Magic Eyes

Many months ago I got the brilliant idea to tell Buddy that I have magic eyes. I thought that if Buddy knew I had magic eyes and that I could see him when he wasn't with me, he'd be on his best behavior when out of my "sight." He totally believed the story and I've used it many times to my advantage. And I truly believe it's kept him honest and good at times.

What I didn't consider, though, is that Buddy has a clever way out outwitting me when I least expect it. And boy have my magic eyes come back to bite me in the rear these past few days.

For example, we went to another pirate concert yesterday. The Buddy and his two friends were obviously excited and their excitement grew when they realized the concert was at a really cool park with teeter-totters. As soon as we parked, Buddy's friend informed me that he wanted to ride them. We got settled on the grass, headed over for some pirate stamps and pirate tattoos, and then after awhile we made our way over to the playground. We started out on the slides but within minutes Buddy and James were no longer near me. I scanned the area, which was swarming with hundreds of children, and finally spotted them clear across the park on a teeter-totter. I went to them and scolded them for not staying with me. James said, "I told you we wanted to go on the teeter-totter." True, he had, but twenty minutes earlier! And then Buddy said, "You could see me, you have magic eyes!" I wasn't sure if I was more mad that they had run away from me or that Buddy was using that against me...

Buddy has gotten into the bad habit of either climbing over the fence or unlocking the fence in our backyard so he can play in the front yard. I'm a paranoid parent and won't let him in the front yard without me. No matter how many times he's lost the privilege of playing outside because he left the backyard without my knowledge, he keeps doing it. One day I was doing dishes in the kitchen and realized I hadn't seen or heard from Buddy in awhile. I went to the back door and called for him. Now, our yard is tiny, so it's not like he could have gone far. ...Unless he left the yard again. No answer. So I headed to the gate and sure enough it was open. And I noticed that he was shooting the breeze with our neighbor. She spotted me and said, "Oh there you are." I asked her how long he had been out there and she told me about ten minutes or so. Just as I was about to strangle the child and put him in timeout for the rest of the day, she stopped me and said, "Wait before you get mad. I cannot wait to tell you what he told me." As she was talking she was about peeing her pants laughing. She said that she asked him what I was doing and he said "playing on the computer." (I wish) She asked him if I knew he was in the front yard and he said, "No she doesn't. But it's OK. She can see me with her magic eyes."

Teaching

Friday was one of those great mommy days. I let all my responsibilities outside of motherhood sit on the back burner for the day and I spent the day like I wish I could spend all days. We got up in the morning and we went to the blueberry farm for the third time this year and came away with about 15 pounds of blueberries. I love berry picking and have successfully passed that love down to my eldest. I can hardly wait until Pee-Wee loves it too, but he's well on his way. I introduced him to the joys of eating right off the bush while you work, and he seemed to be a big fan of blueberries too! Yum!
We came home and Buddy asked if he could ride his bike while I got lunch ready. BUT, he insisted, he didn't want to use training wheels anymore. Buddy's best friend had just learned to ride a bike the day before and while Buddy hadn't shown a whole lot of interest in biking up to that point, I decided to take them off. Now, I must say, Buddy doesn't really have a real bike. He's been using a tiny bike that belongs to my parents. And it doesn't have any brakes. No wonder he didn't have much interest.

I warned him that if I took the training wheels off, they were never going back on. Buddy didn't mind. I admit, I had absolutely no confidence in him. If you saw how he rides with training wheels, you'd understand.

The first few minutes were a disaster. He had no concept of balance, but he was persistent. And 45 minutes later, with me teaching him to start and with me holding him steady, he was getting the hang of it. He could only ride a few feet, but I was impressed nevertheless.

Saturday we spent the day outside doing yardwork and Buddy practiced here and there. And then this morning he begged to go out and practice yet again. I had a million phone calls to make, so I told him he could practice and I'd watch, but I couldn't help. A few minutes after we got outside, he was riding solo! So needless to say, I've been on craig.slist today looking for a bike so he can actually ride one that fits him. And so he doesn't have to pedal so fast to keep the little bike moving and balanced...
So back to Friday. After bike riding, we decided to go to the pool, where we continued to work on his crawl stroke. Simply amazing and very fun, I might add. Between him and Michael Phelps, I kinda want to teach myself to swim now.

We've also been working on reading and spelling. I've opted not to send Buddy to preschool this year because I love teaching him myself (even if it infuriates both of us at times -- mostly him). He has a long way to go before he learns to "read," but wow it's fun to work on it and see the look on his face when he gets it.

There is an interesting phenomenon with raising children. I had a yearn to be a mother, not even realizing what I wanted out of the experience. But now that I get these precious opportunities to teach my children, I know exactly what makes this so great. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. I could go on and on about our teaching moments concerning the more important topics -- adoption, the Holy Spirit, as he calls it, and dinosaurs. But I'll save all that for another post.

In related news, Buddy was asking me what class I teach at church now. I told him I don't teach a class, I'm the president.

Oh, yeah! You're the President of the United States now!

Boy does he have confidence in me! And that's a scary, but humbling thought. This whole business about earning a child's trust is so much more rewarding than I could have ever expected.

And just so I don't leave little Pee-Wee out, he's learning so many things every day too. He's been learning to pull himself to standing position and (gasp) I've been encouraging this. Only because it's so cute and he laughs when he pulls himself up. I can't help but clap and say yeah! Even though I'm going to regret it when he's walking sooner than I'd like.

First Impressions Revisited

Back in May I did a post entitled “First Impressions.” I know that there was a lot of laughter at my expense. I started to look around at different vehicles and started to do a lot of research. I test drove a number of different cars and finally decided on what I wanted. The trouble is, is that I also have expensive taste. I knew a new car wasn’t a possibility for a while since we still needed to pay off the Subaru and there was no way we wanted to carry two car payments. Luckily, things worked out that we were able to pay off the Subaru early.

I started to get more diligent in my research and started the task of convincing my wife what I needed. M is one person that I never have to worry about spending a lot of money. She will pay for things that are nice, but that are practical. I, on the other hand, tend to be a little less practical. I contacted a couple of dealers and started the haggling process (which I rather enjoy) and got serious about the car. M finally relented after my constant talk of what I wanted. She was also bargaining with me as well.

Finally, last Saturday I finally got down to the price I was willing to pay and M and I went down to the dealer. I do have to thank my wonderful wife for putting up with me and letting me get what I wanted. She is not as impressed as I am with the car, but she still went along with it. So, I’m now introducing my new 2008 Acura TL Type-S.

The Type-S is the sport model that along with a number of other things has a 3.5liter V6 under the hood which puts out 286 horsepower. It has a stiffer suspension, bigger breaks, Type-s styling on the interior and exterior and more options than the standard TL. According to the car magazines it will do 0-60mph in 5.5 seconds and tops out at 150mph (governor regulated). It comes complete with voice activated calling through bluetooth and voice activated navigation. The more that I drive it, the more I love it.

A Few Things About Me

Nicki tagged me to list six random things about me. I'm pretty easy to read (I think), so I bet all of you already know these things.

1. I was born and raised in Oregon, and I hate fish. I refuse to eat any sea animals in any shape or form. I know the health benefits, but I just can't do make myself try seafood -- even fried shrimp, salmon, crab legs, or any of the other "fabulous" things G and Buddy try to force me to eat. It's a psychological problem because I've never in fact even tasted seafood. I think it has to do with how sick my mom was after eating fish while I was in utero.
2. I love candy, especially sour patch kids. I have an extremely large stash of candy in a bowl on the refrigerator in case I get a hankering. The coolest thing about my stash? I really don't eat much. Maybe a piece of candy a day. But it's there, and when I need candy, I need candy right now. Obviously my candy addiction is psychological too since I hoard it more than I eat it.
3. I also am addicted to reality TV. I watch no TV that's not reality or news. My favorites? The Olympics, So You Think You Can Dance, American Idol, Amazing Race, Survivor, Biggest Loser, and the Bachelorette (there I admitted it).
4. I also LOVE to eat. I plan my social calendar around food and I wake up every morning thinking about "What's for dinner?" I love to cook and bake -- just love it! Even when I'm pressed for time and have crazy children running all over the place and a meeting to get to and G won't be home for hours and the house is a mess and phone calls to return... I'll drop everything to make a delicious dinner. Dinner is one of my biggest (if not my biggest) priority in life.
5. I love flowers and plants and I love gardening. I wish I had more of a "designer's eye" when it comes to landscaping and I wish I made gardening as much of a priority as I make food.
6. I love babies and little kids. It's probably a huge blessing that I'm "infertile" because if I weren't (and G would let me), I'd keep having babies. And then they'd grow up and I wouldn't have the patience for them anymore. I know I couldn't handle a lot of kids because I'm way to rigid, controlling, and impatient. But if I was my very best self, I'd have a lot. So thank goodness for primary children and friends who have babies to keep me happy. And thank goodness for my precious two who happen to the best kids ever!

Role Models

Recently it has dawned on me that Jr. loves and follows role models. This, of course, can present its own set of challenges depending on who he chooses as a role model. For example, he liked Darth Vader more than Luke Skywalker when we watched Star Wars. He also loves Captain Jack Sparrow, but has a hard time reconciling the fact that Captain Jack drinks rum (although stabbing people with a sword doesn’t seem to bother him). More recently, however, he’s been choosing other role models like Superman, Batman, or Spiderman, which do good things and help people. His latest role model has proven to be the most beneficial. Yesterday, he decided that he wanted to swim like Michael Phelps.

We have been watching the Olympics as much as we possibly can, even if that means not going to bed until after 1:00 am. I have never watched a lot of sports on TV, and much to the chagrin of many of my friends, find watching sports to be a waste of time. My philosophy is that I would rather be out playing sports than watching them. Anyway, Jr. has been watching the Olympics with us (although he does go to bed before 1:00 am). He has been watching the swimming competitions and I have been explaining to him who the different swimmers are, etc. A few days ago he learned about Michael Phelps and loves to watch him swim.

Yesterday, M decided to take the kids to the pool. Jr., on his own, decided that he wanted to swim like Michael Phelps. Jr. has been in swimming lessons and had learned the basics. He has been swimming pretty well, but there were still of number of things that he was working on. By deciding that he wanted to be like Michael Phelps, all of that changed. I skipped out of work a little early to meet the family at the pool and I was amazed at the difference in his swimming ability. I could not believe how well Jr. could swim and what’s more is that the kid is only 4 years old. I would tell him to use his “Michael Phelps” arms and kick his “Michael Phelps” legs and he would easily do the crawl stroke or float on his back 15 feet. I’m proud of the boy. I guess the next thing is to let him watch the 2010 Winter Olympics and find a skier to be his next role model.

A New Column: My Favorite Things

I'm going to start something new and over time share some of my favorite things.

I love having clean carpets. I have light-colored carpet and I love it when it's spot free, no debris, and looks freshly vacuumed. I'm not a frantic house cleaner, but when the carpet is clean, I'm happy. I'm sure you've felt the same frustration when vacuum after vacuum kicks the bucket after only a year or so of use.

I did too until: The Dyson. My tried-and-true friend. I received so many recommendations about the Dyson and believe me, it's lived up to it's reputation as far as I'm concerned. And it my opinion, it's lived up to it's price. (But then again, we waited until we found it on sale for a very good price.) I love that you can pull out the attachments quickly to suck up a spider web, or get debris near the baseboards. So quick in fact, that I find a reason to use the attachments EVERY single time I vacuum.

I know hardwoods are all the rage, and while I'd love to have them, I just love having fluffy soft carpet under my feet. In fact, G says carpet is one of the things he missed most while on his mission. And for whatever reason, there is carpet everywhere in the house, including the dining room. (Obviously a mother of small children did not design this house.) And, I have a baby that throws up his carrots and beans all over the carpet, so my pristine carpets are definitely under attack. Thank goodness for my newest deep-cleaning friend, my Bissell.
I have been wanting one for awhile and imagine my joy when several months ago i learned that Cost.co was putting it on sale for a week in August. I quickly marked my calendar and when the special day came, I showed up at Cost.co to buy it -- for cheaper than it would have cost a crew to come clean my carpets once. And I've been using it almost every day since. I've cleaned behind the couches and moved everything -- something the guy refused to do last time I had the carpets cleaned because of "liability." Well guy, if I move a couch by myself with two children underfoot, I think you could have too. But now you don't have to because I'm doing it myself. I love this vacuum more than words can say.

The timing of the sale couldn't have come at a better time because Pee-Wee had left about 30 of these in the month since he's started solids. See the results for yourself!

My Other Love

I can't dance. I don't even pretend to be able to dance. But I love "So You Think You Can Dance." And I LOVE JOSHUA!

I loved him and hoped he would win when I first saw him audition. His dancing and strength and athleticism are simply amazing. I was so impressed. I loved him so much he almost persuaded me that grills were cool... until G convinced me he was wearing braces, not a grill. At any rate, I'm so pleased he won. Now I've got to find something else to look forward to. Luckily the Olympics start tonight!

Our Little Environmentalist

What I failed to mention in my last post about critters is that Buddy loves them. Kind of ironic, I think considering he spends so much time with me.

Remember that mole I told you about? We've been trying to catch the darn thing -- much to Buddy's dismay. G took Buddy with him to the store to buy a trap. G had the good sense to just tell him we were "catching it," so Buddy thought we were catching it to play with or look at or something. I don't know what I was thinking but, but at dinner I spilled the beans. We were catching to kill. I know, that was a serious lapse in judgement. But in my defense, I thought he already knew.

I can not express in words how angry Buddy got. His face turned red and he spewed disgust at me like I've never heard before. He does NOT believe in killing animals apparently (even if they're destroying the yard).

So then we headed outside to set the trap. A good friend said they're pretty easy to catch. They hate sunlight in their holes and tunnels, so if you expose the hole, they'll quickly come to fill it back in -- getting caught in the trap in the meantime. That evening Mole came and filled his hole in several times but he managed to do it without getting caught. Oh, and Buddy was thrilled.

So Saturday morning Buddy came and told us he was awake. I told him to go color because we weren't ready to get up. But a few minutes later, I had a "feeling" I should get up to make sure Buddy didn't go outside to check on his dear friend, Mole. Buddy doesn't have good judgement and I was really worried he'd put his hand in the trap (even though we've reiterated repeatedly that he's not allowed to touch the trap). So I got up and laid on the couch. Buddy hadn't noticed I was up, and about a minute later, sure enough, I hear Buddy fiddling with the back door to high-tail it outside.

Excuse me! What are you doing?

But he was already outside with his face near the hole with the most victorious and joyful look on his face. Buddy/Mole were winning this battle.

The same scenario repeated itself every day since last Friday. Every time G sets the trap, the mole fills the hole in again. And Buddy is so pleased.

... but it's not just moles. Buddy loves all animals and critters. He knows more about birds of prey and sea creatures than most people. He wears his eagle t-shirt from Aunt Myndi with pride every time it gets washed. And he is constantly building "eagle's nests" in our yard out of rocks and sticks. I'm actually a little surprised he hasn't insisted on a "Save the Whales" sticker for our Sub.aru.

I think I mentioned the nature refuge up the road from our house. We just went for the first time, and it has now surpassed the zoo as his favorite local hangout. He is obsessed. We promised him that if he was reverent at church Sunday we'd go for a picnic after church. Let's put it this way: We had two people tell us that he was "outstanding" during primary and they both inquired what had changed with him. He found out about the refuge, that's what changed.

Buddy at sunset at the refuge. Check out the joy on his face!

Even our little one enjoyed the refuge. I wish you could see the 'recycling' t-shirt he's wearing

As a side note: we had a great time at the refuge. Buddy can spot an animal quicker than the rest of us, so we saw all sorts this time. We watched the sunset, saw a couple cranes, a field mouse (yuck!), heard several frogs plop into the water, saw a whole huge flock of geese land on the pond at dusk, saw a deer, and three beavers. It was totally cool, I have to admit. But Buddy was in animal heaven. And the best part about the refuge for him (not me) is the possibility of seeing other wild animals like bobcats, elk, eagles, hawks, snakes, foxes, wolves, etc. They're all in there according to the map we got at the entrance! In fact, he insists we saw a bull last time we we were there. We didn't, but his little imagination dreamed it up so we DID.

One of the beavers Buddy spotted

Buddy and me watching the geese land on the pond at sunset

He also loves recycling (I taught him that!), the great outdoors, and interestingly enough, his favorite color is green.

And he'd be the happiest boy on earth if we lived on a farm. (This was at my sister's house.)

I think I'm going to have him talk G into replacing all our light bulbs and getting us a new high-efficiency washing machine so I can go green too.

Trapped

On Saturday I had the bright idea of going to the Portland waterfront to see the Re.dbull Flu.gtag. I knew that they were going to start launching the flying contraptions around 1pm. Unfortunately, we didn't get too early of a start. Once we were near downtown, we got stuck in major traffic for an hour. The news that night reported that 60,000 showed up for the event, so it's no surprise the traffic was heavy.

Then we drove around Portland still with major traffic to find a parking space. Finally, we saw a bunch of people going into a parking garage. I naturally followed them because there was literally no other place to park. We got out and were about to walk down to the waterfront when we realized that the gate to the parking garage had shut and there was no way we could get out. We ended up waiting for another hour (after making several phone calls) until the police came to let all of us out. At that point, I had it and it was now 3:00, so we drove home without seeing the Flu.gtag. But at least now we can say that we've been trapped in a parking garage.