Pool Rats

These photos sum up July and August. Pool, pool and more pool. It has been heavenly!

Sienna is fearless when it comes to jumping off the diving board. She can even swim to the side on her own! 

Noah's mastered swimming alone with his life vest. He's like, "See? No big deal."

May Noah never lose that belly. NEVUH!

I'd like to buy a double stroller but until then this works okay.

Popcorn is a favorite poolside snack.

When life gives you old, yucky watermelon, make watermelon juice. It's really good.

Marilee Visit

At the beginning of August I invited myself to my friend Marilee's house for a few days. She was my one of my best friends during that special awkward time of junior high and the beginning of high school (when she moved away, sadly). Anyone who's willing to be friends with you in junior high is a good friend indeed. She lives in Tucson now with her husband and children. It was such a blast to reconnect with her. She even unearthed some old notes she had saved that I'd written to her when I was bored in history class in high school. What a trip! I had a crush on about five boys, talked about how hungry and bored I was, and used words like "freakin'" and "fetchin'". Ahhh, some things never change.

Her daughter Laya is 5 and was such a good little friend to Sienna.

Here's Noah chowing on some pretzels.

Tucson's skies! They were magnificent! And it's about five degrees cooler than Phoenix! Sign me up!
Here's Laya teaching Sienna how to roll down the hill.

Noah and Eli were just happy to be fed.

We got ambitious in the kitchen with pizza and cookies and ended up with shiny, sweaty faces.

 Marilee just had her third baby a few weeks after we left, on the 16th. You wouldn't have even noticed in this picture if I hadn't told you, right? She is one fit mama.

 Her sweet little 3 year old Eli.

They have an excellent backyard with a huge grapefruit tree and this perfect little playhouse/pool combo. Idyllic, I tell you.

 Noah tastes his first Otter Pop. He's a fan.

 On the way home we stopped at DQ, went to the bathroom, came out, looked outside and the sky had turned from blue to an eerie white/brown. DUST STORM. It was insane.

Not a bad place to kill some time, the DQ. So we stayed for a half hour then ventured out again and drove home in this wall of dirt.

I've never experienced anything like it. 

Thanks for a wonderful time, Marilee!

The Children I Care For

A hodge podge of mother-thoughts from me to you:

*WHY. DOES. IT. HAVE. TO. BE. SO. HARD.

*Kids are hard. They are more hard than fun, cute, sweet and dear all combined. People told me that. I hated them for it. And now I am living it. I remember it not being so hard for awhile starting when Sienna was 18 months and lasting until Noah was born, when she was 25 months. Otherwise, hard, hard, hard. MUCH harder with two. But I don't see when it won't be hard. And that's what makes it all the more hard.

*Adam described Sienna perfectly the other day when my friend, Marilee, who'd not yet met my kids, was over and asking what Sienna was like. He said, "She's half sweetheart, half terrorist." No truer words were ever spoken. She defies all logic. Yes, she is 3, which means she is likely supposed to defy logic. It's all part of the phase. But, seriously. What planet did she come from? I scratch my head every day. Living with her is like living on a beautiful island in Hawaii next to a constantly erupting volcano. The scenery is lovely when she's sweet, but absolutely horrifying when she's exploding.

*We still call her Bird, Birdie or Bird Turd (under my breath). She will always be Bird. And I love that.

*She is killing it with the potty training. I started training her on Monday, July 16th and she hasn't had an accident for two weeks! It is making me love her through all the hard times. She loves peeing in the master bathroom toilet the best. She disappears for awhile, then runs out with no pants and says, "I peed!" Then I go help her put her panties and skirt or pants back on. Then we wash hands. Then she gets a treat! She poops, too! No big freaking deal! She just poops like it ain't no thing. Ahhhh, it makes me so happy. She even wears panties during nap time and does fine! Last night Adam accidentally left her panties on at bedtime and she woke up dry! She is just owning this potty thing. It is sooooooo awesome. I will gladly give her treats for a year after she uses the toilet. That is how I will pay her back for making the job I dreaded most come so easy.

*Noah's nicknames vary in levels of ridiculousness, but I think the one we use most at this point is Nobers. He is also The Great Magnificent Mysterious Magical Noberino or Noberini. Or just simply Mr. Nobers or Mr. Noah. To me, personally, his biggest fan (he returns the sentiment), he is just about any mushy term of endearment. For, you see, I have a crush on him.

*Lately my parenting strategy could be summed up in three easy steps. Pay attention, you never know when you will need this. 1. Try. 2. Give up. 3. Stop caring. It is a cycle that occurs at least 15 times per day. Example: "Sienna, stop splashing me in the face! Nobody likes to be splashed in the face." She keeps splashing anyway. Not wanting to get out of the pool to put her in time out, I give up. Then I proceed to splash her in the face. I guess this strategy is also known as: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. You older parents, let me know if this is going to work long-term. Or if I should even do the "Try" part at all. Or if I should really "Try" not to "Give up." Oh well, too late. I've already stopped caring.

Parenting and Phoenix and Cycling

*I've been thinking about patience as a muscle lately. It just came to me. One day we were all driving in the car and it was around 110 degrees outside and we were all flipping out. Noah was crying, Sienna was screaming, Adam was nigh on losing his marbles, and I ... I just had an epiphany. Oh, did I mention we were completely lost and due to meet someone 15 minutes ago? It happens when you move to a new place and the AC doesn't work when the outside temperature is over 100. Anyway, I decided right there that I would flex my patient muscle. I realized it was a good visualization mechanism because it seemed like something I could control. Keep screaming kids, I can flex this muscle all day. Not really. But I will try. 

*Which brings me to last week. The Worst Week I've Had in a Long Time. We got used to having Adam around for about a month, so when he left for Amazon training in Seattle last Sunday, I knew it would suck. I was right. It was like being thrown into the lion's den. It didn't help that it was also the week I decided to 1) cut down on TV time for the kids, from 2-3 movies per day to 1 only in the evening, 2) delete dairy products from my diet after reading that it changed the complexion of one blogger, and 3) start potty training Sienna. I don't even know where to begin. Not turning on TV first thing in the morning was terrible. It meant I had to pay attention to the little people and maybe even (gulp) play with them (which bores me to tears 98.4% of the time). No dairy was fine in the milk department, but there was a particularly low point when I was handing out string cheese to my kids and did not partake. I lasted 5 days on that diet ... 'twas a bowl of cheese tortellini with Parmesan cheese on top (my childhood favie) that undid me. I could totally do that diet if I didn't feed my kids cheese and pasta and sometimes cheese and pasta combined into perfect little tortellini loops of pasta perfection. Sigh. I didn't see any signs of improvement really. But I'm pretty sure after I went back on, I broke out. So maybe I did improve. But probably not (or at least that's what I tell myself when I bite off the end of my mozza stick). Potty training ... well, somehow I calmed down a bit and Sienna grew up a bit and it happened to be a really good combination of changes because she hasn't had an accident since Wednesday. I'm not getting my hopes up, because there are usually potty problems that crop up here and there. Monday, Tuesday and especially Wednesday (The Day She Pooped in the Pool) were not so great. But then I think the cold shower after her Pool Poop was the wake up call. She understood consequences, and suddenly she was peeing in her little Froggy Potty with regularity, excitement, and precision. Now she just needs to poop. AND NOT IN THE POOL!

*The thing about coming from a place like Seattle to a place like Phoenix is that it's a relief. It's a relief to wake up and not wonder if the sun is going to come out. It just comes out. It comes out in full force. And that's all there is to it. I knew that this happened in places. Yes, I used to live in Southern California, you know. But here there is a warmth (ahem, a searing, scalding kind) that you don't have to question. It's chilly AC inside, it's a warm (hot, suffocating) blanket outside. It feels nice that it's not the other way around for once in 2 years.

*We were in a dust storm last night! We saw it in the distance as we were driving to Trader Joe's, a big, cloud-like wall of brown, then when we were done shopping, we stepped out into it. It wasn't as severe as I thought it'd be, but yes I did have a tad bit of grit in my eyes and teeth. And Noah was like, "Huh?" HE'S SO CUTE in case you were wondering.

*Another observation about Phoenix. I went to Home Depot the other day for spray paint. It was a little after 5 pm and I was dreading it because I thought for sure it'd be crazy busy. Nope, hardly a soul. I thought, "What is going on?? It's always busy here, especially at this time!" I had a thought: "Everybody has new houses, why would they need a fix-it-up place like this?" In Seattle, there is no shortage of old, fixer uppers that need plenty of the kind of stuff inside Home Depot. Just a thought. Who knows? Anyone care to fill me in on this?

*Adam took a most excellent bike ride which he said was the perfect ending to his wonderful time as a UW student (these guys were his classmates and some of his closest friends in the program). His friends posted pictures on Facebook, and I'd like to impart them to you now.

Pictures to go with Post

And now for the pictures to go with my previous post!

These fine Seattle babes had a going away dinner for me before I left. So sweet! We ate at Jai Thai in Fremont (TDF!!) and shared desserts from (my fave) Simply Desserts and Bluebird Ice Cream. Then we hiked up the road to the famous Fremont Troll under the bridge which I had never been to! Isn't she a beaut! (Weirdest piece of "art" I've ever seen, but I can appreciate it because of the fairy tale it matches. I think...)

Adam's hard work all stacked with precision in our garage below.

Our last supper in Seattle was at Tutta Bella. Great Neopolitan pizza, my friends. Great. I could eat that stuff all day.

Goodbye 8513! We have loved you so!

 The kids at Seattle airport.

 And landed! In SLC! At Liberty Park with Mim and co!!

 Sister Twin Heather with a pudgy looking Noah who outgrew his rash guard before he even had a chance to really wear it.

 Mom holding Mim's Harper and Dad with a sad Mr. Noah and the Culprit Sienna.

 I took this picture at our hotel room in SLC and realized we, mother and daughter, look nothing alike. (Isn't she a beauty, though? It terrifies me to think what that face will do to unsuspecting young gentlemen in years to come.)

 With KarieAnn, Hunter and Roger at the Pow Wow. Waiting for Indian tacos that were never to be. So I just had fry bread. Yep, it's just fry bread, people. It needs something on it.

Pow Wow colors.

They are not messing around with these moccasins. $300 folks! Handmade wonders.

The children were a sight in their full costumes. It was a feast for the senses - sound and colors and textures and movement. I can't wait to go again sometime!

Sienna living it up in the backyard at my parents' house. She chucked everything in the universe in that pool. Sorry about your drum and accordion, Mom! (She assured me that she will be buying a new one, no worries, especially because everybody hates it! Haha. Classic Mom.Teaching through torture. )

Speaking of which, she insisted we see the new dinosaur museum in Vernal! It was actually lovely. However, the most uproarious of creatures was not among the ancient ones. Sienna was a PILL that day. 

Uncle Owen has been home all summer and we love a good dose of him when we can get it!

My mom always has the cutest aprons. I donned this to make brunch.

 Pictures out of order alert! Here are the kids jumping on the tramp with sprinklers and cousins Isabelle and Hunter.

 Is there a picture yet that doesn't have Noah crying?

 Oh! Here we go! A cuter boy never existed. But he was a little unsure of all that bounciness.

Ah, back to brunch. Not pictured: the panna cotta.

Bird! In cute little her-sized chairs.

Friends Shanna and Kassie plus offspring.

Christy with offspring.

Noah saying his first word: UH OH. CUTEST. THING. EEEEEVVVVVEEEEERRRR. He even will do it with a growl now if I instigate it, and Sienna and I die laughing every time. His little "O" shape he makes with his tiny mouth. PRICELESS.

And just like that we are in the land of heat, pools, brown, strip malls, chains, wide, new streets, large intersections, cacti, and adobe.

In-N-Out is a beautiful thing. We've been twice already.

 Sienna now requests "cheesebuggas."

I've had tons of motivation since I got here to just get things done and out of the way. I'm losing steam now that I've been here 2 weeks, but MUST. GO. ON. I'm almost done with the kids' room, then it's onto the office and our bedroom, then I'll be done. Done enough I guess. Decorating is always evolving. I have found some gems at Savers and Goodwill, though, so that has been fun. And IKEA is a mere 2 miles away. BLISS! More home photos pending.

 We enjoyed a full week with Adam home before he had to start work.

And thus it begins. Two years of school over and back to the working life.

He has been in Seattle all week for training and gets home tomorrow.

 Tomorrow cannot come soon enough! Because life alone with these 2 all day and all night is .... well, judge for yourself: