Stressfull Dreams

I had a dream last night that I was voting. And I couldn't get the punch to punch out at the correct spot. And then the CHADs kept sticking. I was very stressed. Then I was thinking why do we still have voting cards with CHADs? Then I remember thinking I should have signed up to vote absentee so I'd have more time to do this. Ugh. I was very stressed. Don't you hate stressful dreams? I haven't even thought about voting, so I don't know why I had that dream, and we have the fill-in-the-bubble type ballots. No CHADs.

Then I dreamt that Aaron bought a foreclosed apartment-home for $1. It had a GORGEOUS view. Awesome view. It was disgusting inside. I was stressed in that dream too b/c of the mess.

Don't you hate it when you wake up stressed and not rested?

First Step!

Ethan took his first step un-assisted today!!! I couldn't get him to repeat his feat, but I did witness that first wobbly step!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

On Sunday we met up with our college friends Jun and Amy with their two daughters at a local farm. Their daughters are Micah and Joel's age, so it is very fun. The oldest, O, is in a Japanese immersion kindergarten, so it was fun to compare notes! =) Micah and O get along famously. We have pictures from when they were 2 years old, holding hands. Unfortunately, when we got to the pumpkin patch we realized there were no batteries in the camera. Jun took lots of photos, so we'll have to wait for those.

We've been to this particular farm for several years now. They have a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch, a hay maze upstairs in the barn and a pumpkin trebuchet. What's a trebuchet you might ask? Glad you did. Kind of like a catapult. The farmer loves to give a physics lesson before setting it off. The pumpkin splatters into several pieces then the kids run over to pick up the pieces and feed them to the pigs.

We went to college with Jun and Amy at Biola (which is in LA). Now Aaron and Jun work together. And not just at the same company, because it's huge, but actually work together! Such a small world!

Joel-isms

I thought I would document these cute Joel sayings before they go away.

Why-come? "Mama, why-come we are going to the store?"

Goody "The candy is goody for me," or from Veggie Tales, "Pizza Angel, please come to me, sauce and cheese so goody!"

Chuck E. Jesus

Curried Pumpkin-Apple Soup

I found this recipe in Family Fun magazine. It is very yummy, filling and contains ingredients I normally have on hand. I usually serve it with biscuits. I sub the heavy cream with soy milk and it tastes great. The curry just gives it a great flavor, it isn't spicy. My kids love it! Great Autumn soup.

2 T butter
1 c onion
1 c chopped celery (I sub about 1 t of celery seed)
1/2 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped (i don't peel it--too much work)
2 t mild curry powder
3 c chicken broth
1 can pumpkin
1/4 t salt plus more to taste
1 bay leaf
1/3 c heavy cream
2-3 T honey or maple syrup

sour cream and chives for garnish if desired

Melt butter in a medium size soup pot. Sitr in the onion, celery and apple. Partially cover the pot and saute in the ingredients over medium-high heat until the onion is clear, about 8 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and saute the mixture for another minute. Sitr in 1 cup of chicken broth and cook it for 1 minute more.

Pour the content of the pan into a blender or food processor, add the pumpkin, and puree the soup until it's smooth. [OR use a submersible blender right in the pot--MUCH easier. If you like to make soup, this makes the process sooo sooo sooo much easier and less messy. I highly recommend this kitchen gadget. It also makes great, smooth pudding. ] Pour it all back into the pot, then stir in the remaining chicken broth, salt and bay leaf. Set the soup over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

After 5 minutes, stir in the heavy cream (or other milk substitute) and 2 T of honey. Add more salt or honey to taste. Serve with sour cream and chives if desired. Note: Do NOT use soy creamer as a substitute. Soy creamer has extra sugar in it and makes the soup taste funny.

Seattle Marathon, here I come!

So, I did it. I registered for this. Granted, I'm doing the half marathon. AND I'm walking it to boot. But its a start, gosh darn it! I figure if I can walk 60 miles, then I can do a measely 13.1!!

Furniture Moving

Two weekends ago we moved rooms around. The office/guest room is now in the basement and the toy room is now where the office used to be. If you haven't been to our house, we have a room off of the kitchen that we have used as an office because that is what the last owner had it as. We have a small basement that until late was sort of a "catch-all" room, mainly filled with toys. We wanted it to be a rec room, but its not really large enough for that. Aaron also built in some book shelves/cabinets/sewing table when we first moved in, which didn't really go with the whole rec room theme. So we put the desk and day bed down there and brought all the toys upstairs. Wow. I don't know why in the world we didn't think of this sooner! It's quiet down there making it much easier for Aaron to work from home. Now we can sweep the toys into the toy room and shut the door. A remodel that didn't cost a dime.

The OKC Thunder

Am I the only one that when I see this, all I can think of is Chick Hicks? Ka-Chiga Ka-Chiga Ka-Chiga....

***enter deafening silence***

come on you mothers of boys who have the movie memorized like me (cough Jodi cough cough)

Sarah Palin

So I'm not going to talk about politics. More importantly, what is up with the accent? I know several Alaskans and none of them say "you betcha". Is she really from Minnesota?

Cranio-Facial Clinic Visit

We took Ethan to the Cranio-Facial clinic at Children's to see a Cranio-Facial Pediatrician, Dr. H. The doctor spent a lot of time with us, asking about Ethan's health history and examining him. The upshot is that she thinks there is a problem with his palate, but the only reason we would do anything about it is if it causes speech delays. It isn't bothering him enough to gain enough weight, so we wait until 15-18 months when his speech develops. Then we bring him in for a speech sample. We might still do a swallow study to see if there is a problem with swallowing. They inject dye into some liquid and feed it to him. Then they can tell where it goes in his body. Dr. H wanted to talk with his regular pediatrician, Dr. B, before doing any more tests. I like how thoughtful Dr. H was and concerned, but not wanting to rush into anything. I also like that she would talk with Dr. B, since Dr. B knows more about his overall health history.

This just in...

Joel told me that the saltines I just bought taste like pancakes. Hmmmm.... cheap breakfast?

Cooking Class

Last Saturday Micah and I went to a cooking class at PCC. Micah loves to cook but I've been hesitant to put him any cooking classes because of his food allergy. Most kid food is heavy on the cheese. But at PCC they emphasize healthy, organic cooking (PCC is like Whole Foods). So, in the class we made zucchini muffins, vegetable soup and applesauce. The only dairy was milk for the muffins, but that was easily substituted with soy milk.

I've also been hesitant about cooking classes because I feel that I could just do the same thing at home. However, the class gave me a lot of good ideas about getting Micah involved in the process. Also, the teacher is a professional chef who wrote the recipes herself. They were very very yummy and gave me some great ideas too! So it wasn't just "kid" food, but adult food too!

If you live in the area, I would highly recommend their classes.

On the school front, Micah has been doing great, but having some "sitting still" issues that I'm sure many boys have in kindergarten. He is diligent about doing his work but when it comes to sitting on the carpet and listening, well, not so much. He had to "change his light to amarillo" twice last week. This week he kept it verde all week, so we are going to Chuck E. Cheese this weekend as a reward. He also started riding the bus to and from school, which has helped me out immensely! In the afternoon it is only kindergarteners since he is in half-day. He loves it because there is only one half-day class so he knows everyone on the bus. In the morning it is K-5 on the bus. A little scary for him, so he is getting used to it. The kids in Micah's class seem like great kids. All the parents seem like they are really involved. The Mom's are planning our own field trips in the afternoons since they won't be having field trips for half-day. I think its going to be super fun to be able to do that with him this year.

How's your school year going?

More Health Issues!

I am bound and determined to keep up this blog! This is the longest I have journaled at anytime in my life! The problem is that I have a hard time keeping up with downloading pictures. I dont post because I think "that would look good with pictures", but then I don't take the pictures off the camera so I don't blog.

Anyway, I am going forward from here, pictures or not. I will back track to this summer and post photos when I can get around to it.

Today I took Ethan to the allergist. We suspected he was allergic to eggs and the doctor confirmed our suspicions with a skin test. He was also tested for milk and peanuts which came out clear! In fact, we got the green light to try out some yogurt. I'm still leary of putting him on cow's milk when he turns a year. I just don't want to have to think about spillage around the house. I have enough to worry about. He was also skin tested with the flu vaccine because it contains egg in it. He tested clear for that so he was able to get the shot. This now makes 3 people in our house with epi-pens. Micah, me and now Ethan. (Did I mention that I'm now allergic to crab, lobster and shrimp? Its a real bummer because I really like sushi and most of it contains crab.)

Good news is the doctor said to continue feeding Ethan baked goods which contain egg since he has never reacted to that. He just needs to avoid the really "eggy" dishes like soufle, quiche, boiled, eggs, fried eggs, etc. The thing that will get hard is the cross-contamination issue with pans and such. It seems like he is pretty sensitive. The reason our suspicions were aroused is one time, I fixed scrambled eggs with some sausage and vegetables. I purposefully didn't give him any eggs but picked out the veggies and meat to feed him. He immediately broke out in hives around his mouth, presumably from the tiny bits of eggs left on the veggies. I would hate to see his reaction if I fed him a bite of eggs!

Next up tomorrow: a visit to the Cranio-Facial pediatrician at Children's. He's been having milk come out of his nose when he nurses. His regular ped didn't find any cleft palate (or is it palette? Julie?) , but she wants him to get checked out because its so unusual for a baby his age.

Happy Birthday Joel!

Happy Birthday Joely Poley!

one day old

6 months

one year

18 months

2 1/2

34 months

My baby is 3. Now he says things like "Stop treating me like a baby". He is definitely a Big Boy now. We were at the store the other day and the clerk called him a "cutey" and Joel thought she was talking to Ethan. The lady told him she was talking to HIM and he frowned and furrowed his brow. " I am NOT a cwetie! I'm a BIG Boy!" Joel is all boy. Baseball, football, basketball, he loves it all. He plays for literally hours on end with his cars and trains, making up stories. It's so fun to listen to him talk to his cars. But he doesn't need toys; He will make airplanes out of sticks and fly them around. Happy Birthday Joel, I love you so much! And just so you know, you'll ALWAYS be my baby!!

I know, I know, I need to post....

...but now I have mastitis. At 9 months. What? I thought I had made it through unscathed.

Micah's in school. He likes it alot. He already knows several Spanish words like red, September, backpack, hello, goodbye...

I'll post again when I can form longer sentences.

Adios!

Looks like I spoke too soon

So, I guess we could have stayed longer in Whistler after all. We arrived home late Saturday night, and went school shopping Monday-- only to discover Monday evening that there would be no school the next day..... Or the next ....or the next ...or the next day. Yep, still no school because the teacher's are on strike. Guess I will homeschool after all. This is getting to be ridiculous! The two parties are still no closer together than they were in June. Thank goodness this is only kindergarten. Imagaine what a pain this is for all the high school juniors and seniors with set dates for SAT and AP exams.

End of Summer and School

Summer finally came to town. Too bad it only lasted a week. Last week we spent every day at the lake or spray park, soaking up the rays. Then we'd come home collapse, clean up a bit, eat dinner then watch Michael Phelps win a gold medal. Go to bed, wake up, repeat.

This week has been spent getting Ethan's out-grown clothes ready for a children's consignment sale, doing errands and generally getting ready for our Whistler trip. Aaron's parents are coming in tonight, then we drive up Sunday. We've never been so we are looking forward to it! It is also the site for the 2010 Winter Olympics so we're expecting lots of construction. Hopefully it won't be too bad.

Micah starts school in a week and a half. We didn't exactly plan our vacation well. He starts 2 days after we get back. We booked the house a year ago and I wasn't even thinking about school schedules! Our life is going to change! What a big step! My oldest is going to school. I get sad thinking about not having him around, but I know that it is the right decision for him.

I don't know think I've mentioned it here but Micah will be going to a Spanish immersion school in our local school district. It's a lottery system to get into the school. Micah made it into the half-day kindergarten class. Around here you have to pay for full day kindergarten at public schools-- I think this is a funding issue from the state as they only get enough funding for half day kindy. The Spanish Immersion program is a K-12 program with grades K-5 spent at the Spanish elementary school. Grades 6-12 are integrated into regular district schools with the students taking 1-2 special classes per year. By the time they are in 10th grade they take AP Spanish and in grades 11 and 12 they take college classes. What's nice about the program is that you can only enter in kindy. So if Micah continues the program, he will be with the same kids until he graduates. Since it is a special program and requires planning to attend the school, the parents are more involved. This makes the school more of a public/private hybrid.

They learn everything in Spanish from day one. I know very little Spanish so I will get to learn along with him! They don't even learn to read in English until 2nd or 3rd grade. The principal showed us the district test scores and the students are behind their peers in English in 2nd grade but by 5th grade they are equal or have surpassed other schools in the district.

It sounds great, but we'll see how it works out for Micah. I'm excited but sad to see my baby go off to school! I keep telling myself its only for 3 hours a day!

Ethan

5 1/2 months old

Ethan has been gaining weight like a champ! I am so very thankfull for Prevacid. It has literally changed my life. I can now wear the same clothes for one day. I don't have (new) carrot and prune stains on the carpet! I have a very happy baby! He's even getting some chubby cheeks!

On the other hand, it looks like he may have an allergy to amoxocillin and/or eggs. Sigh. Drug allergy would be pretty easy to deal with, but eggs? I sure hope not. We'll know for sure when we can get in to see the allergist.

I can't end on a down note. We got back Micah's latest blood test results and it looks like he might be outgrowing his allergy! This is a big blessing!!

Mt. Rainier

Aaron did make it to the summit. Their team was the only one to make it that day. They made it to the summit and within 10 minutes a cloud formed and caused white-out conditions. The water in his backpack froze instantly. Short story is the only way they found their way back down was by using the GPS I bought him for his birthday the previous month!

The kids and I drove down and met him when he came off the mountain. He came down at the White River Campground. We then drove around through Longmire to Whittaker's Bunkhouse in Ashford which is on the opposite side of the mountain.

The kids were VERY excited to stay at a motel. We thought briefly about camping.... but I chickened out. We went camping when Joel was a baby and he screamed just about the whole night. Definitely didn't want to experience that again with Ethan. Especially on a night that Aaron would be exhausted. The Bunkhouse is a very comfortable place to stay with kids. They even had a climbing wall out front that the kids had to try out.

This is outside the place we had breakfast:

Here is Joel, Ethan and I at Paradise. Notice the snow. Middle of July and there was still 5 feet of snow there!! We were hoping to do some hiking and to see the wildflowers. This year there was alot of late snowfall.

This is as far as we got on the trail:

Inside the newly remodelled Paradise Lodge:

My Dad with Ethan.

In Absentia

Okay, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I'm planning to update on what we've been up to this summer:
1. Mt. Rainier pictures and stories.
2. My Dad and Betty got married!
3. summer activities
4. Ethan's progress

I also celebrated a birthday yesterday. Yay, me. They threw a huge party for me in Beijing!

Now I have to brag for just a minute. Micah, age 5 1/2, currently knows more about geography then most adults. Yesterday he was putting together a world puzzle. It was halfway done and he pointed to Italy and identified it. Then proceeded to tell me where Sicily was located. Today we were playing a geography game where you draw a country card and then identify where it is located. We were working on Africa when I drew "Lesotho", which is located in the middle of South Africa. (I got it wrong!) We were looking at where it was located and Micah points to the country next to South Africa and says, "That's Swaziland". He was correct! How does he know this???? I didn't even know that. I've heard of Swaziland, and I could tell you it was in Africa, but I had no idea where it was located. Now I know.

Apparently its because of this website.