Happy Birthday Fisher Dan!

I love, love, love, love this little boy. Fisher turned four on February 25th. He has been looking forward to and counting down the days to his birthday for months. So, there was a definitely an expectation to live up to.

He started out the day with a donut breakfast. Then he went out to lunch and birthday shopping with Grandma Ross. After naps, we geared up for our pirate-themed birthday party at Pirate Island. Unfortunately, he was so excited for Pirate Island, he went running in so fast, he tripped and fell, and completely scraped up his nose on the street. It was a pretty bloody and traumatic injury for the little guy, but perfectly suited for a pirate, I guess!

After all that, we went back for pirate birthday cake, ice cream, and presents at our house. Grandma and Grandpa Ross, all the Hansens, Brint and Natalie's whole family, Jameson and Jeffrey, Tiffany, and one of Fisher's little friends were all in attendance. Fisher defintely reveled in all the attention and had a wonderful day.

Fisher got a bike for his birthday that he has been riding in loops around the house since then. He totally loves it and can't wait for spring to come to test it out on the road!

President's Day Weekend

Jameson and I were in charge of Jeffrey while our parents were away on a Carribean cruise over President's Day weekend. We decided the best thing to satisfy Jeffrey's endless nagging for adventure was to escape to Idaho! And, of course, my kids' nagging provided a fair amount of motivation too.

We had a great weekend because Megan and Tiffany went home too. We went out to dinner, swam a lot, and just had fun hanging out together. One of supreme highlights for my kids is the opportunity to test their hands at driving around on the back roads.

Fisher and Quincy have sensitive eyes in the sunlight and complain about it often. So they borrowed mommy and daddy's sunglasses the whole way home.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day offers a flood of memories for me, good, bad, and all the way in between. As a kid, it was all excitement with the exchanging of valentine's, the making of an original mailbox, the rush of candy.

During the adolescent and college years, it became known as Single Awareness Day. But actually, my friends and I always made light of that by dressing up in formals and going out to dinner, pretending to have been stood up by our dates. Why did we do that? Who knows, but we garnered a lot of pity and a free dessert or two!

Valentine's Day 1995 was my first date ever. It will go down in the books as one of the most catastrophic and horrific dates of all time. But it definitely makes for a good story and one that is hilarious to share.

On Valentine's Day 1997, Dan and I were each dumped (probably within hours of each other) by our respective girlfriend and boyfriend. Though sad at the time, it was the beginning of us. Months later, in a conversation about those very break-ups, Dan and I started an interest in each other. And the rest is history!

Since marriage and kids, Valentine's has become a family holiday. Dan and I always go out some time that week, but we usually spend the actual day having dinner with our kids and exchanging small gifts. And I wouldn't have it any other way! This year, I had my parents, brothers, and Tiffany down for dinner as well. It was a great day.

Goodbye Old Friend

This was my hair two weeks ago. It was super long. The longest it's ever been in my life. But it was driving me nuts. Although all the men in my life loved it, I couldn't stomach another day of it. I guess it's become a symbol too. I haven't cut it since the day we found out that our business was heading into a downward spiral three years ago. But it's time to move on. Time to move forward, right? So off goes the hair! (Don't worry, it's still past my shoulders.)

New Year's!

Yes, I know, New Year's has come and gone already. Most of us have already tossed our resolutions out the window. New Year's is a funny thing to me. I'm as eager as anybody else to turn the page and start afresh, but why must we do it at the coldest, darkest, most depressing time of year?! It's hard enough just to get out of bed in January, let alone to do it full of purpose and resolve!

Anyway . . . we had a fun New Year's celebration, even though it was six weeks ago. On New Year's Eve, we "partied" at the Hansens with lots of fun treats and games. On New Year's Day, we took our kids sledding and then went out to eat and bowling with the Abbotts. A good time time had by all!

The Parenting Handbook

There isn’t one. A parenting handbook, that is. We’re all just making it up as we go. And every year that I venture further into the parenting frontier it becomes more perplexing. Every year that passes unfolds a new issue, a new dilemma, a new question. I find myself asking almost every parent I know, “How do you handle this?” “What is your approach to that?” “What is your philosophy on such and such” Not surprisingly, even among the most exemplary parents, the answers range from one end of the spectrum to the other. This inevitably leaves my head spinning. I admire a lot of parents and families I know, but they all seem to do it completely differently. So, perhaps that is the answer in and of itself. You do what works for you and your kids. And pray like crazy it works.

A Lesson in Children's Sports

Parenting Lesson #2,542: Childrens sports are not just fun and games.

It’s no news to anyone that I did not grow up playing sports. It’s no news to anyone that my husband absolutely DID, and the discrepancy was almost a deal-breaker for us. At any rate, the world of children’s “pee wee” sports was completely new to me when I entered it. I was naïve to the fact that your ability to actually play a sport is only half the battle, if that.

The other half is comprised of who your parents know, how involved they are, and their time and money resources. Who knew? Everybody but me, apparently. But, I’ve wisened up and understand the system now. This is how it goes on around here these days. If you want for your child to possibly play high school sports, you better start now. First, everybody starts in the city recreation league. Here, you pay a meager $25 to be randomly thrown on a team coached by volunteers, who may or may not know anything about the sport. At this level, savvy parents and would-be coaches start “scouting” out the good players, the kids you want your kids to play with for years to come.

After a couple of years in rec league, you form a competitive team, which gives you the ability to choose your own players and allow them to play together for years. Or you have your child “try out” for one of the uber-expensive and time consuming club teams. The coach of this team is important. You want him to be in the “pipeline,” so to speak, because he may end up being the Jr. High coach or having some connections to the Jr. High coach, also a volunteer position. If you were really smart, you would volunteer to be the Jr. High coach yourself to further ensure your child’s opportunity to play. And, everyone know that the Jr. High coaches are in cahoots with the high school coaches. And high school coaches at Timpview have their team chosen before the kids even reach high school, let alone high school tryouts. And, if you were really, really committed, you would hire a private coach/trainer for your child to work with one on one. That’s what everyone around here does.

There, now you know the innerworkings of childhood sports. Does that blow anyone else’s mind?