Just Like Mulan

Just Like Mulan, originally uploaded by kidsideup.

So, this is one of three posts. I'm a loser and don't want to figure out how to blog more than one photo at a time from Flickr. Well, I'm lazy anyways.

So, the story:

We watched Mulan. Emma wanted to be Mulan and said she needed a Mulan haircut. I said no. Last night she took matters into her own hands.

"Look Mom!! I'm just like Mulan!!"
I see her with a pair of scissors she's holding like a sword and hair all over the floor.
Yep, just like that. Cut off her hair to save her family...

Sooo...

Mulan, originally uploaded by kidsideup.

We had to cut her hair. This is when I love natural consequences. She cut her hair. She knew better. I had to cut her hair. Which she hates. Not a word of complaint though. I think she's old enough now to start understanding when she's really messed up.

Also, I really need a better pair of hair-cutting scissors.

Best One

Best One, originally uploaded by kidsideup.

This is the best pic I have of Emma's new do. I actually love it this length. They're playing with play-doh. Well, Emma's playing, Jack is smushing and tasting.

My Husband is Totally Better Than Your Husband

Mike and Jack, originally uploaded by kidsideup.

This is Mike, last night. We've seen the new Pride and Prejudice movie a few times together. I think they did an amazing job. He watched bits of the A&E presentation of the same book. He finally broke down and started reading the book (he reads books from the period they're just "man" books). He looks pretty into it huh? He even makes comments about the book to me and lets me go on.

He's giving Jack his nighttime milk. I'm just about to leave the house to go swimming with girlfriends while he puts both kids to bed (this is my one night a week great workout and pure bliss). Not an easy task since the light sleeper goes to bed first and the loud one goes to bed second and needs a LONG routine to go to sleep. I think he rocked jack to sleep three times last night (he can't stand to have him cry).
So, yeah, my husband is totally better than your husband ;)

No Legs Needed, Mostly

No Legs Needed, Mostly, originally uploaded by kidsideup.

He's given up on walking. His 4-wheeler suits him just fine. I did still buy him new shoes...just in case

Somebody's got to do it.

Somebody's got to do it., originally uploaded by kidsideup.

I think this pretty much speaks for itself.  He does have a shovel in his hands for the intended job of cleaning off the trampoline.

Emma Rose

Emma Rose, originally uploaded by kidsideup.

This is my little Emma Rose. I sometimes feel at a complete loss as to what to do with her. She's bright, too smart for her own good and has a great sense of humor for her age. She has moebius syndrome, an incredibly rare, possibly genetic, possibly not, condition that has affected her since birth.
As a parent I always worry that people won't see past that. That they won't take time to listen to her imperfect speech to know how smart she is. I worry because she's now in the pre-school program which goes straight into the special-ed program and I know what kids do to other kids.
Her only disability is that her face doesn't move the same as the rest of us. It affects her eyes which are always dry because she doesn't really blink. Her eyes move up and down but not from left to right. Her mouth doesn't close and may never without the help of one of her hands. Her tongue is a little misshapen and will affect her speech and ability to eat certain foods for the rest of her life. She has sensory integration issues which get better daily and I hope will go away completely. This makes bathing, teeth brushing, hair brushing and clothing an issue.
Most days, she's just my little Emma. After a meeting with her special-ed teachers or seeing pics of other children with the same syndrome it kind of hits me all over again.
She's a tough girl, She works us and manipulates her parents in ways we don't think her capable with her cunning little four-year-old skills and she's going to have a really great life. But as a parent, you can't help but wish to take it all away from her.
She's had two surgeries and will likely have more and I can't tell you how much I would have done anything to trade places with her. As a testament to her resiliency, they were both much less of a big deal to her than they were to me.
She's going to be fine, really, actually, she's going to be great. She'll be stronger than me, better than me and teach me more than I thought I had to learn.
I have to say that I love my little Emma Rose.

Feeling Old

Ok, so I know I'm not that old.  I'm 31.  Yep, born in 1976.  But every time I run into someone who used to be a student of mine, I feel just a little older.  I ran into one of favorite, favorite students today.  Tracee.  She was a freshman my first year teaching, she's now finishing up her master's degree.  Crazy.  She was a bit of an awkward kid, braces, she was athletic, a cheerleader and very energetic.  You could tell she'd be pretty as she is.  It was cool but I have to say that it made me feel old.  

I majored in Political Science and minored in French.  I came back to Alaska after I finished my degree and taught for one year before Mike joined the military and we moved to Washington (Ft. Lewis).  It's amazing how many of my students I run into.  This was the school year of 1998-1999, back when there were fewer than 30 students in high school French.  I see them quite a bit and I have to admit it's kinda fun.  It's fun to see someone all grown up and doing well when the last time you saw them they were struggling through high school.  I

I can't imagine how I'll feel as a parent to see my children off to college, getting married and growing up.  It's a good reminder for me how fast life goes and that as much as I just really, really want it to be summer and I really, really, want Jack to be just a little older, and Emma just a little older.  I used to joke that I won't know what to do with our kids til they reach middle school.   But I know I'll be sad when it's over and it will seem like it went so fast.  But where I sit, the next few months can hurry as much as they want because I really, really, want summer to be here :)

Sleeping Jack

IMG_3874
Originally uploaded by kidsideup

I normally wouldn't even try to take pics of my light sleepers but he needed to get up anyways. Apparently I used to sleep like this as well. My mom would pull my feet straight out and I'd just tuck my little legs back under me, just like Jack. Although, again, he's a light sleeper so I don't dare even try to untuck those little legs.

I'm Having a Terrible Day

IMG_4730
Originally uploaded by kidsideup

Alison talked about being two and it made mommy laugh and laugh but I had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and it doesn't make me laugh.
The phone rang this morning at 4 but I heard daddy talking so I knew everything was going to be okay.  

Then it got really quiet...for a long time and I started to get scared so I cried.  Daddy came in and rocked me to sleep.  

A little while later I heard sister making noise but then it all got quiet again so I cried again.  

Mommy came in and rocked me to sleep but my teeth hurt, so I didn't sleep for long.

It was okay though because Emma was still awake from way earlier so I had someone to play with.

The problem is that she wouldn't let me play with her hair and neither would mommy.  They kept looking at me really mad and saying, "Jack, No Pull!"  But I don't know what that means and their hair is just so pretty...

I was really hungry but I couldn't eat.  My teeth hurt.  I just want more milk.  

Emma won't let me play with her scissors, mommy won't let me play with her curlers and the dog keeps walking NEAR me!

I'm really having a horrible, no good day.

After Emma left for speech with Gramma, mommy said, "thank goodness" and plopped on the sofa.  I knew right away that she wanted to play with me.  

Mommy wanted to watch Curious George.  I blanked out for a while and mommy went into the kitchen.

Then the movie was boring because the monkey went away so I decided to test my walking skills.  The couch jumped up and hit me right in the eye!  Just as I was trying to give it a big hug!  Mommy dropped the chicken in the sink and helped me up.  

I was bleeding.

It was a no good, very bad day.

Now my eye is all puffy.

And Emma will be home soon.

She won't let me play with her things.

But I do anyways.  Then she screams.  Then I scream.

Mommy yells at Emma and not me.  

Don't judge me, I'm having a terrible, horrible day.

I really just wanted for daddy to get home.

AND THEN...

20-No More Torture!
Originally uploaded by kidsideup

My daddy finally came home!

And he had the audacity to think that I would want ICE CREAM! 

Just because I was trying to eat sisters...

Will the torture never end???

Mike

19- My Man
Originally uploaded by kidsideup

I love this picture of Mike. It says a lot about him. First of all, he's in the middle of a trial with one of his most disliked defense attorneys and is he in his office?? Nope. He came home, tried to think about being with his family and when kids were fed and settled for an evening show, he sits down to work on closings. Awesome.
He's also wearing his Army shirt, even though he's been out since 2001. I don't think I know someone who was in the Army who didn't hold on to all their stuff. I wear it to bed when he's out of town.
His briefcase is on the table. It's not some new fancy thing, we found it at an antique shop, it's WWII era. He loves it and I love that he loves it.
I laugh when I see a mug in front of him because it usually means he's been eating cereal. He puts the cereal in a bowl with no milk and eats it with a spoon. He puts his milk in a mug and drinks it with his dry cereal. I know, it's weird, but I think eating your pizza with a knife and fork is even weirder and I love all of that too.
We'll be married for 12 years this summer and I'm trying to figure out how it went so fast.
Love you honey.

And I wonder why my curtains are always dirty...

Where's Jack??

Peek-a-Boo!
Where's Jack?? (I like how you can see the print of his face in this one).
Peek-a-Boo.

A little repetitive maybe, but not nearly as repetitive as a video would have been.

I have yet to find a one year old who doesn't like peek-a-boo.  I like how they must think, I'm gone, I'm back!  I'm gone, I'm back!!

If only we all could find such joy in drapery...

Little Man Jack

And that's all I have to say about that.

From 10 to -20 to 7 to 33 and back to 10

Those are our temperatures, starting with the beginning of January.  Fahrenheit.  The past two days were right around 30 degrees.  The snow loses its' sparkle and the trees melt their snow but we PLAY OUTSIDE!  It's wonderful.  The kids enjoyed both days.  This morning it was cold again.  11 degrees.  I decided I needed some photo therapy.  On our way home from Emma's school today we took these.  I played with some, left some alone.  They were all taken in our "neighborhood" I use the term loosely since there are really only about 10 houses in the 80 acres or so around here.  A few more are built every year.  Hopefully our next house will be one of new ones built next summer.  We'll see.  The last two pics were taken from the window in our living room.  The others were taken from inside my van cuz, ya know, it's cold out there!  The crazy blue one is our new lot.  Gotta love that view.

Happy Valentine's Day

I got this hysterical email from my mother.  I sent her out to get us all truffles so we could have a little treat for Valentine's Day without eating an entire batch of cookies.  This is what happened:

So...I went into All I Saw Cookware and was standing at the counter looking for strawberry or peanut butter, neither of which they had, when the sales lady behind the counter sneezed.  Then she blew her nose, threw out the kleenex and said may I help you...I left...

So, I then went to the Candy Bouquet store next to Brandys (where we get out hair done) and got the order in - not quite the fancy truffles but they don't have snot on them and and they do have strawberry and p-nut butter (not on the same candy mind you). (P-nut is the name of a boat my mom used to have, it's an abbreviation we're all used to)  See you tonight. 

Mom

So, on that note.  Happy Valentine's Day.  It's 30 degrees which means I need to start using self-tanner so I can break out my shorts!!!  WooHoo!

Risky Business

Although the movie may have been rated differently if Tom Cruise had been dressed like this.

Getting Creative

Jack, "Come ON Emma!  I just want to crawl under!"

Emma, "This is MY house!  This is my HOUSE!  MOM!  This is MY HOUSE!"

Jack, "Come ON!  I'll be really fast, I promise!"

"Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaassssssse."

Emma, "Noooooo."

Jack then plummets his head to the ground in the pose that is commonly known as "baby in despair,"  he does it really well.  When it's aimed at Mike or I, he'll give a sad, sad, sideways glance up at us to make sure we understand the true depths of his despair.

After 6 weeks of the weather keeping us indoors, this is what we resort to.  

The Circus Comes to Emma's Classroom

The kids had a parade through the school first.  Afterwards, they picked up tickets and handed out popcorn for kindergarten classes for the circus performance.

Here's Emma getting ready to hand out tickets.

And finally, here's my little tight-rope walker.

Emma's pre-school teachers are the best.  There are 8 kids in the class.  Most go Tuesday-Friday but some only come on Wednesday and Friday.  There are three teachers and they are really amazing.  There's a new unit each month, they're all something fun and they always do something special at the end of each unit.  I just love it.  Emma loves it.  She happily climbs on the bus each day (still weird for me) and jumps right off when she gets home.  When Emma starts Kindergarten next year it just won't be a big deal.  There will also be at least one little girl in our neighborhood who will be going to school with her.  We're really proud of Emma.  Not much slows this little girl down. If you want more information on her Moebius Syndrome click here.  We're going to a conference this summer in New Jersey and can't wait.

Mulan

This our latest "princess" movie.  Emma watched it the other night with her Auntie Melissa.  She said it was, "boring."

We have watched that movie 4 times since that comment was made two days ago.

Yesterday Emma wanted a "mulan bun."  Okay.  I put her hair in a loose bun.  She was thrilled.

Last night she asked for a mulan bun again.  Okay, I start the bun.  

"Oh!  Wait!"  Emma says, "I forgot to cut my hair first!"  (Those of you who are familiar with the movie will remember that Mulan cuts her hair in a very nice straight line with a sword.

I try to help Emma out with this and pretend to cut her hair.  

"NO MOM!!!  YOU NEED TO CUT IT TO HERE!!"  (indicating a point just below her ears)

I try to explain to Emma that if her hair were any shorter I wouldn't be able to put it in a bun.

She runs from the room doing a very dramatic scream that only little girls can do.  She "sobs" in her room for about 10 minutes before wandering slowly back out.  As soon as she makes eye contact with either of us, she runs off screaming again.

Seriously??

Of all the things to be upset about, she is an angry little girl because I won't cut her hair with a sword.

Her life apparently sucks.  

I wonder how this side of her personality will manifest itself when she's 15...

(on a side note, I'm STILL waiting for blogger peeps to help me with my little photo problem)

Auntie Melissa

"Auntie" is the title we give Melissa since, like my husband, she is an only child so my children get the proud distinction of being her only neice and nephew.  This is also great for Mike and I because you don't pay family members to babysit.  "Auntie" means free baby-sitting.

So, yesterday Mike and I had a murder mystery dinner at a friend's house and Melissa drove all the way out from Anchorage (50 miles) after work on a friday to watch my children.  

When she arrived at my house she said, "Oh, I had a dream about watching your kids last night."

Me - "Was it a happy dream?  Or a stressful dream?"

Melissa - "It was a little stressful."

When we got home, the playroom was literally filled with toys.  Emma was very happily running around after 10 since Melissa was given permission to totally spoil the girl.  Jack was soundly sleeping.  Total success.  

Now I have one more victim to add to my short list of people I can leave me kids with for free.

Daddy's Home!

Daddy's Home so Emma is sleeping a little more.

Any guesses as to who is growing a tooth?

A canine in the front that is all swollen??

Yep.

Maybe my resolution this year will be to try and remember to make a resolution next year to get enough sleep.

Does that work??

Cuz right now I'll try anything.

So you  think they're too young for NyQuil??

Still no Pics

I have lost the ability to post pics on my blog.  I hope the problem will be resolved soon so I don't have to learn how to put together my drupal site this weekend.  

I was sitting in my playroom playing with kids and blocks when a mom and baby moose passed by.  They were so close that Emma could have hit them with a ball.  It was nice since this is the time of year that I want to leave state because the single digits, lack of snow and wind MAKES ME CRAZY!  

Every time I see a mother moose with her baby on our property I wonder if it's the same mommy moose that gave birth to a calf in our yard last spring when Aurelie was here.  That has to go in my highlights of Alaskan Adventures and it's actually pretty cool that Ryan and Aurelie were here for another one which is the best caving we ever saw from Barry Glacier aboard Time In A Bottle.  I have many more "Fav Alaskan Experiences" but I don't think I have pics of very many.  Mostly just moments to enjoy.  I'm happy my children will get to experience some of the same things.

Emma was very excited to see the moose since they were right outside the playroom window and then right next to her bedroom window.  

Jack does not yet care.

Conspiring Against Me

I really think, that for some crazy reason, my children do not want me to sleep.  Maybe because it creates a lack of will to say no to things like, "Can I have ice cream before lunch?"  But I would think that having a grumpy mommy would be worse than not getting ice cream at lunchtime.  Who Knows.

I can just hear them conspiring before bedtime while I'm getting toothbrushes, pajamas and bottles together:

Jack, "okay, so after I'm asleep for a while, maybe just before midnight, I'll make just enough noise to make mommy sit up in bed for a while."

Emma, "Great, then I'll get up at like 2 am with a fake problem or to announce that I'm going pee in my potty, I'll save a bloody nose for tomorrow night, my pillowcases were just washed."

Jack, "So, I'll do midnight, you do 2, I'll start rolling over making noises around 5 or so.  Maybe mom will panic and think I'm getting up for the day.  After I quiet down, she'll wonder if I'm covered and try to cover me.  When you hear her stop rolling around after she climbs back into bed that'll be your cue to pee again or if you wanted to do a bloody nose tonight that would be the time."

Emma, "okay, so we have the nighttime covered.  Do you want to sleep in tomorrow or should I?  I can't remember which one of us stayed in bed today, we should just do every other day to keep it simple right?  Well, I actually want to be grouchy tomorrow so I'll get up early tomorrow and you can get up early the next day.  Next week you should try to get another tooth."

This is what must happen!! 

Otherwise I would sometimes get a night of peace.

My Little Photographer

Yep, Emma grabbed my camera and started snapping away.  Here's two of many.

Le Petit Artist

I actually think Jack's favorite part about this is grabbing crayons by the handful and pitching them over his shoulder but he did enjoy the drawing for quite a while.

A Treat for Deserving Grandparents

A few days ago I was at my friend Rachel's house.  She has this thick carpet pad and brand new soft carpet.  When we were there Jack was standing and took one tentative step forward and then another and then slowly sat down like "whoa, what was that?"

I figured one evening at my parents would send him walking.  And it did.  I wasn't there...I was taking Mike to the airport for him to go out of town again.

We get this phone call when we're out to dinner, 

"Jack's walking all over the place!!"

While this may be a bit of an overstatement, he did, in fact, do quite a bit of walking between the family members.  A few steps to Grandad, and then to Gramma and apparently the highlight was Jack walking to Emma with her hands out.  They then stood there laughing at each other while touching hands and celebrating.

I think when he really gets this walking thing down, Emma will wonder why she was celebrating.

Until then, I can't wait to see his new found skill.  I'm sure he's most proud of himself.  Maybe it'll wear him out and he'll sleep a little more.  I could sure use it.

Reading With Dad

Jack standing by himself.

Jack being pretty proud of himself.

Jack doing a body check.

Oh Cool!  This is what reading time's all about!!

Emma and her dad.

It's pretty great.

I LOVE MY TENT!!

He He He

He He He He he he he he

Salsa Anyone??

The first thing he dipped was his peanut butter cookie.  

And you know, somebody should tell these irresponsible parents that children of this age should never sit on the counter.