Rallies with Children

Last night Chuck and I proved our loyalty to the Democratic party and the candidates on the ballot this year. We packed up the kids and headed to the Minneapolis Convention Center for a rally featuring Bill Clinton.

I'm quite sure we had the youngest little Democrat there in Ryker, and Jack didn't have many playmates either. They were both the HIT of the night as we wandered through the crowds. I had Ryker in a front-pack, facing out, with a bib draped over the front that says "Yes We Can". Jack was in his Team Obama shirt.

And here is why I love rallies - we met a woman and her 19 year old daughter in the stairwell of the parking ramp on our way in. They got in line much faster than we did, and as we were marching down the line trying to find the end of it, they pretended that they were holding spots for us and let us cut in front of them. They were SO nice. We spent the whole night with them. The daughter played games with Jack to keep him busy and both of them took turns holding Ryker. They were great. They knew one of the photographers too so we think we're going to get some cool pictures.

It was an inspiring night and gave me chills to hear Walter Mondale, Al Franken, Amy Klobuchar, Keith Ellison and Bill Clinton speaking about my children's future. Having them there with us was amazing, not for them really, but for Chuck and me. I kept thinking about rallies I had been to as a kid that I have never forgotten, and about the Wellstone Memorial 6 years ago.

We just kept telling Jack that it was a very special treat - right up there with Popsicles and getting to watch TV while eating dinner - to get to be in the same room with these people. We kept telling him how these were very smart and very good people and that not every little boy gets to hear these people talk to them. And while he was disappointed that Barack Obama wasn't there, and also disappointed to find out that Mayor R.T. Rybak was NOT the president, I think he had a decent time.

I hope we have helped Jack understand the importance of the political process, of being aware of what's going on. I hope we have let him know that it's okay to be passionate about something and to put yourself out there. And I look forward to telling him on Wednesday morning that our country made a good, and very brave, choice.

Introducing...

...Duff Duff.

He's a giant and he's in Jackson's clothes hamper right now. I asked what they do together and Jack said "he asks if he can use my tools to fix my bed and I say 'yes you may.'"

Oh wait - Duff Duff apparently has changed while I'm writing this blog.

Now Duff Duff is a computer fixerman and he's a very small giant. And he's apparently all done fixing my computer for me.

I'll keep you all posted.

Well-Baby

We had Ryker's 4 month-old Well-Baby exam today.

Summary of results:

-his cold is NOT an ear infection

-lungs sound good

-good motorskill development

-good verbal development

Oh, and also...

-he's HUGE.

How big is he?

He's SO BIG that they want to see him in another month just to re-measure his head to determine whether he's just REALLY REALLY big or FREAKISHLY big. Chuck tried to explain that his family is known for their large heads. But to be safe, we're going to check in a month.

Nonetheless, I was really proud of my smiley, squishy, freakishly big baby.

Supervision

We're a little lax with the supervision right now. Case in point:

This morning I put Ryker in the swing but didn't turn it on and didn't buckle him in. (Does any story end well that starts with that sort of line?) I heard Jack out there talking to Ryker and thought everything was fine until I heard a sort of grunting sound.

Me: "Jack - what are you doing out there?"
Jack: "Just helping Baby Ryker sit up."
Me: "Oh, okay."

Then I realized that no, that wasn't okay and so I sprinted out there. I found Jackson holding Ryker in a sitting position, only Ryker was on the floor under the swing and the swing was resting on Ryker's back, like Jack had just slid him out of the swing and onto the floor. I tried to stay calm and praise Jack for how well he was holding his brother, while at the same time picking Chuck's jaw up off the floor as he re-entered the house from the garage and saw this scene. Then I tried to explain to Jack that he really needs Momma or Daddy to help if he's planning to move Ryker anywhere.

Poor baby.

Maybe it's time to cave in to my brother's request that our house be outfitted with cameras so we can each monitor what the others are doing.

Family Portraits

Here are a few of the family portraits we had taken (thanks to Beth and Christi!). There are more on the Flickr site - see the link on the right.

Parenting Decathalon

I've often thought that there should be Parenting Olympics - some way for moms and dads to show off the useless skills they have acquired in a competitive, winner-takes-all type of atmosphere. Some suggestions for events:

1. Seat Belt - how fast you can get the seat belt to stop being locked in place so you can actually strap your child in without losing your mind because you're late for a meeting.
2. Driving Flexibility - how safely and quickly can you drive with just your right hand because your left hand is in the backseat holding the hand of your child, which you just closed in the window (and you're late for a meeting).
3. Baby Changing - how quickly can you change a diaper (deductions taken if you get peed on).
4. Computer Apparatus - how quickly and accurately can you type account information into the computer while standing and bouncing your baby who won't stop crying.
5. Balance - can you stand still and not fall over when your preschooler runs full steam into you to give you a hug (extra points if you are wearing heels).
6. Backwards - how quickly can you complete the following tasks backwards: shoe tieing, zipper advancement or retreat, buttoning all coat buttons.
7. Retrieval - how quickly can you retrieve foreign objects from your preschooler's nose (deductions taken if any harm is done to the child in the process of extraction).
8. Sherpa - how much weight can you carry to the car (strong-man style - we would just keep putting bags onto your shoulders and children into your arms until you can't make it to the car anymore).
9. Catch (items) - how many items can you catch when your preschooler is throwing them during a tantrum
10. Catch (babies) - how fast can you catch your baby from precarious falls such as: dropping due to preschooler being "all done" holding them, baby launching themselves off of pillow that was propping them up, baby lunging backwards while in Bumbo, mom tripping over dog while walking with baby in the dark.

I have a decided advantage right now. You all better get training soon. Prize for the winner - a big fat hug and some messy kid-kisses.

Decade Gone

This is probably only interesting to me, but I got thinking last night about all the things that have happened in the last 10 years. Time really flies.

A List of Things from the Last Decade of My Life:

Months out the last 10 years I WASN'T in a relationship with Chuck = 3 (I met him 3 months after my 20th birthday)

Years I was in school = 2.5

Number of grad schools I was accepted to and decided not to attend = 3 (2 for elementary education and 1 for public policy)

Number of times I moved my belongings = 8
[Third Sevy Quint my 2nd year at Carleton - to St. Louis - to a triple on Third Sevy - to a house in Northfield - to Hager House - to Goodsell (another house at Carleton - I moved rooms in there but I won't count that) - to an apartment in Bloomington, MN - to a house in Richfield, MN - and finally to our house in Bloomington, MN]

Number of concussions = 0 (this is only significant if you knew the decade previous to the last one - where I had 6)

Months I was pregnant = 20 (9 months is a myth, by the way)

Children = 2 (obvious, but I had to put it in here)

Pets I have known (some gone now) = Lester T, Rebel, Reese, Yuki, Tugboat, Norman

Jobs I have had = 13 (yikes!)
(Arena Theater worker, NYSP camp counselor, basketball camp counselor, Student Coach for Women's Basketball, Resident Lighting Designer for Semaphore Dance Company, Carleton Admissions worker, another stint as basketball camp counselor, substitute teacher and sub coordinator, HR at Wells Fargo, customer relations at Big Brothers Big Sisters, recruiter at Big Brothers Big Sisters, individual giving at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and finally donor relations at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts)

I am so lucky to have the friends and family that I have, to have avoided hitting my head even while continuing to play sports, and to be able to laugh every day. I'm so excited to see what the next 10 years will bring - Jackson will be 13, Ryker 10 - who knows what shenanigans we will have gotten into by then. I can't wait.

Jack's Big Gigantic Day

Imagine a day that is just PERFECT for you. Custom built to include almost every single thing that you hold near and dear.

That was Wednesday for Jackson.

The day started with a trip to the Farmers' Market with his daycare crew. They bought apples, which was exciting, but they took the city bus there and back, which was RIDICULOUSLY exciting. Jack loves him some city bus.

When they got back they ate lunch and I arrived to pick him up and take him to the doctor. He got to play lots of fun games - like "Say Beep Every Time You Hear a Beep in Your Ear" and "Can You See This Shape? What is it?" and everyone's favorite "Hold Really Still and This Cuff is Going to Squeeze Your Arm." For the most part he liked the doctor's office, until they had to prick his finger. But then he got stickers - Thomas stickers - so he was happy again.

We drove home from the doctor's office to find many, many big hachines and fixermen on our street, once again. I agreed to let him sit on the step and watch them work while I ate some lunch. That would have been thrilling enough - but it gets better! They came right up to our driveway and began pouring the concrete to replace the stuff they had to cut out when they replaced our road. So we had 6 or so fixermen on our driveway working with a cement mixer and lots of tools. I thought Jack might implode. He danced around the driveway, cheered, walked down to say "hi" to them (I explained to them that they were his heroes and one of them snarled back "I hope he stays in school though." Yikes. How do you respond to that, by the way? "Me Too!!!"?).

Finally I got him to take a nap. After the nap we went to my basketball game (met Daddy and Ryker there) which meant he got to see Abby and Lisa, who he loves. After that we went to Rachael's house to help them move some things, so he got to play with Claudia and two doggies. We didn't leave until about 9:15.

And thus ended Jack's Big Gigantic Day. The next morning he excitedly asked "Where are we going after school TODAY Momma???!!!"

Pictures

Here is a picture of my attempt to dress Ryker like a tough guy.

Here is our attempt to have Tugboat and Jack babysit Ryk for us.

Here is me loving my baby and him throwing up on me.

Aging

I'm getting older. I really am. I know that everyone is getting older, but I really feel it now after a second kid. And if I didn't fully understand it before, my attempt to get back on the basketball court Wednesday night really drove the point home. Hard.

Not having played basketball in over a year made me 7 years older when I stepped back on the court. Something akin to dog years. My feet didn't know how to NOT bump into one another. My legs didn't get on the same page with my brain, which wanted me to get back on defense and stop their fastbreak. Instead, they kept me lunging in slow motion somewhere near halfcourt for most of the game. I just sort of "ran" back and forth a few steps and then called for a sub.

My brain also aged considerably over the last 3 months. This was also called out at the basketball game, where I attempted to pay my league fee with a voided check. (My friend walked around the gym in socks after the game because she couldn't find her shoes, so that made me feel better.) Coworkers have been asking me to use verbs more. I bit into a dessert and said "it good" awhile back. I tried to write the word "from" and began with the "o."

Also, I'm losing my hair. I didn't have much to begin with, but what I do have is falling out. This might be my body trying to sympathize with Ryker, who is also losing his hair.

I listen to (and enjoy) a Prairie Home Companion. I watch Bob Schieffer and knew how to spell his name without looking it up. I regularly mix up the names of my husband, children and pets. I seriously contemplated buying a pill case to keep my meds straight.

I think this is the real reason why parents live vicariously through their children. It's not because they regret anything that they didn't do or weren't good at - it's because they just want to reverse the pre-mature aging process.

Things I'm Not Good at Explaining

Things I'm not good at explaining to Jackson, mostly because I never thought I'd have these discussions with a 3 year old and/or because I don't sleep much so I don't make much sense:

1. Why a popsicle negates the nutritional value of eating his vegetables.
2. Why he needs a parachute to go skydiving.
3. Why his teachers at school can't teach him to skydive.
4. Why people don't want to see me nursing Ryker in public.
5. Why some children don't have houses so he should be happy to eat his corndogs.
6. Why the workermen don't come on weekends.
7. Why we named our dog Tugboat.
8. Why he can't drink beer.
9. Why Ryker can't eat Pirate Booty.
10. Why they tore down the old Busch Stadium.