Sugar Turns Three

My baby is now three years old. Hard to believe and easy to believe at the same time.

The fun thing about turning three is that it seems to be the first year my kids seem to "get" their birthday enough that they have a specific idea in their head about what they want to do...yet, it seems to be limited to something simple. Slugger wanted a "yellow" birthday, Sparkle wanted a cake/cupcakes. Sugar was initially determined to have a "Hawkgirl" party (from the Justice league). But, I just couldn't pull off this obscure party without a lot more work than I had time for this season. So...thankfully, a three-year-old is also easily influenced. A trip to the party store quickly changed her mind...and a Curious George party emerged. Sugar had three little three-year-old (-ish) friends join her along with family and some older siblings. A little crazy...but Birthday Girl was happy...so I am too.

Monkey cupcakes...easy, but a big hit.



I'm reading, "Curious George and the Birthday Surprise". Apparently, I am very concerned about George. Truly a deep and moving book.



Blowing out the candles...



It was all very exciting...

A Trip to the Nutcracker

Nana and Papa took Sparkle and I to see the Nutcracker at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in downtown Denver. (Thanks, Nana & Papa) I have been looking forward to taking Sparkle since I first bought her a pink sparkly book with a picture of the Sugar Plum Fairy on the front when she was three. She has been utterly fascinated by the book ever since and it was so fun to finally be able to take her. We went to the matinee with lots of other little ones attending...which is good because Sparkle is one of those kids who comments and asks questions about EVERYTHING. "Why are the mice dancing around Clara?"...."Where is Clara?" (every time she exits the stage)..."Can I be Clara?". Her new life goal is to take dance so she can be Clara. It has been hard to explain to her that such things don't happen immediately. I love the dreams of a five-year-old.

Christmas Tree Cutting and Thanksgiving Feasting Colorado-Style

Last Saturday, we resumed our annual Christmas tree cutting tradition. This year, besides a couple of good friend's families that joined us, we were also joined by LT's cousin R and his wife, K, who just moved to Colorado after getting married this summer. We have enjoyed having more family close to us in Colorado. We actually had Thanksgiving dinner at their place this year. R & K made a fabulous dinner accompanied by Nana and Papa's yummy pies and Kringle (a wonderful Norwegian treat). We left full and satisfied.

R's mom & dad (LT's Aunt J & Uncle J) made the trip out from the Motherland (i.e. Minnesota) to visit for Thanksgiving. Since they were here for the long weekend, they decided to come along for the ride too and try their hand at picking out a Colorado Christmas tree. We enjoyed some of the North Platte Fire Station's homemade Monster cookies, climbed on fire trucks, and headed out into the woods to find the perfect, in a Charlie Brown kind of way, tree. It had snowed about 6 inches the night before. Just right for sledding, throwing snowballs, and drinking some well deserved hot chocolate. Another year of Christmas Tree cutting adventure.



KS & Aunt J




Uncle J & R




LT and our Charlie Brown tree for this year.




A little sledding action.



Slugger, after launching some sledders down the hill.



Enjoying some well-earned cookies.

Stone Soup and Thanksgiving Feast

For Thanksgiving, the girl's preschool always makes "Stone Soup", based on the classic French folktale of how a young man (or soldiers, depending on the storyline)convinces a greedy woman to make soup from a stone. The kids all get to add their own can of food to the "Stone Soup" and all the parents and family are invited for a feast. The kids get dressed up in costumes and make crafts to decorate the tables. They love hosting their family and friends, and it is fun to see all the hard work the kids (and mostly the teachers!)have done.



Nana came and joined Sugar, Sparkle and myself for the feast.

The Lower 48

The past week my Mom and Dad came to visit. They are on a month long vacation here in the lower 48 (or "down Outside" as the Alaskans might say). My kids thoroughly enjoyed having Granny and Granddaddy here to play games, listen to their knock-knock jokes, and let them eat ice cream for no particularly good reason at all. LT and I enjoyed having Mom & Dad around too. I really appreciated a long day shopping and having lunch with Mom while Dad (with a little help from preschool) watched the girls. Mom and I always used to go shopping and have lunch together and I have to say I still truly enjoy it...especially since it is harder to do with small kids and many miles between us. The miles may grow fewer in the next couple years as Mom & Dad contemplate moving down from Alaska to somewhere within 1000 miles, but no decisions have been made, so I will take my time with them when I can. Somehow, in all the busyness I managed to take one picture of Dad...not much a picture documentary, but I figure we must have been having fun doing other things.

Sugar's Face Painting

Sugar decided to try water color paints on her face. I think the pictures say it all.

A Little Blogger Fun

Ok, this is a quiz that answer's the question, "What should I be when I grow up?". Here's what I was told...

You Should Be a Social Worker

You are deeply caring and empathetic. You are able to take on other people's problems as if they were your own. Sensitive and intuitive, you understand human emotions well. Helping others gives you the most joy in life. You feel like it's your purpose in life. You do best when you: - Have a lot of responsibility - Greatly impact someone's life with your work You would also be a good philanthropist or stay at home parent.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

Trick or Treat

Wonder Woman, a hockey player, and Cinderella. What more do I need to say?

Fall Festival

A few pictures from the girl's preschool Fall Festival...

The Gift of Imagination

I have imaginative girls. I love that.

Lately, the favorite game has been "babies". Birthing babies (stuffing blankets or stuffed animals up their dresses, then miraculously pulling them out when they are born), caring for babies, rocking babies to sleep on the swing, sending babies to time-out, even occasionally burying their babies under the leaves in the backyard so the can rescue them. The two stuffed cats, Dancy and Kitty, who function as their "babies" are a little muddy and looking more and more worn each day, but who would think that the simpliest toys often make the best ones.

LT's Trip to Israel

I have a world traveling husband. Seems like this year especially has taken him some interesting places. In June, during my blogging hiatus, he took a 10-day jaunt to Germany, France and Switzerland to see some clients. I wasn't too jealous until he sent me pictures of Lucerne, Switzerland. Beautiful lake, beautiful mountains, quaint little waterfront. He did bring me a Swiss watch and t-shirt. Really nice, actually. But I would have traded them for a chance to stowaway in his suitcase. Maybe someday.

More recently, specifically this last week, LT took another business trip to Tel Aviv, Israel. It was a trip that had been "out there" as a possibility for a while, but when it actually happened, it was a last minute trip. LT decided he was leaving Friday, October 7 and actually left the next Tuesday. A whirlwind trip with almost a full day of travel time (at least 15 hours actually flying) on either end of a six day trip. After his business was through, he and a co-worker got a chance to take a private guided tour through Jerusalem. He got a local's view into some of the historical and biblical sites throughout this ancient city. They went to the Wailing Wall on a Shabbat (no pictures on this day), saw the walls of the old city, stood on the Mount of Olives. He brought back spices from the market (Saffron, and another mix of several) and slept in a hotel on the Mediterranean Sea. A little high on the "tense places in the world to be" scale, but an interesting trip none-the-less. Here's a few pictures from his trip...

Looking down on the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount

Streets in Jeruselem

A Camel

Squirrel Creature

As defined by Sugar:

Squirrel Creature - (pronounced squaall cweature). Otherwise known as a scarecrow. A happy little fall decoration adorning our yard. Has a tendency to be destroyed by the malicious, yard-decoration-shredding squirrels that inhabit our particular block. Thus, being a creature that squirrels will destroy. Thus, a squirrel creature.

(FYI -Our squirrels also have a particular taste for pumpkin and have been known to descimate those little round vegetables of fall fun into shredded little pieces all over our front porch with a matter of hours. Thus, the slightly more tacky, but significantly more durable plastic pumpkins currently on our front porch.)

Making Pizza

Last week, Sparkle's preschool class had a field trip to a local pizza place. I admit, I was skeptical to how fun a trip this would be. I tend to be pretty protective of my preschool mornings since it is often the only grown-up time that I get during the week. However, one of the preschool dads invited our class to visit his pizza place and see the inner workings of a pizza restaurant. The kids got to make their own pizza...add their own toppings and consume the end result. Plus, they made salads and pizzas for the moms who came on the trip. Needless to say, this greatly endeared the restaurant to our hearts and stomachs. The pizza was fantastic and the kids really enjoyed themselves. All in all, a great outing. A shout out to Lil' Ricci's Pizza! Thanks for a great experience and some really yummy pizza!

Pickles are Not Vegetables

What is a Pickle?

Here's a question that seems to have a straight forward answer. Most of you are probably thinking, "a salty cucumber that is good for consuming on hamburgers, as a sandwich side, or straight out of the jar." All true....but if you are around me much, you might have heard me mention, "I am meeting with one of the Pickles", or "I have to read this for the Pickles", and you might think...."I believe this gal has gone a little loony". But no, really I haven't. In my world, the Pickles are a dear group of friends that have joined together to form a wonderful book club. We started meeting almost 2 years ago and have enjoyed reading many different books, some loved, some hated and some met with a bit of indifference, but always worthy of a greatconversation and a lot of laughs, some crying, and a lot of getting to know each other. We are a group of many different opinions, generations and approaches to life. Yet, we love each other and have found that we greatly enjoy each other's company. As for the name, it comes from the first book we read together, The Persian Pickle Club, by Sandra Dallas. We loved the sense of community and commitment that the women in the novel demonstrated...something we found we all long for in a society that can tend to be isolated and removed from each other. So, someone suggested the name and it stuck. And no (if you read the book), we don't plan on "off-ing" any of each other's husbands.

Last weekend, I got to spend time with most of these wonderful women on a weekend getaway to Grand Lake, Colorado. (Missed all of you who couldn't come.) We stayed in one of my fellow Pickle's family cabin right on Shadow Mountain Lake. The fall colors were beautiful, the company was fantastic, and it was a lovely weekend away with my dear friends. We did some hiking, boating, shopping, and above all...a lot of talking! It had been over three years since I had got away for the weekend with girlfriends like that and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There is something about good old-fashioned girl time that renews me and gets me ready to come back and tackle the routine of raising three lively and energetic kids. What a gift.

Soccer, Soccer and More Soccer

Soccer season has come again to our house. This season, instead of one little soccer player, we have two. Sparkle has decided to try her hand at the game and watching 5 year-old soccer has added some amusement to our lives. Slugger is passionately playing again...this time with bigger goals/fields, 2 practices/week, goalies and 6v6 players.

We've had 3 games and I am yet to determine whether Sparkle will actually have a true interest or not. The game is definitely new to her, and she is not a terribly aggressive little soul...so, we will see what a little more time and experience bring. She is enjoying herself, which is the goal of the entire experience...but she would also enjoy sitting on the sideline creating a large pile of grass. So, let's just say the jury is still out on her long term interest in the game.

Slugger, however, is in his 5th season and loving every minute of it. Goalies have been added this year, much to his delight, and the intensity of play has definitely ramped up an entire notch. Definitely harder to watch from a "that's my child and they just went flying through the air" standpoint. At the same time, it is pretty exciting to watch a good game with actual passing, some pretty cool take-aways, and some well earned goals.

Sugar, although too young to play, is finally old enough to stay off the field during the game without a lot of management by Mom and Dad. She does tend to raid the snacks of the rest of the team members and joins the other gaggle of siblings who play with sticks and hide in the trees. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday. She is already showing a pretty good soccer kick for a 2-year old. Maybe soccer will be in her future?

A Little Chat

Last Thursday, I took the girls for a late lunch at our local bagel shop. We got there after the main lunch crowd, so there were few other people in the shop and no line. I went up to the "order here" end of the counter to contemplate our lunch options. Meanwhile, Sugar decided it was time for a little "chat" with the clerk who was waiting for our order. Sugar grabbed a chair from a nearby table, pulled it over, and stood on top of it, so she could have a more "eye-to-eye" conversation. After she jumped up on the chair, she promptly, and quite enthusiastically exclaimed, "I'm Sugar!" The clerk, sensing Sugar's enthusiasm, promptly responded equally as enthusiastically with, "I'm Lisa". Sugar, now with her audience firmly in hand, proceeded to give her life story from her current two-and-a-half year old perspective:

"Ryan and Kayla got married."
"We danced."
"Sparkle's my sister."
"Slugger get on the bus, he goes to school."

All of this was accompanied by head nodding and facial expressions to convey the seriousness of her statements. After a couple minutes, my adult need for a little less talk and a little more food kicked in and I shooed Sugar away and ordered our food.

A couple minutes later, while I was waiting at the other end of the counter to pay for our food, Sugar decided to carefully select yet another chair and come visit. My first instinct as a mom was to stop her and make sure she wasn't causing a disturbance or hindering the flow of the still non-existent line. But, I realized, she wasn't really hurting things, and it was keeping her occupied. Plus, the clerk seemed reasonably amused by her antics.

This time, Sugar gets up, faces the clerk and promptly announces with a serious face, "Mom and Dad got married." I resist the urge to explain that this marriage wasn't a particularly recent event and just let Sugar do the entertaining. After another small chat, I collected the food and the girls and head to the door. As we leave and say our goodbyes, the clerk makes sure to say, "Thanks for making a quiet afternoon a lot more interesting."

"No problem," I say, "Life is always interesting with these girls around."

A Little Treat

Shortly after feeding the dog, I had this interaction with Sugar....

(I look strangely at Sugar's mouth, noting that something is being consumed that I did not give her): "What ya eating?"

Sugar: "I'm eating my dog food."

Some Cute Pictures

My friend Melissa needed some new kids to experiment with for her new photography business...so Sparkle and Sugar spent a fun morning getting their pictures taken last Thursday. I think they turned out super fabulously! (Is that a word?)

If you want to see a sampling of them...check out Melissa's blog.

http://www.melissahatcherphoto.blogspot.com/

A Visitor of a Different Size

This is Samson. He came to visit us for a week when we traded some dog-sitting with some friends. This is Samson trying to fit into our Lucy-dog's bed. A little tight since he was at least twice the size. He is a sweet dog with an extremely tolerant of kids disposition. The kids had a lot of fun playing with him.

Sparkle and Samson.

The girls and our Lucy.

Starting Second Grade

Slugger started second grade last week. In the rollercoaster of my mother' s heart it seems like such a long time coming, and absolutely amazing that it has come so fast all at the same time. In this picture, he is ready to head off to the bus for his first day...new rolling backpack in hand and a 7-year-old attitude on his face.

At this point, he is officially getting into the groove of being back in school. The first day (only a half day), he was completely wiped out...so I was anticipating some serious tiredness for the full days, but he seems to have gotten into the routine quickly. Of course, not too much homework has come home yet, so we will see if that has any influence on the enthusiasm level. Otherwise, Slugger likes his teacher and is quickly making and renewing acquaintances with friends. Definitely his favorite part of school...seeing his friends. Not the most academic of pursuits, but definitely high on his list along with recess, PE, and music. Actually, he seems to enjoy his schoolwork too, but has more to say about his other pursuits. He also makes sure to give me the daily play-by-play of the soccer game at recess.

The Motherland

We just got back from a 10-day trip to Minnesota, or "The Motherland" as LT affectionately refers to the state of his birth and childhood. We went out for LT's cousin Ryan's wedding. The wedding was actually up in northern MN in the town of Nevis (near Walker, MN). So, besides spending a few days in this beautiful part of the state, we spent the better part of a week down in the Twin Cities area seeing lots of family and just generally playing around. The trip was full of fun, family and great experiences. Not necessarily relaxing (traveling with 3 small kids rarely is in my experience), but a good family road trip. We enjoyed meeting some new family as well as catching up with those we don't see often enough. Here are a few of the highlights:

Sparkle, Slugger and me try out our favorite ride at Nickelodeon Universe...the Log Ride!

Sugar's favorite...Dora, Boots and the "Diego Bus" ride.


Dock jumping at Leech Lake in Walker, MN. (About 3 hours north of the Twin Cities).

Swimming fully clothed in Leech Lake. (The kids were magnetically drawn to the water)...

The aquarium @ the Mall of America.

A Purple Cast and Other Torture

Here is the broken finger update:

When I went to see the hand specialist two weeks ago...the Dr. had x-rays retaken and determined that the bones in my hand had NOT moved (big sigh of relief), but that there was still a chance they still could. If the bones did move...I would need surgery to place a pin in my finger because the bone movement would cause problems with my joint. So..it was important that I immobilize my hand for at least 2 weeks. The doctor gave me a couple options...primarily discussing a 4 finger splint (with my fingers in an ackward salute position) or a cast. Among the factors to be considered...my 3 small and active children, my high activity level and difficulty slowing down, and a slight tendency to try too much...plus, I was leaving in a couple days for a trip full of kids, waterparks, weddings and roller coasters.

So...I opted for a hard splint that day. I actually went to a fellow occupational therapist who specializes in hand therapy and she designed this particular torture device. Very interesting to be on the other side of this process. Will definitely give me some more empathy if I go back into practice.

After about two days of this splint...I realized this would not work so well on a 10 day trip to Minnesota with 3 kids who are relatively oblivious to the whole thing. Particularly with my strong willed, strong bodied and unpredictable two-and-a-half year old. So... two hours before we left on our 14 hour road trip...I went in and was fitted with a purple, waterproof cast. It immobilized 4 fingers and my wrist. LT affectionately referred to it as my "club". All that to say...it was a very good choice. I was able to swim, do some mild tube waterslides, roller coasters, and generally have a good time while still being "good" and not stressing my hand too much. But, I was about as excited about it as I look in this picture.

On Tuesday (2 weeks later), I went back in, got the cast off, x-rays redone, and was released to "buddy" taping my finger and starting hand therapy to regain my movement. Ugh! Who would know breaking one little finger would be such a pain. Yet, all-in-all, it has gone really well; three weeks out I am starting rehab and hopefully will be back to near normal in another 3-6 weeks.