Corn on the Chob

Latest, make you giggle under your breath, phrase from Padon is Corn on the Chob. Very excited to see that the corn has been growing so well in the farms surrounding our house, Padon has been very talkative about it. Walter very neatly explained to Padon the process that a farmer goes through to plant and sow corn, what happens when it is harvested (I believe they watched a combine moving through the fields, harvesting), and Padon came home telling me all about the corn on the chob and how he just loved to eat corn on the chob. I tried to correct his pronounciation in which he turned to me irritated, and corrected me, that it was called corn on the chob. It took a bit, and a correction from Walter (go figure) and now Padon tries hard to say corn on the cob. Walter and I did like hearing about the corn on the chob, however, and both agreed it was a blog worthy phrase.

Sophia's Wreath

Awe, the things you can get done on a vacation! I finally got Sophia's wreath done! I kind of wish I had done this for myself with my wedding rehearsal bouquet. I had saved a lot of the ribbons and decorations from the gifts and flowers that Sophia received, when she was born, as well as just about all the gift bags, and had also purchased silk flowers commemorative of the real flowers she and I had received. For the last (almost) two years all these things have been sitting in Sophia's room, on her table and in a vase on her bookshelf, and finally, last week, I got the ribbon tied, the flowers glued, the bags cut into flower shapes, and everything assembled on the wreath! I'm pretty stink'n proud of myself and Walter couldn't stop saying "wow!" It came out as great as I hoped. I hope Sophia will always think it is special. Right now she loves the butterflies (a.k.a "buff-fly!") and birds (a.k.a "ducks" or "boop" or "ba").

Sophia's Sweater

When I was still pregnant with Padon my Aunt Barbara came to visit and gave me three little bags of fiber - one natural, one purple, and one red, a book on spinning and knitting natural fibers, and a little story book about a lamb who tries to dye himself with berries. It was a super sweet gift as she was giving me something for a hobby that I absolutely adore! Padon was born and the fiber didn't get carded and washed; it just seemed to get lost in my stash. I didn't forget about it, though, it was just that there wasn't really enough there to make a complete sweater and the quality of fiber wasn't one that you would typically put against a baby's skin. Finally in 2009 I got my act together and carded and spun the purple and the red, and at the fall Spin In, at Weaving Works, purchased a pound of Merino/Tussah blend (delicious!) called Daffodil and picked out the most adorable hooded sweater pattern. It took me almost another year (it is freak'n hard to spin with little kids around) to finish spinning the Daffodil and to get the sweater knit.

I had heard that a pound of fiber equaled a whole sweater but, what does that really mean? If you were to spin a chunky weight yarn then you most certainly won't have the same amount of yarn that you would if you were to spin a fingering weight. I typically spin what is referred to as worsted weight and it turned out for a size 24 mn sweater that allotted enough yarn to knit the sweater body, one sleeve, hood and all of the other sleeve except for half the cuff. What the!? it was significant enough that were I to bind off the cuff and say "eh, just wear it!" you would be able to tell that the sweater sleeves were lopsided. Knowing I needed to make a trip to Weaving Works or my friend's yarn shop, I opted instead to embroider the sweater, as-is, with the red and purple from my Aunt, and a bit of hand spun green that I had gotten in 2005 in a silent auction. It turned out great!

Walter knew of my estimated fiber to yarnage debacle and in a feat of great heroism attempted to find the fiber for me. First he grabbed the sweater forgetting that the soft fluff of the fabric had been hand spun by me and attempted to find another skein of yarn at Weaving Works. The gal that was trying to help him became significantly less helpful when she learned that I had probably not bought the yarn from them, but would have been immensely helpful if she had bothered to really look at the sweater and put two and two together; there for asking - "um does your wife spin?" To which the resolution would have been "oh! we totally have this fiber against that back wall in that plastic tote!" Instead she sent Walter sadly on his merry way, in a blind search for my friend, Claudia's, yarn shop; he didn't find it. Walter came home silently defeated but through some round about questions was able to get out of me that the sweater was hand spun by me and that Claudia's shop, Main Street Yarn, was in Bothell. He again snuck off to find the elusive fiber and went to Claudia's shop to find that they were sold out of the Daffodil (it rocks!) but that they would order him some more. He looked through their fiber curio cases and picked out two ounces of a really nice sea blue merino/tussah blend and one ounce of cashmere/tussah blend. I love the thought of what his face did when the cashmere/tussah rang up in the register. Both fibers are hard to process and so you pay for the hard work to create this scrumptiously soft fiber. Later I found that that price was $10.50 an ounce. Thank goodness he only got one ounce. He came home proud of his purchase, albeit disappointed that it didn't include the Daffodil and presented me with this incredibly heart felt Mother's Day present.

A couple months later I had picked up the Daffodil from Claudia's shop, spun it, and finished knitting the sweater. What a feat! I was dying to share pictures of the sweater with my aunt and to let her know that I had finally finished but I needed buttons and it was another month before I had made the trek to JoAnn Fabric and found the most perfect Dragonfly buttons.

I put the sweater on Sophia, on a warm, early September day, while she was wearing a tank top, and at first she kept grabbing at the sleeve, saying "Off, off. Stuck!" but in the end, started smiling and laughing at me finding it funny that she was making it difficult to take a picture. I was struggling to take a picture of her without Padon in the back ground and was able to snap a couple good ones before he still managed to get himself in the shot and I screamed way too loud at him in the back yard; ruining the moment for everyone. With the nice shots that I did get I have sent an email to my Aunt Barbara and I think she will be touched at the how nice the sweater looks and that I thought of her. She did ask me about the fiber once before and I sadly had told her that I had not spun it yet. I think she thought then, that maybe it wouldn't happen. I'm so glad that I get to show her that it did, and that I was able to make a special keepsake for Sophia to pass onto her children, if she has any.

4th Annual Warren Holiday - Long Beach, WA

This year we chose to go to Long Beach, WA for our 4th Annual Warren Holiday. About 4 hours from home it wasn't too far away but far enough that we reserved a hotel room and stayed for three days and two nights. The prospect of going away for a trip was exciting and a release from work for me.

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As we drove into Long Beach we passed a restaurant called "The Crab Pot". We had allocated enough money to have one nice meal and thinking of "The Crab Pot" in Seattle we decided how could we not spend our special meal at a place that didn't have crab or steamed clams. We went in and the staff had a surprising air about them; like they were irritated with our arrival. They tried to hold off on giving us a high chair, on the reservation that a family of 6 was coming and needed a high chair, and they were bluntly courteous. I'm was all for the other family having a highchair too but the gals attitude was, well the highchair is reserved so you'll have to figure something else out. My attitude was YOU figure something else out. Needless to say she realized quickly that there was no way we were going to sit our 21 month old Pia on a standard adult chair and she went and got us the highchair.

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When the food came we realized we had been dooped (sp?). This was not THE Crab Pot but another crab pot where the crab was over cooked, soft, and there were no extras like potatoes, corn on the cob, and craw fish. We did get the steamed clams, which were good, but for the price it was very underrated. We walked away sharing our two crab pots and steamed clams with Padon and Sophia and paying $106. While waiting for Walter to pay the bill Padon, Sophia and I went next door to check out the live crab tanks and another gal came in and said abruptly "are you just looking or do you want to buy anything?" I said we were just looking and she said "Fine", irritated, and walked back out of the room. I highly recommend not eating at this restaurant if you pass through Long Beach, WA.
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After dinner we found our room at Coastal Inn and Suites, an incredibly affordable Motel in the heart of Long Beach, and ventured out to see the sites before it got too dark. Walter thought it would be nice to go out to the ocean even though we wouldn't be staying too long and was eager to see the kids faces. Stupidly it never dawned on us how freak'n hard it would be to push or even pull a stroller across the soft dry sand, but Walter was determined and he got it all the way out to the water. Small note: you can see Sophia in the picture but there was no way we could pull that stroller with Padon in it too and so he had to walk which he was a little disgruntled with :).

It was beautiful and I was eager to take pictures of the kids profiles in the sunset. It was freezing, however, and we didn't stay too long, knowing we would be back the next day and for the whole day.

The next day we woke to a really nice and warm day. We packed up all our beach gear: towels, sand toys, lunch, swim suits, sandals, and diaper bag, and ventured to walk to the beach. We stopped at a store to buy Padon a kite, since the previous weekend had been a big kite festival. Surprisingly the kites weren't cheap but we still got Padon a neat Star Wars Yoda kite and he was really excited to fly it. Once on the beach it was perfectly warm in the sun. The wind off the water brought the temperature down but not so much that you couldn't sit in the sun in your swimsuit and bask. Sadly, Padon wasn't in the mood for picture/portraits and so many of the pictures I was able to get of him and Sophia at the ocean were from behind. I really wish the picture below could have been of them both facing me. It would have made a beautifully framed picture.

Sophia was stink'n cute in her bathing suit. It had been surprisingly hard to find a little girl's suit that fit her from crotch to shoulder and then around her chest and once one was found I was eager for her to have the opportunity to wear it a lot. She wore this super cute bikini for her birthday as well and her deliciously chunky thighs were adorable in it.

With all picnics come some special treats and I finally got a cute picture of Padon and his pleasure of juice pouches. The simple things that float a four year old's boat.

After lunch we assembled the kite. The wind was perfect for it and Padon enjoyed the concept of the kite but mostly enjoyed watching Walter and I fly it while he tried to tackle the very long tail that had Star Wars emblems down the various segments of it.

Soon after lunch Sophia crashed on one of the towels for a needed nap and I took the opportunity to go ride the waves. When my family lived in Upstate, NY we would travel to Long Is. to see my Grandmother and would often go to the Atlantic Ocean and "ride the waves". I really enjoyed it and was really looking forward to going to the ocean on this trip because there would be waves to ride. Considerably colder then the Atlantic, I still ventured out into the water and worked my way up to chest deep. Down the way from me were a couple teenage girls attempting to do the same thing, but in wet suites, and I quietly applauded myself for the insanity to attempt it without a wet suit. After a bit I was numb enough (I believe the Pacific Ocean doesn't go about 56 degrees) to feel like the water was kind of warm and I rode and rode the waves. It was great! I looked past the brown scum floating on the water, mentally missed the white sand of the Atlantic, and had a great time. Walter watching me from a far, smiling at himself that his crazy wife was off over excelling again, and loved me. As I was getting tired, and my throat sore from the salt water I couldn't help but swallow, Walter arrived with the kids who wanted to see the water, but were quickly done with it because it was really cold. Walter laughed at me with how cold my skin was to the touch. The only sad thing about reliving memory lane was at some point I lost one of my 12 gauge spiral earrings that I had waited a year to get. They were one of the few things I could wear at work that was very me but still appropriate for corporate life.

Some where in this timeline Walter and I also took a nice long sun nap while Padon played quietly in the sand. I had slathered us all up with sunscreen, with the exception of Walter who felt he didn't need it; that his Mediterranean skin would protect him. This is a foreshadowed statement for later on in this blog entry :).

After Sophia woke up from her nap we packed ourselves up and made our way back to the hotel room, to drop off our stuff, and to venture out to shop in the long strip of kitchy tourist stores. I really wanted to go to a very well known ice cream parlor that boasted 56 flavors and they didn't disappoint. I don't remember what the kids or Walter had only that I had black licorice and a sour rainbow of sherbet that strangely complimented each other and tasted fantastic! And best yet, the black licorice ice cream didn't disappoint and dyed my teeth, tongue, and lips a lovely shade of dark gray. I so love black licorice ice cream!

When Walter was little he and Dad Warren would go play mini golf. When we found a mini golf course in town it was a great opportunity to share that experience with Padon too. It wasn't all Walter hoped it would be, however, and I think it had a lot to do with how old Padon was. I wonder if they went and tried again next summer if things wouldn't be different. Mostly Padon just wanted to climb on the obstacles that were just his size. They did enjoy going in the Arcade though and played and played the games, collecting tickets. Padon was so excited to trade his tickets in for a necklace, bracelet, and 5 pieces of candy. They also rode the Carasele together, Padon got his face painted for free, and over all Padon was so excited to experience this town that was proving to be fun at every corner. We made sure to stop in a Hallmark-ish store so Sophia could pick out a souvenier and she picked out a plush monkey that quickly became one of her most favorite toys.

When we got back to the hotel room I felt a little tickle on the back of my leg and scratched it and felt the instant flame of a too-be lobster red sun burn. I was totally taken back. I had sprayed the kids down liberaly and then had done myself. Had I asked Walter to spray me down I may have not missed the back of both legs, and a portion of the side of both legs. My left leg was the worst and by the next morning both legs were displaying 2nd degree burn symptoms. Walter too was sunburned, all over his back, face, shoulders, and arms, but had the characteristic 1st degree "don't you dare touch me!" burn. I on the other hand had the suck in your breath, try not to cry, hobble to the bathroom, wimper at the site of a chair or getting out of a chair, burn. The kids were so shocked by my reaction to the cold Aloe Vera gel on my legs when we got home that they wouldn't go near my legs for two weeks; Sophia waving her hand in front of her body saying "Don't touch, don't touch". I hadn't been this burned since my Sophmore year at WSU and it was just as miserable as I remembered it. I spent the next week with burn cream and bandages wrapped around my legs as they healed.

I had to forgo the massage I had planned for this week that I had taken off but I really didn't want to pass on the train trip we had wanted to take Padon and Sophia on. By the end of the week the swelling had supsided enough to allow me to walk short distances and that was enough to get us to the bus station. Walter and I had hoped to take Padon on the train from Everett to Tacoma but as the Amtrak train ticket 'guy' (what do you call them?) said, "This isn't Europe!" and we couldn't get tickets for a family of four or at all for that matter to go on the train anywhere at short notice. Feeling deflated but appreciative that we didn't need to spend $50 per person to take the short distance ride to Tacoma, it dawned on me that I loved taking the light rail in DC and that Padon probably would be just as pleased with that as he would the Amtrak. So we hoppped on the 510 Sound Transit bus to the Seattle Bus Tunnel and caught the Sound Transit Light Rail to the Sea Tac International Airport.

It was what we hopped it would be. The kids loved it, loved looking out the windows, and watching the people get on and off. Moral did start to break as we passed by lunch and nap time and Sophia started slapping and bucking because she wanted to walk around the train. She was thoroughly pissed that I wouldn't let her down and in an angry, get even, moment she went to tear (no exageration) the glasses from my face as the train braked. My back was mostly to her so as she fell backwards off the seat she was standing on, I couldn't turn around fast enough to catch her as she fell inbetween the two seats and smacked her head on the seat in front of us. She sobbed, angry that I let her fall, because I wouldn't let her down, and would only let Walter hold and comfort her. The looks I got from the other passengers down graded my Stellar Mom rating but at that point I too was very hungry and irritated and hoping my point was made about why she couldn't walk around the train. A trip to the Denny's across from the airport remeeded our sour moods and spirits were boosted.

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As we made our way back to the Light Rail Padon pressed his forehead against the bridge railing to look down on the cars passing by and gave himself a little temporary tattoo. It was the funny that we needed to get us home.

Sophia crashed big time on the ride back to Seattle and on the walk back to the bus stop. Overall it was a nice way to end our 4th Warren Holiday. We had accomplished a lot and we had made a lot of good memories. We had some great quality family time and that is what the holiday is all about!

Because I Have To!

Oh ma gawd! We have reached the stage where those other parents were! Those parents in the elevator that whistled through their teeth at the thought of new babies and toddlers. The ones that made tisk-tisk faces when they heard Padon was two and three years old. Only I didn't understand because my two year old was awesome! My three year old, through 2/3rds of the year, was stellar and I didn't get it. I was also patting myself on the back for having obviously birthed myself some awesome kids and for having such a wonderful family. Well we're there. We are now the parents ignoring their kids in the store when they are going "mommy, mommy, mommy..." Those parents that make you wonder why the mom doesn't reply back and think to yourself how you would handle the situation better were you in that mom's shoes.

I am the mother, now, that says "don't pick that up, put that down, that's yucky, don't put that in your mouth, do you hear my words?, are your ears broken?" I'm the screamer and sometimes hitter, and I wonder where I lost myself. Well I do know; but I had thought until now that I was better then that, that it wouldn't happen to me. You'd think after 4 years of parenting I might have caught on to how silly that thought was.


The days of cute, photogenic poses are gone. The days of complete devotion to me are gone, and have been replaced with a willfull, contrary, bossy, tattling, and independent individual. Don't get me wrong. I am glad to see Padon voice his opinion and to show what his likes and dislikes are but what kills me is the act of being contrary to just be contrary; to fight me on putting on his pajamas just to see how far he can take it and if the rules still apply. This is often harder and longer lasting for me because Padon gets more continual reinforcement with Walter then he does with me.

Instead of the toddler that just said "no, no!!" he now makes up excuses about why he shouldn't, or sometimes should, do something. With my latest horrendous sun burn, he now uses that as an example, saying that his legs will hurt too much if he has to walk alongside the stroller, instead insisting that he must be crammed in the one toddler size SUV stroller with Sophia. He says that his stomach hurts at night in an attempt to not go to bed and has recently even been able to make himself cry. I

My latest bain is the "Because I have to!" phrase. "Padon you can't go with me to Claudia's yarn shop because you will be bored to tears and not let me get anything done." (Ok, not literally in those words) "But I have tooooooooo!!!!!!" says Padon with a painful whine. He supposedly has to jump on the bed, play with Sophia's toys, or wear the dirty pj's at the bottom of the laundry hamper too. It has also been very difficult for me to adjust to the barage of questions to which he interrupts your answer to ask another question. When I get super frustrated and tell him I don't want to talk to him anymore, because if he really wanted to talk he would let me talk back, he gets kind of quiet and says "but I still like you."

This is all an amazing transition for me. I have realized a lot of my frustration really stems from my long commute and from being over tired during the week. It is really hard to give undivided attention and patience to someone, when you have just gotten home, someone is already crying, and you have just sat down on the toilet. It's just fabulous to have an audience for that and then be told that your bottom is big. Privacy please! At least he does still give me big hugs, lovely kisses, and tells me he "so loves" me. It helps recharge that love battery.

Now That's What I'm Tak'n About!

You know when you dream of things and hope they happen? This is what I dreamed about when I made the rock pillows. They have been slept on in Padon's room, and been a good place to flounce, but this is the first that I have seen of them being dragged out to form a glorious pile for some good, hard, and safe rough housing. Awe, tear...

We Miss You Drake

So our very loving, fat, Garfield of a cat, Drake, has gone missing. And after a couple days of calling him, and a couple weeks of no sign of him it is pretty clear that Drake isn't coming home.

Sadly, Padon had commented a few times about how much he loved Drake and that Drake was his best friend. I don't know how the conversation occurred but Walter explained to Padon that Drake wasn't coming home and had probably been killed/eaten by Coyotes in the neighborhood. Most likely true, if not a raccoon, but I was surprised that Walter had gone to so much detail to say Drake had been killed and eaten. It was one of the first things out of Padon's mouth when I came home and again the next day, but now included gorey details (all Padon's imagination) about how Drake had been eaten. I worried about how much thought Padon was giving it and it was obvious that he was still hopeful that Drake may still come home.

I tried to talk to Padon about it, trying to calm his nerves about rampant cat eating coyotes and then Padon popped up with, "Mommy, you didn't like Drake." I blanched inside. Well yeah, I didn't like him, but he peed in my kids rooms, peed and pooped on Padon's rock pillows (that must be washed at a laundry mat), and scratched my furniture. He also ate huge portions of food keeping, our other cat, Romeo from being able to eat a proper portion, and would show his dormancy over that old cat by throwing and pinning him to the ground. While I noticed that Drake did bring home rats and mice, I didn't feel he was pulling his weight in our household (the whole reason we have a cat to begin with is to keep down on rodents), and I found him very inconvenient. It often made me feel better to let him out the back door (after he had just come in and was already meowing to get let back out) and say "Go out and get eaten!" To Padon I just said, slightly exacerbated "well no, I didn't like him because he peed and pooped in your rock pillows! But Padon, I would never wish him to get eaten by Coyotes!" It has come up at least 4 times that I don't like Drake. I don't know what goes through Padon's mind when he reminds me of that and I always reiterate that I didn't want him to get eaten by Coyotes, I just wanted him to be a better cat.

On the 4th mention of Drake and that he wasn't going to come back I brought Padon to the computer and showed him pictures of gravestones. I said "Padon, when someone dies it is really hard to not have something to remember them with. A lot of people put up a stone or something memorable to mark where that person died or just to remember them. I think we should find a special marker for Drake and you can choose where we should put it to remember Drake. Padon was excited for this prospect, and I think Walter almost as much. Honestly Walter loved Drake too. It was irritating how Drake came and went but Walter and Drake would snuggle and Walter would give him a lot of affection and attention. I had been thinking of a rock as something to paint, decorate, and commemorate Drake, but as Walter and Padon walked around the yard, looking for a paver, or rock, they came across this short piece of log and Padon said that was the item to paint.

Walter carried it back to the deck and Padon chose the spot on the deck to place it and I went inside and grabbed by Acrylic paints and brushes.

Armed with layers of newspaper, Padon and Walter got down to decorating the log.
Padon did a lot of painting with purple, red, and blue and was very satisfied with the work he had done on the top of the log.

He put a hand print on the side and a few brush strokes, but with Walter's painting of Drake's name they both felt it was complete.

I'm not sure that Padon has gone out to look at it again since; it kind of gets lost on the corner of the deck. I tried to mention that it was an object to go and look at, if Padon wished he could see Drake, or wanted to talk to him. I think the process of making it was a little helpful. The idea of Drake still comes up but not as frequently. I think what was so tough about Drake not coming home, was that he was the first thing in Padon's life that has passed away or never come back. A lot has happened over the last 6 months. It's too bad that death happened too, and a brutal example of death too, not just an old and passed away death.

Back to Being a Baby

Padon was doing really well at being potty trained before he went to Josephine but then gradually over a couple months he started peeing in his pants again. Walter and I were concerned and even more so when Padon started pooping in his pants too. Waiting to pee until the last second and not making it to the bathroom is one thing, but pooping takes effort and devotion and this was not okay.

Walter and I tried to shame Padon, tried making him wash out his own under wear, and make him change his own pants, sometimes making him sit in the mess for a while. We tried to guilt trip him with how only babies went in their pants and while Padon would say, semi shocked, "I'm not a baby!" he would still pee in his pants, or catch me as I walked in the door, home from work, "Mommy I peed in my pants today!"

Finally pooping in his pants in the morning and the afternoon broke the camel's back. Walter told Padon if he wanted to be a baby he could be a baby and that the whole next day he would get to remember what it was like to be a baby again. Funny enough, Walter had to leave that day to help Jane and Jason move and so that left Sophia, Padon, and myself to do a flashback in time by ourselves. Padon was surprised to find that being a baby meant that he either had to sit in Sophia's highchair or in the chair with arms, because babies fall out without support, that he had to wear a bib, wear a diaper, couldn't sit on the couch because babies fall off, eat baby food and nothing that he might choke on, and only play with baby appropriate toys.

Half way through the day he was saying he didn't want to be a baby anymore. I clarified that he was in this for the long haul and after he said he wouldn't pee in his pants anymore I asked him if he knew what a liar was. I said "Padon I have blue eyes, if I were to tell you I have brown eyes, I'm lying to you, because I don't. If I tell you I have a present for you, I'm lying because I don't have any presents, that's just mean. So when you tell me that you won't pee in your pants and then you do it anyway, that makes you a liar." He looked at me shocked and said "I don't want to be a liar!" I said "I don't want you to either but you have already told me once before that you wouldn't pee in your pants and you did it again anyway, AND you pooped in your pants. I don't think I can believe you." He said, "But I wont..." And I said, "Well you still have to be a baby today, we're doing this until bedtime."

This transitioned to nap time, which was being followed by Pia's schedule. Sophia takes a long 4 hour nap and Padon simply resolved himself to the nap as well. And when he woke up after 2 hours, didn't fight me when I told him I understood he wasn't tired anymore, but because babies take long naps he needed to stay in his room until Sophia woke up. Defeated he went back to his room but again didn't fight me. It seemed the plan might be working.

We continued on the day as if I had two Sophias and Padon was positive he didn't want to be a baby again. That was Saturday. On Monday I came home and Padon said happily and smugly, right as I walked through the door "I peed in my pants today!" I just dropped my shoulders and said defeated as he followed me into my bedroom "Padon, get out of my room. Just get out of my room." and I closed the door after him, to get changed out of my work clothes, and be by myself with my disappointment. Walter and I were at our wits end. This needed to stop but we didn't know if Padon was doing it to be a pain, because he now had to go to school, or because of Walter's attention to his PTST?

I spoke to a therapist about it and she applauded me on my effort but said she thought I had given Padon way too much attention. That the trick was to give him as little attention as possible in regard to peeing in his pants, and to instead praise him profusely for the good things he was doing. He had become so contrary that she was right. We weren't really praising him anymore. We were praising Sophia for her accomplishments and scolding Padon when he got in her way. With the therapists recommendations we turned ourselves around and when Padon peed in his pants we said blandly "oh, well, so did you change your pants?" but when he told us how he went to the park we jumped all over it saying how awesome that was and how great it must be to be a big boy. When he interrupted Sophia to answer where her ears were, we responded "Wow, you are so smart! You know where all your body parts are! Do you think you could help Sophia learn where her body parts are?!" And the therapist was right. In three days there was no more peeing and pooping in his pants. He was starved for personal appraisal and had turned to going in his pants for attention. So sad! I have to say, though, it is really hard to be a cheerleader when you are really tired or at the end of your day. These are the tasks we commit ourselves to, however, when we choose to be parents. Only 18 years and then so much of it is over. 18 years is nothing!

July Coronation 2011

The whole Medlestead household hadn't really been playing in the SCA this summer/ year and Dan and Lara thought it would be great if we could all get together for July Coronation. We said we would go but because of Sophia's age would rather day trip it then camp; and thank goodness. It ended up being a sunny day but the field that the event was being held at was super wet, cars were getting stuck, it was mucky, muggy, and sprinkling off and on, and the site fee was expensive.

Padon had been apprehensive, as usual, about wearing his garb (it seems every time we go he needs new garb) and I was able to ploy him with how this came with the opportunity to wear his very own cup! When he was born my Aunt Janet had given him a pewter cup with his name engraved on the side and explicitly stated that this cup was to be used and not stashed away in a curio cabinet. Well it got stashed with the idea he could start using it at 3 and was remember at 4.
Dressed like Daddy with a belt, belt pouch, and belt favors he was feeling a little more confident, and even more so outfitted with his turtle back pack. Which people thought was the definition of cuteness.
Sophia also needed new clothes, not having gone to an SCA event since she was 7 months old, and I impressed myself in making her a Norse style under dress from a toddler t-shirt pattern, and a pair of pantaloons from a pattern I drafted from a pair of her well fitting pants. Edged with an embroidery stitch on my sewing machine she looked so cute, seemed comfortable enough, that she didn't fight me in putting on her garb or ask to have it taken off.
Walter and I wore our standard garb and fit in with the rest of the crowd of devoted SCAers.

A special aspect to this day was that Padon had money to burn. Tragically his "crabby bank" had broken in an attempt to show me how heavy his bank had gotten while opening the bathroom door at the same time, but this opportunity had allowed us to count out how much money Padon had saved since he had been 9 months old and he had a grand total of $15! We gave him $5 and told him he could spend it on what ever he would like at the "fair" and that he could carry his money in his belt pouch. When we got a chance to paroose down merchants row the only tent that peaked Padon's interest was a vendor that often is at events and runs her tent like a garage sale. I found myself pushing Padon to choose something and realized that wasn't the lesson I was trying to teach and backed off telling him if he didn't see anything he would like, that, that was OK; he didn't have to buy anything today. That was when he found a tiger flashlight that growled when you squeezed the handle to open the mouth and shine the light.Typically $12-$15 brand new at the store the gal was selling it for $5. Rock on! I asked Padon if he was sure that was what he wanted to buy and he said yes, I said "OK, give her your money." He struggled to get out his Ziploc bag of $3 in change and his two dollar bills from his belt pouch and at seeing what was really going on the gal said "there is $3 in here?" wiggling the Ziploc bag. I said "yes", and she said "Ok" and handed Padon back his two dollar bills and said to me "I never make children pay full price." Wowed and tickled that Padon got to pick out something special and still walk away with some money I thanked her profusely and we made our way back to the wagon I had been pulling the kids around in.

Outside this particular tent is always a basket of free things for "good children" and Padon was given a tiny puppy beanie baby(which we sadly lost on our way back to find Walter) and Sophia got an empty, yet clean, bear shaped honey bottle. Because this vendor was always so cool about this basket, we had made a point to bring her some handmade bracelets, that we had put together, to add to this basket of goodies. It seemed we were the only ones to have ever done this before and she seemed touched at the gesture. Both kids were super pleased with their new found treasures and the soggy day was looking good.

We spent a lot of time hanging out under the awning of our friend Octavia's tent and
after a comforting walk around the site in my arms Sophia finally fell asleep for a nap and I found a new awesome use for the wagon.

It was a good time and I'm glad we didn't camp. Padon really enjoyed watching the fighters and fantasizing about being one, and Walter and I tried to be interested in who was being crowned this year. Next year maybe it will be different. We still like the SCA and seeing our friends but the thrill of camping and living like we were in the 13th century has dwindled quite a bit. There has been just too much going on in the mundane world. Maybe that's a sign...I'm not sure of what though...and whether it is good or bad.

Sweeties!

Saved by a Pencil

I realized that in order to stay on top of my game, within my working position, not only did I constantly need to keep reading relevant materials, but I really needed to keep on top of how industries around me were looking for marketers / graphic designers, and what they considered accomplishments. I found a company called Prolango Consulting Inc that offered regular networking opportunities, as well as free seminars, and noted that they didn't approve of passing around resumes; as that wasn't what the events were for. I realized quickly then I would need non-PACCAR business cards.

I spent probably 4 hours designing a business card, and then another hour trying to get the print-your-self-business-card template to print properly, and then I was on my way. I was really proud of my card and spent another hour and half printing the cards out, using lots of green and blue ink. Roughly 100 cards later, 70 were usable because of how they had printed through the printer, and I spent another 30 minutes cutting off parts that over lapped but weren't a deal breaker; that was when Padon woke up.

He had been in bed for the night but woke up wanting something to drink and he stopped to ask me what I was doing. I excitedly told him I was making business cards, and why, and pointed out my logo and read to him what the card said. I got through about a third of it when I realized I had forgotten my name. My stomach sank, flopped and I looked at all the waste around me. I said "Oh my God, Padon! I forgot my name! I can't believe I forgot my name! These are all garbage... I can't give people my card when they won't know who to contact back! I can't believe I forgot my name!" Padon was so sweet and said "Oooohhhhh! Well I'll get a pencil for you. I'll get a pencil for you Mommy! I'll get a pencil and you can write your name!" He then went over to the counter, climbing up on the chair to get a pencil from the cup, and brought it back saying, "Here you go mommy, you can write your name, write your name Mommy." And then he waited patiently for me to do it. Touched I took one of the nicer cards and wrote my name on the card about where it should have been. He was pleased that now everything was okay and I gave him a big hug. Saved by a pencil. If only things could be that simple.

In the end I printed, through Vista Print, 500 cards for $26 (on a screaming good deal) and now am handing those out. But I couldn't forget the wonderful goodness and sweet suggestion Padon gave me. Sometimes things seem such a big deal when really it just comes down to needing a pencil. I love my Bean!

Angry ABCs

Always too funny; some where along our growing line of family traditions and idiosyncrasies Angry ABCs was invented. I think Walter started it but it runs along the lines of singing ABCs but as if you were a very heavy metal rock concert singer. This often necessitates forming your hand in the sign of the devil, which in our world means "rock on", and then singing ABCs really hard. I have two video's of this now, which when I finally figure out how, should post, and it's just crazy hysterical. Padon does it, Walter does it, and obviously from the picture above, I do it, and finally if you ask Pia to do it she growls and then smiles. We are such an awesome family!

Sophia's 1st half Birthday

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When Walter and I expressed our concern that Sophia's birthday would get forgotten at the end of December, caught so closely between Christmas and New Years, we had friends and our Doctor talk to us about how they celebrated or knew of people who celebrated their half birthday. It sounded like a great idea to me, although I still wanted to celebrate Sophia's birthday on or close to her birthday. When her 1st Birthday did come it was hard to get people together on a day near her birthday and after Christmas. We were able to have a little and great party on her birthday, at the Seattle Center with Jane and Jason and Leo, but I had decided, half birthday it was!

That worked out to be July 4th! Perfect! Here was a holiday that we all got together for anyway, and summer birthday's had a better chance of being sunny, people liked to get together, and on the 4th we met at my parents house where we could swim and it was a prime place for a festive party.

Walter and I decided a Luau theme would be great and we bought plastic leis, plastic Tiki cups (Padon picked out the colors) rub on tattoos, and squirt guns as favors; bought a little grass skirt for Sophia (too flipp'n cute), tiny umbrellas for the drinks, and a multi-colored palm tree garland for decoration. We used the purple table cloth from Padon's 1st Birthday and brought our slip'n'slide down for some extra added water fun. Our friend Jen came with her little girl Mia and the kids ran around, Sophia in her adorable ladybug swimsuit, and had a blast playing in the water and on the trampoline. Sophia was so funny because she had to play with and put her blankets (a.k.a Baby and tiny Baby) in the water; like she was showing them the fun. But it wasn't long before big baby was completely saturated and was too heavy for Sophia to pick up which aggravated her. It must have taken us two hours to sneak it away from her, however, to wring it out and throw it in the dryer. It was too funny.

My Dad made the most delicious beer marinated ribs, something that I had wanted to have in place of a roasted luau pig, and my Mom had been so awesome in going shopping with me for the other items like chips, and fruit and vegetable platters for the party. We ended the party with presents and cupcakes, just in time for Sophia to begin a fast downward spiral towards pajamas and bed time. She had a really great time and it was a perfect 1st birthday.

At 18 months old she was walking and running, able to open her presents, and show us which present was the one to buy (in this case a dish and pretend food set that had her giggling manically in the store).

Going forward I think we will celebrate her birthday as a small Warren get together on December 30th and will have her party on the 4th of July (assuming no one else minds). This way Sophia will always have a special day she can share with her friends and still have a rock'n 21 run on New Years Eve.