One more sleep until...

As I post this, Dylan is tucked into bed asleep. Tomorrow is his first day of preschool. He has no idea that tomorrow will be different from any other day. We've visited the school before, and met his teacher. I don't think he distinguishes "going to school" from any of these previous visits. Since he doesn't really know what "going to school" entails or anything about those first day jitters, I am feeling them for him. I am excited for this big step in his little life, and proud and (more than) a little bit nervous. Really, I just hope he likes going to school. Because isn't that all a parent should wish for their child? That they grow up happy? Sweet dreams, little boy!

(I must give credit to Dylan's teacher for the title of this post. When we met her, she told him, "Four more sleeps until you come back to school." I hadn't thought of communicating the passing of days in this way before and it makes way more sense than telling a three year old, "tomorrow" or "in a few days." Thanks Mrs. V. We are really looking forward to the school year! Here's a link to her blog, Diary of a Preschool Teacher, if you care to read and know why we think he's going to have an outstanding school experience!)

Boating, anyone?

We just got back from a week in the Midwest visiting Scott's family. Unfortunately, we didn't unpack the camera until the last day of our trip, so these are among the very few photos that we actually took.

Dylan and Sadie enjoy the view of Lake of the Ozarks from the deck at Grandma and Poppa's:


And a view from the boat:


Can I tell you how much Sadie loves wearing her life vest?


These are probably the last photos that we will have of Dylan and Sadie at the Williams' lovely lakeside home. They have decided to move inland and have their house on the market, so this was a pretty nostalgic trip for us. A couple of happy side notes to Grandma and Poppa's new venture:

First, their new home will border a golf course, so Poppa will never be more than a stone's throw from a round of his favorite pastime.

Second, we are soon to acquire the boat pictured above. In their infinite generosity, Scott's parents have offered to sell us this gently used water craft in pristine condition for a very fair family discount price. Scott will be travelling back soon to haul it home. I have a feeling we are about to discover friends that we never knew we had!

Zzzzzzzzzzz.....

(or why I will never really be a runner)


I haven't told many people yet, but maybe saying it out loud (publishing it in my blog?) will make me actually get my fat ass out of bed in the morning. I am planning to run the P.F. Changs Rock 'n Roll half marathon in January. Yes, I have run a marathon, and a half marathon in the past, as well as some 5 and 10 K's. No, not on the same day and no, I wasn't really a runner back then either. The last time I ran or raced was over 4 years ago, in case you were wondering. Now that Scott and I have decided to be done reproducing, I no longer have an excuse to hoard fat on my body in preparation for incubating another human. So it's time to get my pre-prego shape back.

Since most of my day is spent chasing after two small children (does that count as actually running?) and since it is so fuh-reeeeaking hot here my plan is to beat them out of bed and beat the heat by getting up at 5:00 to go for a daily run. I am a morning person. I look forward to the solitude that running (imagine air quotes around the word running here) provides and it's pretty much the only down time I get. Plus, I like running. Period.

Here is why my plan is far from foolproof:

1. When Scott travels and I am left as the sole caretaker in my home, I can't exactly take off for an hour jaunt around the neighborhood just because my kids are still sleeping and won't know I'm gone.

2. When he is here and I have the chance to follow through, I tend to bypass the snooze button and just go straight for off. Maybe if I hit it really fast it will be like it never sounded in the first place. My excuse will be, "Darn it! Forgot to set the alarm again! Well, too hot now and the kids are up! It'll have to wait for tomorrow." (It's not like I ever even go back to sleep after turning it off either. I just don't want to get out of bed!)

3. Lately, I would rather blog than run, especially because the former reduces the risk that I will be reported to Child Protective Services (see excuse #1).

4. I have never really been a runner.

So here's my new plan: Panic!! because

a) I just spent $89 to replace the running shoes that I hadn't worn for 4 years. (Yes, the above picture is a view of my new running shoes on my feet as I lie in bed pretending to have not set the alarm! No, I didn't wear them to bed so that I could jump up and be ready to go. That would be silly! I turned off the alarm and couldn't get back to sleep because I was thinking of running but didn't want to get up yet. And I was thinking, "this could make a great post." So I got up to put the shoes on and find the camera, then laid back down to take the picture. Pretty clever, huh?)

b) It is only... well I don't really know how many days until P.F. Changs because I'm not that good at math but, it's like, the second weekend in January which is only 4 months away! (See, not that good.)

c) I have only been able to run (again, air quotes) about 3 miles. I have a long way to go (literally).

d) Did I mention my fat ass?

Alright. It is 7:10, not that hot out yet, Scott is home, I'm outta here. Wish me luck!


Update at 8:15: Didn't run. Too hot!

Update at 11:30: Off to the airport. Running shoes didn't fit in suitcase.

That Gay Boy

(Not that there's anything wrong with it!)

Relating the story of the gay boy requires two prefaces. I will probably kill the punch line before you get to it, but bear with me.

1. Dylan is in this phase of identifying strangers that we encounter in various places by the color of clothing they have on. The man stocking the shelf at the grocery store in a black shirt is perhaps "that black guy" over there (as in, "Hey Mom! What is that black guy doing over there?!" said in the voice of a toddler with no concept of an inside voice), or the girl with her mom at the library might be "the green girl and red lady" to name a few examples. It makes for interesting conversations with complete strangers whom I will probably never see again.

2. While it is possible to have an intelligible conversation with Dylan on virtually any subject known to man (or at least imaginable by a 3 year old), he has a few pronunciation issues, especially with the consonant blends. School is sool, bread is bed, and so on.

Do you get where I am going with this? Have I ruined it for you yet? Keep reading, the punch line is worth it.

So today we're at Chic-fil-a (our absolute favorite family friendly fast food place, BTW) enjoying the delightful toddler play area after a lovely lunch of various chicken items. Dylan befriends another child in the play area who happens to be a three year old boy. "Mom, that boy is thee, just like me!" (It's not a typo.) They are playing like three year-olds and friend decides to visit his mom sitting just outside the door to the play area. He opens the door to leave and Dylan starts to follow him out. We're sitting inside the play area with him and don't want him to go out, thus the following dialogue:

ME: Dylan, stay in here with us.

DYLAN: (yelling with door still open) BUT MOM! THAT GAY BOY IS MY FEND! I WANT TO GO WITH THAT GAY BOY!!

ME: (can't stop laughing, door is still open, then finally) What?!!

DYLAN: (door is now closed so said boy's mom can't hear explanation) That boy's shirt is gay just like mine and he's my fend!

Ooohhh. Not exactly the conversation I want to have with gray boy's mom. Sorry lavender lady!

(I'm so glad that gray boy's shirt didn't have a flag on it.)

Dude, Where's My Baby?!!

This tiny, cute, sleeping, helpless, creature is starting SCHOOL in a week and a half. (Granted, it is PRE-school, and it is only two days a week, but it is still a milestone in his little 3 and 1/2 year life.) Since this picture of total dependence was taken a tad over 3 years ago, Dylan has learned to walk, talk, feed himself, drink from a glass, play, share, dress himself, put his shoes on, use the toilet on his own, express his desires and dreams, and make us laugh at his sense of humor. He can count to 12 (usually), knows his ABC's, sings Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star among many other favorite songs, and astounds us with his insight. When did this little creature become a person? As I ponder where the time has gone I find myself feeling so proud of everything that he is and will become, and a sense of accomplishment at having produced this little human. Yet here I am in a puddle of tears in the middle of Big Lots making this purchase of some needed school items:

My poor son is going to be so embarrased of me by the time I send him off to college!

Dylan the Diver and Sadie the Swimmer

We finished swimming lessons last week with both of the kids making much more progress in the last 2 weeks than the first two. The community pool where we took lessons has a beach entry, and here are Dylan and Sadie splashing around before class one morning:

Sadie with Daddy in her parent/child class:

Dylan with his teacher, using a kickboard (new skill!) and jumping in from the side (which he could do before taking lessons, but his form is MUCH better now):

This last swimming photo is in our pool at home. I was kind of anti-flotation device before lessons this summer because I had heard that using them can give children a false sense of security in the water. But they had the kids use life vests during lessons to practice some of the kicking and paddling skills that they had worked on. So we don't let Dylan swim with the vest on all the time, but it is really helping him to build his confidence and work on skills. He likes wearing the goggles to keep water out of his eyes and nose. I saw him all decked in his gear and said, "Hey, you look like Scuba Steve!" to which he replied, "No, Silly! I'm Dylan the Diver!" The video shows him doing just that. It is short and cute, so watch it! (And yes, that is a beer in my hand while I am supervising my child in the pool. Don't worry, he's wearing his USCG approved life jacket and there was obviously another adult present. Someone had to be shooting the video, right? Although, said videographer may or may not have been enjoying a beer at the same time!)

Scott is out of town next week, so I may be bored and craving adult-like dialogue enough to actually post again soon! After that, we are off to Kansas and Missouri to visit an aunt, an uncle, a couple of cousins, and grandparents. Check back soon!

Summertime Blues

Well here we are less than 2 entire weeks since I promised to post more consistently and I'm already back again! Not great, but a definite improvement over a 3 month lapse. This really cool photo was taken (by Scott) last Thursday evening, around 7:00pm. We had a wild fire, set off by lightening earlier in the week, burning for several days in the west valley. The sun, about an hour before setting, was covered by black smoke and appeared to be a red ball in the sky. It was an incredible sight and in reality looked quite different than the photo actually turned out. If you live here, you know how coverage of summer wild fires dominates the evening news. This is the closest I can remember hearing of one to Phoenix and being able to see the smoke so clearly the entire time it was burning. In the end, only a few residents voluntarily evacuated and all are now back in their homes safely.

Since it is already July, I thought I would update you for the month of June and let you know how we have been spending our hot Arizona summer. Now that I have only my 2 children to care for on a daily basis, we have really been enjoying getting out and about and taking advantage of activities that our city offers for kids during the summer. We are taking swim lessons every morning for a 30 minute session. Both the kids are gaining confidence in the water and having lots of fun! (Sorry no photos to post right now of swimming.)

We have also been going to the library every week, which I am a little ashamed to say was a place that I had NEVER taken Sadie to, and Dylan hadn't been there since before she was born! There is a great kids' play area and many different story and music times that we have been enjoying. And of course they love picking out new books and videos each visit. Dylan knows right were to look on the shelf for his new obsession, any video having to do with any kind of vehicle, especially fire and construction trucks. Here are a few photos of him dressing up like the guys driving the trucks in the DVDs. He loves to ride his "fire truck" (tricycle) in circles through the house (since it is WAY TOO HOT outside) and make a siren sound, while wearing a helmet and his "big heavy boots." Here he stopped for a little break after a daring rescue of Sadie from some "emergency!" He also likes to put on his construction gear (goggles and gloves and whatever else he can find) and build while he watches the videos of construction crews and their machinery.

Sadie is a little less structured in her imaginative play. Here she had happened to climb into a box and was having the time of her life. If she had more words, she would be able to tell us what she was pretending. But since all she did was climb in and out and laugh for nearly half an hour, I will let the "ha ha!" smile speak for itself!



We will leave you with some yummy summer sweetness because our popsicles are melting faster than we can lick them! We hope your June was this delicious!