Announcing...

 

Due August, 2012!!

Christmas letter 2011

Merry Christmas, friends and family! I didn't mail out a letter this year, opting instead to give people this blog address. I also didn't write a letter in 2010 so I guess I have a bit of backtracking to do...

2010 was a busy, difficult and blessed year for us. As many of you know, in 2009 I moved in with a woman named Dorothy to care for her while she battled ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Looking back, I'm sure I had no idea what I was getting myself into but the entire journey was such a learning experience for me. I was able to build incredible friendships with the people I worked with, not to mention the wonderful relationships I was able to build with Dorothy and her family.

 Dorothy and I at her 66th birthday celebration

Dorothy battled long and hard and didn't give up the fight until she was good and ready. She passed away on May 12th, 2010 and I was able to be with her. I was left with a beautiful view of what death is as she passed very peacefully in her own home.

Dorothy's family after her memorial service (including her 95 year old mother)

I continued living in Dorothy's home while they got it ready to sell and while Steve and I finished up some remodel work on the home that he owns in Albany (with the help of my sister's fiance, Cody!). I moved into that house in mid-June 2010.

The remainder of 2010 was spent getting settled into the Albany house and doing a bit of re-learning how to do things like sleep through the night. :) (To read a detailed report of what a day in the life of a caregiver is like, visit this link.)

We adopted these three cuties as well.

Shady, Tegan and Petra

Christmas Eve 2010 was probably the most exciting day of the year... when Steve proposed and we became engaged! That is a very fun story, which you can read here.

2011 threw us into the whirlwind that is wedding planning! To be honest, I don't even know what to say about 2011 because it went by so quickly! I turned 24 in April, Steve turned 37 in June and Jordan turned 10 in July. His birthday post is here. He continues to be our pride and joy and we are so thrilled to be his parents. He is extremely into Legos right now and spends hours and hours and hours (literally) on the family room floor. Sound effects can usually be heard coming from that corner of the house. He also spends quite a bit of time singing and whistling, especially while in the shower. This year he learned to ride a bike, which was very exciting for him.

Our summer was mostly uneventful as we mostly stuck around home, still preparing for our wedding! We spent lots of time playing outside and Jordan even got to go on a canoe trip with my brother, Colby, and his fiance, Caryn. The trip was a reward to Jordan for improving his reading skills over the summer during tutoring time with Caryn. He was so thrilled!

Steve started his 14th year driving city transit and continues to mostly love his job. He is a people person and enjoys the social aspect of the job, but struggles daily with back and neck pain.

I am still working at the Corvallis hospital in medical records. This year I hit a wall at my job and have started to struggle more with the feeling of being sucked in by the daily grind. Things are constantly changing in our department and if management isn't able to wisely keep up with the changes... the employees suffer. I do enjoy the fast-paced-ness of the job and the great working relationship I have with many of the physicians.

In October our big day arrived! To view some more of our favorite wedding pictures, click here.

We spent our wedding night in Albany and headed out the next day to spend 4 nights in Hood River. We stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast and enjoyed being the only guests that week.We were able to make day trips to Multnomah Falls, the Columbia Gorge Hotel and take a trip on the Mount Hood Railroad.

After our getaway we headed home for two nights to do laundry and re-pack and then loaded up the car and Jordan and took off for a week long adventure to Disneyland! We spent one day each at Disneyland, California Adventure and Universal Studios. At the end of the trip we all agreed that we didn't think we could choose a favorite park, just favorite attractions. Jordan and I are both huge fans of the roller coasters! The day we were are Universal it was 95 degrees so our favorite attractions were the ones that kept us wet.

I had thought that after the wedding and honeymoons life might slow down a little bit so we could regroup but that was wishful thinking. It seems that we plowed right into the holiday season with gusto and here were are, enjoying the heck out of it! :)

We have some big plans in the works for our family in the near future. Jordan has been struggling in school for the last several years so we are working towards me quitting my job and staying home to homeschool him next year. We aren't able to give up the income I bring in, so I am in the process of starting a home childcare business. I have started taking the required classes for this process and it's both scary and exciting! I'm thrilled at the idea of staying home with my boy (and future children, which are hopefully not too far off!) and helping him learn in fun and exciting ways. We think it may be just the ticket for him.

As we throw ourselves into new and exciting adventures, we hope you and your family find yourselves healthy and happy as well!

Wishing you a holiday season full of love and peace,

The Hanolds

Living the dream. For serious.

Ok. Maybe I've learned. Time never slows down. There is never enough of it. And I will never blog as much as I would like to. (It's even worse now that our laptop died because I can't blog in bed in the evenings anymore.) (Not that I did that very much anyway.)

Here is a quick list of what the heck we've been up to lately! In no particular order...

I cut my hair! I grew it out for FIVE YEARS for the wedding and it was super long. I did love my long hair (it turns out that Steve prefers it long) but it was in my way all the time and always pulled back in a ponytail or boring braid. After the honeymoons I cut 11 inches off and donated it to Locks of Love. I must say, I like it short. :)

Jordan has a girlfriend. It's his best buddy from his after school program and apparently things are quite serious between them. *wink* Don't ask him about it.

I am planning to quit my job.

Yes, seriously! We are very seriously looking at me quitting my job and staying home to homeschool Jordan next year. Ideally I would quit in the spring and start up a home childcare business to generate income for our family. Then I would begin homeschooling Jordan when school lets out (unofficially at first and then more seriously in the fall). He is unsure about whether he wants to do that (he likes school for the social aspect) but it's the direction we're leaning. I have a post about that brewing in my head, too!

Along with working toward me staying home and doing everything I just mentioned, we are working on growing our family. No news yet!

We are decorated for Christmas! I love this time of year. And I love the excitement that Jordan has the entire month of December.

Tonight I'm going with my sister and two other girls to David's Bridal because now it's KENDRA'S turn to plan her wedding! :) We are looking at bridesmaid dresses together.

Life goes on, busy as ever! I thought things would slow down a bit after the wedding and truthfully, they have. But I'll be honest, I would rather spend an evening in bed with my boys and a movie than writing a blog post. ;) And who can blame me for that??

Oh! One more thing!

For the last several years I've had an allergy (or "sensitivity") to chocolate. More specifically, to caffeine. If I consumed it I would get horrible horrible headaches and vertigo.

Recently Steve brought home this evil kettlecorn drizzled with fudge. You guys, the stuff is amazing. And I tried a piece. And then I tried a whole bowl full. And I didn't die! I didn't even get a little bit sick. So I tried it two more times. (This stuff is SO good.)

Then I tried a piece of chocolate. And then a mug of hot chocolate.

And I still didn't die! (Mind you, I did spread these things out over the course of several days.)

So I am very happy to say that I think my sensitivity may be a thing of the past and I am SO EXCITED about it! I can't even tell you how heavenly that stupid mug of hot chocolate was. I'm sure I looked like a total dork while I was drinking it.

Bliss, I tell you.

The moment you've all been waiting for...

Wedding photos!!

I feel that I need to do a really long post all about that wonderful day (heck, I need to record it SOMEWHERE) but I think that may be a process. Here are a few photos to tide you over, in the hopes that I'll find some follow-through and actually write a big long post. I have several posts brewing in my head, along with some big news to share (we're not pregnant!) so I need to sit down soon and tap all that out!

And now, without further ado...

Turning ten

Every year I write Jordan a letter on his birthday. Last year I read his letter to him but this year I chose not to because I wanted to write it more for history's sake. Plus I've spent a lot of time lately telling him how great he is and how well he's doing in certain areas so I didn't feel like I was depriving him of that by not reading this one to him. :) So without further ado... his ten year letter.

Jordan,

Today you are TEN YEARS OLD. I have now known you for over five years and you are turning into the most incredible kid. This year you have grown by leaps and bounds in pretty much every way except physically. You are still a little shrimp at 51 pounds. :) Your small size makes you the favorite among your peers and you continue to be one of the popular ones wherever you go. You gravitate towards older, bigger kids and they love you because you’re small enough to cart around and easily wrestle with.

School was a challenge for you in 3^rd grade. You and your teacher didn’t mesh well and we didn’t feel like she was a good advocate for you. You struggled with a few situations regarding other kids that we felt weren’t handled the way they should be. You often came home from school frustrated about how the day had gone and telling me that Mrs. H was your least favorite teacher yet. Of course this was hard for Daddy and I to hear and we started to discuss homeschooling you in 5^th grade. One-on-one instruction is what you thrive on and I think it would be so helpful to be able to tailor lessons to your specific needs and interests. It’s something we are seriously talking about. (Plus, we’re hoping you will have a baby brother or sister around that time and that Mommy will be home anyway!)

Grandma has been having some more serious health problems this year and it led to finding different childcare for you during your before and after school hours. After hunting around and checking out our options we settled on a community after school program, where you go for about 30 minutes in the morning and about an hour in the afternoon. You LOVE it. There is a huge array of activities and you were able to spend lots of time playing outside. You made some new friends there and always had fun things to tell me about your day.

You have become more mature in choosing your friends this year and have a very nice group of them. Colyn was your best friend last year but this year he took to throwing you under the bus a few times. When Daddy asked if you wanted to invite him to your birthday party you told him, “He lied to three teachers to get me in trouble and he slapped me in the face. No.” Your best friend at school is Alex and your best friend at your after school program is Kylie. Dalton and Riley are among your best buds and although you don’t see them much, you also like spending time with Mason, Rhonen and Blu. You also love to play with your cousins and Mommy’s older boy cousins. 

This summer you went back to YMCA camp and it’s been a bit different than last year. You’re learning more about bullies and how to deal with them and have been doing an excellent job with that. There is one boy in particular that has been causing some problems and you even asked if we could set up a meeting with a counselor to talk about him. I’ve been very proud of the way you’ve used your words and not your hands. Andrew is your friend of choice at camp and you also spend a lot of time with Jonah.

Your eating habits still leave something to be desired, despite our efforts to encourage (and sometimes force) you to try new things. You have started to get tired of Happy Meals (HALLELUJAH!) and have moved on to Popcorn Chicken from KFC. I’m sure that’s not great for you either but at least it’s real chicken. :) Daddy and I still hope that your stubbornness about food will wear off and that you’ll branch out in what you like, especially with fruits and vegetables. This year your foods of choice were Top Ramen, Happy Meals, KFC chicken, fruit snacks, chips, cereal, popcorn, chocolate milk, juice, sweets, French toast and ice cream. Occasionally we can get you to eat some peanuts or pistachios. :)

You are learning to ride a unicycle this year and you are mere weeks away from mastering it! Nana got you started on it and at first you were less than excited about it but did it to please her. Now that you’re really getting the hang of it you have started to love it and can see your own progress. It’s exciting to watch you! You also learned to skateboard this year in PE and Daddy brought you home a skateboard from the lost and found at work, which you love.

You are a little fish and LOVE water. Swimming is your favorite activity and even though you complain about taking baths, once you get in the tub, you tend to enjoy them. You still take baths instead of showers but will sometimes use the shower to rinse your soapy hair when you’re done. You have finally started washing your own hair and getting yourself dried off, much to our delight. You have been known to stay in the tub for up to an hour, singing and playing and commentating. The cats usually feel the need to supervise your bath time and they have each fallen in a time or two, which is pretty much the most hilarious thing ever.

You love paper and can make all sorts of creative crafts out of it, your favorite being paper airplanes. If given a pen, the first thing you will draw is always, without fail, a skeleton. Your letterboxing signature stamp is also a skeleton.

You have been inquiring about dreams a lot lately and will ask almost every day, “So, didja have any bad dreams last night?” I don’t often have bad dreams but Daddy and I do have a lot of dreams in general so it’s been funny to talk about them.

We got rid of cable TV this year and were hoping that would naturally cut down on TV time. Many of the things you like to watch can be found on Netflix, however, so you’ve switched to that. Our Wii gets lots of use between Netflix and video games. You and Daddy love to play Super Mario Brothers together.

You are one of the most creative, imaginative kids I know and when I ask you to pack your library bag with activities, the things you choose are hilarious. One week at church you had a little wooden box, a phone cord, a dog leash, a funnel, a bouncy ball, a ring from a ring toss game and a Lego stick thing. You had the best time.

You still hate getting your hair cut and going to bed. Your favorite shoes this year are your hiking boots and 8 out of 10 pair of your pants have giant holes in the left knee. You don’t like to wear long sleeves but sweatshirts are ok. You LOVE to play in the sand and get dirty. We got a new car this year and your favorite seat is in the VERY back, facing backwards. You make up your own jokes and songs and make us laugh all the time.

This year you love Legos, Star Wars, Mario, Pokemon, superheroes, anything to do with science, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Goosebumps (or really anything scary), Transformers and history. You like to quiz Mommy on the presidents (which is good for me because I’m terrible with them). You’ve also taken a liking to board games and we love to play “I’m Thinking of an Animal” together. You’re awesome at that game.

This summer you’ve been spending a couple of hours with Caryn in the mornings and she has been tutoring you in reading and math. You’re really enjoying it and have grown in leaps and bounds in just a few short weeks. Daddy and I are so impressed at how far you’ve come and you can’t wait to wow your teachers when school starts. You missed out on learning your multiplication tables toward the end of 3^rd grade and Caryn has taught you 0 through 10 in just a few short weeks. Once you master them, your reward is a canoe trip with her and Colby! You can now read easy level books all on your own and you have blazed through all of the Dr. Seuss books at Nana and Grandpa’s house. I’ve noticed you reading signs and packages more often and that’s really exciting for me. I hope that reading becomes something you enjoy. When I ask your about your day, your favorite part is often your morning with Caryn.

It’s hard to believe that you’re ten years old already and Daddy and I are so excited for this coming year. You have some wonderful traits and skills and interests and it’s so fun to watch those unfold. I can’t wait to see where 10 takes you. :)

We love you with all our hearts,

Mommy and Daddy

That mom

We all know one of those moms. The ones you talk about among your girlfriends. The ones you think about as you parent your own children. Those moms are sometimes moms you admire and sometimes moms you hope to become nothing like. Those moms sometimes have kids you adore and you hope to raise your children similarly, and sometimes you look at their kids and wonder where they went wrong. (Come on, we all do it.)

Recently I've been thinking a lot about how I want to raise my kids. Part of it has to do with all the things we've been working with Jordan on (reading, chore lists, trying new foods, etc.). Part of it has to do with all the conversations we've been having about when to expand our family (soon). And part of it is because I want to be the best mom that I can be and it's just something I spend a lot of time thinking about. When you have a child they sort of consume your life and everything you do has either a direct or indirect effect on them. I want those effects to be positive.

In all of my thinking I decided I should make a record of said thoughts. Something for me to refer back to when the going gets tough. Something for me to add to as I continue to learn and grow as a mom. Here's a little bit of the mom I want to be (this applies to Jordan and to future children of ours):

• I want to breastfeed my babies exclusively for as long as possible. (This will be partly dependent on whether I can quit my job and stay home with our kids.)
• I want to babywear.
• I want to make my own baby food! This is actually something I've long been excited about and I have several resources lined up for when that time comes.
• I want to homeschool. This was the right answer for my family when I was in school and I think it is the right answer for Steve and I and our family, too. Logistics are just tricky.
• I want to be a non-worrier about things like messes and dirty kids. Kids learn when they explore and exploring is messy and dirty. I want to let my kids play in the mud and toss toys around on the floor and let the Cheerios fall from their trays and get peas in their hair as they learn to feed themselves. I saw a home decor sign the other day that said, "Please excuse the mess. Children are making memories." I want that to be reflected in our home.
• I want to have adventures. I want to turn day-to-day things into exciting things my kids will remember.
• I want to take MILLIONS of pictures!
• I want to scrapbook. I don't even care anymore if it's digital scrapbooking, as long as we have a record of our lives. And I want to start this with creating a baby book for Jordan.
• I want to read to my kids all. the. time.
• I want to celebrate little/big things. Learning to tie shoes. Learning to ride a bike. Learning to read. These things seem small in the grand scheme of life but when you're a child, they are huge. And they should be celebrated.
• I want to take time for my kids. I want to get down on the floor and play with them. I want to make up imaginary games with them. I want to draw with chalk and swim and wrestle and be silly with them.
• I want to have a wall in our home where we display our kids' projects and art.
• I want to have a "go-to" arsenal of activities for us to do so we always have ideas at our fingertips. (A recipe box full of crafts and games and activities comes to mind.)
• I want to really instill VALUES into my kids. My family always said, "It's not what you want to be but who you want to be that matters." Relationships are the most important thing in life and I want my children to understand that.
• I want to be the parents that show affection in front of our kids. :) I'm not afraid to love on Steve in front of Jordan and I think that's healthy for him to see. We use the phrase "I love you" more than the average family (I bet we say it dozens of times every day) and frankly, I hope we say it so much that Jordan gets tired of hearing it. :)
• I want my children to learn through experiences. Not just by learning from their own mistakes (though I hope they will) but also learning just by living life. Just by being a part of a family or a group of friends or something bigger.
• I want to teach my kids valuable things like how to cook and how to change a tire and how to balance a checkbook, at an early age. My parents did this for us (or provided the opportunities for it) and I am so thankful for that.

I will have so much more to add to this list, I know. But these are the things I could think of just off the top of my head.

Most of all, I want my children to remember their childhood as a wonderful time and when they look back on their lives, I hope they will remember all the memories we made as a family and that they will treasure those memories. You're only little once.

Change

Life has been full of change for us lately.

The biggest change happening for us is in Jordan's childcare. He is starting a before and after school program tomorrow, after being at his grandparents' house during that time since the dawning of his life in school. I will drop him off at this program at 6:45 in the morning and then head to work. He will take the bus to school and then back to the program after school, where I will pick him up.

We visited the program site on Friday afternoon so he could check it out and see where he would be going. I think he's going to really like it! They have games, computers, a Wii, blocks, toys and those melty beads that he adores. Of course when the leader asked him, "Do you like to do crafts?" he answered with, "Ehh... so-so." Yeah, whatever! :) He LOVES to do crafts!

I will stay with him for a bit tomorrow to make sure he's comfortable. I think he's going to love it, though. I have several friends and coworkers whose kids go or have gone to the same program and adored it.

Jordan is also getting super excited for summer camp this year. We picked up the camp schedule yesterday and I'm thrilled at all the fun things he gets to do (including a field trip to OMSI and one to a flour mill!). We were at the YMCA last night and ran into the camp leader, who Jordan just fell in love with last year. He asked if Jordan would be back this year and Jordan excitedly informed him that he would be.

We recently had Jordan's IEP meeting with all of his teachers and it went pretty well. There was one thing that really pissed me off and that was when I asked the principle if we could meet the 4th grade teachers and ask them some questions and kind of determine where we would like him placed next year (stemming from the fact that his 3rd grade teacher has NOT been a good match for him). She basically told us no, they will make that decision because they know the whole picture. Which I basically took to mean, "No, we know better than you what is best for your child, so butt out." I was not pleased but Steve told me later that another teacher had been mouthing to him, "I will help you." So I hope that he will be placed in a classroom that is good for him, with a teacher who wants to see him succeed. During the IEP meeting they would bring up a skill and ask if Jordan exhibits that skill in the classroom. His teacher would reply, with a sad look on her face, "No, he can't..."

How about no, he doesn't?? CAN'T is not a word they should be using for a kid who is so far behind grade level. I really feel that his teacher needs to have higher expectations of him so that he is pushed and stretched and made to grow. I can see that Jordan is frustrated being so far behind his peers, and it's almost like his teacher has written him off for the year and is pushing him on to the 4th grade teachers so that he can become their problem.

WRONG!

I am not going to sit back and watch my child be pushed through the system, falling further and further behind each year. He needs a teacher (like he had in 2nd grade) who will make it her personal goal to see him succeed for the year, and strive to help him arrive where he needs to be.

*deep breath*

It is still my dream to be able to quit my job and homeschool him. I believe that's what he really needs.

Which brings me to my next topic: Writing Road to Reading.

It's the program my parents used with my siblings (and a little bit with me, though I taught myself to read when I was 5, so I mostly just remember the parts I picked up from watching my brother and sister use the program) when we were all homeschooled. My mom bought the materials last week and we're really excited to start Jordan on it. It's a curriculum that teaches reading through writing and through using letters phonetically. We loved it and it was easy for us so I hope this is the breakthrough answer we need and that Jordan will be reading like a champ soon.

On top of all of these things (a lot to deal with at once!) I've been sick for three weeks with bronchitis and my car died! I finally went to the doctor last week and he put me on antibiotics and today I am finally starting to feel better. I'm coughing less, though I'm still stuffed up and can't hear out of one ear.

My car is just making me frustrated at this point. I spent several hundred dollars on it a few months ago, getting a new brake and rotor job. Now the O2 sensors are bad. And it's not firing on all six cylinders. And there is a head gasket leak. Which will cost a couple thousand to fix. It would be less if we had a family friend do it, but even then, I don't have a couple hundred to spend either. I think this is the beginning of the end for my car. I could fix these problems but a few months down the line, we'll just have more problems.

And so begins our search for a new car...

A mid-week break

Jordan is sick.

Again.

This is his second ear infection in six weeks. He's had a cough for over a month, though THANKFULLY that is finally getting better. He is on antibiotics, two different steroids and an inhaler.

I stayed home from work with him today because Steve made the (treacherous) trip to Bend today to visit his mom, who is in a hospital there. He said there is no way he's making that drive twice in one day so he'll be staying the night in Bend and I'll be on Mom Duty.

I found that one little bonus of staying at home with a sick kid is that HOLY COW, my house is CLEAN!

I got up at about 9:00 this morning and jumped right in the shower. I folded four loads of laundry, vacuumed the house, cleaned the hedgehog cage, trimmed her nails, made beds, washed dishes, swept floors, cleaned the bathroom, mopped the bathroom floor and ceiling (mold) and wiped the bathroom counters down with vinegar to try to get rid of the DANG SUGAR ANTS!

Tonight we're having "Mommy/Jordan date night" and we'll eat popcorn and watch Survivor and then put a movie on in the bedroom. It'll be great.

Tomorrow Jordan has an appointment with an ENT to look at his ears again. This is the 5th (or so) ear infection that he's had in the last year and a half and it's getting ridiculous. They get so bad so fast because he has a crazy high pain tolerance, so he never tells us his ear hurts, just that he can't hear. But by that point he has a raging double infection. So I'm hoping the ENT has some answers for us.

And now, off to give medicine and eat dinner and start bath time!

The 500th post

It has been a BUSY two months since I last posted!

Let's see, I had just gotten engaged...

Since then I have been living in a whirlwind of wedding planning and life. We have booked our location and photographer, asked our wedding party to, well, be our wedding party, I chose a dress and this week we are working on cake, flowers and food. There is SO much to planning a wedding, I tell ya. It can get so overwhelming and I'm trying to pace myself and only work on a couple of tasks at a time.

We also had a parent/teacher conference yesterday. Those can be stressful for us because Jordan is on an IEP (Individualized Education Program) and visits several different groups during the day to work on different skills (math, reading, speech). His teachers keep close tabs on his progress and do a lot of different testing to determine where he's at and what his needs are.

Yesterday we decided to have them do some more testing in the next couple of weeks to get a better feel for his current needs. He is operating way below grade level and that can be very discouraging. Yesterday's meeting also made us think about some changes we can make at home and different skills to work on. The first thing we're going to try is a chore chart, in hopes that it will help Jordan keep himself on track and be able to follow multiple instructions in a row without getting off track. We talked this morning about different chores that we can put on the chart and different rewards he can earn when he follows through. He seems excited about it.

I'm also hoping to decrease cartoons and video games and limit those to a time of day AFTER he has completed some schoolwork and we've done reading together. They get so distracting for him and once he's started watching a show it's really hard to pull him away and keep his focus on another activity, especially if it's something that is difficult for him. I've been really impressed with his hard work lately on vocab and spelling and other schoolwork so I hope this is a positive change.

Another thing we have been talking about is homeschooling him when he hits 6th grade. In a perfect world, we will have at least one more child by then and I would be able to stay home with the kids and teach Jordan during the day. Financially I'm not sure this is realistic but it's kind of a dream we have and one that we haven't ruled out.

Other things we've been up to:

READING!
Anticipating a trip to the snow to go tubing
Playing with kitties
Laughing
Having consistent date nights/family nights every week
Spending lots of time with my family
Talking about goals and plans of action
Avoiding dishes
Trying to go to bed earlier! :)

On life

Life is just trucking along... being life! And though I've been posting this summer about how wonderful summer has been and how much we've been loving it (it was and we totally were), not everything about my life is peaches and cream.

I'm working really hard at enjoying the little things in life. Soaking in the moment and not letting things pass me by.

I'm going to miss packing Jordan's lunches for him and I try to remember that when I'm about to crawl into bed and I realize that I haven't packed his lunch OR my own. It's easy for me to just say, "Oh, I'll grab something from the cafeteria" but he doesn't have that luxury. (I also remind myself of this when I UNpack his lunches and find that he's barely eaten a thing.)

I am reminding myself, sometimes daily, that money does not equal happiness. Sure, not living paycheck to paycheck would cut down on STRESS levels in this house, but we have the things that matter. We are warm, we are full and we have love. And cats.

I am trying to remember each day when I ask Jordan how school was and he says, "fine" and then tells me that he can't remember what he learned about in school because "it was a long day," that that's ok. Instead, I try to ask more pointed questions and try to pull information out of him. And it usually works.

I remind myself when Steve is being super annoying and is getting on my nerves that he is truly an amazing guy and that he treats me wonderfully. He kisses me when he leaves the house and he kisses me when he comes home. He tells me he loves me, even if we're bickering. He PRAYS for me every day. He asked me to be the mother of his son.

I remember that sometimes houses are messy. Sometimes sinks are full of dirty dishes. Sometimes laundry baskets overflow. And that's ok! (You know, until you run out of clean underwear.) Because really, more memories are made reading books together than they are if Jordan is watching cartoons and I'm washing dishes and folding laundry.

And when Jordan ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT EAT ANYTHING HEALTHY NO MATTER HOW HARD WE TRY, I remind myself that he will eventually grow out of it. Hopefully. (And we're actually going to start a sort of eating behavior program sometime soon to encourage new foods. And less Happy Meals.)

And when my boys get home at the end of the day? I hit "Publish" on my blog posts and go spend time with them before bed. :)

Nine

Dear Jordan,

I keep telling you that I’m going to put a brick on your head to stop you from growing, and I just might do it! Though this morning when I said that you told me, “Well, it would just fall off because my head is round!” So you see, you’re a smart little cookie.

You’re nine years old today. NINE YEARS OLD! I didn’t even meet you until you were 4 and still I can’t believe where the time has gone.

You are turning into quite the kid. Last week I babysat our friends’ kids for a few hours in the evening and I sat you down beforehand and told you my expectations for the evening. I expected you to listen carefully and to be respectful to your friends and to me. I told you if you met these expectations then we would all take a trip to the park. And you did. And so we did.

Now you talk to me about your Expectation Self and I have to say, I love this idea. And you rise to the occasion and you are a good listener and a respectful kid. It makes me proud.

You are still the pickiest eater I have ever known in my life. No kind of bribery can get you to try a new food. One day I stuck a mango in your face and you discovered that you actually like the taste of mango, but even still you wouldn’t try a piece! You are also the most stubborn child I think I have ever known in my life! :)

But you are a charmer. And there isn’t much that melts my heart like when you walk into the room and say in your cute little voice, “Hey, Mommy?” and then fire off some questions. You’re very curious and I like that about you.

We have started going to the library each week and you love that, too. First you check out the new release section, then the DVD section (Reading Rainbow is a new enjoyment), then the Children’s section. We usually pick a row and pull 8 or 10 books from that row without branching out much. The next week we choose a different row. You are most interested in the books with the Halloween symbol on the side because these tend to be the spooky books. You are also really enjoying chapter books and having a chapter read to you before bed at night. Right now we are reading a spooky chapter book so it’s the best of both worlds!

Your sense of humor is, well, humorous. We are constantly laughing at your antics and the goofy things you say. You understand puns and are quite creative. Comebacks are called “talk-backs” and you have your fair share of those as well. You get extra silly around your friends and are usually the group clown.

You are also the popular one. Kids swarm to you and you can often be found acting as the ringleader. It makes me laugh how terrible you are with names and you tend to call kids, “Hey, Dude!” instead of by their name. This year your good buddies are Mason, Colyn, Kyali and Adrian.

This summer you started day camp through the Y and you are loving it. Each Friday they ask if you’ll be back the following week and each time you answer them with an enthusiastic YES! You have made several friends at camp and the counselors love you. The other day when I came to pick you up they told me that the day before they were watching you as you wrote on a sticky note. You took this note in your hand and went to a counselor, patted her on the back and told her how nice she was. When another counselor “investigated” this he found a note on her back saying, “kig me.” So once again, you’re a ham!

You are an amazing artist and are constantly drawing animals and monsters and creatures. Recently my mom asked for a dragon drawing and you told her, “It’ll cost you a dollar.” At her surprise you replied, “What! I don’t work for free. I’m the best artist you could ever find!” And in the end, it really was a pretty awesome dragon.

You love family nights and all things to do with games. You’re very competitive and you love learning new things. You love to sing (especially in the bathtub or shower) and you know a good number of the words to many Michael Jackson songs. You love being outside and getting down and dirty. Your favorite shoes are your cowboy boots and you are not a fan of wearing shorts. You love your cats and you love corn chips and pistachios. We often call you our fish because you adore swimming and will wear yourself plumb out in the pool. Your laugh is contagious and you hate getting your hair cut. You have a special love for science and are thrilled when we do experiments. You ask lots of questions and listen carefully to the answers. You are very good at reading people and are a very intuitive guy.

And as for Daddy and I? Well, we think you are pretty much the coolest kid ever and we love you with all our hearts.

Hugs and kisses,

Mommy and Daddy

Das Not Funny! Friday : Jordan-isms

Click here to learn what Das Not Funny! Friday is all about.

Here are some things Jordan has said recently that have solicited chuckles from us:

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While at a rest stop:

Jordan looked over at a guy on his motorcycle and said, "Looks like somebody needs a lift on their ride!"

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Playing football with friends, it was suggested that they play on their knees because two of the kids were way bigger than the other kids and were dominating the game.

After about two minutes on their knees Jordan exclaims, "This is so humiliating!"

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We were at somebody's house and Jordan commented, "That's a classy couch." A minute later he observed, "Classy piano."

I looked his direction and he said to me, "What? I can't say classy twice??"

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"Is Ryan having a baby?"

No, but his wife is.

"Hm. How are babies made?"

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Laughing in the direction of his dad's back - "Hee hee. How do you spell 'kick'?"

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My mom commissioned Jordan to draw her a dragon picture. He told her, "It'll cost you a dollar."

At her surprise he said, "What? I don't do pictures for free! I'm the best artist you'll ever find!"

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On my birthday Jordan spent close to an hour in my mom's craft room making me a birthday card. He brought it upstairs and told me, "You will just cry tears when you see this. You'll love it!"

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A friend from school was having Jordan do something with his hands, one step at at time. Jordan told me, "And in the end it made my hand into a gun and we're not allowed to have guns at school and I was not expecting that!"

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My sister made some inside joke that half the room didn't understand. Jordan chuckled and my mom leaned over to him and said, "I don't even know what that means."

Jordan laughed, waved his hands and said, "Me either, just play along!"

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Stream of consciousness

I'm always super stressed out the week before a move. This week is no different! It's just the tasks that are different.

Buy curtain rods and mount them to the walls
Hang all the curtains/shower curtains/closet curtains in the house
Mow the lawn
Have the carpets cleaned
Replace a section of floor
Install washer and dryer

Being a "homeowner" is weird!

The painting is DONE! And I hereby swear that I am never painting that house again, nor will I ever endeavor to paint and entire home by myself again. It looks amazing. But I officially hate painting. :)

Except watercolor painting. I got out Dorothy's watercolors over Memorial Day weekend and painted myself a masterpiece. I can't wait to show you. It's going to hang in my new kitchen.

The construction is done too. The guys weren't able to replace one little area of floor by the back door (and I think they kind of forgot about it because the fridge was sitting on it for 4 months - but I kind of forgot about it too) so that's being done tomorrow. The carpets were cleaned yesterday and today. The house is clean because my sister and I busted our butts on Sunday and I cleaned for five hours.

I'm broke.

I'm ready for my cats! I went to Petco yesterday and got everything I will need for them.

Nobody picked Jordan up at school yesterday. I got a phone call from his school about 35 minutes after school let out saying, "We've been trying to call everyone and we can't get throught to anyone. Nobody picked Jordan up today." I dropped everything and booked it to Albany (a 20 minute drive) to get the poor guy. We had a mommy-son date while we waited for Daddy to get off work. He was asking about our cats, whether they are boys or girls and when he found out they are one of each he was asking what we would do if the girl had kittens. I explained that she wouldn't because the boy cat is fixed. He wanted to know more about that so we had a little sex ed in McDonald's.

I've barely packed. I filled Dorothy's van (partly with things like space heaters and Jordan's bookshelf and this and that) but I have a long way to go. Tonight I'm gonna bust my butt packing because I want to make a big dent in it. I didn't actually realize how many books I have...

My internet gets hooked up at the house on Monday so I will go a very short time (like, one day) without internet. And once I'm settled I'm looking forward to blogging more.

I can't wait for Jordan's summer camp to start because I get to pick him up every day and spend the afternoon with him. I'm very excited about that. He's at an age where conversation is so fun and he is so curious and funny.

Where I've been

Well, there are some obvious answers as to where I've been...

I've been wanting to post photos of several activities over the last month but I hadn't taken any of them off of my camera yet. Then Doozie took a bunch of pictures of Dorothy on the day she passed away and I haven't even been able to put the card in my computer because I just wasn't ready to see them.

I'm still not ready but I made a folder buried at the bottom of my photo files and moved the pictures into the folder so I don't have to see them all the time. One of these days I will put them on a CD and save them as memories.

So jumping back a whole month... here is what I've been up to. :)

First, I did some experiments with my mad scientist.


Then, Stacy and Madre (and another old friend who happened to be in town for the weekend and is the one taking this picture) took me out to dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant. Delicious.

The weekend after my birthday Steve and I went to Portland for the MUCH anticipated Cirque du Soleil! This is the view from our room:

The big tent

Kooza!

The show was INCREDIBLE! I went with the intention of letting it take me away to another place and it totally did. I was mesmerized. I loved the entire thing. Over the course of the weekend we walked, rode Max, the streetcar and took a bicycle taxi. :)

And when we got back to our hotel we asked a lady at the front desk if she would take our photo. She happily obliged, then knelt down and took the picture looking up our noses. Um, thanks.

In the morning we decided to do the whole VooDoo Doughnut thing. We stood in line for 30 minutes and bought ourselves (and our friends back home) the most interesting doughnuts I have ever seen. And now I can say that I've had the experience.

The inside of that place is PINK!

Then we returned home and I spent some time snuggling with my boy.

After church on Mother's Day we went with my sister and her boyfriend to the Thyme Garden in Alsea and walked around in the beautiful gardens and took photos.


And visited with chickens.

I spent some time planting my own herbs and produce to enjoy later this summer.

And a couple of weeks ago we celebrated my cousin earning his Eagle rank in scouts and then debated long and hard over a very interesting croquet game.

And then it was time to say goodbye to Dorothy.

(I hope this photo doesn't bother anyone. This is the one picture I did want to get off of my camera because I find the daisy so sweet in her hand and I always loved her hands.)

Her memorial service was beautiful and we took this photo of her family afterwards. Her son and daughter-in-law are in the blue and green (tall and short) and her mom is the amazing looking 97 year old in the middle. Her three brothers are in the picture, her daughter Heather is behind Grandma, and Doozie (Heather's roommate) is on the far right.

Heather and I (I've officially gained another sister through all of this).

And my goofy, goofy dog, who moves to Portland tomorrow to live with Heather, Doozie and Blu.

What a handsome, funny boy. :)

(Diana, you will love this part.) I found out yesterday that this pretty girl will be mine in just a few short weeks! Oh my gosh, I can't wait.

And this brings us to today. Some good friends of ours had their first baby together this morning at 11:11! We were hoping to visit them tonight but Steve works until 7:30 and visiting hours end at 8 so it's just not feasible. We will go see them at home tomorrow afternoon and I can't wait to get my arms around this precious babe. Baby Boston Ryan.

Things have kind of ranged from both ends of the spectrum for me over the last week and a half but I'm in a good place. I've found that I CANNOT deal with sad things right now (like scenes in movies) but I know that's probably just in light of the last couple of weeks and will get better as time goes on.

A favorite cousin of mine comes to visit next weekend and I'm super excited about spending several days with her.

Work on the house is SUPPOSEDLY almost finished (tomorrow is the fourth deadline they have been given) and I will be spending my weekend over there painting. If I can crank out the rooms I'm hoping to tomorrow then I will just have the kitchen and family room left to do. Moving day is June 12th. (Kitten day is June 18th!!!!)

I'm hoping to be around a bit more now. :)