A few lessons for a California girl

"That which does not kill us
makes us stronger" -- Friedrich Nietzsche

So this winter has definitely been a learning experience for me, having a) never lived in a cold climate and b) never known any families with more than two kids while I was growing up. Here are some things I've learned in the last few weeks:

1) Snow must be shoveled off of the driveway and front walk as soon as possible after a snowfall. Here in Boulder anyway, the snow comes down very light and fluffy (famous Colorado powder) and is relatively easy to clear when fresh. But walk or drive over it a few times, and the trodden parts compact and get heavy, and then the temperatures warm up and the compacted snow turns to ice. The front of our house faces North, so that ice will continue to thaw and freeze, forming an inches-thick, Zamboni- slick, injury- and lawsuit-attracting ice rink until it is chipped away.

2) The driveway has to be cleared AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. It's no good to, say, go out a 7am and clear just enough to get one car out so as to take kids to school in the morning, then try to clear the rest in the late morning. By then the temperature gets up in the 40s, and even the snow that has not been mechanically compacted gets very heavy and sticky and takes a lot more effort to move.

3) The depth of snow that falls at 362 Hawthorn in Boulder seems to be dependent on several factors: a) how long of a business trip Jason is on, b) how many children in the household are ill on that given day and c) how many children, for whatever reason, need extra attention on that day but must be left under the watchful eye of the TV while said shoveling is accomplished since no other adults are present to help. Bonus depth is added for school days, days when we are expecting nannies or housekeepers to show up and need parking or access to the front door, days when trash cans need to be brought in and milk is delivered, and days when all three kids are coughing and boogery, and one also has a very messy intestinal flu as well.

4) The number of sick children in the house also appears to be directly correlated with the timing of Jason's business trips as well as with Jeanne's sleep deprivation level, the arrival of snow and the inability of nannies to come to help out because they have caught colds from the kids.

5) Pictures of people shoveling snow are usually taken on weekends when everyone's happy and having fun and it's kind of a game. Pictures don't get taken when all of the factors in the preceding points are in force all at the same time, and the shoveler is grumbling and bitter and stressed out.

Don't worry dear readers, all of this is behind us (for now, until the next business trip, I imagine) and the kids appear to be on the mend. I'm just very grateful that I did not contract any of the various viruses my kids were harboring, and that the snow did not affect Jason's ability to get back home to us. I should also acknowledge that Jason didn't have an easy week either - and he's letting me go out to see a movie all on my own tonight as reward for a rather tough ordeal.

I should also say that I am SO grateful for the new van - when all else was going awry, at least I didn't have to worry about being able to get out of the house and back.

Logan turns five!

We celebrated Logan's 5th birthday today! The theme for the day was Mars and the solar system. So we started out with Marscakes (red pancakes), Saturn rings (bacon strips) and Jupiter winds (scrambled eggs).

Not only is it his actual birthday, but since it's Saturday we also hosted his party today as well. This year we decided to go small - we told him he could choose six friends to invite, and all but one were able to come so we had a total of four boys and two girls (poor Zachary is still under the weather, went upstairs for an early nap and ended up sleeping through the entire party.)

We've posted a Web Gallery of party photos here (77 photos total - it may be split into two pages). I made the invitations by hand from a template in a magazine (oh, OK, I admit it was Martha Stewart Kids). When the kids showed up we started out just playing with Logan's toys...some kids played Star Wars in the basement while others enjoyed the piano. We then had lunch and played three games. The first was Pop Rocket Long Shot, in which each child got to launch four pop rockets at a set of targets. Scores were based on the distance each rocket went. Amelia won with 85 points.

The second game was Pin the Rover on Mars - pretty self-explanatory. Charlie was the winner of that one. Third, we played a space version of Hot Potato we called "Sizzling Moon Rock." Logan won the game, but we had coached him before the party that he could play the games but not win the prizes since he was the host, and we were very proud at how graciously, with no prompting, he gave the prize to the second-place winner, Sophie.

After games Logan got to open his presents, and then we brought out the cake. I'm pretty proud of this cake...it was red velvet, and I baked it using a tempered glass mixing bowl as a pan so it had a round shape. Then I tinted the frosting red, and sprinkled it with a combination of crumbled up chocolate sandwich cookies, red velvet cake crumbs and a little red-colored decorating sugar. Jason found a cool set of Mars Rover matchbox figurines on Ebay and I bought a NASA play set and we used some of those on the cake. It turned out really cute, was tasty and most importantly was a hit with Logan and the kids.

A great time was had by all. After the guests left we spent the rest of the day relaxing and playing with his gifts. Later we gave him our gifts (we kept it small but he did get the Ladybug Land he's been asking for) For dinner I served spaghetti and Marsballs (you can probably figure that one out). Zach was concerned that he'd missed the cake but his tummy's been a little off today so I promised him we'd save him a piece for when he was feeling better.

It's hard to believe that our little big boy is five years old already. That five years ago Jason and I miraculously transformed from couple to family. Honestly it's hard to remember what our life was like BK - before kids. Maybe a little more sleeping in on the weekends, but definitely not as much love.

Trapped!

Today has not been fun...Jason's in Minneapolis and both Logan and Zach had fevers last night so I had to keep them home from school. Occasionally, when he's home and working from his office, Jason will have one of those days where he just can't focus on work...he keeps coming out to visit, or play with the kids, or find some other way to goof off. Well, let's just say that today I was having a hard time focusing on my job. I kept the kids fed, and hydrated, and warm, and even gave them baths to help break up the goop in their sinuses, but it was not a stellar day in terms of me keeping them stimulated with activities (OK, what I'm really trying to say is that we had a TV-free-for-all today. So much that the kids actually got bored and asked me to turn the tv off!) The good news is that they eventually got so tired of trying to get me to play with them that they actually played on their own! Without too much sibling conflict! :-)

Anyway, they both seem to be doing much better and I think they'll be back to school tomorrow. And Max appears to be fine - probably protected by the antibodies in my milk.

School, by the way, is going great for Zach. After two days of very minor crying last week, he went through three or four days where he would simply say to me "I'm not going to school" in the mornings as we were getting ready, but by the time we got to class he was fine and there was no visible separation anxiety. And yesterday when we went in he didn't even say that. So I think we're out of the woods.

In other news...some of you may know that I've decided it's time to re-start my consulting business, Biolexica. I'm putting out feelers to my old clients right now and hoping to start getting some assignments soon. Cross your fingers for me!

School progress, and regress...

A quick update on Zach and school - On Friday of last week I was able to drop him off in the morning and pick him up at 11 with nary a tear, so the teacher and I decided we'd try having him stay all day ('till 12:15) on Monday. It went swimmingly both on Monday and Tuesday, and then I think Zach woke up to what was really going on. We've had tears both yesterday and this morning, with lots of "Mommy, are you staying with me?" and "Please stay Mommy!" It's completely heart-wrenching for me, even though  I went through all of this with Logan and I know from experience that Zach will be fine in a week or two, and indeed even now he recovers quickly once I leave the classroom. But it still breaks my heart to leave him when he's crying and asking me to stay with him. I'm dreading tomorrow, especially since he declared this evening that he wasn't going to school any more. Alas, the tuition contract Jason and I signed with the school says otherwise!

It is worth noting that, between Zach's school schedule of 8:30 - 12:15 and his nap, which starts at 1:00 and often lasts for 3 hours, the amount of time we spend together really has been abruptly shortened. I'm going to make a point to make sure he gets quality attention on the weekend and hope that helps (whether this special time is more for his benefit or mine, gentle readers, you may decide for yourselves). 

Zach's First Day of School

One last entry for today - we wanted to document Zachary's first day of preschool yesterday. He started in the toddler program at Jarrow Montessori School, which is the school Logan has been attending since we moved here to Boulder. Zach was very excited and proud to finally get to go, although we're following a soft-entry program to ease him into it. Yesterday Jason and I stayed with him in his class for an hour and then brought him home, and I did the same today. Tomorrow I will take him, stay for about 20 minutes and then try to leave for 20 minutes or so to see how he does. Then if all goes well I will try a regular dropoff on Friday, but it will probably be a short day again. Eventually Zach will be attending the same hours as Logan, 8:30 - 12:30 every day (they didn't have a three-day-per-week option).

Pictures here include Zach showing off his new backpack, putting his belongings in his cubby, washing his hands in his class (a favorite activity of his), doing some of the works and being taught how to self-serve his snack by his teacher, Angelica. The cutest (to me) part of his first morning was when he was getting his snack - Jason and I were sitting across the room, observing, and Zach looked up to say "look Mommy, I'm having a snack. Do you want a snack?" He proceeded to get up and pull out a neighboring chair for me. It was very sweet and more than a little heartbreaking...he doesn't quite realize yet that this is an adventure he will be embarking on by himself. From previous experience I know he'll be fine, will love going to school and will still be my little sweetheart when we are together, but it's still a little tough to know that this is only the beginning of a long process of letting him go.

Tummy time

The last post and the next one don't include pics of Max, so here's a cute one of him working on his upper body strength. He's not crazy about tummy time but getting better, especially now that mommy has a star chart to help her remember to flip him on his tummy from time to time. He'll be crawling after his brothers soon enough!

Mommy and Logan and Zachary Day

With our new little guy needing a lot of my attention (and nursing every few hours or so) over the last three months, my ability and energy for real quality time with Logan and Zachary has been pretty seriously impacted. But we've been working toward getting Max to take a bottle reliably, and this past weekend Jason decided he was ready for a quiet morning with Max while I took Logan and Zach to Denver to visit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

This was an especially exciting outing for me because at 2 1/2, Zach is finally at an age where he doesn't automatically run off when presented with a large, crowded space where he could easily be lost. It's sad to say but this is the first time I've taken the two boys out on my own for a fun outing in a loooong time - it was too tiring at the end of my pregnancy and then it's been too difficult since Max was born to do something like this.

Anyway, Sunday morning I packed up a bag with just a few emergency supplies, we kissed Jason and Max goodbye and hopped in the car for the 40-minute drive to Denver. When we got to the museum I decided to take a chance and leave the stroller in the car, and it worked out wonderfully. Both boys were very well-behaved, had lots of fun exploring but stuck reasonably close. The highlight of the trip in my opinion was going to the planetarium to watch a short film about the solar system - both kids are really into planets and space exploration right now, and I was thrilled that Logan overcame his fears about movie theaters long enough to become captivated by the amazing special effects as we toured each planet.

After spending some time in the space exhibit we headed to the Hall of Life to learn about human physiology with lots of fun hands-on activities, then it was time to get lunch before heading home. We stopped at a nearby McDonald's because it has a play place, and I can say I am not a fan. The kids ate the (to me, completely unappetizing) chicken-flavored-nugget-products but the restaurant was out of the milk and apple slices that they supposedly offer with happy meals. So it was fries and apple juice. Ah well, I guess I'll pack lunch next time.

At any rate, we had a really nice time and it was a nice chance to reconnect with the boys after a somewhat tumultuous few months.