Labor Day Weekend

It was our last weekend with Kyle, maybe ever, so we tried to make the most of family fun over Labor Day weekend. We kicked it off with a trip to the Phoenix Zoo. Free passes (through a library program) to the Children's Museum were out, so I chose the zoo, forgetting that I live in Arizona now. Thank goodness Kyle was around because that was the most draining three hours I can remember ever spending outdoors. Pushing the double stroller had little to do with it, since Kyle did most of that. That merciless sun sucked the fun-loving enthusiasm even out of Ellie within the first fifteen minutes. I had to forcefully remove her from a shady bench to capture a shot of her with the giraffes (the first animal we saw), which is even her personal fave.

Still, we did enjoy what we saw, and definitely plan to return sometime around the dead of winter.

Our only reprieve was a splash pad that even I shamelessly took advantage of.


The kids were delighted to discover dozens and dozens of red snapper turtles (I think) lollygagging in the pond area. We hope and think Teancum is enjoying a similarly pleasant habitat these days. (We gave him to some strangers with a pond, but who also inadvertently killed off their last two turtles...)


Speaking of sweet deals, I scored all of this school/office supply gear (needed or not!) for a total of $2.47 (plus hefty tax) at Staples last week. Sometimes I just love myself.

And what is Labor Day without some good old fashioned manual labor, aka pants-less weed pulling?

Or pants-full.

And also, what is Labor Day without a scavenger hunt at the local Savers? (For the thrifty uninformed, they mark down almost the entire store 50% on holidays.) So, as you can see, I went wild with glee and, to Kyle's great dismay, filled two shopping carts with cute clothes for the kids in the next size up. With a heavy heart, I eventually whittled my winnings down to the following.

What a cheese. Okay, this is more like it.




Here's another unrelated topic that's been occupying a disproportionate amount of my thoughts lately: food. Healthy food. Healthy whole plant food, particularly. I believe in moderation in all things, and I love my desserts and dairy probably more than the next kid, and yet I find myself being strangely drawn toward a pseudo vegan lifestyle these days. I know, just typing the word vegan makes me feel like the obnoxious food snob and animal rights extremist that I am not, and hope to never be. Still, so many compelling benefits... more on this soon.

Making a place

***I will send a dollar to anyone who can explain to me why my post was perfectly black and underline-free and then I closed my eyes for a moment and now look at it. Thank you.***

I am planning on filling in the months of June, July, and August, but for tonight, I'm going to answer the two burning questions you've all been dying to ask: 1. Do you like Arizona? and 2. Is it hot?

1. Yes. (see below)
2. Yes. I know everyone feels obligated to ask this question because Hades-quality heat is Arizona's most defining feature, but perhaps when we ask this, what we're really trying to do is open an opportunity for the Arizonian to vent about just how horrifically and suffocatingly hot it is here. So, under that assumption, I'd say the hot here feels like you're in a moderately hot climate and your car was in the sun all day with the windows closed and then you open the door and the furnace-like wave of trapped heat hits you. That's what it feels like to open my front door. (So you don't want to know what opening a car door in Arizona feels like.) Or maybe like an enormous semi truck has the engine running and you are crouched behind the exhaust pipe permanently. Or maybe like Hansel and Gretel pushed you in the oven. But most importantly, I spend my days and nights in a breezy air-conditioned home, so don't feel bad for me, at least until I get my first electric bill.

So yes, we like Arizona. Actually, I would even say we love it. True, Phoenix is the kidnap capital of the country (my mom frequently warns) and the steep sales tax has forced me to restrict shopping sprees to garage sales and craigslist, but lots of perks make up for these shortcomings.

-For instance, our beeeeee-eautiful new home. I'll try to do a virtual tour soon because you will not believe how much storage space we have. As if a double car garage weren't enough, there are cupboards and closets and more cupboards and more closets and it is absoludicrously wonderful. It makes me want to buy things to fill up all the storage space.

It's also one-level-- perfect! So much easier to run around and reassemble the contents of a one-story house.

We also love our back yard and all our carpeted floors. Carpet will make potty training tricky, but it's still my favorite flooring in all the land.

As you can see, we are making the most of our back yard with a slip and slide. It would probably be more fun if the hose were long enough to get the whole slide off the rocks and onto the grass, so we could do more than sit in a puddle, but the kids don't know that.

-Outside of home, I am loving the library culture pass program, in which you can snag free passes to museums and such. You may have to wait in the heat for a while before the library opens in order to secure a pass, but I will always choose inconvenience over cost so there you go. We've already enjoyed the Youth Art Museum, Science Center, and Phoenix Zoo, and the Children's Museum is up next this week.

(Can you even count the ways a Japanese catbus is cool? We couldn't.)

-Fry's (grocery store chain) is nearby and not only do they accept other grocery stores' coupons, but also all manufacturer's coupons worth less than a dollar are equal to a dollar there (for a limited time but it's been going on since I moved here)! This has meant lots of free and uber cheap groceries for me, which is just about as good as life gets. But then it gets better because Fry's also has FREE childcare for kids two and up while you shop. Erik has been unwilling to participate thus far, but Cheri the sugary sweet childcare lady and I will break him down eventually.

-I have never loved swimming, nor taking my kids swimming, but there are lots of pools here, and they are growing on me and I think I'm going to end up liking them alright after all.

-Lots of other things are cool, like our new friends, Kyle's student experience, his sweet new/old scooter, well-planned roads and abundant freeways, and the hope of a most pleasant fall and winter season.

Yes, we are liking it here, which is good, because we'll live here quite a bit longer than we've lived anywhere together. And then we'll go where the wind blows us once again. But for now, Arizona is home.

Ode to Char

First of all, Charlie is very fortunate that I'm only getting around to posting about his first birthday now. See, when Charlie turned one, he had a lot of growing up to do. Miraculously, he's dedicated the past 10 weeks to maturing significantly, probably because he didn't want his baby book to have a birthday entry from his mom reading, "Charlie is a tool. I can't believe I survived his horrific first year. Still love him, but don't always like him."

Instead, now that he's shaped up his act, his birthday entry will read the following:

"Charlie is cool. I can't believe I survived his terrific first year. Love him, and almost always like him."

But nothing I write ever approaches succinctness, so it will also read:

Charlie has taken me to the extremes. In his birth, I experienced the highest high of my life, and in its immediate aftermath endured the most exquisitely painful lows of my life. This set the pattern for mothering him ever since: a topsy turvy roller coaster of polar emotional states. One moment he's so irresistible I'm resisting the urge to asphyxiate him with love. The next moment my ears are ringing, my blood is boiling and I'm resisting the urge to asphyxiate him without love. (Actually, I should be serious here. I never injured him or felt very close to doing so, for which I have deity to thank.)

So many times, and not just a handful, but actually nearly every day for the first ten months of his life, I had episodes of exasperation, desperation, and near-despair. Kyle was always plucking my gray hairs. I feel I aged 10 years in one.

There's no getting around the reality that Charlie was an unusually demanding and emotionally draining baby. I'm not saying it doesn't get much harder than Char. All I mean is that my personal stress threshold was pushed to the limit; with the help of his brother, he wore the thickest parts of my patience thin. I wanted to be savoring every baby milestone like the moms around me. I wanted to talk wistfully about how my baby is growing up so fast. Really, though, I wanted Charlie to grow up as quickly as humanly possible (or non-humanly, if it came to that)!

Of course there were also times of delight and bliss. That extra maternal umph of love was always there, and that's what kept me loving him immensely despite it all. I write frankly about the difficulties of Charlie's first year to acknowledge that it's okay to not love every moment or even stage of motherhood. If I'd felt like I had to smile and feign maternal peace and well-being that I was so far from feeling inside, I would've only ended up miserable. So I did my best to stay afloat and be emotionally easy on myself, and I knew someday I would know it was all worth it.

The older Charlie has become, the happier we've both been. I just knew there was a streak of independence in that ridiculously clingy child that was waiting for the right moment to be unleashed. That time has come. He still follows me around the house, crying and tugging on my pants a lot (which is how he learned to walk), but there are also lots of times when he waddles off full-speed ahead and only looks back to flash me a proud grin. Actually, he has managed to be both my clingiest and my most curious/destructive toddler. So, we get the BEST of both worlds, right?

In earlier days, I loved Char for his snuggles, his perfect baby koala form, and for patting his mouth while singing (old-school Indian style). Now I love Char for his excellent posture while walking, for finally displaying an interest in toys made for babies, and really, truly, for snuggling. There is an advantage to a clingy baby, and that is it. We find him resting his head on and snuggling up to odd-shaped plastic toys, scratchy church walls, and even his big brother (at his own risk!). You know when he approaches you he's going in for a snuggle, yet even expecting it, my heart melts every time.

Love that little guy because, hey, we've been through a lot together. Plus he's pretty lovable.

And for reading all that (and even if you didn't), you've earned a photo re-cap of Char's first 14 months of life. (cue sentimental music...)

Char party madness, part 3

So with the food and decor on our side, the party was pulled off so effortlessly that I found myself pacing nervously around the room disturbed by my idleness-- why did I have nothing to do?! Because it was a small group--just our closest peeps-- and no games or activities for a baby party, I pretty much actually got to sit back and enjoy it! (When I wasn't nervously pacing, that is.) Oh yeah, when I said no activities I meant that the ball pit was like 10 rowdy and hilarious activities in one, so none other were needed.)

Kyle and I were both ecstatic and extremely relieved to see the end of my season-of-soireees. (Four thrown in five weeks.)


Char's our first kid to get a smash-cake experience. Well, I guess Erik had an accidental one.

Charlie waah-ed at first until he got a taste (but not before Erik did)...

And then he put on a pretty good show.


Some frosting even made it to the wall behind him.

He hasn't eaten a vegetable since. Oh well. That was fun, and fun is good.

We did have a quiz on Char's first year, that (surprise, surprise) Mish and Kjerstin tied to win.
I didn't get a group shot or pics of presents, but rest assured they were cool.

I believe it was a happy birthday for this boy (clad in a second Hungry Caterpillar outfit-- gifted by the Pauls-- which fit him despite being size 3-6 months). He's a pretty nice young lad, and much more so since his first birthday. (That's all to come in the next post.)

Also, this is my new favorite party I've thrown (it tends to be my most recent one)! I pretty much loved everything about it, and I pretty much love everything about Charlie. (Sometimes.)