outdoor store in Wyoming. On the wall was THE perfect painting. A beautiful partially wooded scene, a boy and his dog... the boy with his pants around his knees (facing away into the bushes of course). It was titled Boys Will Be Boys (I think).
After our cabin adventure, we had a bbq out back with our neighbors and those that had planned to camp with us. A bark of laughter causes me to turn to see Shane with his pants around his knees, peeing in the back yard with quite an audience.
Today, I let the boys out back to pick flowers and dig in the dirt, a later glance out the door shows me Shane's little bare bum disappearing back into his shorts.
The house is 5 feet away!
Brett was infamous as a little boy for his disregard for the convention of clothing or bathrooms- can a boy be TOO much like thier father?

First Camping Trip of the Year- at Least We Tried

We even made the Sitka news... May 8th, 2010
This was what met us when we finally tore ourselves from the whales (pictures coming soon)...
"Danger!! Garbage/Pest bear terrorizing cabin!! Not affraid of flares, horn, shotgun, etc. Drinks from water collection system. Broke into cold box. Loves butter.
5/7/10- 5/8/10"

To support this claim, we found 6 spent (new) shotgun shells, and 2 from a 30-30 (that task kept the boys out of the glass that was everywhere). There was some blood smears inside the cabin, where food was scattered all over- we suspect from the bear stepping in the glass from the window he broke.
This is the cold box they were talking about...
The latrine... must have had food down there.

A table that was in the way...

It was lots of fun cleaning up the glass from this.

With the kids running around, even for an hour or two, we couldn't leave it all over.
The other windows- glass popped out (unbroken oddly enough)

Some of the sills were damaged- some weren't...

This widow was the only one left in place, though you can see, not exactly for lack of trying.

It was one determined bear.

The door was still attached, though not as solid or secure as it was before...

Door jam ripped apart...

The old wood held up alright... up until it splintered.

A clear claw mark...

You can see the cabin's sign in the background, along with some coat hooks.

That should give a bit of indication how high up this was.

We naturally didn't stay- mainly for the kids' sake. After of few days of phone tag and sharing information and pictures, the Forest Service agreed to refund our money. And once they went out and looked over the place, decided to close teh cabin for a couple weeks until repairs could be made. I don't think anything has been decided about the bear considering it's classified as a remote location. In fact, they had planned to relocate a troublesome town bear out to that area. That is not happening now. As soon as we find out what's going on with that, we'll decide if we can try that site again. It is truely a great site... beach, trees, cleared area, great fire site, even a giant hammock that Austin thought was the coolest.