Fun at Lake Goodwin!

I'm totally in love with Lake Goodwin. It just nice and open and the water is super shallow for at least 100 feet so it is like one gigantic wading pool. The sun was shinning so nicely on Sunday that Padon and I just had to go.
Padon is always cautious with new things and often needs a moment to go "Whoah!"

But with some proding and encouragement will try just about anything.

Overall we had a wonderful time and Padon discovered he really liked slides,

was good at finding bark and putting it in holes,

Was especially good at rock and

sand throwing,

was a great chaser,

and definitely a little boy who needed to come here more often!

510 NW 62nd St, Seattle WA - $499,000

In 1976(?) my parents bought this cute little yellow house in Ballard for about $70,000 and about a year later had me (1977) and Sarah in (1979). We lived in this house for 5 years and then we moved to upstate New York, to Poughkeepsie - Hyde Park. I remember this house so well!
In this living room my Dad flung my first loose tooth across the room and it bounced off the then diamond shaped ties on the fireplace, after slipping a piece of floss around the tooth in a slip knot and snapping the loose ends of the string away from each other, thus popping my tooth out of my mouth. I was just so glad he didn't tie the string to the front door knob like he had first suggested. I also remember laying on the red, orange, and mustard yellow, round rug as Barbara Streisand's Yentel record played on the Atrak stereo, propped up on a very large wooden spool. I layed there warmed by the fire place as my Mom and Dad read (or did something of the like) and I thought to myself, I wonder if this is what it means to be romantic.
The house's floor plan was much like the shape of a donut with a stairwell going up the middle to the second story. I remember the cat chasing the dog, or was that vice versa, around and around the house. If you were standing in the kitchen as pictured below to your left would be a door leading to the then unfurnished basement. Down there my Dad had a really large bird cage full of finches. He had little nests in there and they would lay these tiny eggs. When we moved to New York he took the cage outside and let them all go and they all flew up onto the telephone wire in front of our house and just looked back. I thought it was sad, because where would they go home to now? I used to go down into this basement also to listen to my record player and my one record; Aquarius - you know, "This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius..." and play with the rope mop because it so much looked like a person to me with long stringy hair. If standing in the picture below the back door would be to your right. It was here that my Dad held our gentle Husky down on the floor with his hand on her head cutting the bone she had gotten wedged in her mouth with a hack saw. She was afraid but so trusted him and just layed there the whole time.

In the above dining room we used to do so many art projects! My Mom ran a daycare and we did finger painting with paints and pudding and cookie cutters, we glued things with macaroni and paper, played with home made playdough which when baked or dried would last quite a while, wrote letter to ourselves that we mailed and then were delivered to us (that was too cool!), among many other things. It was at this table that my Dad told me at 5 that it was my birthday. I had never celebrated my birthday and found it interesting but that was as far as it went. I really felt like "Huh! Interesting!" and I went off and played. I also remember having conversations about nose picking, and thinking about what I was going to say before saying it, and to stop stuttering. It was also in this room that I leaned against the door jam where the photographer is standing in the picture above and watched fully suited firemen (hats and everything) (3?) rush through the living room with Sarah in their arms as my Mom cried hysterically because Sarah had stepped off the dining room chair and had fallen face first into the Microwave cart slicing her nose open across the bridge. It was bleeding badly enough that the blood was in her eyes and my Mom thought she maybe blind. It was tramatic for all of us. But just imagine two of those fire fighters with Sarah (1 1/2 yrs?) in the tiny bathroom below.

This bathroom had a vent that allowed you to hear everything that was going on in the house. I also lost at least two paddle ball/bouncy balls down the toilet, showed one of the daycare kids I could pee standing up, and used to sit on the toilet and hum the Star Trek theme song to myself because the acoustics of the bathroom would creep me out. Across from the bathroom were the stairs that led up to the second story that was one large playroom for the kids (way cool!). I remember braiding my rag dolls hair on the stairs and thinking to myself that I would definitely be a hair dresser when I grew up. I also remember watching my Dad shave while sitting on the stairs and telling him I thought he looked weird because he had shaved his beard off and then immediately felt guilty because I wondered if I hurt his feelings.

Upstairs truly was the coolest - it was like a tree fort for kids (that was the feeling I had anyway)! It ran the length of the house and was full of learning activites for Daycare and toys as well as toys and books borrowed by the Book Bus. We had giant blocks made from milk cartons, a felt board to play out stories and songs, we would sit in a circle on the floor and sing songs that required hand movements, and we had a large poster of the food group pyramid on the wall. In this room the kids played during a winter party, thrown by my parents for people in our church congregation, and I remember playing on the rocking horse with another boy while watching frosty the snowman on the small TV on the floor and thinking this is the BEST day EVER!!!!! I had such a good time! We also had a cupcake party (we had cupcake parties until we moved back to Seattle where we would watch movies, have a friend or two over, eat cupcakes until the movie was over, and then the friend would go home) and watched the Wizard of Oz. I was so scared for Dorthoy who cried into the Wicked Witch of the West's crystal ball as Auntie Em cried and called for her.

The house had a really cool backyard too. My Dad built a really nice jungle gym for us including a dock like structure and I remember laying on my back on it listening to the birds, looking up at the perfectly blue sky with hardly any clouds, watching and listening to a airplane fly by, and thinking I will never forget this. I think we were just about ready to move and to this day on a warm sunny day I can look up at the blue sky and remember the smells and the sounds and the total comfort I felt that day. We also had a Deadly Nightshade plant in our backyard that I snacked on one day exclaiming to my Mom that I had been eatting raspberries. I soon was on the kitchen floor throwing up because she had given me ipecac and milk because the berries I had been eatting were poisonous. I also squished a fuzzy caterpiller to a mushy mess in Winter Jacket when it climbed up my sleeve and I freaked out. And I remember my Dad having to call a bee guy to come and remove a large bees nest from our tree. That was cool.

Now what was the garage has been remodeled into a bedroom, the attic play area has been remodeled into a bedroom and small office, and somewhere they have stashed another bathroom; I'm guessing somewhere in the basement. My Kindergarten- two or three blocks around the corner and down the street, where they made me pledge allegence to the flag but I made the teacher mad because I woulnd't keep my hand over my heart, where I stashed snails to keep as pets, and where I put holes in my winter coat sliding across the very smooth cement in the entry way- is now gone due to asbestos. It is such a cute house and the current owners have done a wonderful job of remodeling it.

When I was five it was a 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, living room, dining room, and rec room house with a smallish kitchen where the fridge didn't quite fit, as well as 2 rooms downstairs in the basement that my Dad built. I still love this house. I think they should just give it to me because i love it and could never afford it. I hope a family moves in and loves it as much as I did. And I hope that Padon loves our house as much as I loved this one.

"I Love You Daddy"

So Walter was sitting on the living room floor with Padon the night before last and said " I love you Padon!" Padon, who had been running back and forth between Walter's lap and his lego blocks that I guess needed to be with the fireplaces tools, paused , looked at Walter and said" I love you........"longer pause, "Daddy." It was totally I love you. As well as his little mouth and tongue could articulate it but when Walter said "I love you Padon" again to affirm what he had just heard Padon did the same thing. So Walter said "tell Mommy, I love you Mommy." and Padon smiled getting shy and said " I love you.........." long pause again "Mommy." Walter just about cried. We called my parents to gush cause we had to tell someone and my Mom said that he needed to be able to say "I love you Grandma." next time we saw them.

What a wonderful first sentance!!!!! Yeah!

I love you too baby!!!!

What a Good Brusher!

I love that Padon loves brushing his teeth. Cause I don't love brushing my teeth but one crown has me faithfully flossing and brushing my teeth every day. If you put Padon's PJ's on and ask him if he wants to brush his teeth he runs, not walks, down the hallway to his bathroom.


And once there he has four toothbrushes to choose from. He picks one or two and I get one. I turn on the water and ask him to get his toothbrush wet which he is now starting to get and then he holds out his toothbrush (with prompting) so I can put toothpaste on it. And then I let him go to town until he starts playing with the toothbrush. "No, the sink has no teeth to brush." and I ask him if it is my turn.And he is so good. He will drop his toothbrush away from his mouth and let me tilt his head back so I can brush his teeth. I sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, because Erin told me it was 20 seconds long and because Sarah said her doctor said you should brush your babies teeth for at least 20 seconds, and I stop singing the words when he bites on the toothbrush or makes it so I can't brush his teeth. This has worked amazingly well.

In the end I ask him to rinse his toothbrush and let him put them back in the toothbrush holder.

We're such a good team and I feel like such a good Mom for brushing his teeth. I keep meaning to schedule a dentist appointment with a toddler specialized Dentist to see what they think of our process and how Padon's teeth are coming in. Heck, when you're paying for the insurance you might as well use it!

We had such a good time - oh to have a smaller camera!

Padon and I went to the Science Center again on Sunday and I totally forgot to bring my camera! Again! I wish I had a smaller one so it was pocket size and I could just carry it in my jacket because there were so many wonderful picturesque moments. I'm going to upgrade my phone sometime in the next 6 months (personal goal) so I can have a "Go" phone that has a camera. That would rock!

So anyway, with the power of google and old pictures I have been able to come up with some pictures close to what I would have taken myself had I been able to.

Sunday is Padon and my day together without Walter and I suddenly felt that we needed to go to the Science Center. So I got a lunch together, Padon's umbrella stroller (totally bus friendly), his backpack of diapers and things, and my bus pass and we made a bee line for the Everett Freeway Station, hopped on the bus which is always fun for Padon and made our way to Seattle. Traffic was great and we were down in Seattle in no time. The closest we can get to the Seattle Center is one mile without waiting for and taking a second bus and so we always walk it. Sadly as far as Downtown Seattle goes it is through an always uneventful part of town. It would be fun if we had to pass through the Pike Place Market or something because there would be all kinds of cool things to see and smell but that would be in the wrong direction.

So Padon just sat uninterested in his stroller until we had checked in at the Member Station of the Pacific Science Center and started down the wheel chair ramp. But the minute we rounded the corner he suddenly errupted in bursts of excitement, arms pumping, because he totally recognized where we were. After a short potty break for me we made a bee line for room 1 where the dinosaurs were and Padon got even more energetic. He loved the dinosaurs. And I mean love! With lots of growling and roaring and running back and forth and slapping at the tiny plexiglass dinosaur displays on baby thigh level I thought we might end up staying in this one room all day. It was the dinosaurs pictured below that really peaked Padon's interest and we had to visit them quite a few times with of course more roaring and clenching of fists in a Tyrannosaurus Rex fashion.

After we broke away from the Dinosaurs we made our way to the Tot play area in room 2 where there were a lot of things to play with. But the water feature seemed to be where all the fun was and Padon wouldn't stop drinking the water and so we had to leave. We moved onto the Insect Village where the "Human Fly" resides and where when you push his button he starts talking about coming inside his circus tent to see the death defiying diving beattle, and other really cool bugs. This was the first time Padon got that pushing the button outside the Human Fly's inclosure made him talk and he pushed it again and again until another little boy his age took over and Padon was too shy to go up and push it anymore.
Over all he seemed to miss, even when I showed him, that there were bugs in the aquariums to look and ogle over but he did feel the need to hug this catepiller quite a few times and to plaster himself against the windows in the back ground licking the window for good measure. (I'm amazed at the gross things he comes up with to put in his mouth. I tell myself this is his way of keeping himself from getting really really sick... Well he hasn't gotten sick yet so my theory proves correct so far.)

We finally wandered out and I thought with how much he was getting so far that he might get the tidal pool. I washed his hands as directed and tried to show him the hermit crabs which he couldn't see and so I brushed his fingers gently through the pink sea anemone. He got that, and got that they feel a little sticky, and he didn't like it. Huh, licking public carpet is not gross but touching a sea anemone gets a "ugh!" response. Maybe he hit his head harder on the pavement getting out of the car then I thought.

I kept asking Padon if he wanted lunch as my stomach was telling me again and again lets have lunch and finally he responded in a way that meant, yeah, let's have lunch! We made our way to the Seattle Center Fountain and plunked ourselves down in a Seagull poo free spot and had lunch. It was really nice. Padon was so cute as he kept putting his balogna purposely back on the tupperware top/ plate with both hands and placing his cup gently back to his right side as he gingerly reached for more banana. It was just sunny enough to keep us warm and there were other people sitting around us listening to the music being played in time to the fountain. It was just such a pleasant lunch.

By the time we finished lunch Padon started to shiver so we went in the Center house to warm up and change his diaper and gaze longly down at the Children's Museum on the 1st floor. I'm dying to take Padon there and I think I will for his 2nd birthday because even he was dying to go down there but it is too expensive to go on a whim. It is supposedly 8,400sq ft of wonderful tiny tot goodness and how can you go wrong with that.

To the left of the look down on the Children's Museum is the dance floor Center House. And on this floor they had set up a bunch of little kid push cars for kids 5 and under. I asked Padon if he wanted to go ride the cars and he totally lit up. I don't know where he was holding in the energy. He sat on a little red car and rocked back and forth and finally got that if he shuffled his feet he would scoot forward but I think he still only went 5 feet and then sat content, rocking, watching the other kids. About this time two kids about the age of 9 and 7 came and made it not a safe place for kids under 5 as they were tearing around with the cars. I was so irritated. So it was a perfect excuse to give another little boy the car when there was no car to ride because the 9 year old and 7 year old had each taken one.

I offered Padon the stroller to ride in but he still wanted to walk having walked this whole time with a little kid harness which surprisingly he was loving to wear, and hug, and caress. He picked it out himself :).We must have gone about two more city blocks on our way out of the center before I asked him again and he turned to the stroller. I put him in and he immediately fell asleep. He slept the mile back to the bus stop, the 30 minute wait for the bus, and almost the whole bus ride back to Everett. What an amazing and wonderful day we had. It was really tough to get up the next morning and not be there to greet him when he woke up and to not have the opportunity to do more things with him. It is times like that, that hurt my heart to not be the one home with him. When the weather turns warm we will have to explore the greater Snohomish area every weekend. That will be so much fun! What a great Sunday!

I Almost Didn't Go to Ursalmus!

I totally almost didn't go to Ursalmus this year! I have gone for the last two years to demonstrate hand spinning but after a mad week and rush attempting to finish a pair of boots I was feeling exhausted and not in the mood to be cold (the first year they couldn't figure out how to turn the heaters on). But something inside me told me I would be kicking myself later when I wasn't so tired for not going so I drug myself out of bed, dug out my SCA clothes and packed up my faithful friend, the spinning wheel.

And man did I spin! ( I was sitting next to the heater...uuummmmm......) I spun the last of my Alpaca that Walter had bought me two years ago for my 29th birthday and plyed it together. So now with a little soak in soapy water and a rinse I will have fluffy, soft goodness to knit with!

Not only did I get to demonstrate hand spinning all weekend and wow the public coming in for the renaissance faire but there was another gal Aloise who was demonstrating Flax and how it is processed for spinning! I just about peed myself! I had been wanting to learn how to make linen and now was my chance. She was so informative and impressed that I was impressed that she gave me a thread winder from the 1930's. Crafted by strongly relgious Russian settlers in Vancouver BC she had obtained it from a museam dedicated to this group of amazing linen producers when the museum was closing do to lack of interest. She also gave me a handful of processed flax so I could try my hand at spinning it. It was too cool! And amazingly I had no problem spinning it. It gave me the confidence to try other materials. Look out!

This is Aloise's grandson breaking up Flax seed in a Flax breaker built in 1830.

Besides getting to meet Aloise I also got to meet another gentleman Alanus who makes turnshoe boots and I got to show him my latest masterpieces. I think he was impressed and I got some really great tips from him.
I had the pleasure of sitting next to this gentleman for the whole weekend. Very friendly we talked about my wheel and I watched him play and teach the board games he had on his table. They sounded like a lot of fun. (huh, I guess I never got his name...)

In the end because my first request (via email) to be a demonstrator was missed I was not counted as a demonstrator even though I was the only spinner people could see as they walked around the booths. The other spinners and knitters were hidden by two vendors and didn't make any attempt to get people interested. Sadly this meant I was not recognized in the SCA Court and I didn't get a gift. The thread winder totally counts as a gift in my book! It made me think though that I wouldn't mind being acknowledged by the Court and Barony of Aquaterra for spinning. To do this, however, I will have to think what I can do to make myself noticed. So far all that I have done is spin 400 yards of white wool for the war chest for Banner War last year. Granted that wasn't an easy or quick thing to do but one thing does not make an AOA (Award of Arms). So I'll have to work up to it but I did meet quite a few new people including royalty who were pleased to meet me and quite a few of them remembered me already. That was pretty cool. I'm really glad I went to Ursalmus.

Bye Pat! We're Proud of you!

January 21st Patrick was shipped off to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center where he will go through Boot Camp and move onto training as a computer technician on submarines. It was a lot of work for Patrick to complete all the prerequisit tests required of someone with a GED but he studied non-stop for three months and worked out just about every day and couldn't have made us more proud with his devotion and dedication toward this personal goal.

To send him off Jane, Jason, and Catharine organized a going away party to beat all going away parties. It started off by Jane, Jason, Catharine, Tooley, Patrick, Walter, Padon and I having a feast at the Wing Dome in Greenwood.

We had a really good time and Jason, Tooley, and Walter tried the $1.99 7 alarm hot wing so they could be immortalized in film on the wall of other 7 alarm chicken wing eaters. Jason didn't seem to be all that impressed by the hotness, Tooley was uncomfortable but drank his beer like it wasn't that bad, and Walter coughed and cried into his napkin laping at his beer trying to cool the hotness.

Padon enjoyed the chicken wings too. Especially when dunked in the blue cheese dressing.

When we were done at The Wing Dome we drove to Acme Bowl in South Center. The lanes weren't available but after 1 1/2 hours a pool table opened up and they had a great time playing pool. Padon and I had a great time watching people bowl and Padon was so impressed that he taught himself how to climb down stairs so he could get closer. So funny, he couldn't get over how people could carry around these heavy balls he couldn't move a smidgen. Jane was so cool as to get Padon a cup of whipped cream since he had eatten all of mine of the top of my drink. He was so impressed and couldn't stop himself at how delicious it was to gradually plundge his whole hand deep into the creamy, cool, sweet goodness.

"Ahhhhh!!!! Stop sticking your hand in your cupppppp!!!!!!""Ummm ! Yes that is tasty!"

We ended the night at 11pm watching people play at the arcade games, meeting new people, and running around outside on the sidewalk. We said goodbye to the gang and headed home. the next day we met with the rest of our family for one last goodbye. We had a good time and a great opportunity to tell Pat how excited we were for him. I sure hope he is having a good time. I know they are breaking him down to build him into a true Navy sailor but he wanted it so bad that he has to feel a proud beat in his heart for having accomplished his dream of going into the Navy.