Hillesheim Headlines 2008

"Banking/Credit Industry Collapses as Kate Resumes Former Job. Coincidence?"

"Candidates Scramble to Take Education Off Priority List as Aidan Declares:
'I Already Know Everything'"

Aidan at the University of Minnesota Math & Science Fair

"Crime Rates Increase as Coleman Learns to Walk"

Because of a break in his leg and inner ear tubes placed, he had a minor gross motor delay. After a year of therapy at the University of Minnesota Children's Rehab center, our little muffin top finally walked in April and we're happy to report is now off and running.

"St. Anthony family accused of starting unregulated zoo. Rumored sightings included collection of large insects, frogs, hawks, an opossum, fledgling birds, squirrels, deer, rabbits, mice, and dinosaur eggs. Authorities dropped the case when investigation revealed only one very hyper dog living at residence."

We had a variety of wildlife this year for city dwellers, which was wonderful and a little freaky in some cases (opossum). The best of all was a cicada found in the sandbox by Aidan (peeking from behind here) and the swallows that nested in one of our annual baskets on the deck.

"Kate leaves for weekend, returns to find children behaving well and husband needing time out."
--or--

"Breezy Point, MN experiences first ever grain-based beverage shortage as annual girl's weekend gets underway"

"Hillesheim family calculating ways to cash in on Cole's passion for vacuuming."

"Clearly not challenged by everyday life Kate decides to take on a bigger foe: cancer. At last report, cancer was seen running away. Crying."

I was at my regular check up at the dermatologist in April when doctor found three suspicious moles; one of which turned out to be cancer. I had the tumor removed (they took a chicken-breast sized piece) from my arm and after about six weeks recovery, there's nothing to be seen but a hairline scar. Preventive medicine works!

"Boy, 5, head implodes as he visits child-sized outdoor train garden in Eagan, MN"

"Fuses Blow in House with Brand-New Electrical System as Joel Transitions to New Job"

"Kate Sets and Meets Goal to Run 5K; Oil Drops Under $50/Barrel. Failed Republican Ticket's Energy Policy Draft Rumored to Have Provisions To Use Bailout Money to Entice Her to Sign-up For Ultra-Marathons as it Could Lead to OPEC Paying People to Use Oil/Gas".

"After Watching the Documentary, "Monsters, Inc", repeatedly, Aidan Declares Monsters are not Scary. And Are In Fact, Funny. Coleman Disagrees".

"Boys shown to love chickens despite constant exposure to city life and customs."

We visited a farm to get our pumpkins this year and the boys fell in love with these chickens. They are Rhode Island Reds. Tears were shed when we had to leave. Joel now realizes he's outvoted 3-1 in getting a coop and having chickens at home.

"Kate and Joel celebrate 8 years of marriage. Rumored to be morphing into one likeness from common towel use. Have you seen both together? Apologies to those who had 8 in the betting pools. FYI - 9 is not looking promising either. "


We had an amazing and trying year. A large part of how we got through it is because of the extraordinary people that surround us: our families, friends, Coleman's doctors, Aidan's teachers, and so many others. We encourage you to be that person for someone in your life and to leave no work undone, no conversation unspoken, or one minute unused. Happy Christmas and holidays to you!

Need v. Want
Poetry of non-poetic proportions

I want to go out; I need to sleep
I want to write; I need to eat
I love to dance, so I dance with my boys
I chose to have children, to go without
What I want
And for now, just get what I need

I found it particularly inspiring, as a parent, to learn that in the Obama family, you must endure a presidential campaign to earn a puppy.

Now that is good parenting.

Peggy Noonan is all kinds of crazy. Wow. I thought I had seen it all with Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin, but noooooooo. What a nutjob! Her sing-song voice is more than enough to push me over the edge and the words that come out smack of total and utter blissful ignorance.

It distresses me when people in general are ignorant, but when women are ignorant, it offends me.

I'm training for a 5K on Thanksgiving Day. My b/f/f Dayna told me about it; she has been a major factor in my desire to run. I was training to run a 5k closer to my next birthday (in May), but thought it wise to move it up and not lose the momentum I've gained. There is really nothing like running, you've heard people say it, it sounds like a cliche. It's completely true.


A new friend named Sara has been my running partner. I've posted before about making friends in my adult years; I've had extraodinary luck for the most part. Sara can be described as much more than just luck. Karma is a better term. She's funny, she's an epicurian, and has good taste. A trifecta! She also is a very good listener, which is something I am working on and appreciate.

We figured out shortly after meeting that we went to the same high school. Fast forward three months and we've had about a more hundred coincidences of people in common, last names (her mom's maiden name is O'Reilly!), we now just look at each other in disbelief when something comes up. Sara has three children, same age as mine (but girls) and a baby boy. They are among my favorite "other people's kids" for certain.

Sara, you amaze and delight. I am so grateful for you!

It's the Monday before the Tuesday that changed our lives. I didn't sleep at all last night, and I suspect tonight and Tuesday night will be similar. I'm taking one for the team. Knocking on doors, standing in random streets with a very large sign bearing a very unusual name, calling strangers from my the unpublished number of my 3G BlackJack.

I'll run on adrenaline, if that's what it takes, B. Can I call you B?

The green dress (accessories built in!) by Korto
I hope to wear the next time I am a bridesmaid.

I am glad Leanne won Project Runway, she deserved it for her clear point-of-view, ecologically sound fabric choices, and innovation. But (there's always a but) if I were a judge, judging solely on wear-ability, I would have picked Korto, hands down. Her colors, styles, and fabrics were beautifully chosen, and her ability to design for real, curvy bodies (like hers and mine) is a gift beyond any innovation.

When I accept my first Oscar.

A party next summer.

I'll figure out a place for this one.

Last night, while brushing his teeth, Coleman rubbed his face and said, "I'm so tired." Joel and I embraced. We're so happy our kids are tired at bedtime and now they can both verbalize it. My friend Lucie says it gets easier and now, I finally believe her. I had to have a little hard evidence of my own.

My darling parents, Eric and my sister Meg, myself and sissy Jayne, and you likely know the other combinations.

We hosted birthday dinner today for the O'Reilly Clan (Meg, Matty and Moms bdays). Here's what we had:

Hennepin, Stella, Dog Days, and Hacker-Pschorr beers
Red wine: El Coto (Rioja) and Trefethen (Merlot)
White wine: New Gewurz North Coast (Gewurztraminer)

New French baguette with local bleu, Vermont cheddar, and french Camembert cheeses, peppercorn salami, and marinated olives

Marinated beef tips with romas and crispy paper-thin onions
(marinade is Grampa Asher's cajun spice and buttermilk)
Spicy horseradish & tarragon sauces

Salmon cakes
on field greens salad

Salt-water boiled fingerling potatoes

Artichoke gratin

Roasted whole carrots and daikon radish

Apple crisp with vanilla and caramel ice cream
(apples from our tree and local honeycrisps) YUM!!

Twins Game--they won, we had a great time, and maybe next time we'll make it seven innings--or GASP! The whole game.

I know that Aidan is a good boy, a kind and well-mannered boy. He rarely has ulterior motives, and when he does, it is actually endearing. He has been naughty a total of twice, both times I found out because he told on himself. By naughty I mean knowing something is wrong and doing it anyway. I often (commonly every day) get compliments both from people we know and strangers about him.

He is a normal, 5-year-old boy. And by normal, I mean he moves his body uncontrollably at all the wrong times. He always takes the bigger piece/greater quantity of anything edible. He frequently doesn't want to go to school and comes up with reasons like "I know all of those letters!" and "We'll have to go to that BORING gym again." He has to have things a certain way.

But, he has many admirable qualities and those outweigh the little annoying ones. I have come a long way with him. I am proud of both of us.

Two sweet things from Aidan today:

We're leaving the house:
Aidan: I'm glad you brought those extra graham crackers along in your purse, Mama.
Me: I didn't bring them Aidan, they are in on the counter where you left them. Would you
like me to bring those extra graham crackers along in my purse?
Aidan: Yes please, Mama.


In the car on the way home after a slew of errands:
Aidan: Mama?
Me: Yes, honeybear?
Aidan: When we get home I'm going to put you right next to me.


Heart. Melting. Now.

A friend recently shared this commencement speech given by author Kurt Vonnegut in 1999, which included this passage that I thought beautiful:

Don't give up on books. They feel so good - their friendly heft, the sweet reluctance of their pages when you turn them with your sensitive fingertips. A large part of our brains is devoted to deciding whether what our hands are touching is good or bad for us. Any brain worth a nickel knows books are good for us.

I often will hold my book even after I am finished reading at night just because I'm not quite ready to relinquish it to the table, so you can imagine how these words made sense to me. I can imagine a novelist describing it: Under the covers, she grasped her book with both hands folded, a sort of prayer for the pages or as she drifted off, the stories told and untold in the book she clutched acted as a pacifier for her hectic brain.

I recently reconnected with a friend from my childhood on Facebook. I love Facebook, by the way, that's another post entirely. He is someone I literally came up with from Kindergarten all the way through graduation; we hung out in the same group for many years and I considered him one of my closest guy friends...ff 15 years to today. Anyhow, he moved to France about two years ago after living here in the US for 31 years and decided to start a blog to keep up with his friends and family. I haven't read all of it yet (that's a lot of posts), but what I have read so far is excellent. Excellent!! I emailed him to tell him I could hear his voice while I was reading it, he responded that was what he intended. Well done, Mr. Smith!

He is a guy that is so effortlessly good, cool, and genuine that you can't even be pissed at him about it. In this case, it was lovely to reconnect. Those close to me know that I often run into people...OK, every time I go somewhere I know someone. Target. The mall. The park. The bathroom. Sometimes I use the duck and cover. Sometimes I turn and walk the other way. I make very good small talk, but I am absolutely terrible at feigning interest.

It was nice to reconnect with someone I would walk right towards if I saw them in the street.
I've listed his page in my blogs so you can check it out.

I am struggling so much today with wanting to work more. I am in a funk. A funk! When I was driving home from work today, I started feeling really sad and anxious. When I got home I was thinking to myself why do you feel this way? Well, obvs, Kate, you didn't want to leave work. And guess what? I was right!

So then begins the dilemma. If I work more, which I can and have been recruited to, I will have to find a new childcare provider. Mine is only avail. on Mondays. And will the boys do well? I know for sure that me being home and crabby is not great for them...but is daycare better?

I'm going a little nuts thinking about it too much. But that is my specialty. I have to tell myself that it will happen the way it should. I think I can I think I can I think I can.....

Aidan's Last Day of School

Aidan finished up his last day at the St Anthony Community pschool (a couple of months ago). And after all the lamenting and planning, he will go to another year of preschool, not Kindergarten. I just felt weird about the going to St. Charles for one year and so I looked at another local preschool and we've decided to start there in the fall. It's about 3 blocks away from our house and a number of friends from ECFE go there, so he'll see familiar faces, then go onto K at Wilshire with all of them.

Our old school had a nice little graduation ceremony. We'll miss his teachers Lisa and Stephanie very much, they are both very talented and always admired Aidan's strengths.

Cole turns two

Our little fighter turned two on July 1. Two! Does this make me want to have another is the most often asked question I have found with a child turning two. No, it does not. It makes me want to have exactly two, thanks! I would think about another if I could get six months of good sleep. That is when I would entertain the thought of having another. Until then, it would just be irresponsible. I guess that's an unresolved topic.

Our year with Cole has been remarkable. He was not walking or speaking six months ago. Now, he is nearly running (tears here). And he is having conversations. One recent one went like this:

Cole: "Mama! More see-reel! Pleeeese!

Me: "Ok, Coleman, I'll be there in a minute, Mama's going potty."

Cole: "OK Mama!"

I was astonished that he replied back to me. Even Aidan commented about it.

We worked hard, gave up a lot, and it paid off. There's nothing better on Earth or beyond.

M

My former Facebook "About Me" Some asked about this about me to still be available, so here it is: I'm an at-home Mom of two darling (and daring) boys and wife to darling (and daring) Joel. I have lived in Northeast Minneapolis for ten years. I'm working to change the perception and everyday lives of at-home Moms (including my own) by kicking ass and taking names...ahem...I mean leading by example. North Minneapolis until 2, then Welcome Ave. (a first-ring suburb), organizing (or "recognizing" as I said) books, empty lot next door, played in the dirt, Neil Elementary, felt beautiful, red cable knit tights, Kelly, long braids, Coley, second grade, gym class, good at kickball, Dayna, light green cords, fourth grade teacher helped me realize I was special, thanked him by writing thank you notes to him everyday on my homework, fifth grade, pink pants, bangs that didn't suit me, Mr. Gamer, Michael Jackson, planted a tree at Neil for 4th grade teacher, kissed a boy, Long Lake, experience mean girls, trade jean jackets, Kari, Mr. Kelly, peach sweater, short skater hair, clarinet, Shelly, lockers, Esprit, Sivie, boys, Poison, center of attention, bedroom design, Luke, Teen Night, wood shop, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Armstrong HS, cross country, Kristen, spend hours on hair, makeup and clothes, started to wait for HS to be over, Camp JIM, Dad's paper-thin Levi's, weekends at Dayna's, State Fair, still waiting, Jessa, Chambers, pep rallies, Sarah, never missed a Friday- night dance, Beastie Boys, performances, finally graduate, magical Stillwater summer, Lollapalooza, U of M, Middlebrook Hall, waist-length hair, North Shore, goodness, badness, public drunkenness, and some more of the same, denim overall skirt, Pelham Blvd., Kurt-Pat-Tom-Dan, Old Chicago downtown, Bryant Ave. S., Joel!, Fatboy Slim, I was the Wedding Planner, v-necks, B,uchanan St. NE, got married to my favorite person in the world, love of flip flops discovered, Aidan (No. 1), RCIA, ECFE, Beth, postpartum depression, knitting, Adelheid, 30th, Key West, Mousetrap, Prince, 318, Lend Me a Tenor, St. Anthony (another first-ring suburb), Black-Eyed Peas, Matty marries Jayne, The Green Room, Coleman (No. 2), Brass in Pocket, and the best is yet to come...

Working it out

I have completed my first full week of work, which is one full day and one half day. It went very smoothly. Very well indeed! I expect that some weeks will be more difficult. But I really enjoyed myself, and actually felt spread evenly instead of very, very thin.

I figured out another bonus very quickly that I hadn't thought of before: listening to my own music. First up: Foo Fighters. As a few know, the man I loved just before Joel was Dave Grohl. When I met Joel I had a little shrine in my Bryant Ave S apartment on the fridge. I was a bit obsessed but was in the middle of a one year self-imposed boyfriend hiatus and felt it was part of that. At least that is how I explained it. Had Mr. Grohl himself come to my Bryant Ave S apt, he would have looked for the quickest way out I am sure.

I'll File This Under Good to Know

22

Created by OnePlusYou

New Job

I am starting a new job today. I am going back to work one day and one half days a week for former employer Diversified Wealth Management.

I am so excited for many reasons. Mostly, I need a break. A paycheck is nice. But there's something even more alluring: the clothes. I am thrilled to get dressed and ready for workplace action. All the cute shoes, jewelry, and non-t shirt tops are enough to send me over the top.

Wish me luck. The outfits I've got down, the rest is exciting and I'm so ready for it!

Mac and Cheese, Sneaky Style

As many know, I follow the Sneaky Chef and Deceptively Delicious way of cooking: what they don't know will make them healthy!

I know, I know, naysayers. I always offer veggies and fruit (I have, like most, no problem getting my kids to eat fruit) first. And I offer them on their plate as well as an accompaniment to their meal. And half of the time, they eat them.

This system, like most, is best started off and maintained by having some pantry items around. My regulars are squash (I buy frozen cubed when I can't get fresh), canned white beans, and spinach. When I make the "white" mac and cheese, in go the white beans. I puree them in 20 seconds in my tiny-sized Cuisinart. When I make "orange" mac and cheese, in goes the squash. Cooked carrots also work for orange.

French toast: make mixture as normal, add 1/4 cup squash. Voila! You'd never know the difference.

You simply match the puree with the color of the food you are making. I add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup to mac and cheese. The white beans make for a richer flavor and squash makes it sweeter.

Now just wait for the spinach brownies. Yum!

Making Nice

I am reading The Seven Stages of Motherhood by Ann Pleshette Murphy right now. I have come across so many good passages in this book that validate and support my life as a parent. One in particular sticks out today: making friends as a grown woman.

I have been blessed to have made many of my close friends in the last five years. Then last fall, I was doubly blessed when I met a woman named Maren. Ah, Maren. We just get each other, enough that we skipped all the beginning stages and awkwardness. We fast forwarded to the nitty gritty stuff within days of knowing each other. She has an amazing sense of style, she is vulnerable, present, and is a natural mother to her two children. Talking to her on the phone is something I make time for, whether is trading complaints or ideas for our standing night out.

The best part is, I am myself with her. Which on the best day is flawed beyond belief. Maren, you are amazing! Thanks.

Either way...

Coleman's back napping now two days in a row. I said it before, I'll say it again: I figured it out, if just for a few days. I'll declare that a victory, even if short lived.

It was fun to have him awake and it's a relief to have him sleeping. The rhythm is good right now.

God and Aidan: Not yet BFF

Aidan: "How big is God, Mama?"
Me: "God is all around us honey bear, he's bigger that us and smaller than us."
Aidan: "I don't want him to be bigger!"
Me: "Well sometimes he is."
Aidan: "I'm not sure if I like God."
Me: "Why not?"
Aidan: "Well, I just don't know him very well."

Point well taken.

Yapping and Napping

So Coleman has been yap yap yapping in his crib for about ten days until 10ish. So it occurred to me yesterday (why does it take so long to realize stuff with your kids? sleep deprivation? supreme love?) that he is yapping for about the same amount of time at night that he is napping during the day. He's. Giving. Up. His. Nap. May the Gods be with me.

I have never heard of a child giving up their nap this early. Please write with stories of others doing so to console me. Write soon and often.

So today we went to the park at 10, stayed until 1. Ate lunch, then headed to the pool until 4.

He was asleep by 7:20. Down for the count.

Guess I figured that out.

We have indeed walked with dinosaurs

For Easter, my parents bought us tickets to Walking with Dinosuars: The Live Experience. We had just Netflixed and watched the series when they started to advertise the live show on television. To get Aidan ready, I found some videos of the show and the making of the show on You Tube. The first five minutes were a bit precarious because Aidan was in an arena for the first time and we were in the front row of our section. We moved back a bit to some empty seats and he was fully interested the rest of the time.

His favorite dino is Ankylosaurus, so he could not wait for him to come out. I can't believe the effort that went into putting this show together. It was enjoyable and breathtaking. Click here to see the pictures we took. Yes, they are THAT big.

Yipee yi kai-yay

I woke up today with a purpose: to get downtown by 11:30 with both boys. The reason: to see my dear big brother play on Peavy (not PV) Plaza. It is an outdoor sunken garden right off Orchestra Hall. My brother and his cohort, John, have a little acoustic duo going, and it is Acoustic Tuesday after all.

We packed a picnic lunch and headed down. First stop, Nana's. We picked her up and parked, arrived with time to spare and got a spot up front. We see Matty and John on stage and Aidan is thrilled to know the person performing. Not hard for Aidan, but he felt special. Then arrives Adelheid and Henry with Elizabeth in tow. Then Dayna (my BFF), Renee, and their kickball teammate Ed. Then Jayne (my SIL) with Chase, then her 6 friends, then her Mom. Then comes my Dad. We had a entire section filled with family and friends. From a distance, I saw Matty's college friends had arrived. What a group!

It was perfect weather and was enjoyed by all. Aidan went to spend the day with Nana and Cole fell asleep on the way home. Lovely.

Coleman

The boy's on a roll. Within two weeks of starting physical therapy, he is walking up stairs, walking backwards, starting to run, and kicking a ball. Go Coleman Go!!!!!!!

A Tidy House...A Boring Life

While I'll be the first to admit that my house isn't as clean as it used it be, I'll also be the first to say "thank goodness".

My old high ideal of what meant a clean home was, put plainly, unattainable. I would spend a week (note that it does not say weekend) working on it until I got it just right. As it looks now, if you walked in off the street, is presentable and deserving of praise considering my current occupation.

It is nice as well that because of my commitment to green practices, that clean is a different state. Clean used to be the chemical-laden faux-lemon smell. Now it is simply clean, meaning the dirt, streaks, and germs are not present, but neither are the chemicals and fumes that go along with the old clean. And the savings from the products I don't buy is tangible.

My children are a part of the cleaning crew around my house. I read an article recently that spoke of our current child-centered universe, where we go out of our way to ensure our children are happy and entertained. I do not subscribe to this. In my experience, trying to make anyone, even an adult, happy and entertained is futile. Happiness is gained from work. And only work a person does them self. And heaps of self esteem can be found in being a contributing member of your own family.

The author of this article rounded out my theory nicely. When I see Cole getting giddy stuffing the chute full of laundry or Aidan piling up and sorting books, it makes me happy. And there goes my theory.

Things children can do around the house:
Gather dishes and put them in the sink
Laundry chute duty
Load the washer with a pile you've put out for them
Sort socks and figure out who's are who's
Squirt and clean the windows they can reach
Load the dishwasher
And no one, I repeat no one, should be cleaning up their toys but them!

After all, we are raising future roommates, partners, husbands...

Just Wondering...

Wondering when status quo turned into a good situation. When nothing going on became a relief.

Going out in my 30s

Love it. So much less pretense, so much more fun.

L to R: Beth, Shannon, me!, Larina, Michelle.

I met Beth when Aidan and her Sophia were 9 months...we connected immediately. Shannon and I are kindred spirits and also perfectly compatible going out companions. I have NEVER met someone who makes me feel shy, until her! Love it! Larina, who I met ten years ago when she worked with Dayna at Joe's Market on 15th and Como...and just figured out our kids go to the same school. And Michelle, who is flat out the most courageous person I know.

Alton Brown's Banana Bread

We made this spectacular recipe today. And sans my loaf pan (one of the nine families we know that had a baby in the past few months must have it), I made 12 muffins and one tiny loaf. And sans 3-4 bananas, I had just two, I added two cups of applesauce. The banana graveyard is where I put the over ripe bananas that are best for bread (in the freezer). It turns the skin black, but the fruit is perfect.

This is THE BEST banana bread. The boys are chowing down just a few minutes out of the oven.

3-4 ripe bananas
1C sugar
1 2/3 C flour
1/3 C oat or whole wheat flour
1t baking soda
1t salt
1 stick butter (unsalted) or if it's salted, leave the salt above out-=melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1t vanilla or almond extract
1 c nuts chopped coarsely (optional) sn chocolate chips are also very good

350 oven
mash banana and sugar
combine dry ingredients
whisk together butter eggs and extract
combine wet ingredients
mix it all together until just combined (do not mix smooth)

Bake 50 mins to 1 hr
Cool for 15 mins in pan (it will continue to cook)
Wrap in foil or wrap to keep for 5 days (doubtful that it will last that long)

Spread with pb or eat plain. Great snack for kids, great for breakfast.

Good-Better-Thankful

Things are good. As someone who has survived severe postpartum depression, I rarely say that. I haven't said it more than a handful of times since Cole was born. There is always a sense, no matter how well I am (which is very, very well right now, thanks for asking), that things could plummet at any moment into cloudy bleakville. Recovery from PPD is much like recovery from an addiction. You get better, and better, you work at it, but you are never, ever fully recovered. And that is very hard. I just have to live with it. And living is better than the alternative.

If you or anyone you know may be suffering, visit www.jennyslight.org for information and help.

Crying makes me weary

Cole has a little bug and has been very whiny and crying pretty much non-stop today. Oh. My. Goodness. I am just absolutely spent. There is something about attending to a whiny toddler that wears me out like nothing else.

I have to admit that it does remind me of when I was so depressed with Aidan while he simultaneously was going hungry and colic-y, crying all of the time. Maybe it's just a trigger that sends me to I-need-to-leave-this-living-hell-land. And maybe it is just that I had a bona-fide night out this past weekend. And I am still hung over. Ok, maybe not a traditional alcohol-related hangover. I did have my share (and then some) of gin and tonics, but mostly I think it was the 3:30 a.m. arrival home. My theory is one hour before midnight is worth three after (it used to be worth two, but I'm not getting any younger). I primped for more than an hour, scrubbed my skin within an inch of its life, donned a new (thanks weight loss!) top from my favorite store, Nordstrom, and (gasp!) sprayed on a bit of bronzer. I love getting prettied up, not a lot better as far as I am concerned. I would make an excellent celebrity or model.

I got blisters from the pointy-toes heels and waited for a ride (with my girls) outside for more than hour (can you say hy-pppppp-o-ther-mia?). Then, a very sweet, very young gentleman loaned me his sweatshirt while I waited (and they say chivalry is lost on the gen-nexters). The point is, the farther the departure from my everyday life, the more time it takes to get back into it. Worth it? Yup. Every second.

Bowling prodigy?

We are on spring break this week and in an effort to keep the boys occupied, we went bowling. We went to Elsie's in NE Minneapolis after a friend told us that they had put the bumpers up and had ramps for the balls to roll down for the little ones. It was a fun and inexpensive outing. Aidan wore his madras pants (he picked this morning, so it was purely by chance) and they looked too perfect with the neon green, read and cream bowling shoes. The shoes were new(ish) and had velcro--a major improvement from the ones I used with two strands of lace left.

And Coleman loved loved pushing the ball down that ramp. "Go, ball, go!!" he exclaimed each and every time. And then he clap for himself, all proud. Aidan used the ramp a few times and then started to throw in freehand a few sets in. He was an ace! He got two spares and one STRIKE!! He always rises to the occasion, that first born of mine. Even when, of all things, bowling.

I didn't like bowling when I was growing up. Well, I didn't like bowling alleys, actually. The bowling I could take or leave. The smoke, the general smell, the undesirables, the bathrooms, I simply couldn't take it all. Maybe one at a time, but not all at one time. At 10am, the alley wasn't bad at all. Some overnighters from a local manufacturing plant were there winding down, but everything was clean, and thanks to the ban, smoke free. FYI: We didn't use the bathroom.

No Nuk Coleman

We weaned Cole off his pacifier this past weekend. He's been doing pretty well, but then last night he talked and talked and then was up early this morning. THEN, he napped only for 20 minutes today. Not good. Not good at all.

When Joel got home tonight, I told him I was thinking of going out to buy a new pacifier. I know it's a bad idea. But maybe he's not quite ready. He is a being weaned a about a little later than Aidan was. We said goodbye to the nuks with Aidan and it was pretty much over. But with him, it was keeping him up at night, so it seemed like the logical time. He has a lovey (which is what we call the boys' blankets), so it's not that he doesn't have a transitional object. He saw a baby at the library today with a nuk in and wouldn't take his eyes off of her. Nuk love.

I think I'll give it a few more days before I give up the $4 for 2 of those perfect, mouth-watering, self-soothing, little silicone enablers.

A decision, finally

We have decided to send Aidan to St. Charles next year as a third year of preschool. The catch is he'll be in Kindergarten there. The thought is it will give him an academic challenge (he's already getting a bit bored) while giving him the room to grow socially in a classroom of just 10-12 children. St. Charles is the small school of the church we belong to here in St Anthony. We are relieved to have made a decision.

He will be going in the morning, from 8am until 11:30. This will be an early start for us. There is an option of taking the bus, but as I remember, this adds about 1/2 to your start time. 7:30 is too early to have him ready, so we'll drive there in winter and walk or Burley when it's nice out. We'll have to adjust our schedules a bit, but believe it will be a good fit. Aidan will have more time to spend playing and learning, and since he has always had trouble moving from one activity to the next, this will be great for him.

He's been talking about it a lot and is excited, hoping somedays it was coming sooner rather than later. I am sure it will come all to soon for Joel and I....our baby going to Kindergarten, even if it is for a "starter" year.

Meanwhile, back on the Coleman front: taking many steps, getting confident, toddling around the house with one of many walkers, cars, and shopping carts. We're so proud of how far he's come. His language is light years ahead of where Aidan was at this time, and his comprehension is also advanced. His fine motor skills, like his brothers, are exceptional. He stacked 11 blocks with no hesitation recently. In this year of much worry and even more trips to the specialist, I have learned that there is no right time, no exact date, for children and that no one knows my kids like I do. He walked in front of the whole ECFE class last Wednesday, which was very, very sweet indeed. I've never been more proud.

From the wedding in NJ






Aidan coming down his new slide

The boys on Halloween (with their jammies under their costumes)

One small step for a boy, one giant leap for our little Coleman

Cole walked from the middle of the room to the couch.

Dishwasher love

Since we have moved into our new home (2 years now), we have been mourning the loss of the super-awesome (lacking a better description) dishwasher we had at our old home. The whole kitchen was better there, but that's another post entirely. I have been dealing with scale-y build up, unclean dishes, and having to run it half full just to get the dished partially clean. Yuck. Needless to say, dishes have been a sore point and somewhat depressing. And having had a wicked case of depression after A.P. was born, I do not use this term lightly.

I never gave up hope, and right before Christmas, I was dutifully rewarded. I bought a bottle of Cascade Complete. As if to say, this will get your dishes Completely clean. Well, I'll be damned, they are right on! This stuff is worth every penny--I would pay double. The dishes are shiny, sparkly if you will, and not a speck of hard water scale or food to be found. I don't even have to rinse! Hoo-expletive-ray.

This has been a recent highlight of my really, really, really exciting life.

To Send or Not to Send, That is the Question

Aidan's (4 years, 5 months) birthday is August 8. He will be eligible to go to Kindergarten this fall. But now most are sending boys to Kindergarten at closer to 6 years instead of 5. For the most part, this is because boys are not ready for the large amount of sitting and waiting that school requires you to do.

I have done a fair amount, OK, a ton of research on the subject. I have talked to parents of boys, teachers, read online parents' forums, articles, etc etc etc. Exhausting resources is one thing I do well. I found one or two cases where people described their older son, who they waited to send, as bored. But the large majority of the time they are regretting sending them when they have just turned 5. And to add to that, signing songs of good grades, better behavior, and excelling at athletics when they are sent them at just 6 (or even 51/2). Additionally then they are emotionally prepared should they have trouble with the academics at some point. And with his bday in August, he will just turn 6 and then go, where many will turn in Sept or Oct. He will only be slightly older than his classmates, by a few weeks or months. If Aidan had been born two weeks late, he wouldn't even be eligible to attend. That fact is the one that really sealed the decision for me to have him attend another year of preschool. These things along with all the other items in support of waiting outweigh the few that described boredom. I think we'll be able to find ways to challenge him if there are a few times when he is bored over the years. And if he turns out to be MENSA material or a prodigy of some sort, we may go an entirely different path anyway.

The biggest obstacle is getting over that I really wanted him to go this year. I wanted to believe. His teachers say he is ready, and I wanted to just go with that. It would have been a much easier route, that is for sure.

December, days 1-23, you would not be picked first in dodge ball

Sorry 12th month, but it is true. As a whole, the time between Thanksgiving and right before Christmas is not my favorite now that I have children. There is no downtime, not an ounce of time to just "be". I am happy that it is over, and that I have gained the 100 square feet that the tree and gifts take up. I have sorted out most of the overflowing gifts that we all received. The highlight for Joel was an iPod and iTunes giftcards, for me a nice sum to spend at the Juut Salonspa, Origins basket, and a beautiful cotton jersey scarf. Joel's gift signals a return to his love of music, something which has gone by the way of sleep-filled nights in the last four years. Mine, a love of beauty treatments, soft feet, and a warm neck. The last is something that I have tried to achieve since I cut my hair above my neckline for the first time since middle school. My (sic) brother in law Eric drew my name this year (we do this with the O'Reillys). He is such a thoughtful and lovely human being and not just since he gave me such a nice gift. I really have grown to love him.

It was a wonderful Christmas and New Year to wrap up 2007, which was a hard year. I ended the year by going on a date with my darling (and daring) husband. We went to see I Am Legend at the St. Anthony Main theater (the site of many of our pre-child dates). We had both recently finished the short story. The movie is short, about an hour and 40 minutes. Will Smith was a superb hero and much more watchable I thought as the sole actor in a movie than Tom Hanks in Castaway. I believed what was happening to him the entire time. His grief was palpable, his fear, moving. Excellent and recommended, not perhaps for the faint of heart however. It is scary as hell.

I had a weekend of movies, maybe trying to make up for the last couple of months. I went to see Juno at The Heights theater with a friend. A lovely teenage coming of age written by local girl-made-good Diablo Cody (not her real name). Full of sweetness, cynicism, and lots of teenage slang, it was a story of two first-timer friends who wind up pregnant (is that a consequence of sex?). Juno is the main character, named after the wife of Zeus. Michael Cera plays Bleeker, the male main character, and I would see anything starting this talented and unbelievably funny young actor. He has also recently starred in Arrested Development and Superbad.

Then, Joel went out with his friends Sunday night and I topped off this weekend of great movies with a lovely little tale called Once (from Netflix). Just see it, it is so good.

We are glad that it is a new year with a name that rhymes with great.