When was the last time?

I can not remember the last time I was so excited that I couldn't sleep. Today C was literally counting hours and minutes until his birthday. He knows that he was born at 3:52 AM and was eagerly anticipating the moment of his birth. By dinner he was barely able to contain himself. The energy was literally oozing out of him.

We have bouncy balls that the boys use as chairs for home school (I read that boys need to move, and the moving chairs help them focus their energy). Tonight, on his bouncy chair, he was in complete motion. Bouncing up and down singing, "Tomorrow is my birthday, tomorrow is my birthday, tomorrow is my birthday...."

When I tucked the boys in I made the mistake of telling C that it would feel like his birthday is coming faster if he falls asleep quickly. Unfortunately this resulted in tremendous pressure to fall asleep, which of course never works. The more he told himself he wanted to sleep the worse things became. By 10:30 he was so frustrated, and anxious about falling asleep that his heart was racing. He had been in and out of bed every 10 minutes for two hours. C insisted, "I don't want to be tired on my birthday." But nothing was working for him, even his feet and legs had apparently mutinied, "Every time I fall asleep, my feet and legs hurt or tingle." We tried everything from stretching, to counting sleep, to mentally rehearsing his tae kwon do moves. I even tried some mental manipulation; me telling him to try not to fall asleep. Finally Johan decided to go lay with him. Minutes later C is out of bed and Johan is sound asleep with C's pillow and blankets.

So I asked him to come sit next to me. His body relented sometime while I was typing this post. At last my very nearly nine year old baby is sleeping next to me on the sofa. Goodnight birthday boy. We love you.

Cone Head

There is something inherently funny about a dog with a cone on his head. Can you look at a dog with a cone on his head and not chuckle? At least a little bit? When I picked Max up from his stay at the "Doggie Hotel" I was amused to discover that he had his very own "Cone Head." This particular cone is technically called an Elizabethan Collar. While he was staying at the kennel we had the vet look at a sore that had appeared on Max's back. It turned out to be a benign fatty cyst. His second, and apparently likely not his last. One fatty cyst means a dog may be prone to more (this animal is getting more and more expensive)... The vet commented that Max seemed to like his cone, he was wagging his tail in a big way back in his kennel with his cone. I noted that, "He's a standard poodle, they can't help but like accessories."

Here is a shot of max sporting his new accessory.

And a shot of Princess, our extremely skittish cat, checking him out.

Princess is very leery of new people, new situations, new furniture, new anything, but she loves Max. However, she is not a fan of the new cone, she usually loves Max and will cuddle up to him as often as he will tolerate it, but right now she doesn't know what to think. This picture doesn't do her heightened level of alarm justice...

A couple more shots of Max.

I don't have any video to add, but it is hilarious to watch him maneuver with his Elizabethan collar. When your head is suddenly more broad than your shoulders negotiating through doorways, down hallways, etc. is really quite challenging. Drinking and eating with your cone on is also quite difficult, although rather entertaining for spectators.

7 Years

Seven years ago at 6:52 in the evening our world got a lot bigger, better, and brighter. K was born, and we are so incredibly blessed to have this wonderful boy in our lives.

Johan took the day off work and we all skipped school to celebrate the special day. We started with presents, first thing in the morning. Then K asked for Dutch Pancakes for breakfast.





And the birthday boy with a stack of gifts from Nana.

Next it was time to play "Risk," which K received today. Both boys were so giddy setting this game up, and the excitement continued to mount for the first half hour of play. They were incredibly animated during all the dice rolling battles. C was totally engaged. After about an hour K had had enough. He explained to me, as only he can, in his I have a reason for everything tone, "I like this kind of game, but when it takes too long I don't like it as much." I had to agree, we were starting on the second hour of play and it appeared that we had made very little progress. C and Johan remained committed to their goal of global domination. I made some foolish mistakes (wink, wink) and was eliminated from the game. K requested that Johan roll for him and unwrapped a puzzle of the presidents that Nana had sent. Fortunately, C finally secured a dominant position and control of the world. K noticed with some disappointment that Barack Obama was included among the presidents on his puzzle. Are we sharing too many politics with our children???

After Risk, it was time for some X-box time. We usually really limit this, but on a special day the standards are gone. C gave K a new game, "Mech-Assault," and they were very excited to start the action.

At last it was lunch time, so we pulled the boys away from the X-box. K choose Stagecoach Pizza for lunch. Then it was off to the Keno Sports Complex for some target shooting. C and K were both ready to try out K's new pellet gun.

I may never understand the appeal of target shooting. For the boys however, just the sound of the crack of the rifle seems to make them smile. K spent most of his time with a smaller pellet gun that we decided to buy on the way to the Sportsman's Complex. It was a good size for him, and he was able to pump it with his own strength. The bigger gun that he got for his birthday required a lot of strength to pump. C enjoyed firing Johan's "Savage 17." It has a lot more power, and a lot more sound. C insists that it is also more accurate. By the end of the evening he was pumping his left hand in the air after every successful shot and calling out in a deep/harch primal kind of voice, "Smithereens!" A reference to the fact that his shot had just smashed the clay pigeon to smithereens.

Here are some shots from the rifle range at the Sportsman's Park.

The Keno Sportsman's Complex is (and I say this in a very positive light, with true respect), a redneck paradise. I am very grateful that such a place exists, it is a great place to take boys to "play." Clearly it is designed by men for men. The complex offers, rifle ranges, archery ranges and courses, a trap and skeet range, a moto-cross course, and even a remote control airplane runway. All of this is yours, for an annual membership fee of just $120. A bargain for sure.

A note on the whole shooting thing. Until about six months ago our household had a grand total of zero firearms. Fast forward, that number is now at six, with talk of even more. What happened? Klamath Falls. Everyone here hunts and fishes, and shoots things, and talks about shooting things, and dresses for shooting things. Hunting season is a big event in Klamath Falls, it is a huge part of the culture, and apparently we are going to embrace it. Still trying to resist the dressing for shooting things part, but for some reason both of my boys believe that camo is quite possibly the coolest fabric pattern ever. We don't own any camo clothing, however today K choose a camo bag for his new gun. Among all the choices, like a moth to a flame, he was pulled to the camo

Across from the rifle range is the trap and skeet area. For C and K the unbroken clay pigeons are treasures. They collect some of them to use as targets, but they also like to bring some home. Here they are with their loot.

We left the rifle range when it was nearly dark and headed for Red's BBQ. K loves the shrimp there, and it was his night. Because it was his birthday they offered him a free desert. Because it is his day and the standards are gone, he enjoyed his "Fluffy Pillow" desert. The name is a reference to the fact that this glorious treat is essentially a fluffy funnel cake filled with custard and covered with chocolate sauce. I couldn't help but imagine that the name was really foreshadowing, a dark reference to what it can do to my thighs. I managed to resist it, if only because all the while that the boys were shooting, I was in the car eating dark chocolate. After dessert part I, it was time to come home for ice cream cake and candles.

After the second round of dessert the boys squeezed in a little more X-box time and then, off to bed. Tonight I tucked in my new 7 year old. I pray that he knows how much we love him!

Up next: Birthday season Parts II and III. We're headed to Portland for some OMSI time and some hotel pool time with the Edwards. And then the birthday season's grand finale, C turns 9!

Comfortable?

Look at K, squatting on the coffee table. Not the miss-matched jammies...the body position. He sits in this precarious perch very frequently. Sometimes he is up on his tippy-toes in this same squatting position nearly at the edge of the table. He colors like this, does dot-to-dots like this, plays chess like this, and any number of family board games. He has done this for years, as long as he has been able to crawl up onto the coffee table and it continues to make Johan and I shake our heads and marvel at the flexibility of youth. He even sits on the bar stools at the kitchen counter like this. Core strength???

Now for the jammies. I wash them, and fold them. I put them in the closet matching pants wrapped around matching tops. How the red dogs ended up with the white baseballs is a mystery to me. I do have to love the fact that K cares not.

Pink Out

Last Saturday we took the boys to an Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) basketball game. We have been wanting to take the boys to an OIT game since we moved to Klamath, but somehow we haven't made time. OIT is less than two miles from our house, so we have no excuse. This particular night was a big night for OIT. It was a sold out crowd. The men's team would be playing local rival Southern Oregon University (SOU) and the men's team was poised to deliver their coach his 900th career win. Danny Miles has been coaching at OIT for 39 years!

Seating is general admission so we arrived about mid-way through the women's game to secure seats. When we stepped into the court we were overwhelmed by the pink. Everyone, and I mean everyone was wearing a pink t-shirt. We were going to resist, unwilling to buy pink t-shirts. But we were quickly spotted by some of Johan's co-workers, who must have known what we were thinking. "They are free!" they shouted. "Free!?!" Johan asked. "Yes!" So, Johan went after some pink t-shirts for all of us to wear...I still resisted (no maternity sizes). We settled into the bleachers where the temperature was approaching 80+ degrees.

The women's game was extremely exciting. It ended up in overtime, and C loved all of it! He is an uber-fan. He loved the trash talking, the cheering, the wave, the pink for all, the music, the chanting, etc... He jumped right in. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the absolute joy that was all over his face. When the speakers began to blare, "We will rock you," C was in his glory. I happen to sing that to him sometimes when we are playing soccer or basketball or whatever. Just a little taunting. He looked at me, slightly astonished that this song, my song, the song that he has only known me to sing was being played on the speakers and that apparently EVERYONE knows the words. He jumped right up with the rest of the fans, stomping and clapping to the music.

Here's a shot of my boys. K has already stripped out of his pink layer. It is an awkward angle for a picture and I don't think anyone was in the mood to sit for a picture. They all reluctantly indulged me...

K, who wasn't feeling well, leaned on me if only to share his body heat in the already sweltering gymnasium. K and I commiserated our respective situations. He, his cough and congestion. Me, my throbbing finger, extra-large belly, and excessive heat. Johan carried on work talk with his co-workers, while allowing me to lean back on his knees and giving me a shoulder massage. Never-the-less, K and I would only make it to half-time of the men's game. We left early, ready for fresh air and seats with backs. C wouldn't dream of leaving early, the team needed him. He had much more cheering to do. Johan and C stayed to see OIT win and coach Danny Miles earn his 900th win, making him one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history.

Fool me twice...

Shame on me! Last night I got to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics from the comfort of my very own bed in the Emergency Room at Sky Lakes Medical Center. This latest incident marks reason #3,296 why I am once again thankful that my mother did not name me "Grace."

For Christmas this year my husband bought me an impressive set of new knives. They are VERY sharp, and I love them. Along with these knives (perhaps because he has witnessed first hand about 2,312 of the aforementioned reasons) he bought this wonderful Kevlar cut resistant glove for me to wear when I am working with my new knives.




Unfortunately, last night I was not wearing my glove. Hence...




Ironically, as I was preparing to remove the seed from an avocado, by holding the halved avocado in my left hand and attempting to stab the seed with the tip of my knife, I was thinking about how the last time I had prepared this meal (homemade salsa and tri-tip burritos) I had nearly removed the tip of my finger with the very same knife, performing the very same maneuver. I was also congratulating myself on my awareness of my historic mistake, and was even glad that I wasn't going to do that again...

A fraction of a second later history repeated itself. C was watching as I held my finger and jumping up and down announced (more than once), "I did it again! I did it again!" There was a lot of blood, but I quickly composed myself enough to examine my injury. Johan, C, and I all concurred that it was indeed worse than last time. Johan took over kitchen duties and C did a google search for me to determine if stitches were necessary. They were...and a tetanus shot... So, off to the ER. Two and a half hours, and eight stitches later I returned home.

My little boy was so sweet though. His concern was so genuine and heartfelt. As we were debating whether to wait for Damian, Johan's cousin who was on his way into town, to arrive so that Johan could accompany me to the hospital, C expressed so much concern, "I really think Papa should take you Mama." And, "You shouldn't go alone." Of course, he wanted to come too. I think the fact that bed time was near and could be postponed and that another opportunity to peer inside that big cut could present itself at the hospital was rather appealing for him.

At last I went alone, Damian had missed a turn, and was enjoying an extended tour of southern Oregon. His drive from Medford which should take about an hour and a half took over four hours!

Homeschool Cool!

Both boys have gotten VERY into chess over the last few months. They're practicing everyday, and challenging Johan every night. They have even beat him a few times. They don't even bother to play me anymore...I can't beat them. Johan has started to teach them how to take chess notation. Both boys participated in their first chess tournament in the fall. The competitive element of tournaments and the chance to win $$$ has really encouraged them. Both boys have done extremely well at tournaments. C won his first tournament and now, for tournaments later, has a national ranking of over 1000.

This weekend we attended the "For the Love of Chess" Tournament at Ponderosa Middle School. It was a work weekend for Johan. These tournaments have sort of become his thing with the boys. He inserted himself into the organization of the first tournament, thank goodness! If it hadn't been for his common sense approach the day would have been a few hours longer. The tournament this past weekend was a quad style competition. This means that the boys are placed into a quad of similarly ranked players, 6 players per quad. Each person plays everyone in their quad one time. This becomes a long, long day. One point is awarded for each win, 1/2 point for each draw, and nothing for a loss. Both boys ranked high enough that they were the youngest players in each of their respective quads by many years. They were playing against middle school students, and WINNING! (Okay, so I like winning, and I am more than a little proud of my boys...so I'll apologize ahead of time for the pretentious tone that the rest of this post is likely to take).

Spectators are not allowed to watch from anywhere near the games, for fear that overzealous parents might betray some hint of emotion that alters the outcome of the match. I can see how I may accidentally be guilty of this, so I followed the rules and watched from a safe distance. Upon finishing a game the players are responsible for setting up the pieces again for the next round. I was busy reading their body language to determine the outcome. I wasn't close enough to the action to see the play-by-play, fortunately after each match both boys would come out and replay the last 10 or 15 moves for me with their hands. I was amazed at their memory. After telling myself that I really should film this, I finally did after the third round.

Here C explains Round 3.

Here is K's instant replay.


Did you get all that? I love, love the hand talking. The videos don't do their recaps justice as they are replays of replays... Going into round 4 both boys were undefeated. C was having some trouble checking his confidence. He announced to me, "I'm invincible." I cautioned him that each round would get more difficult, and that his excitement would make it more and more difficult to play slowly and concentrate. This turned out to be very tragic foreshadowing. Unfortunately C lost his next two rounds. A valuable lesson learned. He accepted his defeat quite well, we've been working on this. He finished 2nd overall, just a 1/2 point behind the two girls who tied for 1st.

K remained undefeated after round 4. Round 5 was where he met his match. K lost his fifth round, but still finished 1st overall. The astonished looks on the faces of the other parents during the awards ceremony were priceless for this proud mom. K beat out 4 middle school students and 1 3rd grader to win the big prize money. Congratulations K!!!

K just informed me that, "Chess is not a smiling sport." "Why?" I asked. Somewhat appalled that I had to ask, he explained the obvious for my benefit, "Because it is serious." Nevertheless we are all looking forward to the regional chess competition this weekend.