Here's to a great December!

Dear Winter:

We are no longer friends.

You give me a cough that lasts a month and you give my kids multitudinous infectious diseases. These sicknesses seem to never overlap (ex. Jacob just finished a cold, so Nicholas spiked a 102 fever tonight -- which really happened). This never happens in summer. Explain that, would you please?

This means that our general enjoyment is diminished through sickness and by the fact that WE CAN NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE!

You'd better shape up sir.

Oh, and you came 2 months early.


















Thank you.

And if you think Maddie and Jacob dig each other

Check out Grandpa and Nicholas.














Their connection runs deep. Grandpa was his favorite person in Utah. Fay-vo-right. Whenever Grandpa came home Nico was hot on his trail. They just get each other.














We, especially Nicholas, love you Grandpa!

Jacob and Maddie

Perhaps it's their place as the oldest grandkids. Perhaps they have a cosmic connection. Or perhaps it's because they're the only two grandkids who don't nap anymore. Whatever it is, these two really hit it off. I think Jacob loved having an older sibling to follow and I think Maddie loved having a little sibling to follow her who wasn't holding a train.

Enjoy some of my favorite pictures of the their shenanigans.

Cutting apples (lookee those faces):





























Making sugar cookies:





























Nico joined in at the end (he's the shorter napper between him and Giddie goo).















And, you saw the leaves:



















We didn't catch it on film, but my favorite thing they did was chase each other. Jacob usually put his hands up in front of himself and yelled "I'm a giant" as Maddie ran away squealing. And Maddie taught Jacob so much and really invited him into a big kid world.

I have a feeling that in a few years Jacob and Gideon will "get" each other and barricade themselves somewhere playing G.I. Joes or Tranformers (or newer, hipper toys) -- but for now Maddie is Jacob's girl. We love you Maddie!

And, thank you to Jana for doing the apples and cookies with the kids. Mom and Jana were so kind to let me try to rest out the lung prob...it's still a problem, but I finally cracked the University of Chicago healthcare labyrinth and got to see a doc. I'm hopefully on the mend.

Red Cheeked

The weekend before we left for Utah Matt took the boys and me to a pumpkin patch. But oh, it was so much more than that. It was a little moment of perfection. I've been sick this weekend and so the memory of this little trip needs to be documented...to perfection!

It was a cold (and by the looks of my hair windy) day. The weather drove away the faint-hearted so we were the only ones on our tractor ride to the apple picking spot.














The driver of the tractor upon dropping us off gave us suggestions of some yummy varieties and said, with a kindly wink, to just rub them on our shirts and try a few. Between our cold cheeks and the blushing apples it was a red-cheeked day (hence the title).

So we picked.














































And we tasted.




































We picked some more.














































And we tasted.






















































Mmm mmmm mmmmm.

We appreciated the little signs at the end of the rows indicating the variety. We were intrigued by a sign for some "Honey Crisp" apples but found that those trees were stripped bare. When we bought our apples the clerk told us that the honey crisp apples are pretty much gone the first weekend of the picking season because they're so good. Subsequently Jacob told everyone for a few weeks afterward that "at the apple picking place the honey crisp were all gone" with a look of concern and sincerity. Seriously, what a yummy, cereal-ey sounding name. Has anyone had one?














The boys spent some time working on the farm too.














Those plastic cows needed lots of hay.


















The scattered bits of hay in the barn needed raking.


















And the fields needed plowing.














Jacob also had a sincere wish to pet every single goat in this pen. He got just about all of them and had to be torn away from the two that remained out of reach.










































Matt got the boys lost in the hay bale maze, but Jacob kept his wits about him and found the exit eventually. (Matt was totally crying and freaking out even though I kept saying, "I'm right here!" So dramatic.)




























We rode on the "moo choo".




























And totally secondary to all of the above activities, to say nothing of the dozen pumpkin and cinnamon doughnuts we bought...there were pumpkins.














I'd like to say a big Bravo for Matt. He took time out of his school schedule to take us on this outing and we're just not outing people, so it was big. Thanks baby.

How to have a happy Halloween

1. Start with some leaf raking...make sure someone has applied liberal amounts of red hair spray to Maddie's hair. It's also a good idea to go help a World Series Champion finish up raking his leaves (I like to drop names and such).




























2. Suit up one Ariel, two firefighters and one dalmatian (firehouse dog). Take kids trick-or-treating at the World Series Champion's house and a few regular peoples' houses too.




























Did you miss that dalmatian? Here you go.














3. Succumb to the trunk or treat pressure and hit the ward party.














Oh Nico.

4. Have someone tell Jana that they "forgot she had twins".














5. Stick Nicholas in the trunk to hand out (play with) the candy. Bravo on the great idea Grandma and Grandpa.














6. Stick all of the kids in the trunk...just 'cuz.














7. Go home tired, yet happy and document it. (Isn't my mom beautiful?)

I love you internet and Halloween was fun

After that big, gushy post about Utah I bet you're all wondering what's up with the no posting.

It's the internet. It's always the internet. Our modem mysteriously broke and so we've been out in the cold all week. Now that we have the internet I'm frantically researching winter coats, boots, etc. before our outlet store trip tomorrow. This weather thing is fo' real and we are taking it seriously.

So, I am determined to post all of the Utah lovelies, but it'll have to wait until later (yet still soon). For now I'll leave you with a picture of our 29th of October pre-Halloween and pre-Utah festivities with Matt.














Heaven.

The smell of roses reminds me of home

The walkway to my parents' front door is lined with prolific rosebushes. The smell and look of the late autumn roses were the first things I noticed when we arrived last week.

The boys and I returned from a wonderful 10 days in Utah last night. Since we just moved from our Atlanta home of 5 years, Utah felt even more like home than usual. I felt like a sponge determined to soak up the golden fall afternoons that greeted us. To say nothing of the memories upon memories to be enjoyed in my parents' house. I can be painfully sentimental.

A friend of mine told me to be careful of what I choose bring into my home because in 15 years my kids will cling to the outdated wreath I got at Target because "it's a tradition" or some such nonsense. How true says the girl who was determined to take a picture of every little Halloween decoration in her parents' house.

I still feel like a suburb kid in a city kid's life, so it was delightful to rake leaves and pick apples (or listen to Mom and Jana pick apples with the kids and laugh their heads off while I tried to kick a stubborn cough that turned out to be bronchiolitis--who knew!).

I was able to have sweet one on one time with each of my parents, my sister, and my Grandma...as well as see some dear friends and family. I especially loved my last night there when Dad made baked apples (in the microwave!), Mom insisted that we watch the Parent Trap (her favorite movie) and we basked in some old time familial togetherness.

I love my family. I love where I come from. I love the shared history of our little family. We're not perfect, but there's a lot of love and joy to be had. I am grateful for my sweet sister Jana and my wonderful parents. I am crying. I am so grateful for it all.

Sigh.

And, on a related note, if the smell of roses reminds me of home, the sight of this guy reminds me of Halloween!














(Mom and Dad have had this ghostie hanging in their front window every October for as long as I can remember. And that spectacular rose is one of mom and dad's roses.)

Thank you Sid

Get ready folks. In this season of endorsements this is me officially endorsing a television program. Sid the Science Kid to be exact. I almost wrote an ode to Sid, but then I realized that one ode is enough for any blog.

Sid the Science Kid follows this kid named Sid, ya dig? Every morning he has an experience that puzzles him (i.e. "Why can I smell my brother's stinky diaper down the hallway?"). He then goes to school and talks about it with his class. Teacher Suzy then miraculously teaches an entire lesson on the topic. With visual aids that would take time to prepare. Like weeks to prepare in some cases. But somehow...she knew to leave a pumpkin to rot in case Sid was curious about decay (which he has been). They spend some time in the lab, they play with their ideas, there's a song, and then Sid goes home with his weirdo Grandma (she really is weird) and discusses it with his parents.

My reasons for loving Sid boil down to three points. And please don't scoff until you've heard me out.

1. It makes me a better parent. No, wait, let me explain!

I notice moments when I could be showing something new to the boys (particularly Jacob at this age) rather than shooing them away. A good example is when I recently made ice. Jacob asked me "Wwwwwwwwwhat you doin'?". The, "never you mind" answer was on my lips when I felt a stroke of genius. Sid genius. I told Jacob that I was making ice, which is when you turn water into ice...blah, blah, blah. He loved it. And he loved it when I called him to the kitchen a few hours later to "investigate" how our ice was progressing. It's all about the investigating, and the comparing, and the contrasting and so forth.

They also did a show about estimating, which lead to The Great Overestimation of 2008. I gave Jacob 8 carrot sticks and asked him to estimate how many I'd given him. He poked around in the bowl and decided on 27. Hmmmm.

I also deeply love Curious George (which also focuses on math and science). But Sid doesn't sugar coat the science with stories like George does, they actually admit that, hey kids, we're going to teach you something! And it's reproduceable at home. Unlike on George when he accidentally becomes part of a flying trapeze group or goes to space (twice!). Just not as likely as finding a mushy banana and wondering why it turned so gross (the decay lesson). I'm not so much concerned about my kids becoming more scientific than the Japanese or anything, but I like the straightforward approach to it all because then Jacob can do it too. It's empowering for him.

So, yes, I love Sid because it helps me see opportunities to be a more engaging, teaching parent.

2. I also love Sid because Jacob loves it.

We really try to limit TV (our success varies day to day) but to see Jacob take positive, interesting things away from it makes me happy. Not like dumb ol' Dragon Tales. I deeply dislike those dragons.

3. Sid has finally brought Jacob around to art.

After every experiment they always draw their observations in their journal. So, one day I pulled out a notebook and wrote JACOB on it and told him it was his journal. All day he's begging to draw in it. In fact, it's pretty much out and ready to be drawn in all day long. I feel like it's a nice place for him to return to during the day. Sort of to regroup and process for a minute and then move on to something else.

This might not seem like much, but Jacob has never taken that kindly to art of any kind. I felt so disturbed by his complete dislike for it all. I mean, play-doh, finger paints, watercolors, crayons, markers -- you name it, he didn't want to do it.

He just loves it now. Sometimes Nico joins in too (although ever since the below experience mainly with Colorwonder markers). And as I type this I actually have a tear of joy in my eye. It's delightful to have a little artist in residence. Jana (mother of the artsy kidlets) has been telling me this for years and I am finally witnessing it.

So, behold my little artistic scientists. Sigh.


















































Definitely the Colorwonder. (What rock star eye makeup.)


















So, please give Sid the Science Kid a shot. I thought it looked dumb too and see how I'm eating my words?

That is all.