Toronto!

Some have suggested I resurrect the blog to tell of our adventures here in Toronto. We decided to move here for 1 year for a temporary position at Microsoft Canada. We thought it would be a good move for the kids to experience a different culture and an adventure to explore a new place.

We arrived the 28th of August. The next day we house hunted like crazy and found a place, thank goodness! Our current temporary housing is on the 3oth floor of a high-rise building. Very claustrophobic with 3 boys, to be sure! We are now waiting for our shipment of goods to arrive here to be able to move in.

More pictures from Day 2

Micah in the Parque Central

The Cathedral


Lake Nicaragua

The Fort

Parque Central

Ancient "alligator statue from museum

our hotel room

Day 2--Granada

Cathedral San Francisco

The kids were SOO excited to be in Nicaragua that they woke up early. The time change was in our favor, but that didn't stop Micah from coming in at 4am (2 am PT) and announcing that he couldn't sleep anymore. Fortunately Micah did get back to sleep and after a few more hours, we woke up to wonderful sunshine.

The first hotel we stayed at was Hotel Con Corazon in Granada. The hotel was started by a few Dutchmen as a non-profit with all the profits going back into the community to fund education--helping with books and uniforms. The hotel kind of has a youth hostel kind of feel to it but is very neat and very clean. In other words, perfect for families like us with kids. Our room was the family suite with 2 rooms and a "jack-n-jill" bathroom in between. There was a pool, hammocks and a giant chess board. Every morning they served breakfast in the courtyard. Since Granada is a Spanish Colonial city, nearly every building has a courtyard garden. This made the pool nice since the building provided some shade from the sun.

The first day we walked to the Cathedral San Francisco. Next to the church was a museum with art and some ancient artifacts. Micah read the signs to us in Spanish. I understood about every 3rd word or so and could get the general drift of what the displays were about.

We then walked to the Central Park of the city and took a horse-drawn carriage tour around the city. Granada is a Spanish Colonial city, built in 1520, making it one of the oldest cities in the Americas. One thing that is very interesting is that they still use the horse-drawn carriage as a means of transportation. This isn't something they brought in for the tourists. It has been used here continuously for hundreds of years. We'd see regular people riding to the market or work in a carriage-taxi. Horses, bikes, cars and oxen all shared the road. Our carriage-driver spoke English and took us on a tour of the sites of Granada, including some churches, Lake Nicaraua and an old fort which had protected the city from pirates.

At the Cathedral Gardens

The river Rio San Juan connects the Carribean Sea with Lake Nicaragua, on which Granada sits. Pirates would navigate the river up to the Lake and then attack Granada. Lake Nicaragua is a huge lake (think Great Lakes) and is home to the only freshwater shark in the world. Granada was a very important city before the Panama Canal was built because once boats got to Granada, then it was only 50 miles over to the Pacific via horse. During the gold rush this is how everyone got over to California from the East Coast and Europe.

After our city tour the kids were excited to swim in the pool!!

Day One of our trip to Nicaragua

playing at SeaTac while waiting for our flight

I'm going to post date these to when they actually happened, regardless as to when I actually wrote them. =)

Day one began with us waking early to make our 8:30am flight to Houston. We had a 3 hour lay-over there and then on to Managua. The Houston flight was 3hr 30min and the Managua flight was only 3 hours. It was nice to have it broken up like that. I get REAL antsy on flights now that I have a super active 2 year old. Its like claustrophobia sets in on me too. The boys overall were very good. It helped that now we had a seat for Ethan and he had a car seat. I think that made him more comfortable and he was able to sleep in it for at least part of the time.

Customs and Immigration in Managua was very easy. We had some forms to fill out and we had to pay a tax of $5 each. We were the last flight of the night so there were no lines to wait in. All the bags showed up and then we had to haul them over to our waiting van. Right away I noticed chivalrous nature of their culture. Aaron and I both had a luggage cart. An immigration official noticed me struggling and right away came over to help me with the cart. The van driver insisted on opening the doors for us. This happened over and over to us while there.

The ride from Managua to Granada took longer than expected. It is VERY dark and you never know when a cow will meander into the road. Our driver was very safe, so that meant we drove a bit slowly. We made it safe and sound to Hotel Con Corazón.

They whisked our bags away and put them in our room. We all collapsed on our beds. We had actually made it to Nicaragua!!

Wisdom

Micah today at the Aquarium:
"See that group of fish, that's a school of fish. Oh and see that fish in the front by himself? That's the teacher."

Our first "cast"

We went to see a children's orthopedist at Children's Hospital. Let's see that brings the count to ....7 children's specialist for our family. When we checked out today after the appointment they give you a print out of all your next appointments at Children's. There were no less than 4 upcoming appointments with various specialists, all for Ethan.

They took more x-rays with a better machine and I was able to see the break clearly. A horizontal zig-zag across the bone. It is on his left ring finger in the bone closest to his hand. They almost put a cast on it but since he is so young it would be hard to keep it dry. Instead they wrapped it up with co-flex tape. He has to wear it for 3 weeks.

On the up side, it seems as though this hasn't slowed him down in the least. He's been very happy and playful. I pray it heals correctly!

Fractured Finger

Today, we had the first incident of a broken bone amongst the children in our household. I am amazed that with 3 boys, it has taken this long. However, it has only taken our youngest 20 months to now enjoy this claim to fame.

Yesterday I was outside with Ethan talking to a roof estimator and he was happily playing in the yard on a large rock, climbing up and down. He stumbled a bit on the way down, I guess falling on his hand the wrong way. His left ring finger is black and blue and bruised at the base of the finger. We went in to get x-rays today and the doctor thinks it is fractured so he has a splint taped on with a sock to cover it so he doesn't rip off the splint. We also have instructions to see an orthopedic physician at Children's early next week.

Micah and Joel were super excited to see the x-rays of Ethan's hand. Micah was the doctor's helper when she was putting the splint on his hand. Micah said "wow, we've never had a broken bone in our house before!!" Was that more than just a touch of jealousy? Micah does have the record as being the first to have stitches... although I'm sure Ethan won't be far behind.

summer

I just noticed something very funny. The outfit Joel is wearing in the banner picture is the same one that Ethan is wearing in the post below this one. Okay, I know I need to update the banner. But see, that is the reason I blog (sometimes) instead of scrapbooking. I hate making this blog cutesy and change things all the time. I barely have time to write a coherent sentence.

This summer has turned out to be a very good one, very sunny and very hot. I never appreciated summer until I moved up here. In SCalifonia its pretty much sunny every day except for fall and the blasted Santa Ana winds. You never appreciate a wonderful clear, sunny day until you have lived a whole year in Seattle. The summers here are absolutely perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. Although natives tend to complain about the heat--when it gets above 80 the mossbacks will melt, apparently.

We're off to visit family this next week but then back to enjoy more of our great summer.

Superstar

My friend used to talk about her 2 year old smacking the ball off the tee when he was 2 years old. I could just never comprehend that. Until I had Ethan. He walked into the yard last week, picked up the ball, set it on the tee, (by himself) and hit the ball. With no one helping him or showing him how. Since then he has been crazy for baseball. He'll go outside and drag the bat out by himself. He loves and and every kind of ball. In fact it was his first word.

Last Day of Kindergarten

Today was Micah's last day of Kindergarten. They sang a few songs and his teacher handed out certificates. It was very low key: no mortar boards or Pomp and Circumstance. His teacher than handed out a book to each child (en Espanol) that she had picked out for them, along with a class picture that they could have each child sign. It was so sweet. Here is a video of his class singing "Colores":

Here is a clip of Micah's class doing the weather and calendar just so you can see what his Spanish Immersion program is like.

Afterwards my Dad, Micah and I went out to lunch. Micah could pick anywhere .... and he picked Burger King; because of the playground. I swear, if more places put in those playgrounds they would get more business! We then went over to Coldstone. Micah throughly enjoyed his "Mommy and Micah" time!

Blogging?

I've been reflecting alot lately why I stopped blogging. Facebook maybe? At the end of the day I'm so exhausted all I have the brains to do is stare at FB and type out a sentence. Ethan is just one big ball of kinetic energy. Constantly go go go go. More so that out other kids.

Case in Point:

As you can see, nothing is safe anymore. We have to keep the chairs pushed away from the table. He pushes the chairs around, but he hasn't figured out (yet) that he can push the chair back up to the table. Shhhhhh, don't tell him.

In fact the other day I found Ethan in his crib with only a diaper on, his jammies on the floor, completely zipped up. He really is Houdini.

The other reason I find it hard to blog is blogger can be so annoying. I will probably be switching over to Wordpress.

Super Sunday

Ethan came down with yet another ear infection last week. I think he's had about 5 since August so we have a referral to go see an ENT at Children's. Everyone I've talked to says that tubes are wonderful, so I'm wondering what the downside could be? A couple of days later, he's on antibiotics and still running a fever, then throws up. Great, a virus on top of it all. Guess who he decided to share it with? Why do they have to share everything with mom? So now I'm down for the count and have to miss out on the Superbowl. The thing I'm sad the most about is missing out on Micha's spinach artichoke dip. And pizza. Oh, yah and friends. :-) Three things I don't get very much . So Micha, you'll have to make it again when I'm not hanging out in the bathroom.

The time leading up to the superbowl makes me sad, because it was the last time I saw my mom. We had a huge superbowl party here that year because the Seahawks were playing and my mom was here. She died a few days later.

What is it with our kids?

When Micah was about 3, shortly after Joel was born I awoke to hearing him saying "I have poopy on me, I have poopy" Great, another poop accident to clean up. I reluctantly get out of bed to clean him up in the bathroom only to find him at the sink with BLOOD ALL OVER HIS FACE! Apparently, he didn't know what blood was and called it poopy. He had found one of my razors and was attempting to "do like Daddy does" and shave his face.

Well, fast forward about 3 years to tonight. I hear footsteps back and forth upstairs, but quietness. I'm cleaning up the kitchen, so I ignore him because he's quiet. 1st mistake. He is continuing to make noise, Aaron goes upstairs to put him back to bed. I go up a while later after I still hear him running around. Joel runs into the bathroom and he has blood all over his mouth. He had someone found a razor and tried to shave and cut his lip.

Geez, when am I going to learn to lock up my razors?

Vision Forum?

I'm reading a book called Revolutionary Parenting by George Barna. It is really good so far, although I've only read a few chapters. Its based on research on what works to raise kids who follow Christ. I'd encourage anyone to read it and then email me what you think!

Anyway... I was looking up reviews on Amazon and then on another book... etc... a rabbit trail later let me to Vision Forum. Have you heard of this? It definitely has cultish-like tendencies. There is a link on the main page to read their doctrinal statements. Sounds like they have mis-interpreted many scriptures. The big one I noticed is that women are to be silent. As in, never talk during a church service. Even to introduce someone who is visiting.

Anyway, I've probably opened a big jar or worms, but wanted to see what you guys thought.

Oklahoma

We've been in Oklahoma visiting family for Christmas. We left Christmas Day amidst a foot of snow. We drove to the airport so we could park in long-term parking. Well, we didn't even think about making a parking reservation. There was no room at the inn for us! We drove around for about 30 minutes and Micah became increasingly agitated. So I told him to pray for us. The next place we went to had a sign out which said "lot full", like the others. We pulled up and asked the attendant if there was any way we could squeeze in. Since we had kids I think he had mercy on us and found a spot for us! Thank goodness!

Our flight was uneventfull and we arrived about midnight on Christmas day. The kids were really very good on the flight.

We've had a good time visiting with friends and family and going to the zoo and science museum. It has even been about 75 a couple of days. One day it was about 73 and about 4 hours later it was 32. The weather here is so schizophrenic!

Yesterday we went to Seminole to a Children's musuem. The whole way there Micah was saying, "we are in the middle of NOWHERE!" I don't think he believed we were really going anywhere fun. We got there and the museum was very fun. We were the first people there and so I left my diaper bag on the coat rack. Two hours later we returned and I discovered my wallet missing. I know, I shouldn't have done that, but I have done that countless times in Seattle. I started searching through the garbage cans, looking to see if they just tossed it in. I'm not sure why I thought of that so suddenly, but I'm glad the holy spirit brought it to mind! I immediately found in the trash can. All that was missing was 2 credit cards and 2 debit cards. My license, cash, stamps and Starbucks card were still in there! The cash was in a separate compartment, so they must have been in a hurry. Since we realized it so early, we were able to cancel the cards right away with no damage done. I'm so glad I have my driver's license for the plane ride back!

One cute Micah story:
Micah: "Mom, what does 'fall in love' mean?"
Me: Where did you hear that?
Micah: "Oh, from Wall-e. I think I fell in love with Ethan."

Christmas Day

I got a Flip Video recorder for Christmas. It is SO cool, and I love it. Here is what Christmas Day looked like for us. Like a postcard.

Am I missing something?

Do you understand this? No, really, click on it.

Did I miss the boat on hot holiday gift items? Did Baby Einstein puppets suddenly become all the rage? Is there a logical reason why a pig puppet would cost $149.95????

I'm making a puppet theatre for Micah for Christmas. He loves Baby Einstein (still!) so I looked online to find puppets. I was shocked! Then I decided to look at the official Disney website, thinking that I wouldn't be able to find them there since they were so high-priced on Amazon. Maybe they were discontinued. No, they are $7.99 on Disneyshopping.com. What's the deal?

Advent Conspiracy

Many thanks to Karen for posting this. I hope you find this as inspiring as I did!

Random Stories

Ethan came down with a double ear infection yesterday. His fever spiked to 104.5! I'm so glad I had called earlier in the day and scheduled an appointment. Our clinic is open on weekends for urgent care. Its really nice that they have that so you can take your child to see a pediatrician and not some random doc. It also turned out our regular doctor was even working! I love our pediatrician. I love her so much its getting to the point where I might not tell you her name if you live locally. =) It's getting harder to get in to see her. When she examined Ethan she said she hoped he had an ear infection with a fever that high. If he didn't she would want to do more tests--she didn't say it but I suspect spinal tap. Whew, I'm so glad it was just the ears. She had me give him a double dose yesterday evening and by this morning his fever was completely gone! Gotta love Omnicef!

The other day Joel climbed into bed with us in the morning. He was holding Aaron's hand and kissing it. He gave Aaron a big smile. Very sweet moment. Then he reared back and hit Aaron on the mouth as hard as he could! So if you ever come over and Joel wants to wrestle, then you know that he really likes you!

We started a sticker chart for Joel. He is still tantruming and we think he's old enough to be tapering off, especially since his verbal skills are so good. If things don't go how he planned or someone messes with the plan he had in his head he will throw a huge fit. We're working on him verbalizing why he is upset instead of screaming/yelling/crying to get his way. So we told him everyday he didn't throw a fit he would earn a sticker. Once he earned 4 stickers we would have movie night. So tonight we're watching Finding Nemo. I'm sure once we're done with tantrums with Joel it will be just in time for Ethan to start up. Joel started at 15 months.

I just finished You'll Never Nanny in this Town Again by Suzanne Hansen. I found it at the library and thought it looked interesting. Its the memoir of a gal who was a nanny in Hollywood in the late 80s. It was an interesting, quick read but not one that I would recommend. Good for an airplane and you need a mindless book.

Election, smelection

There is a small event happening tomorrow. Maybe you've heard? There is an election going on here in our corner of the world. I'll be glad when its over and I stop getting so much junk mail. Really, does anyone read it? I don't even read it because I just assume its incorrect. Its goes straight in recycling. What a waste of money and resources.

Now for the important perks of voting: free cup of coffee at Starbucks (pun intended)!